Maserati implements Android Auto support in the new Levante

Maserati has announced that the new Levante range will support Android Auto, thanks to the on-board high-resolution 8.4-inch touch screen display. The ability to connect your Android-powered smartphone to your vehicle is almost becoming standard across numerous ranges, allowing you to better focus on the road.

As well as Android Auto support, the new 2017 Maserati Levante comes with Harman’s Aha Connected services and infotainment experience.

“Thanks to its rotary controller, multi-touch screen and voice control, the powerful and fast infotainment system of the new Maserati Levante is easy to use. Its high-resolution 8,4″ SVGA screen provides sharp 3D graphics for the navigation system and a user experience equivalent to smartphones. The one-shot voice control covers the whole system, including Car Play and Android Auto modes. The system offers true plug-and-play for iPhones and Android smartphones and is designed to provide the same human machine interface (HMI) experience across all user menus. The system enables dual Bluetooth pairing and phone status as well as Bluetooth music playback from any source. With HARMAN’s Aha Connected Services, the infotainment system in the Maserati Levante also offers millions of high definition quality Internet radios, audio books, online GPS, and more.”

Should you be new to Android Auto, be sure to check out our helpful guides to get you started with the basics.

All About Android Auto

• Getting started with Android Auto
• List of compatible phones and cars
• Android Auto news
• Apps that work with Android Auto
• Join the Android Auto discussion!

Easily upgrade your car: Spotify, DAB and hands-free with Pure Highway 600

Pure, the digital radio specialist, has unveiled an in-car system that will turn any motor into a digital radio and Spotify friendly machine.

The Pure Highway 400 and Highway 600 are plug-and-play units that sit on a car’s dashboard and connect to the speaker system. Using a clear display, with button and voice controls, the Highway can be used to access DAB radio and Spotify without digging out your phone.

The Highway 600 also has a built-in microphone which lets it double as a hands-free kit so users can take calls via a Bluetooth connected phone, right through the car’s speakers.

One major advantage of in-car digital radio, aside from quality, is that it will switch between bands as you travel so listening is uninterrupted.

Another great feature is the ability to mark songs you like so the Highway can tag them. By pressing and holding the Go tagging feature when listening to a song you like the unit will save the track to a Pure Go playlist.

The Highway 600 can also be voice controlled via Apple’s Siri or Ok Google. This can be used for searching for things like the weather or for hands-free calling.

The Spotify use is for subscribing users only at this stage. The Pure Go tagging function also works for songs that are played via Spotify to add them to the Pure Go Spotify playlist.

The Highway units use an antenna that attaches to the windscreen. There is another cable that runs to the car’s power supply via the lighter port. Both of these can be hidden discreetly, says Pure.

The Pure Highway 400 will be £130 and the Highway 600 will be £150. Both will be exclusively available from Halfords in April.

READ: Geneva Motor Show 2016 in pictures: Bugatti, Ferrari, Aston, Audi and more

Libratone Zipp review: A sound Scandinavian success

Libratone is a Scandinavian company and does things a little differently. First, it likes its materials: whether woolly coats or similar, like with its Diva soundbar. Second, its products aren’t as outlandishly expensive as most things in Copenhagen.

The Libratone Zipp is a typically quirky product: the second-generation model (and entirely different from the vertical-zip-up-jacket version of 2012) this is the Zipp all-new, and it’s curiously larger than, well, pretty much any other portable speaker at this price point.

The company might not be the best known in the UK, but even so does it have the at-home and portable Bluetooth speaker market all zipped-up with the new Zipp? We’ve been listening for a week to take it all in.

Libratone Zipp review: Design

When the Zipp boxes arrived at the office – we also had a Zipp Mini delivered to test out multi-room and multi-speaker capabilities – we were baffled as to why they were so big. “This is a portable speaker”, so we thought, but perhaps not in the traditional sense.

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Sure, the Zipp has a hangy leather handle – much like other Danish manufacturer Bang & Olufsen also opts for in similar products – so it can be hung up, or be carted around while active thanks to its on-board battery. But the product’s overall 260mm height and 125mm diameter (without the hangy handle protrusion considered) make the Zipp, well, just large. Similar £200-odd portables tend to be diminutive by comparison.

Which isn’t necessarily a problem, because what you’re getting with the new Zipp is a lot for your money. That larger space means larger speakers and more bass than smaller constructions can manage. Plus it’s cylindrical by design, so sound is projected out through 360-degrees, rather than being in a predominant single direction.

