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.

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 1 hour 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 2 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 3 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 4 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 5 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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Gaming
May 21, 2013
by
Featured
Xbox Launch Event Live Stream

How to watch live streaming video of Microsoft’s big Xbox launch event

By on May 21, 2013 at 12:51 PM.

How to watch live streaming video of Microsoft’s big Xbox launch event

After years of leaks, rumors and speculation, Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox will finally be unveiled on Tuesday during a press conference in Redmond, Washington. Recent reports suggest that the new “Xbox 720,” “Xbox Infinity” or whatever else it might be called will feature vastly improved specs such as an eight-core processor, 8GB of RAM, an 800MHz graphics processor, a 50GB 6x Blu-ray drive, gigabit ethernet connectivity and enhanced TV features. The new console may also require an always-on Internet connection to play games, though reports on that front have conflicted. We’ll know all there is to know shortly, however, and here’s how to watch all the action live from your computer, Xbox or smartphone: More →

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mobile
May 21, 2013
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Smartphone Tablet Sales

The future is mobile

By on May 21, 2013 at 11:55 AM.

The future is mobile

“Mobile is eating the world,” according to industry analyst Benedict Evans. Ahead of a presentation to be given later this month at Book Expo America, Enders Analysis’ Benedict Evans published a draft of his slide deck. The presentation paints a wonderfully clear picture of where industry growth has come from over the past few years thanks to companies like Apple and Samsung, and where it will likely continue to come from over the next few years. In a word: mobile. Several charts in the deck to a good job of illustrating the mobile explosion, which ramped up in 2010 as PC industry growth started to flatline. A few particularly interesting slides follow below, and Evans’s full presentation can be viewed on his blog. More →

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science
May 21, 2013
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Cell Phone Charging Tech

18-year-old’s invention can recharge a cell phone in 30 seconds

By on May 21, 2013 at 11:20 AM.

18-year-old’s invention can recharge a cell phone in 30 seconds

A teenager from Saratoga, California took home one of the top prizes at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair late last week after showing off her invention, which can fully charge a cell phone in 30 seconds or less. Eesha Khare was given the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award and a $50,000 prize for being runner-up in the competition, which was won by a 19-year-old who unveiled a new spin on self-driving car technology. Khare’s battery technology requires a new component to be installed inside the phone battery itself, and Intel notes that it also has potential applications for car batteries.

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mobile
May 21, 2013
by
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Video

Video: Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Active leaks again

By on May 21, 2013 at 9:20 AM.

Video: Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Active leaks again

After being revealed on camera for the first time on Monday in a series of leaked photos, Samsung’s unannounced Galaxy S4 Active has leaked once again. This time the upcoming smartphone has been given a quick preview in a video published by a MobileTechReview forum user. The S4 Active is a ruggedized version of Samsung’s popular Galaxy S4, featuring shock-proofing, dust-proofing and slightly less impressive specs; it looks like the phone will forego the global S4′s eight-core processor and will also include an 8-megapixel camera instead of the original model’s 13-megapixel unit. The video of Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Active follows below. More →

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