Oculus Rift vs. HTC Vive: What we’ve learned after the reviews

Well, it’s finally happened. High-quality and immersive virtual reality is finally something anyone can have in their home — assuming you have a powerful PC and can shell out $600 for the Oculus Rift, or $800 for the HTC Vive. It’s the realization of decades worth of VR research and sci-fi speculation, and it could end up having as big a societal impact as the introduction of the internet and smartphones.

Now that I’ve had a few weeks with both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, it’s worth taking a step back to see how they really compare, as well as where the VR landscape might go from here. And of course, you should also read my full reviews of the Rift and Vive for more detailed impressions of their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Price

First off, the HTC Vive’s $800 retail price is going to hurt your wallet a lot more, compared to the $600 Oculus Rift. But really, if you’re already willing to spend that much, you probably won’t feel the price difference. Oculus users should squirrel away some money for its motion controllers, which are set to debut later this year, as well as additional sensors for room-scale VR.

Of course, those numbers don’t take into account the price of a powerful gaming PC. Oculus has partnered with the likes of Dell, Alienware and ASUS to offer rigs starting at $1,000, and if you were to build your own computer from scratch, it would probably cost around $700 to $800. Both VR solutions recommend an NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD R9 290 video cad, and at least an Intel Core i5 4590 or equivalent processor.

Ergonomics and comfort

Both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are lighter than the prototypes that came before, thank goodness. The Vive is heavier than the Rift, though, and it’s also a lot bulkier thanks to a plethora of cables coming out of the headset. The Vive is also a bit more front-heavy, which leads to additional strain on the front of your face.

Both devices give you a decent amount of flexibility with adjustable headstraps, but no matter what I did the Vive just wouldn’t sit as comfortably as the Rift, and its cables would also get in the way far more often.

I’ll admit, comfort is a very subjective thing. But while I managed to have the Oculus on for hours without much of an issue, the Vive always made its presence known, either by pressing down on my nose or forehead a bit too much. I’d also have to constantly readjust its cables. That’s the price you pay for room-scale VR today.

Graphics and immersion

Both the Rift and Vive feature two OLED displays running at 1200 by 1080 pixels each, so you won’t notice a resolution difference between them. The Vive’s displays appeared a bit sharper to my eyes, but not by a huge margin. For the most part, the quality of what you see will depend on your graphics card and CPU.

Both headsets handle head tracking in completely different ways: The Vive uses two base stations and a plethora of sensors on its front, whereas the Rift relies on a single sensor that sits on your desk. I didn’t have any trouble with head tracking for either device. The Vive’s method allows for room-scale VR, whereas the Rift at most lets you stand up from your chair and look around.

Of course, the Vive’s motion controllers help quite a bit when it comes to immersion. They effectively let you reach out and touch the virtual world. It doesn’t take long for you to get the hang of grabbing objects, or using realistic gestures to interact with games. The Rift, in comparison, relies on its bundled Xbox One controller to interact with games and VR demos for now.

Ultimately, the Vive simply has more “wow factor” when it comes to showing off the benefits of virtual reality.

Ecosystem

Unlike game console launches, you’ve got a rich selection of VR titles to play on both the Rift and Vive. Many titles, like Elite Dangerous, work across both platforms. Games that rely heavily on motion controls can only work on the Vive for now, but I’d bet many of them will also support Oculus once its new controllers land. There are only a few exclusive games at the moment, like Lucky’s Tale, an Oculus Studios title that’s bundled with every Rift, but we’ll definitely see even more of those over the next few years.

Again, it’s hard to say which platform is better. For the most part, you just have to look at the available titles and decide on what you’d actually like to play. If you want to go all-in on motion controls, the Vive is your place to start right now. But if you prefer slightly more traditional games with a VR twist, the Oculus will suit you better.

I’ve had incredible experiences on both platforms. Eve Valkyrie and Lucky’s Tale are simply tremendous on the Rift, while Valve’s bundle of VR mini games, The Lab, and The Brookhaven Experiment truly sell the benefits of motion controls.

So which should I get?

Just get both! Kidding. Really, you just have to look at the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and decide which suits you better. Personally, I prefer the comfort and games on the Oculus Rift, but I can’t deny that the Vive is much more immersive. When it comes to something I have to strap onto my head for hours, though, comfort matters more than anything else.

The $400 PlayStation VR could also be a decent option when it debuts later this year, especially if you already have a PlayStation 4. Just don’t expect an experience with the same level of fidelity that you’d get from the Rift or Vive on a powerful PC.

