Yesterday was Xbox One day as Microsoft finally unveiled its next-generation Xbox in a global presentation that we’re sure many of you tuned in for. It’s the day after the reveal, which means there are a number of details still being released concerning the Xbox One. One of these details may have pinpointed when exactly we can expect the console to be made available.

According to U.K. retailer Zavvi, Microsoft’s Xbox One could be released on November 30 as that is when they have pegged its release date on their preorder page. The retailer has also put a price to the next-generation console, which they believe will retail for £399.99, or $603.50. That’s quite a high price for the Xbox One, even though the console does include a new Kinect and a ton of bells and whistles.

At the end of its presentation, Microsoft said the Xbox One would be releasing “around the world” “later this year,” which leads us to believe the company is planning on a global launch of its system. Whether or not November 30 is the release date for the Xbox One is yet to be seen, but at this point, Zavvi is currently the only retailer in the world to put some kind of release date for the console.

The mobile world may be going nuts for the HTC One, but HTC needs to move on from its flagship handset one day, and it looks like that day may be soon as two new upcoming smartphones from the company have recently been leaked.

The HTC smartphones look to be the HTC Desire 200 and Desire 600. The HTC Desire 200 was leaked due to it recently getting certified in Taiwan and is expected to have low-end specs such as a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 display, 1GHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, 5MP rear-facing camera and a 1,400 mAh battery. To further prove it’ll be a low-end device, it’ll be running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The HTC Desire 600 was spotted in some benchmark results with the model tested having dual-SIM support. The processor of the Desire 600 is rumored to be a quad-core 1.2GHz MediaTek MT6589 and its display resolution is expected to be 540 x 960, which has us believing it’ll be a mid-range Android device, especially sine its believed it’ll be running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Logitech announced earlier this year they would be restructuring its company to focus on its line of mobile accessories, although since then, it has released a number of non-mobile accessories such as its G Line of PC gaming peripherals, and new Harmony remotes. Today, they’re announcing a new mobile accessory that is another keyboard for the iPad, but it’s a little bit different from what they’ve released in the past.

A new set of wired keyboards are being announced today, one that supports Apple’s Lightning connector, while the other supports Apple’s older 30-pin connector. The keyboard can be used by simply plugging them into the iPad, which if you use your tablet on a table top, will be the ideal method as it’ll cut down on recharging a bluetooth keyboard on a regular basis.

Logitech came up with its Wired Keyboard for the iPad due to the fact more classrooms are using the tablet, which is why they thought they needed to deliver an accessory for that particular setting. Both the Lightning and 30-pin connector version will be priced at $59.99 with the Lightning version available in August while the 30-pin version will come in October.

Google has rolled out a new version of its Chrome browser earlier this morning, which would normally result in us just updating our software and continuing onto our day. But this update is one you’re going to want to grab immediately as its recently unveiled conversational search has been slipped into this release.

Google’s conversational search was debuted at Google I/O last week and allows users to conduct a query in a more natural way that doesn’t focus on keywords, but instead allows you to talk how you would normally ask a question to another person. Once you have updated your version of Google Chrome, you’ll need to visit Google.com to then click on the microphone icon in order to start a “conversation.” In our testing, our questions were answered accurately, although from time to time, we were told we didn’t have an Internet connection, although we clearly did.

Conversational search isn’t the only improvement Google has rolled out into Chrome 27 as web pages will load 5% faster than previous versions of the browser were able to as well as containing new API for developers of Chrome Store packaged apps which allow offline functionality. A total of 14 security flaws have also been rolled out in Chrome 27.

Last week, we reported on an EA spokesperson saying the company currently has no games in development for the Wii U. It seems that may not be entirely true as EA’s chief financial officer is saying otherwise.

Blake Jorgensen spoke during the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, Media and Communications Conference and was asked by a conference attendee which console manufacturer would lead the next generation of video games. Jorgensen responded by saying he believes consumers, not publishers, would be the ones to decide that.

“You know, I think Nintendo’s business was more [an] extension of their last console,” Jorgensen said. “We are building titles for the Nintendo console, but not anywhere near as many as we are for PS or Xbox.”