As we alluded to, Libratone likes its materials and quirks, the Zipp’s point of distinction being – you guessed it – a zipper. Yep, an actual zip; one used to hold the external mesh jacket around the cylinder, sat above the rubberised white base.

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The point of the zip? You can swap out the jackets for other colours if you’re feeling a bit Ikea. Although we’ve tried and struggled to actually remove the red jacket of this particular review model. No biggie, though, we think it’s a rather fetching colour. There are also graphite, grey and blue (Lagoon) colour options to choose from, or sold-separately colour jackets with suitably silly names: orange (Signal), green (Atlantic Deep), and deep red (Sangria).

Libratone Zipp review: SoundSpaces & Bluetooth

Pairing via Bluetooth is no issue at all, with the Zipp found rapidly on our Macbook Air’s drop menu. The range has been decent too, even surviving being carted into a second room away from the source with the signal holding up well. Good job.

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But Libratone is more interested in pushing its SoundSpaces, the idea being a Wi-Fi/multi-room/synced app-based experience. Setting up is relatively simple, with everything prompted through the app – you’ll just need your Wi-Fi network to connect the speakers to the same network as your source device for a solid connection.

Everything can be controlled within the app too, from the volume to the speaker position (not physically, of course) to equalisation pre-set – each of which are named with practical name for “Voicing” and “Room Setting” sections. You can even click and drag two speakers together to form one space, which output together – it works really well (we tested the Zipp paired with the Zipp Mini).

The Zipp itself also houses physical controls in a light-up touchpanel up top. By default there’s the company’s “bird” logo/symbol, but press down and you can twirl a finger around the circular panel to dip or raise the volume, or press the left/right illumination arrows to skip tracks direct from the product. Sometimes that circular “twirl” control for volume adjustment can be fussy, but we like the haptic feedback and ability to stop music by covering the logo with your hand.

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We’ve tested the Zipp using three different phones: two Android and one iPhone. The latter works a treat, with AirPlay easily handling output if music is on-device, or other services – Spotify Connect, Tidal, Deezer, Apple Music and more – or firing up internet radio stations from within the Libratone app. Switch to Google Musice on Android and it’s a bit trickier to out audio, unless using a third party app via UPnP/DLNA – a limitation of Google rather than Libratone, though.

Libratone Zipp review: Sound

Where the Libratone really excels is with the sheer oomph of its audio output. We’ve seen a bunch of £179 speakers, such as the Beats Pill, flip-flop their way through tracks and miss out on bass. Not so the Zipp: although it’s £219, and a whole lot larger than said Pill, that reflects in the sound quality.

Bass kicks hard, to the point you can feel it resonate on whichever surface the Zipp is sat (if, of course it is). But this doesn’t overwhelm, with the likes of The Black Queen’s Fever Daydream album vocals cutting through those poppy kicks and basslines nicely.

However, we use the £900 Naim Mu-so and the Libratone Zipp couldn’t nearly be compared to the clarity of such a high-end device. For it’s £219, however, the Zipp is quite something, our only real criticism being that there’s the lack of overall clarity; it’s not the cleanest sound ever.

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Volume is also more than ample, with a 100W output big enough to fill a room, whether you’re casually working with a little background noise or want to go opposite and hear nothing else around you. The 360-degree output does a good job of firing sound all around, although the rotation of the speaker relative to your position will give a slightly different experience – so there are still some spots sweeter than others.

When the Zipp isn’t wired up to the mains – and there’s a UK and EU adapter in the box – its battery will give a full day’s use. We’ve been getting a full office day at considerable volume, so think around 8-hours per charge and you won’t be disappointed. You could, therefore, lob the Zipp in the car and have it as your outdoor picnic companion this summer, a task it’s more than equipped for.

Verdict

The Libratone Zipp is a total rework of its 2012 original. The new quirky zip-up design is fun, while the physical size – which perhaps makes it a bit too large to cart around outside of the house – lends well to stomping bass and audio output considering its £219 price point.

That’s the rub of it really: for only about £50 more than many smaller portable competitors, the Zipp gives an extra wallop of sound. If you’re after an at-home portable speaker then Libratone, whether you know the name or not, seems to have that corner of the market neatly zipped-up here.

Huawei P9 vs Huawei P8: What’s the rumoured difference?

Huawei has made several smartphone announcements over the last couple of months. Both the Mate S and the Mate 8 have been unveiled, the first in September of last year and the second in December, but fans are still waiting for the Chinese company’s next flagship.

