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Mobile Syrup

This clip of Keanu Reeves’ Neo isn’t actually real — it’s from Epic’s Unreal Engine 5

As part of the lead-up to The Matrix Resurrections, Warner Bros. has teased a new The Matrix-themed experience for gaming consoles called The Matrix Awakens.

A full reveal of the experience will be shown at The Game Awards on December 9th, but WB says The Matrix Awakens is entirely made in Fortnite creator Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5. In other words, the brief glimpse we get of Keanu Reeves’ Neo asking “how do we know what is real?” is, in fact, not real — it’s entirely digital.

Reeves, as well as fellow Canadian and The Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity), will reprise their respective roles in The Matrix Awakens. The pair will appear at The Game Awards to formally unveil the title.

“Created by members of the original movie team including Lana Wachowski along with Epic Games and partners, ‘The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience’ is a wild ride into the reality-bending universe of ‘The Matrix’ that features performances by Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss,” reads Warner Bros.’ official description of the experience.

Given that this is an “experience,” you shouldn’t expect a full-sized, playable game; it’s definitely just going to be more of a tech demo. Still, it’s an impressive showcase for the ever-growing medium of gaming, in which technology is continuously being pushed to achieve photorealistic visuals.

The Matrix Awakens can be pre-loaded for free on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

In the meantime, Canadians can enter Warner Bros. Canada’s special QR-themed contest for a chance to win a trip to the Canadian premiere of The Matrix Resurrections, at which Reeves and Moss will appear.

Co-written and directed by Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections opens exclusively in theatres on December 22nd.

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Mobile Syrup

SanDisk SD Cards now on sale by up to 65 percent off

Another day, another discount on several great SanDisk SD Cards from Amazon Canada.

If you, or someone you know this festive season, need a little added storage then check out the deals below:

Source: Amazon Canada

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Mobile Syrup

SaskTel continues expansion of fibre network in rural communities

SaskTel is on a mission to bring its fibre option network, called infiNet, to rural communities across Saskatchewan.

In 2020, the organization announced the Rural Fibre Initiative to bring its network to 60,000 residents and businesses across 45 rural communities by the end of 2023.

On December 6th, the company announced 24 additional communities will receive access. Carrot River, Foam Lake, and Osler are some of the communities on the list. Construction is expected to begin next year.

“The need for connectivity continues to grow at a rapid pace,” Don Morgan, Minister responsible for SaskTel, said in a statement. “Through SaskTel’s Rural Fibre Initiative, tens of thousands of rural Saskatchewan families and businesses will gain access to advanced fibre optic broadband infrastructure better enabling them to connect and thrive in the modern world.

Three prior phases have already been announced. Communities announced in phase one will have fibre available by March 2022. Construction for communities part of phase two has already begun. Communities listed in phase three will see construction start next year.

Image credit: SaskTel

Source: SaskTel

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Mobile Syrup

Two years after showing off Cybertruck, Elon Musk changing motor layout

Elon Musk returned to Twitter to share that the first wave of Cybertrucks will be a new four-motor variant, giving each individual wheel response control.

Past rumours have pointed to the Cyberruck finally hitting mass production at some point in 2022. However, since the anticipated EV has been delayed twice, I wouldn’t to see it pushed back once again.

When Musk and the Tesla team revealed the Cybertruck a few years ago, he announced that there would be single, dual and tri-motor designs. This new quad-motor option is new and seems to be a response to Rivian’s R1T, which features a motor powering each wheel.

Since only reservations have been placed for the truck so far,, it’s expected that Telsa will allow buyers to re-order the new varient without losing their place in line.

The Rivian R1T also isn’t the only other truck on Musk’s radar. Further down the tweet thread, Tesla’s CEO mentions that the front and back tires can turn diagonally, allowing the truck to move sideways like GMC’s Hummer. Musk also says that a product roadmap for the Cybertruck will be revealed during Tesla’s next earings call.

While Tesla has done a lot in terms of expanding its footprint this year, it hasn’t accomplished much much in terms of releasing new vehicles. Hopefully, 2022 will change that, and we’ll actually start to see the mythical Cybertruck on the road.

Source: @elonmusk

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Mobile Syrup

Here’s what’s coming to PlayStation Now in December 2021

Every month, PlayStation adds a handful of new games to its PlayStation Now streaming service.

Now, the company has revealed that it’s rounding out 2021 with the following titles:

  • Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
  • Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition (available until January 31st, 2022)
  • John Wick Hex
  • Spitlings

All four games will land on PlayStation Now on December 7th.

It’s worth noting that Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is the fourth Final Fantasy title to come to the PS Now catalogue since September. A fifth game from the series, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, will hit the service in January.

A PlayStation Now subscription costs $12.99 CAD/month, $34.99/three months or $79.99/year.

In related news, a recent Bloomberg report revealed that PlayStation is planning to merge PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into a new service with expanded features. You can read more on that here.

Image credit: Square Enix

Source: PlayStation

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Mobile Syrup

Pixel mail-in repair service in the U.S. reportedly compromised accounts, photos

It looks like Pixel’s mail-in service might be a bit sketchy in the U.S.

