Armored Kill DLC For Battlefield 3 Release Date Announced

DICE and EA have been hard at work on bringing more downloadable content (DLC) to their flagship, Battlefield 3 game since its launch last year. The first DLC, Back to Karkand, added several new maps, weapons, dog tags and vehicles. Followed several months later Close Quarters was released which feature tighter maps for a more intimate playing experience. Their next expansion called Armored Kill was expected this upcoming fall and has finally received an official launch date!

Armored Kill features four new maps, including the largest Battlefield map in the franchise’s history. This DLC is all about vehicles, adding new tanks, ATVs, and even a mobile artillery to the collection of available vehicles. For all of this awesome tank carnage, a new mode called Tank Superiority has been added which features all out tank battle on the larger Battlefield 3 maps. All of this can be yours in September!

For subscribers to Battlefield 3 Premium, the maps will first be available for the PlayStation 3 on September 4th, followed by the Xbox 360 and PC users on September 11th. For anyone who has not purchased the premium subscription the maps will be available on September 18th for PlayStation 3 players and September 25th for PC and Xbox 360 users.

Samsung Shows Off Four New Colours Of Galaxy S III, Including The Previously Rumored Black Version

With leaks coming from all sorts of UK-based sites about the existence of a black Galaxy S III, we kind of knew it was coming. What we didn’t know was that it would be bringing three other new colours with it. The four new options are designed to “take their inspiration from the Earth’s richest materials,” apparently, and include “Amber Brown, Garnet Red, Sapphire Black and Titanium Grey.”

Ignoring the fact that sapphires are generally blue, these new Galaxy S IIIs are some handsome looking handsets. They’ve even gone to the trouble of matching the button backlights to the phone colour, giving the red one a red button glow, and the brown one a brown glow. It’s the little things, you know?

The announcement, which was made on the official Samsung blog, says that “availability of colours will vary depending on the country and carrier/retailer.” This means people with a strong colour preference may have to import from elsewhere, but you’ll no doubt be able to find all the different versions in unlocked form online. If you’re getting one on a contract, though, you’ll have to hope your carrier gets the one you want in.

Apple Granted Patent That Aims To Make Your iPhone Situationally Aware

Apple has just been granted a rather curious patent, that will allow its gadgets to behave differently in different situations. It will use a combination of GPS, network triangulation, and local networks to determine your whereabouts, and behave accordingly. If configured properly, it could be used for things like automatically putting your phone on silent when you’re in a meeting room.

These self-aware behaviours, called “policy restrictions” in the patent manifest, could be used for all manner of convenient features. The patent focuses mostly on use in local network applications, like having a Wi-Fi hotspot that told your phone to switch to silent mode. From the patent manifest, as dug up by Apple Insider:

This policy enforcement capability is useful for a variety of reasons, including for example to disable noise and/or light emanating from wireless devices (such as at a movie theater), for preventing wireless devices from communicating with other wireless devices (such as in academic settings), and for forcing certain electronic devices to enter “sleep mode” when entering a sensitive area.

While a lot of this sounds pretty useful, it also seems like a security nightmare. If a wireless hotspot can tell your iPhone to turn itself off, or put itself on silent, it’s a short hop to telling it to get up to more nefarious tasks. There’s also the possibility that Apple could use this to further control DRM. Could Apple not use this to disable your iTunes-purchased music when you travel to a country that that music isn’t licensed for?
All of this is still up in the air until we see how Apple plans to implement the technology, which they’ve shown no signs of doing just yet.

Apple Store Training Manual Leaked, You Too Can Be A Genius!

Have you ever noticed that the Geniuses in charge of support at Apple Stores always seem know exactly what to say? That’s not a coincidence. Apple employees are given a hefty training manual, filled to the bindings with psychological training for dealing with frantic customers, phrases they should use or avoid, and scenarios they should practice for. Gizmodo has got their hands on a physical copy of Apple’s internal Genius Training Student Workbook, and they posted some excerpts/examples online.

The fine art of correcting a customer without insulting them.

My favorite trick in Apple’s book is the ‘three F’s, which is spot on advice if you’ve ever had to deal with frantic customers on behalf of a corporation. The three Fs stand for feel, felt, and found. They take a complaint, subjectively validate it, and then show a transition between their previous agreement and a presented ‘objective’ company line.

