Minnesota calls first on “kill-switch” law; California cries
In what is ensured to create chaos to manufacturers as a multitude of states now plan to pass their own “kill-switch” bills, Minnesota becomes the first state to sign the bill into law, narrowly beating out California who passed a similar law last week. It would go into effect one month after California’s proposed effective date (June 1, 2015) and start on July 1, 2015.
This new law may have a strong impact on the the wireless industry forcing carriers and manufacturers to support the “kill-switch” service on a state by state basis. There are some major differences in this law as the law now bars retailers from paying cash for used devices and they are required to keep records of all transactions. The records that are required to keep would be the sellers identification, the seller confirming that the phone is not stolen, and the device information. In addition payments can only be made by a mailed check, store credit, or electronic transfer to deter thieves from trying to make a quick buck. The bill goes so far as to say that merchants must have video security cameras installed at their store locations. According to the text of the law, internet retailers such as Swappa and Ebay would not be required to comply with this requirement. The full text of the law is currently available on the Minnesota State Legislature website.
As with California’s bill, CTIA has been critical of the new law calling it unnecessary due to steps the industry has taken. The CTIA believes that chaos will occur if each state creates their own kill-switch laws. The association further feels that there needs to be a unified front with the “kill-switch” having a single standard to cover the whole country. Besides California and Minnesota, Indiana and New York are debating their own versions of the law and it is being discussed on the federal level as well.
The only remaining question about the bill How do you feel about these laws? Are you for or against the laws? Do you want it on a national level or state by state? Be heard! Give AndroidGuys your feedback below and voice your concerns about these industry changing laws.
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Dixons and Carphone Warehouse merge to form Dixons Carphone
Dixons and Carphone Warehouse have just completed a merger and will now be known as Dixons Carphone. The negotiations began in earnest some three months ago, but merger discussions between the companies have been ongoing since long before that. Dixons has some 950 Currys and PC World outlets, while Carphone Warehouse is England’s largest telecom retailer with over 2,000 stores and a 46 percent share of Virgin Mobile France. Dixons Carphone will therefore have nearly 3,000 stores and 35,000 employees, prior to any cost-cutting. However, Carphone Warehouse noted that the deal, which is still subject to shareholder approval, would save up to £80 million per year — meaning some chopping is no doubt in order. No money reportedly changed hands, and each brand will continue to focus on its traditional products.
Filed under: Misc
Via: Bloomberg
Source: Carphone Warehouse, Dixons
HTC’s One Mini 2 is an awkwardly named, cut-down version of the excellent One M8
There’s a lot riding on today’s announcement. A smaller, cheaper, perhaps more mainstream version of the lovely (but long) HTC One M8 could be a good thing not only for phone buyers, but also for HTC itself, which urgently needs to capitalize on the M8′s momentum. Well, the HTC One Mini 2 is here, and yes, its 4.5-inch display makes it significantly easier to hold in one hand, and it’s certainly going to be more affordable (although we don’t have exact pricing just yet). But this size-reduced handset is fundamentally different to the M8 in other ways too, especially on the inside. That’s why HTC has deliberately avoided calling it the “M8 Mini,” for fear of over-hyping it — a decision that probably deserves some praise for its honesty, but which has resulted in some pretty clumsy branding. We’ve just been hands-on with the European LTE version of the phone (the only variant that has so far been announced), so go ahead and read on for our initial impressions and the key specs.
On the subject of whether smaller phones necessarily ought to be lesser phones, it’s clear that HTC doesn’t agree with Sony, and it doesn’t want to tread the same path as the high-specced Xperia Z1 Compact. The One Mini 2 is aesthetically very similar to its larger sibling, which is a good thing, but internally it has been downgraded in every major department, not least in relying on a quad-core Snapdragon 400 chip (with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage) instead of the extremely battery-efficient Snapdragon 801 in the M8. On the other hand, those upgrading from a last-gen HTC One Mini might seem some improvement in performance, but the older phone’s chip was only dual-core, not quad.
The One Mini 2 also drops the M8′s secondary depth camera and Ultrapixel sensor in favor of a more bog-standard, 13-megapixel module — not a bad switch, perhaps, to those who regard HTC “Duo Camera” as a gimmick, but to our minds it’s a serious compromise that results in obviously worse low-light performance, and frankly we’ll miss the M8′s fast and enjoyable selective-focus effects.
