Deal: get a $100 Visa prepaid card when you buy an LG G4 from Verizon
Looking to get yourself a brand new high-end smartphone? You may want to go with Verizon’s LG G4! Big Red is currently offering a $100 Visa prepaid card to anyone who purchases LG’s current flagship phone.
The concept is as simple as they get. You just have to purchase the LG G4 between August 1-12 from Verizon Wireless. After that simply head over to www.lgg4augustrebate.com and submit your form before August 31st. That’s it!
You do need to be over 18 years of age. Eligible LG G4 versions include the Genuine Leather Black, Metallic Gray and Ceramic White.
The LG G4 is one hell of a smartphone. It managed to get a 9/10 in our review, and we had very little to complain about. One of the lures of this device is that it’s actually among the very few handsets which still tout a removable battery and microSD card support, something most manufacturers have been getting rid of.
The device also sports a very unique look, featuring that curved profile and interchangeable backs. I have a thing for wooden and leather-clad phones, so LG stole my heart with this one. Not to mention, it performs like a champ.
Who is signing up?!
LG G4 videos!
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Nextbit phone will “easily stand out” and be priced affordibly
It was odd to hear that Nextbit is working on releasing its first smartphone. The San Francisco startup is known for its cloud-based continuity services for Android – how did they go from making apps to designing smartphones? Regardless of what the answer to that question may be, now we know they are definitely planning this well.
Design
Nextbit CEO Tom Moss took it to Hong Kong’s RISE conference to talk more about this mysterious phone his team is working on. He begins by mentioning this will look like no usual handset. Moss states the device will “easily stand out” from the ever-growing crowd of cookie-cutter devices.
And we don’t doubt the phone will look great – the company currently counts former HTC chief of design Scott Croyle as one of its main employees. This was the same man leading the design implementations that made the HTC One series so gorgeous.
Software
While Nextbit is keeping things a bit quiet on this end, CEO Tom Moss happens to be in the founding members board of Cyanogen. This makes it very likely that the phone will run the most popular third-party Android ROM in the world, but that is something we can’t be quoted on just yet.
What we can tell you is that the company is focusing on cloud features to improve some common pains that come with using a typical smartphone. That’s about all Moss would say, but their current services will likely play a big part on the handset’s software improvements.
Low prices!
What makes a good phone great is its price. This is why companies like OnePlus and Xiaomi have become so amazingly popular; the value they offer is too much to compete with. How will pricing look like for Nextbit’s phone?
Tom took some time to express his dissatisfaction with current mainstream smartphone prices, such as those attached to Apple, LG, HTC and Samsung handsets. The new trend is to price premium mobile devices at $300-$400 off contract, and that is a range Nextbit is looking to stick to, following the footsteps of companies like OnePlus and Xiaomi.
Like the Chinese companies, Nextbit aims to reduce prices on marketing, have a higher involvement with the public, and transfer all savings to its customers, effectively achieving lower prices on premium products.
Wrapping up
I must say I was a bit wary of Nextbit’s plans at first, but knowing we will have a Xiaomi-like company in America really has me wanting to believe. We still know very little about this upcoming smartphone, but more details will come with time. And you can be sure we will be here, telling you all there is to know!
Microsoft’s HoloLens headset will reach developers within a year
When Microsoft said that its HoloLens headset would arrive “in the Windows 10 time frame,” what did it mean, exactly? Thanks to a BBC interview with Satya Nadella, we now have a better sense of when this augmented reality eyewear will show up. The company chief expects developers and enterprise users to get the first version of HoloLens “within the next year” — you won’t be getting one as a holiday gift, folks. It’s not certain just when a personal version will launch, but Nadella describes the overall technology as a “5-year journey” that will eventually branch out to other fields. While that doesn’t necessarily leave you high and dry until 2020, it does suggest that you’ll have to be patient if you want to play some holographic Minecraft.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02yhy3m/player
Filed under:
Displays, Wearables, Microsoft
Source:
BBC
Tags: augmentedreality, holographic, hololens, microsoft, video, wearable, windows, windows10
Sony closing its online store this August 28th
In what appears to be a rash move, Sony has decided to shut its online store down come August 28th at 1:00 PM PST. After this date and time, no more sales will be conducted and you will be forced to find your Sony products elsewhere.
The reasoning for making this decision continues to be a mystery. Sony is keeping pretty quiet for now, but they do mention they are working on “improving their online experience” and “will have an exciting new product website that includes their authorized retailers”.
In short: the Japanese manufacturer will no longer sell directly to its customers. Instead, they will point you in the direction of other stores that carry Sony products.
You can go ahead and make any purchases until then. Be sure to use your gift cards if you have any, for they will be useless after the 28th. Everything else should work as usual. You can even make returns if you purchased your products on, or before, closing time.
Does Sony need its own online store?
Of course, purchasing directly from the manufacturer brings a certain level of comfort to a customer. It’s nice to know the website is legit and you don’t have to deal with any third parties. We are just not sure that warm fuzzy feeling should keep the online Sony store open. Maybe it’s just not financially viable for them to act as a retailer.
In the end, it honestly makes no difference to me, as a user. I always buy my Sony products at other stores, anyways. How do you feel about this move, though? Do you worry that it will be impossible to buy your gadgets directly from Sony?
Sony videos!
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Apple and BMW have been exploring partnerships on cars
Apple and BMW may eventually have more in common than just some features in your car’s infotainment system. Sources for both Reuters and Manager Magazin understand that the two companies have had “exploratory talks,” including a trip by Apple executives to Leipzig to see how BMW builds the i3. Apple reportedly likes that BMW rethought the conventional car manufacturing process for its electric vehicle, and might use what it learned to help make its own EV. While BMW claims that there aren’t any active talks about jointly developing a car, a Reuters tipster hears that the firms may revive talks (not necessarily to co-produce a vehicle) later on.
Not surprisingly, BMW is cautious about any deals. Research lead Klaus Froehlich says the doesn’t want to “open [its] ecosystems” to a potential rival. However, it’s hard to see the two avoiding each other when they could both use each other’s help. Apple knows a lot about user interfaces and integrating mobile technology into cars, but it’s a newcomer in creating the cars themselves — that’s part of why it’s hiring so many auto industry veterans. Meanwhile, BMW knows that it can only do so much to accommodate connected devices without collaborations. You probably won’t see an Apple-designed Beemer or an Apple car with loads of BMW-sourced parts, but there’s still lots of potential for the corporations to influence each other.
Filed under:
Transportation, Apple
Source:
Reuters, Manager Magazin (translated)
Tags: apple, autonomous, bmw, car, electricvehicle, ev, i3, partnership, self-driving, self-drivingcar, titan, transportation
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