New Google Docs, Sheets and Slides features make schoolwork less miserable
Google is holding a “back-to-school” event today at its San Francisco office to introduce a set of new Google Docs tools specifically built with the classroom in mind — though all Docs users will benefit from these changes. Some will only be appearing on Android, some will be in the desktop, and some will be hitting both, but regardless it should make life easier for Docs users. Google introduced six new features, including built-in Search for Docs on Android, voice typing, automatic chart creation for Sheets and more.
Research is what Google’s calling the new search feature built right into Docs for Android. It exists on the desktop today as sort of a Google search sidebar, but it hasn’t been available for mobile until now. Google wanted to make it easier for people to insert content they find on search into documents they’re creating on mobile — rather than jumping back and forth between Docs and search, you can now do it in a more efficient fashion in one app. It sounds like it’ll be particularly useful when trying to insert images on mobile, but it should also make copying and pasting text quite a bit faster as well. Slideshow-316734
On the desktop side, Google has added support for voice typing into Docs for Chrome — there’s a menu bar item that brings up a microphone, and from there you can just start dictating. In the demo we saw, it works nearly as fast as Google’s excellent voice recognition features in search, and it’s fortunately smart enough to know that when you say “comma” or “new paragraph,” you’re giving it formatting commands. Right now, that feature will only work in Docs, not in Sheets or Slides, and it only works if you’re using the Chrome browser. But if you want to use it on mobile (either iOS or Android), you can use the built-in dictation features by hitting the microphone on the keyboard.
Another solid addition to the desktop experience for Docs is a “see new changes” feature, an update to the venerable “revision history” found in most word processors. With the “see new changes” button, you’ll get a nice view of exactly what has changed since the last time you opened the document. You’ll also see exactly which collaborators you’re working with made the changes. It’s not wildly different than the existing version history feature, but it should come in handy if you’re working collaboratively and want to keep up with what gets updated while you’re away.
The Sheets spreadsheet tool also received a major update called “explore.” It’s meant for helping you deal with large data sets more efficiently: When you click the “explore” button, Google automatically analyzes the spreadsheet and automatically builds some charts to help you visualize important parts of your data set. You can also selectively highlight certain parts of the spreadsheet, and the charts will update accordingly. The “explore” sidebar also runs quick analysis on the data it’s displaying, telling you quick facts about the trends it sees. It’s probably one of the smartest features Google announced today — if you’re not a numbers person but still need to deal with spreadsheets, this will definitely make your life easier.
Google also made a few small design changes: the Forms survey tool now features Material Design, like the rest of Google’s Docs suite, and it features responsive design for the desktop and mobile. There are also a host of new templates for Docs, Sheets, and Slides on the desktop to help you jump right into document creation with a pre-formatted layout, something Office and iWork have had for years.
Teachers weren’t forgotten here, either. Google’s “Classroom” tool, which lets educators manage all the digital materials they submit to their students (and vice versa) got a small update as well. There’s a new Chrome extension that lets a teacher push a web page right out to everyone in a class — Google said the goal there is to keep teachers from having to dictate unruly URLs to a classroom full of students. It’s a pretty specific feature, but it should make life easier for teachers.
As with most updates to products like Google Docs, none of these features are ground-breaking on their own. But on the whole, it shows a major commitment from Google to continue slowly evolving these tools from bare-bones document editors to full-featured competition for the dominant and entrenched Microsoft Office. The Research, Explore, and See New Changes features seem particularly useful, and by and large play to a lot of Google’s strengths. At the end of the day, it’s a better time than ever to use Google Docs — particularly given its price. All of these new features will begin rolling out today.
Nicole Lee contributed to this report.
Filed under:
Google
Source:
Google
Tags: backtoschool, docs, google, googledocs, googlesheets, googleslides, sheets, slides
Sony Pictures softened ‘Concussion’ to appease the NFL
Looks like it isn’t just its own Players Association that the National Football League can push around with impunity. Internal Sony emails recently brought to light by the company’s massive data breach indicate that Sony Pictures intentionally softened the point on it’s upcoming film Concussion so as not to upset the league. The movie, which stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the man who helped first diagnose CTE (or chronic traumatic encephalopathy). According to the emails, Sony executives discussed at length with Smith and Peter Landesman, the film’s director, about altering the script and marketing for the film to avoid antagonizing the NFL. The movie’s angle was reportedly changed from being a condemnation of the NFL’s handling of the growing CTE crisis to focus more on Omalu’s discovery and initial diagnosis.
