Geoff Keighley announces Summer Game Fest

Geoff Keighley, the owner and producer of The Game Awards and “Hideo Kojima’s Boyfriend” has just announced a new gaming event for this year - Summer Game Fest. The event has been announced in response to the cancellation of other major gaming and non-gaming events this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Such as E3, GDC, Gamescom and the SXSW film festival.

As described by Geoff Keighley on Twitter, instead of being an event spanning a couple of days like previous gaming events, Summer Game Fest will be a 4 month-long event running from the month of May all the way through to August 2020. Geoff Keighley will be acting as the host for the event. He has also announced the companies that are in the Phase 1 lineup for the event. The lineup includes 2K, Activision, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Blizzard, Bungie, CD Projekt Red, Extremes, Electronic Arts, PlayStation, Private Division, Riot Games, Square Enix, Steam, Warner Bros. Games and Xbox.

Summer Game Fest will be an all-digital experience which includes digital news and announcement for games, limited-time in-game events catering to certain titles, playable content and more. All from the comfort of home. The event will be streaming on all major platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Mixer and Facebook Live.

In a Reddit AMA with regards to the event, Geoff stated that doing a big global digital-interactive festival had always been a dream of his. And that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated and gave him an opportunity to do so. Geoff also assured that there would be playable content including alphas and betas on big games. Obviously not every game being revealed would be playable from one’s home. But, it is a step in the right direction for the future of gaming.

For now, Geoff Keighley has announced the first event of Summer Game Fest which is an Inside Xbox event taking place at 8:30 PM IST next thursday showcasing Xbox Series X gameplay. The remaining schedule of events will be updated on the official website soon. In the same AMA Geoff Keighley also addressed the fact that although Nintendo had not yet committed to the online-event, they were always welcome.

The season finale is scheduled to take place on August 24 with Geoff Keighley, iam8bit and Gamescom doing a huge developer showcase. Further, in the same tweet, Geoff says, “Thanks to all the game companies and developers who are working hard under challenging circumstances to keep us entertained. I hope SGF is a way to show these artists how much their work helps us get through uncertain and scary times. Keep playing the future - gaming is about to get really bright this summer.”

You can sign up to get notified about Summer Game Fest here.

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PUBG Mobile teaser video showcases new locations in v0180 updates new Mad Miramar map

PUBG Mobile is set to launch the v0.18.0 update in a couple of days and the developers have been teasing the launch for quite a while. This time around, the developers have posted a short video that lets players know some of the new locations that they can check out in the new Mad Miramar map. 

Mad Miramar (initially known as Miramar 2.0), is one of the new additions in PUBG Mobile’s v0.18.0 update. The map would include three new notable additions. In the North-West corner of the map, players will come across Ruins. The history of these ancient monuments isn’t known, but the layout should offer lots of close-quarters combat opportunities. Then there is the race track. The part of the map features loops and jumps which should make for an interesting and fun driving experience. The final new location added to mad Miramar is the Oasis. Located on the northern edge of the map, the Oasis is a small part of the map with waterbodies that should offer a welcome change for those tired of the endless sand.   

Conquer the dangers of the desert! Take a tour of some of the new locales opening up in the new and updated Miramar! Assemble your squad now https://t.co/Npi5O5YFbr pic.twitter.com/2RXpRXWCaj

— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) May 3, 2020 PUBG Mobile showcases new locations in latest update

Besides this, the teaser also highlights an approaching dust storm. While the video does not bring up the story, it should be noted that it indeed is a new feature added in the map and it limits the visibility in outdoor areas, making it harder for players to snipe each other. 

Besides this, players will also get to play with a new version of the Win94 rifle that will feature a fixed 2.7x scope. Further, the map will feature a unique Golden Mirado vehicle. Only one instance of the vehicle will spawn in the map, making it pretty rare. 

Alongside all this, PUBG Mobile’s 0.18.0 update will also bring with it a new Cheer Park where players will be able to take rides and play games without worrying about being killed by other players. You can check out all the details of the new update here. 

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Leaked screenshots of Lenovo Legion Gaming Phone shows a new take on the pop-up camera design

Smartphone designs are getting weirder by the day. The latest in the series of out-of-the-box designs is the upcoming Lenovo Legion gaming smartphone. From screenshots obtained from a promo video, leaked by XDA-Developers, we get a good look at the upcoming gaming smartphone which shows a side-mounted pop-up camera. It’s something that catches the eye instantly, and if you think about it, the design kind of sort of make sense for a gaming phone.

