Astronomers spot a mid-sized black hole
Black holes typically come in one of two sizes: stellar mass and supermassive. Astronomers believe that there are black holes that fit between these two extremes but finding them has proven difficult, with only a half-dozen candidates currently known. Well, as of today, the tally rises to half-dozen plus one. Scientists at the University of Maryland and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre have found another mid-sized black hole, weighing in at 5,000 times the mass of our Sun.
The good news is that this find supports the idea that black holes exist in a wide range of varying sizes. The discovery has been called “NGC1313X-1” and is classified as an ultraluminous X-ray source. Astronomers believe that these types of black holes are only in an intermediate stage of their existence which means that they’re still drawing in matter and giving off huge amounts of X-ray radiation in the process. NASA plans to launch an X-ray telescope in 2016 to further explore other potential intermediate black holes.
[Image credit: ESO]
Source: NASA
BlackBerry’s Android phone will be known as the ‘Priv’
BlackBerry’s upcoming Android phone has been called “Venice” for quite some time, but that’s apparently nothing but a moniker meant to be shed and replaced by its real model name. According to Evleaks and N4BB, it will be released as the BlackBerry Priv, presumably due to its privacy features. Evleaks also revealed a new stock photo of the phone, which you can see below the fold. Don’t expect to see anything new, though: it’s still a QWERTY slider with a curved screen and an 18-megapixel camera. Hopefully, we’ll find out more about it and its release date soon. If the device turns out to have killer features, then it doesn’t matter what it’s called: after all, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Source: Evleaks (Twitter) (1), (2), N4BB
All the colours of the HTC Aero leak out, bears striking resemblance to a certain other phone…
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
We’ve been hearing quite a bit about HTC‘s upcoming mid-range device, the HTC Aero – or HTC One A9, depending on who you ask. Today, leaker @evleaks has provided us with an image that shows the colour palette the HTC Aero is going to be available with. The colours themselves seem nice enough – it’s good to see HTC move away from just fifty shades of grey – but the design of the HTC Aero looks strikingly like the iPhone 6. Maybe we’re crazy, but the bands on the back of the device, and the single speaker on the front of device don’t look very HTC to us.
HTC Aero. Also: Intro – https://t.co/tu4JtfFgQN Branding – https://t.co/7KROIOrrIp Specs – https://t.co/I3AHAKpRs1 pic.twitter.com/cFYtDgJYc8
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 23, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Now, sure: HTC probably did do metal unibodied smartphones before anyone else, but we have a feeling nobody’s going to buy that once the Aero is announced. As for what’s powering the device, the Aero is rumoured to be using a Snapdragon 617 processor and a 1080p display – the device is also rumoured to be launching with Android Marshmallow and Sense 7, and will be announced on September 29th.
What do you think of the HTC Aero? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Twitter via Droid-life
The post All the colours of the HTC Aero leak out, bears striking resemblance to a certain other phone… appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Deal: Aukey 40W charger for $10 from Amazon
Sick of charging all your various gadgets with countless different chargers? Then Amazon has a deal for you, the Aukey 40W 5 port USB desktop charging station is currently heavily discounted from its regular $49.99 price tag. It can be yours for just $9.99, a whopping 80 percent saving over the list price.
The Aukey 40W features 5 USB charging ports, which can supply up to 8 amps of power to charge your gadgets all at one. Featuring AlPower and a TI processor inside, the Aukey can match up to your gadget’s power requirements and provides up to 2.4 amps of current through each port, which is more than enough to quickly juice up even some of the more power hungry smartphones.
If you’re after something that officially supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 standard, Aukey also has a range of other charging stations that are also currently discounted over at Amazon, averaging around a 50 percent saving over the RRP.
The station is nice and compact too, measuring just 3.7 x 2.4 x 1.0 inches. It also comes with a 2.6-ft mains power cord and over-heating, over-current, and over-charging protection built in.
Click the big orange button below to grab yours.
Google Photos helps prove man’s innocence after assault by police
There’s many arguments for automatically backing up your photos and videos to the cloud but most of these are around being able to access them from wherever you are. Just occasionally, the auto backup feature in most services proves to have real world benefits and as a man from Toronto found out, your smartphone can save you a lot of bother.