“Will is not anti football (nor is the movie) and isn’t planning to be a spokesman for what football should be or shouldn’t be but rather is an actor taking on an exciting challenge,” Dwight Caines, the president of domestic marketing at Sony Pictures, wrote to three other executives in August, 2014. “We’ll develop messaging with the help of N.F.L. consultant to ensure that we are telling a dramatic story and not kicking the hornet’s nest.” Another email from earlier in July stated “most of the bite” had been taken from the film by a top studio lawyer “for legal reasons with the N.F.L. and that it was not a balance issue.” Basically, Sony, despite having very few marketing and advertising ties to the sports league, felt compelled for legal reasons (ie getting sued) to not portray the NFL in an unflattering light.
Landesman told the New York Times that this is actually a fairly common occurrence among major movie studios. He argued that whenever a movie deals with a controversial point, studios will often attempt to anticipate the criticism the film may generate (which could hurt its box office take) and reposition it accordingly. “We don’t want to give the N.F.L. a toehold to say, ‘They are making it up,’ and damage the credibility of the movie,” Mr. Landesman told the Times. So if you’ve ever wondered why Hollywood films have grown so predictable and tepid, it’s because the studios are afraid that someone being offended. Although in this case, that “someone” is a multibillion-dollar sports empire that apparently can afford a whole lot of hornets.
[Image Credit: Getty Images]
Source:
New York Times
Tags: BennetOmalu, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Concussion, CTE, medicine, National Football League, New York Times, NFL, Peter Landesman, sony, Sony Pictures Entertainment, WillSmith
Sony made a lamp that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker
Today wasn’t only about smartphones and headphones for Sony. At its IFA 2015 press conference, the company also teased a lamp that doubles as a speaker — like the TV remote it revealed recently — and a new portable projector it’s been working on. While Sony didn’t share many details about either product on stage, a spokesperson did tell us that the projector can display up to 50 inches. Both devices are slated to launch next spring. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the prototypes Sony brought to Berlin.Slideshow-316729
Check out all the news from Berlin at our IFA 2015 hub.
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, Internet, HD, Sony
Tags: Bluetoothspeaker, hands-on, hdpostcross, IFA, IFA2015, portableprojector, projector, sony, Speaker, Speakers
Moto X Pure Edition review: the third time really is the charm
The Moto X line is a smartphone that’s always been dancing around greatness. The first one was a lovely, underpowered experiment in smartphone customization and thoughtfulness. The second added some much-needed Moto Maker style and some more powerful silicon. Now Motorola’s at it again with the Moto X Pure Edition, a phone that appears to sit right at the intersection of price and power. It’s unlocked, ready for any US carrier and — more importantly — it’s priced as low as $400 off contract. In other words, it’s a serious contender for the “Best Smartphone Out There” crown, at least on paper. The thing is, the market for cheap unlocked smartphones has exploded in popularity this year, and it’ll take something really special for it to capture the title. So, how does Motorola’s new flagship fare? Spoiler alert: really damned well. Slideshow-316268
Hardware
Motorola isn’t rewriting the rulebook here; the Pure Edition will feel awfully familiar if you’ve so much as picked up a second-gen Moto X over the past year. That’s a good thing. With its trim waistline and gently sloping back, this year’s Moto X is one of the most comfortable big-screen phones to hold, even despite the 5.7-inch panel Motorola added this year. We’ll revisit the screen shortly, but in general it’s a beautiful thing and it’s complemented by a pair of front-facing stereo speakers. It’s still pretty odd to see an LED flash nestled next to the front-facing 5-megapixel camera, though all’s fair in the search for the perfect selfie. And it wouldn’t be a Moto X if the facade weren’t flecked with numerous infrared sensors to detect a face or moving hands.
