‘Contra’ for phones looks just as tough as the console versions

The Contra game series is notoriously tough (there’s a good reason it’s synonymous with the Konami code), and it doesn’t look like it’ll be any easier in its smartphone version. Konami and Tencent have released a trailer for Contra Mobile which shows that it’ll be just as frenetic as the console versions you’ve played in the past, complete with larger-than-life boss battles and turrets aplenty. There’s even a player-versus-player mode if you don’t think the AI is cutthroat enough.

The developers haven’t yet committed to a release date or even a US launch, but the mobile Contra be available on Android and iOS and (shocker) include microtransactions. Hopefully, that means paying for cosmetic features rather than must-haves like weapons and lives. It won’t be fun if you have to drop a few bucks just to make it past an arbitrarily difficult level, will it? Look at it this way, though: it’s good to see Konami doing something to maintain one of its famous game franchises.

Via: Polygon

Source: Contra: Neocity Warehouse (YouTube)

Apple’s encryption battle with the FBI is over, for now

The Department of Justice has dropped its case against Apple. After over a month of court motions, congressional hearings and public fights over circumventing the security of the iPhone 5C used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, the government has decided it doesn’t need Apple after all. Instead, the third party brought in to break Apple’s encryption has been successful according to court documents.

The court vacated the original motion today after getting a status report. It states:

The Court has reviewed the government’s Status Report, filed March 28, 2016. GOOD CAUSE HAVING BEEN SHOWN, the Court hereby VACATES the Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016.

This doesn’t come as a surprise. Right before both parties were to argue their case before magistrate judge Pym, the DoJ filed to vacate the hearing. According to that motion, a third party approached the FBI the weekend before the event with an alternative way to get into the iPhone. The government then had until April 5 to file a progress report on how the testing was coming along. That progress report was filed today and the case vacated.

In its motion the DoJ states:

The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by Court’s Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016.

Apple was surprised about last week’s filing to vacate the hearing, but vowed that if the case progressed, it would seek information about the party and the method used to hack into the iPhone. Now that the Justice Department has backed out, it can’t file for information about the researcher or the method used. According to the Guardian, the government has deemed the exploit classified.

The government had earlier stated that only Apple could circumvent the iPhone’s security measures. When it announced it had found a third party to break into the phone, that argument became pretty worthless in its case against the company.

This doesn’t mean that Apple is in the clear. The DoJ could ask the company to circumvent the security within a newer iPhone and this whole thing will start over again. For now, this is a victory for Apple and other companies that don’t want to break the encryption of their products even if compelled by law enforcement.

Via: USA Today

Steve Urkel’s car has been resurrected as an electric vehicle

Well, this is pretty adorable: A company is resurrecting Steve Urkel’s diminutive BMW Isetta as an electric vehicle. The Microlino comes from Switzerland’s Micro Mobility Systems, according to Wired, and it’ll sell the 880 pound personal vehicle for between $9,000 and $13,500. Production is scheduled to start in 2018. It’s rocking a 15-kilowatt electric motor that will bury the needle at an exhilarating 62 MPH, and its current 11-kWh lithium ion battery will go between 60 to 75 miles on a charge.

These specs won’t do anything for you if you’re looking for something to compete with that electric Corvette at the stoplight, but if you’d rather have an alternative to Nissan’s blandly named New Mobility Concept, the Smart Fortwo or Toyota’s i-Road, here’s your chance.

Isetta vs. Microlino

Posted by Microlino on Thursday, September 17, 2015

Source: Wired

Review: Prong PWR Case Adds a Folding Plug to Your iPhone 6/6s

While there are numerous battery cases for iPhones, the Prong PWR Case for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s differentiates itself with a built-in, collapsible wall charger. The folding prongs enable you to charge your iPhone by simply plugging it into a wall outlet, making it ideal for work, home, travel, or wherever receptacles are available.

Better yet, the PWR Case eliminates the need to have a Lightning charging cable wherever you go for cord-free convenience. But, as with all battery cases, there are important variables to consider before making your purchase, ranging from size and weight to battery capacity and price. Find out how the PWR Case stacks up ahead.

Design

The Prong PWR is a two-piece case consisting of a detachable outer battery pack with rear folding prongs, and a slimmer inner case that resembles a typical silicon bumper for iPhones. You place your iPhone in the bumper case, which slides into the sled-shaped, tapered battery pack with a built-in male Lightning connector.

