UK ad watchdog forces ISPs to simplify broadband pricing

TalkTalk announced just yesterday that, later this year, it would simplify its broadband prices by including line rental in the monthly costs. And now we know why. Sure, a single figure makes it easier to understand what you’ll be paying each month, but it was hardly an altruistic move. It’s almost as if TalkTalk knew that today, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was going to confirm new guidelines that effectively force internet service providers (ISPs) to make broadband contract pricing more transparent.

Initially proposed at the beginning of the year, the stricter guidelines will come into force at the end of October. All ISPs really need to do to play by the rules is to make costs clear — clear enough that there’s no chance of consumers feeling misled or confused. The ASA does recommend, however, that monthly prices be “all-inclusive,” meaning no more separating broadband charges from line rental. Additionally, any upfront costs like installation fees need to be clearly shown, as well as the length of the contract and what the score is after introductory pricing deals expire. Basically, don’t try to hide the true cost of the package and the ASA won’t come knocking.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: Advertising Standards Authority

Vivomove is Garmin’s take on a stylish fitness watch

After introducing the Approach X40 last month, Garmin’s back with another new wearable. This time out it’s the Vivomove, a stylish fitness tracker that looks like a traditional watch. The device tracks calories, steps and monitors your sleep patterns, although it lacks feature that might be important to some people: a heart-rate sensor. Garmin did add its Move Bar to the watch face, though, which will remind you to stay active throughout the day. Vivomove also comes with an impressive one-year battery life, as well as water resistance up to 50 meters.

We had the chance to try a prototype of it recently and came away impressed. The Vivomove is light (doesn’t feel heavier than an Apple Watch, for example) and sits comfortably on your wrist. Not being obtrusive is important, as it is designed to be a fitness wearable first and foremost. While it would be nice to have access to text or email notifications, Garmin can’t be blamed for keeping things simple with the Vivomove. The aesthetics and functionality are certainly there, but it’ll be interesting to see wether people find it appealing enough to purchase.

Speaking of which, Garmin’s Vivomove is available in three different models: sport ($150), classic ($200) and premium ($300). The difference between them is the color and leather bands, with the higher-end version featuring a stainless steel plate in a gold-toned hue. Since the 20mm bands are interchangeable, extras will be sold separately starting at $30 for the sport ones (white or black plastic) or $60 for users who prefer leather.

Source: Garmin

Fitness Bands Continue to Outsell Smartwatches in Wearable Market

Three out of four wearable devices worn by U.S. consumers are fitness bands, over half of which are made by Fitbit, according to new statistics released today.

According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech’s wearable tech report 2016, more than one in ten consumers in the U.S. own a wearable device (12.2 percent of survey respondents), yet despite smartwatch vendors like Apple promoting advanced features over and above health and fitness capabilities, fitness bands are showing no signs of wavering popularity.

“For both smartwatch and fitness band buyers – brand, ease of use, and functionality are the top drivers of purchase, outweighing both design and cost,” said Shannon Conway, wearable tech analyst for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. “Fitbit established itself as an early market leader, capturing 61.7 percent of the U.S. installed base by communicating a clear and simple value proposition to consumers.” By contrast, Apple accounts for only 6.8 percent of the total number of fitness bands and smartwatches owned in the US.

In the two months ending with March 2016, Fitbit claimed more than 50 percent of wearable purchases with the sales period only partially covering its newest releases, the Blaze and the Alta. Apple and Garmin trailed in second and third, respectively.

In the same period, Fitbit’s Flex continued to be one of the top-selling models among fitness bands and smartwatches combined, behind the Fitbit Charge and Charge HR. Overall sales of wrist-worn wearables were driven largely by online purchases (63 percent) and particularly through Amazon.com, which has proven to be Fitbit’s top retailer.