If the phone’s face seems forgettable, flip it over for a reminder of what you can do with Moto Maker. My review unit came with a deep gray finish on its metal frame and a textured, brown Saffiano leather back that adds some extra character to the mix. If that’s not your thing (it isn’t really mine), you can also order your Pure Edition with a colorful silicone rear, or a more exotic one hewn of bamboo, charcoal ash, ebony or walnut wood for a few bucks more. Since Motorola wasn’t concerned about including a fingerprint sensor on the Pure Edition, the telltale logo dimple below the 21-megapixel camera is way smaller than on last year’s version too. I took this harder than I expected: The dip the X used to have on its backside made for a comfortable place to rest my index finger. This smaller version isn’t nearly as satisfying. At least the device is now water-resistant, allowing the Pure Edition to survive a few accidental dips in my sink.
Speaking of potentially unsatisfying, the Moto X’s internals might seem less interesting than at first. The phone uses one of Qualcomm’s hexa-core Snapdragon 808 chips and 3GB of RAM, much like the LG G4 from earlier this year. Meanwhile, rivals like the OnePlus 2 offer the more powerful Snapdragon 810 and 4GB of RAM. Other powerhouses like the Galaxy Note 5 also include a full four gigs of memory. As always, though, Motorola has complemented its fairly high-end components with its so-called Mobile Computing System, a bundle of contextual processing cores that pay attention to the device’s motion and your voice. It plays a key role in making the Moto X Pure a more thoughtful phone, and that might make all the difference for you.
Display and sound
Motorola finally made the leap to a Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) panel with this year’s Moto X, and I’m not about to start a debate on whether or not we actually need such high-resolution screens on smartphones. The fact of the matter is, we have a solid performer in this 5.7-inch IPS LCD, with crisp visuals (at 515 pixels per inch, no less) and good viewing angles. All that said, it doesn’t stand out in the same way that Samsung’s super-vibrant Super AMOLED screens do. It’s a mixed bag, really.
Colors that seem bright and mostly natural on the Moto X’s screen take on a cooler, almost washed-out cast next to the Galaxy Note 5. On the bright side, though (ha!), whites are much crisper on the Moto X and the display itself is noticeably brighter too, especially with adaptive brightness turned off. Trust me: You won’t have any trouble taking the X for a spin outside. Be prepared for an occasional wait, though. The display’s auto-brightness can be slow to react — think three or four seconds — especially if you’re pulling the phone out of a dark bag and into a well-lit room. The Pure Edition’s screen isn’t a clear winner compared to some of its biggest rivals, but it’s meaningfully different in a few key ways.
We could say almost the same thing about the Pure Edition’s pair of front-facing speakers. They’re still a far cry from, say, HTC’s BoomSound speakers, but I’d still take these over a wimpy single speaker any day (here’s looking at you, Note 5). Pro tip: If you’re watching a video or listening to music through these speakers while holding the phone vertically, you’re doing it wrong. You’ll get a modest sense of channel separation when the X is sideways, so your tunes will sound slightly fuller, more expansive.
Software
There is, thankfully, little to say about the Pure Edition’s software; it’s an almost-completely stock build of Android 5.1.1 with just a few Motorola apps preinstalled. All of Lollipop’s finer touches — that nuanced take on sounds and notifications, multiple user accounts — are all where you’d expect to find them and work the same as always. Even better, the unbundling of apps like Google Plus and Newsstand from Android proper means we’ve got an even cleaner version of Android than usual.
With that foundation laid down, Motorola once again set out to make the Moto X as thoughtful and responsive as possible. Take Moto Display, for instance. Waving your hand over the phone’s face like some Jedi extra from The Clone Wars rouses part of the screen to tell you what time it is and what notifications have rolled in. Swiping a notification icon down unlocks the screen and pops the phone right into the app you wanted to be in. Simple. Motorola’s tried-and-true gestures are back too, so you can twist the X a few times to fire up the camera and karate chop with it to turn on the flashlight. You can now also lift the phone to your ear to issue a Moto Voice command, and any response will route straight through the earpiece for subtlety’s sake.Slideshow-316710
Then there’s Moto Voice. I loved talking to last year’s Moto X as though it were a pseudo-personal assistant. And now, 12 months’ worth of improvements to Google Now have made the experience even more useful. You’ll have to set up a launch phrase to issue spoken voice commands, but it’s well worth it; I spent my week of testing by asking the phone to play my voicemail messages, add reminders to an already huge list, get the weather forecast and launch apps without a hitch. The best part: Shouting out my launch phrase to find out where in the house I left the damn thing.