You could technically fit a naked iPhone, or use another case, but the device would fit loosely inside the battery pack and could fall out.

The battery pack has a smooth polycarbonate finish that easily collects fingerprints and smudges, especially if you have oily or sweaty hands. The outer case has a small lightning logo between the folding prongs, but otherwise it has no outward-facing branding or markings. Inside the case is a debossed Prong logo and a regulatory label.

Meanwhile, the inner case has thermoplastic edges that should offer average protection against minor drops and scratches, and provide added grip that the iPhone 6s so desperately needs. The rear is covered by clear plastic, except for the area between the top antenna band and upper edge of the smartphone, which is exposed to avoid obstruction of the rear camera and dual-LED flash.

The side power button and volume controls are both covered by plastic that is easy to press, while there are small pass-through cutouts for the Lightning connector, 3.5mm headphone jack, speaker, and bottom microphone. When the outer battery case is attached, these ports are all covered by the thick polycarbonate shell.

The PWR is undeniably thick and heavy, which was likely an unavoidable design tradeoff in order to integrate folding prongs. As someone who wears skinny jeans, one of my main concerns with battery cases is pocketability, and the PWR has a noticeably tight fit in my front pocket that leaves little to no room for my keys or wallet.

The PWR is also tall, adding about half an inch of height to your device. While the iPhone 6s form factor allows for acceptable one-handed usage, using this case will move you into two-handed usage territory unless you consistently rely on Reachability. If you deliberately avoided a Plus-sized iPhone for this reason, you may find this to be a nuisance.

The two-piece design, however, helps to mitigate these problems if you are okay with leaving the outer battery pack behind at times.

This half-inch chin contains a wide speaker grille that channels the iPhone 6s audio from the bottom to the front of the smartphone, but the sound quality becomes somewhat muffled and tinnier in the process. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack opening with an extension adapter included in the box.

Functionality

PWR Case has a built-in 2,600 mAh lithium polymer rechargeable battery pack that delivers on Prong’s promise of up to 100% additional battery life. Comparatively, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s have 1,810 mAh and 1,715 mAh battery capacities respectively, so the PWR Case provides just over double the milliampere-hours on a full charge.

The folding prongs can charge both the internal iPhone battery and external battery pack simultaneously, or just the battery pack. The case took about two hours to fully charge from 0%. The charging level is indicated by four LED lights on the back of the case that can be seen on both the inside and outside of the shell.

A square button on the bottom of the PWR Case can be pressed to check the battery pack level and activate iPhone charging from backup battery. Holding the button down for 2-3 seconds will turn off the charging. Prong’s FAQ details how to reset or put your PWR Case in Sleep Mode.

The case delivers output of 5V/1A (5 watts), which is equal to Apple’s 5W USB Power Adapter and is the maximum charge rate that Apple allows for iPhone charging accessories. Prong also includes a Micro-USB cable in the box as a backup charging method, or to sync your iPhone with iTunes without detaching the outer battery case.

Meanwhile, the case has universal input that works with any 100-240V AC power outlet. However, the folding prongs can only be used with plugs in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and select countries in South America. Elsewhere, a plug adapter is needed. Prong says PWR Case has both UL and FCC safety certification.

Value

PWR Case for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s is available for $99 with a 2,500 mAh lithium polymer battery through Amazon and Prong’s website in four colors: black, clear, blue-black, and red-white. A larger 3,500 mAh capacity model is also listed for $119, but it is listed as out of stock on Prong’s website. PWR Case is not available for iPhone 6 Plus or iPhone 6s Plus models at this time.

At least one contributing factor to the PWR Case’s higher price is that it is certified under the MFi Program, meaning the accessory has been designed to connect specifically to iPhone and has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards. MFi accessories are often more expensive than uncertified products.

The baseline for comparison should be Anker’s Ultra Slim Extended Battery Case, which Wirecutter ranks as the best battery case for iPhone 6/6s. Anker’s MFi certified case is just $40, slimmer, and has a larger 2,850 mAh battery capacity, so your decision should primarily be based on whether you think folding prongs are worth 2.5x extra.

Many other MFi-certified iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s battery cases without folding prongs are available in the $50 to $130 range, including models from Incipio, iBattz, Odoyo, PowerSkin, LifeProof, Boostcase, OtterBox, and other accessory makers, so Prong’s PWR Case is on the higher end of prices compared to the overall market.

