UK Government Looking to Close Loophole on Digital Purchases; Could Cost UK Buyers 20% More in the Play Store

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Our UK readers will know that this week the UK Government announced their budget for the next year, and in it was the usual adjustments to income allowance and some interesting schemes from Mr Osborne. A relatively well received budget this time around, the Coalition’s latest budget holds some interesting news for us digital folk. In the UK, it’s been easy for companies selling digital music, books, movies, apps and games to avoid the 20% VAT imposed on all purchases made in the UK. Simply done by sending the digital cash somewhere else outside of the UK, Apple, Amazon and Google are all in on it. Most of these companies (including Amazon) sell their digital wares out of Luxembourg, which has a tax rate as low as 3%.

Tax avoidance was a hot topic last year in the UK, and as a Brit myself it wasn’t the nicest thing to see Amazon and Google cheat the UK out of massive sums by selling their wares offshore. Of course, the loophole was there for these companies to take advantage of, so who can blame them? This latest budget from the Coalition however, would close said loophole when it comes to digital goods. A statement from a budget document reads: “As announced at budget 2013, the government will legislate to change the rules for the taxation of intra-EU business to consumer supplies of telecommunications, broadcasting and e-services. From 1 January 2015 these services will be taxed in the member state in which the consumer is located, ensuring these are taxed fairly and helping to protect revenue.” This adjustment won’t come into effect until January 1st 2015 however, so there’s time yet to gorge on those 99p downloads.

If you’re thinking that the UK Government is simply looking for more money under the sofa, the Guardian reports that the UK could have paid for the Olympics using VAT lost from such downloads from 2008 to 2014, and that in 2012, as much as £1.6 Billion was lost on digital downloads. Frankly, this sort of thing should always have been in place, it shouldn’t matter whether I’m buying a game from my local store or from Google’s online store, it’s still a game and taxes need to be paid. It’s about time that a Coalition led by the Conservatives looked to big business to adjust the nation’s bottom line, instead of hardworking individuals. That’s just my view though, let us know what you think in the comments and over on Google+!

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Android Headliner: What Do You Think About OnePlus And The OnePlus One?

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We still know very little about OnePlus and their upcoming smartphone the Oneplus One. Sure they have given us some minor details here and there, but we still lack details that some of us would like to have. Despite the unknown information about OnePlus and the OnePlus One, many people’s interests are piqued and some of us can’t wait to see what the device has to offer. At first OnePlus was sliding little bits of information our way about what they were doing, like pairing with Cyanogen Inc. to make the second ever phone to run off CyanogenMod right out of the box. As time went on they leaked out little details about the devices specs which definitely gained OnePlus some attention. The most interesting things that OnePlus has set out to do recently might be their ad campaign and contests though.

Just a few short weeks ago, OnePlus took to the social feeds with a stream of Never Settle ads that seemed to be mocking their competitors. They even held a contest for the public, that openly accepted user made submissions following the guidelines of the ads they had previously put out with the same Never Settle statement. It’s normal for companies to dish out a gentle ribbing to their competitors, but some felt that OnePlus was taking things too far by mocking other OEMs and their upcoming flagships, when they have yet to release anything of their own. Others thought the campaign was brilliant and took it for what it seemed like at face value, a joke. Whatever your thoughts about the Never Settle images, they brought OnePlus even more attention. The most recent contest has only just started a week ago, and ends on March 28th. The contest asks users to submit a short 15 second video via YouTube or Instagram, that explains their feelings about the OnePlus technology(which we still know very little about, but were learning more as the days go by) in the most creative way possible. The winner gets flown out to Hong Kong all expenses paid(including accommodations for stay during the trip) to be the first to touch the back of the OnePlus One. In addition, the user gets to hang with the OnePlus team, and be the star of the next OnePlus YouTube video. That seems like a huge prize, and from a company who is betting big on their very first ever device. First device or not, OnePlus is confident in everything they have to offer it seems.

Aside from their tactics on advertising the device before its release, the details we do know about the OnePlus One are very intriguing. The key details we have knowledge of are the display, the battery life, the software, and we know a little about the design through the image of the phones design sketch. The device is said to have a Full HD 5.5-inch display, but yet will still be smaller than the Sony Xperia Z1 and its FullHD 5-inch display. When you consider this information along with the sketch of the phones design, it appears that the device will hold some of the slimmest bezels that we’ve ever seen on a smartphone. We also know that the device will house a 3,100 mAh battery that can not be replaced by the user. It’s also said that the device will come in two storage size models, 16GB and 64GB, although there hasn’t been any mention yet on the addition or lack of a microSD card slot. Perhaps the most important thing about the device that people want to know is the price, and the availability. The OnePlus One will launch internationally, although specific locations were not mentioned as of yet, and CEO of OnePlus Pete Lao has said that the device will cost under $400. Everything we know so far seems very exciting, and we can’t wait to get our first look at the device come next quarter when it’s expected to be launched.

