Report: Google’s second-gen Glass headset is being aimed exclusively at businesses
We may have heard some rumors about Google’s second-generation Glass headset coming with a larger prism display, a higher performance Intel Atom processor and moderately improved battery life, though we may not be able to get our hands on it anytime soon. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Google is quietly pitching the new headset exclusively to businesses. And more specifically, the sources claim, the next-gen headset is aimed at businesses in industries such as healthcare, energy and manufacturing.
Instead of launching this new version of Glass to consumers, the company is supposedly distributing the new model to software developers so they can create programs to be used in business settings. Google also plans for businesses to be using these new models sometime this fall.
Moreover, the report claims that the new Glass, while sporting a curved-rectangle shape that’s similar to the first-gen headset, will not include a wire-like frame this time around. Alternatively, it will feature a “button-and-hinge system” that allows the mini-computer to be easily attached to different glasses. The new model will also have a faster Intel processor, improved battery life by up to two hours, as well as improved wireless connectivity, the report said. In addition, the cube-like glass prism will have the ability to move vertically and horizontally, rather than just horizontally.
The report goes on to say that Google is remaining committed to the technology and has plans to release another consumer version, though we might not see that consumer-ready product until at least a year from now.
Meizu MX5 review
A big focus by smartphone manufacturers this year has been on offering consumers quality devices that don’t break the bank, and we’ve seen some fantastic new additions to this segment from the like of Asus, Alcatel OneTouch, and a slew of Chinese OEMs. The fact that high-end doesn’t necessarily have to mean expensive was really brought into the spotlight just this week however, with the ZTE Axon Phone, OnePlus 2. and the new Motorola flagships, the Moto X Style and Moto X Play, bursting on to the scene. Joining this intensely competitive arena now is Meizu, with their latest flagship offering. Does this device manage to stand out in this ever-growing and impressive crowd? We find that out, and more, in this in-depth Meizu MX5 review!
Design
The Meizu MX5 retains a lot of the design language of its predecessor, and as such, also continues to feature a very familiar look with an inspiration that is obvious. Unlike previous iterations of this flagship line though, Meizu has gone from using a metal frame and plastic backing to a full metal unibody design that curves around the sides to meet the large display up front, allowing for the premium feel that is expected from a current generation flagship.
One easily noticeable difference in the design between generations is the presence of a physical home button up front, with an integrated fingerprint scanner, in the case of the Meizu MX5, replacing the capacitive home button found with its predecessor, which also doubled as a notification light. With this feature not available anymore, a notification LED is now included, found in its more traditional location above the display. The home button can feel a little cheap at times, which isn’t great, given all the different ways this button is used – as a home button, as a back button, and as a fingerprint scanner.
Taking a look around the device, on the right side is the power button below the volume rocker, placed to be within easy reach, and the dual SIM card slot can be found on the opposite side. The buttons may not be of the highest quality, but do offer a decent tactile feel and good responsiveness. The headphone jack is up top, and at the bottom is the microUSB port, flanked by a microphone and a single speaker unit.
While not the thinnest smartphone around, its 7.6 mm thickness makes it quite sleek, and its weight of 149 grams results in a device that feels substantial and comfortable in the hand. Despite its metal construction, the MX5 isn’t particularly slippery and provides a secure grip, and the overall handling experience is far better than what you might get with other smartphones with a similar build.
Display
The Meizu MX5 comes with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401 ppi, and the display is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 panel, to keep things scratch-free. Meizu decided to ditch the rather odd 16:10 aspect ratio seen with its previous devices for the more standard 16:9, which is a very welcome change.
While Quad HD is dominating the high-end Android smartphone scene, the 1080p display of the Meizu MX5 certainly more than gets the job done. The display is beautiful, with AMOLED technology bringing everything we love about it, including colors that pop and are nice and saturated, deep blacks, and high brightness. The color temperature does lean towards the warmer side of things though, resulting in a slightly pinkish hue on white backgrounds. It may not be the sharpest display around, but the difference is hardly noticeable, and the media-viewing and gaming experience is an absolute joy.
Performance
Under the hood, the Meizu MX5 packs an octa-core MediaTek MT6795 (Helio X10 Turbo) processor, clocked at 2.2 GHz, and backed by the PowerVR G6200 GPU and 3 GB of RAM.
MediaTek processors may not entirely match up with the Snapdragons of the world, but in the case of the Meizu MX5, there were rarely any problems with performance. Opening, closing, and switching between apps is a breeze, and the device flies through the various elements of the UI. The device also handles multi-tasking and gaming very well, which hasn’t always been the case with Meizu devices and others that feature MediaTek processors. That said, a big contributing factor to this smooth performance is also the software optimization that Meizu has managed with the latest version of the FlyMe OS.
