| GameStick game console to finally ship in September Aug 29th 2013, 04:00, by Juan Carlos Torres Majority of Android gamers are probably familiar with the OUYA gaming console which is probably one of the most successful technology-related Kickstarter so far. Some, however, might also be aware of another rather similar Kickstarter console named GameStick. After months of delays, the device might finally land in the hands of backers and buyers by the middle of September. 
GameStick’s life began in a Kickstarter campaign at the beginning of the year, singing to almost a similar tune as OUYA, but in a more portable package. The device is made up of two parts, a large box-like controller and a smaller thumbdrive-sized dongle that plugs to a TV via HDMI. The stick is that part that runs everything, powered by a dual-core Cortex-A9 AMLOGIC 8726-MX processor, a MALI 400 graphics chip, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage, and WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The GameStick runs a customized version of Android Jelly Bean, not unlike OUYA. The concept was quite popular, enough that the Kickstarter was able to raise six times its funding goal. Unfortunately, the journey wasn’t exactly smooth-sailing. For a short while, the project disappeared from Kickstarter reportedly due to some IP dispute, which was later cleared up to only involve the video used for advertisement. But that was the least of the problems that the project encountered. The device was supposed to come out in April, but that date has come and gone and delays have been announced. There was some word that it would go out around August but that now seems unlikely. They say that third time’s a charm, so the folks from GameStick are aiming for a mid-September release. The GameStick’s hardware might dismay some, trailing a bit behind the OUYA. The price, however, is also lower at $80 compared to the OUYA’s $99, which may be a deciding factor for some. But if you were one of the backers of this gaming device or are still interested in purchasing one¸ you get to wait for a few more days to see if things will really turn out as they said. VIA: Liliputing |  | Android's Hugo Barra confirmed to join Xiaomi as global VP Aug 29th 2013, 03:38, by Juan Carlos Torres It seems that the rumor has indeed some substance to it. Xiaomi‘s top executives have announced the addition of Hugo Barra to their international team and now Barra himself has confirmed that he will be leaving Google to still work on Android, but from a different side of the globe. 
We earlier reported on a leak that Hugo Barra has tendered his resignation, which may or may not be related to recent personal situations. Barra joined the Google workforce in 2008 coming from Nuance, who specializes in speech and imaging systems. In his five years working as product manager for Android, he has become one of the public faces of Android during his tenure, appearing in press and developer events such as Google I/O. Without citing reason, Barra posted on Google+ that he will be starting a new chapter in his career in a few weeks, joining the Xiaomi team in China to further push the Android ecosystem forward. Over at Chinese social networking site Weibo, Bin Lin, Xiaomi’s co-founder, welcomed Hugo Barra to the company as global vice president. Xiaomi CEO Jun Lei also confirmed that Barra will be overseeing the company’s international business development starting October. The move might perplex a few, considering how Xiaomi does not have much presence outside of China and Taiwan. However, this hiring does seem to indicate that the company has bigger plans ahead. This news might come as a blow to Android, who saw Andy Rubin also suddenly leaving his post while still remaining employed at Google. And while the departure of such a big name as Hugo Barra will definitely have repercussions within the Android community, at this point we still can’t be sure how much it will affect the future and the direction of Android. SOURCE: Hugo Barra, Weibo (1), (2) | |
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