Is Xbox One’s Plan To Conquer The Living Room Profitable?

November saw the release of Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One, two gaming consoles that, along with Nintendo’s previously released Wii U, make up a new generation that will continue to push game creativity and design to greater limits. While Sony and Nintendo have gone the more traditional route of offering devices built primarily around games, Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet on the “war for the living room,” hoping to be the only set-top box a family needs to play games, watch television, Skype, and more. While the Xbox One is an impressive piece of equipment, the overall changes in the modern gadget market—many of them brought on by mobile devices—may make the Xbox One’s offerings less attractive than Microsoft hopes.

Live Television Viewing Is On The Decline Around The World

One of the most impressive aspects of the Xbox One is the ability to change television channels with voice commands. No longer needing to pick up the remote and constantly switch between inputs, the Xbox One lets you pause a game with your voice, then seamlessly call up live television. If you’re feeling particularly antsy, you can split the screen between live TV and gaming, jumping back to Forza or Dead Rising during each commercial break.

While this is an impressive and wonderfully futuristic feature, the reality is that live television viewing is on the decline in the industrialized world, with more consumers than ever before using recording devices such as TiVo and dvr, as well as streaming video via Netflix, Hulu, and others. The developing world fares even worse for the traditional cable market, with many areas bypassing television entirely to favor video streaming on mobile devices as the sole access for television and movies. If the number of cable subscribers continues to decline in the upcoming years—and the remaining consumers continue to favor dvr recording to live television—Microsoft may find itself with an impressive feature in need of an audience.

Skype Is Already Wildly Popular On Mobile Devices

Another oft-touted feature of the Xbox One’s Kinect camera is the ease with which it allows a user to Skype on their giant living room flatscreen. Will this feature find a market with consumers who’re interested in pausing their gaming or television-watching to videochat on their 50-inch Samsung? It certainly remains a possibility, but with the ever-present availability of Skyping via smartphone, tablet, or laptop—along with the increased privacy these devices afford—Xbox One’s ability to video conference in your living room may be another feature that’s appreciated from a technological standpoint but rarely utilized.

Xbox One Strives To Be The Dominant Set-Top Box In A World That Seems to Be Moving Away From Boxes Entirely

While it’s unlikely that the mobile revolution will de-centralize the living room completely, the fact remains that consumers are attracted to increasingly portable and personal devices for their entertainment needs. Regarding the set-top boxes that are still in popular use in the living room, they appear to be smaller, streaming-based devices (such as the Roku player, Google Chromecast, and others), or dvr recorders (which the Xbox One can’t as of yet replace). Being able to ditch your digital cable box is certainly nice, but with the size and weight of an 80’s VCR, the Xbox One won’t win any space-saving awards anytime soon. As the world’s tech becomes increasingly smaller and more mobile, Microsoft’s newest console sometimes gives the appearance of being the futuristic fantasy of an older, extinct decade.

As consumers gear up for another round of console wars, Microsoft has been clear from the beginning that the Xbox One offers more than just gaming. But only time will tell if the goal to conquer the living room is a goal still worth having, or if the all-in-one multimedia box is a throwback from a simpler, gentler, non-digital era.

Author bio:

John is a blogger who still remembers the first time he streamed Netflix through his Xbox 360. He writes for gadget insurer Protect Your Bubble, who can give you an extended warranty on your new Xbox One, even if you never use it to Skype with.

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Is The iPhone 5S Reaching The Maximum Price For A Smartphone?

As the smartphone market continues to receive an increase in offerings, many analysts have begun to speculate about the long-term fate of Apple’s flagship mobile device, the pioneering iPhone. With costs of $199, $299, and $399 for various iPhone 5s models (not including the hefty two- year contract required by most wireless carriers), consumers are increasingly forced to compare Apple’s line to the considerably more affordable competition, with a variety of models that come with the coveted $99 price tag. As smartphones become more common throughout the world, there are several corresponding trends that may ultimately weigh down the iPhone’s success:

High Turnover Rates Can Limit The Appeal Of Expensive Smartphones

We’re currently in an age of rapid technological growth that mirrors the home-PC explosion of the early 90’s. With mobile devices getting outperformed by newer models on an annual basis, there may soon come a point when the premium expense of the iPhone becomes too unattractive to the majority of consumers.

