Amazon aims to speed up deliveries with new truck trailers
Don’t be surprised if you see an Amazon-branded semi-trailer on the road this holiday season. The shopping giant just announced that it’s snapped up “thousands” of trailers (the rear cargo portion of tractor-trailers) to beef up its shipping capabilities in North America, CNET reports. That’ll be particularly useful as we approach the holidays, since it’ll help to avoid delays and offer shoppers more time to select Amazon’s speedy two-day and one-day shipping options. The company will still rely on partners for their drivers and trucks, and it’s only using the trailers to move packages to its distribution centers. Amazon is already relying on couriers and branded vehicles for its same-day Prime Now service, as well as for AmazonFresh grocery deliveries, so there’s a chance it could eventually compete with the likes of FedEx and UPS.
Source: CNET
Eight classic PS2 games launch on PlayStation 4 tomorrow
A few weeks ago Sony acknowledged its plan to get PS2 games running on the PlayStation 4 and today it announced which ones are first. According to exec Shuhei Yoshida, the company will celebrate its “PS2 heritage” by launching eight games for purchase in North America and Europe tomorrow: Dark Cloud, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rogue Galaxy, The Mark of Kri, Twisted Metal: Black, and War of the Monsters. It’s similar to the backwards compatibility that the Xbox One just added for Xbox 360 games, but there is one big difference: like on PlayStation Now, you’ll need to pay for these games again. Most of them will cost $15 in the US while a few cost $10, but you can see the prices (and a trailer) after the break.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Volkswagen scandal might force it to sell luxury brands
The Volkswagen saga continues, as the company deals with the aftermath of its emissions scandal. According to Reuters, the German automaker has secured a loan of roughly 20 billion euros in order to pay for resulting lawsuits and to compensate consumers whose cars are now worth less following the admission. However, there’s a catch. In order to assure that it can pay back the loan, Volkswagen had to confirm that it’s prepared to sell off some of its smaller holdings including Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati.
Via: Road and Track
Source: Reuters
Camera Shootout (Round 2): LG V10 vs Sony RX100
Last time we did a camera showdown, we took the Galaxy S6 and pitted its well-received shooter against a renowned dedicated camera – the Sony RX100 (Mark II). The overall comparison showed a very interesting result – smartphone cameras aren’t as far off from real cameras as one might suspect.
Well, now it’s time we take the RX100 up against another contender. LG has been right on Samsung’s tail since the debut of its new 16MP f/1.8 camera on the G4 this year. The sensor is essentially a Sony IMX234 module, modified with LG’s own lens, laser auto-focus, and white balance sensor. And of course, it made sense to carry the stellar camera over to the V10.
So now it’s time to see if LG’s work paid off and and can hold a candle to a dedicated camera. The Sony RX100 has gained a large fan base for the superb image quality from a compact body. In my opinion, the RX100 is the highest reasonable level to compare to a smartphone camera, because past this point you’re in DSLR territory.
We’ll have three categories in this comparison: Backyard, Indoors, and Town. I’ve dropped the RX100’s capture down to 16:9 and 17MP (close enough to the V10’s 16MP resolution), and I used Auto Mode on both cameras. Also, I’ve implemented a side-by-side image preview this time, for easier comparing. The LG V10 images will be on the left and Sony RX100 on the right (you can pop up the full images via the links below each image pair). Let’s begin!
Backyard
I have a forest in my backyard, so this gives me lots of opportunity for foliage shots. I picked the most interesting ones out of my set to show you guys.
I caught this forest shot early in the morning and wanted to see how well both cameras responded to the sun’s light. I felt like the V10 did an overall better job – the RX100’s image looks slightly faded due to the light (and a blueish tint). The V10’s colors are deeper.
My dogs were nice enough to help with the shootout. Here, I prefer the RX100’s image. If you zoom in on Ian’s fur, detail was captured better on the RX100. The V10’s image came out slightly brighter and less contrasted.
I loved this shot, for both the artistry and the complexity that the sun adds. There was a pretty drastic difference between the cameras. One important note is that the RX100 focused on the pot while the V10 appeared to focus on the concrete ledge (not sure on why LG’s camera wouldn’t focus on the object directly in front). You can also see the sun’s rays cut into the V10’s image more. But that slight blueish tint makes a return on the RX100 image (I like the contrast in the V10 image better).