All of these can be managed from the Moto app, a central hub for the phone’s contextual smarts. Other than that, there are only three other preloaded Motorola apps here — Connect, which lets you manage connected devices like headsets and Android Wear watches; a self-explanatory Help app; and Migrate, a nifty tool that lets you jumpstart your Moto X experience by pulling anything from contacts and calendars (from iPhones) to media and apps (from other Android phones). This lovingly light touch means there’s plenty of room for your own apps; my 32GB review unit came with just over 24GB of free space, and you can add up to 128GB more with a microSD card if needed.
Camera
Let’s face it: As much as I loved them, the Nexus 6 and the 2014 Moto X had pretty lousy cameras. Well, not anymore. Motorola is especially proud of the 21-megapixel rear camera and f/2.0 lens baked into this year’s Moto X Pure and it should be, even if it’s overshadowed by other smartphone shooters I’ve tested recently. Slideshow-316271
Three things help make the Pure a great point-and-shoot: the interface is dead-simple; HDR is set to automatic by default; and the sensor is a pro at sucking up light. My sample shots were always crips and generally well saturated (though the HDR mode is a little heavy-handed sometimes). The thing is, it isn’t always great at capturing the finer details of a scene, especially when things get dim. When snapping a shot of some graffiti, the Galaxy Note 5 produced subtler colors and was better at picking up the divots and texture of the concrete wall under the paint. The Moto X, on the other hand, delivered punchy colors (even without HDR) while missing some of that extra detail. It’s an unfortunate trade-off, though in most situations the X is great. The occasional subpar photo only helps emphasize how well it normally performs. Even the wide-angle, 5-megapixel selfie camera does well, which is good news for terminally vain folks like me.
Ironically, I think Motorola’s idiot-proof camera interface might do as much bad as good. The feeling of firing off a photo in no time flat is powerful, but the sparseness of the app is starting to feel too simplistic. Photos shot from the hip still look pretty good, but I suspect users would benefit from having just a few more controls available from the start. The camera sure is fast, though. And speaking of controls, there still aren’t all that many to play with at all; besides HDR, you’ve got a low-light mode that’s only mildly helpful, flash settings, tap-to-focus and a video mode toggle. Video, by the way, is nicely detailed (especially at 4K) and the camera is adept at switching focus when objects drift in and out of view. All told, Motorola put together a lovely camera that’s leagues better than what its previous phones had to offer. Too bad the competition is so stiff.
Performance and battery life
Part of building a good cheap phone is knowing what compromises to make. In this case, Motorola chose the Snapdragon 808 chip over the faster Snapdragon 810. The benchmarks spell out what we all sort of knew in the first place: The Moto X just isn’t as powerful as some of its rivals. This slight deficit manifests in a few ways, some more notable than others. The Pure Edition isn’t as strong a performer at graphically intense tasks like playing games, although it’ll still get you through a few laps in Asphalt 8 at the highest quality level without any trouble.
You’ll also notice a hint of lag when doing typical Android system stuff; swiping into Google Now, launching apps and sifting through your running software can sometimes take a hair longer than you’d hope. An extra gig of RAM really would have helped, but make no mistake: The Pure Edition is in no way a slowpoke. It’s a speed machine in its own right, just not as crazy-fast as the Galaxy Note 5 or the OnePlus 2. In fact, the distinction is often slight enough that most people might not even notice.
