HTC One M10 rumored to use the same camera sensor as Nexus 6P
It’s no secret that HTC has been losing favor with Android fans over the last few years, and the One M9 did very little to help stave off this issue. In fact, some would argue it sped things further along.
Some of the biggest points of contention with the One M9 was the over familiarity in design, some of the performance woes associated with the Snapdragon 810, and, unsurprisingly, camera quality. It’s still too early to say if HTC will be able to fully address some of the complaints regarding design and performance with the One M10, but the good news is that camera hardware may finally be an issue of the past.
In the previous generations of the One series, HTC had made some pretty odd choices in the photography department, sticking to its UltraPixel guns, long after it was proven to be a less than ideal strategy. The M9 promised to finally bolster up the One series, bringing its camera experience up to the same level as the competition. Despite its 20.7 MP shooter sounding great on paper, the actual real world experience wasn’t so well received, largely due to poor processing of picture data. Thankfully, HTC may be finally bringing its A-game.
HTC Perfume "UltraPixels":
Main Camera – Sony IMX377 12MP 1.55um + Laser Autofocus + PDAF
Front Camera – Samsung s5k4e6 5MP UltraPixel— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) February 11, 2016
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
According to well-known leaker LlabTooFeR, HTC Perfume (aka One M10) will offer a Samsung s5k4e6 5MP UltraPixel camera on the front, with the rear sporting a Sony IMX377 12MP 1.55um + Laser Autofocus + PDAF. It’s the main cam that really piques our interest though, as that happens to be the same sensor found in the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, both of which are regarded as two of the best Android camera phones available. Of course, just because the HTC One M10 uses the IMX377 doesn’t mean it will end up having an amazing camera.
There’s other aspects that go into consideration beyond just the sensor, including the post-processing, which is an area where HTC has clearly stumbled in the past. Still, it’s a positive sign.
As for what else we can expect regarding the One M10? The rumor mill paints the picture of a Snapdragon 820 powered device with 4GB RAM, 32GB on-board storage with microSD, a 5.2-inch QHD display, and a design that is supposedly similar to the HTC One A9 (which by extension means it will bear similarity to the iPhone).
What do you think, excited for the HTC One M10? If not, what would it take from HTC to get you interested in the company’s flagships once more? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Next – HTC One M10 rumor roundup
Deal: this microUSB cable lights up and costs only $8.99
Struggling to plug in your smartphone in the dark? It happens to me all the time. I walk into my room and turn off the lights to go to sleep. Then I find myself searching for cables in the dark. And things don’t get better once I find the right one; the next challenge is trying to connect it without visual reference.
Today we have a cool deal over at the AA Deals Store. The Luminid Touch Light-Up Cable lights up helps you more easily find your phone’s microUSB port. And you don’t even have to deal with buttons – this thing lights up with touch. All you have to do is hold it. The light will go off once your phone is connected and charging.
This cable is usually priced at $20, but today you can get it from the AA Deals Store for only $8.99. And this is a good deal even when you compare it with other retailers. Amazon has it for $16.95, for example.
The cable is 40 inches long, which isn’t exactly long, but you do get that cool integrated light. Are any of you signing up? Just head over to the AA Deals Store to grab your own cable.
AirDog is the action-sport drone GoPro needs to beat (or buy)
I first learned about AirDog when the company’s founder, Edgars Rozentals, pitched it to me over email. It wasn’t the first drone that would follow you — 3D Robotics had been doing that for a while — but as far as I knew it was the first to make it a central feature (I’d learn about the Hexo+ a day later). The concept was simple: It wasn’t just a drone that held a GoPro; it was specifically built for adventurous GoPro types.
People clearly liked the idea: The team raised well over $1 million on Kickstarter to produce its faithful flying friend. After 14 months of development, delays and a few awards, the product is finally shipping, beating GoPro’s Karma to the skies. But, while AirDog’s trick might be to follow its owner, it’s already in the lead — in more ways than one.
I tried an AirDog prototype more than a year ago, and Engadget got another look more recently as well. But it was only last month that I finally got a peek at the version you can actually buy. I’ve flown a number of drones, but AirDog is different in a few key ways. It’s simpler to use (pretty much push a button and go), and it’s designed to fit an active lifestyle (more on this later). Just days after getting my hands on the AirDog, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman would list these exact two qualities as being core to his product, Karma, during an interview at CES. Interesting!
What do I mean by “fit an active lifestyle”? Example: AirDog uses a waterproof wrist-worn gadget called the “leash” (geddit?) as both its controller and GPS tracker. It’s what tells the quadcopter where you are. Other drones aimed at the action-sport crowd use your phone’s GPS — perhaps not ideal for snow- or water-based rough-and-tumble. Also, unlike most rival follow-me drones, AirDog uses downward Lidar sensors to stop it hitting the ground, should you suddenly descend too fast. Meaning, if you take a steep drop on a mountain bike or ski run, AirDog won’t bounce off the rocks, only to follow you downhill in broken pieces.