The Huawei P9 has been the subject of rumours for several months, with many reports suggesting it will be unveiled in March, succeeding the P8 that launched in April 2015.

With plenty of speculation surrounding the new flagship, we have put the rumoured specs of the Huawei P9 up against the Huawei P8 to see what the differences are and what potential new features the next-generation of the P series could bring.

Huawei P9 vs Huawei P8 design

The Huawei P8 measures 144.9 x 72.1 x 6.4mm and weighs 144g, making it a very slim and light device. It has an all-metal build with a wide plastic antenna strip at the top of the device on the rear, where the camera is situated, and a thinner strip at the bottom. The Huawei logo sits towards the top of the device and it comes in Titanium Grey and Champagne Gold colour options.

There are currently no measurements rumoured for the P9 but we wouldn’t be surprised to see very similar numbers to the P8. Based on the leaked images, it looks as though the same metal build will be present, with the wide antenna strip at the top and a slightly slimmer strip at the bottom.

The P9 should see some design differences over its predecessor though, including a fingerprint sensor that appears to sit towards the top of the device on the rear. This would push the Huawei logo down slightly if the leaks are accurate. It also looks like there will be dual rear cameras so assuming the leaks are correct, the P9 will be easily distinguishable from the P8 from the back at least.

Huawei P9 vs Huawei P8 display

The Huawei P8 comes with a 5.2-inch display offering a Full HD resolution for a pixel density of 424ppi. Based on the rumours, it sounds as though the Huawei P9 will be offering the same size at least, but the resolution is currently up in the air.

Some reports have claimed we will see a Quad HD resolution on the P9, putting it in the same field as the recently announced LG G5 and the Samsung Galaxy S7. Other rumours have said Huawei will stick to Full HD however, with the justification being that the company doesn’t believe consumers want to trade battery life for resolution.

If the Huawei P9 arrives with a 5.2-inch display with a Full HD resolution, you can expect a very similar display experience to the Huawei P8. If it jumps the resolution up to Quad HD, it would mean a pixel density of 565ppi. This would result in crisper and sharper images on the P9 by comparison but whether the human eye could detect this at this size is questionable.

Huawei P9 vs Huawei P8 camera

The Huawei P8 offers a 13-megapixel rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture and optical image stabilisation on board. The company made a big deal about the camera when the device launched, which means expectations for the next device will be high.

Based on the rumours, the Huawei P9 might meet these expectations though. It has been reported the P9 will offer dual rear cameras and all the image leaks have supported this idea. It’s something Huawei’s cheaper brand Honor has done in the past and LG recently made the dual-lens rear camera idea more mainstream after launching the feature on its G5.

Speculation claims the P9 will have two 12-megapixel snappers on the rear, although two 13-megapixel sensors have also been rumoured so it is unclear which will feature at the moment. It certainly looks like there will be an improvement from the P8 however.

The front camera of the P9 has yet to be speculated upon but the P8 offers an 8-megapixel selfie snapper so we would expect around the same resolution for the P9, if not a little higher.

Huawei P9 vs P8 hardware and specs

The Huawei P8 features the company’s own Kirin 930 chip, supported by 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The battery capacity sits at 2680mAh and charging takes place via Micro-USB.

As you would expect, the Huawei P9 looks like it will offer a faster processor and upgraded specs. There is no word on what battery capacity the P9 will offer, or the amount of internal storage but both the chip and RAM have been speculated upon. The Kirin 950 chip has been reported, which is the same processor as the Mate 8, but other reports have also suggested the Kirin 955.

RAM isn’t clear either with 4GB and 6GB both suggested by different sources. It might be that the more powerful processor and increase in RAM are found within a different version of the P9 that is rumoured to launch alongside the standard flagship. What we can predict is the RAM will more than likely increase for the P9 over the P8 and a faster processor will be on board too. We will just need to wait a little for the specifics.

It also looks like USB Type-C will be on board the P9 based on some more recent leaks so expect faster charging and data transfer than the P8.

Huawei P9 vs P8 software

The Huawei P8 comes with Android Lollipop with the Huawei’s EMUI software over the top. The company adds something to almost every aspect of the Android stock software and we don’t expect this to be any different for the P9.

The Huawei P9 is expected to launch with Android Marshmallow with the EMUI over the top again, so expect a very familiar experience to the P8 with a few additions.

