ICYMI: Fast brain upload, mind-control monkeys & more

Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers at HRL Labs have developed a system to upload information to your brain using electrical signals already mapped from an expert’s mind. Duke University is testing a wireless brain-machine interface that allows monkeys to steer a wheelchair with their mind, which they were able to do while also improving their skills over time. Cardiologists have a new tool to roto-rooter blood vessels filled with plague in the first FDA approved device that helps surgeons see inside vessels with a built-in camera.
In case your presidential race watching hadn’t gotten to hate-stage yet, make sure to take in how John McAfee is willing to hold the highest office in the US. You know, if he has to.

As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.

HTC 10 renders show off the upcoming flagship phone

On the last day of Mobile World Congress, HTC released a very vague teaser showing the outline of a new phone. Well, we now know what that phone might look like, thanks to these renders that Evan Blass (a.k.a. the famed leaker of phones, evleaks) at VentureBeat got his hands on. These images show a white version of the device from every angle, though note that these are merely computer renders and don’t show the actual handset.

According to Blass, this is the manufacturer’s upcoming flagship phone, which will be simply known as the HTC 10. He said that the company chose that name, because it wants to veer away from its top-shelf devices’ naming scheme these past few years. If you’ll recall, those devices were called the HTC One M9, M8 and M7. The HTC 10 will be launched in mid-April, he added, and could be available for purchase as soon as early to mid-May.

Source: VentureBeat

Urban Armor Gear has great cases that offer excellent protection and good looks

Admittedly I am not much of a fan of cases. I usually have found that they’re too bulky for what they offer and make my devices uncomfortable to hold due to

Amazon reverses course on encryption for its Fire tablets

It’s been only one day since — in the midst of a national debate over encrypted devices — Amazon started pushing a new Fire OS 5 to its tablets that ditched support for device encryption. Just yesterday, the company said that was because customers weren’t using the feature. Tonight, the company tells Engadget that it will bring the option back in another update that is due to arrive this spring. Given the attention Apple’s battle with the FBI has brought to this security feature it seems logical that encryption remains at least available as an option, even on a device intended for casual usage.

Amazon:

We will return the option for full disk encryption with a Fire OS update coming this spring.

$350 million Nintendo land coming to Universal Japan’s park

When Nintendo announced it was granting Universal Studios the rights to some of its properties for theme park rides, it was anyone’s guess where they’d show up first. Now we know that they’ll debut in the gaming juggernaut’s back yard: Japan. Regional news outlet Sankei (Japanese) reports that the attraction is scheduled for completion by 2020, the year Tokyo is slated to host the Olympics.

And lest you think this will be a simple statue of Princess Peach and a Mario Kart-themed go-kart track, the publication says this should be on par with the likes of Universal’s Harry Potter-themed zone but focused entirely on everyone’s favorite Italian plumber. Hell, it could even be called “Super Mario World.” Crazier things have happened!

Need more evidence for how serious of a deal this is? Universal is putting up ¥40 billion ($351,509,200) — given Nintendo’s current financial woes, the company is probably happy someone else is footing the bill. For that amount, maybe we’ll see a full scale version of the entire Mushroom Kingdom in a few years.

4) Busy start of 2016 for Nintendo. See the picture below for details (from Sankei: https://t.co/NRejTXGL6Q) // end pic.twitter.com/EMHunhgYFa

— Dr. Serkan Toto (@serkantoto) March 5, 2016

Via: Dr. Serkan Toto (Twitter)

Source: Sankei (Japanese)

Moto 360 Sport review

The original Moto 360 was the first truly compelling Android Wear device to come to market, and it remained one of the go-to options for folks testing the smartwatch waters back in 2014. Then in 2015 when a sea of other wearable devices came to market, the 2nd Generation Moto 360 arrived on scene, proving that Motorola could still make a compelling watch.

Alongside the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.), the company unveiled the Moto 360 Sport. It’s basically a fitness-friendly version of the original that has mostly the same internals, but with a different design, display and some added software features. So where does this sporty device fit in? Is it good enough to be both a smartwatch and a fitness tracker, or is there room for improvement? We aim to find that out, and more, in our full Moto 360 Sport review!

Buy now on Amazon
Review notes: I’ve been using the Moto 360 Sport as my main fitness tracker and smartwatch for around 3 weeks. The Nexus 6P has been my smartphone companion of choice. 

