According to leak from Verizon, Android Pay will launch on September 16th
We may finally have a date for Android Pay if a recent leak is anything to go by, having not really heard anything since its inception at Google I/O 2015.
Google Play Services 8.1, which sets the pathway for Android Pay to be enabled, is steadily rolling out to users in the Google Play Store also lays evidence that the new payment system from Google is coming soon.
The most solid evidence, however, comes from a leaked internal memo at Verizon that gives a date for Android Pay to be activated of September 16th.
Of course, the activation date of Android Pay and the adoption of the service from merchants is completely different, so whilst Android Pay could be activated as soon as September 16th, it may not be seen in a store near you straight away.
Source: Phandroid
The post According to leak from Verizon, Android Pay will launch on September 16th appeared first on AndroidGuys.
ICYMI: Self-healing plastic, Star Wars gear and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: We are seriously in awe of the scientific discovery that came from studying squid. Researchers developed a plastic that can reform, no weaker, after getting cut in half– just so long as water is applied to it. And if you have a couple hundred dollars to blow, you can use it to buy an alarm clock that syncs with Spotify to gently ease you in and out of sleep with a matching glowing light. Also check out the new smart stethoscope product for medical professionals, allowing them to record the heartbeats they hear, then analyze the sounds in an app.
But I know why you’re really here, nerds! If you haven’t done so yet, check out the video of the Star Wars live stream in which many, many cool new gadgets are unveiled, all with a Galaxy Far Away theme.
If you come across any interesting videos, we’d love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd.
Filed under:
Displays, Misc, Household, Meta, Peripherals, Robots, Wireless, Science, Software
Tags: alarmclock, engadget, engadgetdaily, engadgetdailyshow, engadgetvideo, icymi, InCaseYouMissedIt, plastic, plastichealsitself, seacreatures, smartalarmclock, smartstethoscope, Spher, Sphero, Spotify, Spotifyalarmclock, squid, starWars, Stethoscope, video, Withings
OSVR’s open-source VR headset is slowly taking shape
The Open Source Virtual Reality (OSVR) headset will get a significant upgrade soon. Gaming peripheral company Razer announced the OSVR program back in January, but the first prototype headset was an underwhelming affair with uncomfortable ergonomics and a so-so display. That wasn’t really the point, though. Rather than a single company aiming to dominate the VR market, OSVR is a loose band of hardware and software companies hoping to do for virtual reality “what Android did for mobile.” Since then, OSVR has continued to work on improving the system, adding features like positional tracking and, aptly, Android support. The idea is to perfect the basics, open-source the hardware and software, and let anyone build on and improve it.
The latest generation, version 1.3, will be up for pre-order next month. It uses the same IR camera and low-persistance 5.5-inch 1080p OLED display as introduced in 1.2, but improves the optics significantly. A reworked lens system with a larger eye box will make it easier for those with uneven eyesight to use the headset without glasses.
There’s also a big software upgrade on the way, with the bulk of the improvements coming from Nvidia’s Gameworks VR package. Included is some dull-sounding but useful tech like Front Rendering Buffering and Context Priority, which help with latency and potentially reduce GPU load, as well an improved driver that lets Nvidia graphics cards see the OSVR as a headset rather than an a display, allowing for more of a plug-and-play experience. Replicating this advanced support for other graphics architectures is still a work in progress. There’s also an improved content discovery system that will hopefully let early adopters find something to do with their VR headsets.
Pre-orders start October 1st at $299.99, with the first shipments due later that month. That’s the same price as version 1.2, but still a $100 bump from the original system. This being OSVR, those with older headsets should be able to upgrade by buying the parts separately. The latest improvements aren’t available separately in the OSVR store just yet, but given the 1.2 upgrades are, it shouldn’t be too long before you can pick up the improved optics in the store.
The OSVR headset has a long way to go before one of the partner companies could produce anything resembling a consumer product. The current model is still known as a “Hacker Development Kit” (HDK), indicating its nascent position in the VR market. It’s come a fair way in less than a year though, and has some big names on board. With hardware companies like Intel and Leap Motion, software houses like Ubisoft and Gearbox, and universities around the world signed up to help, there’s a good chance that OSVR can create a platform to rival the likes the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Sony Project Morpheus.
Source:
OSVR
Tags: headset, intel, oled, osvr, razer, VirtualReality, vr
Add NFL stats to any show with Comcast’s new app
If you can’t get enough gridiron minutiae and analysis, Comcast has just unveiled Football Extras for its X1 sports app. It’ll work in a similar way to Comcast’s Baseball Extras, which was delivered to baseball stat fans earlier this summer. Armchair quarterbacks (and hardcore gamblers) will get info like injury reports, pre-game comparisons, fantasy league stats, win/loss probabilities and post-game analysis. Relevant stats will pop up during a telecast, or can be selected from a menu. You can even keep the app running while you watch other programs, in case you need to appease other family members. If you’ve got a Comcast X1 set-top box, you should see the app shortly.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/138205044?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, HD
Source:
Comcast
Tags: BaseballExtras, Comcast, FootballExtras, hdpostcross, Set-TopBox, video, X1, X1SportsApp, Xfinity
Teacher arrested after drone crashes at the US Open
In a Grand Slam like the US Open, top tennis players have to be able to block out unwanted distractions. A crowd that’s starting to side with your opponent is one problem, but a drone? That’s something most competitors aren’t prepared for. As the Guardian reports, a 26-year-old teacher has now been arrested after a quadcopter crash-landed into an empty section of the stands. Flavia Pennetta and Monica Niculesu were facing off on Thursday night when the 3DR Solo swooped in unannounced. Videos have emerged documenting the crash — although no-one was hurt, it clearly broke the flow of the match and worried the players, their families and fans. Curiously, the intruding drone didn’t appear to have a camera on board — it’s possible that it snapped off during the landing, but otherwise it’s unclear exactly why the pilot was flying there in the first place. As we’ve seen in the past, usually drones sneak into sporting events to capture all of the action.
