Of course you can buy a 24k gold iPhone SE studded with Swarovski crystals

Another iPhone release, another chance to cover the handset in precious metals and shiny rocks to sell it for staggering prices. This time Goldgenie has created 24K Gold, Rose Gold and Platinum versions of the iPhone SE. One of them is so fancy it will cost you more than most luxury cars at £54,400.

Not only will the iPhone SE be available in the pricey materials but it will also come in varying styles, including Swarovski covered versions.

There will be the iPhone SE Edition with a standard finish, Elite with all metallic rear, Superstar with waffle finish, Swarovski Style Bezel Top and Bottom Logo Elite with stones across the back, Swarovski Style Bezel and Logo Elite with edging stones, Swarovski Style Bezel Elite, Supernova with waffle finish and stones, plus Limited Edition Gulf State with special logo.

Pricing starts at £1,582 for the Edition in 24K Gold, £1,642 in Platinum and £1,618 in Rose Gold. The previously mentioned top end £54,400 price applies to the 18K gold Superstar handset only, so don’t expect there to be a lot of these made. The iPhone SE variants come in a Cherry Oak Finished Box for presentation. The phone itself is SIM free and unlocked.

The Goldgenie iPhone SE smartphones are available to pre-order now until 31 March when shipping will begin.

READ: Don’t dismiss the iPhone SE: 5 reasons to love Apple’s new iPhone

Apple 12-inch MacBook (2016) spotted, Intel Skylake expected soon

Despite no mention at Apple’s recent iPhone SE launch, a new 12-inch MacBook for 2016 is expected soon, after being spotted in Mac OS X.

It was inevitable that Apple would renew its MacBook for 2016 after it was released in March 2015. As March 2016 comes near to a close a reference to the new 12-inch MacBook has been reported by 9to5mac. The words: “12” MacBook (Early 2016)” were spotted in the Mac OS X Server application.

Previous reports suggested thinner 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models would appear this year, perhaps branded just MacBook as Air replacements. This may still happen but there isn’t a lot of evidence to support the claims.

After seeing the 12-inch MacBook (2016) mention in Apple’s software, one intrepid user dug a little deeper in OS X 10.11.4 Frequency Vectors and claims to have found references to Intel’s new Skylake processors in new MacBooks. Which new MacBooks these will appear in is unclear and with those rumours of thinner MacBook Air models for June, the new chip appearances may still be a while away.

The processors incoming are reported to be a 2.2GHz Intel Core m3-6Y30, 2.7GHz Intel Core m5-6Y54 and 3.10GHz Intel Core m7-6Y75.

When these will arrive is not clear but Apple writing “Early 2016” suggests we may see a MacBook refresh ahead of the WWDC event in June.

READ: New thinner Apple MacBook Air 13 and 15-inch should appear at WWDC 2016

9to5mac 

SteamVR recreates your PC desktop in virtual reality

Steam already offered (compatible) VR headset owners the ability to drag their (ugh!) two-dimensional games, kicking and screaming, into virtual reality with courtesy of its Desktop Theater mode. Now it’s bringing everything your PC shows into your VR headset. The Steam Desktop overlay pulls your PC desktop into its VR Dashboard, meaning early-adopting users can change settings (or read email?) without even taking their headset off.
You won’t need to reach for your mouse or trackpad either: the Vive controllers are integrated into the feature. You just need to press the Vive’s “system” button to visit your desktop. The new update also adds a workshop to let early adopter share their SteamVR backgrounds with others. Creations will then be listed, rateable and downloadable for other users — so make them pretty, folks.

Source: Steam

Amazon says it pays men and women equally

Over the last week, Amazon has been resisting pressure from investors and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to show gender pay statistics. However, it has now relented and revealed that women are effectively paid the same (99.9 percent) as men. In addition, it found the minority salaries are on par with white staffers doing the same work. The company’s diversity page shows that women make up 39 percent of the workforce, but hold just 24 percent of management positions. Those figures are above the norm for the technology industry, but well off the national average.

President Obama has been pushing for tougher gender pay legislation and the state of California recently passed legislation mandating equal pay for equal work. Activist investor Arjuna Capital asked nine tech companies, including Apple, Google and Amazon to reveal pay gaps and develop a plan to improve them. Amazon was the only company to resist, claiming Arjuna’s proposal was too “vague.” It asked the SEC if it could exclude the proposed ballot from its shareholder filing, but the regulator sided with Arjuna. As a result, Amazon voluntarily released the results after surveying employees.