The detail in both of these images are the same as far as I’m concerned, but overall coloring is definitely different. I would say that the coloring on the RX100 was most true to the actual of that scene.
This was another early morning shot – a cold, frosty morning actually. Again, these images are very close in detail to me. The big different I see is that the RX100 is more aggressive with depth of field (de-focusing of the surrounding), which makes for a more dramatic image.
I noticed a good opportunity to catch differing detail as the sun melted the frost that morning. Both cameras reproduced the moisture detail on the lounge chair fantastically. What’s interesting is that the RX100 captured a vertical rainbow effect. If you look at the de-focused area on the back, the contrast and colors of the RX100 is much better.
I did a close-up on a leaf that had frost on it. I prefer the RX100’s shot here. If you zoom in, the frost detail is definitely resolved better. Also, the color on the rock is more accurate.
Stepping away from the close-ups, this patio shot shows the sunlight dominating the V10’s image a bit too much. It looks slightly hazy and not as contrasted as the RX100 image.
I got the cameras to focus at about the same spot in this image. You can see again that the overall coloring is slightly different. A common occurrence I’m seeing is that the V10’s camera prefers to produce a brighter image at the cost of some color accuracy. We’ll see if that behavior continues in the next set.
Indoors
Indoor shots tell a lot about a camera’s abilities – lighting is different at every angle. Let’s check out how the V10 fares in varying conditions.
Got my wife some Fall flowers for our anniversary and saw a picture opportunity. Going along with my previous observation, the V10’s image is brighter. It may come down to preference, but I just like the RX100’s image better. The extra brightness makes the V10’s image bland in comparison.
I brought in my little orange Android to help out. The color on the RX100 image is so much better to me (the V10’s image looks pale in comparison). But the Android’s detail on the V10 image is clearer (maybe because the RX100 focused on the table).
Mmmm, ham and cheese croissant. The detail on both images are great, but I like the contrast and color accuracy on the RX100 image better.
Here, I tried to focus both cameras on Intel logo on my XPS 13 (the device I’m a slave to when pumping out these posts). Something I really notice is the dominant yellowness of the V10’s image (probably due to both the table’s color and lighting). The RX100 wasn’t deterred by the surroundings.
Now for some shadows! I caught this drama happening on my dining room floor. The floor color with the V10 is pale, while the RX100’s image was truer to real life.
This is my other dog. His name is Beau and he’s a Great Pyrenees. Fortunately, he was nice enough to pose for me (this time). We again get a brighter image with the V10, somewhat countering the shadowing in the scene. If you zoom in on his face, the RX100 image is more detailed.
Interestingly, the results are reversed in this comparison. The RX100’s image now has a yellow-ish tint. To me, the V10 wins here.
Tea time! Again, the V10’s image is brighter (and a bit paler) in comparison. But both are good.
For this last one, I wanted to address the low-light struggle of the cameras. The V10 did a fantastic job pulling light in, look at how comparable these images are. May I remind you that the RX100 has a 1-inch sensor. But with that said, the Androids on the V10 image are slightly grainier. Still, I’m impressed.
Town
For variability of outdoor images, I went out to my local town and got a few good shots.
I like how the V10 handled this scene. The RX100 blew out the lighting on the top left area, resulting in an overall paler image.
These two images are very close. I prefer the V10 here, again. The lighting on the RX100’s image is ever so slightly overdone from the top.
It’s Christmas time, so why not compare a tree? To me, the RX100 wins here. The V10’s reproduction isn’t as clear and slightly yellowy.
These images are super close in quality. I would say that the V10’s image is slightly paler but negligible.
Same deal here as far as I’m concerned. To my eyes, the V10’s image is still slightly paler. I can see it being up to preference.
I have a hard time choosing which image I like more here, I see elements in both that are good. The lighting of the RX100 image looks overshot on the top left, but it looks more crisp than the V10 image.
These are close in detail, but to my eyes the colors of the building and cars look richer on the RX100’s image.
This pair is once again difficult to choose from. I would give a slight edge to the RX100 because I see it as more colorful.
The sunlight (and HDR processing) largely determines the reaction in this last image. It’s hard to choose one, but I side with the V10’s image. To my eyes, the sunlight causes a slight haze on the RX100’s capture.
