Oculus Rift announces it is shipping Q1 of 2016 with pre orders later this year

The much anticipated and widely copied AR/VR headset Oculus Rift is slated to finally ship in Q1 of 2016 with pre-orders beginning at the end of the year. This means that competition has a window to get a jump on the Oculus Rift before it makes it out to consumers.

The Rift delivers on the dream of consumer VR with compelling content, a full ecosystem, and a fully-integrated hardware/software tech stack designed specifically for virtual reality. It’s a system designed by a team of extremely passionate gamers, developers, and engineers to reimagine what gaming can be. Intrested developers can find out more here.

Facebook now uses Nokia Here maps

Ahead of the sale of Nokia’s Here maps, which doesn’t have a solid buyer yet, Facebook looks to be making its own deal with Nokia for their maps application. Nokia’s Here is being used on Facebook on mobile, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram on Android. Facebook also seems to be using the maps application’s geocoding behind the scenes so users can tag locations in posts.

The move from using Microsoft’s Bing to Nokia Here maps is said to “give us more control and flexibility in delivering a consistent maps experience.”

Source: The Verge

Video calling comes to Facebook Messenger

Facebook just announced that video calling is now available in Messenger making it possible for users to have face-to-face conversations with theirr friends and family via Messenger. 

Accounting for more than 10% of all mobile VoIP calls globally, Messenger already offers people the ability to make voice calls to friends and loved ones around the world. Video calling will expand Messenger’s real-time communication features, enabling the 600 million+ people who use Messenger every month to reach friends from anywhere in the world – quickly, reliably, and with high quality. 

Video calling in Messenger is available for calls made from a mobile phone to another mobile phone (iOS and Android).

Know who's calling your Android phone with Facebook Hello

The previously rumoured Facebook app that can block callers is now official. The social network debuted Hello, an Android caller ID app. The app shows you the Facebook information your caller is willing to share with his or her friends on the site. The app also shows you how many times the caller has been blocked and automatically block those who are repeat offenders. At the moment though, the app seems to just be available in Brazil, the US, and Nigeria. No word yet when it'll be spreading to other countries but we're pretty sure that'll happen soon. 

Source: Engadget