Google’s new MODE bands change the smartwatch game forever

Being together without being the same now also applies to watchbands.

Watch any of the Android Wear commercials, and you’ll see the same basic message. Take any smartwatch design you like, and the basic features will be the same. It’s a great message, and a fantastic embodiment of the overall Android motto right now. It looks like Google has plans to take that idea one step further with a new watchband tech called MODE, and to help introduce this idea to the world they’ve partnered up with Hadley Roma to release a collection of impressively designed watchbands.

Here’s a quick look at how it all works, and where you can get you hands on these bands.

MODE is an open-source replacement to the traditional method of attaching a watchband to a watch. In the past, you push a spring-loaded pin through the watchband and try to attach the pin to the lugs on your watch. If you were lucky the strap you bought would come with “quick release” pins that gave you a little lever to help make releasing the pin a little easier. MODE allows you to put the pin on the watch first, and use a simple toggle switch to lock the watchband onto the pin. The end result is a watchband that feels just like any other when attached to the watch, but is significantly faster to detach and re-attach at will.

If you’re a fan of swapping watchbands based on your activities this couldn’t be any easier or faster.

In some ways, MODE feels like an answer to Apple’s quick release straps for the Apple Watch. Apple’s design works well enough for its one watch design, but MODE will work for just about everything else. The watchbands made by Hadley Roma already support 16mm to 22mm watches, and are launching on the Google Store today in an impressive variety of colors and materials. We’ve been testing the white silicon band and the black leather band for a couple of days, and couldn’t be happier with the quality.

The silicon sport band is a higher quality than any of the sport bands that come with any Android Wear watch currently, and do a fantastic job keeping moisture away from your wrist. It’s also go a nice metal clasp, unlike some of the other sport bands we’ve come across. Meanwhile the leather band from Hadney Roma claims to be genuine Italian leather, and the soft underside of the watchband feels great. The narrow design helps make the Huawei Watch feel a little smaller on my wrist, and is absolutely an improvement over the included leather band from Huawei.

Given the quality of the materials and the use of a new connector, these watchbands are surprisingly affordable. The silicone band we’ve been testing will run you $50, and the leather option is available for $60. Compared to the $40+ you’ll find for replacement bands made by Motorola for the Moto 360, there’s a lot to like here. Given Google’s decision to open source the attachment tech, there’s no doubt we’ll see even more options available in the not-so-distant future.

It’s a cool new idea, and if you’re a fan of swapping watchbands based on your activities this couldn’t be any easier or faster. All we need to know now is which manufacturer will start offering these new designs as the default, which is absolutely what should happen next.

See at Amazon

See at Google

See at Best Buy

$100 million in funding puts real money into HTC’s virtual reality play

HTC has announced a new global accelerator program for virtual reality start-ups called Vive X. The $100 million investment will help provide expertise and mentorship to help the VR ecosystem continue to grow at a quick pace.With this, HTC hopes that these start-ups will be able to create valuable content for the Vive platform and get it to the market for everyone to enjoy.

Beijing, Taipei and San Francisco will be the first hubs open for start-ups to receive one-on-one attention, and HTC hopes to open more around the world in the future. Full details about the new investment from HTC into VR can be found below.

Press release:

HTC LAUNCHES GLOBAL ACCELERATOR PROGRAM FOR VIRTUAL REALITY START-UPS

Vive X to provide $100m investment, expertise and mentorship to help grow the VR ecosystem

26 April 2016 – HTC Corporation (“HTC”), a pioneer in innovative, smart technologies, today announced it is launching Vive X, a global accelerator program targeted at start-ups operating in the virtual reality (VR) space.

With a $100m investment fund led by HTC, the program is designed to help cultivate, foster and grow the global VR ecosystem by supporting start-ups and providing them with expertise, special access to advanced VR technology, financial investment, mentorship and unmatched go-to-market support – ultimately building them into valuable content producers or content enablers for the Vive platform.

Starting in three cities – Beijing, Taipei and San Francisco, with a view to rolling out across other global hubs in the near future – Vive X offers start-ups the opportunity to be based in one of those cities for an initial growth period, during which they will have access to funding, leading VR know-how, hands-on coaching, and office space. They will also be invited to demo days, where leading investors will be in attendance, and to HTC’s offices for intensive training with our first-party development studios and to meet key members of the Vive engineering and management teams.

In Beijing, Vive X will pilot in May 2016, when selected start-ups from around Asia will be invited to apply for the program, with the goal of enabling those companies to grow with the Vive platform. As in the other locations, Vive X in Beijing is targeted at accelerating entrance and growth for companies with proven success in the VR industry, with each participating start-up receiving cash investment in return for a small amount of equity. The program is open to companies from any industry that are creating content, tools, applications and accessories that enrich the VR ecosystem and end-user experience.

