Apple, April 2013: ‘Consumers want what we don’t have’
The ongoing Apple-Samsung trial is unearthing some interesting behind-closed-door secrets on both sides. Something we hadn’t seen in the preceding legal tussles however, and presented by Recode, was a handful of slides from an Apple internal meeting in April 2013 regarding its plans for 2014. Alongside the slowing growth of iPhone sales, the research noted that overall smartphone growth was from cheap and large (well, larger than the current iPhone) devices — both of which Apple had nothing to compete with. As the slide put it: “Consumers want what we don’t have.”
The slide also includes some other reasons for concern, including the carriers’ “strong interest in capping iPhone” sales because of its already-high market share, a tough subsidy premium and some (not mentioned) “unfriendly” policies — consider that lack of carrier-sanctioned bloatware on your iPhone. Apple also admitted that the mobile competition had also “drastically improved their hardware and in some cases their ecosystems,” while at the same time, some Android phone-makers were spending “obscene” sums on advertising or carriers to gain traction. Now, which company could Apple possibly mean?
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung
Via: Recode
Source: Internal slides (Scribd)
Chromecast $5 Off Again on Amazon and Best Buy
Haven’t gotten yourself a Chromecast yet? Well, what are you waiting for? If it’s a great deal then head over to Best Buy or Amazon, because they have slashed $5 off the price of the awesome little dongle. Sure, it isn’t a huge discount, but saving money is saving money, and I guarantee you once you get a Chromecast, you will wonder how you survived without it. Hit one of the links below to go grab yourself one, and let us know if you did.
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White House has had legal talks with Samsung about that presidential selfie
It isn’t quite the selfie-retweeted-’round-the-world, but that hasn’t stopped the White House from answering questions about David Ortiz’s impromptu snapshot with the president. Obama’s senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer made an appearance on Face the Nation to talk about serious matters like the state of the Affordable Healthcare Act, but didn’t shy away from host Bob Schieffer’s questions about the above picture (those start around the 5:47 mark). Pfeiffer said that the president didn’t know anything about Samsung’s connection with Big Papi, and that whenever someone is using the president to promote a product, that’s concern for the White House’s counsel. On the topic of legal action, Pfeiffer said that the while the White House has spoken with Samsung, he’d rather leave the outcome of that conversation between the lawyers. “Maybe this will be the end of all selfies,” he said. We can only hope.
[Image credit: David Ortiz, Twitter]
Filed under: Cameras, Mobile, Samsung
Source: YouTube
DJI brings its smooth video tech to the ground with Ronin camera gimbal
DJI’s best known for its versatile photography drones, but the company’s bringing its stabilization technology to ground-based shoots with the Ronin camera gimbal. The compact device, which appears to be a more consumer-friendly version of last year’s Movi Freefly, is designed to work with a variety of compact cameras, from DSLRs to a Red Epic. The handheld gimbal is based on the firm’s ZenMuse tech, which you’ll find in select camera copters. A single videographer can control the rig, or you can have a second operator manage pan and tilt wirelessly. Ronin can be configured in less than five minutes using a companion smartphone app, which enables auto calibration after balancing the camera. We’re not clear on pricing just yet, but DJI says to expect the device to ship later this quarter.
Filed under: Cameras
DJI improves stabilization, tilt and flying speed with Phantom 2 Vision+ drone
It was just this January that we tested DJI’s Phantom 2 Vision drone, a $1,199 quadcopter with an integrated 14-megapixel/1080p camera and tilt-axis gimbal. Now at NAB, DJI’s back with a “plus” version of its airborne craft. The refreshed gadget, which retails for $100 more than its predecessor, includes a new three-axis gimbal (compared to single-axis stabilization) for smoother captures, more than double the WiFi communication distance (700 meters, or about 3,000 feet), a 50-percent boost in maximum flight speed (to 15 meters or 50 feet per second) and a 90-degree tilt that lets you shoot subjects directly below.
