LMcable Aims to Be World’s First USB Charging Cable With 2-in-1 Lightning and Micro USB Connector

LMcable is a new Kickstarter project aiming to be the world’s first cable containing a 2-in-1 connector that can charge both Lightning and Micro USB devices.

One side of the 2.4A charging cable has a Lightning connector for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and other Apple products, while the reverse side has a Micro USB connector for devices like select Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone smartphones.

The stitched leather cable is about 1 meter long and designed with tin-plated copper wires for increased durability. A basic brass buckle is included that allows you to coil the cable neatly so that it remains untangled.

Perhaps the biggest caveat of the LMcable is that it lacks MFi certification. Apple’s MFi Program has strict guidelines, so it remains questionable if a custom Lightning-Micro USB connector would ever be approved as an official accessory.

Another design tradeoff is that the cable lacks the reversibility of an official Lightning cable, meaning it can only be plugged into an iPhone in one direction like Apple’s old 30-pin docking cable or a traditional USB Type-A connector.

Nevertheless, LMcable is an interesting novelty that has exceeded its $5,000 AUD funding goal by nearly tenfold as of Tuesday morning. Like many other Kickstarter projects, however, there is no guarantee the cable will ever ship to customers.

Those interested can pledge $21 AUD on Kickstarter to receive one cable, or $43 AUD to receive three cables, in Sunlight White, Vintage Brown, Moonlight Black, or Cowboy Blue. LMcable aims to begin shipping in mid-April barring any unforeseen delays.

Tags: Kickstarter, Lightning, Micro USB
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Apple Seeds Fifth OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan Beta to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.4 update to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, just over a week after seeding the fourth OS X 10.11.4 beta and more than a month after releasing OS X 10.11.3. OS X 10.11.4 has been in testing since January 11.

The fifth OS X 10.11.4 beta, build 15E56a, can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center (developers only) or via the Software Update Mechanism in the Mac App Store (for developers and public beta testers).

OS X 10.11.4 offers a couple of new features, such as Live Photos support in Messages, the ability to password protect notes in the Notes app, and an option to import notes from Evernote, but like the recent OS X 10.11.3 update, it appears to focus primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements. Almost all of Apple’s OS X updates to date have been smaller updates that improve performance rather than introduce new features.

We’ll update this post with any features or significant changes that are discovered in the fifth beta of OS X 10.11.4. OS X 10.11.4 is likely to see a spring release alongside iOS 9.3, tvOS 9.2, and watchOS 2.2, with the new software coming as early as March 21, the date of Apple’s planned spring event.

Related Roundup: OS X El Capitan
Tag: OS X 10.11.4
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Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of tvOS 9.2 to Developers

Apple today provided developers with the fifth beta of an upcoming 9.2 update to tvOS, the operating system that runs on the fourth-generation Apple TV and powers its built-in App Store. Today’s tvOS 9.2 beta 5 comes just over a week after Apple released the fourth beta of tvOS 9.2 and more than a month after the release of tvOS 9.1.1, a minor update to tvOS 9.1. tvOS 9.2 has been in testing since January 11.

tvOS betas are more difficult to install than beta updates for iOS and OS X. Installing the tvOS beta requires the Apple TV to be connected to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, with the software downloaded and installed via iTunes or Apple Configurator. Those who have already installed the first four tvOS 9.2 betas will be able to download the fifth update over the air.

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tvOS 9.2 is a significant update for the tvOS operating system and new features have been added continually throughout the beta testing process. It brings support for Bluetooth keyboards, allowing a keyboard to be paired to the Apple TV for text entry. Bluetooth keyboard support is a major feature that was missing from previous versions of tvOS and its addition should make it much easier to do tasks like entering passwords on the fourth-generation Apple TV.

Along with Bluetooth keyboard support, the tvOS 9.2 update introduces support for grouping apps into folders on the Home screen like on iOS devices, plus it includes a new look for the App Switcher interface and it brings support for iCloud Photo Library and Live Photos. There’s an update for the Apple TV Remote firmware, adding improved motion sensor performance and support for additional sound bar and receiver hardware.