According to the Toronto Star, which is Canada‘s largest daily newspaper, Abdi Sheik Qasim was arrested by Toronto police for reportedly assaulting a police officer following an exchange at his uncle’s house in January 2014. After the constables established that Qasim was not wanted on any warrants, they refused to leave and instead insisted on entering the apartment. Qasim then took out his phone to record the transaction but Constable Dhaliwal knocked his phone out of his hand.
Qasim was then arrested and charged for assaulting a police officer and failing to comply with a court order and once hauled to the police station, his phone went missing. After being released pending an appearance in court, Qasim still didn’t have his phone but upon his return to his home, he found that Google Photos had automatically backed up the ten second video.
In court, both officers said that Qasim has initiated the hostility by attempting to reach for an officer’s utility belt but upon viewing the video, Ontario Court Justice Edward Kelly cleared Sheik-Qasim of both charges.
“Officer Dhaliwal’s swing of his arm and hand was the very first physical force during the interaction. The accused didn’t grab a hold of the belt of Officer Gul in advance of this action by Officer Dhaliwal. I believe that Officer Dhaliwal’s action amounted to an assault against the accused.”
So there you go guys – just sometimes, your smartphone can save you a lot of headache. As for Google and Google Photos, this kind of publicity can only be a good thing! Do you back up your phone automatically? If so, do you use Google Photos or another service? Let us know your views in the comments below guys and for the whole story, head to the link below.
The mid-range LG Class gets handled in unboxing video
While we wait for LG to unveil its new flagship smartphone, the V10, on October 1st, it’s also readying a mid-range handset that should reach South Korean carriers later this month. This mid-range handset is LG’s first Android phone to be constructed out of metal and goes under the ‘Class’ moniker. The LG Class is already the subject of an unboxing video, as shown after the break.
Before we get to the unboxing video by UnderKG, let’s take a look at its specifications:
- 5-Inch IPS display with 720 x 1280 resolution
- Quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor @ 1.2GHz
- Adreno 306 GPU
- 2GB RAM
- 16GB Internal storage
- MicroSD card support
- 13MP Rear camera
- 8MP Front camera
- LTE/NFC/Bluetooth 4.1
- 1W Rear speaker
- Battery: 2050mAh
- Dimensions: 142 x 71.8 x 7.4mm
- Weight: 147 grams
The Class continues with LG’s trend of putting the power and volume buttons on the rear panel, while unusually, the (1W) rear speaker is adjacent to the camera.
The LG Class will be available in South Korea for around $339 off-contract in blue-black, silver or gold options. It remains to be seen whether LG will give the Class handset a pass to the rest of the world, or whether it will be detained in South Korea indefinitely. Take a look at the unboxing video below and let us know your thoughts about LG’s new, metal design.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: UnderKG
Come comment on this article: The mid-range LG Class gets handled in unboxing video
Pre-order stock of Samsung’s Gear S2 is snaffled up in just 2 hours by Koreans
Samsung took the wraps off its Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic smartwatches at the IFA in Berlin earlier this month, with the new range of wearables set to hit South Korea on October 2nd. Samsung recently put the Tizen-powered smartwatches up for pre-order in Korea, a move that lasted only two hours as the pre-order stock was snapped up in its entirety.
Samsung had a thousand units available to pre-order online, which took just two hours to be depleted. One of the things that will help drive sales of the Gear S2/ Gear S2 Classic smartwatches is that they are both compatible with non-Samsung devices. So long as your Android device runs version 4.4 KitKat or later and has 1.5GB of RAM, then you can pair the Gear S2 to it. Even though they are running Tizen instead of Google’s Android Wear operating system, the Gear S2 wearables should provide a similar level of connectivity.
Are you waiting to get your hands on one of Samsung’s new range of Tizen-powered smartwatches? Let us know which model you prefer in the comments below.
