Sony confirms Xperia Z5 Premium only displays media in 4K
Sony became the first 4K smartphone manufacturer with the launch of its Xperia Z5 Premium, an impressive feat that sees a whopping 808 pixel per inch packed into the 5.5-inch display. However, such a high resolution has brought with it a fair share of concern about performance and battery life.
When it comes to gaming, smooth native 4K rendering is still well out of reach of mobile devices, but some have also speculated that Sony’s latest smartphone may not even make use of its 4K display to render your day to day Android UI. This makes sense, as the benefits of 4K for everyday tasks are probably not worth the extra strain on the processing components.
Sony has now confirmed that this is the case, stating that the phone’s ultra-high resolution mode is indeed reserved just for image and video content that can enjoy the benefits. All other content is rendered at a more standard 1080p resolution or lower, in order to preserve battery life and performance.
“Xperia Z5 Premium features a 4K display with a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels based on SID Standard and enables all video and image content to be enjoyed in 4K resolution. All other content is displayed at 1080P or lower resolution in order to optimise the performance and battery stamina for this device, ensuring you can enjoy the 4K resolution when you need it most.“
Instead of displaying regular content at 4K, Sony is upscaling most of the time. However, as a 1080×1920 resolution factors nicely into the display’s 2160×3840 pixels, image quality should be very well preserved. Considering that the Xperia Z5 Premium still offers the same two day battery life as its lower resolution brothers, perhaps this news isn’t so surprising. Although the 4K display still requires some extra juice, the larger battery makes up for those extra pixels.
Sony’s Xperia Z5 range:
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Although Sony has the world’s first 4K smartphone, it turns out that day to day experiences aren’t going to look any more detailed than most other flagship handsets out there. Do you think that this diminishes Sony’s achievement, or is this just sensible engineering?
Samsung Galaxy View marches one step closer to launch, gets Bluetooth SIG certification
Earlier this month at its IFA press event, Samsung unveiled the new Gear S2 smartwatch, but that’s not all. At the very end of the event, Samsung also very briefly teased a new product called the Samsung Galaxy View. Based on the short teaser and all the prior rumors, it seems likely the View is the rumored 18.4-inch tablet from the Korean giant.
Now it looks like we are one step closer to an official Galaxy View announcement, as the View may have just been certified by Bluetooth SIG. Technically the certification didn’t specifically name the View, but instead a Samsung device with the model number SM-T670. Of course, that’s the same model number that has been associated with the 18.4-inch Samsung tablet.
While passing through Bluetooth SIG tells us nothing new about the tablet, it lends more credence to the idea that the Galaxy View is on its way and will pack a massive screen size. As for the rest of the rumored specs? Reportedly the tablet will offer a 1920 x 1080 display, an Exynos 7580 processor with 2GB RAM, 32GB of on-board storage with microSD for expansion, a 2.1MP front cam, an 8MP rear cam, and a 5700mAh battery. Its dimensions are said to be 451.8mm wide, 275.8mm tall, and 11.9mm thick.
Everything we’ve heard about the tablet suggests that Samsung is aiming it at living room use, though it could also make its way into classrooms and schools. The success of such a product will likely come down to marketing, and if Samsung can showcase enough family-oriented apps (board games, etc) to make the idea of a family-sized tablet one that resonates with consumers.
What do you think, at all interested in the Samsung Galaxy View? Conversely, do you feel it will be a massive flop?
Apple Expanding R&D Center in Sweden to Work on ‘Advanced Mapping Technology’
A new report today from Swedish news service Rapidus (via Tech.eu) claims that Apple has been quietly increasing its presence in Lund, Sweden with a focus on an “advanced mapping technology” that aims to further improve Apple Maps . The company is reportedly working out of a new R&D center in the city said to have launched last November.
Now, a report from news agency Rapidus claims Apple has been quietly ramping up its operations in Lund, a city near Malmö in Sweden, where it is apparently working on ‘advanced mapping technology’. Reports that Apple had set up a relatively secretive R&D center in Lund first surfaced in November last year, but it’s always been unclear what was being worked on over there.
