BBC Bitesize app puts revision flashcards on your phone

It’s no secret that many teenagers, just like adults, are hopelessly addicted to their smartphones. With this in mind and exam season just around the corner, the BBC has launched an app for its popular Bitesize learning platform in the UK. It offers brief explainers and short, personalised revision flashcards for the core subjects — English, maths and science. These can include text, audio, video, infographics, quotes and quizzes. Whatever works best to make the information stick, basically.

For now the app is a supplement, rather than a replacement, for the Bitesize website, which offers a deeper and broader range of topics. The BBC says it will be updated over time, however, with additional subjects and new functionality. The advantage, of course, is that a mobile app should always be accessible, regardless of where the student is and how much time they have to kill. Instead of carrying a laptop or hefty revision textbook, they can pop open their smartphone while they’re waiting in line for…whatever it is students wait in line for these days. The cinema?

Via: BBC (Press Release)

Source: BBC Bitesize (Android)

LG’s Jason Statham ad is as weird as the G5

There’s no denying it: the LG G5 is weird. The Korean company is pitching its latest flagship as a do-everything device and selling a bunch of accessories called “Friends” that expand its capabilities. There’s a swappable battery, a camera grip, a VR headset, a VR camera, a high-res audio attachment and even a rolling robot. Our first impressions of the device, and its Friends, were good, but one question remained: How exactly would LG market the G5? The answer, at least initially, is an equally weird ad with Jason Statham:

Let’s unpack this. Throughout the minute-long spot, Statham’s face is literally everywhere. It starts with a bunch of Stathams huddled around an LG G5 on a crowded subway. A fight breaks out, before we randomly see the high-res audio attachment, and then switch to a Stathamized mother and baby. Cue cross-dressing Stathams played for laughs, and a quick shot of the camera grip.

A quick aside: Throughout the commercial, we see Statham clicking in modular accessories and batteries. In the real world, switching accessories (at least the ones that plug directly into the phone’s expansion port) requires the phone to turn off and boot up again. Small print on the ad points this out.

Some mayhem later, and the British model-turned-action-star’s face is now in a bank heist, where all the hostages are playing with G5s. We then briefly see the rolling robot and VR headset, before we switch to a Pamplona-esque running of the bulls, which is LG’s chance to highlight the VR camera:

Sorry, your browser doesn’t support HTML5 video.

It’s a terrible piece of filmmaking, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a terrible ad. It’s fun, and memorable — helped by the background track, Ievan Polkka, being one of the catchiest songs ever. The problem is, apart from a voiceover at the end stating that the phone has “a modular design,” it fails to explain why anyone would want a G5, or one its Friends.

Do you need to change the LG G5’s hardware to listen to music? What does that weird camera grip even do? Wait is that robot a camera? What’s that thing he holds up at the end? I know the answer to all those questions, but someone coming to the ad without knowing about the device will surely be confused. Hopefully LG follows up this spot with short looks at each of the accessories.

Tesla Unveils $35,000 Model 3 Electric Car, Shipping Late 2017

The highly anticipated Tesla Model 3 electric car was unveiled by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday night in a converted hangar in Los Angeles, California.

The company’s first mass-market electric car was driven onto a foggy stage in an extravagant unveiling, where Musk revealed that the Tesla Model 3 will seat five, and be able to cover at least 215 miles on one charge.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils the Model 3 in Los Angeles (Image: TechCrunch)
Musk said the standard Model 3 would be capable of zero to 60 miles per hour in less than 6 seconds, and will cost $35,000, which is half that of the company’s current flagship cars, the Model S sedan and Model X crossover.

Despite photo restrictions at the unveiling, TechCrunch was able to get some good shots of a red Model 3, which looks like a more sporty version of the company’s Model 5.

The Model 3 will also feature Autopilot for assisted driving and be future-proof for self-driving road use. Shipping begins late 2017, by which time Tesla says it will have doubled the number of charging stations worldwide and will include charging for free.

The Model 3 is Tesla’s attempt to bring electric cars to the mass market and is considered critical to the company’s future success.

Interest has been strong, with yesterday’s reservations for the Model 3 at Tesla stores and galleries – some of which are located directly adjacent to Apple retail stores – arguably eclipsing the launch of the iPhone SE. Musk later boasted on stage that the company had already secured 115,000 reservations before the car had even been revealed.

The full selection of photos of the red Model 3 is available on the TechCrunch site. The video below, posted by iVenyaWay, shows off Tesla’s new car in silver. A matte black option briefly features towards the end.

Apple is widely believed to be working on its own electric road vehicle, commonly referred to as the Apple Car, which Musk has called an “open secret” in the industry. According to Musk, the hundreds of engineers Apple has taken on make it clear there’s an electric car in the works.