Alternatively, you could just avoid this entire first batch of VR hardware altogether. Everything will get cheaper next year, and you can expect followup headsets to fix plenty of ergonomic issues. If you’re jonesing for VR on a low budget, grab a Google Cardboard headset or Samsung’s $100 Gear VR (if you have a Samsung phone already).

Apple refused a court order to crack an iPhone in February

Now that the dust has (mostly) settled between the government and Apple over the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone 5c, we’re learning this isn’t the first time the firm has objected to breaking into its smartphones. In February, a Boston magistrate tried getting the iPhone-maker to provide “reasonable assistance” in extracting information from an alleged gang member’s handset, according to unsealed court documents obtained by Reuters. But, like in the case involving Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone, the tech juggernaut didn’t comply.

As magistrate Marianne Bowler explains, that sort of assistance entails:

“To the extent possible, extracting data from the device, copying the data from the device onto an external hard drive or other storage medium and returning the aforementioned storage medium to law enforcement.”

Exactly which model of iPhone was involved in this case, and whether or not the government’s “tool” for bypassing its security applies to this one aren’t clear at this point. If anything, though, this proves that Apple at least remains steadfast in not complying with any request to hack its own software — not just when there’s a highly public case involved. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment and will update this post should the company respond.

Source: Reuters

BlackBerry has two mid-range Android phones coming this year

Even though the Priv fell flat, BlackBerry is still trucking along with Android. The troubled company now plans to launch two mid-range Android phones later this year, reports The National. One phone will feature a physical keyboard, while the other will be a completely touchscreen device, according to BlackBerry CEO John Chen. While he didn’t have many details to share, Chen mentioned a potential $400 price, which would be a huge discount from the Priv, which launched at $699.

“We’re the only people who really secure Android, taking the security features of BlackBerry that everyone knows us for and make it more reachable for the market,” Chen said.

He reiterated that BlackBerry has no plans for new devices featuring the BB10 OS, though the company will still support the platform (it still has millions of customers using it, after all). Chen also isn’t giving up the idea of selling off BlackBerry’s handset division if it doesn’t shape up, an idea he’s floated since coming aboard in 2013.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: The National

Upgraded Tesla Model S rumored to arrive next week

Recently, Tesla’s world has revolved around the Model 3. But there’s more coming soon from the company. Rumors of an upgraded and pricier Model S began circulating last month, and now more details about that EV have emerged. According to CNET’s Tim Stevens, the overhauled Model S could debut as early as next week, based on information from sources inside Tesla. The report claims Tesla is set to make “luxury-minded” changes to its flagship vehicle, internally and externally, as Elon Musk’s team looks to compete against Audi, BMW and Mercedez-Benz.

This purported version of the Model S is said to bring a redesigned fascia front, as well as new seats and LED lights. Unfortunately, there’s no word on how much of a price hike this will come with, though it sounds like we’ll find that out sooner than expected. In the meantime, a Tesla spokesperson gave Engadget the following statement:

We don’t comment on rumor or speculation about future releases. Tesla is constantly innovating and adding new features to our vehicles to perpetually improve Tesla vehicles for our existing and future customers. We price our vehicles consistently throughout the world which requires us to adjust pricing to foreign currency exchange rates. We have let customers know that some price changes will take effect in early April. We always encourage those interested in purchasing Model S to place their order so they can start enjoying the many benefits of Model S today.

Source: CNET

This plastic could make paint scratches a thing of the past

Self-healing plastics are nothing new. In fact, IBM stumbled across the discovery of one such polymer by accident not too long ago. But now there’s a new Wolverine-like plastic stealing the headlines (okay, fine… ‘science journal’ headlines) and this time it hails from researchers at the University of Reading in the UK. The supramolecular polyurethane, developed with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, reportedly repairs itself at body temperature (98.6 degrees F or 37 degrees C). The new material’s unique properties allow it to “[flow] like a liquid” when its bonds are disrupted and reform, as its viscosity is lowered when damaged.

Since it’s been proven non-toxic to humans, researchers are evaluating this new polymer for eventual use in the healthcare industry. The project’s lead researcher Professor Wayne Hayes says this new material could extend the durability of bandages, reducing the potential to “damage healing skin” caused by frequently changing out the dressing. Or, adds Hayes, if engineered to gradually dissolve, it could also be used as stitches for surgical wounds.

The polymer’s even being touted as a boon for self-healing paints, which would help eliminate the appearance of scrapes and scratches on your car or even smartphone. No word on whether it’ll prevent your iPhone screen from cracking, though.