Meanwhile in Europe, wearables have not seen the same popularity as in the U.S., achieving only half the market penetration (6.6 percent), while Fitbit does not dominate the market the way it does on the other side of the Atlantic. “Of the combined fitness band and smartwatch base, Fitbit remains the most-owned brand at 18.5 percent, but Apple and Samsung follow closely with 14 percent and 11.6 percent, respectively,” said market analyst Lauren Guenveur. Europe’s big four markets include Great Britain, Germany, France, and Italy.

Earlier this week, Fitbit CEO James Park explained in an interview how he decided to re-engineer Fitbit products to support Bluetooth following the introduction of the iPhone 4s (the first iPhone to support Bluetooth 4.0), which made the the Fitbit One and the Fitbit Zip highly successful as a result. Since then, Fitbit has made an effort to stray away from Apple’s approach to product design, focusing on simple devices to make wearables more approachable while avoiding “feature overload”.

Fitbit sold 21.4 million devices in 2015, earning $1.86 billion in revenue. While Apple doesn’t break out sales of the Apple Watch, IDC and Strategy Analytics estimates put sales at approximately 11.4 million.

The full Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Quarterly Wearables Report can be viewed here.

Tag: Fitbit
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Apple Music Set for Design Overhaul in Time for WWDC in June

Apple is planning to overhaul its year-old music streaming service to make it “more easier to use”, according to people familiar with the matter (via Bloomberg News).

The company is set to redesign the user interface to make it more intuitive, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the plans are yet to be made public. Apple also means to significantly enhance the integration of its streaming and download businesses and expand its online radio service.

According to Bloomberg, a full reboot of Apple Music is to be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June and will be accompanied by a fresh marketing campaign to entice customers to the subscription-based service, which currently costs $10 per month.

Apple Music was introduced with much fanfare back in June 2015. While many commentators gave generally positive reviews, the service was criticized for its muddled interface and dearth of features. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift penned an open letter to the Cupertino company criticizing it for not paying artists during the service’s free three-month trial and explaining her decision not to make her album 1989 available to stream on Apple Music. Artists have also complained that Apple Music’s social aspect, called Connect, “fails miserably” in its aims.

Apple has struggled to integrate its employees and unite the streaming and downloading businesses into a cohesive music strategy, according to the latest report. As a result, the service is now being overseen by content head Robert Kondrk and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. Design chief Jony Ive’s team has also been involved, along with former Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine and senior VP of Internet services Eddy Cue.

Apple Music has reached 13 million subscribers, announced Apple CEO Tim Cook at last week’s earnings call. The figure was 2 million higher than that reported in February, indicating a growth rate on par with industry-leading streaming service Spotify.

Tag: Apple Music
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LG 360 VR review – CNET

The Good The LG 360 VR has a compact and light design that’s very comfortable to wear.

The Bad It’s not a good VR experience, has terrible light leakage and looks really uncool.

The Bottom Line There are better VR experiences to be had than the LG 360 VR and better G5 accessories to spend your money on.

It seems like everyone is having a crack at making a virtual reality headset, so why shouldn’t LG get to have a go? After all, if Viewmaster can stage a VR comeback, then surely so can the Korean electronics giant?

Despite handing over a headset to CNET for testing, LG didn’t tell me the price (despite the fact that some online retailers are listing it for $200, or around AU$265, £135), offer a rundown of the specs or even confirm if the 360 VR was getting an Australian release. And truth be told, if the company decides to base any release decisions on early response to the product, then maybe we won’t be seeing the 360 VR any time soon…

But first off, let’s look at how it compares with its most obvious competitor, Samsung’s Gear VR:

So it’s like the Samsung Gear VR?

The 360 VR does actually work in a very similar way to Samsung’s Gear VR. It uses the processing power of the LG G5 to run the virtual experiences. However, instead of placing your phone directly into the headset and using the phone’s screen as your window into virtual reality as you would with the Gear, the 360 VR (complete with its own screen) plugs into the G5 via a USB-C cable.

The result is a lighter headset that works kind of like a pair of safety goggles, only less cool-looking. That said, it’s not the prettiest product I’ve ever seen. The grey plastic on a grey textured fabric did nothing for me. Urgh.