Apple and Tesla have hired each other’s employees over the last couple of years, with Musk saying that Apple has hired away “very few people” from the car company despite offering $250,000 signing bonuses and 60 percent salary increases to its employees. Tesla meanwhile has hired nearly 150 Apple employees.

You can watch the full unveiling of the Tesla Model 3 here.

Related Roundup: Apple Car
Tag: Tesla
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Apple Patent Details Modular Smart Bands for Apple Watch

Apple has filed a patent application hinting that the company could be working on modular smart bands for the Apple Watch, allowing users to add functions such as wireless charging battery packs and GPS receivers to an existing timepiece (via AppleInsider).

The application, titled “Modular functional band links for wearable devices”, was published yesterday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and details strap designs with embedded electronic devices that connect via the Apple Watch’s diagnostics port.

Rather than building complex components into the Apple Watch chassis, the designs propose breaking functional units out into a range of separate watch band ‘links’ that can work serially or in parallel.

A number of Apple Watch accessories with added functionality are described in the patent, including batteries, displays, processors, electricity generators, GPS sensors, cameras, thermometers, blood pressure sensors, sweat sensors and speakers.

Arranged as links, the modules would connect to each other and to the 6-pin diagnostics port on the Apple Watch. In some cases, links also act as an external port for accepting electronic components, such as a SIM card or powered memory module.

Even before the launch of the Apple Watch, the inclusion of a diagnostics port on the device fueled speculation that Apple is planning to bring smart band accessories to market at some point in the future. However, if the patent is indicative of upcoming Apple Watch products, such a significant extension of functionality would more likely be held back for inclusion in a second-generation device. Apple Watch 2 is expected to launch later in the year.

Apple refreshed its Apple Watch lineup on March 21, 2016, introducing new spring colors in yellows, blues, and pinks, along with new Nylon Apple Watch bands.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 2
Tag: appleinsider.com
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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Quantum Break review – CNET

The Good Quantum Break features a spectacular set of special effects and in-game visuals. The game’s time powers are undeniably cool. The TV show element provides a unique experience that connects the game’s complex story.

The Bad Although pretty to look at, a lot of the game’s action feels repetitive and uninspired. The TV show might not be for everyone.

The Bottom Line Quantum Break is a unique videogame/live-action TV show hybrid that features dazzling visual effects and presentation. Even though its gameplay falls a bit short the whole package is probably worth experiencing — just maybe not at full price.

A lot of Quantum Break is about the struggle of duality.

On one hand, the game is like nothing you’ve ever seen before, with its blend of time travel powers, striking visual effects and live action TV episodes. Yet on the other, it cowers into a trite presentation of cookie-cutter gameplay that painfully conflicts with its otherwise big ambitions.

I enjoyed playing through Quantum Break, but a part of me could not let go of what could have been.

Remedy Entertainment

In the game you play as Jack Joyce (played by Shawn Ashmore), who through an old friend (Aidan Gillen), finds himself at the center of a time travel experiment gone wrong. The accident leaves Joyce with powers that let him manipulate time. You’ll use these to get the drop on enemies and progress through some light puzzle solving.

These powers are meant to be chained together to pull off successions of great triumph, but they don’t always allow for the smoothest of transitions. While they look superb, they can also handcuff you at inopportune moments.

At its core, Quantum Break is a third-person-shooter. And just like developer Remedy Entertainment has done in the past (see Alan Wake and Max Payne), you’ll clear out area after area of enemies until a cutscene pushes the story further.

Almost immediately your character is pursued with deadly force by what appears to be some kind of SWAT team and you’re put into a situation where you must kill nearly everyone you come into contact with.

Remedy Entertainment

I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting the gameplay to boil down to, but it’s probably my biggest letdown with the title as a whole. It’s undeniably stunning to watch and can make for some really satisfying sequences, but about a third of the way through I started to feel like I was continuously witnessing rehashed gameplay wrapped up in dazzling particle and lighting effects.

Overall there is not a wide variety of enemies and some of them are victims of subpar AI — not to mention the heaviest soldiers are bested way too easily. There’s a light upgrade system in place that can flesh out your time powers, but you’ll quickly realize there’s only a few items you’ll need to max out.

So there you have it. Quantum Break beats a dead horse with its gameplay. But what about everything else?

Graphically, Quantum Break definitely impresses. You’re guaranteed to experience a handful of “whoa, cool,” moments for sure. There’s a rippling time glitch effect that’s used nearly every step of the way and it’s endlessly satisfying.