Display	1.37-inch AnyLight Hybrid Display 360 x 325 resolution, 263ppi Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Processor	Quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
RAM	512MB
Storage	4GB
Connectivity	Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Sensors	Barometric Altimeter, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Gyroscope, Vibration/Haptics engine
Heart rate sensor	Optical heart rate monitor (PPG)
Battery	300mAh
Water resistance	IP67 dust and water resistant
Bands	Silicone
Colors	Black, White, Flame Orange
Dimensions	45mm diameter by 11.5mm high
Weight	54 grams

Design

Ever since the first Android Wear devices came to market, manufacturers would include ‘fitness tracking’ as a selling point. This didn’t really make much sense, as most folks who purchase a Huawei Watch or Moto 360 with a nice leather band and metal chassis probably aren’t going running with their $300 smartwatches anytime soon. And that’s where the Sport comes in. It’s clear that this device isn’t meant to be paired with a suit jacket or even a shirt and tie — that’s what the standard Moto 360 is for. Instead, the Sport aims to bridge the gap between smartwatches and fitness trackers, and look good while doing it.

And for the most part, it does. It’s not too big, and doesn’t look overly bulky like some other smartwatches. It comes with a premium silicone rubber strap that feels comfortable both during a workout and when wearing it around the house. It’s light too — weighing just 54 grams. A lot of the time I forget I’m wearing it, and that’s definitely a good thing. The bulkier and heavier the smartwatch, the less people are going to want to wear it all day.

Moto Maker customization unfortunately isn’t offered here

It comes in three color options — Black, White and Flame Orange. You can purchase the device through the Moto Maker platform, though you won’t actually be able to customize it in any way. The straps aren’t removable, so you’ll need to stick with the color you purchase. The Sony SmartWatch 3 from 2014 sports a similar design but comes with the ability to remove the strap, which is something we definitely would have liked to see here.

See also: Sony Smartwatch 3 Review24

All in all, this is a pretty attractive device. The silicone strap wraps all the way around for the most part, save for the power button on the right and a microphone on the left. The bottom of the watch (the part that touches your wrist) is made of plastic, so your skin will barely come in contact with the silicone when wearing it throughout the day. This prevents your wrist from getting too sweaty, which definitely wins points in the comfortability department.

Although comfortable, the strap attracts a good amount of dust and hair

As comfortable as it may be, it should be noted that the strap is a dust/hair magnet. I live with two dogs and both of them don’t shed all that much. Still, I find myself picking out little hairs from the strap every now and then, much more so than any other silicone-clad fitness tracker I’ve tried thus far.

Just because this seems to be a more rugged version of the standard Moto 360, it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to wear it in the shower or take it for a swim. Nope, the Moto 360 Sport only has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, just like Motorola’s other smartwatch. This means you can wear it during a run and get it sweaty, but don’t expect it to survive a shower or quick dip in the pool. I think I speak for everyone when I say this is a bad move on Motorola’s part. A fitness tracker without a waterproof rating just means users will need to take off the watch more than they should have to. Manufacturers like Garmin understand this, which is why their trackers are so popular amongst users who are serious about activity tracking.

Display

One of the biggest differences between Motorola’s two latest smartwatches are the displays. While the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) sports a standard IPS LCD display, Motorola chose to go a different route with the Sport and use what’s called an AnyLight hybrid display. This special screen is made to automatically adapt to the level of natural light that’s currently shining on the watch. When you’re inside, the display is just like any old LCD screen. But go outdoors, and the “hybrid” part of the display kicks in and will reflect natural light to keep the screen readable.

Don’t miss: Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) review18

The AnyLight display is by far the best part of this watch

The AnyLight display is the best part of this watch, by far. It’s easy to see both indoors and out, which is something not many other Android Wear devices have been able to do yet.

But as is the case with most other aspects of this watch, there’s still room for improvement. AnyLight display tech or no, I just don’t understand why manufacturers choose to put LCD displays on smartwatches. They’re small devices with small batteries, so why not include an AMOLED display instead? They might be more expensive, sure, but they’ll certainly make the small 300mAh battery last a heck of a lot longer.

As for the size, the AnyLight display measures 1.37-inches and sports a resolution of 360 x 325. It’s plenty clear, and I haven’t had many problems with it at all. Text is sharp and colors are vibrant, but, as you can see from the images in this review, the “flat tire” has returned. For those unaware, Motorola includes an ambient light sensor on their watches so the display can automatically adjust to the amount of light that’s hitting it. Since this is such a small device, the company only has two places to put it — around the watch’s bezel (in turn making the bezel much thicker), or at the bottom of the display, which is where the flat tire comes in. I’ve gotten used to it overtime, and I don’t even notice it anymore.

Software

For the most part, the software on the Moto 360 Sport is the same as what’s found on the second-gen Moto 360. It runs the latest version of Android Wear (v1.4). All in all the experience isn’t too different from the standard 360, so we won’t go into too much detail here. If you’re new to the platform and would like to take a closer look at what Android Wear has to offer, be sure to check out our full Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) review.

