Deal: Pick up the Smashbox Pro Bluetooth Portable Speaker for just $12.99
If you’re headed to the nearest park or just going for a walk, there aren’t many ways to comfortably listen to music without headphones. If you’d like a convenient alternative to using headphones, perhaps you should try the Smashbox Pro Bluetooth Portable Speaker – currently 13% off in the AA Deals Store.
The Smashbox Pro Bluetooth Portable Speaker allows you to keep your smartphone safe and listen to music at the same time. The speaker can conveniently clip onto your belt, backpack or bike and will protect your device through rain or shine. It also has some handy external controls to make skipping, playing or pausing your music a breeze.
Want to get your hands on one of these awesome speakers? Right now, the Android Authority Deals Store is offering it for just $12.99. This is a great value, so don’t miss out! Head to the link below for more details.
Alibaba hopes visual codes will fight counterfeit goods
As you may have heard, Alibaba has a problem with counterfeit goods among its merchants — you may not know if that Gucci bag is fake until it’s too late. The Chinese online shopping giant may have a way to fight these bogus wares, though. It’s implementing Visualead’s Dotless Visual Code to help you verify your purchases as soon as you get them home. All you do is scan the QR-like symbol using Alibaba’s Taobao app, and it’ll tell you if you bought the real deal. These codes only work once and require specially developed scanning software, so scammers can’t simply rehash codes or write apps that claim their products are legit.
The visual codes will first show up on Ferrero’s chocolates and L’Oreal’s cosmetics, but the hope is that they’ll be widespread enough that you can rely on them to prove that you bought legit merchandise. The real question is whether or not this measure will really silence counterfeiters. Unless Alibaba cracks down on merchants that don’t use these codes, there’s a good chance that fakes will continue to sell. After all, some shoppers don’t mind buying knockoffs if it means getting a discount.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Wired
Source: Visualead
HTC One M9 not getting a ‘mini’ version
The HTC One (M7) and One (M8) both had ‘mini’ versions with watered-down specifications released at lower prices. Their displays measured 4.3 inches and 4.5 inches, respectively. The One Mini was released in July 2013 and the One Mini 2 arrived in May 2014. If the company were to do the same with the One M9, we would expect the One Mini 3 relatively soon. However, Jack Tong of HTC North Asia seemingly confirmed that the line of ‘mini’ versions is done.
Here is what Tong had to say regarding devices with displays measuring less than 5 inches:
“Overall the industry is moving towards new phones over 5 inches in size and our product roadmap is close to that of the industry.”
This year, in addition to the One M9, HTC has released the One M9+ and One E9+, two devices that have displays above the 5-inch mark.
Source: Focus Taiwan
Come comment on this article: HTC One M9 not getting a ‘mini’ version
Samsung rumored to release the Galaxy Note 5 earlier than normal to beat the iPhone 6s
Samsung continues to enjoy tremendous success with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, but things will change dramatically when Apple announces the iPhone 6s in the fall. Samsung usually announces their newest edition of the Note line in early September when IFA takes place, but they might change it up this year in order to get bigger head start.
According to the latest report, they will announce the new Galaxy Note 5 by the end of July, which is just a little over a month earlier than normal. If everything goes according to plan, they will have a completed prototype by the middle of June. Supposedly they have confirmed the final specifications to global carriers with the instruction to take pre-orders before the end of July.
The carriers might know about those specs, but we can only guess. Based on the latest rumors, the Note 5 could have a 5.89-inch display, which is .20 inches bigger than the Note 4. There is also the belief that Samsung will offer a 4K (3840 x 2160) display, but I am not buying that one. You can also expect an Exynos processor similar to what is on the Galaxy S6. The Note series generally sports a much bigger battery, which is expected to be 4,100 mAh. Pack all of this in a rumored 7.9 mm body, and you have a winner. Of course, if you like to be edgy, Samsung will more than likely offer an Edge version of the phone too.