The Verge‘s Jane McGonigal says her internet accounts were compromised after she mailed in her Pixel 5a to Google for service. McGonigal says the intruders accessed her Google services, Dropbox and another email account, while activity logs indicated that they accessed photos in an attempt to “find nudes.”

“The photos they opened were of me in bathing suits, sports bras, form-fitting dresses, and of stitches after surgery,” McGonigal writes. “They deleted Google security notifications in my backup email accounts.”

McGonigal sent her broken phone to a Pixel repair centre in Texas in June, and Google later told her that it never received the phone. Following that, she was charged for a replacement device. However, McGonigal said that FedEx tracking details indicated that the phone had arrived at the facility. Afterwards, the “missing” phone was used for two-factor authentication checks to access her accounts.

McGonigal says this has happened to others as well. McGonigal offers the full story on her Twitter page. 

In a statement to The Verge, a Google spokesperson said, “we are investigating this claim.” At this moment, it’s unclear who exactly has the phone or whether it was intercepted during transit or in the repair facility.

In the U.S., Google offers mail-in repair services in and out of warranty. If you don’t want to mail in your device, you can head to a uBreakiFix instead. Canada works a little differently; Google Support pages state that mail-in services here are handled exclusively by uBreakiFix.

Either way, whether you’re mailing it in or bringing your device to a repair service yourself, you always have to be careful of something like this happening.

Source: Jane McGonigal (@avantgame), The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Volvo C40 Recharge pricing in Canada starts at $72,600

Volvo has confirmed that its pricing for the C40 Recharge electric vehicle (EV) starts at $72,600 CAD in Canada.

While it might not qualify for any rebates, this is the first EV that Volvo has designed from the ground up, showing the company’s strong push into the world of EVs.

It would have been nice for the company to aim a little lower to try and build something that would comply with any of the provincial or federal rebates in Canada. Still, I don’t really hold this again the automaker since its brand is typically priced a little higher.

The crossover is expected to start rolling off the line in the spring of 2022, and drivers who are hotly anticipating the car can check it out on Volvocars.ca.

There are a few reasons to be excited about the car, too. It’s packing an estimated range of 360km and Android Automotive, while the company says it can charge from 10-80 percent in around 30 minutes. Hopefully, once the car comes out and more drivers can go hands-on with it, Volvo can justify its extremely high cost. For example, Volvo’s sister brand Polestar also offers quite a nice crossover that costs less and has a longer range.

When I spent some time with the XC40 Recharge, I liked it a lot; it was a beautiful car, but its price-to-range value wasn’t really there for me. It seems like the same might be true of the C40, which looks like a very cool and stunning car, but is lagging technologically behind the competition.

Source: Volvo 

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Mobile Syrup

Get Apple’s iPad Air 4 $100 off at Costco for a limited time

Costco is currently offering its daily holiday deals with solid discounts on tech and appliances.

One notable deal being offered right now is on Apple’s 64GB iPad Air 4 (2020), which was released alongside the iPhone 12 series.

Regularly available for $769.99, the tablet is currently available for $669.99, marking a $100 discount.

The 10.9-inch iPad Air features a squared-off iPad Pro-like design, with an IPS Liquid Retina LCD display.

The 120Hz tablet also features Apple’s last-gen A14 chip, a top-placed fingerprint scanner and a LiDAR sensor.

MobileSyrup managing editor Patrick O’Rouke is a big fan of the iPad Air and said, “Essentially, the new Air is Apple’s no-frills, cheaper high-end tablet offering,” in his 9/10 rated review of the 2020 iPad Air.

It’s worth noting that this deal is exclusive to Costco members only.

Purchase the 2020 iPad Air 4 from Costco for $669.99 here.

Image credit: Costco

Source: Costco

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon Prime Video to release documentary on William Shatner’s trip to space

Amazon Prime Video will premiere a new documentary focused on William Shatner’s recent voyage to outer space.

Titled Shatner in Space, the one-hour special will debut on Prime Video in Canada, the U.S. and select other territories on December 13th.

Shatner in Space will provide an inside look at the Canadian Star Trek star before, during and after the Blue Origin flight. Shatner, who’s 90, embarked on the trip alongside three others on October 13th.

Shatner in Space will also delve into Shatner’s friendship with Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.

“My time in space was the most profound experience I could have ever imagined,” said Shatner in a statement. “This special documenting my journey gives a dramatic view of that experience, and my hope is that it inspires the world to see we must go to space to save Earth.”

Image credit: Blue Origin

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon Prime Video to release documentary on William Shatner’s trip to space

Amazon Prime Video will premiere a new documentary focused on William Shatner’s recent voyage to outer space.

Titled Shatner in Space, the one-hour special will debut on Prime Video in Canada, the U.S. and select other territories on December 13th.

Shatner in Space will provide an inside look at the Canadian Star Trek star before, during and after the Blue Origin flight. Shatner, who’s 90, embarked on the trip alongside three others on October 13th.

Shatner in Space will also delve into Shatner’s friendship with Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.

“My time in space was the most profound experience I could have ever imagined,” said Shatner in a statement. “This special documenting my journey gives a dramatic view of that experience, and my hope is that it inspires the world to see we must go to space to save Earth.”

Image credit: Blue Origin