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WhatsApp for Android has gotten an update today that introduces new privacy settings, and interestingly enough — a feature that allows you to pay for a friend’s WhatsApp subscription.
First spotted by Android Police, the latest update lets you tweak your “last seen” status and profile photo, and increases the message history that you can send. It also gives you a camera shortcut for sending pictures faster, and now features large video thumbnails within a chat.
However, what’s most notable is that WhatsApp’s Android users can now pay for their friends’ subscriptions on the same mobile platform, as well as others including iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry. The chat app is free to download and use for the first 12 months, with a $0.99 in-app payment required each year after that. This could be WhatsApp’s way of encouraging users to promote the service to their friends — and keep them on the same platform.
WhatsApp is being bought by Facebook in a deal worth as much as $19 billion – and this probably means we can expect other new features as it seeks to stand out from the competition. To this extent, voice calling will be added to WhatsApp during Q2 2014.
➤ WhatsApp: Google Play
Titanfall, one of the most anticipated gaming titles for 2014, has officially landed on Xbox One.
Microsoft welcomed the game in an event at SXSW tonight. Given the hype surrounding Titanfall and its exclusivity to Microsoft platforms, it’s vital that Microsoft is able to market its quality and broad appeal as effectively as possible, as it seeks to up its sales of the Xbox One.
While the Xbox One is selling well, in these early months it’s started lagging behind its key rival, Sony’s PlayStation 4, in crucial markets such as the US.
To coincide with the Titanfall launch, Twitch announced it was bringing video game streaming to the Xbox One today as well, a feature which is already available on the PlayStation 4. With Twitch streaming, Microsoft will now have millions of potential players who can set up their own streams, quickly join broadcasters’ sessions and trigger their own broadcasts with Kinect-enabled voice commands.
Yesterday, Microsoft announced it would be dropping the price of the Xbox One by £30 in the UK, and offering the same price for a console bundle that included a pre-order of Titanfall.
Image Credit: GLENN CHAPMAN/AFP/Getty Images
A five-year partnership between Getty Images and Yahoo-owned photo service Flickr has officially come to an end, PetaPixel reports.
The partnership, which was inked in 2008, saw Getty Images going through Flickr content and inviting Flickr members to contribute their photos, which would then be made available for licensing to Getty Images’ creative, commercial and editorial customers.
PetaPixel reports that according to an email from Getty Images sent in by a reader, the original agreement with Flickr has reached its end and a new partnership has not been inked — though Getty Images says it is still ”open to working with Yahoo!/Flickr.”
A Yahoo spokesperson sort of confirmed the termination of the agreement to us, saying: “We’ve enjoyed partnering with Getty for the past five years to provide Flickr users licensing opportunities through Getty Images.”
According to PetaPixel’s report, the Flickr collection on Getty Images will now form the basis of a new house collection called ‘Moment.’
Getty Images will no longer be searching and browsing through Flickr photostreams to invite users to submit their photos — instead Flickr users have to use the same procedure as the other Getty and iStock contributors and send in full-sized, captioned and released images to them for review and selection.
Getty Images is also increasing its focus on mobile images by letting users submit pictures submit pictures shot on their phones to its new Moment-Mobile App — to which all Flickr collection contributors will be invited. The app is iOS only for now, but Android will be coming soon.
Headline image via LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII original Lightning.
With the excitement surrounding Square Enix’s release of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the creative denizens of the DeviantArt community outdid themselves in a unique contest to create their own version of Lightning, the main character of this role-playing adventure game.
Tetsuya Nomura, the principal character designer for Final Fantasy and the Kingdom Hearts series, was the special judge for this contest and today announced DeviantArt prizewinners, Randis Albion, Marga Donaire, and Nicolas Barge from a total of 4655 entries.
“There were so many well-drawn pieces, that it was very difficult to pick just three. I was blown away by the overall level of quality,” Nomura said. This contest marks a first for Square Enix, which has never before participated in a user generated content program.
Willing to Protect by Marga Donaire
Nomura was enthralled with Marga Donaire’s entry, Willing to Protect. “With one look I was hooked,” he said. “The costume itself is sophisticated, and it’s also very well done as an illustration. The background that reminded me of the Japanese flag (Hinomaru) matched well with the piece and was beautiful. As an artist, when I look at different works of art, I think to myself, ‘If it were up to me, I would do it differently,’ but that thought didn’t cross my mind once when I saw this picture.”
Forbidden Gateway by Nicolas Barge
Nomura was equally impressed with Nicolas Barge’s Forbidden Gateway. “At first glance it looks like a CG, and it has a level of quality that makes it look like it was captured as a screenshot,” he said. “While there were many heroic costumes for Lightning, I was drawn to the femininity of this costume and her hairstyle.”
Lightning – Mythril Scorpion Armor by Randis Albion
Nomura found Randis Albion’s entry, Mythril Scorpion Armor, equally striking. “It’s wonderful as an illustration, but in addition to that, the artist drew in both the front and back views, so I felt the artist’s clear intent when they created this piece,” said Nomura, adding, “The red and blue color scheme was very beautiful, too.”
Prizes include an original sketch from Final Fantasy character designer Tetsuya Nomura, a custom Xbox 360 console & controller, $1,000 cash, among others. Each winner is also featured at the top of deviantArt’s homepage for a full day. Check out the complete submission gallery.