These awesome charging accessories are up to 70% off right now!
Right now you can save up to 70% on a variety of chargers and charging accessories from RavPower at Amazon. From desktop charging stations to wireless chargers and portable power banks, these deals will help you keep your phone and tablet charged in just about any situation.
Some of the deals include:
- 6 Port USB Desktop Charging Station – $14.99
- Quick Charge 2.0 20100mAh power bank – $41.99
- 6700mAh power bank – $12.74
- Quick Charge 2.0 Wall Charger – $11.99
- Dual USB Car Charger – $6.99
- Wireless Charging Pad – $19.59
These deals are only good for today, June 29, so don’t wait too long before placing your order. Many of them are Prime eligible as well, so you can have them as early as tomorrow if you place your order soon.
See at Amazon
SanDisk announces new super-fast 256GB Extreme UHS-I microSD card
Western Digital-owned SanDisk has announced new 256GB microSD cards, including the super-fast Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card. The new family of high-capacity microSD cards offer something for everyone, whether you wish to add storage to your smartphone or require new medium to store your RAW camera roll.
The 256GB of storage (should your device support said amounts being plugged in) will allow for saving of not only high-quality photos, but also 4K video, high-fidelity music, and more. The Extreme 256GB card from SanDisk delivers transfer speeds of up to 100MB/s, as well as write speeds of up to 90MB/s. The Ultra variant is perfect for smartphones and other portable devices.
As an added bonus, the new cards are both waterproof and shock proof. The Ultra 256GB card will be available in August for $149.99, while the super-fast Extreme will hit stores in Q4 2016 for $199.99.
Press Release
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS SHANGHAI, China – June 29, 2016 – Western Digital® Corporation
(NASDAQ: WDC), a global storage technology and solutions leader, today introduced a new suite of 256 gigabyte (GB) microSD™ cards, which includes the new 256GB SanDisk Extreme® microSDXC™ UHS-I card – the fastest microSD card in its class. The new suite of cards also includes 256GB SanDisk Ultra® microSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition, the first 256GB card optimized for mainstream consumers. The new additions deliver leading speed and capacity in a fingernail-sized card, giving smartphone, drone and action camera users the performance and capacity they need to capture professional-grade videos and photos without worrying about running out of space on their device.
“Our microSD cards are now at the center of many consumer devices, and we’re excited to not only raise the bar with the launch of the world’s fastest microSD card, but to also offer a family of 256GB microSD cards that give consumers the flexibility they need to capture life at its fullest,” said Dinesh Bahal, vice president of SanDisk product marketing, Western Digital. “As a leading global storage provider with one of the most trusted flash brands, we take pride in transforming the way consumers capture, store and share their content.”
Whether taking pictures, shooting 4K UHD or Full HD video, or storing high-fidelity music, the new 256GB cards give consumers the freedom to capture and carry a massive amount of content on their devices without concern about storage limitations.
“At DJI we focus on creating easy-to-use drone technology for consumers to capture everyday exploration and photography, and our customers need quick and reliable access to their high quality aerial footage,” said Eli Morgan Harris, strategic partnerships, DJI. “With the new 256GB SanDisk microSD UHS-I cards, they now have greater flexibility to capture their content on high-performance storage and the peace of mind knowing they can continue shooting when it matters most.”
The Ultimate Combination of Capacity and Performance
The 256GB SanDisk Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card delivers unmatched transfer speeds of up to 100MB/s**, allowing users to save time transferring large files, as well as write speeds of up to 90MB/s** for rapid capture of photos. Users can record an estimated 14 hours of 4K UHD video1 on the 256GB card, making it ideal for high-performance drones, action cameras, and 4K-capable smartphones, among other devices.
The 256GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition, is ideal for Android-based smartphone and tablet users who don’t want to worry about running out of space on their devices. The new card is capable of storing more than 24 hours of Full HD video1, and also features premium transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s**. At this speed people can move files quickly – up to 1,200 photos in just one minute2.
Built to perform in harsh conditions, the new cards3 are also waterproof, temperature-proof, shock proof, and X-ray proof. Additionally, the SanDisk microSD card line up is compatible with the SanDisk® Memory Zone app for Android™, giving users an easy way to manage and back up content on their device. The app is available for free through the Google Play™ Store4.
Heritage of Memory Card Innovation
The new suite of cards is the latest breakthrough offering to join the cutting-edge SanDisk portfolio of mobile memory solutions. The first to introduce 128GB and 200GB microSDXC, and 512GB SDXC™ high-capacity cards, SanDisk continues to pioneer technology that keeps up with consumers’ evolving storage needs.
Pricing and Availability
The 256GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition, will be available worldwide in August 2016 with a U.S. MSRP of $149.99. The 256GB SanDisk Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card will be available worldwide in calendar Q4 2016 with a U.S. MSRP of $199.99.
The complete line of SanDisk microSD cards can be purchased at more than 300,000 retailers worldwide.
What is the Now TV Combo, how much does it cost and when can I get it?
Not only has Sky released a new Now TV Smart Box, but it also offers a new contract-free home connectivity package.
