Need for speed: Verizon to test its 5G network in 2016
It wasn’t too long ago that 4G LTE was a luxury, particularly for those outside of the US. These days, LTE is quite common even in most of the rural US, and has quickly found its way to a good portion of the international world as well. There are still plenty of markets around the US and the globe without blazing fast speeds, but it is amazing how quickly things have changed. Of course, technology doesn’t hold still, and so it is no surprise that Verizon is already preparing for the next jump in mobile broadband.
While 5G has yet to formally have its standard finalized, Verizon is preparing to field test its so-called 5G service sometime in 2016 and is currently working to create sandboxed 5G networks in Verizon’s Innovation Centers, located in San Francisco and Waltham, Massachusetts. Some of Verizon’s partners involved in developing the tech include Qualcomm, Nokia, Ericsson, Cisco, Samsung, and Alcatel-Lucent.
It could be many years before a wide rollout of Verizon 5G, but Big Red suggests that at least an early level of commercial deployment should happen sometime in 2017.
It’s unclear whether testing will begin in the first half of the year, or the second, but the bottom-line is that Verizon isn’t holding still. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before the competition reacts by highlighting their own 5G plans. Verizon was first to the LTE punch in the United States, and we have a feeling that AT&T and the others will do their best to try to prevent a repeat situation. The deadline to beat? It could be many years before a wide rollout of Verizon 5G, but Big Red suggests that at least an early (read: very limited) level of “commercial deployment” should happen sometime in 2017, providing all goes well.
So what can we expect from Verizon’s 5G tech? We don’t currently have all the specifics, but Big Red says we can expect “50 times the peak bandwidth and under 10 milliseconds of lag and headroom for many devices.” In short, 5G could quickly make Verizon’s already quite impressive 4G LTE network seem like a relic of the past.
What do you think of the quest for 5G? Do you find the current speeds to more than meet your needs, or do you have a thirst for faster Internet activity that just can’t be quenched? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Google will test fresh food deliveries in two US cities this year
Google’s Express delivery service has already been delivering food for a while, but it’s about to expand those efforts in a big, big way. The internet giant tells Bloomberg that it will start testing deliveries of fresh food and groceries in both San Francisco and another, unnamed US city sometime later this year. Yes, you may well get fruits and veggies (technically sourced from places like Costco and Whole Foods) through your web search provider. This isn’t just a kindness, though. Fresh food is potentially cheaper, since Google won’t have to deal with refrigeration and other logistics involved with frozen goods. Also, this gives it a better shot at competing with Amazon Fresh — it can offer both lower delivery rates and more of the produce you want.
Source:
Bloomberg
Tags: costco, delivery, food, google, googleexpress, googleshoppingexpress, groceries, internet, shopping, wholefoods
Engadget giveaway: win an Electrohome Archer turntable and record case!
If you haven’t been part of the ongoing vinyl resurgence, know that each purchase gives you warm analog audio and a big square of artwork. Many discs even include a free digital download version, so it’s a win-win scenario. This week, we’re offering three Archer portable turntables from classic deck maker Electrohome, along with convenient vinyl carrying cases. The Archer is a belt-driven model that plays 33 1/3, 45 and 78 speeds, covering just about any thrift shop find regardless of age. It’s also ready to handle today’s formats, with a USB port, an auxiliary input and a headphone output for private listening or plugging into your stereo system. The portable design includes two stereo speakers and lets you switch to incognito luggage mode when you’re taking things on the road. We’ve got turntables and cases for a trio of lucky Engadget readers, so head down to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances of winning this vinyl-playing package from Electrohome.
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. Three (3) winners will each receive one (1) Electrohome Archer turntable [EANOS300] and one (1) vinyl record heavy duty carrying case [RT05].
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Engadget and AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until September 9th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Tags: engadget giveaway, engadgetgiveaway, giveaway
UK tour of ‘Silent Hill Live’ will put the concert in disconcerting
Nothing sets the tone of a horror game like a truly haunting score, and few can create as claustrophobic and creepy an atmosphere as Akira Yamaoka. The composer has been partly responsible for making the majority of the Silent Hill franchise practically unplayable for anyone lacking nerves of reinforced steel. “Silent Hill Live” invites fans of the horror series to revisit the eerie scores of games past — this time in a more comfortable setting where monstrosities (hopefully) aren’t lurking around every corner.
