Category: Featured

  • CES 2014: Intel announces Edison dual-core PC the size of an SD card

    CES 2014: Intel announces Edison dual-core PC the size of an SD card

    2014-01-07T045031Z_1_CBREA060DGW00_RTROPTP_2_CESIntel CEO Brian Krzanich wants to introduce you to Edison, a miniature computer based on the same technology condensed into the form factor of an SD card. The tiny computer is built on the company’s 22nm transistor technology, runs Linux and has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth modules.

    Edison is based on Quark technology, the tiny, low-power system-on-a-chip that was designed for wearable computers, such as smart watches, and the Internet of Things.

    “It’s a full Pentium-class PC in the form factor of an SD card,” Krzanich said.

    To demonstrate the potential for Edison, Intel showed a concept for a “Nursery 2.0.” In the concept, a baby was wearing a Mimo onesie outfitted with sensors tracking things like temperature, and Edison was used display that information on, of all things, a coffee mug. When the baby was comfortable, blinking lights on the mug show a happy green smiling face, but when something is wrong that face turns red.

    Edison is Intel’s attempt to not repeat the mistake it made in the smartphone market. With smartphones and tablets, Intel failed to see the trend and did not address the market properly until 2012. Now when the companies are expected to push smart glasses and smart watches, Intel intends to not repeat the mistake it made earlier.

    It not only supports multiple OSes and has built-in support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but it also has its own app store – and has Wolfram Alpha’s Mathematica baked in by default.
    Follow it all at CES 2014 on Gizmantra

  • CES 2014: What you can expect

    CES 2014: What you can expect

    ces-logoWith an eye on upcoming crazy days in January, we’re steeling ourselves for a glut of phones, tablets, laptops, gaming tech, TVs, wearables, refrigerators and whatever other home appliances companies can stick a computer into.

    From January 7 to January 10, CES 2014 will invade the Las Vegas Convention Center per usual, and we’re gearing up to see everything from “must have” to “please, get that away from me.” More than 20,000 new products are expected to be shown off to 152,000 tech trade attendees at 2014’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

    We are out in force bringing you the latest from the show, which runs through Friday. Look for up-to-the-minute coverage of product announcements, trends.

    Follow it all at CES 2014 on Gizmantra

    The ‘BIG’ Tv_72045193_samsung

    Televisions are always one of CES’s biggest categories, right back to its first show in 1967.

    The two biggest manufacturers – Samsung and LG – will square off once again at this year’s event with similar sounding products.

    Both have already announced 105in (267cm) sized 4K Ultra HD screens in the extra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio.

    Wearable tech

    With Google Glass still awaiting a sensible-priced release, smaller firms will be showing off their own tech-enhanced eyewear.

    GlassUp will show off a pair that superimposes smartphone alerts, directions and other app information over the user’s right eye.

    Instabeat is a heart rate monitor that can be attached to swimming goggles

    Epson is expected to unveil a new version of its Moverio glasses – the first generation allowed owners to watch 3D movies.

    And XoEye will show off glasses with two in-built five megapixel cameras designed to stream stabilised video feeds over wi-fi.

    Tablets, smartphones and PCs

    Many smartphone and tablet-makers are holding back announcements until February’s Mobile World Congress or their own standalone shows.razrside20130109125952Lenovo’s S930 features Dolby-enhanced audio.

    ZTE has promised to take the wraps off the Grand S2 handset, which it says will feature “intelligent voice controls”

    Lenovo has already teased images of the S930, a new 6in phablet

    Asus suggests it has at least three new handsets .

    3D printers

    In 2012 there were two 3D printer-makers at CES._72045198_3d

    This year the tech warrants its own zone and about 30 firms are showing off their wares.

    “3D printing has been around for about 30 years, but a lot of the early developments were patent protected,” says Duncan Wood, publisher of TCT Magazine who will be running sessions on the tech at CES.

    “But over last three to four years those patents have started to expire and entrepreneurs are now able to build their own variations, helping cause a downward pressure on prices.”

    Follow it all at CES 2014 on Gizmantra

    Follow us on facebook

  • Most Anticipated Games of 2014 you can’t miss !

    Most Anticipated Games of 2014 you can’t miss !

    watch-dogs-20142013 is a pretty good year intended for games. Consoles from Sony and also Microsoft are released, PC video gaming is healthier than previously, and important publishers have got announced a number of interesting new game franchises to get rid of the creation. That explained, 2014 need to be a good one, with a lot to look forward to. It’s going to become year packed with big releases, if many of us don’t observe any important delays. Whilst it was certainly difficult to whittle the idea down, here’s our top most anticipated games of 2014.