Support for dictation allows Apple TV users to dictate text and spell user names and passwords rather than typing them in. Dictation capabilities are available in all countries where Siri is available on the Apple TV. With tvOS 9.2, Siri also gains the ability to search for App Store apps, improving app discovery. Siri can search for a specific app or bring up a category of apps, such as games.

tvOS 9.2 also introduces MapKit so developers can incorporate maps into their tvOS apps, and it adds Siri support for US Spanish (in the US only) and French Canadian (in Canada only). UK English, Australian English, and US English are also now available as Siri options in the UK, Australian, and US Storefronts when English is set as the tvOS language.

We’ll update this post with any new features that are discovered in the fifth beta of tvOS 9.2.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Tag: tvOS 9.2
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
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Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of WatchOS 2.2 to Developers

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming watchOS 2.2 update to developers, just over a week after seeding the fourth watchOS 2.2 beta and more than two months after releasing watchOS 2.1, the first major update to the watchOS 2 operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 2.2 has been in testing since January 11.

The fifth watchOS 2.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on an iPhone running the iOS 9.3 beta by going to General –> Software update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the Apple Watch charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.

watchOS 2.2, along with iOS 9.3, introduces support for pairing multiple Apple Watches with a single iPhone. Both updates are required, with each watch running watchOS 2.2 and each iPhone running iOS 9.3. watchOS 2.2 also includes a revamped look for the built-in Maps app on the Apple Watch with access to the Nearby feature first introduced with iOS 9 and new buttons for quickly accessing directions to home and work.

There were no other obvious outward-facing changes introduced in the first four watchOS 2.2 betas aside from the changes to the Maps app, but the update undoubtedly includes under-the-hood performance updates and bug fixes to address issues that have been discovered since the release of watchOS 2.1. WatchOS 2.2 is expected to debut in the spring, perhaps at Apple’s rumored March 21 event.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 2
Tag: watchOS 2.2
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of iOS 9.3 to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3 update to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, just over a week after seeding the fourth iOS 9.3 beta and three months after the public release of iOS 9.2, the last major update to iOS 9. iOS 9.3 has been in testing since January 11.

The fifth iOS 9.3 beta is available as an over-the-air update and through the iOS section of the Apple Developer Center (developers only).

As promised by Apple, today’s update restores full navigational functionality to the Apple Pencil. In earlier betas of iOS 9.3, the Apple Pencil has been unable to be used for tasks like selecting text, scrolling, swiping between apps, accessing menus, and general editing functions in non-drawing apps. The feature removal upset many iPad Pro users, leading Apple to confirm that its absence was only temporary.

As a major .1 update to the iOS 9 operating system, iOS 9.3 introduces several new features. There’s a Night Shift mode to reduce the amount of blue light iOS users are exposed to in the evening by shifting the iPad or iPhone display to a warmer (yellower) color spectrum, and there are several features designed to improve the iPad for Education program, such as multi-user login. Multi-user login, while an appealing feature, is limited to MDM customers and is not available to the general public.

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Multiple apps and features are also seeing updates in iOS 9.3. Apple News includes more personalized recommendations, faster updates, a landscape view on the iPhone, and support for in-line video, while Health includes a new Apple Watch-style “Activity” view, Notes has an option to password protect individual entries, and third-party apps can add songs to Apple Music.

Apple Music for CarPlay offers “New” and “For You” sections for better music discovery, and a Nearby Feature in CarPlay Maps offers more information about what’s close by. Paired with watchOS 2.2, an iPhone running iOS 9.3 is able to support multiple Apple Watches, and for iPhone 6s users, there are new Quick Actions for Weather, Settings, Compass, Health, App Store, and iTunes Store.

The second iOS 9.3 beta added a Control Center toggle for the Night Shift feature, while the third iOS 9.3 beta focused on fixing bugs and added Verizon Wi-Fi calling.

Related Roundup: iOS 9
Tag: iOS 9.3
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Avegant Glyph Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

I slipped the nosepiece on, adjusting the focus on the eyepieces. Sitting by the window on New Jersey Transit with a pair of headphones pulled down over my eyes, I was astonished more people weren’t staring at me when I lifted them to show my ticket to the conductor. But that’s the weird thing with eye-screens: you can’t see if other people are looking when they’re on.

What is this thing on my face, anyway?

The Avegant Glyph looks like an enormous pair of over-ear headphones with built-in screens in the headband, and that’s basically what they are. You can wear them pulled down over your eyes to watch and listen to things, or just flip them up and use them as headphones.