What do you think about OnePlus and the OnePlus One? Are they biting off more than can chew or do you think they have a smart strategy in place by charging in headstrong? Do you think the device will be groundbreaking and shake up the industry or do you think it will be well overshadowed by the bigger competitors like the All New One and the Galaxy S5?

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Top 10 Best Android Games: March 2014

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Max Axe: Quest For Loot

This isn’t your typical endless runner. Max Axe places you in the shoes of an axe wielding viking, who dares to enter the forest of loot to obtain the most sought after items any viking could ever want. With your trusty axe, you’ll set out into the forest after fortune and glory, but you’ll be met by plenty of things to stand in your way. Giant blobs of slime, murderous crows, fire spitting dragon-like creature things, and giant explosive mushrooms are just some of the things you’ll encounter. Run through the forest as long as you can, all the while throwing your axe at enemies and much of the destructable environment for points, combo multipliers, gold and gems… and of course loot. The game is free, and comes accompanied by some sweet chiptune music.

Gotcha Warriors X

A tower defense game of a different kind, Gotcha Warriors X tasks you with stopping an army of modified zombies being used by Dr. Strange Love to take over the world. You command an army of your own that is made up of heroic warriors from around the world all with special unique attacks and the availability to enhance each one for increased strength and ability. There are over 100 warriors to collect, and plenty of undead zombies to send back to hell. Gotcha Warriors X is free.

Frontline Commando 2

The long awaited sequel to the original third person cover shooter from Glu, Frontline Commando 2 is an improvement over the first game in every way. Short of maybe the IAP, which still plague the game. They wouldn’t be so bad if certain items we’re a little more attainable without having to buy them with real money, but i digress. Minus that one issue, the graphics are better, the controls are more fluid, and you have plenty of squad members, items, and weapons at your disposal to help you through each mission. Playing through campaign missions can help you earn cash and level up you and your squad members. Use the obtained skill points to enhance your players. Even join in the PvP mode against other players online and see who has the strongest squad. For a free-to-play game, Frontline Commando 2 is actually pretty damn fun and worth a look.

Summon Masters

This action rpg from Bicore is a mix of action rpg and real-time strategy battles. Build up your battalion with various units which you can upgrade, each unit having different skills and powers. There are over 150 units in total and becoming victorious in battle will require a blend of strategy, the right units, and a little bit of luck. You battalion can have a total of 7 units, and one helper to compete in battles. It boasts action packed online play where you can work with alliances to defeat summoned bosses. Even work with all users to take down world bosses. It has a cool sort of anime style for the characters and it’s free.

Threes

Many of you might already be familiar with the puzzle game threes, but for those who haven’t yet experienced this addictive magical masterpiece, Threes is tiny little game about matching numbers. You must slide the tiles around to eventually add them together and create numbers that are multiples of three. It’s simple yet fun and equally challenging at the same time. If you enjoy puzzle games, definitely give Threes a look.

Buddy And Me

Buddy and Me is an adventure game set in a delightfully animated dream world. The art style is just as the developers describe it, reminiscent of classic animated films. In the game, you play as a young boy who returns home every night to re-enter the same dream to play with his imaginary and magical best friend named buddy. Buddy and me is pretty much an endless runner, where you can rack up your score by seeing how far you can go withing this awesome adventure before you wake up from your dream. you can use buddy to your advantage yet you start out by yourself, and together you embark on an magical journey through an enchanted forest with tree house like obstacles and adorable little magic bunnies. Collecting the bunnies extends the limit on your timer, and collecting the stars can allow you to use buddy to fly through the dream. the game will set you back $0.99 but well worth it for the some of the most fun you’ll have in a while. Buddy and Me brings out the kid in all of us in the best way possible.

Quiz Up

If you’re a fan of quizzes and mind boggling trivia questions, you should already be enjoying Quiz Up. It’s a trivia game where you have a myriad of different topics to select, from trivia about Friends and Friends Quotes, The Big Lebowski, Android, Video Games, and more. The game is updated constantly to add more trivia categories. When you select a topic you like, you’re pitted against an opponent and are given 7 questions to answer in a head to head match up to see who can get the highest score. The first 6 questions give you a normal amount of points ranging from 1-20, with the 7th question being a bonus 2x multiplier. Each round you play will gain you XP to level you up, and work your way towards a new title in that specific category. There are acheivements through Google play games, and you can sign in through Google or Facebook to challenge and play with friends or family. Quiz Up is free.