| Moto X Pure | Samsung Galaxy S6 | OnePlus 2 | LG G4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndEBench Pro | 9,686 | 10,552 | 9,945 | 8,352 |
| Vellamo 3.0 | 4,401 | 3,677 | 3,025 | 4,065 |
| 3DMark IS Unlimited | 18,747 | 21,632 | 23,598 | 18,572 |
| GFXBench 3.0 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (fps) | 15 | 25 | 25 | 15 |
| CF-Bench | 74,237 | 62,257 | 79,168 | 71,260 |
| SunSpider 1.0.2: Android devices tested in Chrome; lower scores are better. | ||||
The X’s 3,000mAh battery generally does a good job holding out throughout the day. My slightly ridiculous workdays are well-documented in these reviews, and the Moto X usually survived a 14-hour onslaught of Slack messages and YouTube videos with about 30 percent still left in the tank. I’ve never had an issue with the battery dying prematurely on me, but it didn’t fare nearly as well in our standard Engadget rundown test: It only lasted about nine hours looping a 720p video with WiFi on and screen brightness set to 50 percent. In comparison, the LG G4 managed nearly 11 hours with similar specs. I’m still trying to figure out what’s causing this gap, and I’ll update this review with any new findings. On the plus side, with the included Turbo Charger, it only took around 25 minutes to go from bone-dry to 50 percent full. The last half of the charging process takes a little longer, so expect to sit around for about an hour and 10 minutes for a full 0-to-100 percent charge.
The competition
You’re not going to get the Moto X Pure Edition straight from a US wireless carrier, which means you’re not going to see subsidies or price breaks for long-term ownership. That makes it tough to find direct rivals, but we can still think of some other options. If you’re fine with having to go through an invite system, the OnePlus 2 might well be the Pure Edition’s biggest rival. It offers plenty of horsepower and smooth performance, along with a handsome (if slightly clunky) design. Be aware, though, that the basic $329 model only has 16GB of storage and there’s no NFC — a bummer if you were hoping to get on the Android Pay bandwagon. LG’s G4 is a great option too, and shares many of the same specs as the Pure Edition. Throw in a great camera, a removable battery and expandable memory and you’ve got a hell of a Moto X alternative… if you don’t mind LG’s extensive software changes.
You might also consider the Axon, another contract-free powerhouse from ZTE. It squeezes most of the same components as the OnePlus 2 into a chubby metallic body, and it’s got some of the best audio you’ll find on a cheap phone, too. Just beware of its memory limitations: You only get 32GB or 64GB of storage and there’s no memory card slot. Then you’ve got the Galaxy Note 5, which has longer battery life and a more impressive screen despite having the same dimensions and pixel density as the Moto X Pure. The signature S Pen has finally made the leap from gimmick to truly helpful tool, but the steep price and skinned software will make it a bitter pill for some.
Wrap-up
The last two years have seen Motorola take huge leaps in the quality of its flagships, so it’s no shock that the Pure Edition is the best phone the company has ever made. Sure, it might not be the most technically powerful device out there, but it makes up for it with a comfortable, customizable chassis, and truly useful software additions. Expandable memory? Fast and frequent Android updates? All just icing on the cake. Its mixed performance in our battery tests was slightly concerning, and it would’ve been nice to see the company whip out a Samsung-level camera, but Motorola’s got a first-rate contender here — and you don’t even need an invite to buy one.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Lenovo
Tags: android, google, lenovo, mobile, mobilepostcross, moto, motorola, motox, motoxpureedition, phone, pureedition, review, smartphone, uk-reviews, video
Lenovo’s Phab Plus is a phablet because of course it is
“Phablet” may be a horrible word, but it was a pretty accurate descriptor when Samsung launched its then-massive Galaxy Note way back in 2011. Since then, it’s become difficult to find a premium smartphone that doesn’t have a screen measuring well over 5 inches, thus making the term phablet a bit unnecessary. That is, unless you’re Lenovo. Today at IFA, the company is officially introducing two phones called the Phab and Phab Plus, and their screen sizes are as ridiculous as their names. The higher-end Phab Plus sports a monstrous 6.8-inch, 1080p display while the Phab comes in at an even larger 6.98 inches. Let us pause, and remember that it wasn’t long ago that 7-inch screens were solely the domain of small-ish tablets. These aren’t so much phablets as they are tablets that can make phone calls.
