Beware of cheap USB Type-C cables, warns Google engineer
The introduction of USB Type-C cables and devices is ushering in a new age of convenience, but it seems that not all cables are created equal. While it might be tempting to purchase a cheaper adapter cable to connect up your new gadgets, Google Engineer Benson Leung has been testing a few of them and has found that many aren’t actually suitable for use with his Chromebook Pixel laptop.
One of the important features with USB Type-C and 3.1 is support for 3A charging currents and this is where a number of budget cables are failing to match the standard’s specifications. Worryingly, this can be quite dangerous to hardware, as legacy devices may not be able to handle the charging currents when using adapter cables.
For example, when connecting up to an older USB 2.0 Micro-B charger with a Type-C adapter, the cable is supposed to provide a 56kΩ pull up resistor to the Vbus connector pin so that the host device correctly identifies the connected charger as a legacy device to lower the charging current to 1.5A or 2.4A. If you are using the USB cable for charging, the missing resistor could result in devices drawing more current from older chargers or hubs than they can handle, which clearly isn’t good.
Leung has found that a number of cables supplied on Amazon are missing this resistor or using 10kΩ instead, and therefore can’t charge up his Pixel laptop correctly. He has posted a series of reviews on a number of cables and also has instructions to help Pixel owners test their own cables.
If you’re concerned about this, your best bet is probably to stick with cables from reputable retailers. Adapters from FREiEQ, Belkin and iOrange all pass the test, or you can always use cables provided by your device manufacturer to ensure the correct support.
Fitbit-owned app creates customized exercises on Android devices
A couple of years before it was acquired by Fitbit in 2015, FitStar released an app starring NFL star Tony Gonzalez that can create customized workouts based on your goals and fitness level. Now, that app has arrived on Google Play. It’s officially called “FitStar Personal Trainer,” because it’s close to having a personal trainer: it digs into its stock video collection to stitch exercise routines together for you. Of course, you’ll need to be honest when keying in your details if you want the app to be able to craft the most effective sessions with the right moves and intensity.
Source: FitStar, Google Play
Google Drive sends you phone alerts for shared files
Google is updating Drive with new features, which are especially useful to employees and students that tend to work in teams. You’ll now get instant mobile mobile alerts, for instance, whenever someone shares a file or a folder with you. To check out what a team member sent, just tap the notification to take you there. In case someone sends you a link to a file you don’t have access to, you don’t have to call him up anymore: you can request access with a single click through the Android app, which he’ll immediately get as a notification on an iOS or an Android device. Finally, if you’re teamed up with someone who refuses to sign up for a Google account despite using an Android phone, don’t worry — he’ll now be able to view any file you send, as well. Some of these Drive features may not be available right at this moment, but The Big G says you’ll be able to take advantage of them in the near future.
Source: Google Drive
Immerge is a ball of Lytro cameras for VR video
Lytro first made a name for itself with a small rectangular camera that did one magical thing: It allowed you to refocus photos after you’ve taken them. It did this trick thanks to some complex software and the camera’s unique light field technology that captures millions of rays of light. Last year, Lytro applied its light field technology yet again with the Illum, a DSLR-like camera with an even larger image sensor and more robust hardware. Over the past year, however, Lytro has been hard at work applying its light field expertise in a whole new arena: Virtual reality. Today, the company has announced the result of that work. It’s called the Lytro Immerge, and it’s the essentially what Lytro is calling the first ever light field powered professional VR capture camera.
ICYMI: Magic Robot Fingers, Borked Tesla Autopilots and More
Today on In Case You Missed It: A Korean startup is set to launch a crowdfunding campaign for its home smartening “robotic fingers” — internet-connected gadgets that push analog buttons so you don’t have to. The self-driving cars of the future could look like terrestrial BORG cubes if designer Tommaso Gecchelin has anything to say about it. And speaking of the future of self-driving cars, Tesla recently announced that it will dumb down its “Autopilot” feature to prevent customers from abusing the technology.
And don’t forget this awesome Judge Dredd-inspired short film from Corrior Digital and Parrot drones.
If you come across any interesting videos, we’d love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd.
Karma launches $50 unlimited data for its shareable hotspot
Up until now, the shareable hotspot company Karma has offered internet access one way: Pay as you go for $14 a gigabyte, with free data thrown in when others hop onto your Karma Go hotspot. Now, it’s introducing another method called Neverstop, which gives you unlimited internet for $50 a month. You’ll be limited to just 5 Mbps download and upload speeds on Sprint’s LTE network, but it may be worth paying for peace of mind without data caps. Just like with Karma’s initial offering, which is now called Refuel, you’ll also be rewarded when other people connect to your hotspot to the tune of $1 a person. With Refuel, you get 100MB of free data when sharing your hotspot.
You can now buy and download classic TV shows from the BBC’s new digital store
Fans of classic British TV shows will be happy to hear that the BBC has decided to make its archive of content available to purchase and download via its newly opened BBC Store. Programs such as Doctor Who, Top Gear and Only Fools and Horses, wildlife documentaries from Sir David Attenborough, and reality programs such as The Great British Bake Off are only a few examples of the array of content available.
All told, there’s around 7,000 hours worth of content available via the BBC Store, with prices ranging from £1.89 for a single episode, £7.99 for a season, while 3 seasons of Orphan Black will cost £34.99.
For the moment, BBC Store content can only be viewed via offline apps on PC’s and Mac’s, although the BBC is apparently working on standalone BBC Store apps for Android and iOS. And while purchased content will show up under ‘My Programmes’ on the iPlayer website, said content is unable to be streamed via the official iPlayer apps.
