Will it be too late? January 2016 rumored for Euro Note 5 release

Much to residents disappointment, Samsung initially decided not to sell the Galaxy Note 5 in Europe, but never said the phone would be kept away forever. The South Korean mobile giant may have now started to reconsider its decision, following an outcry from fans of the Note series and even a petition from UK retailer Clove. Rumors are slowly gathering the Note 5 may finally arrive in the U.K. and Europe, and we’ve gathered them all here.

At the beginning of December, two reports claimed Samsung is preparing to launch the Galaxy Note 5 in the U.K. and in Europe. According to Gadgette’s source sales will begin towards the end of January in the UK, while Android Central quotes another anonymous source that says Europe will see the Note 5 in early 2016. This may indicate a staggered release, although this strategy seems unnecessary for an established model.

DROPBOX IS SHUTTING DOWN MAILBOX AND CAROUSEL

Struggling to hold and increase its user base, Dropbox is shutting down its email and photo apps, Mailbox and Carousel.
The company is looking to streamline its core business and is looking to focus and build on its collaboration service, Paper.
“Building new products is about learning as much as it’s about making,” Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and CTO Arash Ferdowsi said in the blog post announcement. “It’s also about tough choices. Over the past few months, we’ve increased our team’s focus on collaboration and simplifying the way people work together. In light of that, we’ve made the difficult decision to shut down Carousel and Mailbox.”

Want to message your PlayStation friends? Sony has an app for you

Sony has released a dedicated messaging app for PlayStation, letting PS users message friends without having to use the crowded PlayStation app for mobile.
The new PlayStation Messages app is available for free on iOS and Android. Once you sign in, all of the conversations with PlayStation Network friends flood into the app, letting you continue conversations started on the console.

PlayStation Messages is split into three sections: Messages, Favorites, and Friends. Messages lets you see all of your recent conversations, Favorites is where you can create group chats, and Friends lets you see who is online at the moment.

Sony preps free online multiplayer weekend for PS4 owners

Sony announced that PlayStation Network members will be able to experience the online multiplayer modes in all PlayStation 4 games free of charge this coming weekend, beginning Friday, December 11th, and extending through Sunday, December 13th.
Online play in PS4 games is normally exclusive to players enrolled in the PlayStation Plus service, but this requirement will be waived for the duration of Sony’s weekend-long promotion.

MICROSOFT SURFACE PRO 4 REVIEW

The original Surface Pro was bulky. Its battery was limited. The keyboard was annoying, the display wasn’t great, and performance was just okay. It was expensive. Worst of all, it was forced to run Windows 8, an awkward operating system poorly suited for dedicated touchscreen use.
Yet, for all its faults, the Surface Pro was also revolutionary.
If Microsoft was as stodgy as its reputation suggests, it would’ve given up on the Pro and set its sights on some other pie-in-the-sky project. Instead, it hunkered down, analyzed the problem, and tried again. And again. And again. After just two and a half years we’re now on the fourth iteration. On average, a new Pro has arrived every eight months.

BOWERS & WILKINS ZEPPELIN WIRELESS REVIEW

I have to confess that I’ve never been a big fan of the Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) Zeppelin speakers. Something about the voicing, the price-to-performance ratio, and the shape has always rubbed me the wrong way. And it’s always been disappointing to have to give them poor reviews because, generally speaking, I’m a fan of B&W products. So it was with some reservation that I accepted a review sample of its latest all-in-one speaker, the Zeppelin Wireless.

KEF EGG WIRELESS DIGITAL MUSIC SYSTEM REVIEW

Buying speakers was a lot simpler back when our entertainment was neatly compartmentalized. You bought home stereo speakers and a receiver for your living-room needs, perhaps a separate system for your kitchen or bedroom, computer speakers for your office, and so forth. But today, those lines are blurring. Your computer, smartphone, and tablet probably get as much facetime as your TV, and speaker systems that connect to just one seem antiquated.