Performance-wise the game does well for the most part, but it’s obviously pushing the Xbox One to its edge. Quantum Break can feel sluggish at times and has a slight control latency that you’ll just need to get used to. For a shooter it’s a bit of a handicap.

Remedy Entertainment

On the narrative side, things are a bit of a mixed bag. No one would ever deny that Remedy Entertainment takes storytelling seriously, but the game’s relentless barrage of collectible emails and the like isn’t the way to do it anymore. In a game that features tons of exposition at every turn I just can’t bring myself to scroll through hundreds of pages of backstory.

Bose SoundTouch 10 review – CNET

The Good The Bose SoundTouch 10 is a very compact speaker that plays much bigger than its size would indicate, and it offers convenience features like Bluetooth and shortcut buttons. The app is pleasant to use and most functions are straightforward. The sound is impressive with surprisingly punchy bass (for a small speaker) and an articulate, exciting midrange.

The Bad The revealing nature of the speaker means some genres of music can sound a little harsh at higher volumes. There’s no mute button no integrated battery for on-the-go use. The competing Sonos offers more services over Wi-Fi, more sound-tailoring features and a superior app.

The Bottom Line The affordable Bose SoundTouch 10 is an impressive sounding compact Wi-Fi wireless speaker that also offers Bluetooth connectivity.

Bose’s SoundTouch 10 is the smallest and least expensive Wi-Fi speaker in the company’s line of DIY wireless multiroom audio systems, all of which added Bluetooth to their features list in late 2015.

At $200, £160 or AU$299, the SoundTouch 10 competes with Sonos’ Play:1 speaker. It’s similar in size, though the Bose is taller and thinner, measuring 8.34 by 5.56 by 3.43 inches (21.2 cm by 14.1 by 8.7 cm). It’s lighter, too, weighing 2.9 pounds (1.3 kg) compared to the Play:1’s 4.3 pounds (2 kg). Despite being compact, however, neither speaker has an integrated battery for on-the-go use; they must be plugged into an outlet. (Note that you can step up to SoundTouch 20 and SoundTouch 30 models — they’re bigger and pricier, but with identical features.)

Like Sonos, you connect SoundTouch speakers to your Wi-Fi network and control operation via a free app that’s available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices. While your phone or tablet acts as remote Bose also includes a small remote control that mimics the six preset buttons on top of the speaker. Those presets can be mapped to playlists from various music sources, including Spotify, Pandora and Deezer, as well as Internet radio stations, though currently not the Apple Music service.

The Bose SoundTouch 10 has six ‘shortcut’ preset buttons on top of the speaker.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Early in 2016, Bose integrated the Spotify music streaming service into its SoundTouch app (you can also use Spotify Connect to stream music to a SoundTouch system directly from the Spotify app). Like Sonos, Bose keeps updating its app, adding new features, and improving the interface. It’s come a long way since its launch a few years ago and setting up the system is now significantly easier than it once was.

While Sonos’ remains a step ahead — we still prefer its app, and it has a wider selection of integrated streaming services — Bose has closed the gap and is now Sonos’ most serious competitor, with a wide range of speakers and home-theater systems that bear the SoundTouch name, all of which are able to interconnect as part of a whole-home multiroom audio system.

You can wirelessly link speakers to play the same music in separate rooms or have different music playing in different rooms. However, unlike Sonos, you currently can’t link two speakers and turn them into a true stereo pair, designating one speaker as left, the other as right. That may change in the future.

In terms of file compatibility, the speaker will stream music from your network and supports playback of MP3, WMA, AAC, Apple Lossless and FLAC. Audiophiles should be aware that like Sonos and Denon’s HEOS system it will only support CD-quality files and not 24-bit high-res files.

Gmail’s ‘mic drop’ pulled as minion GIFs infiltrate work emails

It’s all fun and games until a GIF loses you your job.

Perhaps Google should’ve seen this one coming. For April Fools Day, that annual celebration of brand desperation, Google’s Gmail team debuted the “Mic Drop” feature. A bright orange button next to the regular send button would let you send your message and attach a little GIF of a minion dropping the mic.

Hilarious! Except when you don’t see the pop-up warning and accidentally attach whimsical animations to an important work-related email. Gmail’s support forum is packed with posts from angry users, including some purporting to have missed out on career opportunities or even lost their job over an inappropriately timed dropping of the mic.

The situation wasn’t helped by the Mic Drop button having taken over the spot usually reserved for “Send and Archive” in Gmail’s web interface. If you’re used to hitting this button, muscle memory could have easily led you astray. When you’re talking about a service relied on by hundreds of millions of people, that’s a recipe for bad times.

As such, it’s now been pulled, leaving “Mic Drop” as yet another cautionary tale for major tech firms on April 1.

Stay safe out there.

