Samsung Galaxy View price drops… again
The Samsung Galaxy View just doesn’t seem to be able to find a spot in many homes. And I honestly don’t know what I would do with it, to be honest. The 18.4-inch device is nice and large, but it won’t replace my TV, computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. I suppose an Android device this size would be good mostly for keeping around the kitchen?
Regardless, those of you who do see yourselves using the Samsung Galaxy View can now have it for a lower price. The over-sized tablet was released back in November for $599.99. After what seemed like some unsuccessful weeks, it went down to $499.99. Fast-forward some months and now we are seeing it go for only $449.99.
Will you buy it at that price? It’s really not a bad tablet, it’s just its size that limits it. Specs include an Exynos 7580 processor, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage, a 2.1 MP front-facing camera and a 5700 mAh battery. And of course, we can’t forget that massive 18.4-inch 1080p display.
You can try to make sense of Samsung’s explanation of this device’s purpose, if you still don’t know whether to buy it or not. We also have a hands-on post! Then hit the button below to purchase your own when you are convinced. Are any of you signing up? Hit the comments and tell us your reasoning.
AIs get a crash course in humanity by interpreting stories
As it turns out, the key to crafting intelligent machines that won’t go rogue and slaughter us all might be some very thoughtful storytelling. Mark Riedl and Brent Harrison from Georgia Tech are trying to mold the way artificial intelligences wrap their incorporeal heads around human ethics by feeding them stories, and rewarding them for sticking to an ethically sound path.
The project is a sequel and partner of sorts to Scheherezade, an earlier project of Riedl’s that saw a program piece together stories with logically sound plot points and developments from crowdsourced submissions. This time, Riedl and Harrison used Scheherezade to map out the structure of a story’s plot elements and figure out the “most reliable” path. From there, Quixote turns that “plot graph” into a tree of nodes (in this case, plot points) connected by transitioning events, and either rewards or punishes the artificial agent based on how well it sticks to that pattern of events.
It’s a fascinating turn, but maybe not the most surprising one — human kids can pick up tips about creative problem solving from Rapunzel and the Ant, and the Grasshopper reinforces the importance of not being a procrastinating schmuck. (Of course, there are some classic stories with less-than-sterling lessons too). Riedl’s and Harrison’s work might not be applicable to every robot we’ll ever build, but hey — they admit it’s pretty nicely suited to so-called artificial agents that “have a limited range of purposes but need to interact with humans to achieve their goals.” By steeping AIs in stories that align with certain cultural values, they just might learn to figure out right from wrong (and without murderous consequences to boot).
Source: Georgia Tech
RCA Mercury 7 Pro review
Tablets are weird, and that’s because they don’t really have a place. They’re slightly bigger than a smartphone, but not as large as a laptop or monitor. In many cases, folks would rather use their smartphone than a tablet. Why? Well, one reason is that tablets don’t really have a use aside from being an expensive YouTube or Netflix player. Aside from that, they really don’t have a firm place within the market, and the less-than-stellar tablet sales show it.
However, RCA believes they’ve truly come up with something useful. Enter, the Mercury 7 Pro, a budget-friendly tablet with decidedly low-end specifications. Does RCA have what it takes to truly make a name for itself within the tablet world? Well, not really.
Design
There isn’t anything that’s particularly unique about RCA’s Mercury 7 Pro, other than it was designed to be used with a keyboard case.
On the bottom frame of the tablet is a magnet that connects with the keyboard case to enable those keyboard capabilities. Normally, this is where a micro-USB port would go, or even an auxiliary port. However, RCA ended up tucking all the Mercury 7 Pro’s ports on the right side of the chassis. It’s where the volume rocker, power button, and the aforementioned auxiliary port and micro-USB port are.
On the back of the device is a rear camera as well as the larger-than-normal speaker grill.
The Mercury 7 Pro knows it’s a budget-friendly tablet, and it doesn’t do much to hide that fact. The tablet truly feels cheap and chintzy in the hand, and it wouldn’t take much to break it. I’ve been very afraid of dropping it, as it feels as if even a small drop would render the tablet useless.
Now, the unique part of the tablet is the keyboard case, which adds quite a bit of thickness to the unit. It still makes it very portable and versatile. Access to a keyboard to jot down some quick notes is nice, though it’s certainly not for anyone that doesn’t have small hands; I’ve tried to use the keyboard normally quite a bit, and usually end up only spewing jumbled words. Typing with the on-screen keyboard is much more efficient, at least it was for me.
The case does add some protection to the tablet, though it doesn’t get rid of the Mercury 7 Pro’s chintzy feel. Aside from that keyboard functionality, it basically just adds another layer of polymer to the tablet.
Hardware
The RCA Mercury 7 Pro features a 7-inch (1024×600) display, a quad-core MediaTek MT8127 chip, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, a 1-megapixel front camera, a 2-megapixel rear camera, and a battery rated for up to 6 hours.
Performance
Surprisingly, the tablet is actually quite quick and snappy. Scrolling through menus and websites was no problem for this tablet’s decidedly low specifications. It handled most applications without a hitch, though some of the more demanding games did take a toll on it.
While scrolling through menus and doing average things with the tablet are quite zippy, it does still have a few hang ups here and there. At one point, I hit the “home” button, and had to wait some time before it actually showed me the home screen. However, this was infrequent, but happened more than twice.
The display was without a doubt the most disappointing factor of the Mercury 7 Pro. The 7-inch display was no problem, but the low 1024×600 resolution didn’t help much as far as crispness goes. In fact, much of the display has a sort of blur to it, though it wasn’t as noticeable when watching video. However, it did make using applications and browsing the Internet unappealing.