The news today points toward continued improvements for Apple Maps, which is currently seeing a significant amount of investment from Apple. The company has in recent months expanded its fleet of vans surveying streets around the United States and other countries with a variety of sensors. Apple confirmed over the summer that the data collected from the vehicles will be used to improve Apple Maps in the future, likely with street-level imagery similar to Google’s Street View.
Facebook can notify Android users via Chrome, as well as its app
Facebook has just flicked the switch on notifications via Chrome on mobile. Previously, if you wanted the social network to send you updates, you’d have to have the Facebook app installed. Now, if you browse to Facebook’s site with Google’s mobile browser, you’ll be asked if you’d like to receive notifications (or not). At least on Android, for now. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Google announced the planned feature back in Spring, only Facebook (by far and away the biggest notifier of anything?), finally added the feature this week.
Web notifications are important for sites like Facebook and content providers generally, because it adds a way to reach users without requiring they install an app. In some cases, that’s a way to give users a taste for the extra layer of “stickiness” an app provides; in other situations — like developing nations — it’s a way to overcome obstacles such as variable access to data. There’s another group, curmudgeons like me, that find the lack of notifications on a mobile browser a plus — you can still access the site when you want, without any alerts or pop-ups. Whichever camp you’re in, you have full control under Chrome’s settings to turn them on or off at any time.
Filed under:
Internet, Mobile, Google, Facebook
Source:
TechCrunch
Tags: android, app, chrome, facebook, google, mobilepostcross, noescape, notifications
ICYMI: Airbag moto-jacket, robotic landing gear and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: Newly unveiled robotic landing gear is enabling helicopters to land on uneven ground. But that’s DARPA for you; always down with the militarized robot inventions. Meanwhile motorcyclists have a new jacket that not only looks legit but uses sensors to deploy an internal airbag if danger is detected. And a Kickstarter project for the SteadXP is interesting because it can make give most digital cameras a steadicam look, no matter how shaky or untrained the operator.
This GameBoy fridge is too nerdy not to see, and fully functional too.
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:
Cameras, Misc, Robots, Transportation, Internet, Software
Tags: airbagjacket, DARPA, DARPAhelicopter, engadget, engadgetdaily, engadgetdailyshow, engadgetvideo, GameBoy, helicopter, icymi, incaseyoumissedit, Kickstarter, landinggear, motorcycle, motorcyclejacket, robotichelicopter, steadicam, SteadXP, video
Livescribe launches Moleskine-branded pen-and-notebook bundle
Livescribe is selling a new bundle of products comprised of a Moleskine-branded Livescribe 3 smartpen and tool belt, a Moleskine notebook that works with the device, one-year subscription to Evernote Premium and Livescribe+ apps for iOS and Android. The number of times we’ve mentioned the Italian brand should tell you that this specifically targets its fans. After all, it costs $230: that’s equivalent to the price of a Livescribe 3 pro pack, which already includes a regular writing pad, and a separate Moleskine notebook the company released last year.
From the sound of it, the pen in this bundle doesn’t come with extra features the regular version doesn’t have: It still sends what you write on the ivory-colored pages to the app and records sounds as pencasts. If you already have the pen and don’t mind missing out on the tool belt, that means you can always just grab the Milan-designed notebook from Livescribe’s online store. But if you’ve been wanting (but haven’t had the chance) to try the pen-and-journal combo out, you can pre-order the pack from the company’s website and expect it on your doorstep later this month or early next.
Filed under:
Peripherals, Mobile
Source:
Livescribe
Tags: livescribe, mobilepostcross, moleskin
Snapdragon 820 to debut with LTE download speeds of up to 600Mbps
Qualcomm has announced that their newest chipset, the Snapdragon 820, will debut with the most advanced LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity technology of any other chipset on the market. The 820 will be reserved for premium level smartphones, presumably because of the cost.