There is no question the Note 5 will will be cutting edge, but I am interested to see if they can improve upon the Galaxy S6’s camera? The other big question surrounds storage and the battery. Will Samsung drop the microSD card and battery swapping support? I guess we don’t have to wait for too long if this report is true. Let’s hope it is.
source: whowired
via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Samsung rumored to release the Galaxy Note 5 earlier than normal to beat the iPhone 6s
Xiaomi selects Leadcore to produce custom processor
Xiaomi continues to take control of what goes into its devices by partnering with Leadcore to develop a custom processor.
Marshal Cheng, Leadcore’s vice president, confirmed that the two Chinese companies are bringing together their products, technologies, and patents in order to produce a dedicated processor. These are moves that hardware manufacturers are looking to as differentiation becomes increasingly difficult. Samsung, LG, and Huawei are all companies that already produce their own processors. Some are even looking to create their own operating systems.
Producing an in-house processor also benefits companies in the long run. Costs are lowered because companies no longer have to pay fees to use processors developed by Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Intel.
Cheng also denied Xiaomi invested in the company, instead saying that Leadcore is still owned by the government.
Source: EE Times
Via: G for Games
Come comment on this article: Xiaomi selects Leadcore to produce custom processor
Tim Cook Reflects on His Early Years and Steve Jobs in George Washington University Commencement Speech
Tim Cook this weekend gave a commencement speech to the 2015 graduating class of George Washington University, sharing a number of reflections and his perspective on life for graduating students and their families. As announced in February, Cook was asked to speak at the event in Washington, DC following a nomination process by students earlier in the year.
Cook started off the 20-minute speech by reflecting on a few moments from his teenage years in which he met both President Jimmy Carter, one of his personal heroes, and Alabama Governor George Wallace, a man he disagreed with vehemently even at the young age of 16. The two men’s similar backgrounds – they were both from the South and Democrats – helped teach Cook about how his internal journey in life was just as important as his external passage through schools, universities, and jobs.
Crowd on National Mall for commencement ceremonies (Source: Andras Szep)
My own journey in life was just beginning. I hadn’t even applied to college yet at that point. For you graduates, the process of discovering yourself, of inventing yourself, of reinventing yourself is about to begin in earnest. It’s about finding your values and committing to live by them. You have to find your North Star. And that means choices. Some are easy. Some are hard. And some will make you question everything.
Twenty years after my visit to Washington, I met someone who made me question everything. Who upended all my assumptions in the very best way. That was Steve Jobs.
Cook mentioned that just like Apple in the late nineties he was also “rudderless” and looked to Jobs’ invitation to join the company and “change the world” not as a skeptic but as a believer. As expected, Cook looked back on the decision as one of his best and encouraged the graduates of George Washington to “find your North Star.” The Apple CEO concluded his address at the university by taking a picture of the amassed crowd of graduates, claiming his position at the podium was “the best view in the world.”
Cook and MacRumors readers Andras Szep following Cook’s speech
MacRumors reader Andras Szep was on hand for the event, sharing a few photos and noting he was lucky enough to find a seat up front for Cook’s speech and get a few moments afterwards to speak briefly with the Apple CEO, congratulating him on his speech and shaking his hand.
Xiaomi partners with Leadcore in pursuit of its own chipset
Xiaomi has quickly risen to a dominant force in China’s smartphone markets, besting both Huawei and Samsung in Q1 2015. Perhaps it’s fitting then that the smartphone company is now looking to begin designing products using its own custom processors. Rather that swallowing the huge expense that would be associated with setting up its own processor design team, Xiaomi has partnered up with fabless chip company Leadcore.
Marshal Cheng, vice president of Leadcore, has confirmed that the company is working with Xiaomi on “all three different levels — product, technology and patent”. The latter is particularly important, as Xiaomi has been looking to build on its rather small patent portfolio to help better defend itself as the company expands into competitive overseas territories. Importantly, Leadcore also owns some technologies for Chinese TD-SCDMA 3G standard and has access to LTE and LTE-A patents.