    Tom Clancy’s The Division

    Release date: Q2 2014

    The United States has suffered catastrophic collapse after the spread of an uncontrollable disease, leaving a group of government sleeper agents – codenamed “the Division” – to come in and save what remains. Their job: to save survivors and combat gangs and other rogue elements. It’s an intriguing premise with tremendously ambitious gameplay that seeks to combine role-playing and third-person tactical shooters with massive online multiplayer. If developer Ubisoft Massive can pull it off, it will add another big franchise to Ubisoft’s already impressive stable. Massive’s E3 demo was a thing of beauty.

    Watch Dogs

    Release Date: Spring 2014/Q2

    Watch dogs is actually one of each of our almost all anticipated online games for many motives. It’s already been in radar pertaining to 18 months right now, from the time we saw in addition to seemed to be impressed by its E3 demonstration within 2012. It’s consequently at the top of our own checklist because it’s already been delayed. It had been to get this the queen’s treasure of own Next Gen lineup, but instead we need to wait around another some several weeks.

    Titanfall

    Release date: March 11,2014

    Thought-provoking puzzles and deep character development are one thing, but for pure action there’s no game more anticipated than Titanfall. Coming from the individuals originally responsible for Call of Duty’s huge success, the first-person shooter will pit players on huge battlefields as both individual infantry and as pilots of gigantic and fearsome mechs robots. As an exclusive for the Xbox One, the game has the potential to tilt the next-generation console battle in Microsoft’s favour early – if it lives up to its hype, that is. (Developer: Respawn Entertainment).Can they turn the shooter genre on its ear once again? We’ll have to wait until early-2014 to find out.

    The Witcher 3

    Release Date: Q2 2014

    CD Projekt Red and The Witcher series has shown the type of progress we wish we saw in all games. The developers seem to be getting better and better with each iteration, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looks like their best work yet.

    The mature themes and branching storyline in The Witcher series, coupled with the better visuals, bigger game world, and refined gameplay make The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt one that’s definitely got us chomping at the bit to hear more about Geralt of Rivia’s next adventure.

    Metal Gear Solid V

    Release Date:March 18, 2014

    Your next part in the Metal Gear Solid series will certainly get to 2014. Getting rid of its Playstation exclusivity, Metal Gear Solid V will certainly get there on all systems, in a multi-part offering. The 1st, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will certainly get there as a prologue, creating players for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Agony.

    Prologue or perhaps certainly not, Kojima arranged this club actually excessive along with Metal Gear Solid IV within the Playstation 3. Always this innovator we’re thinking about discovering the location where the renowned video game titles author, Hideo Kojima, will take this series both when it comes to increasingly intricate storyline and also gameplay using the further electrical power under the hoods from the Xbox One and also PS4.

    Dark Souls 2

    Release Date: March 11, 2014

    If there’s one reason to hold on to your PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, it’s the return of From Software’s Dark Souls in 2014. The devilishly hard action-RPG will make its return in 2014, with Dark Souls 2.

    Spawning from the PlayStation 3 exclusive, Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls won over many with it’s hard as nails, trial and error gameplay when it launched on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

    From what we’ve seen and played, Dark Souls 2 will not be making things any easier on the player. Dark Souls 2 is slated for an early 2014 release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

    Infamous Second Son

    Release Date: March 21, 2014

    InFamous Second Son catapulted to the top of many PlayStation fan’s wishlists when it was announced last February. Sucker Punch is clearly harnessing the power of the PlayStation 4 with some of the best visuals we’ve ever seen from a console title.

    If the launch lineup of the PlayStation 4 has you holding off on purchasing the new console, Infamous Second Son’s spring release will probably have you rethinking that stance.

    Sucker Punch hasn’t shared many details about what to expect from the gameplay behind Second Son, but as the holidays wind down and the marketing machine picks back up, expect more details soon.

  • Sketchfab : The ‘Youtube’ for 3D Design

    Sketchfab : The ‘Youtube’ for 3D Design

    Sketchfab is a web service to create, share and embed interactive 3D types in real-time. To explain, the site is portion of a growing network of online 3D software to enable artistes, designers, and lay users to design 3D models that will, subsequently, be crafted into objects utilizing a 3D printer. sketchfab1

    As outlined by Alban Denoyel, co-founder from the site, Sketchfab was devised to enable sharing of animations files without animations software. Over the last couple of years (since its launch), a residential district has formed about it. Subsequently, the website has christened by itself the “Youtube for 3D files. ”.

