Samsung and SK Telecom to show off advancements in ‘5G’ technology at MWC 2015
With all of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 rumors floating around, it’s no secret that these two handsets may be the stars of the show at this year’s Mobile World Congress event. As it turns out, Samsung may have some new advancements to show off as well. Samsung and Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom are set to demonstrate research in their new ‘5G’ technologies at MWC 2015, which is said to show off speeds up to 7.5Gbps. Now, 5G speeds actually haven’t been defined yet, but that’s not stopping the two companies from showing off their advancements in the technology.
Samsung and SK Telecom’s 5G wireless and data transmissions will use millimeter wave frequencies, which are usually considered to be those over 6GHz. This is higher than mobile phone and Wifi frequencies currently found in our devices, although that comes with some positives and negatives associated with these frequencies. Millimeter wave frequencies normally require an unobstructed connection path, which flat out won’t work if you’re indoors, or even if you keep your phone in a pocket. But the two companies seemingly have a way around this issue. They’re using something called “3D beamforming”: a way that involves identifying a smartphone’s location and directing a narrow transmission towards it in a straight line. In order for this method to work, the location needs to have an abundance of 5G access points to allow it to work properly.
Read more: Future 5G speeds could be just about anything
According to PC World, mobile carriers and equipment manufacturers are looking to incorporate millimeter wave frequencies to help relieve network crowding in big cities or low frequency areas. While this change may lead to a more efficient use of spectrum, it’s a huge undertaking and is likely years off before any technological advancements come to be.
Samsung and SK Telecom would like to launch the first ‘5G’ network in South Korea, sometime around the year 2020.
Samsung starts rolling out Lollipop update for Note 3′s in the UK
Samsung has finally started rolling out the long-awaited Lollipop update to all unlocked models of the Galaxy Note 3 located in the United Kingdom. This upgrade transports the latest version of the Android operating system, together with a multitude of new features, bug fixes and stability improvements for your handset.
The full changelog can be seen below:
- Android 5.0 Lollipop update
- Lock screen and Notification: New Lollipop UI style with enhanced privacy features
- Recent apps: Support multiple pages
- Addition of search function within settings
To start the upgrade, make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. Then, from the home screen, press the Menu key, followed by Settings. Scroll to the bottom and tap ‘About Device’, followed by ‘Software Update and ‘Update Now’.
Come comment on this article: Samsung starts rolling out Lollipop update for Note 3′s in the UK
Speaking of Apple Cars…
We’ve seen some cool iPhone 6 cases inspired by 1980s sci-fi blockbusters. Batman. Back to the Future. But I’m still waiting on the one I really want…
I nearly lost my mind when I saw the Batman iPhone 6 cell phone cover. It’s the coolest thing I’ve seen that’s absolutely useless but that I want anyway. It lights up, it projects the Batsignal onto a wall.
What’s more, the same Japanese outfit (Bandai’s Crazy Case brand) has built a replica of the DeLorean sports coupe featured in the classic 80s comedy sci-fi blockbuster Back to the Future II. Just like the Batmobile, there are parts that light up. It even has a little Mr. Fusion reactor on it, and hover-wheels! How cool is that?
I guess it’s fitting this is available, given than 2015 is the year Marty McFly travels to in Back to the Future II.
There’s a movie closer to my heart that I’d like to see get the iPhone 6 treatment: Blade Runner.
Ever since I saw that movie, I’ve been in love with the vehicle known as the “Spinner:” the police craft capable of vertical takeoff and landing piloted by Gaff, the plainclothes detective played by Edward James Olmos.
The Spinner is the work of futurist Syd Mead, whose work on movies like Star Trek, Aliens and Tron set the tone for science fiction visuals through much of the 1980s.
I’m desperately hoping that Crazy Case is working on the Spinner next, and won’t wait until 2019 (the year that Blade Runner is set in) to release it. Mad Max’s Pursuit Special would be a close second!
How about you? What are your some of your favorite sci-fi vehicles that you’d like to see get the iPhone case treatment?
Daily Roundup: Pebble Time, GTA V delays and more!
