Blocks is the first modular smartwatch and they are killing it on Kickstarter
Blocks is a new type of smartwatch that allows you to change parts of the band in order to add more function. Rather than buy a whole new smartwatch, just add more modules.
Blocks smartwatch has a circular display that offers things like phone notifications, wifi connectivity, and activity tracking. Nothing too special over regular smartwatches, but what makes it really stand out are the modules.
Users can simply buy more and insert them into the band whenever they want. Currently, five modules are out, extra battery, heart rate sensor, GPS, NFC, and Adventure module that measures altitude, pressure, and temperature. There are many more being worked on too, plus, developers can also design their own modules.
“We have already partnered with major technology companies to develop our Modules and have over 1,500 individual developers signed up to work on our platform. The BLOCKS Software Development Kit (SDK) and Module Development Kit (MDK) will be made available soon.”
If Blocks smartwatch is something that might interest you, check out their Kickstarter page. So far, they have 20 days left and have destroyed their goal. They were asking for $250k, but have already received over $1.1 million.
Source: Kickstarter
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Best Buy to Begin In-Store Sales of New Apple TV Tomorrow
Best Buy will begin selling the new fourth-generation Apple TV in its retail stores beginning tomorrow. The retailer is also allowing customers who pre-ordered for in-store pickup to pick up their set-top boxes starting tomorrow morning as the stores open up for the day.
While Best Buy began accepting pre-orders for the new Apple TV on Monday, it originally listed November 4 as the date when customers would be able pick them up in stores. Several MacRumors readers who pre-ordered began receiving notices tonight letting them know their purchases would be ready for pickup tomorrow, nearly a week early.
Apple retail stores around the world will also be offering the Apple TV, and in countries where October 30 has already rolled around, stores are already selling the new set-top boxes. Stores in the United States will be revamped overnight to feature advertising for the new Apple TV to prepare for its in-store launch.
Apple will also be selling accessories like the Apple TV Remote Loop and the SteelSeries Nimbus controller, and it also plans to begin selling the new Beats Pill+ speakers in its retail stores beginning tomorrow.
The new Apple TV, which includes features like a full App Store, universal search, Siri integration, and a touch-based remote control, is available in two configurations: 32GB and 64GB. The 32GB model is available for $149 and the 64GB model is available for $199.
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Terror returns in ‘Outlast 2,’ confirmed for fall 2016
Outlast was one of the most horrifying games of 2013 — and perhaps of all time. Our review called it a “perfect nightmare” of gore, mental strain and tense sound design, and the Whistleblower DLC, which followed in 2014, was similarly heart-pounding. Just two days before Halloween 2015, independent studio Red Barrels has unveiled Outlast 2, due next fall for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac. Details are scarce, but we know that this sequel will be a brand-new beast. “The game will be a survival-horror experience and it will take place in the same universe as Outlast, but it will have different characters and a different setting,” Red Barrels co-founder Philippe Morin outlined in October 2014. A brief teaser trailer released today suggests Outlast 2 will continue the franchise’s theme of haunting religious imagery.
Source: Red Barrels
Gibson takes a whimsical approach to the podcast microphone
When it comes to USB microphones, you’re pretty much limited to a collection of black, silver and gold devices. There really isn’t a ton or personality in the color schemes or look of those accessories, save for a few exceptions. Gibson’s Neat Microphones line is a welcome exception, though, and its latest delivers a combination of whimsical hues and futuristic aesthetics George Jetson would fancy. The trio pictured above are Widgets, and more specifically go by A, B, and C. All three pack custom capsules, built-in pop filters, shock mounts and adjustable stands. Like a lot of USB mics, the Widgets are very much a plug-and-play add-on, as they won’t require you to install drivers or software to get started. When you’re ready to record, the company says you can use the gear for anything from podcasting to Skype calls and tracking instruments and vocals in 96kHz/24 bit audio. At $99, the Widgets are pricier than the popular Blue Microphones Snowball and cost the same as its newer Nessie USB mic. If the looks are too much for you to pass up with Gibson’s latest, you’ll be able to nab them starting November 15th.
Source: Neat Mircophones, Amazon
Internet providers invest in networks despite net neutrality jitters
If you ask most big US internet providers, they’ll swear up and down that the newer, tougher net neutrality rules will kill investment in their networks. Surely the only way to promote growth is to loosen regulation, right? Well, not quite. After digging through carriers’ earnings, Ars Technica has determined that most big ISPs have been spending more on upgrading their networks in recent months. Comcast’s capital expenses increased 11 percent year-over-year, largely due to newer-generation home equipment; it’s also launching pushing hard on multi-gigabit service. Time Warner Cable also spent 10 percent more upgrading its network in the first nine months of the year. Telcos like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have seen mixed spending, but they’re still pushing harder than ever on services like gigabit internet and upgraded cellular data.
Source: Ars Technica
License plate readers can be a security nightmare
The fact that automated license plate recognition (ALPR) systems can store data for years is apparently not the only disturbing thing about them. Some of them are exposed online and are easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a browser, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has confirmed. The EFF investigated over 100 cameras in five various locations across the country starting this spring and discovered that most of the vulnerable ones were manufactured by a company called PIPS, which is now owned by 3M. The degree of vulnerability differed across locations: in extreme cases, you can view the camera’s live feed online and even pull up its control panel.
