The original Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 gets new goodies thanks to a software update

The original Samsung Galaxy Note was not left in the cold now that the sequel has been announced. The new Ice Cream Sandwich ROM N7000XXLRQ with a timestamp of 28.08.2012 is reportedly available to users in Germany via KIES or OTA and also as a direct download to everyone by the XDA community.

The novelties include an updated user interface – much like the one you may have seen on the Galaxy S III – and S-Cloud integration. Also the gallery has received the sidebar look that we saw first on the recently announced Note II.

German owners of the Galaxy Note are already receiving the update via KIES and even OTA, but everyone else can enjoy it to, but with a manual flashing. The ROM is available for download over at XDA.

The userland generated changelog so far includes the following:

• new launcher (as on the Galaxy SIII)
• new gallery with fancy 3D effects
• new contact list
• pop-up video can now be resized
• S-Cloud integration (no dedicated App but you will be prompted to sync your settings with Samsung)
• you can now save contacts in the S-Cloud too (like Google contacts)
• performance improved
• new gesture action added: call contact currently displayed if you raise the phone
• bloatware added (NTV, Lieferheld, ChatOn, myTaxi)
• unfortunately, the black clipping issues has not been fixed

Here are some screenshots to whet your appetite for the new build. You can find more at the source link below.

Screenshots of the updated Note UI

And in case you are interested, here’s a video of the new gallery in action:

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

PopCap announces upcoming Plants Vs Zombies sequel

After the success of Plants Vs Zombies, a sequel seemed inevitable. PopCap's announcement of said sequel this morning proves as much.

The zombies are coming … again.

This morning, PopCap Games announced that it has begun work on a sequel to its critically beloved blockbuster casual strategy game Plants Vs Zombies. Courtesy the official press release:

The sequel to Plants vs. Zombies is expected to launch by late spring 2013, and will include a bevy of new features, settings, and situations, designed to delight the franchise’s tens of millions of fans around the world. No other details of the highly anticipated new installment in the franchise are available at this time, beyond the following comments from some of the game’s denizens.

So, we’ve got a vague “spring 2013″ release date, promises that the Plants Vs Zombies sequel will expand on its predecessor and not much else. With many developers we’d be concerned that this lack of concrete details indicates delays in the game’s production process, but the firm still has at least half a year to put this thing together, and let’s be honest, when it comes to the company responsible for Peggle, Bejeweled and a number of other games our mothers are unable to delete from their iPhones, we’re willing to extend the benefit of the doubt.

Perhaps realizing that the official announcement was a bit light on useful information, the PopCap PR team opted to fill its remaining space with entertaining, subject-appropriate quotes from some of the biggest stars to emerge from the Plants Vs Zombies franchise. To wit:

“Spring is crullest curlie ungood time, and plantz grow dull roots,” noted an unidentified spokesperson. “So, we are meating you for brainz at yore house. No worry to skedule schedlue plan… we’re freee anytime. We’ll find you.” 

“There was a time we relished a bracing, hearty blend of zombies, in the morning,” said Sonny F. Lower, a representative of the Flora Forever Foundation. “But first, a brisk shower and some strategic pruning are required. Tomorrow is near!”

Now, granted, taken by itself the above chunk of text is baffling gibberish, but it should serve to reassure fans that Plants Vs Zombies 2 — or whatever PopCap eventually ends up titling this thing — will exhibit the same wacky sense of humor as its predecessor. Yes, the tight, well-balanced strategy gameplay of Plants Vs Zombies and its surprisingly large offering of playable content have always been the key selling points for the game, but it wouldn’t really be a Plants Vs Zombies title without the undead scrawling borderline-legible notes to players in an effort to get just a bit closer to their delicious brains, now would it?

Oh, and while we’re on the topic, expect to see Plants Vs Zombies 2 on basically every gaming platform in existence. We have no official word on what platforms PopCap hopes to support, but since it’s nearly impossible to find a modern computing device of any kind that doesn’t offer a Plants Vs Zombies port, we’d be stunned if the company didn’t also attempt to maximize the potential exposure of its new Plants Vs Zombies sequel.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Plants vs. Zombies sequel coming in spring of 2013

PopCap Games, the popular game developer and now a EA-owned company, has announced today that we’re in for a sequel of Plants Vs. Zombies, coming in late spring next year.

PvZ is one of the best known mobile games on Android and iOS (among others) and probably the most popular lane tower defense game ever. Its gameplay revolves around fending off hordes of hilariously quirky, awkward-dressed, zombies with a large selection of sharp-shooting plants.

