The new Microsoft Band has a curved screen, fancy metal accents
Remember that awkward, blockly looking fitness bracelet / smartwatch Microsoft made last year, the Band? It’s back, but this time it actually looks pretty nice. A more comfortable, curved screen? Classy metal accents? New sensors, app functionality and fitness tracking features? Yes, yes and yes. The new Band looks like a real product, not the uncomfortable, weird thing we reviewed last year.
Slideshow-326466
The new Band has all the fitness features as the original wearable (GPS, a heart rate monitor, sleep and calorie tracking, guided workout notifications, etc), but adds in new tricks like a barometer (for tracking altitude), golf swing tracking, deeper Cortana integration and the ability to sort out your body’s VO2 max, the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise.
Yes, the new Band is still very much a high-end fitness tracker, but Microsoft isn’t slacking on the smartwatch elements, either. New partnerships with companies like Starbucks, Uber, Facebook, Runkeeper and Lose It promise to make the new wearable far more useful than the previous generation.
Developing…
Microsoft HoloLens reaches developers in early 2016 for $3,000
Microsoft has been answering a lot of questions about HoloLens as of late, but a few questions have remained: when can you get it? And will you need to mortgage your home to get one? Well, those mysteries have been solved… if you’re a programmer. The crew in Redmond has revealed that a Development Edition of its holographic computing headset will launch in the first quarter of 2016 for $3,000. That’s not a completely outlandish price tag, but it’s safe to say that you won’t be getting this early HoloLens purely for kicks — this is to help prepare apps for the eventual mainstream version of the device. Still, it’s good to hear that this exotic wearable tech won’t be limited to Microsoft’s campus for much longer.
Microsoft’s Lumia 950 XL puts Windows 10 in your pocket for $649
While the Surface Pro 4 may garner the bulk of the attention from today’s Microsoft event, the folks in Redmond had other stuff to reveal, too. Those other announcements include a pair of smartphones, one of which is the supersized Lumia 950 XL. Thanks to a handful of leaks, we already had an idea what the handset would look like and some details of its spec sheet. The 950 XL features a larger OLED screen than its sibling, measuring 5.7 inches at 518 PPI. It also offers 32GB of storage that you can expand via microSD card up to a whopping 2TB. There’s a 20-megapixel Zeiss camera around back with Triple LED RGB Natural Flash, optical image stabilization and a dedicated camera button as well, continuing to leverage the photo chops from Nokia. And, of course, all of that runs on Windows 10.
The new Lumias both pack in adaptive antenna tech that works to give you the best connection possible at all times. The $649 950 XL also carries a Qualcomm hexa-core processor and liquid cooling that was originally developed for the Surface tablet. Microsoft gave both of the new Lumia phones something it calls Glance Screen technology that’ll show you missed calls, emails, time, date and more just by taking a look at the display. The duo also both feature USB Type-C connectors for 5 Gbps transfer speeds and quick charging that can hit 50 percent in 30 minutes. There’s also a Display Dock that had connections for HDMI, DisplayPort and three USB jacks that’ll allow you to connect the handset to a monitor. And thanks to Windows 10 universal apps and Continuum, you can employ those hand Office apps to get work done at your desk… with your phone.
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Meet the Lumia 950, Microsoft’s first Windows 10 flagship
Microsoft has announced the Lumia 950, the smartphone that will carry the burden of being the company’s first Windows 10 mobile flagship for the next year. The device comes with a 5.2-inch WQHD (2,560 x 1,440) OLED display that comes with a glance screen that keeps your notifications constantly viewable to save power. In addition, the unit comes with the same liquid cooling technology that’s been lifted from the design of the Microsoft Surface. Internals-wise, the company is promising an octa-core Qualcomm processor and 32GB of internal storage that can, theoretically, a take a 2TB microSD card when they’re available to buy.
Of course, the biggest draw of any Microsoft phone is the camera, and the Lumia 950 comes with a 20-megapixel PureView shooter. The lens, as usual, comes with Carl Zeiss glass as well as optical image stabilization, promising buttery-smooth 4K video without any blur or judder. Oh, and that also neglects to mention the Triple LED RGB flash which, the company promises, will end the days of washing out facial features when you take shots in low light.
