Meizu MX5 details leaked ahead of launch
Meizu is apparently preparing to launch its next flagship smartphone tomorrow, June 30th, but the hardware specifications and even a few press pictures have already leaked, leaving few surprises for the big unveiling.
The leaked images show a design that differs very little from the last generation handset. Although we can see that the small circle home button has now been replaced by a larger oval with the Meizu MX5. According to the leak, the handset’s fingerprint scanner will be housed in the new home button, and probably accounts for its larger size.
As far as specifications are concerned, the MX5 again aims to bridge the gap between the mid and high ends of the market. The handset is said to feature a large 5.5-inch 1080p display and is powered by MediaTek’s MT6795T Helio X10 processor, which features eight Cortex-A53 CPU cores and a PowerVR G6200 GPU.
The Meizu MX5 also sports 3GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 20.7MP rear camera and a 5MP front facing camera, a 3,150mAh battery, and Android 5.0.2 Lollipop on board. The Helio X10 is also Category 4 4G compatible for data download speeds of up to 150Mbps. A microSD card slot has not been confirmed yet, so we’re hoping that there’s a way to bump up the moderately sized internal memory.
In other Meizu news, the company’s last-gen MX4 flagship recently became the latest Ubuntu powered smartphone to launch, although the company is running an invite system to help keep control of stock. We can’t imagine that this will be the case for the MX5.
As with previous Meizu products, pricing will be a key factor in the handset’s launch, but we don’t have those details just yet. We’ll likely find this out and more at the launch in China.
Sky’s making a kids app that will rival Netflix and YouTube
When Sky announced the launch of a new Kids section on its set-top boxes, it immediately put Google and Netflix in its crosshairs. On-demand TV shows and movies were suddenly front and centre on the homepage, allowing children to select up to 4,000 episodes from cartoons like SpongeBob Squarepants, Ben 10, Adventure Time and Dora The Explorer when the company is done adding them all. It appears that was just the start though: Sky is now embracing mobile and will launch a dedicated kids app for smartphones and tablets.
The broadcaster has teamed up with usTwo, the company behind the smash hit game Monument Valley, and development of the app is already underway. It’s intended for children between four and nine, with The Cartoon Network, Disney and Nickelodeon all contributing programming to the service. Sky says the app will offer “an intuitive and playful experience” and will come with features that allow parents to filter what their kids can access, set a limit on usage with a “bedtime” setting and look back at what they’ve been watching.
The parent-focused features will likely be welcomed, especially as Google has come under fire for allegedly delivering illegal advertising to children. In the US, parent groups took their concerns to the FCC, arguing that some videos masquerade as user-generated content when they are in fact ads. Like Netflix, Sky can sidestep a lot of those issues as it has more control over what is displayed in its app, giving parents more piece of mind when it launches early next year.
Researchers have broken the capacity limits of fiber optic networks
You can allay those fears that the fiber optic network of that delivers your internet is going to overload. At UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute, engineers not only broke the supposed limits of fiber optic data transmission – they utterly smashed it, increasing the power of optical signals almost twenty times the base level. Engineers have usually cranked up the power of the signal to send and receive data faster. However, at one point, that power increase starts to create interference, degrading whatever’s getting send to the point of not delivering the data at all. As more light is beamed through cases, the amount of interference between carriers increases – at some point, the data becomes so distorted that it can’t be untangled and decoded by the receiver. This time, engineers were able to send the information 7,400 miles without the need for pricey electronic regenerators to boost the signal.
The breakthrough here comes from wideband “frequency combs” that keeps signal distortions predictable (and thus reversible) and the end of the line — and it means the capacity of the world’s fiber optic networks could gain a very a substantial boost. The Qualcomm Institute’s Nikola Alic, a lead author on the paper, called current fiber optic systems “a little like quicksand… the more you struggle, the faster you sink.”