- LTE Advanced speeds
- Cat 12 (up to 600 Mbps) in the downlink
- Cat 13 (up to 150 Mbps) in the uplink
- Up to 4×4 MIMO on one downlink LTE carrier
- Breakthrough connectivity support in unlicensed spectrum:
- 2×2 MU-MIMO (802.11ac)
- Multi-gigabit 802.11ad
- LTE-U and LTE+Wi-Fi Link Aggregation (LWA)
- Comprehensive service across connection types
- Next Gen HD Voice and Video calling over LTE and Wi-Fi
- Call Continuity across Wi-Fi, LTE, 3G, and 2G
- RF front end innovations
- Advanced Closed Loop Antenna Tuner
- Qualcomm RF360™ front end solution with CA
- Wi-Fi/LTE antenna sharing
The 820 is the first publicly announced chipset with Category 12 download speeds and category 13 upload speeds. To give this some perspective, this is 33% improvement over the 810’s download speeds and a 200% improvement over the 810’s upload speeds.
The 4×4 Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) is designed to double download throughput speeds on LTE. Basically, this allows for multiple connections to the same source for download. In theory, it kind of works like a torrent would. Download speeds are not only dependent on both the speed of the download connection, but also the speed of the upload on the opposite end. So if you’re connected to the uploading server twice, you can download the file twice as fast. Of course the uploading server will have to support the technology as well.
Other technologies announced for the 820 are Quick Charge 3.0, built-in malware protection, and 2x’s performance and battery life. What do you think? Will your next phone be rocking the 820? Let us know in the comments below.
Here is the full press release for your viewing pleasure.
Qualcomm Announces Breakthrough Connectivity Features in the Snapdragon 820 Processor
–Upgraded X12 LTE modem includes the most advanced LTE and Wi-Fi feature set of any publicly announced integrated modem and application processor for use in mobile devices–
SEP 14, 2015 HONG KONG
Qualcomm products mentioned within this press release are offered by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (QTI), has integrated its newly upgraded X12 LTE modem into its upcoming Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 processor, providing leading 4G LTE and Wi-Fi technologies for premium tier mobile devices. The new Snapdragon 820 processor addresses unprecedented demand for blazing fast connectivity and seamless services. The Snapdragon 820 processor’s upgraded X12 LTE modem offers:
- LTE Advanced speeds
- Cat 12 (up to 600 Mbps) in the downlink
- Cat 13 (up to 150 Mbps) in the uplink
- Up to 4×4 MIMO on one downlink LTE carrier
- Breakthrough connectivity support in unlicensed spectrum:
- 2×2 MU-MIMO (802.11ac)
- Multi-gigabit 802.11ad
- LTE-U and LTE+Wi-Fi Link Aggregation (LWA)
- Comprehensive service across connection types
- Next Gen HD Voice and Video calling over LTE and Wi-Fi
- Call Continuity across Wi-Fi, LTE, 3G, and 2G
- RF front end innovations
- Advanced Closed Loop Antenna Tuner
- Qualcomm RF360™ front end solution with CA
- Wi-Fi/LTE antenna sharing
This is the first publicly announced processor for use in mobile devices to support LTE Category 12 in the downlink and Category 13 in the uplink, providing up to 33 percent and 200 percent improvement over its predecessor’s download and upload speeds, respectively. Also available as a discrete chipset, the X12 LTE modem has demonstrated peak download speeds of up to 600 Mbps through 3x downlink carrier aggregation and 256-QAM, as well as peak upload speeds of up to 150 Mbps through 2x uplink carrier aggregation and 64-QAM. The Snapdragon 820 processor is also the first publicly announced processor to offer LTE support for 4×4 Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO), designed to double download throughput speeds on a single LTE carrier. In addition, it features Uplink Data Compression (UDC), a feature that is currently unique to select Snapdragon LTE modems, and engineered to enhance the user experience in a wide range of applications, including accelerating web page loading times. The Snapdragon 820 processor is also the first publicly announced processor with Advanced Closed Loop Antenna Tuning when paired with the QFE2550 Antenna Tuner, designed to dynamically optimize RF performance in real network conditions, particularly for challenging metallic industrial designs in premium tier handsets. Advanced Closed Loop Antenna Tuning is designed to reduce dropped calls, improve cell edge throughput and even lower power consumption.
