SoundCloud’s latest mobile app helps share your audio creations
SoundCloud has made much ado over playing its eclectic audio mix from your phone. But what if you’re a creator who wants to make sure those tracks blow up? That’s where the new SoundCloud Pulse might come in handy. The Android app currently lets you share audio, track the popularity of your work and respond to comments. That may not sound like much, but SoundCloud is promising a lot more in the future. Among other things, you’ll eventually get to edit track info and upload new content directly — helpful if you just have to record a podcast episode on your phone. There’s no mention of when these features or a promised iOS version will arrive. However, it’s clear that SoundCloud doesn’t want you to retreat to a computer just to manage your masterpieces.
Source: SoundCloud, Google Play
‘Star Trek’ (kinda) returns to TV in January 2017
CBS has announced that it’s going to make a brand new Star Trek TV series that’ll begin airing in January 2017. The corporation has shoved a big pile of money in the face of Star Trek and Into Darkness co-writer Alex Kurtzman to be in charge of this new series. If you’re eagerly soldering your TV’s remote to make sure it can never be switched away from your local CBS affiliate, we’d suggest holding off for just a second. That’s because only the first episode or two will air on broadcast TV, with the rest of the series becoming an exclusive for CBS’ homegrown online subscription service, All Access.
Source: CBS
Gfinity needs more cash to build its UK eSports empire
Although demand for eSports continues to rise every day, helped by Twitch and YouTube, making money from competitive gaming can be hard (unless you’re a successful player). It’s a struggle that UK eSports events company Gfinity knows all too well after it revealed it lost £3.6 million in its first full year. Given that the company invested heavily in getting its business off the ground, which includes the launch of the UK’s first dedicated arena, the loss doesn’t come as a surprise, but it does highlight the need to quickly convert its growing audience into paying customers.
Via: Gamesindustry.biz
Source: Gfinity (PDF)
Smaller fingerprint sensors are on the way
Fingerprint sensors are already rather discreetly embedded into a number of high-end smartphones, but the technology could be about to shrink down even further. Newly announced recognition algorithms developed by Crucialtec will enable smaller module sizes, while still retaining high speed and accuracy of detection.
Crucialtec has developed a micro-surface area fingerprint recognition algorithm called ‘Muon’, which it will begin supplying to domestic and foreign business soon. The algorithm can successfully identify fingerprints with a false acceptance rate of less than 1/50,000 with a minimum recognition area of 8mm2. Typically, larger detection areas are required in order to provide enough detail for an algorithm to detect unique characteristics about a finger. The new algorithm can presumable identify these unique characteristics with a smaller data set.
Rather than large panels on the back of a phone or embedded into home buttons, this type of technology will enable fingerprint scanners to fit into more discreet locations, such as a volume or power button, or simply into a bezel. Crucialtec’s algorithm can detect a fingerprint using a module as small as 18.72 mm2 (5.2 x 3.6 mm), while the sensor inside the new Nexus 5X and 6P comes in at 64 mm2 (8.0 x 8.0 mm).
See also: Fingerprint fight: Galaxy Note 5 vs Mate S vs iPhone 6S
As well as improving area efficiency, Crucialtec is working to improve the speed of the fingerprint recognition process. The company claims to have performed the three major steps; image processing, characteristic extraction and encoding/storage; in just 0.3 seconds.
As Android 6.0 Marshmallow now supports fingerprint scanning technology as standard, we could see increased support for hardware in upcoming devices. Crucialtec’s algorithm could make for some sleeker looking, faster devices with built in fingerprint sensors. Exciting stuff.
Gadgets galore: Amazon has already kicked off its Black Friday deals
There may still be pretty much a full month to wait until Black Friday, but Amazon has decided to kick start the shopping discounts with its “countdown to Black Friday” sale, which has gone live today. It’s a little bizarre, I know.
As we covered earlier, the Moto X (2014) is in there for just $199.99, and there are plenty of other gadgets up for grabs. Including a digital infra-red thermometer, up to $200 off digital cameras, and 40 percent of 4K LG TVs. Here’s a list of some of the other deals on offer, according to Amazon.