Tablets Are Getting Cheaper And More Powerful, And Come With Wireless Capabilities

The days are gone when tablets were nothing but luxury gadgets that were only usable within a Wi-Fi network. Their size, power, and wireless carrier plans now make them attractive alternatives to smartphones, a fact that may start impacting the relatively pricey iPhone.

The Abundance Of Cloud Storage Is Making Large Storage Drive Devices Obsolete

With the main difference between the $199 and $299 iPhone 5s being the storage space (16 GB and 32 GB respectively), Apple seems to still be banking heavily on a certain percentage of consumers needing extra room for digital media storage. However, the abundance of cloud storage and streaming media apps have rapidly reduced the need for large storage drives—particularly for mobile devices—making the higher GB iPhones a much tougher sell in today’s world.

Apple’s Combination Of Premium Devices And Annual Releases May Finally Be Working Against The iPhone

Providing a high standard for premium devices while simultaneously pushing technology forward is a tall order for any company, even for a powerhouse like Apple. With Nokia, Samsung, and several other companies making great inroads into the smartphone market with entry-level products, Apple may unfortunately start undermining itself by insisting on releasing new iPhone models as frequently as its cheaper competition.

With the overall mobile market clearly favoring newness over premium capabilities and durability—at least for now—the iPhone 5S may have found the price ceiling for modern smartphones, with $299-$399 tags becomingly increasingly scarce, especially with multi-year contracts with wireless carriers.

Author bio:

John is a blogger who recently switched wireless carriers, and is greatly enjoying the freedom of a month-to-month smartphone contract. He writes for gadget insurer Protect Your Bubble, who can help protect your smartphone from spills, drops, theft, and much more.

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Take advantage of the great tools available on eBrahma

Recently I needed to find details about one IP address that was constantly spamming me and threaten me. I can assure you that you can't find better tools for IP address and domain information than the tools on eBrahma. The creators of the website did excellent, broad and detailed job with the features and information of their tools.

First off all I have to say that there are more than 20 available tools right now and more than 10 that will be available very soon. When you open the page the first few tools are about your, or any other, IP address. You can find the geographical location of it, find detailed information about the IP, ping your IP and the awesome tool IP range for that certain IP. Not only that eBrahma tools will offer you tools that will convert decimal IP into an IP and conversely, IP into decimal IP. On the other hand, if you are interested in IPv4 and IPv6 Subnet, there are calculators that will give you precise information. I tried all these tools for the IP I had problems and they gave me incredible help.

When it comes to domains, eBrahma also offers various tools that can give you valuable information. You can lookup DNS record from a domain (you can do that for an IP as well). The Domain Audit tool will show you the public record for certain domain and the web http header tool will show you what server features are active. What I also like very much is that there is domain availability tool that will show you if some desired URL is available. Also you can check is certain domain is black-listed.

I am also very impressed by the URL analyzer tool. It showed such broad and detailed information like meta data, text, links, images and processing time of my domain, which is kinda cool because you can do the same thing for your competitor if you doing SEO.

Additionally, the guys from eBrahma offer some email tools as well. You can perform email test, if you have problem sending email to a user for example. You can check POP status, authorization and banner. Also, there is IMAP banner tool and SMTP Greetings and SMTP Banner.

There are also more than 10 tools that are yet to be published. You have to admit that there is huge amount of tools available for free. You can visit this website and try the tools here.

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Learn how to play guitar with Jamstar Acoustics

Recently my nephew started playing guitar. He knew some basic staff but he sounded pretty lame and unprofessional. So, together we found one app that proved as a great help for his guitar skills improvement. Jamstar Acoustics is one of the best apps available on the Internet for learning to play guitar. Praised by Tech Crunch and Gizmodo, Jamstar Acoustic will learn you interactively and in a fun way to play the guitar chords from famous bands and artists.