[Image Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images]
Filed under:
Robots
Source:
The Guardian
Tags: 3DRSolo, CrashLanding, drone, grandslam, quadcopter, tennis, uav, UnmannedAerialVehicle, UsOpen
‘Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine’ Documentary Debuts Today in Theaters and on VOD
The new documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine today sees its wide release into theaters and onto video on demand platforms. The film first debuted at SXSW in March and met a bit of controversy thanks to its depiction of Jobs as a merciless force, with less time spent on his greater contributions to Apple and his impact on the world. Subsequently, Apple senior executive Eddie Cue called the film “an inaccurate and mean-spirited view of my friend” and “not a reflection of the Steve I knew.”
Now that the film has seen a slightly wider release in critic screenings before its launch today, a few more opinions have been gathered on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. The film currently sits at a 75% with 30 fresh and 10 rotten reviews, with an overall consensus calling the film “absorbing” but lacking any deep understanding of Jobs himself. The movie’s theatrical run is pretty limited to start, with it only hitting 65 screens in 50 markets, according to Deadline. The usual cities of New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco will more heavily serve viewing of the documentary.
Fortunately, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine is seeing a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release. Users can watch the movie at home on services like iTunes, VUDU, Xbox Video, and The PlayStation Store. Its price varies drastically between each service, with the cheapest HD rental coming from iTunes for $4.99 and the highest option coming from VUDU for an $8.99 HDX version of the film.
WhatsApp reaches 900 monthly users milestone
It would seem that many of us are quite familiar with the mobile messaging app, WhatsApp, considering it has just reached the milestone of 900 million monthly users. The achievement was announced by WhatsApp founder, Jan Koum, via a Facebook post. Coincidentally, Facebook purchased WhatsApp last year for around $19 billion.
This means that WhatsApp has gained around 100 million users since April this year. Android fans make up the bulk of WhatsApp users, managing over a billion downloads while iOS accounts for just 22% of active users. Bringing features such as WhatsApp Web to Android users and most recently, iOS users has no doubt helped the proliferation of the Facebook-owned messaging app.
Come comment on this article: WhatsApp reaches 900 monthly users milestone
Winter Is Coming so get your Game of Thrones Wallpapers
Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor. Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor. Hodor, Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor, Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor. Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor Hodor.
If you see a wallpaper that belongs to you and you would like to receive credit, I would love to give it to you! Just drop a comment in the section provided below with some proof (You know, just so we don’t have people claiming things that are not theirs…) So, please choose those that you like and enjoy!
The post Winter Is Coming so get your Game of Thrones Wallpapers appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Runtastic takes on Withings with ‘Moment’ analog fitness watch
Runtastic may have started as a training log app, but it soon progressed to putting its badge on running watches and accessories. The Orbit was possibly the company’s most confident step into the world of wearables, and today it’s making another with the “proper watch” Moment activity tracker. The Moment logs all the basics you’d expect from a fitness tracker: steps, distance, time active, calories burned and sleep patterns, along with a dial on the watch face showing progress towards your goal. Like Withings’ Activité and Pop devices, the Moment’s analog styling extends to running on a regular watch battery, so it won’t need daily/weekly charging. This means no annoying ports, too, which helps keep things nice and sealed — waterproof to 300 feet by Runtastic’s reckoning.
If you’re looking for differences between Withings’ offering and The Moment, then it’s maybe more about the number of options than the feature set. The Moment comes in two sizes, four different styles, with a selection of straps — which improves on the two or three color options Withings offers. Though the Moment does sneak in a few more on-watch info (the progress dial is configurable, and there’s LED feedback). Then there’s the question of price. The Moment starts at $130 for the “Fun” edition, which is $20 under the Pop, but the more stylish Elite and Classic models will run you $180 (still some way off the Activité’s $450). There’s also the matter of personal preference (including that of which app you want to commit to using). Whether Adidas’ recent acquisition of Runtastic means the Moment series will evolve, or get absorbed into the miCoach family remains to be seen. If you like what you see right now, though, you can snap one up today.
Filed under:
Wearables
Source:
Runtastic
Tags: activitytracker, adidas, fitnesstracker, moment, runtastic, runtasticme, themoment, wearable, withings
Grab the Nexus 6 from Amazon today for as low as $349
Rumors are swirling and reports are rolling in regards to when the next Nexus device(s) will be released. In the mean time, the current Nexus 6 has seen some price cuts here and there. Today, Amazon has another price cut for everyone who’s in the market for the current generation Nexus device.
Normally priced at $499, for the 32GB variant, and $549 for the 64GB variant, Amazon has slashed the prices of the Nexus 6 by $150. You can head over to Amazon via the links below and pick up the 32GB Nexus 6 for only $349.99 or the 64GB variant for only $399.99.
- Nexus 6 32GB (blue) – $349.99
- Nexus 6 64GB (blue) – $399.99
- Nexus 6 32GB (white) – $349.99
- Nexus 6 64GB (white) – $399.99
With these reports coming out about a new Nexus phone or two coming out at the end of the month, we can expect to see the price slashed for these devices. This price reduction through Amazon is probably just the first of many to come ahead of the announcement at the end of the month.
Let us know if you have picked one of these up or whether you’re holding out until the next generation gets released.
Source: Android Authority
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AIVAnet 