    Also you can perform light editing for a few file formats. By way of example, you can colour materials and brightness associated with different regions of your 3D files. Denoyel says the particular team plans for you to expand this capability later on with light and also shadow editing.

    First let’s talk about one of the most important component: the 3D viewer. It’s through this viewer that you can view (indeed) but most importantly manipulate the 3D models, and you can do quite a lot of things:

    • you can rotate around and pan the object to see it from every angle
    • you can zoom on it to see little details
    • you can set the viewer to “first person mode” to see the object like if you were part of the scene
    • you can choose the rendering options (shadow, wireframes)

    What is really cool from an user experience point of view is that you don’t need to download anything to enjoy this viewer and manipulate content, everything is done through your web browser.

                        Have a look at this cool Daft Punk 3D model:

    Daft Punk from KMiklas on Sketchfab.

    To finish on the viewer generally it’s pretty fast to display the models but sometimes when the models are really big it can take some time and it can be a little bit slow manipulate (it also uses a lot of my computer memory, in some cases I had to shut down my browser).

    The second important component of Sketchfab is the community part. To discover new and good content the website count on several features.

    Thee features of Sketchfab we like:

    • Responsive site layout
    • Awesome fullscreen viewer
    • Clean, simple interface
    • High quality, smooth viewing
    • Maya, 3ds Max, SketchUp, Blender export
    • API available on Github
    • WordPress plugin

    As on every community website you’ll also find profile pages for the artists, a commenting system and Twitter/Facebook sharing integration.

    Sketchfab is also compatible with mobile devices (no native apps but compatible).

    “Go share it to your friends and let them experience the awesomeness.”

  • Smartphones with more RAM by Samsung

    Smartphones with more RAM by Samsung

    Samsung has simply declared a record breakthrough in Random Access Memory technology that might pave the approach for smartphones and tablets with 4K UHD screens. The South Korean technology big same on weekday that it’s developed the primary LPDDR4 RAM. this implies that the RAM can use less power than traditional DDR4 RAM, however it’s the power to manage double the quantity of information.

    According to Samsung, this implies it’s currently possible from a technological stand a minimum of, to develop tablets and smartphones with radical High Definition (UHD) 4K screens. “With the new chip, Samsung can specialize in the premium mobile market as well as large-screened UHD smartphones, tablets and ultra-slim notebooks that supply fourfold the resolution of Full HD,” the corporate same during a statement.

    4K Supported RAM

    If the corporate will turn out the RAM in high enough quantities, that I little question assume that they’ll be able to, it might imply that a Samsung Galaxy S5 with 4GB of powerful RAM may be on the horizon. Well, chip designer ARM has already confirmed that Samsung are unveiling a 64-bit Exynos chip before long and mix this with the new LPDDR4 RAM, it might mean the Samsung Galaxy S5 becomes the foremost powerful Smartphone on the market by a protracted margin.

    In addition to higher resolution displays, this RAM technology would additionally result in quicker and a lot of powerful applications, a considerably longer battery life and even a lot of advanced options that aren’t nevertheless obtainable with current handsets.

    There ar rumours floating around that Samsung is attending to unveil the new model of the Galaxy series, the Galaxy S5, at Mobile World Congress in February 2014.

  • Actors Who Do the Same Thing in Every Movie !

    Actors Who Do the Same Thing in Every Movie !

    After watching enough movies, it truly is becomes progressively clear in which some famous actors in addition to stars do exactly the same thing, as well as play identical personality, with almost every video. Actually directors include images these people are recognized for, like Michael Bay and his sexy explosions and emphasis on America. Most directors are usually conscious of most of these very little idiosyncrasies, consequently viewers go ahead planning on them. Nonetheless, a lot of famous actors in addition to stars likewise have them. A few would possibly not possibly understand them, some are simply pegged correctly (especially in regards this parts they play), in addition to many of them might undertake it purposely. Some of them may be apparent, however, many might be some true eyes openers.