Huawei P9 vs P8 conclusion

The Huawei P9 has been heavily leaked over the last couple of months. Assuming the more recent leaks are accurate, it looks as though a similar design to the P8 will arrive but with the addition of dual cameras on the rear, a fingerprint sensor and USB Type-C.

You can expect an improved camera experience and a faster, upgraded processor, as well as the latest software but a familiar experience.

This is of course all based on speculation but it looks like the P9 will be a worthy upgrade for those with the P8 or an older P series device, especially if the camera or a fingerprint sensor are important to you. We will update this feature as more specs leak, as well as when we have the official details. For now, if you want to know more about the P9 you can read our rumour round up.

Google Photos gets some much-needed editing tools

When Google broke Photos out from Google+, there were a lot of benefits — a canny search algorithm, unlimited storage for compressed photos and more. One thing that got lost, however, was the Snapseed-based photo editing tool in G+ that gave users a decent option to Adobe’s Photoshop (Snapseed is still available as a standalone Android app, though). In the latest web-based version of Photos, Google has made some much-needed improvements to the editing tools.

For one thing, while you’re making edits, you can move between images and the system will save any changes. When you’re ready, you just have to hit “Done” or “Revert to Original” if you decide not to keep the tweaks. There’s also a new aspect ratio selector that lets you crop exactly to the original size, square, 4:3 or 16:9. So far, the tweaks haven’t appeared in the Photos smartphone apps, but it seems like a no-brainer that they’ll arrive there soon.

Source: Google+

Fast Voice Assistant App ‘Hound’ Comes to iOS, Takes on Siri

A new voice search and personal assistant app called Hound debuted on iOS yesterday that apparently outperforms Siri, Google Search and Cortana in terms of speed and recognition accuracy.

Developed by the creators of music-recognition app SoundHound, the new app provides extremely fast responses to complex, nested natural language queries with highly accurate results and location-based suggestions.

Hound uses a simple single-button interface similar to the Google Search app for users to tap and ask a question. Alternatively, users can say “Ok, Hound” to initiate a query, which can broach a multitude of subjects, including weather, GPS navigation, directions, Uber, web searches, and local hotel, bar and restaurant queries.

As well as stock price, flight status, date, time, alarm and timer requests, users can also activate a Shazam-style music recognition feature called “SoundHound Now”, which also responds to sung and hummed queries.

Many of the queries are already handled by Apple’s voice-activated personal assistant Siri, however it is Hound’s reaction speed, language translation and search accuracy that make the app particularly noteworthy, according to The Verge.

The app is so fast that it can produce near real-time translations of whole sentences in other languages, and it can spit back mounds of requested data faster than you could ever possibly glean it from Google with a keyboard.

[…]

The software’s true appeal is understanding questions within questions and sussing out human context. You can give it sprawling, absurd requests nested inside other requests like, “What is the population and capitals of Japan and China, their area in square miles, and the population of India, and the area codes of France, Germany, and Spain?” and Hound will give you the information just seconds later.

The developers are apparently reluctant to disclose how the app is able to perform so well compared to competing voice-activated services. However, SoundHound CEO Keyvan Mohajer puts it down to a new “speech-to-meaning” language processing technique.

In essence, while other digital assistant software translates what you speak into text and tries to figure out what you said, Hound supposedly skips that step and deciphers your speech as it hears it.

Despite Hound’s impressive abilities, iOS users will take some convincing to adopt the app in replace of Siri, which comes baked into Apple’s operating system and can be voice-activated at any time without having to open an app.

Hound is a free download on the U.S. App Store and is compatible with iPhone and iPad.

Tags: App Store, Siri
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Vivo Xplay5 Elite is the world’s first smartphone with 6GB of RAM

Vivo has unveiled its flagship phones for 2016, the Xplay5 and Xplay5 Elite. The Xplay5 features the Snapdragon 652 SoC with a modest (relatively speaking) 4GB of RAM, while the Xplay5 Elite is the first smartphone in the world to offer 6GB of RAM.

The all-metallic Xplay5 Elite offers Qualcomm’s latest SoC, the Snapdragon 820, clocked at 2.15GHz. You also get a 5.43-inch Super AMOLED display with dual-curved edges, 128GB internal storage, 16MP camera with the same sensor that’s used in the Mi 5 (Sony IMX298) with phase detection autofocus and dual-tone LED flash, 8MP camera at the front, LTE, Hi-Fi 3.0 (2*ES9028+OPA1612), Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, and a 3600mAh battery. The phone comes with a fingerprint scanner at the back, and runs Vivo’s Funtouch OS 2.6 atop Marshmallow.