The Now TV Combo from Sky encompasses a streaming service pass, unlimited broadband and a phone line.
Releasing such an all inclusive package without the need for a contract is a big move for Sky. It should help it up against Freeview offerings and cheap internet providers. Here’s everything you need to know.
Now TV Combo: What do you get?
Primarily the Now TV Combo package is a way of getting Sky’s latest Now TV Smart Box. That means access to its many shows and movies plus live TV all via an internet connection or via its TV tuner – something the original box didn’t feature. Either way that means no need for a dish or major installation.
The box itself not only offers Sky content via streamed video, it also plays live TV over an aerial connection. Plus the box features over 50 apps like BBC iPlayer for catch-up TV, YouTube, Spotify and more on any TV it’s connected to.
The box also means you can pause and rewind live TV, up to 30 minutes. There are over 60 free channels, 15 HD channels and up to 35 pay TV channels.
Beyond the box this package will also offer a phone line and the unlimited broadband needed to stream the content through the box.
Lots of broadband services now have caps on data in order to offer low prices – something which would almost certainly be an issue when streaming high quality video over Now TV.
This comes in varying levels: Broadband up to 17MB, Fibre up to 38MB and Super Fibre with speeds of up to 76MB.
Sky
Now TV Combo: How much is it?
The reason Sky is able to offer all this without a contract is because of how it’s broken down. Owners of a Now TV box are able to subscribe to certain Sky packages monthly, much like a pay as you go phone works.
There’s Sky Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Sky Sports and Sky Kids – all available as separate packages you can pick up one month but leave the next.
Depending on what connection and packages you go for, prices vary. They start at just £10 per month, says Sky. There is also a setup fee of £40 for Broadband or £50 for Fibre on pay as you go offerings.
In reality you are required to pay line rental of £18. So that means the lowest package is going to cost you nearly £28 per month for basic broadband and an Entertainment Month Pass.
It tops out at almost £70 for the top end Sky Sports package alone with Super Fibre internet connection.
If you go for all the packages (Cinema, Sports, Kids and Entertainment) and lowest broadband it’ll total about £75. Or with the top end Super Fibre connection and all packages you’ll pay around £90.
There will also be a super saver package which requires a 12-month contract.
The Sky Now TV Smart Box can be bought separately for £40.
Now TV Combo: When can I get it?
The new box and package deals will be available from early July, says Sky.
There is still no word on 4K support or content.
Now TV Smart Box preview: Live TV and Sky in one device for a handsome price
After months of speculation, Sky finally revealed its latest Now TV set-top-box, the Now TV Smart Box, and Pocket-lint was at the launch event in London to have a play ahead of its early July release.
The headline feature is that it has a digital tuner, as well as offer the same streaming services as the current puck-shaped device, but sadly, there’s no sign of the 4K output many were expecting.
Although it is shaped like the Roku 4, which does offer Ultra HD content in the States, the new Now TV box is more a minor upgrade to the existing model. Although its additions make it more attractive to a range of consumers.
Pocket-lint
The TV tuner presents all of the UK’s digital channel line-up – which currently stands at more than 60 different stations, including HD variants. Live TV is thus presented as one of the tiles on the main home page, alongside catch up and on demand content, mainly through the different Now TV monthly passes.
If you click on the Live TV tile, it expands to fill the screen and a full electronic programme guide is available. When minimised, it gives you a constant preview of what is currently on, based on the the last channel you visited.
READ: Now TV Smart Box: Release date, price, specs and everything you need to know
There’s only one tuner, so while you can pause and rewind TV broadcasts, you cannot record them. But then, considering the box has a vast amount of catch-up content too, from the major broadcasters and Sky’s own channels if you have the respective monthly pass, you probably don’t need to record anything anyway.
Like the standard version, the box has access to non-Sky apps, including YouTube and Spotify, plus Sky’s own storefront, to rent and purchase digital movies and box sets. These too are represented on the home page and easily accessible.
Pocket-lint
The box can connect to the net through Ethernet or Wi-Fi, with a dual-band receiver pretty much ensuring that it doesn’t matter which you choose. It can also play your own video, audio and image files through a USB port on the side. Most of the modern file formats are supported, including MP4 and MKV.
We didn’t get to see that in action at the launch, but will give you an idea of how that works when we review a sample in early July.
We also didn’t get to hear the audio output, which is capable of up to 7.1 surround sound through the HDMI port. It outputs video at 1080p, which suggests that the HDMI port is not 4K capable now or in the future. We suspect it is HDMI 1.4 after being told it was unlikely to be HDMI 2.0 or HDCP 2.2 compliant. We’ll know for sure when we get our hands on the review unit.
First Impressions
So no 4K Ultra HD but still an interesting proposition. We do wonder who will need the digital TV tuner considering most TVs out there have Freeview tuners in them already, but it does complete the package.
It could even be a fuss-free alternative to general paid TV – Sky included.
It’s available without a monthly contract for £40 when bought on its own, just rolling payments for any of the Entertainment, Sky Movies, Kids or Sky Sports Passes Now TV carries.