Lidar is OK for preventing downward collisions, but avoiding things like trees and buildings is still an issue you need to consider. True obstacle avoidance for consumer drones is only just starting to mature, so you’re still only a rogue branch away from a crash if you haven’t planned your route well. This is one area where GoPro might actually have an advantage, if the company’s recent acquisitions are anything to go by.
Perhaps what sets AirDog apart from current rivals are the little details — details that should have the team at GoPro paying attention. The most obvious example is the fold-out design. Those purple limbs collapse into the body making AirDog incredibly rugged and portable. If you remember the original Decepticon Transformer “Soundwave,” AirDog reminds me of one of his “cassettes”: a slimline slab of angular plastic that opens up into a flying robot (it’s basically Laserbeak).
Most of the other big-name camera drones I’ve flown require a case about the size of hand luggage (once you’ve factored in all the accessories) and still feel delicate in transit. Interestingly, I have heard from reliable sources that GoPro’s Karma is also going to be foldable and compact and will work with existing GoPro cameras and not be a camera in and of itself (as others have reported).
One tradeoff of AirDog’s “flat” design is that it has a more limited gimbal (the thingy that keeps the camera steady) than most quadcopters. Usually, the camera hangs underneath, giving it the ability to rotate left or right (or “yaw”). AirDog has the camera up front, and, much like the urban legend that our canine friends can’t look up, AirDog can’t look side to side (without moving the drone).
Here’s where things get interesting: The gimbal might lack pivot range, but it has far greater potential, including access to deep features within the GoPro camera. Most companies can’t access a GoPro’s internal API (a set of tools that provide access to key features on the camera). The first product to be allowed access was also a drone: 3DR’s Solo. Both Solo and AirDog connect to the GoPro via the larger port on the rear and not the USB on the side (like DJI’s Zenmuse and other gimbals do), and this is the port you need to get enhanced control of the camera.
A few people in the industry have described use of this port to me as “the Holy Grail” of GoPro access. Right now, AirDog doesn’t have any extra control of the GoPro; it currently just powers the camera. But it appears to be designed with this in mind. At least technically it could, and it’s safe to assume the team is pushing for it.
Here’s the thing: AirDog the company is a tiny, dedicated team. It doesn’t have the financial sway to compete with GoPro, so why would the camera company even consider handing over access to a rival product? Perhaps the same reason it gave access to 3D Robotics? It’s speculation, but one of the unique features of 3DR’s Solo are the cable-camera modes, which help create exactly the same effect you see in GoPro’s latest Karma-shot video (video linked to the exact moment). It wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest GoPro is leveraging access to its API in exchange for knowledge.
Woodman even hinted at CES that “more so than any other drone, [Karma] will be designed to be woven into somebody’s active lifestyle.” (Emphasis ours). Of course, he would say this, but couldn’t you be even more confident about that if you’d been keeping your biggest rivals on a short leash? GoPro reportedly already tried courting DJI, with CEO Frank Wang claiming the camera firm wanted a larger slice of the profits than he felt fair.
What else does AirDog have to offer? I’d say an intimate knowledge of exactly the kind user GoPro is going after. Just using the AirDog makes that obvious. Unfold the legs, and it auto-switches on and locks onto GPS/connects to the leash. Press one button and it’s up and flying, ready to follow.
A simplicity, again, eerily in line with Woodman’s rhetoric about his own company making products that are easy to use, like the one-button Hero4 Session. AirDog also has different follow modes (straight line like a cable, or fluid following, for example). You can also ask it to circle you. All of these features are accessed via the leash, a waterproof box smaller than a pack of cigarettes. If anything, controlling AirDog is much easier than operating a GoPro with its similar-looking wireless remote.
The more I explore AirDog, the more apparent the conclusion seems to be: It’s not just the action-sport drone to beat, it’s a team GoPro should consider buying. If AirDog is the high-water mark, GoPro knows only too well it has to do better. What easier way to eliminate that threat than to swallow it whole?
Xbox One thriller ‘Quantum Break’ is coming to PC too
Quantum Break‘s time-altering escapades are no longer tied to Microsoft’s Xbox One console. When the game launches on April 5th it’ll also be available on PC, giving players with beefy rigs the chance to push its visual prowess to the limit. That’s not all developer Remedy Entertainment is announcing today though. Anyone that buys the game on Xbox One will also get a copy of the studio’s previous title, Alan Wake, as well as its two DLC packs through backwards compatibility. If you pre-order Quantum Break you’ll gain access to Alan Wake’s American Nightmare too, a downloadable sort-of-but-not-quite sequel that came out in 2012.
