Kenu Airframe+ portable car mount review
Finding the perfect car mount is difficult because there are hardly ‘one size fits all’ options. The Kenu Airframe+ portable car mount ditches suction cups, adhesives, magnets, and special cases for a simple design. After all, this is Kenu and we have seen the company produce compact products that are practical before. The Kenu Airframe+ even maintains versatility unlike so many other products in its class.
The Kenu Airframe+ maintains exceptional build quality even though the price is not very high. Materials used are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), thermoplastic elastomer, stainless steel, and zinc alloy. Don’t understand some of those? Neither did I. Just know that the car mount is built from high quality rubber, stainless steel, and metal. It keeps the Kenu Airframe+’s weight at less than 1oz. Combine that with its compact size and the Kenu Aiframe+ goes unnoticed when in a pocket or a car’s glove compartment.
Almost any phone will fit into the Kenu Airframe+ with ease. The rubber grip features an expandable jaw that can widen to 3.4-inches; therefore, chances are the phone in your pocket will be compatible. The Nexus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4, two of the largest devices on the market today, have no difficulties fitting into the Kenu Airframe+. According to Kenu, any phone with a display under 6-inches should fit. And, since the rubber grip is on the sides of the phone, connecting cables and cords remains possible.
Vent types vary from make to make and car to car, but it doesn’t matter here. The Kenu Airframe+ works with any vent type. The diagram above shows that the accessory works with horizontal, vertical, and angled vents. Kenu used soft grips on a rotating base for the clip. It latches onto the vent for a tight grip without leaving any scuffs. The rotating base also allows for the phone to be positioned vertically and horizontally.
At the start of this review, I mentioned versatility. The Kenu Stance, which I reviewed last week, is a compact tripod that doubles as a bottle opener. The Kenu Airframe+ doubles as a travel stand in both portrait and landscape modes because of the rotating clip. Take out any card from your wallet and insert it into the clip and the Kenu Airframe+ will prop up the phone for a comfortable viewing experience.
The Kenu Airframe+ portable car mount is available online (and in select retail stores) for $29.95. The accessory is compatible with practically any phone that has a display no larger than 6-inches. For those that want something smaller with a slightly lighter price, the Kenu Airframe is available for $24.95.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: Kenu Airframe+ portable car mount review
Apple giving away TV shows and music with ‘Free on iTunes’
Free stuff is always great, especially if people actually want what’s on offer. Apple now has a special section called “Free on iTunes” where you can find TV shows and music freebies if you’ve already blown through your monthly entertainment budget. It features TV episodes from 12 Monkeys, Eye Candy and others, as well as music from bands like Purity Ring and Houndmouth. As 9to5 Mac points out, Apple offered a similar service before, but this time, the focus seems to be less on hits and more on material that’s still looking for an audience.
Filed under: Software, HD, Apple
Via: 9to5 Mac
Source: Apple
Point-of-Sale Suppliers See Massive Increase in Retailer Interest Following Apple Pay Launch [iOS Blog]
A new report by The Wall Street Journal looks at the early performance of Apple’s new electronic payments service, Apple Pay, finding strong signs of momentum behind the service. One of the key signs of interest in mobile payments comes from point-of-sales system suppliers seeing drastic increases in retailer interest following the launch of Apple Pay last October.
Harbortouch has offered free wireless readers to its retailer clients since 2012, and in the month following the Apple Pay launch 68 percent of client orders asked for the readers supporting wireless payments. As of August of 2013, only 22 percent of its clients had installed such readers in their stores.
“It’s like night and day,” said Brendan Lauber, Harbortouch’s chief technology officer. “Now, merchants are actively coming to us and asking how to support this.”
The Wall Street Journal piece also covers the general surge in public acceptance for the service, remarking on recent stories that Apple Pay now supports cards representing about 90 percent of the credit card purchase volume in the United States, and that Apple’s upcoming financial reports for the latest quarter may provide more details.
T-Mobile 700MHz support coming to the Nexus 6, ZTE ZMAX and more
T-Mobile has been planning to roll out low-band 700MHz spectrum on a large scale for quite some time, even though support for the spectrum is scarce in many of the carrier’s flagship devices. That won’t be for long, though, as the carrier is planning to update quite a few devices in the coming months.
T-Mobile has a list of devices that will receive the update with 700MHz support, and it even gives handy timeframes for each device. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge are currently working on T-Mo’s 700MHz spectrum, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 and the Galaxy Tab S 10.5. Here are the four other Android devices getting the update in the months to come:
- Google Nexus 6 – Software update coming early 2015
- ZTE ZMAX – Software update coming 2015
- Samsung Galaxy Avant – Software update coming May 2015
- Sony Xperia Z3 – Software update coming May 2015
The lower frequency will help the carrier broaden 4G LTE coverage across the nation, as well as boost signal strength while indoors. So far, T-Mobile’s 700MHz support is only available in very select areas, but you can expect the carrier to roll out more support in the coming months.