The leaked screenshots show a pop-up selfie camera coming out from the side of the smartphone, with the phone held in landscape orientation. It’s a new take on the design trend that took off last year. Yet, while all smartphones launched last year had a pop-up camera that rises from the top, the Legion gaming phone will have the camera rise up from the side.

Who needs a side-mounted pop-up selfie camera?

Lenovo probably expects users of the Legion gaming phones to be glued to their screens playing PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile or Fortnite in the landscape orientation. And a side-mounted pop-up camera can help show a clearer face while streaming, something that a lot of mobile gamers have started exploring.

Then again, it leaves you wondering about all the times you want to take a normal selfie. It might just look a bit awkward when holding the phone in portrait orientation with a finger probably ending up blocking the camera altogether.

Rear camera module also gets a redesign

This isn’t the only big design change, however. The screenshot also shows the camera module located in the middle of the rear panel, something that’s once again a first for the industry. This once again seems like Lenovo will be catering to users who shoot landscapes more than portraits. Further, the camera module can be better used for AR games, where the camera position won’t change going from landscape to portrait. But here too, there’s a chance your hands might end up covering the lens, or worse, smudging it.

Lenovo has also kept fans on a drip-feed of information about the upcoming Legion gaming phone. The company revealed the Gaming Phone will come with 90W fast charging support which should make this the fastest charging smartphone in the world. Moreover, it’s confirmed the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC with UFS 3.0 storage and LPDDR5 RAM. The phone is also expected to come with a 144Hz refresh rate display and a 64+16MP rear camera setup with the latter being an ultrawide lens. The side-mounted pop-up camera is rumoured to house a 20MP selfie camera.

Now, while all this sounds exciting, a dampener is in order. Lenovo is yet to launch a flagship smartphone in India. Moto, another brand owned by the company, has also stopped launching flagships to focus more on the mid-range segment. The last Lenovo smartphone to launch in India launched at under Rs 15,000 with Lenovo revealing no plans to launch the flagship Z-series in India. Hopefully, with India being projected as a major market for mobile gaming, Lenovo will take this as an opportunity and announce the availability of the smartphone in India as well.

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Todays Google Doodle lets you play Loteria, a Mexican version of Bingo

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, pretty much the entire world is asked to stay at home. However, doing that is easier said than done. In order to help us out, companies are chipping in to make out isolation a bit more bearable. Google is also chipping in by revisiting some classic interactive doodles from the past. Called ‘Stay and play at home,’ these doodles are designed to keep people entertained during their isolation, while also offering a bit of a break for those working from home. 

The theme for today’s doodle is Loteria, which was used back on December 19, 2019 (which already feels like it was aeons ago).  The game is very similar to Bingo or Tambola, but with a Mexican flavour. Each player gets a board or a table that’s divided into segments, each with various pictures. A designated announcer draws a random card and anyone with that picture has to mark it with a bean. Before each game begins, a winning pattern is decided. Players need to match the winning pattern with their board. The first one to match the pattern has to exclaim ‘Loteria’, or in this case, click a button. 

“Today, Lotería’s iconic imagery and the shared experience it fosters across people of any generation has become a source of pride and celebration for Mexican culture. Whether you play today with your familia or a new amig@ around the world, we hope today’s Doodle inspires fun, curiosity, and a healthy dose of competencia,” writes Perla Campos, Global Marketing Lead, Google Doodle. 

While the game is pretty much like Bingo, the use of colourful Mexican art style combined with traditional Mariachi music add a party atmosphere like no other, The Google Doodle version of the game can be played with random strangers or you can invite friends. To play Loteria, head over to the Google Search home page.  

You can learn more about Loteria in the video below:

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WhatsApp partners with reputed fact-checking firm to curb fake COVID-19 news and misinformation

In the mission to curb the spread of misinformation and fake news during the time of the Coronavirus outbreak, WhatsApp has been on the front end combatting this issue. As previously reported, the popular messaging app has already reduced the number of forwarded messages and has now joined hands with the International Fact-Checking Network (ICFN) to implement a system where users can find out if they're looking at fake news by just connecting with fact-checkers from the area. It’s as simple as sending out a message to these checkers. 

With the aim of connecting users on the app to fact-checkers from 70 countries around the world, IFCN released its very own WhatsApp chatbot that helps with exactly this issue. WhatsApp users will now have access to one of the better fact-checking processes out there, giving them a heads up on fake news and misinformation. As mentioned above, all users need to do is submit a claim and these fact-checkers will get on the job and tell you whether the news piece you sent in was fake or not. This goes a long, long way in helping to fight the menace of fake news. 