An example of the Three Fs the text is as follows.
Customer: I want an iPad, but I need a mouse. I can’t deal with all this touching.
Genius: I may know how you feel. I’m a mouse fan and felt as if I’d never get used to it but I found it becomes very easy with a little practice.

Mouse support isn’t available in iOS by default, but can be added through Cydia tweaks like Mouse Support, Veency, and BTstack Mouse. It goes without saying that Apple employees won’t suggest these unapproved workarounds.

The error which must not be named!

There’s another reason why I wouldn’t be able to say the previous paragraph if I were an Apple employees. Certain words are off limits. Geniuses are instructed to avoid negative words like crash, hang, problem, supported, or incompatible. Instead I would have to say that the iPad doesn’t ‘work with’ a mouse. And if the iPad shuts down during a task, it would be a case of the app “crashing”; instead it “unexpectedly quit.” The idea is not to blame the hardware or software, and instead isolate the specific “situation” that needs to be resolved. It’s a clever use of tech support as marketing.
That said, not everything in the manual works well. The manual Gizmodo received contains a section on providing feedback to other employees, when in practice it’s generally not received well.
Now that the secret’s out, how long do you think it will be before Samsung employees start using “Feel, Felt, Found” along with colorful euphemisms for a system crash? Share your guess in the comments section below.

Official iTunes Festival London 2012 App Now Available Internationally For iPhone, iPad

Back in May, we announced that the official iTunes Festival app had launched for residents of the UK. The festival takes place during the whole month of September, and Apple has recently opened the app to residents of other countries. You can use the free app to watch your favorite musicians play live at the iTunes Festival in London.

The complete list of acts for the iTunes Festival 2012.

As the festival is only a few days away, most of the acts have been revealed. While 2011′s lineup had more artists I was genuinely excited to see, there seems to be a good variety of talent this year. The big acts include Jack White, Norah Jones, Mumford and Sons, Alicia Keys, The Killers, Usher, and Deadmau5. The app details the whole lineup, which includes the headliners for 29 days as well as bios for other performing artists.
The show can be watched for free through iTunes on a computer, live on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, and through either AirPlay or the dedicated app on the Apple TV. Apple recommends using a broadband connection, as bandwidth issues can hamper playback quality. If your WiFi connection isn’t great, you can take your iPad to a coffee shop to watch the best gigs.
What’s really cool about the iTunes festival is that it’s absolutely free to watch. Even the live tickets were raffled off. It’s a shame that international fans can’t win tickets to see the shows in person, but high quality live streams are the next best thing.

How to watch the performances.

Download iTunes Festival London 2012 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch – FREE [iTunes App Store Link]

Facebook Camera For iPhone/iPod Touch Updates To v1.1, Improved Support For Long Captions, Download Now

Facebook’s flagship app was recently rebuilt to improve its speed and usability. The upgrade took a few cues from the previous version of Facebook Camera, and added more features. Fans of Facebook Camera will be glad to hear that those new additions are making their way back to Facebook’s dedicated photography and social picture streaming app. (The one which isn’t Instagram)

New text scrolling feature allows for longer captions.

Version 1.1 of Facebook camera includes key new features like improved support for long captions while in fullscreen mode. Instead of excerpting captions after a set number of characters, it is now possible to scroll down and read the full text. This is a feature that I’ve sorely missed in previous mobile versions of Facebook, when subscribed to Pages that put a lot of content in their captions.
Another new feature is the ability to select albums. This feature can be reached through the new album button located beside the location tag on the Post Photos screen. Tapping on the Album button brings up your existing albums on Facebook.
There are other minor usability updates and tweaks. As with the Facebook app, it’s now possible to like individual comments. You also have the option of receiving notifications for tags, likes and comments received on your Photos through Facebook Camera instead of the main Facebook app. Names and profile pictures now display for everyone who likes a photo, and there’s support for another ten languages, including French, German, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, and Spanish.

Highlighting Facebook Camera’s new upload to album setting.