“There will naturally be slight fluctuations from year to year, but at Amazon we are committed to keeping compensation fair and equitable,” the retail giant told the WSJ. In comparison, Apple also says it pays equally (other than stock options), while its workforce is just 31 percent female. However, women hold more management positions at Apple (28 percent), even though the executive suite is overwhelmingly male. In terms of overall diversity, Amazon is on nearly equal footing with Facebook and Google, and is considerably better than Microsoft. Overall, tech diversity is abysmal in the US compared to other sectors. (See our diversity report for 2015 tech company stats.)

Source: WSJ

Sky gets exclusive Formula 1 TV rights from 2019

The BBC’s decision to abandon its Formula 1 coverage has paved the way for an exclusive TV deal with Sky. Starting in 2019, Sky Sports will be the only place where Brits can watch each championship race. If you’re a motorsport fan, that means you’ll need a subscription to watch every blistering lap and crash. As part of the new deal, however, Sky has promised to show the British Grand Prix and other race highlights on a free-to-access Sky Sports channel. It will likely operate in a similar manner to BT Sport Showcase, which BT uses for free-to-watch football fixtures.

In addition, Sky will be airing “at least two” other races on Sky Sports Mix, an upcoming channel that will be available to all Sky TV customers. The idea is to give basic subscribers a taste of Sky Sports and ultimately persuade them to pay for a bolt-on package. From 2017, every race will also be offered in 4K to customers that have signed up for Sky Q.

The BBC used to have a contract covering a selection of Formula 1 races up until 2019. The broadcaster backed out last December, however, after reviewing its latest spending cuts. The coverage it had access to — 10 live races, as well as highlights from a further nine aired by Sky — have now moved to Channel 4. That new deal will continue to run for the next three years, up until the point when Sky’s exclusive rights kick in.

Ultimately, this means less Formula 1 coverage on terrestrial TV. It’s a trend that Brits have grown used to, as the BBC and ITV struggle to match the spending power of companies like Sky and BT. For Sky, it’s a long-term investment in its battle against BT Sport, which has hoovered up a wealth of live TV rights including the highly sought after Champions League. To stay competitive, Sky needs to buy and hold onto an equal slate of sporting competitions — Formula 1 will be just one part of that lineup.

Via: BBC News

Source: Sky (Press Release)

Government documents reveal Dyson is making an electric car

There might come a time when the image of a vacuum isn’t the first thing that pops into your head whenever someone says “Dyson.” It seems the company has received funding from the UK government yet again, this time to help finance the development of something much bigger than the 360 Eye: an electric vehicle. The Guardian has spotted a section in the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan published on gov.uk that talks about the project and the government’s “£174 million ($245 million) investment.”

It has since been removed from the document, which now only references the £16 million ($22.54 million) grant Dyson received for the research and development of battery technologies last week. A Dyson spokesperson also refused to confirm the report. Thankfully, The Guardian has a copy of the whole deleted bit:

“The government is funding Dyson to develop a new battery electric vehicle at their headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. This will secure £174m of investment in the area, creating over 500 jobs, mostly in engineering.”

If you’ll recall, Dyson snapped up a company called Sakti3 for $15 million back in 2015. Sakti3 was a promising University of Michigan spinoff, which developed batteries with double the life of even the best lithium-ion variants today. This acquisition, the government’s battery grant and this new funding could mean Dyson plans to go head-to-head with companies (like Tesla) that make both electric vehicles and their own batteries in the future.

Source: Financial Times, The Guardian

Apple Promotes Microsoft Office 365 as iPad Pro ‘Accessory’

Following the unveiling of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro at Apple’s media event on Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook described the device as the “ultimate PC replacement”. As if to underline that belief, the company has included a subscription option for Microsoft Office 365 in the iPad Pro ordering process on its website.

It’s unclear exactly when Apple added the Microsoft productivity suite to the online checkout process – it also appears when customers order the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, or iPad mini 4 – however the inclusion has raised a few eyebrows, not least because Apple usually positions its iWork suite as a better alternative to Microsoft’s Office apps.