See also: 15 best Android fitness apps and workout apps37

The 360 Sport comes with all the great watch faces that are present on the standard watch. The default watch face is the one you’ll want to use though — it’s a digital face that gives you quick access to your steps, heart activity, calories burned and a stopwatch. There’s even a button for quickly starting a run. Pressing this button will give you the option to choose between an indoor or outdoor run. You can then select either a time, distance or calorie goal, and you’re good to go. You don’t have to select a goal, but it’s definitely recommended. You can choose the Quick Start mode if you don’t want to fuss around with it, but the GPS struggled to find a connection when in this mode, at least on our unit. Whatever mode you end up choosing, just make sure the GPS is locked in otherwise your stats will be skewed.

The running interface is detailed without being too cluttered

When you’re running, you’ll be shown your distance, running time and pace on the main screen. You can also swipe over to get your current heart rate. A quick double tap on the screen will pause your run. The running interface is detailed without being too cluttered, which is something many other fitness trackers might want to take notice of. After you stop your run you’ll be shown a detailed overview screen of your workout, which is exactly what you want to be shown after a long run. For more detailed running info, you’ll want to jump into the Moto Body app on your phone.

The Moto Body app syncs with your watch to give you more detailed information on your run and past workouts. It’s a simple application that doesn’t require any type of learning curve. You’ll be shown a week view at the top, and for each day you’ll see your heart activity, steps and calories burned. Below that sits information on whatever runs you may have taken that day.

At the time of writing this review, the Moto 360 Sport only supports running. Motorola claims it will add more activities like cycling in the future, but we still have yet to see those come to the app.

I’m a big fan of Moto Body. If you aren’t though, luckily the app can connect with a handful of other fitness tracking apps like Fitbit, Strava, MapMyRun, Under Armour Record and of course Google Fit. Keep in mind that while these other apps track things like cycling, yoga and other gym exercises, the 360 Sport will still only be able to track running.

Hardware and performance

Under the hood the Moto 360 Sport comes with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, backed by 512MB of RAM. This is the same processing package that’s found in just about all new Android Wear devices, so as you may expect performance is quite good. Navigating around the UI is snappy, apps load up quickly, and interacting with notification cards is a breeze. Unlike the second-generation Moto 360, we did not see the same problems with “Okay, Google” voice recognition, or really any other problems with the software.

The Sport comes with a GPS on board, which we’re happy to report has been quite accurate during our review period. As long as you wait for the GPS to connect before your run, it will track your route with no problems at all.

And when it comes to step tracking, the Sport is actually very accurate. It was pretty much impossible to get an accurate step count with the first-gen Moto 360, but the Sport fixes pretty much all of those problems. I tested it against my Fitbit Charge HR and Jawbone UP3 on a 2-mile run, and the 360 Sport was only about 15 steps off from the other trackers. Not bad!

See also: Fitbit Charge HR review3

At no surprise to us, Motorola has brought back their wireless charging dock this time around. The dock itself is small and plugs in with a Micro USB cable. Just plop the Sport right in the dock, and it will activate a charging mode that shows you the time and battery percentage — perfect for a bedside table or desk.

Unlike the second-gen Moto 360 that has a 400mAh battery, the Sport only comes with a 300mAh cell. With it you’ll get about a full day of use, but definitely no more than that. The recent update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow has done its part at making sure the watch stays charged during standby time, but that doesn’t really affect battery life when you’re wearing it.

If you want the watch to last a full day, turn the GPS off

Most days I take the watch off right before I go to bed and still have about 20-30% of charge left. Not horrible, but it could be better. Also, that’s with the GPS turned off. Turn it on, and you’ll struggle to get through a full day on a single charge with moderate use. I have been able to wear it around for a few hours in the morning, go for a run (with the GPS on), and continue using it until bedtime on a single charge, but that was with GPS turned off most of the day while I wasn’t running.

I can’t say I’m surprised. Battery life has always been a pain point with Android Wear, and the Sport is no different. Let’s just say I’m really hoping Motorola improves battery life with the Moto 360 Sport (2nd Gen).

Gallery

Conclusion

Buy now on Amazon

If you’re looking for an Android Wear-powered smartwatch with run tracking capabilities, look no further. The Moto 360 Sport is what you should get if you want the best of the best. The Sony SmartWatch 3 is still on the market and costs just around $100, but you won’t get to take advantage of the heart rate monitor or the wonderful AnyLight display.

The Sport is available through Amazon and Motorola for $299.99 in Black, White and Flame Orange color options. You might be thinking that this is a little pricey for a fitness tracker that only tracks runs, but you’ll probably pay just that much (if not more) for something comparable from another manufacturer. Also, this device has the advantage of running Android Wear.

All in all, this is my favorite Android Wear device I’ve ever used. It’s fast, light and full of great features. It’s also a great activity tracker as long as you’re okay with it only keeping tabs on running. If you’re willing to make that compromise, you can’t go wrong with the Moto 360 Sport. Those serious about tracking other exercises will want to look elsewhere, or wait for Motorola to add more features in the future. 