Slideshow-316506 With that out of the way, let’s focus on the Phab Plus, a phone that arrived in China a few weeks ago and certainly the more interesting of the two devices. Lenovo humorously claims that the device’s design is such that they can call it “optimized for one-handed use,” something that would be funny if it weren’t so sad. That said, the Android 5.0 phone does feature a software trick that pops up a smaller one-handed that snaps in place and resizes to fit your fingers. There are a few other tricks here to navigate the unruly size, like double-tapping to turn the screen on and long-pressing anywhere on the display to take a photo.
Spec-wise, the dual-SIM Phab Plus features 32GB of storage, a 13-megapixel main camera (the front-facing camera comes in at 5 megapixels), a 3,500 mAh battery, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with 2GB of RAM. Not bad for only $299 if you need a tablet that can make the occasional phone call. The $179 Phab, however, is less enticing — it’s 7-inch screen is described as “HD” rather than “full HD,” which makes us think the massive panel is only sporting a 720p resolution. It features an unnamed octo-core Qualcomm processor, 1GB of RAM, and a huge 4250 mAh battery to power its similarly huge display.
Despite the insanity on display here, these are hardly the first phones this big — the Huawei P8 Max is another option if you want your phone and tablet to truly converge. But despite our love for everything supersized in the USA, it looks like Lenovo doesn’t think the country is quite ready for these phones yet. They’ll be available in countries throughout Asia, Eastern Europe and South America, but no US launch is on tap.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Lenovo
Tags: hands-on, hugephones, ifa, ifa2015, lenovo, mobilepostcross, phab, phablet, phabplus
The new Moto 360 comes in two sizes, ships later this month for $299
Samsung and LG might have been first to market with Android Wear smartwatches, but the Moto 360 was the first that really got people excited. Now, after innumerable leaks, Motorola’s finally ready to talk about the sequel it’s been working on behind closed doors. Say hello to the 2015 Moto 360. Prices for these shiny new models start at $299 and they’ll hit store shelves later this month, with pre-orders starting today. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at Motorola’s handiwork. Slideshow-316737
First off, yes, you can still customize the dickens out of them — just look at all the options shown in the above photo. While the original Moto 360 was a one-size-fits-all sort of affair, we’ve now got two different dial sizes to fit a broader swath of wrists: 42mm and 46mm. The lugs (better known as “those bits the straps snap into”) have been moved to the outside of the watch, making it easier to customize it with different bands. Turns out that also made it easier to design a 360 specifically for women. As it happens, Motorola’s been puzzling over that problem since before the first 360 hit shelves, and the design team has finally addressed it here by pushing the lugs together, offering smaller 16mm wrist straps and offering different bezel finishes. If you’re a fan of rose gold, you’ll find plenty to like here.
Of course, different bezel sizes also mean different screen sizes. The smaller version has a 1.37-inch 360 x 325 display, while the surprisingly comfy 46mm model has a 1.56-inch display with a resolution of 360 x 330. And yes, that tiny black occlusion is still there at the bottom of the screen. Motorola design chief Jim Wicks admitted getting rid of it was possible, but the tradeoffs — namely, a bigger body — were too big a price to pay for a perfectly circular screen. It takes more than just a clean new design to make a smartwatch worth wearing, though, and indeed Motorola kitted out its new watch with an upgraded 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage for your music and files.
I spent a little time trying on the new 360, and it’s already clear to me that it’s a serious contender. Each of the various models I handled is effortlessly classy in a way that premium watches like the LG Watch Urbane never were, and each of the size options has their own charm. I’ll admit, when that first batch of leaked photos first started making the rounds, I was instantly attracted to the smaller of the pair; it’s a little less ostentatious because of its size and you won’t be missing anything with a smaller screen. It turns out that’s mostly true. The smaller 300mAh battery is only rated for up to 1.5 days of continued use, compared to two days on the 46mm version. Speaking of that bigger model, it’s definitely not too big: It felt really natural on my small wrist, though I wish Motorola could’ve shaved a few millimeters off its casing. I’m also a fan of Motorola’s new “Live Dials” watchfaces, which let you launch apps or use their features right without digging through your installed software, so Shazaming that new Weeknd track is finally a one-touch process. We’ll hold off on our judgments until we’ve spent time with an actual, retail-ready version of the watch, but you can start scrimping together your pocket change in the meantime.