In addition to its leading LTE features, the Snapdragon 820 processor also supports superior Wi-Fi performance and connectivity experiences through Qualcomm® VIVE™ 802.11ac with Qualcomm® MU | EFX MU-MIMO technology, along with tri-band support, through multi-gigabit 802.11ad (11ad) Wi-Fi. With 2×2 802.11ac (11ac) plus MU-MIMO technology, devices will have the ability to achieve a range increase of up to 50 percent over the 1×1 configuration.
The peak rate of 2×2 80 MHz 11ac is up to 867 Mbps, while the 11ad peak rate is up to 4.6 Gbps. Additionally, 11ad offers up to a five time increase in user throughput with similar power consumption as 11ac. With dynamic session transfer between 11ad and 11ac, devices will have the ability to achieve high performance connectivity in a power-efficient way. The high bandwidth and speeds offered by 11ac Wi-Fi, 11ad Wi-Fi, and MU-MIMO brings new-levels of performance designed to improve overall quality of service, and enhance user experiences for applications such as streaming 4K video, doing peer-to-peer large file sharing, using media kiosks, docking wirelessly, hard disk backups and more.
The Snapdragon 820 processor features advanced convergence technologies between LTE and Wi-Fi, and between licensed and unlicensed spectrum:
- LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U). The Snapdragon 820 processor is the first publicly announced processor for use in mobile devices to offer comprehensive LTE-U support when paired with the WTR3950, increasing mobile network capacity and user throughput by aggregating LTE in licensed and unlicensed bands.
- LTE and Wi-Fi Link Aggregation (LWA). LWA is another method of aggregating licensed and unlicensed spectrum. It is designed to allow mobile operators to utilize their Wi-Fi infrastructure to augment licensed LTE network capacity with unlicensed spectrum capacity.
- Next-generation Wi-Fi calling. The X12 LTE modem supports next-generation HD Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Video over LTE (ViLTE) calling services using the IP Multimedia Subsystem, with support for call continuity between LTE and Wi-Fi. Making use of the cognitive capabilities of Qualcomm® Zeroth™, the X12 LTE modem monitors real-time Wi-Fi quality to decide if and when to shift the call from LTE to Wi-Fi or back.
- Antenna sharing. The new modem supports several antenna sharing schemes between LTE and Wi-Fi, designed to make it easier for manufacturers to design devices with advanced technologies like LTE-U, 4×4 LTE MIMO, and 2-stream Wi-Fi, with attractive form factors and minimal performance impact on either technology.
“The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with X12 LTE modem is a new industry leader, offering highly differentiated features that put OEMs and carriers on the cutting edge, including the latest advances in LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity,” said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “With technologies like 4K video, virtual reality and cognitive computing rapidly evolving, it’s important to provide consumers with the speed and bandwidth to create a more compelling mobile experience.”
The Snapdragon 820 processor continues QTI’s long-standing tradition of integrating industry-leading modem features. It also includes support for services such as LTE-Broadcast and dual-SIM LTE carrier aggregation devices. Devices based on the Snapdragon 820 processor are expected to be available in 1H of 2016.
About Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm’s licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm’s engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 30 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm’s website,OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.
The post Snapdragon 820 to debut with LTE download speeds of up to 600Mbps appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Some Moto X Pure users are having issue with their speakers
In a forum post on Motorola’s forums, many Moto X Pure owners are complaining that they’re having issues with the top speaker on their phone. There doesn’t appear to be any obvious rhyme or reason to the issues that range from crackling at high volumes to audio skipping when the Moto X Pure is turned into landscape.
