Zach Epstein

@zacharye zach@bgr.com +Zach Epstein

Zach Epstein has worked in and around the ICT industry for more than a decade, first in marketing and business development with two private telcos, then as a writer and editor covering business, technology and telecommunications. As a writer, Zach’s work has been quoted by countless top news publications and he was recently named one of the world's top-10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Zach is now Executive Editor at BGR, where he guides the editorial team and contributes reports and analyses with an unbiased viewpoint and a widely respected voice.

Business
May 22, 2013
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Samsung Pantech Stake

Samsung buys major stake in rival smartphone maker

By about 54 mins ago.

Samsung buys major stake in rival smartphone maker

Samsung has reportedly made a major investment in rival South Korea-based smartphone maker Pantech. Yonhap News was first to report the news and it says Samsung spent roughly $50 million for 10% of the company. Samsung’s motives are unclear, though the deal will reportedly “help further solidify bilateral cooperation in smartphone and other business areas.” Pantech is currently the No.3 phone maker in South Korea behind Samsung and LG, and the new investment makes Samsung the company’s third-largest shareholder behind Qualcomm and Korea Development Bank.

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Business
May 22, 2013
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LTE Global Coverage

A world without wires: LTE will cover the majority of the world by 2018

By about 2 hours ago.

A world without wires: LTE will cover the majority of the world by 2018

As people continue to look for ways to “cut the cord” and move away from traditional cable services, right now they largely have no choice but to continue subscribing to ISPs’ Internet services even if they cancel pay-TV. Over the next few years, however, that need might fade in many regions. According to new research from ABI, LTE-FDD (frequency-division duplex) will expand to cover 57% of the global population by 2018 while LTE-TDD (time-division duplex) will cover 52% of the population by that point in time. More →

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Gaming
May 22, 2013
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Xbox One Ultra HD 4K Gaming

Xbox One supports Ultra HD 4K gaming

By about 3 hours ago.

Xbox One supports Ultra HD 4K gaming

New details continue to trickle out following Microsoft’s Xbox One unveiling. Some new tidbits answer burning questions and some simply raise new questions, but there are also a few key features being discovered that Microsoft was oddly quiet about during its presentation but happily confirmed after the show. For one example, Forbes’ Matt Hickey was able to learn after the presentation that the new Xbox One will indeed support “Ultra HD” gaming at 4K resolution. “The video and interface portions, absolutely,” Microsoft marketing boss Yusuf Mehdi responded when asked whether or not the new Xbox would offer 4K gaming. It looks like games will be 1080p at launch, though 4K games will certainly be available down the road once Ultra HD TV sales pick up.

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Services
May 22, 2013
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Tumblr Facebook Teens

Teens turn to Tumblr to escape parents on Facebook

By about 5 hours ago.

Teens turn to Tumblr to escape parents on Facebook

When you’re a tween or teen who just has to repost that great porn GIF you just found, Facebook really isn’t the place to do it. It’s not that porn GIFs are any less appreciated by Facebook users, of course, but rather that young users are often tracked by their parents on the world’s top social network. As a result, a recent Pew Research study found that teenagers are moving away from Facebook and finding a new home on Tumblr. More →

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Legal
May 22, 2013
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Google Now Siri Patent

It was only a matter of time: Apple says Google Now violates Siri patents

By about 7 hours ago.

It was only a matter of time: Apple says Google Now violates Siri patents

Apple has updated an earlier lawsuit filed against Samsung with claims that the Galaxy S4 and its Google Now feature violate two Apple patents covering functions of its own virtual personal assistant, Siri. Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents relayed news of the updated complaint on Wednesday, and he noted that two of the patents — U.S. Patent 8,086,604, and U.S. Patent 6,846,959 — cover technologies related to Siri. Both filings describe a “universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system.” Apple also added three more patents to its earlier complaint that are not related to Siri, according to the report.

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Gaming
May 22, 2013
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Featured
Xbox One Vs PlayStation 4

Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: PS4 wins on specs

By about 8 hours ago.

Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: PS4 wins on specs

With the first round of announcements behind us, the only thing that’s clear in the inevitable and perpetual Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4 battle is that there is no clear winner. Microsoft finally unveiled its next-generation video game console on Tuesday and once all the dust settled, Anandtech’s Anand Lal Shimpi took a step back and laid out everything we know about these two beastly consoles. Lal Shimpi’s analysis is extensive and thorough, as always, but it boils down to this: Based on what we know at this point, Sony has the edge in terms of specs and raw power. More →

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Gaming
May 22, 2013
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Xbox One Used Games

Xbox One game sales and used game policies: What we know

By about 9 hours ago.