    1. Leonardo DiCaprio Lifting His Glass

    great_gatsby_dicaprioIt was kind of the big eye opener “Aha!” inches moment to actor trademarks. While watching the trailer for the upcoming Wolf of Wall Street, there is one moment where DiCaprio is rearing his glass of wine over a yacht. Having just watched both Great Gatsby and Django Unchained. Then considering back, it was additionally in Titanic and also the Man in this Iron Mask. In reality, the only DiCaprio videos we couldn’t recall seeing it in was The Beach and Inception, but Perhaps living the simple life over a hidden beach went by Thai weed farmers or hopping by means of dreams doesn’t afford long to be most classy.

    It is unlikely that DiCaprio means to do this in every motion picture, but the elegant gentleman roles he plays afford the opportunity to accomplish this. Perhaps it is simply happenstance or maybe he can’t imagine any more classy action to perform as a gentleman.

    2. Tom Hanks make you Watch Him Pee

    Tom Hanks, who has picked up multiple Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, Academy Awards and a large number of other accolades, is considered one of the biggest actors. How did he get it done? With pee. hankspeeingWhere Leonardo DiCaprio’s hallmark is glass raising, Tom Hanks makes his mark around the world with urine. The obsession started in 1986 in The Money Pit, just when Tom Hanks was beginning to get some bigger motion pictures roles. The plumbing is on the fritz inside your home so naturally Tom Hanks goes toward take a leak from the front porch where he or she notices the statue is having “prostate problems”, much like he would later have in the Green Mile (though actually that had been a urinary tract infection). Tom Hank’s pee obsession remains in Big, A League of Their unique (where he really seems to find yourself in it), Forest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Castaway, The ‘Burbs, Road to Perdition and Apollo 13.

    With every one of these pee breaks, it is likely there are several more movies he has been doing it in. Tom Hanks has pissed during the past, peed on World War II, peed for comedy, peed in the underwater, and whizzed all above the vastness of space. A few are quick little times; some are painstakingly long and also a little awkward. It is clearly our desire for the expulsion of waste containing netted this guy a great number of awards.

    3. Johnny Depp’s Obsession With Hats

    johnny deppWhen would be the last time you saw the most notable of Johnny Depp’s scalp? Possibly never unless you seriously stalk some Depp crafted celebrity gossip. Regardless, in his movies it has been many years. He better watch that or people are going to suspect that he has a big old bald spot on Johnny Depp hats which noggin somewhere. However, it wouldn’t really matter considering the vast majority of his roles demand he wear some sort of silly or creepy wig lately. However, Depp’s penchant for hats isn’t just a movie thing possibly. He seriously has a passion for them in real life too. It makes one wonder if on the list of questions he asks in regards to prospective movie is, “Does it have a hat in it for me?” bet that’s how he became such people with Tim Burton.

    Irrespective, Depp’s hat fixation has been present on and off in his career but is becoming a more common matter. It started with Platoon, then popped up all over again in Fear and Loathing in Vegas and Dead Man. It then made a big keep coming back in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. More just lately, Depp has worn less difficult in Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and this Chocolate Factory, The Rum Diary and also the Lone Ranger. Perhaps Depp has some sort of insecurity that causes in him to only sense safe while wearing the hat. Regardless, he clearly leans towards more hat-centric personas and roles.

    4.Tom Cruise will Make You Watch Him Sprint

    cruisevanillaskyUnlike most actors, Tom Cruise is a fantastic sprinter, presumably because that’s of having he knows how to advance from place to place.
    And nobody has known a well known fact any harder than Tom Cruise knows that he looks good sprinting. He has spent bizarrely extensive portions of his occupation running away. And as soon as Cruise starts sprinting, it’s difficult for even great directors to acquire him to stop. If you saw Mission: Impossible : Ghost Protocol, you might remember the footrace in a Dubai dust storm that will took about 15 seconds long to turn into an auto chase. The very first picture of Vanilla Sky was nicknamed the “million dollar shot” because doing so required director Cameron Crowe to turn off New York’s Times Square during daylight hours. Instead of using the opportunity to do donuts on the world’s busiest intersection, he gets out and … well, you can probably guess what happens next.

    5. Sean Bean Dies…almost in every movie

    sean beanThere are two things that an audience can go into watching a Sean Bean film–some great acting and he is probably going to die. At this point, it might be faster to list of the films that he has lived through. Bean has be sliced, shot, fallen over a cliff, hung, drown, killed himself, blown up, crushed, and killed in almost every way imaginable. In fact, there are now sites dedicated to his many deaths. Sean Bean sets himself up for many of these by being the character that audiences can sympathize with, making it devastating when he is killed.