In today’s Daily Roundup, Pebble turns to Kickstarter to announce its new watch. Meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto V on the PC has been delayed again, Google is working on a new Chromebook Pixel and Apple’s latest iOS and OS X betas include more diverse emoji. Catch up on all these stories and more, past the break.
Pebble returns to Kickstarter for its next-gen color smartwatch
Pebble is an amazing Kickstarter success story raising over $10 million dollars for its first e-ink smartwatch. Now, the company is back for another go with the Pebble Time, its latest wearable that features a color e-ink display.
The PC version of ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ is delayed… again
Grand Theft Auto V on the PC was originally slated to come out on January 27th. Then it was pushed back to March 24th. Now, it’s been pushed back to March 24th. The good news? Folks who preordered the game will get some extra in-game cash to reward them for their patience.
Google employee reveals a new Chromebook Pixel’s due out soon
The first Chromebook Pixel wasn’t exactly a huge seller, what with its hefty price tag and all, but Google’s apparently still preparing to release a second version. OMG! Chrome! spotted a video of Renee Niemi, who’s in charge of Android and Chrome for Work and Education, at the recent Google Teamwork event, where she revealed that the company’s working on the next-gen Pixel that will soon be slated for release.
Apple’s newest iOS and Mac betas let you use diverse emoji
If you’re disappointed that current emoji characters don’t reflect your skin tone, don’t worry: Apple is getting ready to accommodate you. Both the latest betas of iOS 8.3 and OS X 10.10.3 include modifiers that let you choose the skin color of some icons.
AP: Lawmaker’s Instagram account proves he’s misusing taxpayer money
Republication Rep. Aaron Schock from Illinois has been spending taxpayer money on renting private jets, getting massages and taking his staff to sold out concerts, according to The Associated Press. And, get this: AP says it has confirmed all those times he rented a private jet, thanks in part to his Instagram posts.
Ad outlet tries using drones to track your phone’s location
Irked that advertisers are already trying to pinpoint your phone’s location? It might be even harder to escape their grasp if AdNear is successful. The ad intelligence group is experimenting with location-tracking drones that profile audiences in harder-to-reach areas by triangulating cellular and WiFi signals.
Google’s banning sexually explicit content from its blogging platform
Many X-rated Blogger accounts might cease to exist in the near future, as Google will no longer allow anyone to post sexually explicit or nude videos and images starting on March 23rd, 2015. It doesn’t end there, though: Mountain View also wants old account owners to delete any content that violates that rule.
Joaquim Vergès explains how he created Falcon Pro 3 in only three weeks
Some time after the original Falcon Pro was pulled from the Play Store for hitting the dreaded Twitter token wall, developer Joaquim Vergès decided to rewrite the application from scratch. The revamped app, Falcon Pro 3, quickly became one of the most popular Twitter clients on Android after its release in early 2015. The app uses Google’s Material Design guidelines in a unique way, offers a handy “smart interactions refresh” feature, and oh yeah, it only took Vergès three weeks to rewrite the app from scratch.
Are you wondering how exactly he did it? You’re in luck, because he actually did an hour long presentation on the application, and you can watch it all in the video attached below.
In his presentation Vergès walks the class through every step of his writing process. He covers background and prep work, caching, queries, UI, animations, design, security and much more. He elaborates on his reasoning behind publishing the app, rather than leaving it to a Google+ Community to test it out first. Arguably the most interesting part of the presentation is the Q&A section towards the end, where Vergès hints at an imminent tablet layout, and how he sidestepped Twitter’s token limit this time around:
On the last version of Falcon, I really got screwed when I added the multi-user feature because people bought it once but had eight accounts. With in-app purchases, I can now have people with multiple accounts pay a bit more than the person who only wants one account. That way, I can also limit the people who actually have eight accounts, so now they think twice before adding them. With a free app, I would hit the limit immediately, so I put the price a little higher to make sure it goes slowly.
Whether you’re interested in application development or not, I’d urge you to watch the video. And if you’d rather read the dialogue instead, the presentation (complete with time codes and links to plugins) has been transcribed and can be accessed here.
