According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is looking at developing a smartphone with a 3-D screen in an attempt to expand its product range and compete with the likes of Apple and Google.

According to sources close to the project Amazon is working on expanding its device offering beyond its Kindle First tablets with the development of two smartphones, one of which includes the 3-D display, and a streaming music device. We also reported recently via Bloomberg that the online retail giant was rumoured to be planning the release of  a TV set-top box for streaming movies and TV shows.

While some sources revealed that the 3-D display smartphone will require glasses, others say that special glasses will not be required as “users may be able to navigate through content using just their eyes” through retina tracking technology.

The technology makes images on the screen appear as if they are floating above it similar to a hologram.

We’re not entirely sure why a device with 3-D capability is appealing to Amazon at this moment, do you?

The Samsung Galaxy S4 World Tour arrived in South Africa on the 25th of April 2013. Bandwidth Blog attended both the press briefing and spectacular public launch!

Samsung Galaxy S4 World Tour arrives in South Africa.

Arrival

I actually slammed my jacket shut in my car door trying to hastily make my way to the Sandton Convention Centre where Samsung was about to launch the Galaxy S4. No, I wasn’t late, which actually would be a conceivable excuse with the Joburg traffic these days, rather I was just so excited about this much anticipated launch that I probably looked like one of those kids on Reggie’s Rush. My excitement was fuelled by the enormous marketing hype created by Samsung and the fact that this was my first launch as a member of the media. The launch was held at the world class Sandton Convention Centre and even before entering the building I was greeted with a strange sight. Initially I thought it was balloons, but on closer inspection some Samsung kitted promo staff were creating big number “4s” out of bubbles! Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S4 World Tour had arrived in Jozi. (more…)

A couple of days ago we reported on rumours about massive smartphones that are launching soon, and it didn’t take long for Samsung to send us the exact specifications of these devices. Most of the leaked details did turn out to be true, with the most interesting one being that these can both be seen as mid-range devices. The only question that remains is how much you would have to pay for these mammoths.

The design is akin to the previous smartphone iterations from Samsung; the Korean firm is really throwing everything they can at the aesthetic and milking it as much as they can. Not that we blame them, it certainly is working for them.

The specs for the 6.3 inch and 5.8 inch Galaxy Mega devices are, respectively, as follows: (more…)

Microsoft has announced via Major Nelson that the Xbox apps for Windows 8 are receiving a number of updates.

The Xbox Games and Xbox SmartGlass apps for Windows 8 and Windows RT are receiving new looks and new features.

The Xbox Games app will make “Windows 8 and Windows RT tablet and PC gameplay simpler and more personal” with the homescreen now displaying the last game played. For further personalisation faster download speeds and smoother access to related content will be provided.

Communication features have also been enhanced with the ability to send and receive text messages between Xbox LIVE friends within the app.

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Pinterest has today announced the introduction of Pinterest Web Analytics to provide website owners insight and understanding into what content their users find most interesting and how they are interacting with pins. This service adds to the current set of tools, including business accounts, Pin It buttons and board widgets, available for websites. 

Website owners can now get information about how many people have pinned from their site, seen these pins, and visited their site from Pinterest.

The free analytics service will also provide information about the most popular types of pins including those that have been repinned and clicked on the most.

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Ever since Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was released people lucky enough to get the update or able to buy a new device have been treated to the Google Now experience. It was a massive leap forward in the way your data is studied and used to have information relevant to you at your fingertips at any time during the day. It was even awarded innovation of the year by Popular Science.

Now, Google have made it even easier to view the information you want, even without asking to see it. In the new update for Google Search released 13 February, Google has added a widget which can be placed on your home screen and feeds your cards directly to the widget. If you are unfamiliar with what exactly Google Now is and what the ‘cards’ are, check out our Jelly Bean review.

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Samsung’s flagship smartphone will reportedly feature “gesture control”, which will help the user input commands into the device without actually needing to touch the screen. Now, we know Samsung has the ability do this, as was evident with the Galaxy Note II which has hover control when using the stylus.

Although the functionality could be quite limited for some people, we imagine that someone who has dirty and doesn’t want to touch the screen will enjoy the feature, i.e. while cooking and wanting to check on a recipe on the device or after doing some DIY around the house.

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Having just launched Graph Search, a service that enables users to quickly search through photos, friends, places and members interests,  Facebook has now introduced free calling for iPhone users.

The service, that begun testing earlier this month in Canada, is now available in the U.S. iPhone users will now see a new “i” icon on their screen when viewing a conversation with a Facebook friend in the Messenger App. To make a call to that person, users just tap on “free call” and the call is made over Wi-Fi as well as cellular data.

The recipient of the call, will receive a notification on their screen saying  ”Mark Zuckerberg is calling” for example.

According to Endgadget a Facebook spokesperson confirmed that,  ”you can only connect with a Facebook friend who also has [the latest] Messenger installed on their iPhone” and that “it’s only available on iOS.”

While not the only free calling service available, although limited to iPhone users, Facebook’s new service could ensure even more phone time spend by users on the social network. .