Dave Cheng/CNET

Since it doesn’t use the G5’s screen, what’s its actual screen like?

The headset has two IPS screens built in, offering a dual 960 by 720 pixel resolution with 693 pixels per inch. That’s a lower resolution than you’d get with a Gear using a Galaxy S7 as its screen, which has a pixel count of 1,280 by 1,440 per eye.

But it’s more comfortable to wear?

Credit where credit is due: The 360 VR is the most comfortable of the VR headsets that I’ve worn, but that comes with a big caveat. The open design makes for a lot of light leakage (light seeps in from the real world). While the HTC Vive and Gear VR work to block out the real world, I found it really easy to peek around the sides of the 360 VR.

I’m assuming this is a deliberate design move. The lack of a touchscreen on the headset itself means you’re supposed to control your way around using the phone’s screen and the design lets you look down to see what you’re doing, although you could easily do it by touch alone. It does, however, make for a less immersive experience. That said, I never had the lenses steam up the way the Gear VR will do occasionally, which was a nice, sweat-free change.

Dave Cheng/CNET

The arms are made of a springy, curved plastic and can’t be adjusted. Despite having a fairly large head, I never found them uncomfortably tight. I did quickly learn to take off the headset with both hands though – using the one-handed style of ‘whipping off’ caused the arms to hit my eye rather painfully.

Oh, and dealer’s choice: you can plug your headphones into either the headset or your phone.

Xbox E3 2016 Briefing: How to watch it and what to expect

Microsoft has announced the time and date for its annual pre-E3 media briefing in Los Angeles.

It is traditionally the first to host its press conference on the Monday before the show opens, requiring the world’s games press to queue for entry early doors. And this year is no exception.

We’ve received the official invite so we’ve decided to detail the information it offers and give you a few thoughts on what we expect to be revealed during the event.

Xbox

When is the Microsoft Xbox E3 2016 Briefing?

Microsoft will host its annual E3 press conference on Monday 13 June in the Galen Center, LA. The invite states that the doors open at 8.45am but the actual presentation doesn’t start until 9.30am (PT).

That’s 12.30pm (ET) and 5.30pm in the UK.

It traditionally runs for an hour and a half.

Is there a Microsoft Xbox E3 2016 Briefing livestream?

Microsoft always livestreams both the event and a build up show, with interviews and chat beforehand.

This year it will be hosting the livestream on its Twitch channel. It will also be broadcasting live through the Xbox Live Events Player on Xbox One and Xbox 360.

You can even go to a Microsoft Store in the US to watch it, or on Spike TV in the States or Canada.

We’ll also the feed itself nearer the event.

What hardware will be launched at the Microsoft Xbox E3 2016 Briefing?

With Sony’s plans to unveil an updated version of the PlayStation 4 heavily tipped, speculation has also turned to Microsoft. It is expected to announce an upgraded Xbox One during its E3 press event.

Little is truly known about the Xbox One.5 or Xbox One 2, as it is currently dubbed, but several sources claim a new version of the console is coming. It might even be an Xbox One Slim.

Two images appeared online that allegedly show a new wireless chip for an updated console, the other a listing by a Chinese manufacturer that suggests a new machine has been in production for a few months.

READ: E3 2016: All the launches, games and consoles to expect

Neither have been validated or confirmed but during our visit to the Xbox Spring Showcase event in San Francisco in February, Xbox boss Phil Spencer did tell us that it is in Microsoft’s plans to upgrade the console.

Watch this space.

Microsoft

What games will be announced at the Microsoft Xbox E3 2016 Briefing?

Like last year, we fully expect a fast and furious announcement event crammed with updates on already known titles and a few surprises.

There will be games coming out for both Xbox One and PS4 that might be reserved for the Sony event held later that day. There will also be cross-platform games that will be shown at the Xbox conference.

Here then are the games we think will make an appearance during the media briefing (we’ll update the list when we hear about others). We’ve included both first and likely third-party titles.