Interestingly, Microsoft’s Panos Panay opened his portion of the presentation by talking about the 950’s dual antenna setup, where the Lumia 950 switches between the two in order to find the best mobile signal. He didn’t go into too much detail, but it sounds similar the Paratek Adaptive RF tech that BlackBerry included in some of its devices.
The Lumia 950 comes with a USB Type-C port at the bottom of the device, and Microsoft is promising that the phone will fast-charge to 50 percent capacity within 30 minutes.
The Lumia 950 also has a slightly bigger sister, the 950XL, and both devices will launch in November — the former priced for $549, while the latter retails for $649.
Developing…
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Meet the Lumia 950, Microsoft’s first Windows 10 flagship
Microsoft has announced the Lumia 950, the smartphone that will carry the burden of being the company’s first Windows 10 mobile flagship for the next year. The device comes with a 5.2-inch WQHD (2,560 x 1,440) OLED display that comes with a glance screen that keeps your notifications constantly viewable to save power. In addition, the unit comes with the same liquid cooling technology that’s been lifted from the design of the Microsoft Surface. Internals-wise, the company is promising an octa-core Qualcomm processor and 32GB of internal storage that can, theoretically, a take a 2TB microSD card when they’re available to buy.
Of course, the biggest draw of any Microsoft phone is the camera, and the Lumia 950 comes with a 20-megapixel PureView shooter. The lens, as usual, comes with Carl Zeiss glass as well as optical image stabilization, promising buttery-smooth 4K video without any blur or judder. Oh, and that also neglects to mention the Triple LED RGB flash which, the company promises, will end the days of washing out facial features when you take shots in low light.
Interestingly, Microsoft’s Panos Panay opened his portion of the presentation by talking about the 950’s dual antenna setup, where the Lumia 950 switches between the two in order to find the best mobile signal. He didn’t go into too much detail, but it sounds similar the Paratek Adaptive RF tech that BlackBerry included in some of its devices.
The Lumia 950 comes with a USB Type-C port at the bottom of the device, and Microsoft is promising that the phone will fast-charge to 50 percent capacity within 30 minutes.
The Lumia 950 also has a slightly bigger sister, the 950XL, and both devices will launch in November — the former priced for $549, while the latter retails for $649.
Developing…
Get all the news from today’s Microsoft event right here.
Microsoft’s Lumia 550 offers entry-level Windows 10 for $140
Back when Lumia phones were under Nokia’s charge, the 5-series was a budget-friendly range. Nothing’s changed now that Microsoft is in control, as the freshly announced Lumia 550 will attest. As you might expect, the spec-sheet likely won’t start any fires, but the price might: $140.
The Lumia 550 barely got any stage time at the Microsoft Windows 10 devices event, but we did hear it sports a quad-core processor, and LTE — much in line with the rumors we’d heard (and pictured above).
Developing…
Engadget giveaway: win an iPhone 6s courtesy of Spigen!
Live and learn, right? While having a bare-bottomed phone looks great, with one or two catastrophes under your belt, you may not be going commando again any time soon. This is especially true if you have a high-end handset like Apple’s iPhone 6s. That’s where companies like Spigen come in, to wrap your precious pocket computer in a slim, secure shell. The Neo Hybrid line of cases boasts upgraded polycarbonate frames with extra protection where it’s needed. Both the classic version and the Carbon offer military-grade protection, while the Ex provides a clear, flexible shell to show off your phone’s styling. This week’s giveaway pairs both an iPhone 6s (16GB, GSM, T-mobile) with a collection of Spigen’s protective cases to keep it safe and sound. Just head down to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning.
- 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. One (1) winner will receive one (1) Apple iPhone 6s (Space gray, 16GB, MKQX2LL/A – GSM T-mobile), and six (6) Spigen cases (two of each: Neo Hybrid, Neo Hybrid Carbon and Neo Hybrid Ex).
- 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 October 7th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Sony announces 14 devices will receive Android 6.0 Marshmallow
In a blog post today, Sony has announced that 14 of their devices will be updated to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. No ETAs were promised, but 17 devices is an ambitious list of devices to support. Part of the reason there are so many devices to support is that Sony releases two flagships in their Z lineup every year. The Sony Xperia Z2 was released in April of 2014, the Z3 followed in September, The “Z3+” (Z4) came onto the market in June of 2015 and now the Z5 in October 2015.