“The more power you add to the signal, the more distortion you get, in effect preventing a longer reach. Our approach removes this power limit, which in turn extends how far signals can travel in optical fiber without needing a repeater.” Electronic repeaters are an expensive way of keeping a signal going, but don’t solve the issues of signal distortion. These experimental “frequency combs” could do exactly that.
[Image credit: jah~/Flickr]
Filed under: Science
Via: Gizmodo
Source: Science, UC San Diego
Barclaycard steps up its contactless game with three new NFC devices
If you didn’t know, Britain now prefers cashless payments to notes and coins. Contactless cards play a big part in the shift away from cash, but as technology evolves, smartphones and wearables are beginning to influence matters too. Barclaycard has long supported contactless technology, via its PayTag NFC sticker or bPay bracelet, but the credit card provider recently pulled the products and warned that something new was coming. Indeed, Barclaycard is back with three “new” wearable bPay payment devices: a wristband, fob and sticker.
The products are all very familiar, but Barclaycard has returned with some new features. The company has launched a new website and app that allows bPay users to transfer money into their digital wallet, view purchases and change payment settings for each individual device (like when automatic top-ups balances run low). As before, the bPay wearables are available not only to Barclays and Barclaycard customers, but anyone with a UK-issued Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card.
The launch comes as Apple readies the launch of Apple Pay in the UK. Barclays confirmed it won’t support the technology right away, and today’s launch might be why. The sticker can be fixed anywhere, but was originally intended for smartphones with NFC, while the fob goes wherever your keys go. The wristband, however, looks like a fitness wearable (but doesn’t act like one) and is designed for use at festivals or travelling on the Tube. In fact, they’ll all work anywhere that supports contactless payments.
All three devices will go on sale via the bPay website from July 1st, but they come at a price. It’ll cost £14.99 for the sticker, £19.99 for the fob and £24.99 for the band. Barclaycard also says that the wristband and fob will be available on the High Street for the first time and will head to CycleSurgery and Runners Need stores in August. At first, contactless payments will be limited to £20, but you’ll get an extra tenner to play with from September.
Chrome TouchBot: Google’s badass automated way to test touchscreen lag
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As an engineer, my version of pornography is a well-oiled automation system that performs its tasks with precision and efficiency. This put me in a very compromising position when I first read about Google’s Chrome TouchBot today, an automation system created by automation specialists OptoFidelity, that Google is using to quantify and improve their touchscreen accuracy and response times (or screen latency, as many will know it) on Android and Chrome OS devices. If you think your touchscreen gets pretty much instant input from your finger when you touch your screen, think again – check out this video of the system in action, testing several Nexus devices:
As you can see from the slow-mo parts of the video, the response of the display relative to the simulated finger is actually slow, noticeable so at this frame rate. Obviously we don’t notice much in real-time, but it does show that if improvements are made (and Chrome TouchBot makes it entirely possible), then we’ll be getting that much closer to instant input and response on our smart devices – you can even try out the TouchBot code yourself as Google has made it available on Chromium. Exciting times we live it.
What do you think about Google’s Chrome TouchBot automation system? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Chrome TouchBot: Google’s badass automated way to test touchscreen lag appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Startups can ask investors for cash through Twitter
Your favorite internet startup might not just be using Twitter for business news and sales pitches in the near future — the US Securities and Exchange Commission has greenlit using the social network to drum up interest in future stocks and debt offerings. This only works for small outfits raising less than $50 million per year, but it should do a lot to help these young companies get funding when many venture capitalists thrive online. While this probably won’t be a make-or-break matter for many companies, it shows that the SEC is aware that stuffy official filings will only get you so far in the internet era. Besides, it’s fun to think that a 140-character Twitter spiel may be enough to jumpstart the next big tech firm.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Bloomberg
Floating robots will find out what keeps the Indian Ocean healthy
Believe it or not, scientists don’t know a lot about how the Indian Ocean works. Without many samples, researchers are frequently left in the dark about the ways that fish, plankton and other aquatic life flourishes in the area. That won’t be a challenge for much longer, though. Australia’s national science agency is launching a fleet of BioArgo robots that will measure both the biological and physical traits of the ocean to learn what makes it healthy. Much like the Argo machines studying Arctic waters, they’ll float deep underwater (nearly 6,600 feet) and drift with the current. They’ll usually need to surface only when they’re transmitting their findings. Combined with satellite imagery, the BioArgo drones should give researchers a true “3-dimensional picture” of the Indian Ocean — important when a sixth of the human population depends on this sea for basics like food and transportation.