More significantly perhaps, Microsoft already offers all of its mobile Office apps to Apple customers on the App Store for free (except, oddly, to users of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, since the larger tablet exceeds Microsoft’s official definition of a mobile device). By contrast, an Office 365 subscription gives users Mac and iPad access to Microsoft’s full suite of productivity apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more.

The move suggests Apple is heavily relying on the potential for Windows PC users to see the smaller iPad Pro as not only a Microsoft Surface beater, but also a complete desktop PC replacement that will draw them into the Apple ecosystem. Indeed, a look back at Monday’s event highlights just how much effort Apple is now putting into encouraging Windows desktop users to switch to iPad.

“There’s a second group of people that we’d love to reach with this iPad Pro: Windows users,” Apple’s senior VP Phil Schiller said during Monday’s event. “You may not know this, but the majority of people who come to an iPad Pro are coming from a Windows PC.”

Windows PCs were originally conceived of before there was an internet, before there was social media, before there was app stores, and this is an amazing statistic: There are over 600 million PCs in use today that are over five years old. This is really sad. It really is. These people could really benefit from an iPad Pro.

When they see the features and performance and capabilities of a product like the iPad Pro, designed for the modern digital lifestyle, many of them will find it is the ultimate PC replacement.

Apple remains the largest vendor in a declining tablet market, shipping 16.1 million iPads in the fourth calendar quarter of 2015. While the iPad continues to be the best-selling tablet, its worldwide market share remains only 24.5 percent despite the larger iPad Pro launching in early November. Despite that, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro outsold Microsoft Surface tablets in its debut quarter.

iPad sales have declined for eight consecutive quarters year-over-year due to, among other reasons, longer tablet refresh cycles compared to smartphones. Apple’s efforts to convince Windows PC users that an iPad Pro is a complete PC replacement appears to be the company’s latest big push in its larger efforts to reverse this trend.

A one-year, single-license Office 365 subscription on Apple’s website costs $69.95. A five-license subscription costs $99.95 and a four-year, two-license University download comes in at $79.95.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tag: Office 365
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Sony Announces Entry Into Smartphone Gaming Space With New Company ‘ForwardWorks’

Sony is forming a new company, ForwardWorks, that will be focused on providing gamers with “full-fledged game titles” on their smartphone (via The Verge). ForwardWorks will begin operations on April 1, the same day that Sony has announced of all of its various PlayStation arms are set to be joined under the unified umbrella brand Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The new company plans to create gaming experiences for users in Japan and Asia, but the company has hinted that there’s a possibility for expansion into other territories after initial launches in those countries. While ForwardWorks has yet to confirm the specific smartphone operating systems it will be launching games on, it did tease the content of the upcoming mobile experiences, which will “leverage the intellectual property” of Sony’s vast catalogue of well-known characters and franchises to use in each title.

ForwardWorks will leverage the intellectual property of the numerous PlayStation® dedicated software titles and its gaming characters as well as the knowledge and know-how of gaming development expertise which was acquired over the years with PlayStation® business to provide gaming application optimized for smart devices including smartphones* to users in Japan and Asia. The company will aim to deliver users with opportunity to casually enjoy full-fledged game titles in the new field of the smart device market.

The exact franchises in question that the Tokyo-based company plans to focus on have yet to be confirmed, but the terminology of the announcement suggests that ForwardWorks will be going a more traditional gaming route in transplanting its characters onto mobile than Nintendo has. Sony has tried to break into the smartphone game space before, specifically on Android, but the focus of its past initiative was more of a cross-platform synergy with the company’s game-ready PlayStation Vita handheld.

A shift to smartphone-only games is interesting, especially considering the library of classic franchises ForwardWorks could employ in clever ways to make up for the lack of tactile controller inputs. Nintendo has made a similar promise recently regarding the use of its most popular characters in upcoming mobile games, but its first game, Miitomo, has left most fans disappointed due to its sole focus on character creation and social network-skewing gameplay.

Tag: Sony
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Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

I don’t really get excited about new mice, but this week I saw a wireless gaming mouse that impressed the hell out of me.

For whatever reason there are some perceptions in tech — some that I’m guilty of myself — that make us believe and do weird things. Things like banging the desktop tower so that it magically boots or spam-clicking a frozen tab in a browser as if that’ll knock something loose. We’ve all done stuff like that.

There’s also a belief that a wireless mouse is always going to be slower to respond than one that’s wired. With the G900 Chaos Spectrum (yes, these are too many words for a mouse), Logitech is trying to dispel that myth.