Filed under:
Wearables, Mobile
Tags: androidwear, hands-on, handson, ifa, ifa2015, mobile, mobilepostcross, moto, moto360, motorola, preview, smartwatch, video, wearable
At last, Motorola reveals a Moto 360 you can take to the gym
Let’s be real: as pretty as the new Moto 360 is, it definitely isn’t ready for the gym. That’s where the new Moto 360 Sport comes into play. The company hasn’t said anything about price or when we’ll be able to take these things out for a torturous run — hell, there wasn’t even a live model to play with — but there’s still more going on here than you might expect.
It’s based on the 42mm version of the Moto 360 we’ve already seen, except it’s clad in a rubbery, exercise-friendly material instead of leather and steel. As you’d expect from a high-end fitness wearable, there’s a built-in GPS to help you log miles more accurately than a plain ol’ accelerometer could. Motorola’s also pretty adamant about making people take as few gadgets on their workouts as possible, so you can load this thing up with your music (a trait it shares with the regular 360s) for streaming to your Bluetooth headphones. The most valuable addition to the mix, though, is what Motorola calls its “AnyLight” hybrid display. In a nutshell, the screen melds a typical backlit LCD screen like the one you’d see on a normal smartwatch with a front-lit reflective one that’s better for seeing your vital stats in broad daylight. Thankfully, the Moto 360 can tell where you are and how blindingly bright your conditions are, so it’ll switch between those two modes on the fly whenever it thinks you need it.
Motorola’s still keeping pretty quiet about the Sport model, and it isn’t really a shock. After all, the last time the company took a stab at a fitness wearable, it cooked up this thing that people almost completely ignored. Times change, and so do people’s priorities, so maybe this is the year Motorola successfully makes a serious smartwatch for non-nerds to love.
Filed under:
Mobile
Tags: androidwear, fitness, ifa, ifa2015, mobilepostcross, moto, moto360, moto360sport, motorola, smartwatch, wearable
Lenovo’s latest gaming PCs are faster and flashier
Lenovo probably isn’t the first brand you think of when you’re looking for a gaming PC, between its reputation for business PCs and its frequently frugal designs. However, it’s definitely trying to improve its gamer cred today. The system builder has rolled out three Y-series computers that match the requisite speed boosts with more flair than you’re used to from Lenovo. The IdeaPad Y700 laptop you see above has the expected choices of the latest Intel (6th-generation Core) or AMD (Carrizo-based A10) processors, but it also sports more angular, attention-getting 15- and 17-inch designs. Those red JBL speakers are bound to catch your eye, even if the Y700 isn’t quite as ostentatious as other portable gaming rigs. Slideshow-316904
Slideshow-316906
The Y700 line also touts the hardware options you’d expect circa late 2015, including a 4K touchscreen, an Intel RealSense camera (handy for facial recognition in Windows 10), up to 16GB of RAM, optional GeForce GTX 960M or Radeon R9 graphics and storage that can include both a 1TB conventional hard drive and a 512GB SSD. Lenovo expects these laptops to sell for $799 and up when they ship during the holidays. You won’t get the fanciest features at that price, but that’s a solid value if you just want a reasonably fast machine.
And don’t worry, desktop fans — you’re covered as well. Both the IdeaCentre Y700 and Y900 have “fun” red LEDs (seriously, that’s how Lenovo puts it) that add a splash of color inside and out, and they pack 6th-generation Core i7 chips, higher-end NVIDIA video and four hard drive bays. Which PC you choose is really a matter of raw performance. The Y700 desktop starts at $999, and handles up to a single GeForce GTX 970 graphics card and 32GB of RAM; splurge on the Y900 ($1,599 and up) and you’ll get an overclock-friendly processor, up to two GeForce GTX 980 boards and as much as 64GB of RAM. While neither is likely to make you forget about your custom-built dream PC when they arrive this holiday, they might do the trick if you’re looking for an off-the-shelf gaming fix.