The tablet is priced at around $80. That makes buying a tablet extremely cheap; however, I’m certain I and many others would be willing to pay a tad higher of a price for a higher quality display.
Battery
As far as battery life goes, RCA says it’s rated for up to six hours of continuous use. Playing video in 720p continuously allowed the tablet to last around 4 and a half hours, but not much more than that. The tablet, like many others, actually lasts a lot longer if your use is fairly sporadic. I was able to get almost two days out of the tablet when only using it here and there. Not too shabby for an $80 unit.
Software
On the software front, I was actually quite surprised. RCA ended up using what looks like nearly stock Android. It was a good decision, considering that a heavier skin would’ve only taken a larger toll on the tablet’s overall performance.
However, it isn’t without its negatives. The Mercury 7 Pro is only running Android 5.0, not even Android 5.1. It’s likely not going to get updated either, as we haven’t heard hide nor hair from RCA on an update schedule.
More annoyingly, there’s a few RCA-branded applications that you can’t uninstall. In fact, they’re not really even applications. Three of these so-called applications are actually the manual for the tablet. One is in English, and the others are in two different languages. This was a strange inclusion as far as preloaded bloatware goes.
Camera
There isn’t much to speak on as far as the camera goes. You have a 1-megapixel front camera and a 2-megapixel rear camera. As with most tablets on the market, neither of these cameras perform well at all.
For example, you can try and take a picture on a perfectly-lit room, but the camera still ends up taking a dark photo. But once again, this is the case with most tablet cameras. But unfortunately, even the 1-megapixel front sensor isn’t good enough quality for video conferences.
All in all, fairly disappointing, but that’s not necessarily RCA’s fault, but the fault of cameras on Android tablets as a whole.
Closing
In conclusion, RCA’s Mercury 7 Pro isn’t any different than any other $80 budget-friendly tablet out there. The only thing RCA has differentiated in its tablet is the keyboard attachment. Unfortunately, that’s not a huge selling point at the budget range. And with that, it’s just another low-end Android tablet that’ll be met with poor sales.
Amazon has been able to create some excellent value with the Fire tablet (review here) for a meager $50. Sales have literally exploded at various points since its launch, putting the tablet on backorder for three weeks or a month at a time. It’s truly been able to set itself apart.
It’d be neat to see if RCA or some other company could do that same thing, but for some reason, everyone continues to create the same tablet, just with a different brand and a slightly altered design.
If you’re looking for a cheap tablet with keyboard functionality, the Mercury 7 Pro could be for you, but then again, you might be better off with an Amazon Fire.
Come comment on this article: RCA Mercury 7 Pro review
Yatzy Ultimate
Overview
Developer: Seavus Group
Price: Free (Ad-Supported, $1.99 to remove ads; micro-transactions)
Highlights:
- Real-time competition with players around the world.
- Credit-based betting system.
- Offline mode.
- Three variations of the classic dice game to play.
Setup
Yatzy Ultimate has a relatively simple, if slightly counter-intuitive, setup. It does not support Google Account login (hence counter-intuitive) or Google Play, but it allows you to create and account with either Facebook or Game.IO. If you don’t feel like creating yet another game account, you can always play as a guest, and you will retain your credits persistently. There is also a handy tutorial/training mode right at the homescreen, if you don’t feel like using your credits right away.
Features
Having played Yahtzee extensively with my mother as a child, this app triggered a giant tsunami wave of nostalgia. It plays exactly as I remember, minus the pen-and-paper scoring and the irreplaceable feel of pouring the dice out of the shaker. If you haven’t played Yatzy, this app probably isn’t for you. If you’re curious about the rules, this is probably a good page with which to start. Yatzy Ultimate offers three different variations of the game to play: Yatzy, Maxi-Yazty, and American Yatzy. The variations offer different rules and scoring, though, they all essentially play the same way.
Classic.
Yatzy is relatively generous with their credits, starting you out with 5000 right off the bat. You’re able to bet as many as 750 credits and as few as 100 per game in the basic single-player stage, and you can buy additional credits via in-app purchases ($0.99 for 2,000, and up to $19.99 for 500,000). In addition to changing how much you can bet each round, you are also able to increase the score threshold you need to reach in order to win; thereby increasing the payout if you reach it.
Seven different boards to play on.
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There are currently seven different stages of betting, each one requiring significantly more than the last to qualify to enter. I am fundamentally wary of a game relies on random number generation (RNG), for a number of reasons:
1) No number is every truly random.
2) As such, the game could theoretically alter your results, and
3) therefore directly alter your ability to earn credits.
The betting system.
Those things being stated, I feel that Yatzy Ultimate does a good job of making sure that your results feel fair, and not like you’re being robbed of your credits. Sound and visual design are okay, not phenomenal. The graphics look a little grainy on my Nexus 6P, which is a simple enough fix that I hope is remedied soon.
What I like
- Classic dice game.
- Decent production value.
- Fair-enough RNG.
What I don’t
- Ad-supported AND micro-transactions.
- Graphics get a bit grainy on higher resolution screens.
Conclusion
Yatzy Ultimate is a perfectly acceptable recreation of the classic dice game. To me the game will always be known as Yahtzee, but the spirit of the game is captured well, and is actually easier than playing the physical game due to built-in scoring and dice rolling. The game is free and you never need to purchase micro-transactions to advance, though the ads occasionally grate nerves.
Google Play Store – Yatzy Ultimate
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AIVAnet 