Pros

• Folding prongs
• Two-piece design
• Up to 100% extra battery life
• 1.0-1.2A quick charging
• LED charging level indicators
• MFi certified
• Sleep Mode
• Nice book-like magnetic packaging

Cons

• Big and bulky
• Higher-end price
• Makes one-handed usage difficult
• Speaker sounds muffled

Bottom Line

$60.

That’s the price difference between Prong’s PWR Case and Anker’s Ultra Slim Extended Battery Case for iPhone 6/6s.

If folding prongs are something you are looking for, the PWR Case is your best bet. Otherwise, consider Anker or other brands.

Tags: iPhone accessories, review, battery pack, Prong
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Justice Department Officially Drops Lawsuit Against Apple in Ongoing iPhone Unlocking Dispute

Apple’s ongoing fight with the U.S. government over an order that would require the company to unlock the iPhone 5c used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook has come to an end, after the Justice Department today announced plans to drop its case against Apple.

In a motion asking the court to vacate the original order, prosecutors said the FBI has been able to access the data stored on the iPhone 5c without Apple’s help, reports CNBC. From the court filing:

Applicant United States of America, by and through its counsel of record, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, hereby files this status report called for by the Court’s order issued on March 21, 2016.

The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook’s iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by Court’s Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016.

Accordingly, the government hereby requests that the Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016 be vacated.

Apple was scheduled to square off against the FBI in court on Tuesday, March 22, but just a day ahead of when the court date was set to take place, the FBI asked for a temporary postponement as it had discovered a way to access the iPhone that would not require Apple’s participation.

It later came out that the FBI had enlisted the help of Israeli mobile software developer Cellebrite, a company that offers “mobile forensic solutions” to help law enforcement agencies crack the encryption on smartphones to access data. The government has not disclosed the method used to obtain the information on the iPhone, stating only that it has been retrieved.

The withdrawal of the case brings the heated battle between Apple and the U.S. government to a close. The two have been fighting a very public debate over encryption and personal privacy, which kicked off when a court ordered Apple to help the FBI unlock the iPhone 5c in question.

Unlocking the iPhone would have required Apple to build a new version of iOS that bypassed iPhone passcode restrictions and provided the FBI with a way to enter passcodes electronically, something Apple staunchly refused to do as it would set a dangerous precedent for the future of device encryption.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Apple-FBI
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Apple to Announce Q2 2016 Earnings on April 25

Apple today updated its investor relations page to note it will announce its earnings for the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2016 on Monday, April 25.

The earnings release will provide a look at sales of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus following Apple’s record first quarter, which saw the company announce 74.8 million iPhone sales and $18.4 billion profit on $75.9 billion in revenue. Apple has warned that iPhone sales will decline in the March quarter, potentially leading to Apple’s first year-over-year decline since the iPhone was released in 2007.

During its first quarter earnings report, Apple provided Q2 2016 guidance of $50 to $53 billion in revenue and gross margin between 39 and 39.5 percent. Should Apple only take in $50 to $53 billion, the company will also see its first year-over-year revenue drop in 13 years.

The quarterly earnings statement will be released at 1:30 PM Pacific/4:30 PM Eastern, with a conference call to discuss the report taking place at 2:00 PM Pacific/5:00 PM Eastern. MacRumors will provide coverage of both the earnings release and conference call on April 25.
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (Review)

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is here and is undoubtedly one of the most attractive phones ever made. The curved display, or “infinity screen” as my friends have taken to calling it, is one of the most unique features on any phone out there. Samsung has tried to up its game this year by adding

X-mini Evolve Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The X-mini Evolve is the first wireless headphone from the company known for its capsule speakers.

Aloysius Low/CNET

X-mini, known for its line of capsule speakers, has branched out into the wireless headphone world with the X-mini Evolve, a $100 (£70 and AU$130) on-ear Bluetooth headphone that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker.

The Evolve is attractively designed and seems pretty well built for a $100 headphone. It’s also fairly comfortable for an on-ear headphone, though its snug fit may be an issue if you wear glasses because the headphones can press your ear into the frame of glasses, which creates a pain point after listening for a while.

Using the Evolve can be a little tricky at first. There are three buttons and a slider, which lets you choose between headphone and speaker modes, while the power button doubles as a pause. While the Evolve has + and – signs on the volume controls, they actually function as a forward and rewind first. You’ll have to hold on them to increase or decrease the volume.