Read full post →EA CFO Confirms Wii U Titles Are Currently In Development

During Google I/O, Google announced it would be making a Samsung Galaxy S4 available that features a Nexus user experience as it will have stock Android Jelly Bean and will receive updates as soon as the company rolls them out. The Google-approved Galaxy S4 is expected to be made available in the U.S. on June 26, and it looks like it’ll only be available in the U.S. at the moment.

Google recently confirmed there are no plans to take its Samsung Galaxy S4 International, which is a shame considering the device is running stock Android, which means it’ll be completely free to additional features injected into the device by Samsung. Google didn’t give any specific reasons as to why they decided not to take its Galaxy S4 overseas, and we won’t even begin to speculate on their reasoning.

Even though Google won’t make its Galaxy S4 available overseas, this certainly shouldn’t stop you non-U.S. residents from picking it up as we’re sure you can find a number of ways to get the device in your hands through a number of online retailers, or by simply visiting the U.S. and having it shipped to wherever you’re located.

Leisure Suit Larry fans have been looking forward to its release, which was expected to occur on May 31 with a release on PC, Mac and Linux. It looks like the release of this long-awaited revival of the classic game has been pushed back to June, according to the game’s developer.

Replay Studios issued a statement regarding the delay, saying the game needs some “additional polish” prior to its release.

“Larry Laffer is one picky guy and he won’t stop preening himself until every hair looks pristine. In order to show Larry as the true Casanova he is, and provide the best possible Leisure Suit Larry experience for fans, Replay Games has decided to hold off the launch of Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded until late June for additional polishing.”

Read full post →Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded Delayed Until Late June

For our friends and neighbor living in the Great White North, here is news for you that should be able to put a skip in your step – with the introduction of Amazon Cloud Drive in Canada, now enabling customers to be able to stash all of their files safe and sound in the Cloud, with the promise of accessing them anytime, anywhere via Amazon Cloud Drive. In fact, all customers would be able to kick off this bit of news with 5GB of free storage, and I guess once you are hooked, 5GB is going to get filled up pretty quickly.

With this announcement made by Amazon.ca, those in Canada will be able to access their digital files via Cloud Drive for Windows and Mac, or you can even opt to do so from any web browser, too. How’s that for options? Not only that, Cloud Drive Photos for Android or iOS devices can also help you store, share and access photos from your Android smartphones or tablets and iPhones or iPod touch devices. If you want to top up on 5GB of free storage, plans start from CAD$10 annually. [Press Release]

Having the right kind of equipment in modern day warfare is definitely one of the keys to implementing a successful strategy, so it is rather interesting to read about how insects, in particular honeybees, could be part of the explosives squad. Of course, this would be a defensive movement instead of being an offensive one, where honeybees will help us humans out in removing nasty and dangerous landmines that are left over. For instance, mines in Croatia happen to be a hangover from the Balkan Wars during the 1990s, where approximately 750 square kilometers (466 square miles) of dangerous terrain are still part of the country, resulting in it being a potentially fatal issue for campers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Bees could come to the rescue thanks to their perfect sense of smell. Should one be able to condition these pollen loving insects the right way, they could eventually associate the smell of TNT with their food.

Not only that, since bees are more or less lightweight in nature, they won’t set off mines unlike rats and dogs who do this life threatening job. Nikola Kezic happens to lead this particular research, and he oozes with optimism with the current results. We too, hope that Kezic and his team succeeds eventually for the betterment of humanity.

I clearly remember how my parents always asked me to steer clear of breakable and fragile items in a particular supermarket, especially near the dinnerware area where fine bone china plates are on display. Not only that, there were also signboards plastered all over the place saying, “Nice to see, lovely to hold. Once broken, considered sold.” I guess museums pretty much follow the same philosophy as well, although you can say that the artifacts there are generally priceless. In fact, most objects in museums tend to be behind a thick case of glass, so all you can do is admire it from the outside.

The Manchester Museum in England hopes to change the way things are run by allowing visitors to “touch” digital models of their existing exhibits, thanks to a haptic device that they call Probos. “Haptic” so happens to mean “having to do with touch” where it will simulate the contours of a virtual object. All you need to do is sit down in front of a device that has a display and a connected stylus via a mechanical arm, where the display will then show off a 3D model of an object – it can be anything like a pot, bone or statue, and the stylus allows one to interact with that model just like how a computer mouse does with a normal computer screen. An Iron Man future, perhaps? This would surely make museum visits more interesting and exciting.