CNET en Español’s Juan Garzon models a pair.

Sarah Tew/CNET

This isn’t a virtual reality headset like Samsung Gear VR, although you might think it looks like one. It’s a head-mounted display with headphones that can plug into most video sources via HDMI. Head-mounted displays, or wear-on-your-head cinemas, go back years. We’ve reviewed a handful at CNET, such as the Sony HMZ-T1. They’re usually bad. The screens feel like compromises: small, or dim, or uncomfortable.

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The Glyph uses a totally different display technology. According to Avegant, there are no screens here: instead, it projects light off 2 million micro mirrors in the headset, then directly into your retinas. That sounds terrifying, but the idea isn’t much different from DLP, a TV technology popular in the early days of HDTV that’s still used in projectors. But in this case, the projector’s going in your eyes.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The Glyph Founder’s Edition — the $700 version that’s shipping to those who backed Avegant on Kickstarter or want to hop aboard now — comes with the headset, an HDMI and USB cable, four different nose pieces, and a carry pouch. It’s pretty self-contained. (There aren’t UK or Australia prices yet, but $700 converts to about £500 or AU$980.)

Like a little floating screen in a tiny theater

The Glyph’s display may not be a “screen” by Avegant’s description, but it looks and feels like one. Almost like a movie theater, actually. There’s a sense of a “box” in the headset, and the display being a little farther off. The display feels about the size of a 13-inch laptop in my lap, or my 5-inch phone held close to my face. But it’s bright — very bright. Colors are amazingly vivid, and light pops. It feels much brighter than an average MacBook or iPhone display. Sometimes it feels so bright that after I take the Glyph off, regular screens seem dull.

The lenses can be popped in to lie flush.

Sarah Tew/CNET

It’s also brighter than the Samsung Gear VR. A lot of people are going to want to know whether the Glyph feels like virtual reality, and it doesn’t. VR uses large magnifying lenses to expand the field of view to feel more immersive, at the expense (in phone VR, at least) of lower pixel density. Try out Netflix in Gear VR and you’ll find yourself in a virtual living room looking at a large virtual TV that’s lower-res than your real one.

The Glyph is a 720p-resolution display — the lowest possible resolution to be considered “high-definition” — but it generally looks crisp enough for most purposes, considering the “distance” I am from the image. Movies are sharp, games look great. I noticed “pixels” when reading smaller text.

HDMI in.

Sarah Tew/CNET

It can be connected to anything

The Glyph has a Micro HDMI port in its side, and comes with an HDMI-to-micro HDMI cable. You can plug into lots of devices. I connected to my PS4 and played Madden, Rocket League and The Witness. I hooked it up to my 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and it became my virtual computer display.

I’m wearing them now, as I’m typing on my laptop. The image is bright, the words crisp but small. It’s like my computer screen is hovering over my face. But that means I can’t see the keyboard easily. I mean, I can look down and see my fingers, but it’s out of focus. (I take my glasses off to wear these things.)

With an adapter, like Apple’s Lightning-to-HDMI, you can hook up your iPhone or iPad. It worked the same way hooking an iPhone to a TV does, mirroring everything. My apps were vertical, but movies and games could be played in landscape. I paired a SteelSeries Nimbus Bluetooth game controller, and suddenly I was porting into large-screen games like Geometry Wars like I was in an arcade.

It would be easier if this all went through USB-C.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Upside, and downsides

The Glyph lasts about 4 hours on a charge for video playback. You need to charge it up via Micro-USB. If you want to use the Glyph like a regular pair of headphones, it doesn’t drain any battery life.

Plugging a pair of video specs into your phone on the go can be a fun idea, but we’re not quite built for these devices yet. USB-C, the port that’s slowly spreading across tablets and phones, can handle video output. LG’s 360 VR headset takes advantage of it, but the Glyph needs a clunky adapter. And for regular headphone use, you’d need to pack a separate cable. To charge, you need a third.

The Avegant Glyph can handle 3D playback, and even head-mounted tracking for 360 videos, games, and controlling things like DJI drones. But 3D playback uses the funky side by side format, which you’d have to rip and side load onto your phone (I tried watching “The Avengers” in 3D on Glyph, and I’d say the effect isn’t worth it). The Glyph won’t work with 3D Blu-ray players, for instance.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The Glyph will track your head movements like a VR headset does (turning your head could let you look around in a 360-degree video, for instance), but head-tracking features aren’t fully live yet. Plugging the Glyph into a computer and also using the USB cable allows some head tracking to work, but only for a select few games and apps right now. On phones and tablets, head tracking isn’t active yet…but Avegant’s working on it.