The kicker? If you pre-order Quantum Break for Xbox One, Microsoft will grant you the Windows 10 version too. So to recap, dropping your cash now on the console version will net you absolutely everything. It’s quite an offer and one clearly designed to push people towards the new IP. Alan Wake was a critical success but its sales — 4.5 million as of March 2015 — weren’t enough to green-light Alan Wake 2. (Some of Remedy’s ideas ended up in American Nightmare, however.) Quantum Break is, therefore, a crucial game for Remedy to prove it can play in the big leagues.
The title is unusual though, blending a third-person action game with live-action TV episodes. The two are designed to weave through one another, showing different perspectives or moments happening in another location. It has star pedigree, with actors Shawn Ashmore (X-Men), Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings) and Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) taking some of the lead roles. But how does it actually play? Are the time mechanics more than another bullet-time gimmick? We won’t know until April — in the meantime, here’s another live-action trailer to muse over.
Source: Xbox Wire
Japan’s X-ray satellite Astro-H will soon blast off to space
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) newest (and sixth!) X-ray observatory is leaving for space on Friday to study black holes and galaxy clusters. It’s called Astro-H, and it’s blasting off with several scientific instruments in tow. These include ones that can detect X-ray sources 10 times fainter than what its predecessor, the Suzaku, could detect. The star of the show, though, is its Soft X-Ray Spectrometer (SXS), which is fitted with a “microcalorimeter.” The Goddard-built spectrometer (designed in cooperation with various Japanese institutions) will use that device to measure and distinguish X-ray colors.
Goddard SXS team member Caroline Kilbourne explains:
The technology used in the SXS is leading the way to the next generation of imaging X-ray spectrometers, which will be able to distinguish tens of thousands of X-ray colors while capturing sharp images at the same time.
Two of the observatory’s other instruments are identical soft x-ray telescopes with mirror assemblies also manufactured by NASA Goddard. (These can pick up on x-rays as weak as 300 electron Volts.) One of the two directs light to an advanced wide-field camera to take images, while the other directs it to the SXS. The spectrometer distinguishes X-ray colors by measuring the energy of each particle of light that hits it. In order for the SXS to detect the smallest changes, it’s kept at a temperature of -459.58 degrees Fahrenheit using supercold liquid helium.
Besides the soft x-ray detectors, the observatory is also equipped with Hard X-ray Telescopes (and their cameras) that can detect energy from 5,000 to 80,000 eV. Finally, it has detectors that focus on soft gamma rays with an energy range of 60,000 to 600,000 eV. During the course of its mission, the observatory will find and image superheated materials falling into black holes and other X-ray sources/high-energy phenomena. JAXA is livestreaming the launch on YouTube, though you’ll have to get up early (or stay up late), since it’s scheduled at 3:45AM EST.
Source: NASA
Get the tools you need to be one of the good guys with the IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training
There are two kinds of hackers out there, the good guys, who help find exploits and report or fix them, and the bad guys, who steal your information for their own benefit. It’s the old age tale of good vs bad, and as the internet continues to grow, so does the experience of those trying to hack their way into your life.
Luckily, we’ve got a great deal that will help you find your path to the good side of the Force. The IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training is a set of courses that will teach you various pieces of information so that you can better equip yourself. With almost 100 hours of combined training and courses, this deal will prepare you for three of the biggest security certifications that you can get today.
- Gain the skills to excel in IT Security w/ 50+ hours of advanced training & 48+ hours of courses
- Invest about 1-3 hours per week to pass all certification exams within 4-6 weeks
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Normally priced at almost $2,000, the IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training will only set you back $29.99. This deal ends in three days, so make sure that you jump on this deal so that you can save 98% on the training to get the tools necessary to get certified in CompTIA Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker, and Cisco’s CCNA Security Certification.
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Pre-orders for Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will allegedly go live on February 21st
The leaks and rumours just keep on coming, with this latest information about Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge flagships saying that both handsets will be available to pre-order after the launch event on February 21. We have more details after the break.
According to Android World, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will be available to pre-order in the Netherlands on launch day, with Samsung throwing in a set of Gear VR (reviewed here) goggles free of charge for all orders placed before March 10. Why March 10th? Because March 11th is when the handsets are believed to become available, i.e. orders should start being shipped from retailers such as Cool Blue, Belsimpel, MediaMarkt, as well as the official Samsung store.
For the moment, it’s believed that only the 32GB versions of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will be available in the Netherlands, with users being able to expand storage by up to 128GB thanks to the rumoured return of the MicroSD card slot.