Final Thoughts
This was a very interesting battle. I would call the RX100 the winner, but there were times when the V10’s camera stepped forward. The repeated offenses I noticed was that the tone of the V10’s images could sometimes be thrown off into a slight yellowish tint and paler colors in some instances. But the capture of detail was consistently fantastic. And LG’s f/1.8 aperture is no joke, this thing can catch a great amount of light.
One last note. After having done the same comparison with top-end smartphone cameras from both Samsung and LG, you may be wondering which fared better against the RX100? I would say that Samsung’s camera did. I felt like that battle was closer. But nonetheless, smartphone cameras are amazing these days.
Despite my commentary, you of course be the judge. What did you think about this camera shootout? We want to know, so sound off below!
The post Camera Shootout (Round 2): LG V10 vs Sony RX100 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Unhackable, unbreakable Turing phone delayed; Turing offers refunds and upgrades to pre-orderers
If you’ve been following the development of Turing Robotic Industries’ “liquid-metal” smartphone, then you’re probably just as eager as we are to find out how these futuristic doodads will actually fair in the wild. Even if you’re not an interested buyer, you’ve got to be at least a little bit curious about how well the Turing Phone will live up to the company’s claim that it’s “unhackable” and nearly unbreakable.
Well, both of us are going to have to wait a little bit longer, because Turing has pushed their smartphone’s release back an ambiguous amount of time. Although they’re pitching it as “a few short weeks longer,” their email to pre-orderers also seems to indicate that the delay might push the release back as far as March 2016.
See also: Liquidmetal-made Turing Phone is as strong as is secure
The security-packed device was slated for shipping on December 18, but Turing is trying to sweeten the deal for those who are choosing to stick around. Pre-orderers who are willing to forgive Turing will get an upgrade in internal storage. If you pre-ordered the 16GB version of the Turing Phone, they’ll upgrade you to the 64GB one. Likewise, if you ordered the 64GB model, you’ll get the 128GB model instead. 128GB choosers will get a special, limited edition 128GB model. If this is the last straw for you and you’re ready to walk, Turing will refund you completely.
Here’s the explanation they sent out in full:
Dear TRI Fans,
The year 2015 is drawing to a close, and the Turing Phone continues to earn worldwide recognition through featured media headlines. We truly appreciate the continued faith you have in TRI and want you to know how important it is for us to put a Turing Phone into your hands. In the last 12 months, we’ve made it from a laboratory experiment to a fully production-ready product that is nothing less than extraordinary and through your support, we did it together.
The Turing Phone isn’t just a hardware device, it’s the perfect blend of both hardware and software. While we have achieved the claims we’ve made earlier this year – from our signature Liquidmorphium frame to the waterproof feature, the last remaining developmental step is our OS and the security platform. Many of you have asked us to support Google Play Store and we listened. We are inching closer to fulfill our promise of delivering a truly secure OS while allowing you the ability to download apps that you’re familiar with and use regularly.
TRI needs more time to make sure when the Turing Phone is delivered it’ll be one of the best mobile devices ever conceived. To accomplish this, we ask for your patience and continuous support. Because we’ll miss the December 18th shipping deadline, we are offering the following options for you to consider:
- If you pre-ordered the phone(s), we will upgrade your current order, eg., 16GB phone upgraded to a 64GB, 64GB upgraded to 128GB, 128GB upgraded to the limited edition model.
- If you can’t wait a few short weeks longer, you may cancel your pre-ordered Turing Phone (s), and receive an immediate full refund.
Choosing to stay with TRI, we can ensure that it will be worth the wait. You are our most valuable asset and we are committed to bringing you the very best products and services we possibly can. This is our promise to you!
The exact shipping date will be announced later this month. It will be no later than the end of Q1 2016.
Thank you for staying with us all this time and for your understanding.
Sincerely,
SYL Chao
CEO | TRI
Are you one of the 10,000+ Turing fans who made a reservation? How are you taking this setback? Will you be sticking with Turing or going with someone else? Let us know in the comments!
Next: Turing Phone thrown against concrete and dunked in water… survives
Castrol’s latest stunt turns two race cars into VR controllers
Motor oil maker Castrol has a weird obsession with virtual reality as a marketing tactic, but at least it yields some pretty interesting videos. Earlier this year, the company dropped an Oculus Rift helmet on a race-car driver as he sped around a real-life track, turning his Roush Stage 3 Mustang into a glorified VR controller. If the idea of driving a real-life race car around a track while completely blind isn’t terrifying enough, Castrol’s back with a new video that pits two virtual racers against each other.