Via: Phys Org

Source: University of Reading

The Braven BRV-HD Bluetooth Speaker checks all the boxes (Review)

You’re searching for a Bluetooth speaker. They’re everywhere. Amazon is filled with them, and Google returns almost 27,000,000 (yes, twenty-seven million!) results. So, how do you decide what’s right for you?

First, you need to decide on what really matters. Sound quality? Build quality? Battery life? Waterproofing? Braven tried to check all four boxes with its BRV-HD speaker. On paper, it sounds great, but how does it fair in real world situations?

Physical Overview

When I first laid eyes on the Braven BRV-HD, the first thing I thought was “industrial.” The aircraft grade aluminum grill is bolted into a body built to take falls and still look great. This thing reminds me of a construction site, and I feel like it would fit in perfectly both on site and sitting around a fire with some friends on a summer night sharing some drinks.

The top of the speaker reveals a ridged design that reminds me of laces on a football. This thing is seriously easy to hold if you have big enough hands. The soft rubber texture provides awesome grip, and it only increases when it gets wet.

Dead center on top, we find a series of five buttons: Power, Call, Play, Minus and Plus. They’re set into the body of the speaker so you have to be looking directly at them in decent light to know what you’re pressing. The buttons don’t stick out like a sore thumb, which is nice, but there needs to be some sort of raised design or color added to the buttons to make them easier distinguish.

This thing is heavy. Really heavy. Braven says it’s over four pounds on its website, and it is every ounce of that. Carrying this in a backpack is the ideal situation. If you’re carrying it by hand or in a smaller handbag, it’s going to be rough. Part of the reason is because the body is so big. 10in x 3in x 4.3in doesn’t sound big, but it’s on the larger side for Bluetooth speakers.

Sound

But, that bigger body has its advantages. It houses the two drivers and two passive radiators to put out some serious sound. The best way to describe the sound from the Braven BRV-HD is powerful. It doesn’t hit every note perfectly but does a great job of projecting quality in the spaces it’s needed.

Dust collector

The highs and mids are well represented without being overpowering. You’re not going to hear instruments you’ve never noticed before in a song, but you will get a true representation of what the artist intended the song to sound like. Vocals sound great without outshining the instruments supporting them, and piercing instruments like cymbals don’t overreach into painful territory.

Where the BRV-HD is a bit weak is in the bass at medium to high volumes. You certainly won’t be rattling any windows due to the bass. It is decently represented at lower volumes but fails to scale as the volume climbs.

Songs from artists like Skrillex and Bassnectar felt a bit hollow on close inspection. Here’s the caveat with this observation – I don’t really think it matters that much. This speaker isn’t replacing your home theater system. It’s not replacing your computer speakers or your headphones. It’s for taking to the beach or hanging out with friends. Do you need a ton of bass when you’re having a couple of beers with your friends? I’d say no, and what the BRV-HD does provide is sufficient.

Features

Seriously. All the dust.

The BRV-HD isn’t all about excellent build quality and good sound quality. There are a ton of features packed in, too. One of my favorites is the ability to charge your phone while you play music through the speaker.

Not enough speakers have this feature. Streaming music can be harsh on your battery, and you probably don’t need an entire 28 hours of streaming battery life out of the BRV-HD in one sitting, so why not use some of that juice for your phone? The speaker packs an 8800 mAh battery inside, which is good for two full charges on your Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and plenty of battery left over for the speaker itself.

The BRV-HD is IPX3 certified, which in layman’s terms, means that it can withstand splashes. This isn’t something you want to try and drown to show off how cool it looks underwater or see what Nero sounds like from the bottom of a pool. Take it to the beach and feel good about being able to take it home in working condition.

Braven didn’t settle for the BRV-HD just being a good speaker. It’s a great speakerphone too. While there can be some interference when you answer a call while connected to the speaker, my experience overall was a positive one due to the noise-cancelling microphone.

If you’re in the market for a truly wireless experience, you can daisy-chain two Braven speakers (BRV-HD or Braven 8 series only) together. Unfortunately, I don’t have two so I can’t test this feature out myself, but if you have the cash, this is a really compelling selling point.

Conclusion

There are a million Bluetooth speakers out there. Everyone claims to be the best. Everyone claims to have stellar build quality and the best audio quality. Of course, they would, right? It’s all marketing speak.

But then, you run into a company like Braven. Braven’s BRV-HD speaker is marketed as a speaker that plays high-definition audio for 28 hours and has the build quality to take anything thrown at it. No hyperbole. No “we’re the best speaker in the history of sound”. They just deliver.

My daughter. The artist.