“The modem technology that’s ready in silicon and patent portfolio created by CATT including LTE and LTE-A make us very attractive to Xiaomi,” – Leadcore’s Marshal Cheng
As for why Xiaomi is interested in its own processor design, diversification and patent protection are probably the two main points. Xiaomi is clearly intent on expanding much further than Asia, but with it comes the risk of increased legal action and expenses. This is part of the benefit of using Qualcomm processors, as the chip designer owns patents that protects smartphone manufacturers as they expand abroad. Xiaomi is likely to want to shed this dependence on Qualcomm, and Leadcore could give them access to the patents and custom CPU design experience that it needs.
There’s also the added benefit of superior product differentiation compared with the range of other Chinese smartphone manufacturers, which all leverage processor designs from Qualcomm and MediaTek. Xiaomi may also be able to strike a better deal for large volumes of chips if it’s leveraging its own design, which is something that smaller Chinese companies are not so concerned with. Not to mention that its own SoC range would elevate Xiaomi closer to rivalling Samsung, which has its own Exynos SoC line-up, and Huawei’s HiSilicon designs.
It’s likely to be a while before we hear anything official from Xiaomi regarding any potential custom designs chips, but this seems like a sensible course of action for one of the industry’s fastest growing manufacturers.
Official Galaxy S6 Avengers accessories launched
Samsung worked with Marvel to give its devices pride of place in the Avengers: Age Of Ultron movie and the partnership looks set to continue. Alongside the previously-teased Galaxy S6 Edge Iron Man Edition handset, the two companies have teamed up to launch official Avengers-themed accessories for the Galaxy S6.
Launched through UK retailer MobileFun, the accessories include cases themed on Avengers characters and a Captain America themed wireless charger (which looks super cool!). The problem is – as you might expect from any official merchandise – the prices are certainly a little steep, but if you’re an Avengers fan, these might be worth paying.
The accessories available are:
- Captain America Case – £34.99
- Captain America Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge Wireless Charger – £44.99
- Iron Man Case – £34.99
- Hulk case – £34.99
- Thor case – £34.99
The accessories are expected to launch later today and MobileFun ships to several countries around the world. At the moment, the retailer is the only one to have listed the accessories and its unclear whether they will be available from other retailers. The only question now is – will Samsung and Marvel release special edition handsets for each of the Avengers characters and if so, will they look as good as that fan render?
Nikon’s doggy camera mount snaps when Rover gets excited
Dogs, it’s fair to say, are easily excited. Walks, treats, sniffing other dogs’ butts — for man’s best friend, life is a non-stop thrill ride. Now, to help you capture these moments of canine euphoria, Nikon has developed a camera mount that reacts to their heart rate. So when your favorite pooch spots something particularly awesome, the shutter will fire automatically, giving you an SD card full of the highlights. Nikon’s “Heartography” setup consists of two parts — an elastic heart-monitoring band and a “SmartCase” for the camera. Heart rate data is transmitted over Bluetooth and shown on the mount’s OLED display, where you can also tweak the minimum threshold for each new snap. Unfortunately, this appears to be just a kooky R&D project though, rather than a serious consumer product. In the meantime, you’ll have to make do with something like GoPro’s Fetch mount — it’s lighter and more flexible, but you’ll have to scrub through the footage to find the good bits.
Via: Nikon Rumours
Source: Heartography
Edward Snowden helped embroider a Wikipedia page, for art
Magna Carta is regarded as one of the foundation documents of western democracy, and its 800th birthday is coming up next month. That’s what prompted prize-winning artist Cornelia Parker to recruit some famous names, including Edward Snowden, to celebrate the creation of the document in a very unique way. Rather than re-create the original document, Parker decided to go off in a slightly different direction, by hand-stitching a version of the Wikipedia page on the topic. Sorry, what?
Yes, the 13-meter long piece is a faithful recreation of the Wikipedia page on Magna Carta, as it looked at some point in 2014. The majority of the piece was handmade by UK prisoners on rehabilitation programs, but notable names from other fields were asked to contribute as well. In addition to Edward Snowden, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange added words, the latter opting for “freedom” for some reason. Magna Carta (An Embroidery) will be on show at the British Library in London until July 24th, after which point we hope that Parker gets on with a sequel piece recording the arguments buried on the Talk page.
Via: ArtNet
Source: British Library
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