The user that started the thread reports that their issues are apparent even at less than full volume and it seems to be the worst in audio books. Turning off “audio effects” seems to help the problem but does not fix it completely. Others chime in that they’re seeing similar issues on their Moto X Pure and Moto X Style.
Another user has gone on to complain about the audio dropping out for a second when the phone is turned into landscape mode. Another has issues playing ringtones at full volume.
While some suspect that it’s a software issue that can be fixed with an update, others think it’s Motorola using a substandard speaker. The Moto X Pure starts at only $400 so it makes sense that people will automatically think Moto is skipping out on quality parts to keep the price down but the rise of cheap, good smartphones shows the world that you can make a compelling device for a compelling price. Motorola seems to be the king of this.
Source: Motorola Forums
The post Some Moto X Pure users are having issue with their speakers appeared first on AndroidGuys.
(Deal) Skip those ads with Pandora One for only $24
We all want to be able to avoid commercials and listen to our favorite artists, without any interruptions. Today’s deal from AndroidGuys and StackCommerce is here to help you achieve that.
With streaming services like Spotify, Slacker, and Google Play Music, this is possible, with the purchase of their Premium services. Pandora also has a Premium service, called Pandora One and that’s where today’s deal comes from.
If you act today, you can get a 6-month premium subscription to Pandora One for only $24. Normally, this costs about $30, so if you grab this deal, you’ll be getting 20% off the regular price.
With Pandora One, you will be able to skip as many times as you want, listen to your music at a higher quality, and not have to deal with any ads whatsoever. This is a great combination regardless of whatever platform you are using Pandora on.
- Enjoy your radio free of ads
- Get more daily “skips”
- Listen for long periods of time without timeouts
- Experience premium-quality audio at 192k bits per second
- Utilize on any supported device
- Customize the aesthetics of your Pandora web player
If you compare this price, to the price of Spotify, you would only be able to get two and a half months of Spotify Premium for the price of this deal for Pandora One. If you like what you see, or are up for a subscription renewal, be sure to head over to the AndroidGuys Deals Page, and grab this deal today!
You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals Page. Backed by StackCommerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
The post (Deal) Skip those ads with Pandora One for only $24 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Cujo launches on Indiegogo aiming to protect all your connected devices
Cujo, a new project that just launched on Indiegogo, aims to take the guesswork out of securing your connected devices, from smartphones to baby monitors.
Hacks are no longer the stuff of Hollywood flicks. These days, the chances of falling victim to a very real – and potentially very nasty – hacking incident have shot up. And, despite popular belief, hackers don’t target just corporations and public figures. Determined hackers can and will breach your personal devices. Laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, thermostats, even cars – if they connect to the internet, they’re vulnerable.
This is where Cujo, a smart security device developed by an LA-based startup, comes in. Think of Cujo as your final line of protection against internet threats. This little white box plugs into your router with just one cable and zero fuss. After that, it immediately begins scanning traffic, protecting you from intrusions, malware, and other types of threats. Whenever an incident is detected, you can get a detailed notification on your Android or iOS smartphone, so you can act and keep your home safe.
Cujo combines firewall, anti-malware, anti-phishing, and threat-detection technology into one device that doesn’t require a tech background to set up and use. Compared to conventional solutions like firewalls and antivirus software, Cujo offers more features and better protection, in one package. And it gets smarter as you use it, thanks to regular updates.
Inside Cujo, there is a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of flash storage and a dedicated chip for cryptographic acceleration. This hardware is needed to run the local antimalware and anti-intrusion software, but the device also offloads some of the analysis tasks to Cujo’s servers.
Cujo is now available on Indiegogo at an introductory price of $49, which includes one Cujo device and 12 months of service (first 100 backers), 9 months of service (the next 100 backers), or 6 months of service (regular backers). After the bundled service period, Cujo will cost $8.99/month or $89/year.
Is Cujo worth its money? That’s up to you to decide, but if you’re serious about your privacy and security, the cost of two nice lattes per month doesn’t seem too much to ask.
Check out Cujo smart security on Indiegogo
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