Samsung introduced the Galaxy S 4 to the world last night, prompting many to wonder if the iPhone has finally met its match. The flashy unveiling ceremony included a full orchestra, song and dance numbers, elaborate costumes, and even a suspended car. But is the new device worth all the hoopla? Samsung CEO JK Shin says yes.

“For each of us, life is a journey. What you want is a device that can help us on the journey,” Shin said at the ceremony, held at New York City’s Radio Music Hall. “We will make life richer, simpler, and fuller.”

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Tags: samsung galaxy s 4, galaxy s4, samsung galaxy, smartphones
Categories: Gadgets and Gizmos

Love it or hate it, Black Friday is here to stay, and many retailers are opening on Thanksgiving this year to extend the exciting bargains. Here’s a cursory look at the deals up for grabs at major retailers this Black Friday (and Thursday).

Wal-Mart Black Friday Deals

Starting Time: 8 p.m. Thursday
Deals:
•    $148 Emerson 32” LCD 720p TV
•    $399 iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi
•    $38 LG Blu-Ray Player
•    $250 4 GB XBox 360 Kinect Bundle

Walmart Black Friday Ad

Kmart Black Friday Deals

Starting Time: 8 p.m. Thursday
Deals:
•    $288 Proscan 50” LCD 1080p HDTV
•    $88 Seiki 24” LED 1080p HDTV

Kmart Black Friday Ad

Toys R Us Black Friday Deals

Starting Time: 8 p.m. Thursday
Deals:

•    $200 Apple 16GB iPod Touch 4G with $30 iTunes Multipack And $20 Toys R Us Gift Card
•    $20 Leapfrog Tag Reading System with Book

•    $50 Powerwheels, Barbie or Kawasaki Sports Quads

Toys R Us Black Friday Ad

Target Black Friday Deals

Starting Time: 9 p.m. Thursday
Deals:
•    $499 Canon T3 DSLR bundle
•    $49 Nook Simple touch
•    $200 4 GB XBox 360 Kinect Bundle
•    $110 Polaroid 19" LED/DVD TV

Target Black Friday Ads

Best Buy Black Friday Deals

Starting Time: 12 a.m. Friday
Deals:
•    $180 40” LCD Toshiba TV
•    $350 Samsung 15.6” Laptop 4GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive
•    $180 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 with 8GB Memory

Best Buy Black Friday Ad

Good luck, and happy shopping!

Tags: black friday, black friday deals, black friday 2012, black friday walmart, black friday toys r us, black friday best buy, black friday kmart
Categories: Deals and Finances

Got a thing for robots? For the first time ever, the general public will have a say about which automatons are inducted into Carnegie Mellon University’s Robot Hall of Fame (RHOF).

"The technology and art of robotics are advancing at an increasingly rapid rate and so the Robot Hall of Fame also must evolve," Shirley Saldamarco, RHOF director and faculty member at Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, said in a statement. "As more students, workers, and consumers become accustomed to robots, it seems like a natural step to give the public a voice in selecting inductees."

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Tags: robots, robot hall of fame, vote for robot, wall-e, rosie the robot, johnny 5
Categories: Gadgets and Gizmos

Love organic food but worried those vegetables at the farmer’s market aren’t the real deal? There’s an iPhone accessory for that, or will be soon anyway. The upcoming Lapka will allow users to measure the properties of food to determine if the fruits and veggies are truly organic.

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Tags: lapka, organic food, iphone accessory
Categories: Gadgets and Gizmos

Maxis and Electronic Arts have good news for all you werewolf and vampire lovers out there. Sims 3 Supernatural is coming to stores September 4, an expansion pack that will allow gamers to create and nurture a slew of supernatural characters. 

“With a variety of deep and mysterious supernatural lifestyles to choose from, The Sims 3 Supernatural allows players to dive into powerful new gameplay that showcases a darker side of The Sims,” Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims Studio said in a statement. “This pack introduces a fresh perspective while maintaining the characteristic playfulness, humor and innovation of our studio.”

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Tags: sims, sims 3, sims 3 supernatural, true blood, supernatural game
Categories: Entertainment

A handwritten note penned by Steve Jobs is headed to the auction block. The note, written in 1974 by the then 19-year-old Jobs, offers tips on how Atari could improve the functionality of its World Cup Soccer arcade game. Jobs worked for Atari before co-founding Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976.
“The present report, written for his supervisor Stephen Bristow, was meant to improve the functionality and fun of World Cup,” reads a description on Sotheby’s website.

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Tags: steve jobs, apple, atari, steve jobs note auction
Categories: Other

Diablo III is now the fastest selling game in PC history. The epic role-playing adventure game sold an astounding 3.5 million copies within 24 hours of going live and nearly doubled that number its first week on shelves. Blizzard has sold around 6.3 million copies of Diablo III since the title’s midnight release on May 15.

“We’re definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo III and jump in the moment it went live,” Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, said in a release. “We're pleased that Diablo III has lived up to players' high expectations, and we're looking forward to welcoming more players into Sanctuary in the days ahead."

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Tags: diablo 3, diablo iii, blizzard, diablo iii record, pc games
Categories: Entertainment

The Summer Olympic Games draw near, and this year fans won’t have to miss a second of the action. BBC announced that it will live stream every minute of the Olympic Games, for a total of 2,500 hours of footage.

“We’re going to make sure they (fans) get the best possible experience they can,” said BBC’s Phil Fearnley. “It’s the first time our audience gets total control.” More...

Tags: summer olympics, the olympics, olympics 2012, stream olympic games, stream olympics, summer olympics 2012, bbc streaming
Categories: Other

Finding out whether a particular movie is available for streaming is a surprisingly onerous task. Some content isn’t available at all, while other media is available on Hulu but not Amazon Prime, or Netflix but not iTunes. It’s enough to give anyone a headache. Thankfully, a new website called Can I Stream It? eliminates much of the hassle that comes with researching streaming options.

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Tags: can i steam it, stream tv shows, stream movies, stream content, streaming
Categories: Entertainment

Last night, Treyarch debuted the first trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and many fans were surprised by the premise of the new game. Rather than battle human soliders in past or present day settings, as has been the case in previous Call of Duty games, Black Ops 2 gamers will battle robots of the future - hijacked automated defense drones, to be exact.

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Tags: gaming, call of duty, black ops 2, black ops ii, call of duty black ops 2, call of duty black ops ii
Categories: Entertainment