While the BBC Store would appear to have been launched somewhat prematurely, thanks to its content currently only being able to be viewed on PC’s and Macs, the British Broadcasting Corporation is working on the issue. With tons of classic British TV shows to choose from, the BBC Store would appear to be a winning move from the BBC once it’s possible to view the content on more devices. Sadly, for readers outside of the UK, content is currently only able to be purchased from the BBC Store with a UK debit or credit card.
You can get 25% discount off your first purchase by entering the code WELCOME25 at checkout.
Source: BBC
Come comment on this article: You can now buy and download classic TV shows from the BBC’s new digital store
Apple Patents Touch ID ‘Panic Mode’ for Instant Access to Emergency Services
The United States Patent and Trademark Office today published a patent application initially filed by Apple in May of 2014, describing a method for users to designate a specific finger to unlock an iPhone with using Touch ID, which would then cause the iPhone to enter a “panic mode” (via Business Insider). The mode could then tell the iPhone to completely lock down, limiting access to personal data if a user is being forced to unlock their iPhone.
Currently, Apple allows users to enter up to five different fingerprints to unlock an iPhone, so users would just have to designate which is the “emergency” print in the Touch ID settings menu. Apple’s patent describes a situation in which a thief attempts to rob someone’s iPhone from them to gain access to their personal and private data stored within, and the user being robbed quickly placing the panic mode finger on Touch ID so the thief can’t access any data.
The company is going one step further with the patent application, however, describing a way in which the activation of panic mode turns on the iPhone’s camera and microphone to capture a robbery or crime as it happens and sending all the data to both a user’s iCloud account and possibly even local police. Another section of the patent details a possible way for the device in panic mode to act as a beacon, alerting nearby devices (other iPhones, computers, etc) to a possible crime in their vicinity so they can alert the authorities and come to the panic mode activator’s aid.
In some embodiments, the mobile device 104 may be activated into the panic mode in emergency situations to act as a beacon. If there is a nearby device, the nearby other device (e.g., a PDA carried by another person, a computer in an automobile, etc.) can be alerted with an alarm so that the user of the other device might come to the aid of the user initiating the panic mode.
For example, triggering the panic mode can send out a signal on multiple frequencies, channels, links, etc., to provide location information relative to other devices so that users of the other devices can provide assistance. Furthermore, as discussed in more detail below, the panic mode may include a locator function that uses, for example, global positioning systems (GPS) and/or cellular location systems to provide the location of the mobile device 104 to emergency response providers.
The new patent — inventor credit going to Karthik Sudhir — also describes more basic functions of the feature, including a straight-forward klaxon that blares until a user confirms that they’re safe and even a way for Touch ID users to set up specific apps to open immediately when they unlock the iPhone with specific fingers. As with all other patents, “panic mode” is far from confirmed and may never even make it into a future version of the iPhone, but it remains an interesting glimpse into the internal discussions at Apple regarding the company’s possible future products.
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OnePlus X shows up at Amazon India, stock is limited
The new OnePlus X is gradually heading out to countries around the world and the smartphone has just arrived in India, courtesy of Amazon.
The handset is retailing for Rs. 16,999 and comes with free delivery within 2 – 4 business days. EMI is also available and starts at Rs. 1,518.30 per month. Before we get ahead of ourselves though, you will still need an invite before you can make your purchase. But at least these seem more readily available this time around than they were at the launch of the OnePlus 2.
For a quick recap, the OnePlus X comes with a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, a quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 2,525 mAh battery, and a 13MP rear camera. The phone has come in for some criticism for its older SoC and lack of features such as NFC or a fingerprint scanner, but there’s some pretty decent hardware here for the money.
More coverage: OnePlus X hands-on and first impressions!
The company also recently announced a new warranty scheme for its smartphones, which will apply to the OnePlus X as well as the OnePlus 2. The scheme offers additional protection against accidental damage on top of the standard 1 year manufacturer warranty, so might be worth checking out.
There is only a limited amount of stock available from Amazon India, so order quantities are restricted to just one per customer, if you just so happen to have multiple invites. The handset will be in stock come November 6th and should begin shipping out on November 7th. Click below and head on over to grab yourself an OnePlus X.
Samsung Pay may support phones from other brands in future
Samsung Pay may be one of the most compelling reasons to pick up one of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones but the Executive Vice President of Samsung’s Mobile Division, Injong Rhee, has revealed that the company might on day open up its payment service to devices built by other manufacturers.
According to Rhee, Samsung is considering opening up its system to its partners and possibly non-Samsung handsets but currently isn’t working with any other brands, as the company is busy with further development of the platform. So there’s nothing on the horizon any time soon, but the door has been left open to collaboration in the future.
“From the beginning, we’ve considered providing Samsung Pay to our partners. But right now global expansion is happening so quickly for Samsung Pay that we are focusing all our energy on deployment.” – Samsung’s Injong Rhee
What isn’t clear is whether Samsung would allow other companies to use its Magnetic Secure Transmission technology, which allows Samsung Pay to work with a range of existing card readers, or if other partners would have to rely on NFC, offering little benefit over the universal Android Pay system. However, we do know that Samsung is planning to bring its magnetic technology to its lower end smartphones in the near future.
See also: Samsung Pay may be heading to less expensive Galaxy phones
Samsung Pay was only launched in South Korea a couple of months ago and has only just made its début in the US. As of last month, the service has over one million users and has seen transactions worth $88 million pass through it. Samsung has also stated plans to support additional financial institutions, online purchases and gift card payments, and may also offer its own card-less options at some point in the future.
Clearly the company has big plans for Samsung Pay and getting its software onto a wider range of devices could be an important step on the road to becoming a bigger player in the financial industry.
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