Via: The Verge
Source: Castrol (YouTube)
Watch NASA launch its Cygnus mission to the ISS
Need one more thing to do on a Friday afternoon? Check out this live stream (YouTube) of NASA’s Cygnus resupply mission launching on its way to the International Space Station. This mission is being undertaken by Orbital ATK, which you may remember from last year’s Antares mission that spectacularly exploded during launch. This launch was planned for yesterday but ended up scrubbed due to bad weather, now everything looks ready to go and the launch is planned for 5:33PM ET.
Update: The launch has been scrubbed again, due to high ground wind speeds.
Source: NASA (Tumblr)
Android phones and tablets on sale at Expansys this weekend (December 5)
Save big on LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, and HTC
Shopping around for a smartphone this holiday season? Have you ever considered picking up something that’s unlocked right out of the box? Yes, this freedom means you can take your phone to other carriers without having to give up your favorite device. Unlocked phones are a big deal and they’re only going to get bigger over time.
We’ve looked through Expansys to put together a number of deals that you ought to check out. Some of what you’ll find is pretty significant stuff; most of these prices are for a limited time only. Nevertheless, we figured you’d be interested in learning about the discounts. In addition to phones, you’ll find some tablet sales, too.
- Motorola Moto X Style (32GB) Black – $429.99 (Save $70)
- Motorola Moto X Style (32GB) White – $429.99 (Save $70)
- LG Nexus 5 (32GB) White – $199.99 (Save $150)
- LG Nexus 5 (32GB) w/ Refurb LG Tone+ Bluetooth headphones) – $219.99 (Save $160)
- Samsung Galaxy S6 (32GB) Black – $469.99 (Save $50)
- HTC Nexus 9 LTE (32GB) Black – $349.99 (Save $50)
- Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact (16GB) Black – $319.99 (Save $70)
- Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact (16GB) White – $319.99 (Save $70)
The post Android phones and tablets on sale at Expansys this weekend (December 5) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Playdate: We’re playing with fire in ‘Just Cause 3’
It’s really hard to not smile when you’re causing massive amounts of mayhem in a video game, and what I’ve played of Just Cause 3 so far has me grinning ear to ear. Now it’s time to share that joy with you, our lovely Playdate viewers on Twitch. Join myself and Jessica Conditt as we explore the game’s lush Mediterranean island in the sun starting at 6 PM Eastern / 3 PM Pacific as we broadcast two hours full of good-natured mayhem and destruction either here on this post, the Engadget Gaming homepage, or, if you want to chat along, Twitch.tv/Joystiq.
The 3DS game LEGO Ninjago: Shadow Of Ronin has arrived on Android
LEGO’s saga of retelling popular stories with their iconic toy pieces and witty sense of humor continues in LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin, now on Android. In the game, players enter the world of Ninjago, where it falls to them to stop the threat of Ronin. The adaptation of the well-received TV series was originally released for Nintendo 3DS, but now it has made its way over to smartphone users looking to kill some time.
See also: 70 best Android games
With the Android operating system growing closer and closer to becoming a mainstream gaming platform, it’s no surprise that we’d start seeing ports of mobile games arriving in the Google Play Store. After all, these games are already designed for a smaller screen, and even today’s midrange smartphones can blow conventional mobile gaming consoles out of the water, spec-wise. All that really needs to be adapted is the control schemes.
LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin takes up this challenge with aplomb. Although you can use a virtual, on-screen D-pad control scheme, developers have also added “Casual” control options that make navigating the hostile realm of Ninjago more fluid and intuitive with a touchscreen.
In terms of gameplay, it looks like there’s a lot to be had here. A variety of environments are available to explore, all pulled directly from the TV series. The game includes full voice-acting, several vehicles, and familiar enemies that must be smashed to pieces or defeated through puzzle-solving.
You can pick up the game in the Google Play Store for a cool $4.99. Doesn’t look like there’s any in-app purchases: just a full game that you pay for up front. Refreshing! Click the button below to check it out. What are your thoughts on LEGO’s newest arrival to Android? Let us know in the comments!
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