The press release doesn’t state what new twists the game will offer, except hordes of new plant and zombie types. We don’t know if it will come to iOS and Android separately or at the same time, and how much the new game will cost.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Dyson Digital Slim DC44: Hey girl, you’ve lost weight

Thinner and more powerful, the sequel to Dyson's spot cleaning vacuum continues with the Digital Slim DC44 Animal slated to launch this fall.

Vacuum cleaners are not particularly the sexiest of gadgets, but the new model of Dyson’s Digital Slim machine is looking pretty good, if we do say so ourselves. An update from the previous DC35 model, the Digital Slim DC44 Animal is sleeker, longer, while maintaining the lightweight and cordless feature customers have come to love.

Created for spot cleaning purposes, the powerful Digital Slim can extend up to the average ceiling height or get under couches and beds to help get rid of those pesky dust bunnies. The kit comes with all sorts of attachments to fit your cleaning needs. Weighing a mere five pound, the new design also boasts the Dyson patented Root Cyclone technology which allows for 20 minutes of cleaning in one charge, or a burst of 8-minute intense suction.

“It’s an incredibly powerful machine considering it’s all done on batteries,” Alex Knox, Dyson’s industrial design director, told The New York Times. No word on how long it takes to fully charge the batteries, but we can’t imagine it’d be too long for a short burst of power.

While 20 minutes worth of cleaning might be helpful for a quick clean up, be prepared to balk at the price. This is a Dyson, after all. Launching some time this September, expect the Dyson Digital Slim DC44 Animal to run at $400 on Dyson.com and in stores. And yes, that price tag comes with a two year warranty and free shipping.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Joss Whedon will return for The Avengers 2

It's official: Joss Whedon has agreed to write and direct a sequel to his blockbuster The Avengers.

In news that we all expected to hear eventually, beloved geek auteur Joss Whedon has agreed to return for the inevitable sequel to this summer’s biggest movie, The Avengers. The announcement was made by Disney CEO Bob Iger during the company’s earnings conference call this morning, and though Iger offered no further details on the second Avengers movie he did mention that Whedon would have a hand in the upcoming Marvel Comics-based TV show planned to appear on ABC.

If your immediate reaction to this news is to cheer politely, then roll your eyes at anyone who didn’t see this coming, you’re not alone. The Avengers raked in a frankly obscene amount of cash at the box office (Box Office Mojo currently pegs the total at just under $1.5 billion worldwide) and since Hollywood is no longer run by secret Communists it only makes sense that Disney and Marvel Studios would want to reassemble the crucial pieces of that film for a second movie. While obviously this includes The Avengers’ massive cast of superheroes, a good deal of the first film’s success should be attributed to the man who both wrote and directed the flick: Joss Whedon.

Though we don’t know the specifics of Whedon’s deal with Marvel, it is known that he will both script and direct The Avengers 2. Likewise, though we know nothing about the movie’s plot, we feel safe to assume it will feature Thanos as key protagonist (as prophesized by this post-credits stinger).

With so little new information to go on, it’s tempting to speculate wildly on the direction Joss Whedon will take with this movie, so let’s do that. Given the success of Whedon’s first Avengers flick we’re going to assume that Marvel will give the auteur far more freedom to tell whatever story he’d like with the sequel. That, plus the inclusion of Thanos, and the obvious involvement of The Avengers themselves has us cautiously hoping that The Avengers 2 will be an adaptation of Marvel’s classic Infinity Gauntlet saga. 

Though the 1990s were something of a low point for comics as a whole, this 1991 crossover event was a massively epic tale featuring a literally god-like enemy battling the most powerful heroes in the Marvel universe en masse. It effectively cemented the modern notion of who and what Thanos is — previously he had still been at least partially seen as a satire of DC Comics’ Darkseid since, well, that’s what he was created to be — and showed that there are foes capable of giving the most powerful of superteams a run for their money, while also spinning an interesting, compelling saga.

As we’ve pointed out though, an adaptation of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline would almost necessarily require numerous other Marvel characters to be introduced to audiences. We have faith that the studio could pull this off (especially with Whedon’s writing chops at its disposal), but it would take years of additional film production to bring the general public up to speed on the extensive fiction that goes into telling this tale. Alternately the film could play fast and lose with certain plot details, but with Marvel Studios attempting to build a functional film universe that mirrors its comic book canon we doubt the powers that be would want to excise too much necessary information.

Then again, we know nothing about this movie, so take all the above speculation with an elk-sized salt lick. We’re just spitballing ideas at this point, and welcome your theories in the comments below. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com