Yamaoka and a live band are set to creep out a handful of venues across the UK, scheduled fittingly around Halloween. Silent Hill Live debuts in Bristol on October 29th, then heads to Cardiff, London and Southampton before finishing up in Manchester on November 3rd. If you’re interested, tickets will go on sale this Friday, and unlike the playable teaser for the now-cancelled Silent Hills, you’ll probably be able to sleep after enjoying some of Yamaoka’s most memorable work.
Great news! @AkiraYamaoka is coming to the UK for #Halloween live performances of #SilentHill music! Mark the dates! pic.twitter.com/vh4mfQ8ckR
— KONAMI Europe (@konamieu) September 8, 2015
[Image credit: Silent Hill Wiki]
Filed under:
Gaming
Via:
MCV
Source:
Konami, See Tickets
Tags: AkiraYamaoka, concert, music, silenthill, silenthilllive
‘Minecraft’ players on Windows 10 and mobile can now build together
Minecraft offers wondrous worlds for solo adventurers, but it also gives groups the perfect canvas to build on and break together. With this in mind, developer Mojang is making it easier to host your friends with cross-platform play between Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition and Minecraft: Pocket Edition. Up to five players can now join the same session on a local network with their PC, iOS, Android or Windows Phone devices. And, if you need another reason to try Microsoft’s new OS, the Windows 10 version has also been updated with five-person online multiplayer over Xbox Live. Microsoft has put a ton of work into its new Xbox app for Windows 10 — it’s desperate to prove the OS is a worthy upgrade for PC gamers — and this could make it easier for beginners to set up collaborative builds.
If your little one is glued to their phone or tablet, however, Minecraft: Pocket Edition has been spruced up a little too. The touch controls have been revamped and Mojang is adding controller support with a dedicated button mapping screen. Better yet, there’s now enhanced weather effects, including directional rain, the ability to sneak and sprint, and access to the spooky “Nether” dimension. It’s easy to forget just how popular Minecraft has become; as Mojang’s Minecon convention showed this year, the community has, in fact, never been stronger, making each iterative update just as important as the last.
Filed under:
Gaming, Microsoft
Via:
The Verge
Source:
Xbox Wire
Tags: crossplay, microsoft, minecon, minecraft, MinecraftPocketEdition, minecraftwindows10, mojang, multiplayer, pocketedition, windows10
Microsoft takes on the US government over data held overseas
Do you think that America’s law enforcement agencies should have free access to the emails of your friends over in Ireland? It’s the question that an appeals court is being asked to consider in a matter that has serious consequences for everyone in the world. The issue began when drug enforcement officials wanted to access to messages that were stored on a Microsoft server in Dublin. As far as Microsoft was concerned, that was a matter for the Irish government, but the g-people tried to hold the company’s US arm accountable. Disturbingly, the US won the first two legal challenges, and now New York’s 2nd circuit is about to hear to the appeal on behalf of Microsoft, with some cheering on from the rest of the technology industry.
As Reuters reports, the court will be asked to decide if Microsoft in the US had control and access to the emails, rather than where they were housed at the time. The problem is that whatever the result, it’s going to wind up to be problematic for both Microsoft and the tech industry as a whole. If the company wins, then it’s likely to be attacked by numerous law enforcement agencies as they say that Satya Nadella is personally endorsing the actions of criminals. If it loses, however, it’s likely to outrage its global customers who are rightly reluctant to see their private data handed over to the government. Not to mention the geopolitical element, since the US will effectively give itself permission to look at private information on overseas citizens. It probably won’t be able to complain if foreign governments do the same thing in return, since that’d smack of double standards.
[Image Credit: Ted S Warren/AP Photo]
Filed under:
Internet, Microsoft
Source:
The New York Times, Reuters
Tags: Appeal, Courtroom, Drugs, Ireland, LawEnforcement, microsoft, Privacy
Jawbone’s fitness trackers will track more of your fitness
“Basically, we’re fixing all of the things that people hate,” is how one Jawbone rep here at IFA 2015 describes this mid-lifecycle update to Jawbone’s range of wrist-worn fitness trackers. When we reviewed the Up3 earlier this year, we described it as a feature-packed disappointment, since while the wearable had potential to be useful, the execution was bungled. That’s why the company has spent the last few months working on a firmware upgrade that, it’s hoped, will make the device much more attractive to new customers. Slideshow-317496
One of the biggest annoyances that we had with the Up3 is that the device only took your resting heart rate when you woke up. The company had originally said that the single daily measurement was the best indication of your heart’s health, but it’s not as useful as continuous or regular tracking. With this new firmware update, the Up3 and Up4, the mobile-payments variant of the Up3, will now take your passive heart rate during the day. The idea is that whenever you sit down, it’ll see how your heart is holding up every 20 minutes or so. If you’re worried that all of this extra effort will send you racing to the recharge socket, don’t stress — we’re told that the change will have no detrimental effect on battery life.