Finally, the price: at $700, it’s in the same territory as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Or you could buy a Samsung phone with a Gear VR for about that same price, if you shop for the right model.

I miss my glasses.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Each eye takes some adjusting, too. The two lenses can be independently moved and focused. Even my severely myopic eyes (-9) could see through them. But getting the nose piece to fit right and the eyes to see properly takes fiddling. I still feel like the fit isn’t 100 percent perfect. You can pop other nose pieces in, raise and lower the nose piece…but would you really want that much effort when you’re traveling on a train?

I was able to wear the Glyph for an hour at a time, but my nose started to hurt. And I wondered if I’d miss my station on the train. You can see around you with the headset on, but there’s still a big band in front of your eyes. In headphone mode, the headband feels tight (the Gorilla Glass-covered lenses in the headband pop in with a press).

The future might be smaller sets of headphones you can see through. But the present probably doesn’t need them. Avegant’s dream is realized, and the displays look lovely. I’d consider these…in a lighter, more affordable form.

DJI Phantom 4 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

After years of testing all manner of electronics, I’ve had my share of accidents and mishaps. None have caused me the same level of gut-wrenching panic as a drone flying into a tree or my neighbor’s house.

This is one reason why obstacle avoidance is the “it” feature this year for consumer drones, and it’s what the new DJI Phantom 4 has over its predecessors and much of the competition. The stout quadcopter features a set of optical sensors up front — eyes that will help it navigate around obstacles within 0.7 to 15 meters (2.3 to 49 feet) of it or it will simply stop and hover until you pilot it away.

The drone can also use the sensors to avoid running into things on its way back to you if you trigger its Return-to-Home safety feature. This should mean you don’t have to worry if a building or some trees comes between you and the Phantom 4.

Joshua Goldman/CNET

Before you get too excited, though, this system is going to cost you: The Phantom 4 will sell for $1,399. (That converts to £1,005 for the UK and AU$1,960 in Australia, with availability in those countries yet to be announced.) It’s available for preorder through DJI.com as well as Apple.com, and DJI says customers will start receiving these orders on March 15. On that same day you’ll be able to buy them in DJI and Apple retail stores. It won’t be until March 23 that it will be available from other retailers for April 1 delivery.

Better video through autonomy

So yes, the Phantom 4 can use its optical sensors to avoid crashing into things when you’re piloting. But it can also use them to fly autonomously. ActiveTrack, a new mode available through DJI’s Go app, uses its new sensors to follow a subject. Follow Me features aren’t new to DJI or other drones, though they typically rely on GPS for tracking subjects, which requires the subject to carry the remote control or a beacon. It’s also not very accurate and can be slow to change course.

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Using ActiveTrack with the Phantom 4, you just tap your subject on screen and the drone starts following, keeping the camera centered on whoever or whatever you tapped. DJI says even if the subject changes shape or turns, or other people or objects enter the frame, the camera should stay on the selected subject. And you’ll still have full control of camera movements to get the shot you want, not just what the drone is giving you.

Another mode called TapFly pretty much does what the name implies: Double tap on a point on screen and the Phantom 4 will fly there, avoiding obstacles along the way. Tap another point and it will transition and pilot its way there. Basically, it allows you to set up a flight path on the fly. If at any point you want to stop and think about your next move, a new Pause button on the controller will set the drone to stop and hover in place.

Ready to race?

Joshua Goldman/CNET

While previous Phantoms have been quick, they were made for photos and video, not racing. To add a bit more versatility to the Phantom 4, DJI streamlined the body and gimbal design and added a Sport mode. Flip a switch on the controller and the quadcopter will angle forward and fly at speeds of nearly 45 mph (72 kph). It can also ascend and descend faster, so you can set up your shot that much faster or just have fun racing around.

DJI is promising flight times up to 28 minutes (not at 45 mph, though) due to a new more powerful battery, improved motors, power management and the redesigned chassis. That’s only 5 minutes more than the Phantom 3 Professional, but it could mean the difference between getting your shot or not.