Xbox One game sales and used game policies: What we know

Sony might not have revealed its console hardware during the PlayStation 4 unveiling, but at least we walked away with a pretty good idea of how buying and selling games would work. Microsoft finally took the wraps off of its next-generation Xbox One video game console on Tuesday and many people were left with more questions than answers. The gameplay demos we saw during the presentation looked fantastic, but how exactly does buying and reselling those wonderful new games work? More →

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Business
May 22, 2013
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Verizon Customer Service Survey

Survey: Verizon tops all other major carriers in customer service

By about 10 hours ago.

Survey: Verizon tops all other major carriers in customer service

When it comes to U.S. carriers, just about everyone dreads the thought of having to call customer service to resolve an issue. Some carriers are certainly worse than others, of course, and the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index survey found that Verizon Wireless once again was ranked highest in customer service quality by subscribers. The company scored 73 points out of a possible 100, up 3 points from 2012. Sprint was flat in the No.2 spot with 71 points while AT&T gained a point to hit 70. T-Mobile remained the lowest-ranked major carrier as its score slid to 68 in 2013 from 69 last year. The full press release follows below. More →

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Services
May 22, 2013
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Pandora Premiers Album Streaming

‘Pandora Premiers’ streams full albums a week before they launch

By about 11 hours ago.

‘Pandora Premiers’ streams full albums a week before they launch

As Pandora struggles to fight off a new wave of competition from the likes of industry giants like Google and Apple, the company recently announced a new feature that could definitely boost interest in its services. Dubbed “Pandora Premieres,” the new feature allows users to stream new albums in their entirety a week before they are released to the public. Upcoming albums can be streamed on-demand from start to finish for one week until they are released, and then they will be mixed in with Pandora’s standard streaming radio offering. Pandora Premieres is available to Pandora subscribers at pandora.com/premieres, and the company’s full press release follows below. More →

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Computers
May 21, 2013
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Leap Motion Windows

Video: Leap Motion makes the leap to Windows

By on May 21, 2013 at 6:00 PM.

Video: Leap Motion makes the leap to Windows

BGR took an in-depth look at Leap Motion’s revolutionary motion-control PC accessory last year, and we loved the accuracy and shocking reliability of Leap’s technology. The controller was only compatible with Mac computers at the time, however. In a recent post on the company’s blog, Leap showed off its upcoming Windows 7 and Windows 8 integration, which it plans to launch on July 22nd. An accompanying video shows how well Leap’s controller works with Windows for swiping, scrolling, zooming in and out, flipping through photos, drawing and more. It’s not quite Minority Report, but we’re getting there. Leap Motion’s full video follows below. More →

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Software
May 21, 2013
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IBM Watson Smartphone Apps

Look out, Siri – IBM’s Watson coming soon to smartphones

By on May 21, 2013 at 4:30 PM.

Look out, Siri – IBM’s Watson coming soon to smartphones

IBM spoke of shrinking its intelligent supercomputer Watson down to smartphone size last summer, and now it appears that the company is getting close to achieving that goal. Watson, which gained notoriety by famously trouncing two champions on Jeopardy, will not initially come to smartphones as a stand-alone app like Siri or Google Now, though it could eventually give both services a run for their money. Instead, IBM will partner with a number of companies including ANZ Bank, Nielsen, Celcom, IHS, and Royal Bank of Canada, Forbes reports to have Watson power customer service systems for these companies. Watson will initially be accessible though Web chats, email, smartphone apps and SMS, and voice recognition functionality is expected to come in future versions of the offering. Apps that include this new “Ask Watson” feature are expected to begin rolling out in the next few months.

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Gaming
May 21, 2013
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Xbox One Used Games

Xbox One will not play Xbox 360 games; used game policy still unclear

By on May 21, 2013 at 3:20 PM.

Xbox One will not play Xbox 360 games; used game policy still unclear

Bad news, Xbox fans: Your current collection of Xbox 360 games will not work on Microsoft’s new Xbox One, and the company’s used games policy is very unclear. The company finally took the wraps off its next-generation video game console on Tuesday and while there was plenty of good news to be had, there were also some some troubling announcements. More →

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mobile
May 21, 2013
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Samsung Fingerprint Scanner

Samsung reportedly prepping fingerprint scanning tech for Galaxy phones

By on May 21, 2013 at 2:45 PM.

Samsung reportedly prepping fingerprint scanning tech for Galaxy phones

As rumors of Apple readying fingerprint scanning technology for a future iPhone continue to swirl, a new report suggests another company is working on similar tech for future versions of its smartphones: Samsung. SamMobile reports that files uncovered in a leaked firmware build for Samsung’s Galaxy S III included a number of images of fingerprints and other related items. The presence of these graphics suggests Samsung is indeed testing some type of fingerprint scanning technology internally, but they give no indication of exactly what kind of functionality Samsung might have planned. The leaked images pulled from Samsung’s firmware file follow below. More →

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