The Japanese technology giant promises to deliver “as quickly as we can” and goes on to say they’re excited about the “new Sony features & functionality and the improvements we’ve made to the user experience”. No details on what those improvements are but more details are surely to follow.
Complete List of Sony Devices to receive Marshmallow:
- Xperia Z5
- Xperia Z5 Compact
- Xperia Z5 Premium
- Xperia Z4 Tablet
- Xperia Z3+
- Xperia Z3
- Xperia Z3 Compact
- Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
- Xperia Z2
- Xperia Z2 Tablet
- Xperia M5
- Xperia C5 Ultra
- Xperia M4 Aqua
- Xperia C4
Sony doesn’t have the most sales among OEMs, in fact, they’re were bad enough to be rumored to leave the mobile space. That rumor has since been refuted by their mobile CEO, but they need to quickly turn their operation around. Sony makes great hardware and close to stock software, so a quick update to Marshmallow might see a return of customers interest in Sony’s phones. They’re pretty hard to find right now. Currently no carriers have committed to carry the new Z5 but Verizon recently cancelled plans to carry the Z4v, hopefully it’s to carry the Z5.
The post Sony announces 14 devices will receive Android 6.0 Marshmallow appeared first on AndroidGuys.
The inability to adapt is why Samsung will fall
Samsung, along with just about everyone else, continues to push out high end flagships with the latest Snapdragon 800s (Exynos for Samsung) processor and other competitive specs like 3 to 4 gigs of RAM and monstrous 2k, even 4k (Sony), displays. What they aren’t manufacturing is high performing middle ranged devices.
Alcatel, Asus and Motorola have made radical advancements with their midrange devices. The Idol 3, Zenphone 2 and Moto G have been making huge strides in narrowing the performance gap between midrange and highend phones without narrowing the price gap. Although, Motorola’s own Moto X and the OnePlus Two do lower that price gap by offering highend specs for more affordable prices.
Samsung, as well as other manufacturers like Sony and HTC, haven’t had strong offerings in the midrange level. Ever. Samsung is the king of the flagship and the entirety of the sea of the lowend devices, but their “midranged” devices are just lowend devices in disguise.
With the rumors of the HTC One A9 (Aero) being a midranged handset, HTC might be adapting. There were cries of disgust when people realized that HTC’s “saving grace” wasn’t going to be a super-powered flagship, but it might not have to be.
Three years ago, Motorola released the Moto X and the Moto G. The Moto X was a great phone, but the Moto G was even better. The Moto G was a midranged device that did everything right. Sure, its specs were sub par, past yesteryear, but the experience was still there.
The problem with most lowend to midrange phones is that they provide awful user experiences; they are slow, sluggish, and borderline unusable after a six months. The Moto G fixed all of these problems with a snappy feel to it that worked great for everyone besides power users.
Samsung keeps its grip on the market through relentless campaigning. Their strength is marketing. Samsung’s game is to produce the best flagship device and advertise it until they make the next big flagship device. With this, they grow in brand recognition and pick up the low end sales on account of their recognizability from the flagship device.
There are plenty of phones out there at similar price points that offer way more in terms of specs and experience, but nobody knows about them because they are buried in the sea of Samsung. However, that is all starting to change.
Last year, we saw the rise of OnePlus. They offered a flagship device for a midranged price, and the world took notice. It is unfortunate that the company’s marketing team got overzealous and self-destructed, but that is another story for another time.
This year, we have seen the Blu Pure XL rock the tech world with another flagship phone for a midranged price. Cheaper phones are making an appearance. Soon, they will break into the market and topple Samsung, the king of Android. That is unless Samsung adapts.
Samsung has always made premium flagship devices, and that was okay. The world wanted that premium flagship. However, people are changing, and they are becoming increasingly concerned with bang for their buck value over raw power regardless of cost. There is an increasing interest in cheaper phones and a declining one in the flagships.
People are soon going to realize that Samsung’s premium attention to their flagship devices doesn’t translate into their lowend and midranged devices. They are going to figure out that there are other options out there that better suit their needs. When they do, Samsung’s reign will end, and a new king will rise to take the crown. A cheaper king.