• Crackdown 3
• Elite Dangerous: Horizons
• Forza 7 (name to be confirmed, stars the Lamborghini Centenario)
• Gears of War 4
• Gigantic
• Halo Wars 2
• Planet Coaster (possible Xbox One announcement of the Windows 10 game)
• ReCore
• Scalebound
• Sea of Thieves
• Titanfall 2
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands
• Unannounced Tomb Raider

Moovit adds Uber as a transportation option in 22 countries

Moovit, if you haven’t used it before, gives you info on buses, trains and other modes of public transportation so you can plan the best route possible. It lumped in Uber with other modes of transpo in New York, Los Angeles, Rome and London back in 2015. But now the company has expanded the ride-sharing service’s integration to encompass a total of 131 cities in 22 countries. So long as you’re in one of those cities, you’ll be able to request an Uber from within Moovit, say, if buses or trains won’t get you to your destination on time.

Moovit CEO Nir Erez said in a statement:

“Our goal is to provide our users with the best possible experience on public transport, but there are times when it’s quicker for users to get around via car. By now offering the option to order an Uber for all or part of a journey, we’re able to give our users even more freedom in deciding how they want to get from point A to point B.”

The 22 countries included in the rollout are: US, UK, Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Norway, Finland, Netherlands, Uruguay, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece. If you live in one of those countries and can’t see the option yet, don’t worry: you’ll get it sometime over the next few weeks.

Source: VentureBeat

Moog Brings Iconic Model 15 Analog Synthesizer to iOS

Moog Music has brought its legendary $10,000 Model 15 analog synthesizer to iOS with the launch of the $30 Model 15 app.

The digital version of the analog modular synth is a one-to-one recreation of the iconic Model 15 from 1973, with a scalable interface that features gestural support for oscillators, low/high-pass filters, a looping recorder, full MIDI integration, ping-pong delay module, and numerous patch cables among the various knobs and switches.

The Model 15 ships with over 160 unique presets, a 1150 ribbon controller, 8-step sequencing arpeggiator, as well as the award-winning Animoog keyboard with 22 built-in scales and polyphonic modulation capabilities.

The Model 15 app supports Inter-App Audio and external MIDI controllers, and comes with Apple Pencil support for iPad Pro owners. The app was built using Apple’s Metal low-level graphics optimization API to ensure smooth scrolling and a responsive touch interface throughout. As such, it only works on 64-bit devices running iOS 9.3, including the iPhone 5s and iPad Air or later.

Model 15 is available for $29.99 on the App Store for iPad and iPhone. [Direct Link]
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T-Mobile reveals AT&T’s true form as the evil Empire with new Chrome extension

To celebrate Star Wars Day, T-Mobile has gone on the offensive against the evil Empire, also known as AT&T. The company has rolled out a new Chrome extension that essentially transforms all mention of AT&T on the web to The DeATTh Star, with accompanying images to boot.

From the official announcement:

“All fun and games aside, AT&T represents everything the Un-carrier isn’t. A massive, money-grabbing, conglomerate caring only about inter-galactic domination and not their customers. While AT&T is hitting customers with data overages, bill shock and insane roaming charges, T-Mobile is changing the way consumers and businesses buy wireless service – all for the light side.”

The company is urging customers and fans of Un-carrier to download and install the Chrome extension, visit websites with instances of the AT&T branding in text form and capture screenshots of said branding being revealed in relation to the evil Empire. There’s even a Twitter hashtag which has been deployed for your sharing convenience — #DeATThStar. It’s a neat themed jab and we’ll not get in the way of companies having a little fun.

The Legere is with you, Luke. Always.

Opera Mini now comes with a built-in ad blocker

Opera Mini now comes with an integrated ad blocker, which according to the software maker will lead to 40% faster page load times while reducing data consumption by 14%. The browser also offers a compression engine that helps you save data costs.

To enable the ad blocking feature, head to Opera Mini’s “O” menu, tap the data-savings summary, and toggle “Block ads” to on:

The ad blocking feature works on both “High” and “Extreme” data compression options. Interested? Hit up the badge above or download Opera Mini from the Play Store.