They’re certainly not perfect, but no one is. The bass could be a bit better represented and if the body could withstand a three-year old’s crayons, that would be wonderful, but this is truly a rugged, loud Bluetooth speaker worthy of the asking price.

Product link: Braven, Amazon

Dyson V8 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Dyson hopes this will be your next vacuum cleaner.

Luke Westaway/CNET

Dyson’s got a new version of its cordless vacuum cleaner, and hopes the V8 will convince those living in smaller abodes to ditch the bulky dirt-suckers of old, in favour of its trendy, stalk-like cleaning machines.

It’s not cheap though, starting at £450 or $600. (Australian prices are yet to be announced, but £450 converts to around AU$840.) It goes on sale in the UK today and in the US in August.

Harder, better, faster, quieter

The new model replaces 2014’s Dyson V6, and has a similar look to its predecessor, but boasts a number of improvements. The battery will now last up to 40 minutes, Dyson says, a significant improvement on the V6’s 20 minutes. That still doesn’t sound like a lot of battery, but should be plenty to give your whole home a once-over before you return the V8 to a power source.

The V8 is more powerful than the last model, but makes less noise.

Luke Westaway/CNET

Suction power itself has been boosted too, while the noise the vacuum makes has been reduced. This improvement is hard to measure (though Dyson boasts a reduction of 50 percent), but having heard the V8 running, it’s more of a high, airy whine than a jet-engine roar. I suspect you’d be able to conduct a conversation while it was going.

New dirt mechanism

A more understated — by in my opinion, far more valuable — addition is a new mechanism for emptying the V8’s drum. Anyone who’s used a Dyson vacuum cleaner will know that sometimes, opening the bottom of the plastic dirt-collection cylinder and emptying the collected mess means getting your fingers involved, reaching in to the drum itself to fish out chunks of dust and hair that have become wedged up against the filter.

A new dirt ejection method is one of the V8’s new features.

Luke Westaway/CNET

When you click the button to empty the V8, however, the entire filter lifts out of the drum, so there’s nothing for dirt to get stuck against. It remains to be seen how big an improvement this is in practice, but in theory at least this sounds like a much better way of ditching the dirt. The drum’s capacity has also been beefed up from that of the V6.

The V8 weighs a mere 2.6 kg (5.7 pounds), and Dyson’s tried to position components closer to your hand, so that it’s easier to lift the vacuum up and clean above you. If your curtains (or ceiling) could use a clean, you may appreciate that centre-of-gravity consideration.

Pricey cleaning tech

This is a cleaning head for hard floors. It comes with the pricer ‘Absolute’ model.

Luke Westaway/CNET

All those improvements will take a toll on your bank balance. The V8 is on sale today in the UK in two versions. The “Animal” version costs £450, while the even pricier “Absolute” model costs £500, but comes with the soft roller cleaner head for hard floors that you can see above. When in goes on sale in the US (from Dyson.com in August and other stores in September), it’ll replace the V6 Absolute at $600, with further details to come.

That’s a lot of cash to splash on a vacuum cleaner, so stay tuned for the full review, where we’ll see if the V8 justifies its significant price tag.

2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron review – Roadshow

The Good The 2016 Audi A3 e-tron’s electric motor offers a healthy 243 pound-feet of torque before the gasoline engine joins in, bringing the total output to 204 horsepower. The Audi Connect infotainment system offers 4G LTE data, useful for navigating and monitoring the PHEV’s charging remotely. The e-tron’s performance around town and while touring is quite good for an eco car.

The Bad With an EPA estimated 17 miles per charge (22 miles, as tested), the e-tron struggles to justify its plug-in hybrid price premium. Audi’s proprietary MMI connection smartphone connection is a separate paid option.

The Bottom Line The 2016 Audi A3 e-tron adds eco-friendliness and a bit of utility to the already premium A3, but it’s far from the best choice for plug-in hybrid efficiency or EV range.

The new 2016 A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid arrives in the United States this year, bringing the “sportback” body style with it. If your excitement for the latest Audi A3 was dampened when you learned that we’d only be getting a sedan for this generation, then prepare to turn the enthusiasm wick back up.

Electrified e-tron

The e-tron badge signifies that an Audi is electrified, but not necessarily fully electric. The A3 e-tron is a plug-in hybrid that uses both electric and gasoline engines.

The electric motor is a 102-horsepower unit that makes a very potent 243 pound-feet of torque. The e-motor is joined by a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine that adds 150 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque to the mix. However, hybrid math is never as simple as addition, so the total system output is stated at 204 peak horsepower. Combined torque is not stated, but probably not much more than the e-motor’s 243 pound-feet.

Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow

Power reaches the front wheels via a six-speed dual clutch automated transmission — which Audi calls S tronic. Sadly, the automaker’s quattro all-wheel drive system is not available, likely because AWD is typically less fuel efficient than FWD and efficiency is the whole point of this e-tron model.

The A3 e-tron can operate in four different hybrid and EV modes. The first mode, EV, uses only the electric motor for completely silent and emissions-free motoring. This is a full EV mode that is capable of achieving highway speeds. And with 243 pound-feet of torque on tap, the A3 e-tron feels very responsive around town.

The next mode, hybrid, is what the A3 defaults to once its battery reaches a critical level. When in this mode, the gasoline engine comes to life to deliver the sportback’s full cruising range. However, the gasoline engine almost never works alone; both motors are used in tandem, even past the EV mode’s range, to maximize efficiency.

The last two modes are variations on the hybrid mode. Battery hold is useful for maintaining the battery’s level during longer trips and preserving a bit of EV for a slower city or suburban segment near the trip’s end. Battery charge actively uses the gasoline motor to add EV range for use later in a trip, and because of its heavier use of the combustion engine, is the least efficient mode. (It’s far better and more efficient to tough it out until you can plug in, under most circumstances.)

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In addition to the four hybrid/EV modes, the A3 also features four Drive Select modes: Comfort is the default setting. Dynamic firms up the steering feel and tweaks the throttle and transmission programs to be more responsive and sporty. Auto, well, automatically adjusts these settings based on the driver’s inputs. The last setting seems like a vestigial one. The Individual mode is usually where the driver can mix and match modes for the various aspects of Drive Select, but in the A3 e-tron, the only option in this menu is steering, which makes this mode feel a bit redundant.

Toggling between Dynamic and Comfort didn’t really seem to affect the A3’s throttle responsiveness as much as I thought it would, but the difference in steering effort was noticeable. I found that I preferred the extra weight and feedback afforded by the dynamic mode and so spent most of my time in that mode. On a twisty bit of road, I was impressed by the handling. The e-tron feels heavier than the A3 sedan I tested last year, but not significantly so. Meanwhile, the reasonably wide 225mm aspect of the tires provided fairly good grip for low rolling-resistance rubber.

BlackBerry says it’ll launch two mid-range Android handsets in 2016

BlackBerry thinks the high-end phone market has gone soft, so it’s now dropping down a peg by zeroing in on the mid-range phone market.

The National spoke to the CEO of BlackBerry, John Chen, and claimed BlackBerry plans to launch two new Android phones this year, even though it just launched the Priv Android phone at the end of 2015. The company is eager to offer more devices because the Priv, which launched with a $700 price tag (now $650), was probably too high-end and expensive for people to consider.

“The fact that we came out with a high-end phone [as our first Android device] was probably not as wise as it should have been,” Chen told The National, while declining to say how many Privs were sold in the last quarter. “A lot of enterprise customers have said to us, ‘I want to buy your phone but $700 is a little too steep for me. I’m more interested in a $400 device’.”

BlackBerry sold 600,000 handsets during the quarter ending in March. It is unknown how many of those were Privs, but analysts forecasted it would move 850,000 handsets. Eager to meet expectations, Chen told ETTelcom.com he “truly” believes BlackBerry can make money in handsets and admitted he’d get out of the handset biz if the market won’t let him make it profitable.

Before that ever happens, however, BlackBerry will shift to the mid-range this year to improve its sales. The two phones it is planning will run Android, as the company is moving away from making BB10-powered handsets, and we know one of the phones will have a hardware keyboard while the other will be a full-touchscreen device. You can expect these devices to cost up to $400 each.

We don’t yet know about other features nor when the phones will retail.

You can buy the Vive at brick and mortar stores this summer

HTC announced on Friday that its new VR headset, the Vive, will be available for sale both online and off come this summer. The company is partnering with Microsoft Stores in the US and Canada — as well as Gamestop, but that’s only in America — to sell the devices in their retail locations.

The first set of Vive demo models will go to Microsoft’s flagship New York store, the Bellevue Square location in Washington, the store at Utah’s City Creek Center and the Park Meadows Mall store in Colorado. An additional 30 Microsoft Stores are scheduled to receive demo units throughout the rest of 2016. If you don’t live near one of those and just have to try out a Vive right now, ten Gamestop shops will receive their demo units by the end of this month.

As for actually buying a Vive, units won’t go on sale — like, you just walk up and buy one — until later this summer. However, if you want to pre-order from one of these stores, HTC will fulfill those requests by June.

Source: Polygon