#gallery-1
margin: auto;
#gallery-1 .gallery-item
float: left;
margin-top: 10px;
text-align: center;
width: 33%;
#gallery-1 img
border: 2px solid #cfcfcf;
#gallery-1 .gallery-caption
margin-left: 0;
/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
Hardware
The phone is available in 16, 32, and 64 GB variants, but with the lack of expandable storage via microSD card, you will certainly be better off opting for the higher built-in storage options. The device also comes with a standard suite of connectivity options, along with 4G LTE support, but it is recommended to check for compatibility with your local network carrier first if you do decide to pick up this device.
As mentioned, the physical home button up front has different uses, with a press required for it to work as a home button, and a tap to make it function like a back button. Finally, the button also comes with an integrated fingerprint scanner, that is called M-Touch. The touch type implementation is certainly the one we prefer, and it works incredibly well on the MX5. It is really fast, making it very quick and easy to unlock the device and get into your homescreen. There have been no issues with the scanner failing to recognize the fingerprint, and it actually manages to feel faster than the implementations found with some of the other, more high-end, devices out there.
The single speaker at the bottom isn’t the best sounding out there, but is far from the worst. The audio can sometimes sound a bit tinny, but overall, it allows for a decent audio experience, and can certainly get very loud. As is the case with any bottom-mounted speaker though, it is fairly easy to cover it up when holding the device in the landscape orientation, but the curve along that side does alleviate this issue to some extent, even if only a little bit.
On the battery front, the Meizu MX5 comes with a 3,150 mAh non-removable battery, that allows for some impressive battery life. Regardless of your usage, you can always manage up to 4.5 hours of screen-on time, and the battery should allow for a full day of use for most users. Something odd is the fact that the “Phone Idle” mode seems to strain the battery a lot, which is very surprising. Since the battery life is still good, it isn’t a big concern, but the battery life should get even better if and when this bug is fixed.
There are few different battery saving modes built-in as well, with the default Balance mode functioning very well for the most part. Graphic-intensive gaming may require a switch to Performance mode, but the default setting otherwise keeps everything running smoothly. There is of course, a power saving mode available that lets you get that little bit of extra juice out of the battery. If you do run out of battery life, the MX5 comes with fast charging capabilities, called M-Charge, that will allow you to charge the device to up to 60% in just 40 minutes.
Camera
The Meizu MX5 comes with a 20.7 MP rear camera, with an f/2.2 aperture, and found below the camera is a dual tone LED flash and a laser-guided autofocus. The camera app is very simple, clean, and easy to use, with quick access to a bunch of different modes, like a full manual mode, that gives you granular control over aspects like shutter speed, ISO, exposure, and focus. Other modes include panorama, and Light Field, that takes a lot of shots fast at different focus points, allowing you adjust the focus after the fact.
Shooting in Auto mode allows for some good looking pictures, and it is actually quite surprising how nice they can look, with saturated colors and good detail. Dynamic range is good, but it is up to you to cater the shot correctly, so even if Auto mode is supposed to automatically adjust to take the best picture, that isn’t always the case.
Tapping on the viewfinder helps with the focus and the adjustment of light, but this can be very finicky. You have to make sure that you tap exactly on where you want the camera to focus, and adjust the light to that area. Being off by just a little bit can result in an image that is either too dark, or too bright, and it does require a few tries to get it just right, which can be frustrating. HDR helps in this regard, but does require a second or two to take the picture.
Overall though, when you do get it right, some great shots are possible. As expected, low light shots can be a little noisy and lacking in detail, but the images don’t look too bad either. Video recording is great on the MX5 too, recording at 30 fps, along with 4K recording available as well. Slow Motion video capture is also possible, at 100 fps, and even though that isn’t as slow as some other flagship smartphones, the quality is certainly impressive.
The device also comes with a 5 MP front-facing camera, which allows for some decent self portraits. Pictures have a good amount of detail, but one thing you do have to watch out for is the fact that it tends to prioritize the primary subject, making anything that is even slightly in the background a little blurry. Taking advantage of the front-facing camera is Beauty mode, with settings that lets you change the size of your eyes, make your face a bit slimmer, and more. This mode may not be practical or useful for everyone, but can definitely be fun to play around with.
Software
On the software side of things, the Meizu MX5 runs its own customized FlyMe OS 4.5, based on Android 5.0.1 Lollipop. Of course, you’ll be hard pressed to find any stock Android and Material Design elements in this user interface, and overall, the software experience can take some getting used to.
For starters, there is no application drawer available, leaving users dependent on folders to stay organized and keep the homescreens from getting too cluttered. The Settings menu is very iOS-like in its implementation, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but is of course, very different from what you may already be familiar with. Trying to get to the Settings app itself can be a pain, as there isn’t a direct shortcut available in the Quick Settings menu in the notification dropdown, so you will have to make sure that the Settings icon is at placed at an easily accessible location on the homescreen.