Sarah Tew/CNET

After three years of research and development, it doesn’t appear that Logitech had to compromise much with the G900. Many of the features and its design are the result of direct feedback from the PC gaming community, the very audience the mouse is aimed at.

It’s important to keep that in mind because a lot of what makes the G900 a really cool mouse are details that people in that scene really care about.

Logitech went through was seems like an awful amount of trouble to prove its low latency claims by setting up a series of tests to analyze response time and performance under severe interference issues. But the most damning evidence is in the data they collected when comparing the G900’s click and motion latency to some of the wired competition. These results may not sound like a big deal for you, but it’s undoubtedly head-turning stuff for the professional player.

Logitech

According to Logitech’s data, the G900 had quicker click latency than the Steelseries Rival 300 and Razer Death Adder and better motion latency head to head with the Death Adder.

Logitech

For wireless interference tests, Logitech set up a situation where each mouse was set up on what sounds like a turntable — think of a treadmill for a mouse — and then bombarded it with wireless interference. Their tests show a constant circular pattern being drawn with the G900 and numerous skips and jumps with the competition.

Logitech

Logitech

Sure, these test scenarios are not typical of real world conditions, but they may be things that pro gamers experience in the world of eSports. This is a mouse for the ultra-competitive. At $150, it’s not exactly the practical choice for the casual user. (While international availability is unknown at this time, that price direct converts to about £101 and AU$199.)

Of course Logitech was in control of all these tests but they’re betting that third-party analysis will find similar results. While I can’t test the G900 like Logitech did in their controlled environment, I should be able to to notice any interference in an apartment building with tons of competing 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi signals.

I got my hands on a G900 this week and the first thing I noticed after picking it up was just how light the thing was. I couldn’t believe it. At 107 grams, it’s noticeably lighter than most mice, wired or wireless. It has a striking symmetrical design (which actually reminds me of the Batmobile) that makes it useable for righties and lefties. In fact, its two side thumb buttons can be magnetically placed on either side of the mouse, or you can opt to use all four. The customization is up to you. And of course, using Logitech’s gaming software, you can tweak the buttons and functionality of the mouse to your heart’s desire.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Those three years of development didn’t just result in a lighter weight. The G900 is a mouse constructed from the ground up, with a new way of approaching the plastic left and right click apparatuses. Without getting too technical, Logitech engineered a way to reduce the actuation fluctuation over time that mice can suffer, aimed at ensuring a more consistent force requirement over the life of the product.

I played a few rounds of Counter Strike: Global Offensive at a Logitech event and then Wolfenstein: The Old Blood and Fallout 4 back at the office. I think the mouse feels good overall, but its shape will likely take me some getting used to, coming from the G502. I like the placement of the thumb buttons and love the customization options they offer too.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The G900’s rechargeable battery is rated at 24 hours of use on single charge which can jump to 32 if the RGB LED light is turned off. The mouse ships with a USB charging cable that can also be used as a tether for the mouse. When it’s connected you don’t need the dongle. And if you’re curious about the G900’s sensor, it uses the PMW3366, still regarded as one of the best around.

I’ll continue to be testing the mouse and update this with some more thoughts, but you can try it out yourself in April for $150.

Apple opens pre-orders for the iPhone SE and new iPad Pro

Usually, a few days after an Apple event, I log on from Europe in the morning and wonder why so many American’s are still online. That day is iPhone pre-order day. That day is today, if you’re after the diminutive SE, or 9.7-inch iPad Pro, both announced on Monday. If you’re set on the phone, then your choices are fairly straight forward. It’s only available in (much-maligned) 16GB, and more reasonable 64GB editions costing $399 and $499 respectively — on all four main US carriers. If you’re trading up from an iPhone 5s or earlier, Apple will shave a few bucks off your payment plan, but you might be better off just selling your older handset privately.

If that new 9.7-inch iPad was more your jam, as usual, prices start highish ($599 for WiFi only and 32GB), and go all the way up to $1,029 if you want the fully loaded WiFi+Cellular model. And, of course that all new 256GB storage option. If you’re willing to line up, you’ll be able to pick up your new Apple swag next Thursday in store or have the iPad delivered and skip the human contact. The iPhone SE will test your patience a little more though, you’ll have to be able to handle the April 1 – 5 shipping window if you want that brought to your door.

Source: Apple