Fully Charged: Microsoft made its own Cardboard clone, and Rock Band 4 adds U2 songs

Microsoft made a Cardboard clone

Microsoft is expected to launch a couple of slick-sounding Windows 10 smartphones next week, and now it looks like the company plans to get into mobile VR, as well. And it’ll use a well-trodden approach, if this leaked image of a Cardboard-esque design is any indication.

According to Thurrott, Microsoft’s VR Kit is being offered as part of a hackathon in Russia, with developers who do well given a full kit (which probably includes a phone and other tools) to continue building their mobile VR app. We wonder if trying to team with Google might make more sense here, given that the increasingly platform-agnostic Cardboard already supports both Android and iOS – but then again, it’s a hunk of cardboard. Anyone can make one of these, and Microsoft apparently just did.

[Source: Thurrott via The Next Web]

Rock Band 4 gets U2 songs

Rock Band 4 is out next week, bringing the last-gen music franchise back to life on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and developer Harmonix revealed a big bonus today: two songs from U2 on the disc, marking the band’s first appearance in a rhythm game like this.

The game will feature 1980’s "I Will Follow" from the album Boy, along with last year’s "Cedarwood Road" from Songs of Innocence, which may be familiar to anyone with an iTunes account. Beyond those two songs, more are promised as downloadable content, making Rock Band 4 the gaming destination for fans of the massive group.

[Source: USA Today]

Apple and Samsung may settle

Apple and Samsung have been battling it out in U.S. courtrooms for years now, but the end may be near: after a recent legal victory by Apple, the two sides have agreed to enter mediation to generate a possible settlement.

Given what’s gone down since, it seems likely that any settlement terms would result in Apple either being paid a large sum of money or ongoing licensing fees on Samsung devices, but a settlement could save a lot of hassle – and a potentially worse legal outcome.

[Source: AppleInsider]

Samsung shuttering Milk Video

If you have a Samsung phone, you might’ve used the awkwardly-named Milk Video, the company’s video aggregation app that pulled clips from top services. It wasn’t the most essential app in Samsung’s repertoire, and soon, it won’t even be a thing at all. Samsung announced that it’ll pull the app on 20 November, nearly a year to the date after it launched, although Milk Music and Milk VR will reportedly stick around – at least for now.

[Source: The Verge]