The FlyMe OS may be one of the more simpler takes on Android, but it does pack some cool and useful features, like the ability to lock apps so that they require a pass code to get in to. As mentioned, the physical home button also doubles as a back button, but when it comes to opening the multi-tasking screen, it does get a little strange, since there is no dedicated Recent Apps key to be found. You will have to slowly swipe up from the bottom, to open what looks a lot like the iOS 6 used app dock. Previews of the apps isn’t available, but you can close them with a simple swipe up.
Specifications
| Display | 5.5 inch AMOLED Full HD (1080×1920) Density: 401ppi |
| Processor | Octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 8 x 2.2GHz Power VR G6200 GPU |
| Storage | 16/32/64GB
Expandable: No |
| RAM | 3GB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.1 GPS+GLONASS |
| Software | Android 5.0.1 Lollipop Flyme OS 4.5 |
| Camera | 20.7 MP rear camera with dual LED flash 5 MP front-facing camera |
| Battery | 3,150 mAh |
| Colors | black, silver, gold |
| Dimensions | 149.9 x 74.7 x 7.6 mm 149 grams |
Gallery
Pricing and final thoughts
One of the key aspects of a device like the Meizu MX5 is its affordable price point, with the device starting at $339 for the 16 GB iteration, and going up to $459 for the highest 64 GB storage option. Available colors for the Meizu MX5 include black, gold, and silver.
So there you have it for this closer look at the Meizu MX5! The device may have some cosmetic issues, like the somewhat cheap feeling home button, but it does what it is meant to do amazingly well.
The performance is smooth, the display is beautiful, the battery life is impressive, the camera is reliable, the fingerprint scanner is fantastic and the overall build quality is actually very nice, allowing for a great feel in the hand. In the end, the Meizu MX5 is definitely a worthy competitor in the affordable smartphone space, but it might be easy to miss in the crowd, especially with the latest flagship devices that have launched over the last few days.
JXE Streams: A piece of puzzle pie in ‘The Talos Principle’ DLC
There’s nothing about pies in The Talos Principle. We’re probably just hungry. Either way, today we jump into The Road to Gehenna, a bit of DLC for The Talos Principle that features brand new puzzles, a fresh storyline and (most likely) philosophical questions about the meaning of life, humanity and the technological singularity. We’re going deep, people. The Talos Principle is a truly incredible game, blending a rich story of gods and robots with mind-bending spatial puzzles in a gorgeous 3D environment. Join us at 5PM ET (2PM PT) on Twitch.tv/Joystiq, the Engadget Gaming homepage, or right here in this post. And, please, try not to laugh too hard when it takes forever to figure out some of these riddles. We can’t all be puzzle gods.
Facebook made a solar-powered plane to deliver internet
Facebook started teasing its internet-beaming planes last year, but now we’re seeing one that it actually built. Pictured above is Aquila, a solar-powered, 140-foot unmanned plane that’s designed to deliver internet connectivity from altitudes of 60,000 to 90,000 feet. The UAV, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and weighs roughly 880 pounds, will be able to circle a specific area for up to 90 days when deployed — a feat possible thanks to its dependence on nothing but solar energy. What’s also interesting is how it gets up in the air; Facebook says it uses a balloon to carry Aquila to the aforementioned altitude range, although it’s still unclear how the Federal Aviation Authority plans to control this type of traffic.
Aquila is only part of Facebook’s current strategy to “connect the world,” and its idea is to have a full fleet roaming the skies in the future. Then there’s Internet.org, a project led by the social network that brings free, basic web access to underdeveloped countries — which has faced detractors along the way. Regardless, Facebook is expected to test Aquila in the US later this year, but it is unclear as to when exactly that will be. “We still have a long way to go in this work, but we are excited by our early progress,” Facebook said in a blog post. “We plan to engage with the broader community and share what we’ve learned, so we can all move faster in the development of these technologies.”
Filed under: Robots, Transportation, Science, Internet
Source: Facebook
Google is launching a new version of Glass, but only for workers
Good news, wearable fans: there’s a new version of Google Glass on the way. Only… it’s not really meant for you. Both Recode and the Wall Street Journal hear that Google is handing out a new, work-oriented version of its smart eyepiece to its enterprise partners’ development teams. As for what it entails? Like 9to5Google hinted earlier, its a mix of performance and accommodating the demands of the working world. There’s a hinge to attach it to different glasses, and the wider, thinner prism (aka the display) can move both vertically and horizontally. It also touts a faster Intel Atom processor, better wireless and longer-lasting battery packs that attach to the headset through magnets.