Then again, other key parts of the HTC One experience are very much present and correct in this smaller model. That includes the generous dollop of aluminum that makes up much — although not all — of the phone’s chassis, and which is a huge help in giving the phone a premium air. The 720p LCD display (not 1080p like the M8) stood up well during our limited time with the phone, and the pixel density is fine. There’s room for a microSD drawer (phew!) as well as front-facing BoomSound speakers that provide audio quality you simply wouldn’t expect from a phone of this size. A healthy 5MP front-facing camera will take care of your selfies using HTC’s well-designed camera app, and of course you’re also going to get the same friendly, useful Sense 6 skin on top of Android, including Zoe Highlight Videos and BlinkFeed.
Expect to see the One Mini 2 in European stores from the end of this month, with the same three color options as the M8 (gunmetal gray, glacial silver and amber gold), and stay tuned for news of a US variant, which must surely be inbound soon. Meanwhile, we’ll get to work on a full review to test out things like battery life — the One Mini 2 only packs a 2,100mAh battery, but raw figures never tell us everything.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
Xiaomi’s first tablet offers powerful gaming on the cheap
Just over two years ago, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun told this author that he wasn’t sure about making a tablet at the time; but today, he confessed that he’d been developing one all this time. What we have here is the conveniently named Mi Pad, which was just unveiled in Beijing with super attractive price points: CN¥1,499 (about $240) for the 16GB version, and CN¥1,699 (about $270) for the 64GB flavor. To be honest, we saw this coming when MIUI was released for the Nexus 7 back in March, but what surprised us was that this new slate happens to be the first to feature the powerful Tegra K1 SoC. This follows Xiaomi and NVIDIA’s earlier collaboration on the Tegra 4 variant of the MI3 smartphone.
Xiaomi’s Android 4.4 tablet comes with a 7.9-inch display (made by LG or AUO) with a high resolution of 2,048 x 1,536, which works out to be a sharp 326 ppi density with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Underneath that you’ll find the Tegra K1 SoC, which includes a 2.2GHz “4+1″ core CPU plus a 192-core PC-class Kepler GPU. There’s also 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 64GB of built-in storage, microSD expansion of up to 128GB, a 6,700mAh battery and stereo speakers. Unsurprisingly, you can also take photos with this slate’s two cameras: 8 megapixels on the back and 5 megapixels on the front. These are all tucked into a 8.5mm-thick glossy plastic body (which does look a bit like a scaled up iPhone 5c), weighing a total of just 360g. By the way, there’s no 3G or 4G version announced just yet, but you’ll find the usual 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 radios.
Unfortunately, no date’s been announced for the Mi Pad’s global availability. All we know now is that there will be a beta test program in China in early June, so it may be a while before the device actually hit the market anywhere on this planet.
Filed under: Tablets
Students build a robot arm you control with the wink of an eye
Want proof that you don’t need big, specialized equipment to produce a mind-controlled robot arm? Just look at a recent University of Toronto student project. Ryan Mintz and crew have created an arm that you control using little more than a brainwave-sensing headset (which is no longer that rare) and a laptop. The team’s software is smart enough to steer the arm using subtle head movements, such as clenching your jaw or winking your eye; it also knows when you’ve relaxed.
The hardware is designed primarily with mobility and prosthetic limbs in mind. The current head gesture system could be used to steer a wheelchair, for example. In the long run, the students hope to improve the accuracy to the point where just thinking about an action is enough to get it done; you wouldn’t need a physical connection to muscles or the nervous system, like some of its rivals. The University of Toronto effort still faces stiff competition, but it shows that quadriplegics and others with little body control could eventually claim some independence with easily accessible (and hopefully affordable) technology.
Filed under: Robots, Wearables
Source: University of Toronto
Google Play Newsstand version 3.2.1 makes it out all on its Lonesome
This Update Wednesday has been somewhat of a disappointment with no sizable updates to any of Google’s apps, but thankfully, Google Play Newsstand version 3.2.1 is rolling out today to make sure it’s not a complete loss. While it’s only an incremental update, Google claims they have included a whole host of changes; as per the Play Store page, these changes are:
- See headlines on your Home screen with the Newsstand widget
- Scan more headlines quickly with mini cards (Menu > Mini cards)
- Organize magazine issues (where available) by publication date
- Translate news sources instantly
- Support for RTL languages
- Bug fixes
The update should be rolling out gradually, as always, but if you’re hankering for the updated APK, we’ve got it available to download below:
Google Play Newsstand version 3.2.1 APK download
We haven’t noticed much else different about the new version of Newsstand except that “Remove” in the 3 dot menu has been updated to read “Remove Topic”; if you spot any other changes, please let us know in the comments.