Speaking of getting your shot, the camera is for the most part unchanged from the Phantom 3 Professional’s excellent shooter. DJI says it added a slow-motion option capturing 1080p at 120fps and it has improved the lens so there’s less chromatic aberration and better corner sharpness.

That’s good, because the camera is permanently attached, which means it can’t even be removed for easier travel, let alone an upgrade down the road. Similarly, while the landing gear is shorter and wider for stable landings, it too is fixed to the body, so it can’t be packed flat. Quibbles, maybe, but at $1,400, an upgrade path and collapsable or removable legs would be nice.

What is a DAC, and why should I care about having a good one?

LG already has a DAC in the V10 and is bringing another (from Bang & Olufsen!) as an option to the LG G5.

A DAC is a Digital-to-Analog Converter. We’re going to focus on how things relate to your smartphone, but a lot of other things you probably have — like a DVD player or a computer — also have a DAC inside and they work the same way. A DAC has one task — convert digital audio information into an analog signal that can be sent out to a speaker or amplifier.

While that’s the correct and simple definition of a DAC, it’s important to understand the difference between digital audio data and analog signals to see why having a good DAC matters.

Science!

An analog signal is an electrical waveform that’s analogous (see what I did there?) to the pressure of a sound wave that your ears can hear. Higher pressures are represented by higher voltage, and translate into higher frequencies and louder sounds. A microphone takes sounds that you can hear and turns them into an analog electrical signal. Speakers — or headphones or an amplifier — take that waveform and turn it back into sounds that you can hear. What happens between those two stages is where a DAC comes into play.

Every phone has a DAC. Every Bluetooth headset has a DAC. Every device that lets you listen to a digital audio file has a DAC.

A good example of how you can “store” an analog signal is using vinyl. A record’s grooves force a needle to move, skip, jump and vibrate to create an analog waveform that’s sent to an amp, which is made strong enough for a set of speakers to play. But that’s hardly practical when you’re looking for something portable. You need to store the audio information digitally if you want things to fit into your pocket.

To do that, you sample an analog signal over time, and store that data as 1s and 0s inside an audio file. CD-quality audio — 16-bit at 44,100 Hertz — creates audio samples up to 65,535 data points in size, 44,100 times per second. 24-bit audio can have up to 16,777,216 data points per sample, and 32-bit audio can have a whopping 4,294,967,296 points of data. The more data you store, and the more frequently you sample, the higher the file size and higher the audio quality. There are other variables like oversampling and floating-point numbers behind the science, but this is a basic breakdown.

“Lossy” file formats — like MP3 — take source audio and use compression algorithms that reduce the amount of data needed to produce a copy that’s close to the original. Our CD quality example from above has its file size reduced by about 90 percent when converted to a 128 kbit/s MP3 file. It also will still sound OK to most people, which is the goal. By reducing the size of the file, streaming the audio also requires less network bandwidth and speed. But you still need a DAC to play it back because it’s still a digital file.

When you play an audio file that’s stored on your phone, the digital data is sent to a DAC to be converted into an analog signal that you can hear. Every phone has a DAC. Every Bluetooth headset has a DAC. Every device that lets you listen to a digital audio file has a DAC.

Not all DACs are created equally

The phone you have in your hands now also has a DAC in it. You plug in a set of headphones, or use the external speaker, and fire up an app that has sounds and you hear them. Even the little bloops and dings our phone make when we touch stuff or get a message require a DAC so that we can hear them. Every phone has a DAC — we just don’t usually talk about it. (And in most cases they’re not worth talking about.)

All an end-user really needs to do is use the right equipment to play lossless audio files. The rest is automatic.

To be perfectly clear — the DAC in your phone may not be a high-end processor that recreates sounds the way the audio producer intended them to be heard and all that audiophile jazz. But it may be perfectly acceptable to you, and that’s all that matters. DACs are easy when it comes to engineering, and even the low-quality ones do a fine job turning files into sounds. If you stream all of your music, this includes using Bluetooth to stream digital audio information from your phone to a Bluetooth speaker or headset that has its own DAC, your phone’s DAC isn’t quite as important. Audio designed to be streamed is stored in what’s called a “lossy” format so it can be transferred faster with fewer “mistakes.” And for most people, the quality is fine and we just enjoy the tunes.