Source: CSIRO
Stretchy conductive ink puts computing power on your clothes
Those dreams of having computers in your clothing might be more realistic than you think. Japanese researchers have developed a printable conductive ink that maintains a circuit even when you stretch fabric to three times its usual length — you could have athletic gear with hidden activity trackers, sensors and other computing devices. The key is a careful mix of fluorine, an organic solvent and silver flakes which, when combined, keeps transmitting electricity even under heavy abuse.
The current prototype for the ink, a wristband that tracks muscle movement, is pretty crude. You’d need much smaller circuitry before your apparel replaces your step counter or smartwatch. However, it only takes one step to print the ink. As such, it’d be relatively easy to produce on the large scales you need for shirts and wristbands. Smart fitness clothing already exists, but this invention would make it both more commercially viable and a heck of a lot more comfortable.
[Image credit: Takao Someya/University of Tokyo]
Filed under: Wearables, Science
Via: EurekAlert, Nikkei Technology
Source: Nature
Alleged render of Samsung Galaxy Note 5 in a case looks a bit too textbook
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Case manufacturers are always a good source of smartphone leaks as they often jump the gun, putting up renders of new devices encased in their cases. We’re not expecting the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 to be announced till September, but we’re apparently getting our first look at the device today, courtesy of a leak from a case manufacturer (via nowhereelse.fr). Check out the image below:
Now, I know what you’re thinking – that looks exactly like a Galaxy S6, and that’s why we’re a little sceptical about this leak at this point in time. Sure, the render does feature a cutout in the case where a S-Pen would be situated, however this could easily be edited by someone skilled in Photoshop. And this is pure conjecture, but with the advent of USB Type-C, we’d be surprised if Samsung didn’t get on that bus early by putting it in its Galaxy Note 5 – this render clearly shows a microUSB port. That’s not to say that this isn’t what the Galaxy Note 5 is going to look like, but we’re not completely convinced yet – if 2014 has taught us anything, the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note line of devices do not necessarily have to have the same design cues.
What do you think about this render of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: nowhereelse.fr via Android Authority
The post Alleged render of Samsung Galaxy Note 5 in a case looks a bit too textbook appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Telescope filter helps spot Earth-like alien worlds
In the hunt for planets around distant stars, the stars themselves are often the worst enemy. They’re so bright that you rarely spot anything smaller than a gas giant, which isn’t much help when you’re trying to find habitable worlds. An alliance of American and Dutch researchers may have the ticket to locating Earth-like bodies, though. They’ve developed a new variety of coronagraph (a telescope filter that blocks starlight) powerful enough to give a much better view of the objects around stars, even when they’re half as far from their hosts as Earth is to the Sun. The key is that it doesn’t block light directly, like other coronagraphs — it instead has the light waves cancel each other out, even in the infrared wavelengths where stars tend to blot out their orbiting companions.
The filter has only been in action at multiple telescopes for about a month, but the early results speak for themselves. In the picture you see above, the coronagraph helped make out Beta Centauri’s multiple stars. The hope is that the technology will let astronomers detect more small planets through straightforward observation, rather than having to use indirect measurements that leave plenty of room for error. Don’t be surprised if the rapidly expanding list of known exoplanets not only grows faster, but includes more examples that could support life.
[Image credit: Leiden University, University of Arizona]
Filed under: Science
Via: Motherboard
Source: UA News
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