God Of Light

God of Light is an amazing physics puzzle game where you must save the world from impending darkness as the games character called shiny, a little ball of light. Venture through each level looking for objects that can manipulate light in many different ways and use them activate the sources of life, and bring light back to the universe. The game features an original electronic soundtrack by UNKLE, and has 75 levels across 3 different worlds, and boasts google play games achievements and leaderboards. Best of all its free. The only downside is can see is that it doesn’t seem to be compatible with the new Nexus 7.

Smash Hit

What could be better than a game that allows you to break tons of glass without any consequences? Smash Hit is pretty simple in terms of what you have to do, but it will get increasingly challenging and even more addictive as you go. The concept as I said is simple, fling little metal balls at glass objects. As you progress through the stages which are separated by checkpoints, more and more glass objects will appear that you can break for more points. Run into any of the glass objects and you will lose a chunk of your health bar. Too many hits and you lose. You also have a set of amount of metal balls to fling, which deplete as you toss them at glass. you can also lose by running out of balls, but you can obtain more by getting combos and more points. The game is easy to play and has a nice atmospheric soundtrack with extremely polished visuals. The game is free, but you can make a one time purchase in the game to unlock the full mode which allows things like restarting from the last checkpoint, as opposed to the beginning of the level.

Mines Of Mars

Mines of Mars was our game of the week last week. Its a wonderful little adventure where you play as a miner who get stuck on the surface of Mars. This a great little digging adventure where you can mine for all sorts of raw materials below the surface of Mars, and use those materials to craft items and weaponry like better mining picks with fast and stronger mining power, a handgun, shotgun, and launcher etc. for use against the foul beats that lie in wait, and upgraded space suit parts to help below the surface in the mines. As you plunge deeper into the mines of mars, you’ll encounter monsters, tiny little critters, extravagant plant life, big bosses, the brothers and sisters of a tiny little robot that you meet on the surface, and all kinds of secrets and hidden areas. It has a great little story and an endearing and funny dialogue. It will set you back $4.99 to engage in this awesome little adventure.

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New Lengthy HTC One M8 Leak Video Shows Up But All In German

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Tired of the new HTC One M8 leaks yet? If not, you’re in luck because a new video just popped up over at YouTube that shows off the phone in great detail. This video is even longer than the one that leaked before that was around 12 minutes in length, as this one is just over 14 minutes long. It shows off the phones full form, and seems to talk about a good number of things including the Dual Lens camera on the back. The user seems to show us off some stuff in regards to the new Sense UI that will come on HTC’s new flagship device, as he plays with the home screen, powering off the display a number of times to lock it, and then unlocking it again before going into some more detail about another feature. The phone also seems to have the ability to swipe from the left edge from the lock screen while the phone display is off, which then unlocks the display and launches you right to Blink Feed, at least that’s what appears to happen in the video.

At one point he also shows us the new Blink Feed feature, which acts as a widget on one of the home screens, he also swipes between the other multiple home screens he has in place. The transition between screens seems pretty fluid to us. We get a nice good look at the camera app as he opens it up and shows us the view finder while the camera is in video recorder mode. We also get a glimpse at some of the camera modes, like normal camera shots and HTC’s ZOE camera mode. The camera definitely gets a lot of attention here, he explains in great length different features it seems like as he flips through the gallery showing off different photos that he’s taken with the device. In one particular shot, he goes over a feature about the device that emphasizes focus on certain points of an image after tapping on it, and as you can see from the video right at about 7:50 in we see an image with parts of the photo that are blurred out effect, but by tapping on certain areas in the image they become the focal point and become un-blurred.