Developing iOS 8 Apps with Swift course from Stanford now live on iTunes U
Stanford has just launched their new iOS 8 course on iTunes U and this year it’s focused on Apple’s brand new programming language, Swift. Taught by professor Paul Hegarty, two sessions and accompanying slides are online — Logistics, iOS 8 Overview; and More Xcode and Swift, MVC.
Updated for iOS 8 and Swift. Tools and APIs required to build applications for the iPhone and iPad platforms using the iOS SDK. User interface design for mobile devices and unique user interactions using multi-touch technologies. Object-oriented design using model-view-controller paradigm, memory management, Swift programming language. Other topics include: animation, mobile device power management, multi-threading, networking and performance considerations.
If you’re an aspiring iPhone or iPad developer, and you want to skate to where Apple’s going to be, check it out.
- Free – Subscribe now
Here’s where to buy the Nexus Player
Google’s first Android TV box now available from even more retailers
A couple months after its initial release, you’re finally able to purchase the $99 Nexus Player from retailers other than Google. That’s important for a number of reasons — perhaps the best of which is that you might well have a gift card or to for other retailers just burning a hole in your pocket.
But why buy a Nexus Player when it’s nearly three times the price of a Chromecast? We can sum that up in two words: Android TV. Think a full-fledged Android system connected to your large-screen television, complete with dozens and dozens of games. And that means if you’ve purchased a game once on a phone or tablet, you might not have to buy it again for Android TV. (Some games may have completely new versions, though.) You’ll also get great experiences for YouTube and Google Play Music, as well as a number of other multimedia apps, including Bloomberg, Pandora, Songza and more.
If you’re still not sure, be sure to check out our complete Nexus Player review. (And to join in the discussion, swing by our Nexus Player forums!)
And just as the list of games and apps available for the Nexus Player continues to grow, so grows the list of retailers from which you can buy one. Here’s where all you can pick up a Nexus Player:
Microsoft demonstrates the upcoming touch-based Windows 10 Office apps
The new touch-based versions of Office apps made for Windows 10 are the subject of a recent video demonstration from Microsoft. The video comes from the company’s new Office Mechanics YouTube channel, which was previously called Office Garage.
How to factory reset your Nexus 6
There are a few reasons why you might want to factory reset your Nexus 6, reverting it back to its out-of-box condition. Maybe you’ve decided to sell your device. Perhaps you want to eliminate any problematic apps and start again from scratch. Whatever the reason, it’s easy to clear out your apps, photos and other content and start again from scratch.
Cable giants don’t like the FCC’s push to redefine ‘broadband’
You may like the FCC’s proposal to upgrade the legal definition of broadband, but your internet provider probably doesn’t. The industry’s National Cable & Telecommunications Association has sent a letter to the FCC claiming that there’s no real justification for bumping the legal definition of “broadband” to 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps up. The lobbying group claims that advocates’ arguments in favor of a speed-up “dramatically exaggerate” how much performance people typically need. Netflix may say that 25Mbps is necessary for 4K video streaming, for example, but the NCTA claims that only a “tiny fraction” of people use their service that way. The Association also wants to make sure that any change in broadband definitions won’t have “regulatory significance” that makes telecoms step up their game.
While it’s true that 4K video, cloud backups and other high-bandwidth services aren’t hugely popular right now, the filing largely ignores the point of the FCC’s proposal. The regulator wants a higher threshold in part to anticipate demand, not to simply accommodate what’s already there. When it backs broadband deployments, particularly for rural areas and schools, it wants to know that the technology people get will be useful for years to come.
And of course, the NCTA has a vested interest in keeping the definition at the pokey 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up you see today. The FCC’s proposal wouldn’t force providers to upgrade all their offerings, but it would make the companies look bad (17 percent of Americans can’t reach 25Mbps) and push them to offer more than rudimentary access in FCC-backed rollouts. They don’t want to spend money upgrading their networks if they can avoid it, even if many would agree that their service is sorely in need of a tune-up.
[Image credit: Jupiterimages]
Filed under: Networking, Internet, Verizon
Via: Ars Technica, Boy Genius Report
Source: FCC (PDF)
Uber promises not to price-gouge during massive east-coast blizzard
The east coast is about to get hit with a potentially record-breaking amount of snow, which means Uber has the opportunity to… redeem itself. The taxi-hailing app, notorious for hiking prices on holidays and during rush hour, says it will suspend surge pricing during the storm. This marks a change of heart from Uber, and possibly a smarter PR strategy, too: The company has been beset by a wave of bad press over the past few months. In particular, it’s been criticized for raising prices during various emergencies and natural disasters, including Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and a hostage crisis in Sydney, Australia last December.
Finally, last year, Uber reached an agreement with New York’s Attorney General to not exploit crises with fare hikes. That means the company is now simply making good on its promise. “Dynamic pricing will be capped and all Uber proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts,” Uber said in an e-mailed statement published by Bloomberg. As of this writing, it’s already snowing in New York City, and has been for several hours, though according to various forecasts, the storm won’t really pick up until tonight. All told, the storm is expected to continue through Tuesday.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Bloomberg
AIVAnet 