    Let’s try naming all the films this actor has been killed in:

    Caravaggio, War Requiem, The Field, Lorna Doone, Tell Me You Love Me, Clarissa, Patriot Games, Goldeneye, Scarlett, Airborne, Essex Boys, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings, Don’t Say A Word, Equilibrium, Henry VIII, The Island, Far North, Outlaw, The Hitcher, Red Riding, Ca$h, Death Race 2, Black Death, and Age of Heroes.

    Of course there is his most remembered death in Game of Thrones, but we aren’t counting television here. Regardless, he escaped in a few movies like Troy, Ronin and Silent Hill but the amount of movies he died in makes for a pretty good movie marathon.

  • How to Block Websites in Mozilla Firefox or Chrome

    How to Block Websites in Mozilla Firefox or Chrome

    Block websites on chromePerhaps you’re disciplined and want to block a website from yourself. Maybe you’ve the proud owner of a child who surfs the web for less than appropriate material. Whatever the This action will require you to edit your Host file. Your host file is a computer file used to store information on where to find a node on a computer network.

    Method 1 : How to Block websites using hosts file

    1. Open Windows Explorer and type in C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc. If Windows isn’t installed on the C: drive, substitute the C: for the appropriate drive letter.

    2. Double-click on hosts and open the document using Notepad when Windows prompts you. The hosts file tells the system what it should do when specific domains or IP addresses are accessed. This is the file that you are going to edit.

    If Windows automatically redirects you, or if hosts opens in another program, simply open Notepad (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Notepad) and then go to hosts by clicking File -> Open inside Notepad.

    3. Locate the line “127.0.0.1 localhost” or “::1 localhost.” Put your cursor at the end of whichever line is lowest down.
    Press “Enter” to create a new line.

    Block-website-using-host-file

    4. Type in whichever website or websites you wish to block. You can add any site, but you’ll will need to preface it with “127.0.0.1”.

    To block the website facebook.com for example, just type in “127.0.0.1” followed by a single space, followed by “facebook.com”. Add all of the site’s domains, especially mobile domains, on new lines. Your computer might block “www.facebook.com”, but not “m.facebook.com” if you’re not careful. This is an easy workaround for the experienced computer user.

    5. Click “File -> Save” in order to save the hosts file. If a prompt comes up saying that you cannot save the file because you are not an administrator, you’ll need to change the administrator permissions to include you. To do this:

    Right click on the hosts’ file, choose Properties -> Security and make sure all the boxes are checked in your user account. This should allow you to save the file as an admin.

              Also check -> How to turn off Images and Javascript in Firefox

    Method 2: How to block site using addons(as Block Site, Fox Filter)

    1. Open Firefox, click “Tools” then “Add-ons.” Click “Get Add-ons” and then “Browse All Add-ons.” Type “blocksite” in the search bar after the Mozilla Firefox add-ons website opens and hit “Enter.”Block-site

    2. Click the “Add to Firefox” button next to the entry for BlockSite. Allow the add-on to load (usually fewer than 5 seconds), then click the “Install Now” button. Restart Firefox when prompted.

    3. Go to “Tools,” then “Add-ons,” then click the BlockSite “Preferences” button after Firefox restarts. Make sure the “Blacklist” radio button is ticked, as well as “Enable BlockSite,” “Enable warning messages” and “Enable link removal.”

    4. Check “Enable authentication,” then enter a password if you would like to keep other users from deleting blocked websites or changing the settings in BlockSite without your permission.

    5. Click the “Add” button, enter the URL of the website you would like to block, then click “OK.” Repeat to add more sites, or click the “Clear” button to delete the list. Once the list of blocked sites is complete, click “OK” and restart Firefox.

    There are many other addons available.

  • Pirate Bay Back in Sweden’s .SE After .GY Suspension

    Pirate Bay Back in Sweden’s .SE After .GY Suspension

    Just a day after the troubled torrent site found a new home in Guyana, the site’s new .GY domain has already been suspended. The Pirate Bay, meanwhile, has decided to return to the relatively calm waters of Sweden for the time being.
    Today The Pirate Bay returns to its Swedish based .SE domain, after a domain hopping exercise of little more than a week.

    Yesterday The Pirate Bay switched over to Guyana’s .GY ccTLD, where the torrent site wasn’t welcome either. Within a day of thepiratebay.gy becoming operational the local registry has already taken it offline.