If everything goes according to plan, Google will have businesses actively using this version of Glass by the fall. You may have to wait much longer for the fabled consumer-friendly device, though. If you ask the WSJ‘s sources, the mainstream version is “at least” one year off. The one consolation is that it might not be nearly as expensive as the $1,500 Explorer Edition. The enterprise unit is expected to cost “well below” the Explorer’s price point, and we can’t imagine that a less exacting standard model would sell for more.
[Image credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images]
Filed under: Wearables, Google, Intel
Source: Recode, Wall Street Journal
Apple Plans to Debut New Apple TV in September With Touch-Based Remote, Full App Store
Apple is planning to introduce its long-awaited next-generation Apple TV in September, reports Buzzfeed‘s John Paczkowski. According to sources familiar with Apple’s plans, the new set-top box will be unveiled in September at the same event where Apple will unveil the next-generation iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
As has been previously rumored, it is said to include an A8 processor, a touch-pad based remote that’s “drastically improved” compared to the current version, a new operating system that supports a full App Store, developer APIs, and Siri voice control, and more on-board storage to accommodate apps. Physically, the Apple TV will take on a new, slimmer look.
Apple will not be introducing its rumored television service at the same time, with sources telling Buzzfeed that the Internet-based streaming service could possibly launch in late 2015, but 2016 is more likely. Current rumors suggest Apple’s television offering will bundle approximately 25 channels and cost between $30 to $40 per month.
Apple was widely expected to introduce both its new Apple TV and its upcoming streaming television service in June, at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, but the two products were not ready for launch at that time. Apple postponed its release of the set-top box because it was “not ready for prime time” and held off on the television service because deals were not completed.
Apple has not introduced a revamped version of its Apple TV since 2012, so an updated set-top box with App Store support and other features will be a major change from the platform that we know and use today.
Largest cellphone wave world record set at VidCon Prom 2015
The YouTube community members at VidCon Prom have set a new world record for the largest cellphone wave ever. The record was set on July 25, 2015.
The total number of participants was 2047.
VidCon is online video conference, held in California. It is the largest conference of its kind in the world, gathering thousands of online creators, viewers, and industry representatives.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: Largest cellphone wave world record set at VidCon Prom 2015
Challenging fairy tale puzzler A Day in the Woods is now available on Android
RetroEpic Software’s A Day in the Woods, which was first released on iOS back in April, has finally made its way to the Google Play Store. This hexagonal sliding puzzle game follows the story of Little Red Riding Hood and Wisp, her winged sprite friend.
The aim of the game is to slide around hexagonal blocks to navigate Red Riding Hood from one side of the forest-themed game board to the other. You’ll need to avoid obstacles and villains such as the Big Bad Wolf, bears, spiders and other various traps while collecting berries and flowers throughout your journey.
Even though this game follows around a classic fairy tale character, it’s actually quite difficult. There are a total of 60 levels in the game and each one gets more and more challenging. While it’s not a requirement, the game also challenges you to beat each level in a certain amount of moves, which can be really frustrating at times.
#gallery-1
margin: auto;
#gallery-1 .gallery-item
float: left;
margin-top: 10px;
text-align: center;
width: 25%;
#gallery-1 img
border: 2px solid #cfcfcf;
#gallery-1 .gallery-caption
margin-left: 0;
/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
A Day in the Woods is now available in the Google Play Store for $4.99. It doesn’t feature any in-app purchases whatsoever, so you’re definitely getting your money’s worth with this title. Head to the Play Store link below to download it if you’re interested.
Accomplish is a To-Do List app that makes day planning much easier
Accomplish is a new To-Do List and Calendar app all in one. Most To-Do List apps help you remember, but they don’t actually lead to any time planning. Accomplish sets out to change that and make it as fast as possible.
Accomplish helps you remember certain task you need to get done as well as makes them easy to sort. You can plan out as many task as you’d like and sort them into the day planner just as easily.
There are no fancy flash or gimmicks, it gets straight to the point.
I highly suggest you check out the video as it is a lot easier to see just how much faster this app is compared to much of the competition.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: Accomplish is a To-Do List app that makes day planning much easier
Google Play Movies and Newsstand are expanding to more countries
Google looks to be expanding its Google Play Services to more countries. Today, Google announced that Play Movies, in addition to the Newsstand app, is coming to new countries around the world.
- Countries getting Google Play Movies: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
- Countries getting Google Play Newsstand: Poland, Philippines, Taiwan, Ukraine
People in more than one hundred companies now have access to Play Movies while Newsstand’s reach covers twenty-two.
Source: Google Play (Google+)
Come comment on this article: Google Play Movies and Newsstand are expanding to more countries
AIVAnet 