Source: Samsung
Via: BusinessKorea
Come comment on this article: Pre-order stock of Samsung’s Gear S2 is snaffled up in just 2 hours by Koreans
LG teases its latest device, the LG V10, by giving a lady a really bad haircut
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
There has been mounting evidence over the last few weeks that LG is getting a new device ready for launch which utilizes dual displays, though not in a way that you’d expect. The so called LG V10 puts the secondary display above the main display, acting as a ticker display – in essence, it’s the same idea as the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge except putting the curved bit above the main display. While none of this has actually be confirmed, LG’s latest teaser suggests that it is indeed about to announce such a device, and they’re willing to ruin a lady’s hair to get the point across:
Okay, so it was probably a wig, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s kind of a weird concept to begin with, especially putting the extra display at the top of the device where it’s harder to get to – we’ll hold our full judgement till LG announces the device however. LG has booked the event for the 1st of October, so we should be seeing exactly what LG has in store for us in just under a week.
What do you think about the LG V10 so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Droid-life
The post LG teases its latest device, the LG V10, by giving a lady a really bad haircut appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
HTC ‘Aero’ leak shows iPhone-like colors, mid-range power
We now know just about everything about HTC’s upcoming One A9 ‘Aero’ smartphone, thanks to phone leaker Evan Blass, aka @evleaks. If he’s right, it’s not the high-end, 10-core model we were expecting, but rather a mid-ranger aimed at style-conscious types, with no less than six color options. The skeptical among us might notice that it vaguely resembles an iPhone 6s, and in fact has three color choices that are nigh-on identical to Apple’s latest handsets (rose gold, carbon gray and silver). But it’s otherwise a pale imitation of that phone (and other HTC One devices), with a middling Snapdragon 617 CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 1080p screen.
That said, it should serve its purpose with a decent-sounding 13-megapixel backside illuminated, optically stabilized camera (4-megapixel selfie cam), fingerprint sensor and MicroSD card expansion. It’s also relatively thin at 7mm and, given the name, we presume lightweight. Despite Mr. Blass’s stellar track record for leaks, we’d again remind you that this is still a rumor, so plan (or don’t plan), accordingly. If it does pan out, though, it’s supposed to arrive in November with carriers like Sprint.
Source: @evleaks
Metal-clad LG Class gets unboxed on video
Earlier this week, LG unveiled its first metal-clad smartphone, the entry-level LG Class and while the handset hasn’t gone on sale yet, we’re treated to an unboxing and preview of the handset, in 4K nonetheless.
LG in video:
.rvs_wrapper
width: 350px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left
float: left;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none
width: 100%;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center
text-align: center;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: none;
display: inline-block;
vertical-align: top;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos:not(.align_none) ul li:nth-child(2n+1)
clear: both;
.rvs_title
font-weight: 600 !important;
margin: 0 !important;
font-size: 24px !important;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right .rvs_title
padding-left: 20px;
.rvs_title a
font-family: ‘Roboto Condensed’;
color: #3a3a3a;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
padding-top: 10px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left.cbc-latest-videos ul li,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 15px 0 0;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 0 0 15px;
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a
font-weight: 400;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a .yt-thumbnail
margin-bottom: 0;
@media only screen and (min-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
width: 100% !important;
@media only screen and (max-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos
width: 100%;
float: none !important;
overflow-x: auto;
overflow-y: hidden;
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
overflow: auto;
max-height: none;
body .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: left !important;
clear: none !important;
The Class is LG’s first attempt at a metal-clad smartphone and features a 5-inch display with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and a 2.5D glass panel on top to increase responsiveness. Under the hood, the handset is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage, which can be expanded further using a microSD card.
On the back, there’s a 13MP rear camera which LG claim has the premium imaging sensor found in its flagship devices, while the front sports an 8MP selfie camera with a range of features including Gesture Interval Shot, which lets you raise your hand and make a fist in front of the camera to take a selfie. The back also comes with the power and volume keys underneath the camera, like LG’s other handsets, such as the LG G4.
Connectivity wise, the LG Class also comes with LTE, NFC and Bluetooth 4.1. The LG Class measures 142 x 71.8 x 7.4mm, while at 147 grams weight, it’s certainly manageable in the hand. Like other metal-clad devices, the LG Class has a non-removable battery and the question remains as to whether the 2,050 mAh battery is large enough for normal usage.
What do you think of the LG Class and do you want to see it launch outside of Korea (where it’ll set you back $339 before subsidies)? Let us know your views in the comments below guys!
AIVAnet 