There’s also an integrated GPS system that enables you to set an autonomous path or keep the Phantom in the same spot in winds of up to 25 miles per hour, while the DJI Vision app lets you preview footage and access altitude, distance and battery strength during shoots. Finally, DJI is releasing a firmware update for all Phantom drones that lets pilots avoid flying near airports or user-generated no-fly zones. Availability remains TBA, but expect to drop $1,299 for your Phantom 2 Vision+ once it’s ready to ship.
Filed under: Cameras
Flappy Bird parody game “Flappy Jeremy” mashes Ron Jeremy and Miley Cyrus
You know that recurring dream you have of Ron Jeremy replacing Miley Cyrus in the “Wrecking Ball” video? Well Flappy Jeremy has just made your dream come true. Inspired by the once removed but coming back again (possibly?) Flappy Bird, Flappy Jeremy seeks to fill the emptiness left by the disappearance of the original title.
As the title suggests this game is a clever and creative mash up of Ron Jeremy riding Miley Cyrus’ wrecking ball from the video. Ron Jeremy sits on top of the ball in his tighty whities with beer belly hanging out for all to enjoy. The game is very simple to play, but the fun setting and the challenge of this game will keep you playing for hours.
The goal of this addicting game is to let your bird “Ron” swing the wrecking ball without bumping into any obstacles. Swing as far as you can and conquer the game. It sounds much easier than you think and will keep you playing for hours in an attempt to make it all the way through the game. Don’t let the seductive image of Ron Jeremy get you too excited though because you only have one chance to finish this game and beat everyone’s high score.
Flappy Jeremy is a free game and you can find it on the Google Play Store.
The post Flappy Bird parody game “Flappy Jeremy” mashes Ron Jeremy and Miley Cyrus appeared first on AndroidGuys.
The Paper Icon Pack by Samer Zayer is live and it’s no small Wrinkle
You may recall the work of icon designer, Samer Zayer, that we’ve featured on AndroidSPIN before, including the Flatee and Flatastico icon packs. Both of those icon packs were extremely striking, and now Samer has extended his portfolio with the Paper Icon Pack. Check out some screenshots below:
Utilizing a similar colour scheme to Flatee and Flatastico, Paper uses a much different texture which mimics the look of crumpled or creased paper. The icon pack will launch with 900+ icons as well 13 thematic wallpapers and will cost $1.49 USD. The page should be live now, so make sure to hit the Play Store links below if you are interested.
I know I can’t wait to try the pack and we’ll have an icon review coming soon, so stay tuned for that. Also, be sure to circle Samer on Google+ here to keep up to date with his current and future projects.
If you pick up the Paper Icon Pack, be sure to let us know how you find it.
Icon: Paper Icon Pack
Price: $1.49
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Sony announces full-frame Alpha A7s with 4K video output
It wouldn’t be NAB without a major 4K announcement from Sony, and that’s exactly what we’ve got here. The company introduced the Alpha A7s at its Las Vegas press event today, bringing 4K video to the popular full-frame mirrorless camera line. The “s” in the new camera’s name stands for sensitivity, and to that end it supports an ISO range of 50 to 409,600. The 12.2-megapixel full-frame sensor limits downscaling with 3,840 x 2,160 (QFHD) 4K video, ultimately resulting in higher quality footage. While you can store 1080p video internally, you’ll need to use an external recorder to capture 4K video, which the camera outputs with 4:2:2 color sampling via HDMI.
You can store XAVC S-format video with a class 10 or higher SDXC card. When in 1080p mode, you can also opt to shoot with APS-C cropping, while 120 fps capture is supported when you jump down to 720p. The A7s can snap still images, of course, but it really shines when it comes to capturing 4K and HD video. The camera supports S-Log2 gamma, expanding the dynamic range to 1300 percent, resulting in reduced shadow and highlight clipping.