While you can plug in an audio cable and use it in wired mode you’ll have to make sure the wireless mode is turned off first. Battery life is also rather good, with a claimed 30 hours of playback, and I had yet to recharge it during my time spent with it.

I like how the Evolve sounds. There’s decent clarity for a Bluetooth headphone and the bass, which is ample, isn’t over accentuated.

As for its performance as a Bluetooth speaker, it’s not bad. The Evolve comes with four drivers — two “internal” for headphone listening and two external for speaker mode.

If you’re wondering whether the sound leaks out when you’re in headphone mode, it doesn’t. The external drivers are only active when you’re in speaker mode.

Quick notes

• Ships internationally from X-mini’s website for $99
• Features four drivers, two “internal” and two external for use as speakers
• Capable of both wireless (Bluetooth) and wired modes

The X-mini Evolve folds up nicely into a compact size when you are not using it.

Aloysius Low/CNET

Samsung Galaxy S7 Active confirmed by Samsung, but not officially

It looks like Samsung is definitely readying a rugged version of its latest flagship – just like it’s done in past years.

According to Venture Beat’s Evan Blass, a listing for the Samsung Level app, which was recently updated in the Google Play Store, indicates that Samsung made a Galaxy S7 Active. The app is used to manage Samsung’s Bluetooth audio devices and now includes references to the S7 Active in its changelog. Alongside this unofficial confirmation, there is more evidence of the device.

A recent listing on export- and import-tracking website Zauba showed a 5.1-inch phone with the model number SM-G891A entering India, a country where many Samsung devices undergo software testing. Keep in mind the S6 Active (last year’s water- and dust- resistant version of the Galaxy S6) was exclusive to AT&T in the US and had the model number SM-G890A.

Based on this model number pattern, we can assume the device that recently entered India is the S7 Active. Samsung has been internally referring to the unannounced phone as Samsung Poseidon, Blass claimed, because the Active line features IP-68 certification for water and dust resistance.

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Active is rumoured to become available sometime around June. Stay tuned to Pocket-lint’s Samsung hub for related news.

Alexa tip: Wake up to any song on Spotify – CNET

Chris Monroe/CNET

Alexa is getting a lot smarter. With skills and more third-party support for smart home devices, you can order pizza and control your home using just your voice. You can ask what your car’s fuel level is, set recurring alarms and much, much more.

One of the most requested features and largest missed opportunities is the ability to play music tracks as an alarm sound, especially considering all the different music streaming services that are supported.

Currently, users are limited to a pretty standard set of alarm noises, as well as Alec Baldwin bragging about getting the early bird or Missy Elliot yelling at you for sleeping so late.

There is a way, however, to have Alexa play any song on Spotify as your alarm. Here’s how it’s done.

Pair your phone or tablet using Bluetooth

Currently, Alexa totally lacks the ability to play any music as an alarm. However, it works really well as an always-on Bluetooth speaker. This means you can pass on the alarm function to your mobile device.

First, you must pair your device with Alexa. Speak, “Alexa, pair.” This will put the speaker in pairing mode. From your mobile device, navigate to Bluetooth settings and select Echo-XXXX to complete the pairing.

Here’s everything the Amazon Echo can do…

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Download Alarmify

Natively from Android or iOS, you cannot play music from Spotify as an alarm sound either. Instead, you must download an application that will enable this functionality.

From your iOS device, open App Store and search for an app called Alarmify. If you’re using an Android device, open Play Store and search for the same app. Install the application.

Once downloaded, you will need to open Alarmify and log in to your Spotify account.

Set a Spotify alarm using Alarmify

Once your Spotify account is connected to Alarmify, you will need to create a new alarm.

Android: From the Android app, tap the plus button in the lower right corner to start creating a new alarm. Select a time for the alarm and the days that you want it to repeat, then tap Select Music. Choose whether you want a specific album, track, artist or playlist and tap the check mark in the upper right corner to save the alarm.

iOS: From the app, tap the plus sign in the middle right of the screen to create a new alarm and choose a time for the alarm to sound. Tap Save to create the alarm, and tap Choose Playlist. The first time you open this menu, it will take several seconds to load the entire list of playlists. If you don’t have a playlist you want to use as an alarm, you will need to open the Spotify app and create a new one. Select it in the list from within Alarmify and tap Done in the upper right corner.

Before going to bed, ensure that the mobile device is connected to the Echo via Bluetooth and open the Alarmify app. Tap Sleep when you’re ready to doze off and wait for the alarm to sound in the morning.