The images actually look to have pretty excellent quality, which so far seems to point out that the dual-lens Ultrapixel camera will take some astounding shots. It seems that the new HTC One M8 will have a power saving mode of it’s own as well, but it’s hard to make out any of the details since the entire video is german. The video is pretty long and there’s a lot of details that are hard to make out, but it’s definitely worth a watch. At one point through out the video it sounds like he is describing the difference in fluidity between HTC’s UI, Sense 6.0, and the newest version of Touchwiz or just Touchwiz in genereal. You can hear that he mentions Touchwiz and the Galaxy S5 while he’s rapidly flipping back and forth between the different home screens and menus, so we can only assume that he’s going over details that revolve around speed of the device in comparison to the Galaxy S5. Have a look at the video in case it gets pulled, but should it disappear just like the last couple, here’s a link to a mirrored copy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Amazon Discounting the Samsung TabPRO and NotePRO Tablets

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Amazon has just put out some discounts for the new Samsung TabPRO 8.4, 10.1, and 12.2 as well as the Galaxy NotePRO 12.2 tablets. They’ve knocked off $50 on each tablet. These tablets are pretty high-end and also pretty expensive, although a $50 discount is nice, I’m not sure it’s enough, especially in the case of the Galaxy NotePRO 12.2.

The Galaxy NotePRO 12.2 models have all been lowered by $50. So we’re looking at $699 for the 32GB models and $799 for the 64GB model. This brings Amazon’s pricing in line with those at Best Buy, in fact it’s about a buck cheaper than Best Buy. The Galaxy TabPRO 12.2 is now $599, Galaxy TabPRO 10.1 is $499, Galaxy TabPRO 8.4 is $369. Of course, some of these are a bit different in pricing depending on the color. For example, the Galaxy TabPRO 12.2 in white is $613. 24 and the Galaxy TabPRO 12.2 in black is $599.99.

• Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (32GB, Black)


• Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (64GB, Black)


• Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (32GB, White)


• Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (64GB, White)


• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 (32GB, Black)


• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 (32GB, White)


• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 Tablet (Black)


• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 Tablet (White)


• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4-Inch Tablet (Black)


• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4-Inch Tablet (White)

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Android Game Of The Week: Max Axe: Quest For Loot

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Tired of endless runner games the way they exist now? Are you not getting enough satisfaction and loot from dungeon crawler games like Dungeon Hunter 4 or Dark Avenger? Cast them aside and play Max Axe: Quest For Loot instead. You’ll love the fresh new take that Max Axe brings to the endless runner genre as it’s filled with awesome phrases like Redonkulous, and Cramazing. There are plenty more where that came from, but the hip phrases made from mashups of two or three words are just the tip of the ice berg. You can play as Max the axe wielding viking as he enters the loot forest and must throw his axe with ferocity and speed. Don’t throw it too slow or you’ll be taken down by one of many different nefarious creatures, or by many nefarious creatures. The longer you run, the more potential loot you score. You’ll also gain lots of points, but those aren’t as cool as loot.

Run longer and also score sweet pots of gold to stack that almighty dollar and save your stash for a rainy day. Or an awesome metal pail that you can wear on your head for protection. The more gold you score, the more upgrades you can acquire. The more upgrades you can acquire, the longer you can run, which will allow you to throw more axes for untold possibilities of finding loot in epic proportions beyond your wildest dreams.We heard there was a princess in there somewhere, but we haven’t found her yet. There’s always a princess though isn’t there?

Throwing the axes is as easy as drawing your finger across the screen. You can throw them straight at your enemy and hope to split them in two, or you can hurl them in a wild and crazy boomerang like fashion to hit gold coin stashes and multiple enemies at once. The game boasts some pretty awesome 3D visuals and destructive environments. You can score combo points for the more things you destroy, and of course, lets not forget the awesome hilarious sound effects and cool phrases like cramazing. You also get the pleasure of listening to some extremely badass unique chiptunes while you play. Lets be honest, it doesn’t get more awesome than chiptunes. Max Axe: Quest For Loot is free, and you can grab it from the Play Store now, then grab your axe.

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Deal: Jawbone BIG JAMBOX for $209

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Amazon has a great portable Bluetooth speaker on sale today, and for the next few days. The Jawbone BIG JAMBOX is Jawbone’s flagship Bluetooth speaker and is typically about $300, but Amazon is selling it for $209 which is 30% off, so it’s a pretty good deal here. The BIG JAMBOX is available in five colors, white, black, red, and a few others. Although they aren’t all the same price, so when you check them out on Amazon, keep that in mind.

The BIG JAMBOX from Jawbone has a speakerphone inside the Bluetooth speaker, it also has a huge hi-fi sound that can easily fill any room or outdoor space. This speaker is also pretty small and compact, especially for the amount of sound that it can output. As far as battery life goes, we’re looking at about 15 hours of continuous playback before needing to be charged up again, and it will also connect via Bluetooth or 3.5mm stereo cable.

If you’re interested in picking up the Jawbone BIG JAMBOX, check out the link below and pick one up.

Jawbone BIG JAMBOX Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speaker

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