Mark Zuckerberg talks VR’s role in Facebook’s future

“VR [virtual reality] is the next platform, where anyone can create and experience anything they want,” Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at Samsung’s event at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. VR has always been something Zuckerberg has been interested in and it’s helping guide him as he thinks about the future of his social media platform. He believes the future for Facebook will be immersive and it’ll bring people even closer together. And that this idea isn’t that far off. Facebook as we know is invested in virtual reality. They do own Oculus and they started working with Samsung to develop their own Gear VR headset, which uses technology from Oculus.

“Pretty soon, we’re going to live in a world where everyone has the power to share and experience whole scenes as if you’re just right there in person,” Zuckerberg said. And with the new 360-degree cameras from the likes of Samsung and LG, it truly can happen sooner. Facebook already supports 360-degree videos on its platform. According to Facebook’s CEO, there are already 20,000 videos of that kind on his platform but work still has to be done. “One day soon, all of us will have the power to broadcast live. To do that, we’re going to have to solve a lot of really complex engineering problems.” But he reiterates that Facebook and Oculus are committed to VR “for the long term” and new VR games are expected to come out this year.

Source: PCWorld

HP throws its support behind Windows Phone with Elite X3 smartphone

It's hard to imagine what HP is thinking. The company, who famously bought Palm and just as quickly decided to deep six webOS, has seemingly re-entered the extremely competitive smartphone market with a flagship that runs on Windows 10 and not Android. 

The HP Elite X3 smartphone is by all means an impressive device running Qualcomm's latest 820 processor, it seems the reason for the Elite X3's existence is that it will be able to run Windows 10's Continuum feature which will enable the smarphone to pretend it is a desktop with the right accessories and a keyboard, monitor and mouse. While HP promises the Elite X3 for the summer, no pricing or market availability details have been yet released. The Elite X3 may very well be headed directly to enterprise customers rather than consumers. 

Source: TechCrunch

Samsung unloads new Galaxy S7 smartphones, 360 camera at MWC

What's old is new again. The Galaxy S7 family re-introduces water resistance and microSD card expansion to Samsung's flagship line

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Samsung just unveiled its goods at another event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The announcements included the previously leaked Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones. The 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 edge are constructed with 3D glass and metal, feature new Dual Pixel cameras and  wider apertures that enhance low-light photography, faster auto-focus and shutter speeds.

The new Galaxy S7s have faster wireless and wired charging speeds, expandable storage via a microSD slot on the SIM card tray and an internal cooling system to manage overheating (?). Earlier rumors said the new Galaxy flagships would sport USB Type-C ports, which wasn't the case.

Continuing from where the Samsung Galaxy S5 left off, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have water resistance. A new feature is the always-on display which is helpful for notifications and alerts as well as getting quick updates on sports scores and the weather. Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge will be available starting mid-March 2016. 

Also announced at the Samsung event was a new 360' camera called the Gear 360 which is a 360-degree camera that lets consumers easily create, view and share their favorite experiences through video and still image content. 

HTC Vive VR pricing fixed at US $800

HTC's Vive VR headset, though of to be the most compelling competitor to Oculus just revealed its pricing. The device will ship in April and will cost US $799 (which in today's Canadian dollar will set you back $1099.94), this price is US $200 more than the Oculus Rift. Developed in tandem by HTC and Valve, the Vive VR will ship with two controllers, two base stations that track the user's movement in the room. The package will be bundled with two games, Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption. Pre-orders for the device begin on Feb 29 for shipping sometime in April.