The post The inability to adapt is why Samsung will fall appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Amazon expands its Prime Now coverage in London
If you live in London and like the idea of ordering something from Amazon and getting a one or two-hour delivery slot, then this news is for you (so long as you live in an eligible postcode). Amazon has just opened a new distribution depot in Wimbledon, and that means there’s a whole bunch of postcodes that have become eligible for Prime Now.
According to Amazon, one-hour delivery is now available for Amazon Prime customers living in:
- Merton
- Wandsworth
- Sutton (in London)
While two-hour delivery slots are available in:
- Kingston
- Sunbury
- Croydon
You can order electronics, toiletries, drinks, and batteries among other items from the Prime Now service.
Amazon has stated it will continue expanding its Prime Now service across the UK, although it hasn’t given any specifics. If you live in a Prime Now area and have never used the service before, you can get £10 off your first order of £30 or more simply by entering the following code at checkout: PRIMENOW10.
Finally, you can download the Amazon Prime Now app to check if your postcode is eligible for the Prime Now service.
Full Press Release:rime Now Expands in Londonive-Fold
One-hour delivery now available to customers in Merton, Wandsworth and Sutton
Two-hour delivery windows available in Kingston, Sunbury and CroydonLONDON — 6th October 2015—Amazon today announced the rapid expansion of Prime Now delivery in London. Following the opening of a new Amazon delivery station in Wimbledon, the number of postcodes eligible for one-hour delivery has increased five-fold and the number of postcodes eligible for a two-hour delivery window has almost trebled since the first day of the service in June 2015.
One-hour delivery via Prime Now is now available for Prime customers in Merton, Wandsworth and Sutton in London. In addition, Amazon Prime customers in Kingston, Sunbury and Croydon can now benefit from Prime Now for the first time through its two-hour delivery windows. Prime Now is available from 8 am to midnight, seven days a week. Amazon will continue to expand Prime Now across further UK cities before the end of the year.
“Millions more Londoners can now enjoy ultra-fast delivery,” said Christopher North, Managing Director of Amazon.co.uk. “The service is proving very popular in the capital and we’ve seen high demand on everything from essentials like bottled water, coffee and nappies to the latest must-have popular items like games consoles, toys and sports equipment – all of which are available for delivery in less than 60 minutes.”
In August, one-hour delivery expanded into Birmingham, Amazon’s second UK Prime Now city where customers now have access to more than 20,000 products including a new range of chilled and frozen items such as Chicago Town pizzas, Birds Eye fish fingers and Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream.
Londoners can choose from thousands of everyday items such as toilet paper, batteries and toothpaste, to last minute party essentials such as beer, snacks and fizzy drinks as well as other popular items like games consoles, gadgets and gifts, delivered right to their door in an hour or less.
The fastest London Prime Now delivery to date was a NETGEAR Wi-Fi Range Extender which was ordered at 10:32am, shipped from Amazon’s Bow delivery station and delivered at 10:44am to a postcode in Canary Wharf.
All Prime members can immediately download the Prime Now app, available on iOS and Android devices, to find eligible delivery postcodes and request notification when the service is available in their area. Customers can also visitwww.amazon.co.uk/primenow to discover eligible delivery postcodes. Prime Now customers can choose delivery within one hour of ordering for £6.99, or free delivery within a choice of two-hour delivery slots between 8am and midnight, seven days a week.
Prime Now is made available through Amazon Logistics, Amazon’s technology and logistics platform that empowers independent local, regional and national delivery companies across the UK to deliver Amazon parcels to customers seven days a week. London Prime Now deliveries are made from Amazon buildings in Bow, East London and Wimbledon in South-West London.
Amazon Prime is already an immensely popular service with millions of members in the UK. On a base of tens of millions, worldwide paid membership to Prime grew 53% last year. Prime members in the UK enjoy unlimited One-Day Delivery on millions of items, unlimited streaming of more than 15,000 popular movies and TV shows through Prime Instant Video, access to one million songs to stream and download through Prime Music, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive, and access to more than 1 million books to borrow for free with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. Customers can sign up for the Amazon Prime Free 30-day trial atwww.amazon.co.uk/prime.
Come comment on this article: Amazon expands its Prime Now coverage in London
AIVAnet 