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Google Glass tempts travelers with new apps from Foursquare, OpenTable and TripIt
Now available to one and all (but still in beta, only for US residents and priced at $1,500), Google Glass is adding another selling point: travel accessory. That’s thanks to new Glassware from Foursquare (we hope a Swarm patch is included), OpenTable and TripIt, adding to other services that support the device like Google’s own Maps and Field Trip. TechCrunch also points out that the augmented reality app Word Lens launched a Glass app last fall that lets it superimpose translations over whatever you’re looking at — handy if you don’t know the language. The TripIt app keeps your flight info in view, the Foursquare app can do checkins by voice and OpenTable of course brings easily set up reservations. Will this push you into ordering a headset? Maybe not, but if you need one more way to look slightly out of place while on the road, we think we have an answer.
[Image credit: Michel Porro/WireImage]
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile, Google
Source: Google Glass (G+)
HTC One Remix tipped by Evleaks for Verizon, Samsung SM-N910 pegged for Sprint and U.S. Cellular
A good leak or tip can certainly get the juices flowing. They also get the mind spinning off in a multitude of potential directions. One the more reliable tipsters out there, @Evleaks, does a killer job at keeping various images and tips rolling out of his, obviously, insanely connected world. Today he pushed out a few nuggets of info that certainly got our brains spinning in circles. Of course these are only leaks, but @Evleaks has a great track record so we believe that they are fairly likely.
Earlier this morning he put up a simple little image that said “HTC One Remix” with the text reading “Coming to Verizon.” It would seem that Verizon will be picking up another variant of the HTC one. Sprint did it with the HTC One Harmon-Kardon edition, so why shouldn’t Verizon have their own “special” edition of the device too? The name certainly sounds music related, but we are doubtful it will be a Harmon-Kardon build, but it could be. Beat’s is certainly out of the question at this point and the only other real “thing” going on in sound is the new Samsung headphones, so that is out, and the old standby of Dolby Digital. We know there was a red HTC One image tipped as a Verizon version, it is possible that could turn out to be the Remix, but the color change wouldn’t be enough for a rebranded name change. PhoneArena dug in a little more and found the above image attached to a trademark filling with the USPTO. It doesn’t offer up much info though.
If we go beyond the HTC One in general, a finger could be pointed towards the remix being the HTC One Prime. That could make a little more sense really. We certainly hope that is doesn’t point to the HTC One Mini 2. Then again, with all the missing things in the smaller HTC One Mini 2, a music addition to spice it up could make for a solid ‘Remix’ platform. A lot of questions come from this and not a lot of answers can be had easily until Verizon makes the announcement.
The second bit of info from @Evleaks today tipped towards a Samsung SM-N910. It is supposedly showing up for Sprint and U.S. Cellular and is being point towards as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It lines up based on the previous Note 3 listings being N900A (AT&T), N900T (T-Mobile) and so on. He also mentions that it is headed to AT&T also and that all three are swinging in with 32GB storage capacity too. hopefully that is the base and and not the high side option. Personally I am over 16GB devices, 32GB needs to be the standard.
So, have at it. Speculate and chat about the info and have fun with it.
Source: G+ @Evleaks 1 / 2 and Phonearena
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Apple’s Purchase of Beats May Not Be Finalized Until Next Week
Following reports last week that Apple had purchased Beats Electronics, it was thought the deal would be finalized and announced this week. However, Re/code is reporting the deal may not be finalized until next week.
Apple’s planned deal to buy Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion may not be finalized until next week, according to people familiar with the transaction. That’s a longer timetable than some people expected as recently as a few days ago.
Once the deal is completed, Beats co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are expected to take on senior roles at Apple, with Iovine potentially becoming Apple’s new music chief. In addition, Iovine and Dre’s first official appearance as Apple employees is expected to take place at June’s Worldwide Developer Conference.
Log your fabulous life with this $663 designer handbag
What do you get when you put Autographer, creator of that lifelogging camera we saw in 2013, and quirky British designer Lulu Guinness together? If you guessed a zany handbag for wannabe spies and fashionistas obsessed with documenting their every move, then you’d be right. Guinness took time away from making oversized lip bags to design one with an eye that houses an Autographer camera, which can snap up to 2,000 images per day without you having to lift a finger. If you see tremendous potential in the bag for stalking, spying and creeping on an ex, uh, reasons you’d rather not disclose, you may want to start saving up now. It will be available for a limited time starting on July 30th from Lulu Guiness’ stores for £395 ($663).
Filed under: Wearables
Source: OMG Life
AIVAnet 