Other people want higher-quality audio. The term “audiophile” gets thrown around, but you don’t have to care about the science and technicalities to enjoy music that’s a bit cleaner than average. It’s a fun hobby to have, but all an end-user really needs to do is use the right equipment to play lossless audio files. The rest is automatic. If the DAC you’re using isn’t able to process audio at the same (or better) quality in bitrate and frequency as your source files, you won’t have the “better” audio lossless files can provide. You’ll still be able to play them, but at a lower quality.

The technology we have now to produce high-resolution digital audio files and play them back means all you need to do is have a 24-bit DAC with a decent headphone amp and a pair of headphones with the right impedance. There are a lot of terms like “quantization” and “SNR” that are used to debate things, but the limits of integrated circuits mean that 21-bit audio is the point of diminished return, and anything higher doesn’t really bring “better” sound to the table. You can buy 32-bit 192kHZ remastered audio files, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t, but right now you’ll probably not notice any difference in sound from a 24-bit recording. You will be ready in case advancements in technology change how we create digital audio, and how it’s converted to analog, and if any of it changes the 124 dB SNR limit of today’s equipment. Even then, you might not hear any difference. But it will be fun to try.

I’m a person who wants music to sound the best it can when I listen to it. I like to geek out over signal-to-noise ratios and dynamic range and dither, but when it comes right down to it I’m pretty satisfied with my current portable setup — the LG V10 and a pair of Sony MDR7506 over the ear headphones. When I’m buying music I look for 24-bit/48kHZ files, and when I’m making music I store it at 24-bit/384kHZ as a “master” file, with a 24-bit/48k copy to listen to.

The people making our phones are starting to care about audio quality once again. This is great news for everyone, even if you’re not an audiophile nerd. A good DAC will make even streamed music sound better, and a decent set of headphones are pretty affordable. I’m still not very keen on the LG G5 and the swappable module setup, but I am looking forward to trying one with the B&O DAC to see if it will replace my V10.

Audio quality in 2016 is where camera quality was in 2015. Expect to hear good things.

McDonalds Sweden transforms the iconic Happy Meal box into a VR headset

McDonalds in Sweden is launching a new promotion that will enable those who purchase a Happy Meal the ability to turn the iconic packaging into a Google Glass-like virtual reality experience. Simply pop in your smartphone and you’re good to go. Just 3,500 Happy Meal boxes will be made available at 14 restaurants over the next two weekends.

Since we’re talking about VR experiences, you’ll need to pay out more for these special boxes, which will set you back around $4.10. From the Adweek report:

“The push is tied to the Swedish “Sportlov” recreational holiday, during which many families go skiing. With this in mind, McD’s created a ski-themed VR game, “Slope Stars,” for use with the oggles (though they work just as well with any mobile VR experience). The game can also be played in a less immersive fashion without them. To turn the iconic red boxes into Happy Goggles, just tear along some perforated lines and fold, inserting the VR lenses (included) and a smartphone (bring your own).”

It’s a pretty neat promotion that will enable the company to better immerse kids into its own world of wonders.

Join Android Central live with IDEAA and Cyanogen Inc!

When you mix developer conference and casual meetup, a lot of nerdy fun happens.

The folks at IDEAA have spent the last couple of years building an impressive series of events that anyone can feel comfortable attending. Starting with the Big Android BBQ in Texas, these events have focused on offering something for everyone. Part developer conference, part social gathering, and typically a really great time. Last year this team expanded their events to both Coasts in the US as well as an international event, and this year the plan is to take things another step further. We’ve already seen ticket sales open up for several events, and now it’s time to talk with the event creators and their partners to learn more about what to expect this year.

To make sure you have a part in this experience, we’re having the conversation live so you can ask whatever questions you may have.

Join us at 7PM Eastern to chat with IDEAA President Aaron Kasten and Matteo Doni of March of the Droids to talk about the events they have planned for this spring. In that conversation, we’ll be joined by Ed Mancebo of Cyanogen Inc to talk about all of the things Cyanogen will be doing with these events. Chaitra Ramanathan of Udacity will also be joining to discuss their contribution to these IDEAA events.

Check out the Hangout on Air link below to get a reminder for the event, otherwise we’ll see you back here to watch it live.

Head to the Android Central Live event page