Other than the Snapdragon 652 and 4GB of RAM, the standard Xplay5 is identical to the Elite model when it comes to hardware, sharing the same screen, camera, storage, and battery. On the software front, however, it is running Android 5.1 Lollipop, with Funtouch OS 2.5.1 on top.

The Xplay5 Elite will launch in China on March 8 for 4,288 RMB ($655), while the Xplay5 will retail for 3,698 RMB ($565). No word as yet on availability outside of China, but with Vivo targeting emerging markets in Asia, it is likely we’ll see the Xplay5 make its debut in other regions shortly.

Source: Vivo; Via: GSMArena

Geneva Motor Show 2016 in pictures: Bugatti, Ferrari, Aston, Audi and more

Every March, the auto industry gathers on neutral ground in Switzerland, coming together for one giant huzzah of an event, showing off its latest wares and new ideas to woo car buyers of tomorrow.

Of all the international shows, Geneva tends to be the best. Best that is, in terms of the sheer number of launches of cars. And best as in everyone’s here and trying hard – we’re not in Germany or France, where home pride tends to take over and make things a distinctly nationalist affair.

Geneva has become the home of supercar’s too: Ferrari has launched nearly all of its recent important models here, and this year’s no different – with the clumsily named, but neatly designed GTC4Lusso making its debut. Not to be outdone in the horsepower stakes, rival Lamborghini celebrated its own birthday by wheeling out a Centenario concept, and the fastest car in the world – the Bugati Veyron – is dead, replaced by what’s likely to be the new fastest car in the world: the Bugatti Chiron.

It’s not just about the unobtainable though, there’s everyday family stuff here too in the form of a fun and brightly coloured new Renault Scenic, a Prius-rival from Hyundai, a new Seat SUV and Toyota’s segment-busting C-HR.

Check out what you’ll be driving later in the year and beyond, plus what you’ll be able to see double-parked outside Harrods shortly, by glossing your eyes over our favourites from the show.

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Shocking news for PS4 fans, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End delayed again

The unthinkable has happened. PlayStation 4 owners will have to wait even longer to get their hands on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End; it’s been delayed even further.

Thankfully though, Sony claims it is only a two week extension. The last two announced delays put the game back months each time. It was originally coming out in the latter part of 2015, then 18 March, then 26 April.

Extra development time to ensure the game is perfect was the reason cited at the time, with Neil Druckmann and Bruce Stanley, the directors at developer Naughty Dog, saying the game “deserves every bit of the attention to detail, precise pacing and nuanced storytelling Naughty Dog is known for”.

READ: Hanging around with Nathan Drake: Pocket-lint chats to Nolan North about gaming superstardom

Now it is coming out on 10 May instead, and Sony holds its own hands up for the latest delay: “In an effort to meet the considerable worldwide demand, and to ensure that all gamers worldwide have the opportunity to play the game on day one, we have chosen to postpone the launch of the game by two weeks to allow for extra manufacturing time,” it said on the PlayStation blog.

Thankfully, from everything we’ve seen so far, the wait will have been worth it. The game is shaping up very nicely indeed. And with No Man’s Sky scheduled for a June release, Uncharted 4 will now spearhead a potentially good late-spring, early-summer for PlayStation fans.

Nasa funding quiet supersonic jet, a friendly Concorde for everyone

Nasa has set its sights a little closer to earth for once as it begins plans to help make supersonic airliners a reality once again.

The world famous and now retired Concorde was the last supersonic jet to take paying passengers into the air. But it wasn’t sustainable and has now been in retirement since 2003. For those of you who thought you’d missed the chance at ever hitting supersonic speeds and breaking the sound barrier, it’s not too late.

Nasa has given funding to Lockheed Martin to begin the preliminary design work for a supersonic airliner. The $20 million of funding is aimed to get the early design and prototyping stages taken care of, then the real funding can begin.

This project, dubbed Quiet Super Sonic Technology, is part of Nasa’s New Aviation Horizons X-planes plan. The idea is to create a supersonic jet that doesn’t create a sonic boom as it breaks the sound barrier but more of a gentle thud. These should make them commercially more friendly to those living nearby.

These initial plans should get the project to creating half-size, piloted demo planes by around 2020. Then some serious funding needs to be injected so we can get these up and running commercially. You listening Richard Branson?

READ: DJI Phantom 4: The drone that won’t crash and sees everything