MORE: Android-related brands attempt to do comedy

OnePlus wants to cover everything in a sandstone finish

OnePlus has identified four objects as being especially slippery — cups, sneakers, soap, and the iPhone 6s — and the vendor has come up with a novel solution to fix the problem. It involves covering the aforementioned devices with the sandstone finish found on the back of the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2:

• The Sandstone Cup, for when you want some extra grippy security for liquids around your computer but also a way to exfoliate your lips sometimes.
• The Sandstone Sneakers, for when you would rather your pumped up kicks stay on the ground when attempting a roundhouse kick.
• The Sandstone Soap, because ain’t nobody got time to mess around with that slippery stuff but it also gives you hands as smooth as baby sea lion.
• And the Sandstone iPhone Case, because you know why.

And yes, OnePlus sells an actual sandstone case for the iPhone 6s.

#GetSandstoned at OnePlus

Tesla Model 3 is the super electric car you can afford to drive

In a movie set in the a post apocalyptic future, it’ll be the Tesla Model 3 that we see dotted about the landscape. That’s because this is going to be the first real mass-market electric car that does it all.

The Tesla Model 3 was shown off by Elon Musk, where its specs and pricing were revealed. We’re in for a real treat for that $35,000 price when it finally begins shipping in late 2017.

The Tesla Model 3 looks like a smaller, sportier version of the Tesla Model S with bonnet design cues from the original Roadster. The Model 3 will be powerful, kicking out at least a 6-second 0-60mph time and that performance won’t affect range which should be at least 215 miles on a charge.

Crucially, by the time this lands, Tesla says it will have doubled the number of Superchargers worldwide and will be throwing in charging for free. Also as standard the car will feature Autopilot for assisted driving and future proofing for the self-driving roads to come.

Safety is another point of focus in the Model 3 with 5-star safety ratings guaranteed in all categories. The five seater interior looks minimal with a tablet screen and little else, but that’s likely to keep weight and costs low.

You can pre-order a Tesla Model 3 now with a $1,000 deposit.

READ: Riding shotgun with Batman: We’ve driven in the Batmobile

Cruising around in the Tesla Model 3

Tesla offered up rides in its news Model 3 to attendees of tonight’s event. While the car won’t be in the hands of regular folks anytime before the end of 2017 (hopefully), the automaker gave anyone that wanted a ride, a trip up and down the street in a pre-production version of the car.

Since I wasn’t allowed behind the driver’s seat (boo), the entire experience is from that of a passenger.

The Model 3 is zippy. Zero to sixty in six seconds is nothing compared to a Model S, but for a family sedan, it’s impressive. During the ride, the driver took us up and down a closed street stomping on the gas both times after navigating a disco-light and smoke-machine infused parking lot. The entire drive lasted only a few minutes. As soon as the cars are production ready, Tesla will probably offer more than a quick jaunt down the street.

In the very short time in the car, there were a few things I noticed.

The only display measures just 15-inches horizontal (the Model S has a 17-inch vertically orientated unit) dropped into the center of the dash. That’s it. There are no gauges directly in front the driver. The speedometer is in the top left-hand corner of screen. It did seem to be in the driver’s field of vision. But hopefully during phase 2 of the car’s path to production, Tesla adds a HUD (heads-up display) so the information is directly in front of the person behind the wheel.

The only other thing on the screen was a map of the area and media player. I’m sure there will be more information about what will be displayed as the car gets nearer to production.

On stage, CEO Elon Musk said the car would fit five passengers. Like most sedans, it’s more like four adults and child or very short, petite friend. I saw them cram five journalists in a car, it wasn’t something you’d want to recreate on a long drive. Still, since there’s no engine under the hood or in the trunk, the automaker was able to move the seats out. At six-foot three inches, I was comfortable in the back seat, which is something I don’t get to say very often in a mid-size sedan.

One thing that probably helps make the interior feel roomy was the roof. It’s entirely glass with a single crossbeam between the front and back seats breaking up the flow. At night, on the open road, it’s probably a great way to enjoy the stars. During the day though, especially a hot one, it’ll be interesting to see how cool Tesla can keep the car. Also, I hope everyone likes wearing sunglasses.

The sleek exterior of the car isn’t outlandish. The design, especially the profile is actually more reminiscent of the Model X than the Model S. But whichever Tesla it borrows its looks from might not really matter. Within an hour of the unveiling, the automaker had already pre-sold north of 130,000 cars to excited Tesla fans. Most of those are folks put down a $1,000 deposit on a car without actually seeing it.

They’re in for a long wait, but if the prototype that’s shuttling people up and down the street in Los Angeles is the base of the upcoming car, they’re probably going to be happy with their decision.