Facebook Camera remains the incredible app it was when it was released shortly after Zuckerberg’s company acquired Instagram, but now includes more power-features. I’m not sure if I’d use Facebook Camera for photo notifications over the central Facebook app, but it’s good to have the option.
Download Facebook Camera for iPhone and iPod Touch – FREE [iTunes App Store]

‘AirPlay Direct’ Coming In September, Streams To An Apple TV Without An Existing WiFi Network? [Rumor]

According to The Telegraph’s cryptic ‘sources familiar with the matter,’ Apple plans to release a new feature called ‘AirPlay Direct’ which will allow an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or a computer with iTunes to stream music to AirPlay compatible speakers without a WiFi network in the area. This would likely be enabled by an ad-hoc network between the two devices, similar to the iPhone’s personal hotspot mode.

Does AirPlay streaming need an ad-hoc mode?

While the idea seems like a no brainer, it also strikes me as redundant. Sure, the iPhone shouldn’t need a router as a middleman for wirelessly streaming music to speakers, but that’s a function Bluetooth already serves. The advantage of using AirPlay is that it can cover your whole house through a home network, but with an ad-hoc connection you may as well be using bluetooth.
AirPlay Direct would be more interesting if it included support for ad-hoc AirPlay Mirroring or video streams. There’s no indication of the feature in the article, but that would give the technology a reason to exist. There’s no reason why the iPhone 4S shouldn’t be able to stream video through an ad hock network to the Apple TV.

While there is worry that the upcoming iPhone’s new 9-pin dock connector will cause problems for existing accessories, incompatibility between new accessories and old devices may not be as much of a problem, as Apple pushes its proprietary wireless standards. As WiFi and bluetooth are both more common now than when the iPod’s 30-pin dock connector was released in 2003, maybe the physical inconsistency won’t matter as much.
Has wireless technology replaced the dock connector? Will it replace the technology in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

First Windows 8 Phone Unveiled: The Samsung ATIV S [IMAGES]

When the somewhat disappointing news came down that none of the current Windows 7 Phones would be getting an upgrade to Windows Phone 8, we knew one thing was certain: there’d be a wave of new hardware leading up to the October launch of Windows 8, and it would all be designed specifically for the Microsoft OS. The first of this wave of shiny new gadgets arrived today, in the form of the ATIV S from Samsung.
Announced at IFA 2012 in Berlin today, and shown off on the official Windows team blog shortly thereafter, the ATIV S makes the prospect of switching to Windows Phone a whole lot more appealing than it was yesterday. The shape of the device is reminiscent of the Galaxy S II, but with the specs and build quality kicked up a notch.

The plastic chassis we’ve grown used to from Samsung has been replaced with a handsome brushed aluminum unit, which is a build quality upgrade that’s been sorely needed in the Samsung flagship phones. The specs are pretty solid, too: a 4.8″ AMOLED screen, dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of memory, and both 16GB and 32GB options available for internal storage (plus a MicroSD slot, of course). The same 8-megapixel camera that can be found on the Galaxy S III is present on the ATIV S too, along with a 1.9-megapixel camera on the front.
All this power is packed into a form factor that measures just 8.7mm. That’s about the same thickness as the Galaxy S III, and .6mm thinner than an iPhone 4S.

Pricing and availability are still a mystery at this point, but if they’re announcing it now, the ATIV S may be destined for inclusion in the Windows 8 launch lineup. That means we may well see this thing as early as this October. Pricing will likely be similar to the Galaxy S III, as their specs are similar and they’re both the flagships of their respective platforms.

53.2 Million People On This Planet Own Apple’s iPad, So How Do They Use It? [INFOGRAPHIC]

The tablet market is currently lead by Apple’s iPad, and no other tablet has even come close to overtaking it. While there are Android tablets with better hardware, the iPad is preferred out of them because Apple has prove pure specs do not necessarily result in a better user experience.
Apple’s iPad is very user friendly and has all the characteristics of a great tablet. Every iPad user has their own way of using their device. There are about 53.2 million iPad users in the world and 65 percent of all the tablet devices in the world are iPads. It turns out, 67 percent of the iPad users browse the web on their tablet and 70 percent of the time, that’s done when watching TV. You can learn a whole more about iPad usage habits from the infographic from Infographic Labs. Check it out below: 

Although this is truly a comparison between the first-generation iPad, iPad 2 and the new iPad, it tells a lot about how and where people use their Apple iPad. How do you use your iPad and where? Let us know in the comments section.