Other leaks include various renders and images of the handsets, the rumoured return of waterproofing, and bigger batteries. We’ve seen the stock wallpapers for the S7 Edge leaked, and even the news that the Galaxy S7 Edge+ will not be released in the UK this year. One wonders if Samsung has anything up its sleeve for the actual launch event on February 21st.
As always, it’s important to remember that leak and rumours are just that: leaks and rumours. As such, the proverbial pinch of salt should be taken with them. With just ten days left until Samsung officially announces the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, we don’t have too long until everything is confirmed as fact or fiction. Until then, I’m sure the leaks will keep on coming.
Source: Android World
Come comment on this article: Pre-orders for Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will allegedly go live on February 21st
Chrome for Android will let you interact with nearby smart objects
Google is bringing support for Physical Web to Chrome for Android. The feature has been available on Chrome for iOS since last summer and now Google is finally opening it up to its own platform.
What is Physical Web, you may ask. Here’s how Google describes it:
The Physical Web is an approach to unleash the core superpower of the web: interaction on demand. People should be able to walk up to any smart device – a vending machine, a poster, a toy, a bus stop, a rental car – and not have to download an app first. Everything should be just a tap away.
Explained in the most basic form, Physical Web means objects can broadcast via Bluetooth an URL to every device in its range. When a phone running Chrome detects the URL, the user can open up the web site or web app behind the URL with just a tap.
Taking one of Google’s examples, you could have a Physical Web-equipped bus station that broadcasts the URL of the bus timetable. Just walk nearby it and a notification will let you consult it.
With this explanation out of the way, the ability to detect URLs that are broadcasted by nearby Physical Web devices is coming to Chrome 49 for Android beta. A notification will be displayed the first time the device encounters a Physical Web device. After the user enables the feature, URLs will show up as notifications.
Think of Physical Web as a way to tie real world objects with the web. It’s all part of the greater IoT trend, that is slowly, but surely, changing every industry it touches.
It’s safe to say that, at least in the beginning, Physical Web will be used by companies looking to sell you stuff. In a 21st century version of street vendors hawking their wares, stores could soon send you notifications every time you walk past them at the mall. Provided you choose to accept them, of course.
Incessant ads aside, the possibilities that are opened by Physical Web are endless, and the fact that Google is baking support for this standard in the most popular browser in the world will only accelerate its adoption.
Lenovo Vibe P1 Turbo announced, but its basically still the Vibe P1
Lenovo doesn’t seem to quite know what the term “Turbo” generally means when attached to a new smartphone. The Lenovo Vibe P1 Turbo has just been announced in Indonesia, but it’s almost identical to the Vibe P1 which was announced at IFA 2015.
Sure, the Vibe P1 Turbo has a massive 5,000 mAh battery, but so did the P1. It also supports Quick Charge 2.0 to get 60% charge in 30 minutes, but so did the P1. You can also use the P1 Turbo to reverse charge other devices, just like the P1. It also has the same processor, internal storage, Android version, fingerprint scanner and display. So what’s actually new about the P1 Turbo?
That’s a hard one to answer actually, because the product listing on Lenovo’s Indonesian site is so inconsistent. The splash page says the P1 Turbo has a 13 MP camera (the same as the P1) but the specs page says 16 MP. The splash page says 3 GB of RAM but the specs page lists 2 GB, just like the P1. It looks like the P1 gets dual micro-SIMs this time rather than nano-SIMs, but I wouldn’t guarantee it.
See also: Best dual-SIM Android phones
As confusing as this all is, the Vibe P1 Turbo also (probably) comes with NFC, LTE, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, GPS and FM radio. That’s on top of a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS LCD display, 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 (with four cores clocked at 1.5 GHz and four at 1.1 GHz), 32 GB internal storage, fingerprint scanner, Android 5.1 Lollipop, microSD expansion up to 128 GB and tri-color flash on the whatever-it-is-MP camera.
You can pre-order the Vibe P1 Turbo for 3,999,000 IDR (~$295) via the link below. Probably.
Carphone Warehouse’s ‘iD’ network adds free data rollovers
When Carphone Warehouse’s iD mobile network launched in May last year, it promised flexible plans that would suit the differing needs of consumers. International roaming was a big draw, as was unlimited data, but it wasn’t long before out all-you-can-eat internet was phased out in favour of a 20GB ceiling.
With a restriction on how much data can be used, Carphone Warehouse has come up with a new way to incentivize customers. It’s launched a “Data Rollover” feature that will new and existing subscribers on 12 or 24 month plans carry over any data they don’t use into the following month.
The company says data that has been rolled over will always be used before customers’ standard monthly data and is available free of charge. With the majority of providers now shying away from plans that offer unlimited data, customers may be tempted to join a carrier that gives them exactly what they pay for, even if they don’t use it.
Source: Dixons Carphone
AIVAnet 