- Motorolo Moto X (second generation) for $199.99
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain for $39.99
- 30% off Sony XBR55X900C 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD TV with a Blu-ray Player
- $170 off the Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens
- 47% off Jaybird X Sport Bluetooth Headphones
- Optima HD37 Full 3D 1080p 2600 Lumens DLP Home Cinema Projector for less than $800
- 40% off select toys from top construction brands including K’NEX, Tegu, and Magformer
- Up to 50% off select Home Automation products
- Up to 50% off hundreds of PetSafe items
If that isn’t enough for you, Amazon is also offering Prime members access to more than 30,000 “Lightening Deals” a full 30 minutes before everyone else. Which will give them an advantage on some of the sales that have more limited stock.
Amazon will be offering various discounts right until December 22nd, so there’s plenty of time to track down something that you like.
Grab an Amazon Countdown to BF deal
| The Countdown is On: Amazon.com Greets the Season with Launch of Black Friday Deals Store and Electronics Holiday Gift Guide |
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New this year, Prime members receive early access to more than 30,000 Lightning Deals With over 600 top electronics and a Gift Finder tool, the Electronics Holiday Gift Guide takes the guesswork out of gifting SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 2, 2015– (NASDAQ:AMZN) – Amazon.com today officially kicked off the countdown to Black Friday with the launch of the Black Friday Deals store and Electronics Holiday Gift Guide. This year, Prime members can access more than 30,000 Lightning Deals 30 minutes early and all customers will find tens of thousands of deals on more of the items they want. In addition, the curated Electronics Holiday Gift Guide and Gift Finder tool take the guesswork out of shopping and make it easy to discover all of the right gifts. “Shoppers come to Amazon to discover the best deals on the best gifts and this year, we’re pulling out all of the stops,” said Steve Shure, Vice President, Amazon Consumer Marketing. “We’re giving Prime members early access to more than 30,000 Lightning Deals and for all customers, tens of thousands of great deals in the Black Friday Deals store. With incredible deals, fast delivery options, curated lists like our Electronics Holiday Gift Guide, gift recommendations, customer reviews and more, we’re making it easier than ever for customers to save time and money on their holiday shopping.” Black Friday Deals: The Black Friday Deals store is the leading deals destination for customers this holiday season with tens of thousands of deals on top items including electronics, toys, clothing, jewelry, kitchen, and more, now through December 22. Prime members will get the first crack at more than 30,000 deals through Prime Early Access and all customers can find great deals throughout the season at www.amazon.com/blackfriday, including:
Electronics Holiday Gift Guide: With more than 600 of this year’s hottest items, organized by category and gift recipient, the Electronics Holiday Gift Guide and Gift Finder tool help customers discover the right gift for everyone on their list – from the Photographer who wants the latest gear from GoPro and Canon, to the Gadget Guru who is eyeing the latest innovations from the Amazon Launchpad program like the Electric Objects Digital Art Display and Bluesmart Smart Carry-On Luggage. Customers can explore exciting new features like never-before-seen 3D imagery of hot gifts, editor’s picks, exclusive product reviews, unboxing videos, and gift recommendations, with new content uploaded regularly from trusted sources including Gawker, Tom’s Guide, and The Wirecutter. Tech Gifts and Shopping Trends to Watch
Customers will find even more fast delivery options with Amazon Prime, making last-minute shopping a thing of the past. A growing list of Prime services is making it easy for customers to shop and save this holiday season including unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 20 million items, unlimited Free Same-Day Delivery on more than a million items in 16 metro areas, and early access to Lightning Deals all year long. In addition, Prime members in 20 metro areas receive one and two hour delivery on tens of thousands of everyday essentials with the dedicated Prime Now mobile app. About Amazon Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151101005041/en/ Source: Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon.com, Inc. |
Xiaomi Redmi 2 and Mi 4 headed to Africa
Xiaomi is to continue its overseas expansion into Africa as it seeks to offset its slowing home Chinese market where it faces increased competitions from companies such as Apple and Huawei, with the latter believed to have recently overtaken Xiaomi at the top of the Chinese market.
Xiaomi in video:
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A large part of Xiaomi’s success is down to the company’s online-based direct-to-consumer sales channels, which cuts out distributor and retail partners costs and ensures devices are available at the lowest price as possible. However, in Africa, the company will be passing a range of functions over to a distributor, which suggests that Xiaomi is struggling to replicate its sales model in overseas markets.
The company said today that it has entered a distribution partnership with Mobile in Africa Group to sell the Redmi 2 and Mi 4 smartphones in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, beginning later this month. Whereas it relies on the online model at home, Xiaomi will pass on the importation, logistics, marketing and support for Xiaomi devices to MIA Group and the handsets are expected to be sold through operator partners, websites and retailers throughout the three countries.