This app has virtual guitar on your phone. All notes are playable and sound exactly like a real guitar, except the strings on this guitar are in different, compelling colors, but you can use the standard set of colors as well. Of course there is polyphonic tuner to enable you that perfect sound. The graphics also are exceptional and everything just looks sophisticated and that motivates you to learn more and faster.

I love the creativity of the developers. They set every song as a task. You ain't finish until you get 100%, and you can stop and continue whenever you want. That makes the learning even more fun and much easier. Also, you will get clear view of all your songs and the app will remember them until you learn or delete them. There are many songs to learn and they are divided with separate different categories. There are songs from the Beatles, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, R.E.M and many other groups and artists.

With more than 200,000 active users and dedicated team of professional developers and musicians, Jamstar Acoustic is surely one of the best guitar learning services. The app is free and available on Google Play and iTunes.

Google Play Download Link

iTunes Download Link

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Prevent pain and improve your life with Comfort Memory Foam Seat Cushion

Sitting all day in office can cause big problems for our health. Not only our backbone and lower back can hurt, they can transfer that pain through all the parts of the body and just make us feel more groggy, nervous and anxious. Today we are going to present you one interesting product, for all of you that are sitting to much through out the day. We are going to talk about the Comfort Memory Foam Seat Cushion.

Because this cushion is made from memory foam, it will reduce the pressure on the lower back and coccyx while you seat. Logically this will also enable better blood circulation of your legs. The U-shape will also relieve the pressure of the tailbone. You will feel much more comfortable while seating.

There are 2 practical solutions that I like about this product. First you can easily remove the cover, so you can easily clean it after a while. Also it is movable, you can wear it with you wherever you want. So you can use it in your office, but also in your home, while you are driving or even while you are seating outdoor. Also, this product is anti-bacterial and antifugal.

I'm using this product for a week. I feel less pressure on my lower back and I feel like I have more energy. The shape hasn't changed a bit and I think it will not change because of the quality material it is made. If you have serious problems with your back pain and you are sitting a lot throughout the day, then you must try this product. It is available on Amazon.

Buy it on Amazon

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Area 51 Air Force - Another beautiful masterpiece from Chevachi

Few months ago we presented the Eternal Eye, beautiful watch made by the incredible company Chevachi. Today we are going to review another beautiful watch made by them called Area 51 Air Force. They sustained the high standards on this product as well, because this watch looks neat, elegant and simply outstanding. I don't have to say that the watch looks very urban, smart and modern, because that is already a standard in Chevachi.

Air Force is part of the Area 51 military watches that are produced since 2012. This military watch has sweet looking stripes that will differ with the color you pick. They are beautifully arranged and that proves their dedication to detail of the designers. The arrows of the watch give additional sophisticated look with their end in different color. Also, their shape looks very elegant. However, the most compelling thing about this watch is the really beautiful date part which is in different color as well. Hats off to the designers, this gives the watch very tasteful, urban and unique look.

The watch is unisex and the straps are silicon. Of course the caseback, the crown and the buckle are made from stainless steel. Area 51 Air Force is water resistant and it is unisex. This watch is actually watch for every occasion, you can wear it on different outfits, depending on the color. Area 51 Air Force will be available in the next period.

The Area 51 series have more then 20 versions. Bellow is the link to the watch where you can buy it and also the video if you want to check out the looks, features and design of this amazing watch.

http://www.chevachi.com/whats-new/

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If you are Iranian, then you must try Iranian Everything

Being Iranian in the United States is hard. You are far from home and you live in a country that is so much different from yours. Today we are going to present you two apps and a website called - Iranian Everything. Basically, these apps and apps are dedicated to the Iranian-American businessman and professionals.

There are many businessman already registered to this website and apps. So, when you open the website it will offer you different businesses and professionals in your are. You will get various info like map, phone number and pictures. This is perfect for finding fellow Iranians which you can trust and talk about your home. Not only that they will offer you quality service, but also they can help you if you are in a bad situation.

You can also submit yourself as a businessman and professional. You just need to select the right category and tell your location.