Source: EFF
Google might be merging Chrome OS and Android in the near future
Google has maintained Chrome OS and Android as two separate products for years now, but we’ve some overlap between the two here and there. There have been some serious questions over whether or not Google should fold both operating systems into one unified OS, and although it hasn’t happened yet it looks like we might see it happen in the next few years.
Google will reportedly be merging Chrome OS into Android, and importantly not the other way around. Chrome OS (and Chromebooks) have done well in the low-cost sector of the market, but it’s nothing compared to the sheer dominance of Android as a mobile operating system. It would only make sense to bring the best of Chrome OS into Android and ship that on all devices, unifying products, services, and most importantly, Google’s Play Store.
There are still some cloudy questions over exactly how this is going to work, as Google is reportedly preparing this to work on smartphones and PCs. It’s not clear if by PCs Google means all computers, including Windows and OS X machines, or if it will just be a new lineup to replace the Chromebooks and Chrome OS. Chrome OS essentially relies on the Chrome browser to do just about everything, so it makes sense that this Chrome OS/Android merger could be centered around Chrome. That would keep things extremely widely available to as many users as possible, which is exactly what Google wants.
Rumors suggest we’ll see an early build of this new operating system next year, but Google isn’t planning on releasing an actual product until sometime in 2017.
source: Wall Street Journal
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Bell will sell Samsung’s Galaxy View on November 19th, costs $699
Waiting to get your hands on Samsung’s jumbo-sized Galaxy View tablet? You’re in luck, at least if you live in Canada. Bell will be selling the tablet for $699 starting November 19th, exclusively pre-loaded with the Fibe TV application.
Not surprisingly, Bell is positioning the tablet as a primarily video viewing device. It’s massive, and you’re not likely to carry this thing to Starbucks to check Facebook and Twitter.
Anybody going to pick one up when it releases?
source: Bell
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Motorola share some facts on why a shatterproof display is important
Smartphones are awesome, but cracking their displays is not. It leads to costly repairs with long wait times before you can use your phone again. Motorola aim to solve that problem with shatterproof displays in their new DROID Turbo 2, DROID MAXX 2, and Moto X Force.
Motorola was even kind enough to share some facts about cracked screens such as 50% of people globally have experienced a cracked smartphone screen. India has the highest cracked screen rate with 65% of the population having broken their screen.
Can you guess the most common way people break their screens? The most common way people break their displays is just from random phone fumbles. On average, 50% of people had their phone fall out of their hands, 32% fell out of their pockets, 27% fall out of their lap when standing, 7% broke their phone while taking a selfie, and 5% cracked it while throwing their phone at something. Has it ever happened to you?
Source: Motorola
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What the OnePlus X means for the budget market
For those who keep up with OnePlus, we’ve known that a variant dubbed the OnePlus X was coming. I don’t know about you, but my mind had just passed it off as a less significant OnePlus 2. Boy, was I wrong.
In a way, the OnePlus X ups the quality of the OnePlus 2 but reduces the price. No, it’s not quite that simple, a couple specs do take a mid-range turn. But, depending on what you value in a smartphone, the OnePlus X can be the better phone.
However, the impact of the X isn’t just confined to OnePlus’s world, this is a BIG deal to the overall budget smartphone market. More than any other year, 2015 has shown a shift to the relevance of budget offerings. There were so many strong budget contenders this year, such as the Asus Zenfone 2, Acatel Idol 3, and Moto X Style/Pure (or Moto X Play). A fantastic way to look at the OnePlus X is as icing on the cake and a peek at the future.
So what exactly did OnePlus do so right with the X? Firstly, I challenge you to find such a well-crafted phone for $250. Even phones well past the $300 mark still have that plasticky, yesteryear feel. OnePlus is offering a phone as premium as they come, for only $250. Other glass/metal phones, such as the Samsung’s Galaxy or Sony’s Xperia flagships, run around $700 to boot.
But it’s not just that OnePlus created a pretty phone, the sacrifices it made in order to keep the price down are thought-out. One of these is with using Qualcomm’s previous reigning champ, the Snapdragon 801. However, we should be past the days of dying for the latest processor. It will be fast and it will work well. And there’s 3GB of RAM.
The 5″ screen size works for most people (AMOLED panel) and the 1080P resolution is plenty for that size. Budget phones are known to just throw in just some camera, which ends up being mediocre. OnePlus didn’t skimp in this way, at least on paper. There is a 13MP f/2.2 ISOCELL sensor with Phase-Detection Autofocus. The front camera is 8MP with a f2.4 aperture.
There is microSD expansion up to 128GB now. The battery is a considerable 2,525mAh. The more I go on, the more I’m impressed at what you’re getting for $250.
It’s unfortunate that the Invite system is a catch for all of OnePlus’s phones. No one likes it, I imagine not even OnePlus. But this is what it needs to do to push the budget limit. It is in avoiding excess inventory that the pricing can be the way it is. Fortunately, after the Invite process in November, OnePlus will open sales for the OnePlus X periodically.
The point is that the budget phone has now come a long way. The OnePlus X makes that bridge between costly flagship phones and compromised budget phones very short. In my opinion, it will make those who only buy flagship phones seriously stop and think: Why exactly am I spending 3x more? That is the key. The budget phone movement is going to change things.
The OnePlus X makes the future look bright, not only for affordability but also for the non-contract/unlocked way of purchasing a phone. The unlocked movement grows each time a promising budget phone is released, and I’m thankful for OnePlus ending 2015 in a bang.
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