Samsung Galaxy Camera Becomes A Reality At IFA 2012; 16 Megapixel, 21x Zoom Android Camera [IMAGES]

Chalk this up as one the “anonymous sources” got right. A couple days ago, we reported on a rumored Samsung point-and-shoot camera that was based on the Galaxy S III and set to be announced at IFA 2012. Well, IFA 2012 has arrived, and lo and behold, the Samsung Galaxy Camera has been unveiled.

The camera doesn’t resemble the Galaxy S III a closely as we were imagining, but it does bear some resemblance. The back of the device is a clean, button-less surface, with a big AMOLED screen showing you the Ice Cream Sandwich that powers the camera. The screen is the same 4.8″ high-def AMOLED panel found in the Galaxy S III.

Other specs include a 21x optical zoom (even better than the rumored 10x zoom lens), a 16-megapixel sensor, 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity, and automatic backup of photos to the cloud. It will also come with a ‘Photo Wizard’ app installed on it, that will let you make minor adjustments like brightness and contrast to your photos before you transfer them elsewhere.

Again – and this will become a familiar refrain over the course of IFA 2012 – pricing and availability are still a mystery. A couple other companies have announced Android cameras that will hit the market in September, so Samsung may try to match that release window and go toe-to-toe with the other offerings.

Who Says We Need Smaller Phones? Samsung Announces 5.5-Inch Galaxy Note 2

Samsung recently lost a billion dollar ruling to Apple in court, its stock price has taken a dip, and there’s a 50% spike in used Samsung phones sold to online buyers like Gazelle.com at reduced rates. Needless to say, customers are feeling shaky about Samsung’s products. With that in mind, Samsung needs to win back customers with their product announcements at Berlin’s IFA electronics expo.

The Galaxy Note 2, in both black and white, from 9to5Google

If you’re looking for a plus-sized phone, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 might do the trick. The new model has a 5.5 diagonal inch screen, over the original’s 5.3 inches. No word on the resolution, but it should at least compete favorably with last year’s 1280 by 800 screen. The phone will also feature a Quad Core 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, a redesigned stylus, and a Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. There will be 16, 32, and 64GB models available, with support for up to 64GB of additional storage.
According to 9to5Google, much of the focus of the Galaxy Note 2 is on the S Pen stylus. The stylus includes new features, such as ‘Air View’ which displays quick previews when raising the pen over pictures and videos. It also features shortcuts that can quickly open emails to contacts by jotting symbols and the contact’s name.

Galaxy Note and the iPhone. Guess which one is which.

While size isn’t everything, the Galaxy Note 2 will put off the same customers looking for a comfortably pocketable phone. As with the original note, this will not be a phone that can double as an MP3 player while jogging, for example. But if you want a compromise between a phone and a tablet computer, and if you really need a pen-based input method, the Galaxy Note 2 might be your best bet. Hopefully it will be able to launch in the United States.

New Lineup Of Sony ICS Devices Announced: Xperia V, Xperia T, Xperia J And Xperia Tablet S

It looks like Sony is making big moves at this year’s IFA in Berlin, with the announcement of several new Ice Cream Sandwich powered devices, including three smartphones and a tablet. The smartphones are (super inventively) named the Xperia V, Xperia T and Xperia J, while the tablet is called the Xperia Tablet S. Good luck trying to keep track of which one’s which.
Let’s take a look at each of these devices separately. First up, the Xperia V.

This is an impressive looking high-end smartphone, with a touch of ruggedness on top. Sony says it’s water resistant enough to survive in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes; you won’t want to go scuba diving with it, but it’s not the end of the world if you drop it in the sink. Beyond that, it’s got some impressive specs like a 13-megapixel camera, a dual-core Qualcomm CPU clocked at 1.5GHz, and a 4.3″ LCD panel.
It will run Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, but will get the Jelly Bean upgrade just a couple weeks after release. You’ll be able to grab one sometime in Q4 2012. It’s also PlayStation certified, which means you’ll be able to take advantage of the recently announced PlayStation Mobile games.
Next up, the Xperia T:

The Xperia T looks like the larger, less rugged version of the Xperia V. Same camera, same Qualcomm processor, same operating system, just with a slightly bigger 4.55″ screen and no promises of waterproof-ness. Sony is promising a swift Jelly Bean upgrade for this one too, and it’s also PlayStation certified.
Of the three new smartphones, this will be the first one to arrive, with Sony announcing it will hit stores “over the next few weeks.”
Rounding out the smartphone announcements is the Xperia J:

This looks like it will be Sony’s new entry-level smartphone, and will go head-to-head with phones like the Galaxy Ace. It’s a pretty basic affair, with a 5-megapixel camera, a 4-inch screen, and a single core 1GHz processor. Fortunately, it still runs Ice Cream Sandwich, which gives it a leg up on a lot of the other entry-level smartphones that are still running Android 2.3.
The Xperia J is also set for a Q4 2012 release.
Finally, we come to the Xperia Tablet S:

Sony’s new foray into the world of tablets is a solid if unremarkable device. It sports a 9.4-inch display, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor from NVIDIA, front and rear cameras, and of course the Ice Cream Sandwich OS. They also promise it will be splash resistant, which I guess is a good idea if you like carrying your tablet around in the rain or something.
The Tablet S also has an SD card slot, which is a great leap forward for Sony. They’ve traditionally opted to include Memory Stick Pro slots instead, in an attempt to push their proprietary technology. It’s good to see them getting on the universal format bandwagon.
Of all the newly announced Sony devices, the Tablet S is the only one with a concrete release date. It will be available quite soon, in September 7.
Whether you’re looking for a super powerful new smartphone, something more entry level, or a big tablet, Sony will get you on the Ice Cream Sandwich platform however you want to get on it. With the Android device market already pretty crowded, Sony looks ready to become a serious contender with devices like these.

Apple Is Now Offering You Up To $345 For Your Used iPhone 4S In Preparation For iPhone 5

Everyone is getting ready for the next iPhone launch, which if you believe the online rumors that are floating about, will be September 21st. People have stopped buying phones, to wait to see what the Cupertino-based company will throw their way with the iPhone 5, or the “new iPhone” as it seems they are dropping the number based system with the release of the “new iPad” back in March.

While there are several different ways you will be able to grab this upcoming phone, most of them will have some sort of initial cost to them. This includes upgrading your current phone tied to a contract to the iPhone 5, buying out of the contract, and then signing a new contract with the iPhone 5 (ouch pricey) or simply purchasing the handset outright if Apple offers that in your country.
If you are like anyone else, the full cost of the newest iPhone is always a tough pill to swallow no matter what route you go. However Apple does offer you a small hand in offsetting the cost of the latest and great iPhone by their Reuse and Recycle Program. This program allows you to recycle your Apple product and receive some money back for it, based upon its condition. If you looked after your iPhone 4S like a child, and it is truly pristine, you could pocket up to $285 for the 16GB version or $345 for the largest, 64GB version. While this is a far cry from the $649 to $849 you paid to purchase the iPhone, it is a small token which can help any next iPhone purchase. There are other buy back websites such as Gazelle, however Apple’s offers are usually stronger for the iPhone than other businesses.

Apple is very picky regarding the condition of the products entered into their Reuse program, so do answer the questions truthfully. While some individuals enjoy keeping their old devices, to create a sort of timeline collection, others would much rather exchange the dust collector with some money to buy the newer one.

Do you usually trade in your old Apple device for the newer one, or enjoy creating a collection? Tell us if you are going to be picking up the iPhone 5 in the comments below.

Beats Audio Plans To Launch Their Own Smartphone, TV, And iTunes-Style Service

In a classic case of a moderately successful company getting too big for their britches, The House That Dre Built is planning on expanding to other markets beyond giant shiny headphones. After receiving some cash from HTC, Beats has decided they want to make their own smartphone. They won’t really be making it mind you – HTC will be handling the actual production – but the device will be fully Beats branded, and will have a custom Beats-themed UI over top of the Android operating system.

The ambitions of Beats doesn’t stop there though; they also want to make their own television. Again, they’ll be contracting the manufacturing out to a company who actually knows what they’re doing, in this case to Samsung. Maybe they’ll get them to make it in shiny red and white or something.

Both the TV and the smartphone will also include a service called Beats Connect. What is Beats Connect, you ask? Well, it’s another service Beats plans to launch, in another market segment they have no real expertise in. They want to make a service that will rival iTunes, offering both music purchases and a subscription-based streaming option. Like iTunes, it will be available across a range of devices, but instead of iPhones and Macs it will be Beats phones and Beats TVs.