“We are very excited about gathering the brightest and the most creative minds to join Vive X. Virtual reality is changing the world, yet to do that effectively it needs a healthy eco-system to expand into the mass market. Through HTC Vive, we look forward to enabling global talent to create interesting and compelling content and to help shape the future of this industry,” said Cher Wang, Chairwoman and CEO of HTC.

Visit http://www.htcvive.com/us/vivex/ to learn more about Vive X and http://www.HTCVive.com to learn more about the HTC Vive.

YouTube app redesign taps into machine learning for better recommendations

Starting today, the YouTube Android app is getting a slightly updated look with more personal recommendations. Rolling out today, the most apparent change is a move to bigger thumbnails on YouTube’s home screen. Video thumbnails are now larger and now form a continuous feed, rather than being split into categories.

However, the most interesting change is the new recommendation system, which is build on machine learning. From Google:

This isn’t just a new coat of paint on the same old Home—we’ve coupled a fresh design with more relevant personalized recommendations that make it easier to discover videos you’ll be excited to watch. The new recommendation system is based on deep neural network technology, which means it can find patterns automatically and keep learning and improving as it goes. Every day, we recommend hundreds of millions of different videos on Home, billions of times, in 76 languages.

The updated look and recommendation engine are both rolling out now, so you should be able to check them out sooner rather than later.

Ford, Google and Uber form a group to push for self-driving cars

Some of the biggest names in transportation tech aren’t waiting around for the US to legalize self-driving cars — they’re determined to give the government a boost. Ford, Google, Lyft, Uber and Volvo have formed the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets in a bid to have officials “realize the safety and societal benefits” of autonomous vehicles. In other words, they’re going to advocate for federal laws and regulations that put self-driving technology on roads across the country.

Just where and how they’ll start isn’t clear. However, it won’t be shocking if the group turns up at the NHTSA’s second public hearing on self-driving car regulation on April 27th. We’ve asked some of the companies involved if they can shed light on their plans, and we’ll let you know if they have something to add at this early stage.

In some ways, this is more of a defensive measure than an attempt to fast-track new technology. The companies are worried that state-level legislation will make it difficult to build self-driving cars that you can legally use in every state. For example, California has proposed rules that would require controls and a licensed driver at the helm in case of an emergency — Google doesn’t like that this would render the cars useless for disabled people. The NHTSA is generally on the Coalition’s side (it wants to avoid a “patchwork” of rules), but the group’s members aren’t willing to leave anything to chance.

Source: Reuters

Google’s Mode Android Wear bands snap on for easy changes

If you want to change the band on your Android wear device, it takes a few minutes. Thanks to a new line of accessories Google, though, swapping out that wrist strap can be done in a matter of seconds. Google revealed its new Mode “snap-and-swap” bands today in 10 shades of leather and 6 different silicone hues. Each material is available in four widths, with the former starting at $60 while pricing on the latter starts at $50.

This first collection of bands from Hadley-Roma features a slider button on the inside that allows you to attach/detach a band quickly. Google says it wants to give the Android Wear faithful as many options as possible, so it’s sharing the mechanism with other accessory makers. It’s also making changing bands on those gadgets as easy as it is for owners of the Apple Watch. Of course, you’ll need to make sure your wearable device has the pin needed to accommodate the Mode bands — some Android-powered smartwatches do not. If you’re looking to nab one of the new straps, you can do so now from the Google Play store, Amazon and Best Buy.

Source: Google (Android Blog)

YouTube for iOS Gains Revamped Homepage With Better Recommendations

YouTube for iOS and Android is being updated with a new homepage starting today, replacing the small thumbnails that offered up recommended videos with a single in-line content stream that serves up ranked recommended videos based on an improved algorithm.

Whether you want to watch hilarious sketch comedy, your favorite vlogger, new let’s plays, or music videos, you should be able to see new videos you love every time you visit YouTube–right on your homepage. Starting today, when you open the YouTube app on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll experience a redesigned Home, with a clean and simple format that invites you to discover and enjoy.

With the single stream, video previews on the home screen are larger and easier to scroll through to find interesting content, much like the trending videos displayed in the Trending tab. The new algorithm, which is based on deep neural network technology, is able to refresh videos on a more frequent basis so content displayed is kept up to date and it’s able to present content that’s more relevant to each user’s tastes.

According to YouTube, people who have tested the new system spend more time watching fresh videos and content from their Subscriptions.

YouTube can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: YouTube
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