• 
  Moto 360 (2nd Gen) Review

• 
  Huawei Watch Review!

• 
  Huawei Watch Unboxing and In…

• 
  Moto 360 (2nd gen) unboxing …

Android Central 277: Ham-on

With Mobile World Congress firmly behind us, we turn to a couple guys who looked at things from an outside perspective — Jerry and Russell — to see what they thought of the show, the Galaxy S7, LG G5 and more, from back home.

Note: This is an audio-only show this week.

Thanks to this week’s sponsors!

• Mailroute: Get 10 percent off spam-free email from a company that keeps its focus on what matters — stopping the spam!
• Harry’s: Start shaving better today and save $5 off your first purchase with coupon code AC.

Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/acpc277.mp3

Google grants presidential hopefuls a digital podium

Google is giving this year’s crop of US presidential candidates a pretty big stump to stand on: Search results. Mountain View is opening up a new platform, dubbed “Google Posts,” that hopefuls for the highest office in the land can use to publish everything from text to photos and videos. These brief bits will appear in search results whenever you look for one of them by name, just above official tweets. From there, the posts can be shared via your social media platform of choice.

It’s in a sort of pilot phase for now, but the internet juggernaut says that it’s planning to open the feature up to other prominent figures and organizations in the future.

As of this writing, the only candidates to make use of the new tool are Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich and Democratic Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. Priapic Republican front-runner Donald Trump still hasn’t used the platform as another way to talk about the size of his penis just yet. Nor has Republican Marco Rubio taken advantage of the new feature.

Libertarian John McAfee? Also absent. Former Secretary of State, Democrat Hillary Clinton, hasn’t posted any of her trademark GIFs, either. But hey,we still have plenty of time for all of this to change prior to November.

Via: The Next Web

Source: Google

Study shows evidence of Zika virus’ risk to pregnant women

Scientists have yet to prove without a doubt that the mosquito-borne Zika virus causes microcephaly. A big study involving 5,000 women being conducted right now will help determine that, but the results won’t be out until mid-year. This much smaller study by UCLA researchers, however, strengthens the link between the virus and various birth defects — not just microcephaly — as well as fetal death. In addition, the researchers found that Zika can affect pregnancy at any stage and trimester. The study’s senior author, Dr. Karin Nielsen, said they saw problems with pregnant women eight weeks, 22 weeks, 25 weeks and even 35 weeks along.

The team studied 88 pregnant women who went to a clinic at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro with the intention of being tested for the virus. Out of the 88 individuals, 72 tested positive for Zika; 42 of them, as well as the 16 who tested negative, agreed to undergo further tests and ultrasounds. A total of 12 subjects among the 42 infected women had problematic ultrasound results, and two of them ended up losing their babies in their third trimester.

Of the six live births overall, two babies were too small, while one was born with severe microcephaly. One of the small babies and the infant with microcephaly had lesions in their eyes indicating blindness. Another had to be delivered via C-section, because the mother’s uterus had no amniotic fluid. Two of the mothers who had normal ultrasound results delivered healthy babies.

Nielsen says their study and others like it could help eliminate theories that the pesticides used against mosquitoes (and not the virus itself) are the culprit. Those theories led people to protest against their use, which Nielsen believes is a “really bad idea,” explaining that “you want to enhance vector control to prevent infection and not abandon that approach during an epidemic.” Besides UCLA’s research, another one conducted by Johns Hopkins, Florida State and Emory universities have shown through lab testing that the virus kills tissues that form the brain and the nervous system.

Via: ABC News, The New York Times

Source: UCLA

BMW wants to build ‘the most intelligent car’

BMW is looking to the future. For the German automaker, that means a research and development team that’s as well versed in artificial intelligence as it is wind-tunnel testing. It’s a future where the competition isn’t Cadillac or Audi, but Uber and car-price comparison site TrueCar, according to Reuters. “Our task is to preserve or business model without surrendering it to an internet player,” BMW’s Klaus Froehlich says. “Otherwise we will end up as the Foxconn for a company like Apple, delivering only the metal bodies for them.” Meaning, a background player for a bigger organization that gets the glory.

“For me it is a core competence to have the most intelligent car,” he says.

And that means hiring. BMW wants to get its software engineer count up to a 50:50 spread compared to its other employees and because schools in Deutschland aren’t producing enough viable candidates, the company has to look at outward partnerships to fill the gaps. Those include working with cloud computing and storage outfits to help drive its autonomous vehicle initiative.

But partnerships go both ways. Froehlich says that his firm will license out its electric drivetrains to manufacturers that otherwise couldn’t develop their own — a move that would surely help it recoup those heavy R & D costs. Pretty forward thinking for a 100 year-old, eh? If this doesn’t work out, there’s always its connected motorcycle helmet business.

Via: Autoblog