The apps for Android and iOS are both simple and user friendly. The UI is intuitive and everything runs smooth. You will get thousands of professional profiles, which include their names, picture, expertise, phone, address, website etc. The creators of this online directory and apps say that it is a must have for every Iranian-American.You can visit their website here, and bellow are the download links for the two apps.

Google Play Download Link

iTunes Download Link

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The Freight Monitor - Website that tries to exclude the freight brokers and save money to shippers and drivers

Few days ago I was contacted to write review about one site that deals with shipping. Actually, the website owner created The Freight Monitor, with one simple goal, to ditch out freight brokers from the transportation process. Why? Because according to him they take huge rates for basically doing nothing. So, he wants the brokers to excluded from this process, which will lead for more money to the drivers and less cost of transportation for the distributing companies.


Simple example is one of the transport cost he showed me. One broker got $3000 to move a load for one shipper. He payed $2400 to the driver and kept astonishing $600 for himself, and this is only for one deal. It is obvious that the shippers are over charged and that the drivers are underpaid.

So, like I said, the goal of the website is to exclude the broker from this deal. So, if you are a shipper then you'll need to try this website. They will definitely find transportation and you will save great amount of money. There are many satisfied customers already using the website, but he thinks that a lot of people don't know about the website and he wants to get more people with his simple slogan "It's Your Freight .. It's Your Rate."

The latest person this website helped was a person from Salt Lake City, UT. They saved her amazing $289 per load and she ships 8 loads per week. Yeah, the savings for a year are astonishing $120,224. So, you decide if it's worth it to sign up for this site.

The website owner is one of the many that are fed up with someone stealing his money. So, if you are a driver or shipper be sure to check out this site. You can visit the website here.

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Stress free alarm clock - Interesting method for losing weight

Many people that are over-weight, or just want to lose some weight to get into perfect shape try different diets and watch what they are eating. However, hightecholic today will present you one interesting method, which is actually patented scientific innovation. Stress Free Alarm Clocks are apps for Android and iOS that reduce stress when waking.

Why is this important? One of the important reasons you gain weight is because of the high levels of cortisol in your blood. I don't have to tell you that this high levels of cortisol are result of the stress. Waking badly, with loud alarms and in bad timing, raises the stress at the morning and thus it increases the levels of coristol. I wanna tell you that this not only affects your body weight, but also the skeletal muscle mass and overall health.

So, how will these apps help you? These apps belong to the new generation of sleep cycle alarm clocks that require no sensors. Not only that they will wake you in the perfect time they will use unique alarm sound that will help you to wake easily and with great energy. You will never feel groggy in the morning and you will definitely start the day with reduced stress. Of course this reduced stress will not only deflect on your mood, but also it will bring you a lot of health improvements.

The apps are developed by a neuro-scientist. He knew about how stress affects human health and through these apps he just wants to reduce the stress, which will surely lead to loss of weight and improvement in your everyday life.

iTunes Download Link

Google Play Download Link

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Boost your productivity with the creative Remember It

Hightechholic always support quality and creative products. Recently we found one really useful and simple app, that looked creative and astonishing to us. So, today we are going to present you the amazing Remember It. It is amazing because it is one of the best reminders on Google Play.

The relatively new productivity app will remember your locations, based on Wi Fi signal. Then you'll need to categorize them. After you assign name to the most visited locations, you can start adding reminders. The app enables you to set two simple reminders: when you arrive at the location and when you leave the location.

I love how RememberIt isn't time related. For example, it is beautiful how you can use it to remember simple things like turning your boiler on when you arrive home, or check if you turned off the oven when you leave your home etc. The UI of the app is beautiful and really simple. You can determine Wi Fi locations and add reminders very fast.

So, that is it. RememberIt is one of the most simplest productivity apps that you'll find on Google Play, but also one of the most useful and smart apps as well. It is small in size (only 1.5 MB) and it doesn't drain battery or waste RAM memory like the other productivity apps. It is not strange how Remember It has 5.0 rating from 21 reviews in such a short period of time. I think that there is bright future ahead of this app and this developing team.

Google Play Download Link

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