In addition, if you’re rocking an Up2 or an Up3/4, you’ll no longer have to touch the device’s cap (the solid plastic panel) to enter and leave sleep tracking mode. The company believes that now the gear will be able to detect all of that automatically within seconds of you hitting the hay. The only thing that you’ll have to do with the cap now is to tap it to dismiss alarm clock and inactivity alerts.
The company has also addressed complaints over the Up2’s strap, which now comes in a rope-style design rather than the full band that was previously available. Meanwhile, the Up3 now comes in new colors like Sand Twist (beige, but the company is saying it’s closer to champagne gold) and Teal. As before, the Up3 is priced at $179.99, while the Up2 with its new lightweight band remains $99.99 and both, as of right now, are available to pre-order from Jawbone’s online store.
Check out all the news from Berlin at our IFA 2015 hub.
Filed under:
Wearables
Source:
Jawbone
Tags: 2015, Fitness, IFA, IFA2015, Jawbone, SleepTracking, Up2, Up3
Amazon may be gearing up for the holidays with a sub-$50 tablet
When it comes to Amazon releasing their own devices, it has been an up-hill battle. With the exception of the Echo and Kindle E-Readers, Amazon has yet to really find it’s niche in the tablet market. There was news galore surrounding the fact that Amazon has given up on the Fire Phone, and you can now find those for as low as $125 with a year of Prime still in tact.
Reports have started coming out that Amazon is gearing up to try and hit a different part of the market share. The low, low-end. These reports are stating that Amazon is planning to release a sub-$50 tablet with a 6-inch display, for the holiday season.
When it comes to sub-$100 tablets, the market is really scarce. There are those off-brand ones, but to find a good sub-$100 is next to impossible. That is, of course, if you do not include the refurbished options and such.
Since this report is so early, it’s not yet known whether the new tablet from Amazon will be a part of the Fire family. However, if it is, the tablet would be half the cost of the lowest available Fire HD tablet, which also has a 6-inch display.
It will be interesting to see what Amazon does to try and force their way onto the market with another option. If they can deliver and bring a $50 tablet to the market in time for the holidays, combined with a decent performing tablet, it’ll be interesting to say the least.
Let us know what you think about Amazon’s rumored plans for a new tablet, and whether you think they should keep trying to gain market share.
Source: Wall Street Journal
The post Amazon may be gearing up for the holidays with a sub-$50 tablet appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Xiaomi releases an enhanced Redmi 2A with 2GB of RAM for $549CNY
Xiaomi has today announced a new version of the Redmi 2A. The original Redmi 2 and Redmi 2A has done well, selling over 13 million combined units over the past five months.
That said, Xiaomi has high hopes for an improved version of the Redmi 2A by offering more appealing and improved specifications.
The major changes in this enhanced model is 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, up from 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage in the previous model.
Other than that, you get the same 4.7-inch 720p display, the Leadcore L1860C chipset, a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 4G LTE, dual-SIM support, and a 2,200mah battery. It’s also running Xiaomi’s own MIUI 6.0 skin atop of Android 5.0.
The device will sell for $549CNY or $89USD at current exchange rates.
source: Xiaomi
Come comment on this article: Xiaomi releases an enhanced Redmi 2A with 2GB of RAM for $549CNY
ZTE plans to bring Hillcrest Labs tech to some of its existing lineups
Today we received word that ZTE will be incorporating Hillcrest’s motion control to its Axon and Star smartphone lineups. This technology will give the company’s smartphones capabilities that only so many phones have. Hillcrest’s advanced sensor processing, Freespace motion controls and sensor hub will bring loads of new contextual awareness features to ZTE’s future handsets.
ZTE is so excited about bringing users new software tricks and believes the possibilities of the upcoming technology are endless. ZTE says the technology won’t just give users new motion tricks but also better power consumption and a whole new user experience.
ZTE aims to bring useful valued features not just gimmicks with the new sensors. The upcoming handset’s will have always-on contextual awareness, gesture recognition, activity tracking and new motion controls. These sensors will allow ZTE to create features where users don’t even need to touch the screen to get information. A simple gesture or movement of device will soon be able to activate the handset or even open an application.
It will be interesting to see what ZTE does with the technology going forward. Hopefully costs remain low.
Source: Prenewswire
Come comment on this article: ZTE plans to bring Hillcrest Labs tech to some of its existing lineups
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