Filed under:
Desktops, Gaming, Laptops, Lenovo
Source:
Lenovo
Tags: amd, carrizo, computer, desktop, gaming, ideacentre, ideacentrey700, ideacentrey900, ideapad, ideapady700, ifa, ifa2015, laptop, lenovo, pc, skylake, windows10, y700, y900
Lenovo’s Yoga Tab 3 Pro can project a 70-inch image on your wall
Lenovo is doubling down on pico-projector equipped tablets with the new Yoga Tab 3 Pro, which can spit out a 70-inch image. That’s a pretty decent step up from its predecessor’s 50-inch projector. Otherwise, though, the new Android tablet is just a further refinement of Lenovo’s unique tablet design. It has a rotating hinge that serves as a kickstand and also gives you something to grip onto when holding the Yoga Tab 3 Pro with one hand. While that hinge makes it a bit bulkier than most other tablets, it also packs in a huge 10,200mAh battery, which Lenovo says will last for around 18 hours of typical usage. Curiously, Lenovo chose to step down from the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro’s 13-inch screen: The new model sports a 10-inch quad HD display. The tablet market is rough, especially for the Android arena, so it seems like Lenovo is experimenting to see what consumers like best. Slideshow-316507
Under the hood, the Yoga Tab 3 Pro is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom x5-Z8500 processor and 2GB of RAM. There’s a 13-megapixel camera on the rear and a 5MP front-facing shooter, along with four JBL speakers on the front. Overall, Lenovo is positioning it as the ideal entertainment tablet — one that can last pretty much all day and also share content easily with your friends. We didn’t get to test out the projector capability, but being a pico unit it wouldn’t hold a candle to a dedicated projector. Still, it’s better than nothing when you want to watch cat videos in a group.
And what of Lenovo’s other tablets? There are also new 8-inch and 10-inch Yoga Tab 3 models, but they’ve been downgraded from last year’s devices. Whereas the Yoga Tab 2 lineup all had 1080p screens, Lenovo bumped the newer models back down to 1,200 x 800 displays (a bit higher than 720p). They’re also running quad-core 1.3GHz Qualcomm chips, instead of Intel Atom processors. That means you’re stuck with Android; there’s no longer an option to run Windows.
If I had to guess, I’d say the spec changes were likely about cost savings. Indeed, the 8-inch Yoga Tab 3 will sell for $169 when it lands in October, while the 10-inch model will go for $199 in November. That’s around $70 to $100 less than the launch pricing for the last models.
Dana Wollman contributed to this report.
Filed under:
Tablets, Mobile, Lenovo
Tags: hands-on, ifa, ifa2015, lenovo, mobilepostcross, projectors, YogaTab3Pro
Instagram is now adding Direct Messages with Instagram Direct
Instagram has been around FOREVER, and it just seems to gain popularity all the time. Even with “competitors” like Vine and SnapChat, people still opt to go to Instagram to post their favorite pictures, even if it’s of their dinner every day.
Back in 2013, Instagram introduced a way for users to share images and comments with either just one person or a small group of users. Instagram Direct has been a way to not have to deal with the slew of different users that you already follow, instead you can focus on sending that embarrassing vacation photo with just your close-nit friends.
Now, Instagram has added the ability to Direct Message another user from Instagram Direct. The move makes sense in light of the fact that Instagram is still growing, and has really been turning into a hybrid of both Twitter and Facebook, while maintaining a smaller profile.
Today’s updates also bring a brand new way to start conversations around what you see on Instagram. When you find something inspiring or funny, your first instinct is often to share it with friends who you know will appreciate it. Today, people do this by @-mentioning friends in comments, so much so that nearly 40% of comments include an @-mention. This update has made it easier to share content that you love.
It seems that Instagram is trying to kill the “@” action that everyone performs just about every other social media platform uses. It will be interesting to see whether this catches on, and if this will influence any changes to other social media platforms.
Let us know what you think about these changes in the comments below, and whether you actually use Instagram Direct, or if you just Instagram to look at those dinner pictures from two days ago.
Source: Instagram
The post Instagram is now adding Direct Messages with Instagram Direct appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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