If you’re interested in checking out the app, you can head to the Google Play link below for the download. Have you tried Falcon Pro 3? If not, what Twitter app are you currently using?
Early Meizu MX5 rumors point to high res camera, fingerprint sensor
It may seem a little early in the cycle given that Meizu’s last flagship device, the Meizu MX4, just launched last fall, but there are some early rumors already floating around about a successor, likely to be the Meizu MX5. We know that Sony has already moved to a faster than annual update cycle, so we may not have to wait until next fall for the Meizu MX5 if they are looking to employ a similar strategy. When it gets here, it could be equipped with a fingerprint sensor and a whopping 41 MP camera sensor.
According to MyDrivers.com, the MX5 will be equipped with a 5.5-inch 2K screen, 4 GB of RAM, and will be powered by a MediaTek processor. The sources for this information also indicated the smartphone will get a 41 MP rear-facing camera which some suspect might be coming from Nokia instead of Sony like the current camera sensor. In the past, though denied by Meizu, there were rumors of some kind of partnership between Meizu and Nokia on their next device. It may be possible the companies have not gone so far as to do a joint project, but Nokia could be a supplier for this component.
The other piece of hardware that may be added to the MX5 is a fingerprint scanner. Supposedly the MX5 will house both a biometric sensor and a capacitive home button on the front. This could mean Meizu would put the button on the back of the device if it ends up equipped with one.
source: MyDrivers.com
via: phoneArena
Come comment on this article: Early Meizu MX5 rumors point to high res camera, fingerprint sensor
Sony to release Xperia Z4 tablet soon; Sports 2k screen
On Sony’s own Xperia Lounge app, the company confirmed the impending release of their Xperia Z4 tablet that will sport a 2k screen. While nothing else is confirmed on the device, we are almost certain the rest of it will be top tier. The Z4 will most likely be unveiled next week during MWC, so stay tuned for further news as things develop.
source: Xperia Blog
Come comment on this article: Sony to release Xperia Z4 tablet soon; Sports 2k screen
Five laptops built for travel
We’ve collected our favorite light and travel-friendly laptops here for your consideration.
There are some excellent Windows-powered ultrabooks available for those that need to get serious work done while on the road. Given the booming popularity of these light, powerful laptops, it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, but we’ve found five that we’re really enjoying right now. Keep in mind that you may end up paying a bit of a premium for portability, but sometimes a tablet just isn’t enough to get things done. On the flip side, you may also take a hit in horsepower for the sake of saving battery, as in the case with the (still entirely capable) Core M processors.
Enough yap, let’s dig into some great laptops built to move.
Yo launches the Yo Store, now gives you curated push notifications from different channels
When the Yo app launched last summer, it didn’t offer any more functionality than simply allowing you to ping your friends with a quick “Yo” message. So, what was the point of the app? What could Yo accomplish that a simple text message couldn’t? Today, we have that answer, as Yo has just unveiled a pretty big feature that may actually make the app worth downloading. It’s called the Yo Store, and it lets you subscribe to a number of curated channels, allowing you to receive push notifications if something important happens. It will let you choose different triggers that set off notifications, which gives you more control over normal tasks that another app would already allow you to do.
Yo explains:
Users can subscribe to USA Today for their Daily Top 5 Things To Know Now news update, or Huffington Post’s daily good news Yo, for some upbeat news. But it doesn’t stop there! Like music? Subscribe to Capitol Records to discover new music videos from their top up and coming hit artists. And your favorite TV shows! Get a Yo with a quick trailer from Shameless as a heads up that a new episode is about to air on Showtime.
Sure, individual apps will already give you notifications for some of the things you want. Users can already check Instagram to see if their favorite user has posted anything. But the Yo Store aims to notify you if that happens, eliminating the need to open the app and check every few hours. The Yo Store features 150 channels in all, including Funny Or Die, Instagram, Twitter, IFTTT, Comedy Central, BBC News and Craigslist, just to name a few. Yo says that more channels will be added every week, so you may want to check back in a few days if you don’t see anything worth while right now.