Google’s self-driving cars have the ability to detect children in costumes
Google today in a post on Google+ said that its self-driving cars this Halloween had a chance to learn to become more cautious around children. Kids, as we all know, are unpredictable compared to adults, and so, Google’s self-driving cars are programmed to detect and be more cautious around kids. You might think children wearing costumes, particularly on Halloween, might confuse Google’s vehicles’ recognition system, but that wasn’t the case.
The search giant ended up having a bunch of children in costumes come hang out around the self-driving cars so that their sensors and software could get some additional practice at recognizing children in costumes. Here’s the official statement from Google:
“This week, lots of little ghouls, superheroes and even robots were running around Google with their families, so we asked them to hang out around our parked cars. This gives our sensors and software extra practice at recognizing children in all their unique shapes and sizes, even when they’re in odd costumes.”
Once a sensor detects a child, dressed in costume or not, the software responds accordingly by being much more cautious, whether that means moving down to slower speeds, ready to come to a complete stop on a dime, and so on.
Certainly the most interesting thing about Google’s self-driving car project is the vehicles’ abilities to learn and adapt to real-world situations. While there’s still a lot of skepticism surrounding driverless cars, Google’s project is shaping up nicely, and it’s only getting better. The search giant even has a dedicated team to come up with odd and unpredictable situations so that the self-driving vehicles will know what to do in almost any situation they come across.
Google recently announced that not only was it expanding its self-driving car project to the streets of Austin, Texas, but that it was also beginning to increase production of its autonomous vehicles.
source: Google (Google+)
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Here is how to get rid of Droid Turbo 2’s Verizon logo
There is no doubt that the shatterproof display of Motorola’s Droid Turbo 2 has been creating a lot of buzz lately. At its official launch in New York, the device was dropped several times and still managed to remain unscathed. The invincible screen however comes with one minor flaw. Since it is a Verizon-exclusive device, it bears the company’s branding at the bottom of the screen. Here is how you can get rid of it.
As we had informed you earlier, Motorola’s Shatter Shield technique consists of two lens elements atop the flexible touch screen. None of them is glass, but a clear polycarbonate and acrylic polymer, which cannot be shattered. While the top later is prone to scratches, it is user replaceable. Now, that is a good news because this is the layer that bears Verizon’s checkmark logo.
The international version of the device, the Moto X Force, is likely to come with a blank space exterior. So, if you find the Droid Turbo 2’s logo bothersome, you can simply replace its exterior lens with the one that would available for the Moto X Force.
As the last resort, you can completely go without the exterior lens, which wouldn’t come without consequences. One, it may damage the internal lens of the device. Two, you may lose Motorola’s lucrative four years’ guarantee to get the screen fixed.
Source: Pocketnow
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Asus announces the US launch of the ZenFone 2 Laser
ASUS today announced the ZenFone 2 Laser’s arrival in the US after seeing some very successful sales in India. ASUS’ ZenFone line of smartphones has been met with much popularity, announcing back in early September that it received over 30,000 pre-orders. The ZenFone 2 Laser was the most popular of its lineup, receiving a whopping 10,000 pre-orders alone.
Much of the ZenFone 2 Laser’s popularity is because of its attractive price point while still sporting fairly decent specifications. As a quick rundown, the ZenFone 2 Laser sports a 5.5-inch IPS Full HD 1920 x 1080 display, a 64-bit Snapdragon 615 Octa-core processor, an Adreno 405 GPU, 3GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of storage options, microSD support up to 128GB, a. 13-megapixel rear camera, a removable 3,000mAh battery, and Android 5.0.
Those interested will be able to purchase it from Newegg or via ASUS’ own online store for $199 (16GB) or $249 (32GB). The handset is only compatible with GSM carriers, such as AT&T and T-Mobile, meaning that those on CDMA networks like Verizon and Sprint are out of luck, unfortunately.
Starting at $199 off-contract, the ZenFone 2 Laser is a hard one to pass up. Anyone plan on picking one up?
source: ASUS
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Google thinks it can make translated apps fail less
While often hilarious, mistranslations can be embarrassing or even dangerous. Google, which is no doubt responsible for a large number of those, has come up with a way to help developers ensure their apps make sense in other languages. The problem is that machines don’t understand context — as an example, Google cites the word “auto,” which can be translated to French either as automatic or automobile, depending on how it’s used. That prompted the search giant to develop the Language Quality Survey (LQS), consisting of 10 questions that developers can pose to foreign users.
Source: Google
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