WhatsApp partners with IFCN to stop the spread of fake news

Since the ICFN WhatsApp bot is free to use, users need to add this number (+1 (727) 2912606) to their contact list and send a ‘Hi” message to start the process. You can also head to http://poy.nu/ifcnbot. For a more direct approach. 

It must be noted that WhatsApp has been at the forefront of the crisis as the company has now introduced call support for up to 8 people on a single video call. You can read more about that here. WhatsApp. You can also buy groceries on JioMart by using the popular messaging app. You can read more about that story here. 

 

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Apple, Google to ban location tracking in contact tracing apps: Report

It seems like developers making contact tracing apps for tracking COVID-19 won’t be able to rely on location tracking. According to a report by Reuters, Apple and Google will be banning the use of location tracking in apps that use the new contact tracing system that is being developed by both the companies. 

Last month, both technology giants announced that they would be working together to make it easier for public health authorities to develop contact tracing applications. However, both also noted the privacy would be a key aspect of the new system. Therefore, both companies would not want to use various governments from misusing the system to compile data on their citizens. As such, the new system would only rely on Bluetooth signals to detect encounters and not use or store GPS location data.

Apple and Google will ban location tracking on contact tracing apps

However, Reuters’ report also notes that developers of official Coronavirus-related tracking apps in the US have told the publication that it was vital that they are allowed to use GPS data in conjunction with the new contact tracing system. They argue that this would allow them to track how outbreaks move and identify hotspots. 

The report also adds that both the companies will only allow one app per country to use the contact tracing system. This has been reportedly done to avoid fragmentation and encourage wide adoption. However, the two companies said that they would support countries that opt for a state or regional approach like the US.  

Of course, many health agencies have developed their own contact tracing system that does not use the one developed by Apple and Google. The report mentioned the Healthy Together app used in Utah, USA that works with both GPS and Bluetooth. However, there are some like Canada’s Alberta province used ABTraceTogether app that does not use the Apple-Google system, but does not collect GPS location data either. 

India's own contact tracing app Aaryoga Setu 

India has also developed its own contact tracing app called Aarogya Setu. The app uses both location and Bluetooth data in order to work. Since launch Aarogya Setu reached the 50 million downloads milestones in 13 days, the fastest ever for an application, Android or iOS. You can learn more about the application here. The Indian government has also released the Aarogya Setu Mitr app which adds online doctor consultation and more. You can read more about that, here. 

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Huawei Y9s with popup selfie camera launching soon in India

The Huawei Y9s which was first launched in November 2019 has been listed on Huawei’s official website and Amazon India, however, there is no official information about the release date or price. It is possible that when the ongoing lockdown is further eased, the smartphone will be made available. The smartphone brings with it a pop-up selfie camera, a feature that was the in-thing in 2019. The advantage of a pop-up selfie camera is that it gives the smartphone the ability to have a higher screen to body ratio and avoids the notch or punch-hole design that has the possibility of being distracting when consuming content. The smartphone is a dual SIM device and runs on Android Pie + EMUI 9.1.0. Despite having a massive 4000mAh battery the device is light, weighing a mere 206 grams. Let's dive deep into the specifications of the Huawei Y9s.

Huawei Y9s Specifications

The Huawei Y9s measures a mere 8.8mm in thickness and weighs a mere 206 grams. It is available in three colour options - Breathing Crystal, Phantom Purple, and Midnight Black. It has a 6.59-inch Fullview LTPS Display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 FHD+. Under the hood, it is powered by the Huawei Kirin 710F octa-core processor that packs in 4 x Cortex-A73 Based 2.2 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A53 Based 1.7 GHz cores. The smartphone runs on EMUI 9.1 based on Android 9. The Y9s comes with 6GB RAM + 128GB storage which is expandable via a microSD card up to 512GB. 

Coming to the optics, the Huawei Y9s packs a triple camera at the back. It comprises a 48MP (f/1.8 aperture) + 8MP (Ultra Wide Angle Lens, f/2.4 aperture) + 2MP (f/2.4 aperture). On the front, it has a 16 MP, f/2.2 aperture popup selfie camera. A 4000mAh battery powers the entire package. It also has a USB-C port for data transfer and charging. 

The side of the smartphone has the power button that also doubles up as a fingerprint reader. It claims to unlocks the phone in 0.3 seconds. 

Huawei Y9s Box Content

In the box, customers get the Huawei Y9s device with the battery built-in, charger, Type-C cable, headset, TPU protective case, quick start guide, SIM eject tool, warranty card, and TP protective film (attached on the phone). 

Huawei Y9s Price

The Huawei Y9s is listed on Amazon India and Huawei’s own website but there is no information available about a launch date or India price.

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