If you’ve never tried Yo, now may be a good time to start. Head to the Google Play link below to download the app, and follow this link to start signing up for channels in the Yo Store.
Copyright concerns hit Kickstarter campaign for wood turntable
Raise your hand if you remember the Kickstarter campaign for Silvan Audio Workshop’s wood turntable. It’s a sleek, ornamental design featuring a slab of wood, a glass platter, supporting spikes and high-end parts from UK audio manufacturer Rega. It struck a chord with some of our readers yesterday, and especially with Joel Scilley, a longtime turntable and audio gear manufacturer operating under the name Audiowood. He’s been selling “Barky,” a turntable just like Silvan Audio Workshop’s, since 2009. Scilley claims that the Kickstarter design infringes on his copyright, and he’s asked the campaign’s owner, Kent Walter, to halt all crowdfunding. He’s also filed a DMCA notice with Kickstarter, so far to no avail.
Scilley’s issue with the Silvan Audio Workshop campaign isn’t its use of Rega parts or slabs of wood — it’s all about the design similarities.
“The Silvan Audio turntable is identical to my design in every way but two: a change of wood types (which I too have done), and a different brand of spike feet (which, importantly, from a visual design perspective, are still spikes),” Scilley says. “The parts kit is the same, including the glass platter which allows tree rings to be seen, and the overall concept is identical.”
The Barky turntable has been featured in more than 20 major international print publications and dozens of online outlets since 2009, which Scilley says lends him protection under US copyright law. He offers the following quote from the US Copyright Office as support of this claim: “A work is automatically protected by copyright when it is created, that is, ‘fixed’ in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. Neither registration in the Copyright Office nor publication is required for copyright protection.”
Kent Walter’s Silvan Audio Workshop design
Walter doesn’t see his Silvan Audio Workshop turntable as an infringement or copycat art, and he says he has nothing but respect for Scilley and his work. Walter thinks that Scilley’s outrage stems from the fact that, now, he has competition.
“Really, the very last things I want are a bunch of drama or any harm to Audiowood,” Walter says. “Legal stuff aside, if there was any intention to copy anything, then on an ethical and creative level, I wouldn’t want to do it. We had a similar idea, Rega is far and away the best parts for making it a reality (due to the way they build their products), and I would love to be able to coexist.”
Scilley first asked Walter to voluntarily halt the campaign, and he noted that if it were successful, confusion over the design would hurt his own brand and business. Walter says in these messages — and on the Vinyl Collective forum — that he conceived of the design without any outside influence in 2011, and later made a wood turntable as a wedding present for a friend. Response to that present pushed Walter to consider expanding production via Kickstarter. In September, someone on a message board sent Walter a link to Audiowood.
After checking out Scilley’s site, Walter decided to go ahead with the Kickstarter campaign, with the belief that they were both simply trading in custom parts for factory ones. Considering potential copyright protection and the popularity of the Barky turntable model, this isn’t how Scilley sees it.
“Barky is my signature design,” he says. “It is on my business cards, the cover page of my website, and it is the most published of my designs to date. In copying this model, Silvan chose the most successful of my designs.”
Joel Scilley’s Audiowood “Barky” design
Scilley eventually sent off a DMCA notice to Kickstarter, but that probably won’t lead to any action, legal or otherwise.
“Thanks for writing in,” Kickstarter wrote to Scilley. “Unfortunately, this is a matter that falls outside our Copyright and Trademark policies, and is not one that we are equipped to assess or act upon. If you’d like to pursue this further, you will have to do so directly with the project creator.”
In a separate message to Engadget, a Kickstarter representative offered the following note: “It’s our policy to not comment on legal issues or complaints along those lines. In general we follow a detailed procedure for copyright complaints we receive, as outlined by the DMCA.”
Scilley remains in contact with Walter, and the Silvan Audio Workshop Kickstarter now includes an update and an FAQ entry addressing the issue.
“In any case, my priority is to be really open and transparent with everyone, and if anyone would rather go to Audiowood than participate in what I’m doing, I completely respect that and wish Joel absolutely the best,” Walter says.
AIVAnet 