Physically, the A7s looks identical to its Alpha siblings, with a solid design and feel. It also sports WiFi and NFC, for wireless transfers to a smartphone or tablet. Also, like the other Alpha 7 cams, the A7s includes a Multi Interface Shoe, so you can add in Sony’s XLR mic adapter kit, the XLR-K1M. Pricing has not yet been announced, but Sony executives say to expect it in stores this summer, just a few month’s after Panasonic’s GH4. Check it out in our video below.
Sarah Silbert contributed to this report.
Watch this massive game of Tetris play out on a Philly skyscraper (video)
Tetris is turning 30 (yes, thirty!) in June, so some folks threw it one epic pre-birthday party at Philly Tech Week’s kickoff event this April 5th. What’d they do, you ask? They used the 29-story Cira Centre building as a screen to play an enormous game of Tetris that could be seen in many parts of the city, as you can watch in the clip after the break. While this isn’t the first time someone rigged the facade of a building to play Tetris — there was that one time in France and another at MIT, which was actually a brilliant prank by its students — this is possibly the largest attempt, thus far.
Among those who got the chance to mess up badly in front of a gaggle of screaming onlookers was Hank Rogers, Tetris company president a.k.a. the man you have to thank for the game. Dr. Frank Lee from Drexel University, whose hobby is to plan skyscraper-sized versions of popular games, also got his turn. As you might have guessed, Lee oversaw this stunt’s construction, and he’s hoping it nets his university another Guinness World Record — he was also in charge of creating a giant game of pong using the same building in 2013, which holds the record for largest architectural video game display. Unfortunately, we can’t describe in words how glorious playing Tetris on a massive scale is, so just watch it all go down below.
[Image credit: michaelwm25/Flickr]
Filed under: Gaming
3play is a Bluetooth audio dongle that begs to be misused
We think it’s fair to say that Grace Digital has a colorful catalog of products. Everything it makes seems to have a quirk or a twist that, at the very least, stops us ever getting bored hearing about them. The 3play Bluetooth audio receiver is a fine example, and something we’d categorize under “widget” (that’s a compliment by the way). What does it do? Well, if you go by the marketing material, it “connects up to three devices to your stereo,” it’ll also turn any HiFi or portable speaker into a Bluetooth capable one. The selling point here is that up to three different devices can connect to the 3play at any one time (it remembers up to seven) so you and two friends can play tunes from your own phones, without having to pause, disconnect, reconnect and, basically, kill the party vibe cold. But there’s more than that on offer here.
Before you all ask, yes it’s battery powered (it claims 10 hours, though you may want to plug it in for prolonged sessions), and yes it supports Bluetooth 4.0, aptX, AAC, SBC and all that other goodness. We tested it out (incidentally) on a Bluetooth speaker of our own, and it does exactly what it claims. We hooked up a few phones, and were able to battle it out for the airwaves. You can’t get multiple tracks running over each other, so if you were having visions of fierce DJ sets, then sadly no dice. You can, however, engage in some “tune fi tune” style selecta sessions. There are three LEDs along the bottom edge of the 3play that let you know how many devices are connected, and playing media on any one of those will barge the currently playing song out of the way, and take center stage.
The reality is that it doesn’t always work that smoothly, with the result being sometimes, confusingly, pausing the music on one phone causes the other to start, as if the play/stop signals have gotten themselves in a bit of a twist. Essentially, though, it does this core task pretty well, and if this is solving a problem that you have, you’ll be more than happy to overlook this minor bug.
What we really like about the 3play is its potential for other use cases. We know it’s not unique to this device, but by thinking of the 3play as a Bluetooth dongle (or a virtual cable from your phone’s audio out), you can get creative with it. For example, we hooked it up to the 3.5mm microphone connection on our DSLR, played music through the phone while we recorded video, and hey presto — quick and dirty wireless video soundtracks. In fact, there’s a bunch of different ways you could use this that go beyond its basic reason for being. That’s a good thing, too, as at $99 (though you can find it a bit cheaper if you look around), it’s not exactly the cheapest widget on the market. But, it is one that will likely appeal to a very particular audience. We just wonder if it was a conscious branding decision not to offer a four-device version?
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Home Entertainment
AIVAnet 