    “Once a site violates our policies, it will be suspended,” the registry noted in a statement. A brief inspection of the registry’s acceptable use policy reveals that linking to copyrighted material is sufficient to warrant a suspension.

    After the .GY domain was lost a few hours ago The Pirate Bay moved back to its old home, thepiratebay.se. The site is expected to remain in Sweden’s relatively calm waters for the time being.

    The return to the .SE domain is noteworthy, as this domain is also at risk of being seized.
    The good news for The Pirate Bay, however, is that the .SE domain registry previously stated that it will not suspend the domain name unless there is a court order. This means that Sweden should be a safe haven for now.

  • Datawind launches ‘PocketSurfer’ phone starting at Rs 3,499

    Datawind launches ‘PocketSurfer’ phone starting at Rs 3,499

    Datawind known for low-cost Aakash tablets has forayed into smartphone market by launching  three 5-inch Touchscreen, Dual-SIM smartphones starting at Rs.3, 499.The company is banking on technology it has developed that compresses web pages 30-times to increase the speed at which consumers can view pages on a mobile phone screen.datawind

    PocketSurfer3G5 priced at Rs 6,499, PocketSurfer5 at Rs 4,999 and PocketSurfer 5X at Rs.3, 499. The lowest version of PocketSurfer smartphone has Linux operating system which was earlier seen in Motorola phones. The other two phones, PocketSurfer 5 and PocketSurfer 3GS are built on Android 4.0 platform.

    Samsung, Micromax and Karbonn hold over 60% of the domestic smartphone market where the five-inch smartphones make up a large chunk of what consumers buy. Datawind is talking to a few service providers to bundle free data with the handsets, Tuli said.

    PocketSurfer3G5 priced at Rs 6,499 runs on Android 4.2 and is powered by dual-core 1.2 Ghz. It feature 5-inch TFT capacitive screen. It comes with the battery that offers four hours of talk time, 2 days standby. expandable to 32GB with microSD Card. It has memory of 4GB, expandable to 32GB with microSD Card. it boasts of 5MP camera.
                        Also checkout –> Moto G : The Budget Smartphone review

    The dual-SIM PocketSurfer5 features 5” TFT Capacitive dis play and is priced at Rs 4,999. It runs on Android 4.0 and is powered by Cortex A9 – 1 Ghz. The battery offers3 hours of talk time with 2 days standby.

    The entry level PocketSurfer 5X is priced at at Rs.3, 499. It runs on Linux os and is powered by Cortex A8 – 1Ghz. It features 5” TFT Touch WQVGA screen and comes with Micro SD & Micro USB port. It has Front VGA camera and battery offers 3 hours of talk time, 1 day standby.Datawind-smartphones
    The company has started online booking of phones and will provide cash-on-delivery option to customers.

  • Angry Birds Go! is now available for all smartphones

    Angry Birds Go! is now available for all smartphones

    angrybirdsgoMobile gaming giant Rovio has launched its latest title on Android and iOS today. Anry Birds Go is a free “kart” racer based in the Angry Birds universe, featuring feathered friends from the popular artillery shooter. If you’ve played Mario Kart or any similar titles you’ll know what to expect here — fast-paced 3D racing with a focus on power-ups and weapons, featuring familiar characters (birds and pigs, in this case.) There’s a variety of game modes to choose from besides a straight-up race to the finish, including Time Boom, Fruit Splat, Champion Chase and Mega Match.

    Free-to-play is problematic for Rovio, partly because of its generous approach to updates for previous Angry Birds titles – if you paid 59p for the original game in 2011, you were still getting new levels for it in 2013 – and partly because of the large number of children who play the Angry Birds games.angrybirdscartscreen1

    On either front, if Angry Birds Go’s in-app purchase prodding is too aggressive it’ll spark a big backlash. The game is out today for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 – one of the first games to hit all four platforms on its launch day – so how has Rovio done? Pretty well on all counts.
                      ➤ Angry Birds Go:  iOS | Android | Windows Phone | BlackBerry 10

    Angry Birds Go! obviously isn’t a Mario Kart killer, given that the games exist on completely different devices. The wider threat of a growing number of children spending their gaming time with Angry Birds rather than Mario, Pokemon, Link and co is a separate (and often heated) discussion, but for now the two karting games aren’t going head-to-head.

    Angry Birds Go! is great fun now, with plenty of potential for evolution in 2014 and beyond. A few tweaks to the in-app purchases aside, it’ll be raising eyebrows for positive, not negative reasons.