Also, considering it was launched alongside Now TV Combo, which provides a pass, broadband connection and landline phone from £9.99 a month (and a £17.99 line rental fee) with no contract, that could make it worthwhile for many, especially as it is included in the price.
READ: What is the Now TV Combo, how much does it cost and when can I get it?
There will be plenty that won’t see it as a valid upgrade to their existing Now TV box or other device that already accesses Now TV (such as a PS4 or Xbox One), but new customers could be snagged.
Sky’s Now TV Combo unites live TV, streaming, phone and broadband
It’s been a busy six months for Sky. Between launching a new powerful set-top TV box, sinking billions of pounds into original shows and exclusive sporting rights, the company has quietly been developing a new Now TV product for consumers who like to dip in and out of its ecosystem without having to commit to a fixed-term contract. It’s called the Now TV Combo and it pulls together Sky’s TV, broadband and phone services into one simple package.
The Now TV Combo is what Sky calls the UK’s first commitment-free triple-play bundle. It offers a Now TV streaming pass (whether it’s movies, entertainment or sport), broadband, calls, a Now TV Hub router and the all-important streaming box. Packages are flexible, but Sky says an Entertainment Pass, “Brilliant” broadband and “pay as you use” calls will set you back £9.99 a month. Cinema passes start at £12.99 and expand up to £27.99, while Sky Sports bundles range from £36.99 up to £51.99.
Prices rise if you add faster broadband packages (including 17Mbps, 38Mbps or 76Mbps options) and you’ll also need to factor in the £17.99 monthly line rental charge. You can cancel at any time, unless you choose to take out a 12-month contact — it’s optional and means you won’t have to pay any installation fees.
At the centre of all this is the new Now TV Smart Box, developed by Roku, which combines 35 paid TV channels and over 60 live TV channels via Freeview. Like the Sky Q box, curated channels are key to the viewing experience, matching content to your tastes instead of delivering the standard TV guide. The 1080p streamer (no 4K, sadly) comes complete with a Live Pause feature, allowing you to come back to your content, whether it’s normal TV or streaming, whenever you feel like.
“We want people to watch what they want, when they want and on their terms.” says Director of Now TV Gidon Katz. “We’re taking the very best technology and packaging it with the best content.”
With its rivals often beating it on price, Sky has decided that Now TV customers will benefit from the bundling of its content and services. TalkTalk has already combined its traditional YouView service with the Blinkbox TV platform it bought from Tesco, solidifying its position as a quad-play provider, and Virgin Media is expected to unveil its answer to Sky Q in the coming months, giving the TV part of its own quad-play package a much needed boost.
Sky says that when the Now TV Combo will launch in July, customers can choose to pay a £40 set-up fee for broadband and £50 charge for fibre options that lets them abandon broadband and call contracts and upgrade or downgrade packages at will. The Smart Box can also be purchased for £40 if you’ve already got landline and broadband sorted but want an easy way to switch between live TV and paid content.
Source: Now TV Combo
Google is testing internet speeds straight from search
For years Ookla has dominated internet speed test traffic, but Netflix recently unveiled a simpler option. Now, Google may be muscling into the game with its own test that works straight from search. Internet marketer Dr. Pete Meyers spotted an “Internet speed test” appearing directly in search results prompted by the query “check internet speed.” If you click the “run speed test” box (below), Google’s Measurement Lab checks your connection speed and gives more details that can help system administrators.
Looks like Google is testing their own internet speed test (query = “check internet speed”) – not seeing it live — pic.twitter.com/wjsPIlEbFv
— Dr. Pete Meyers (@dr_pete) June 27, 2016
You can try the query yourself, but it doesn’t appear to be live for the majority of users. You’ll likely get a similar result from Google’s Measurement Labs “NDT” tool, however. In my case (top), it showed a slower speed than I get from Netflix or Ookla, possibly because of the location of the testing server. While Google appears to be testing the tool, it may not actually release it, so we’ve reached out for more info.
Google is actually lagging in consumer speed testing, because in addition to Ookla and Netflix, rival Bing already shows speed test results straight from search. In a FAQ page, Google explains that its own test takes about 30 seconds and consumes 9.4 MB of data in the US. The Measurement Lab was first launched in 2009 with the aim of “sustaining the Internet as an open platform for consumer choice and innovation,” according to co-founder and internet pioneer Vin Cerf.
Via: TNW
Source: Dr. Pete Meyers (Twitter)
Abduct four pals for couch co-op in PS4’s ‘Alienation’
What’s better than mowing down (virtual) alien hordes with a buddy sitting right next to you? When it comes to video games, not much. That’s why the fine Finnish folks at developer Housemarque are adding local co-op to the top-down, xenophobic shooter Alienation next week. Come July 5th, up to four players can join in on the same-screen mayhem according to a post on the studio’s blog. That’s not all either, because the update also brings in a competitive play system dubbed “leagues,” and a pair of crushing new difficulty levels for the folks who could probably play the game with their eyes shut by now.
This doggie in the window is free, but if you want to show the Resogun developer some love with your wallet, there are options for that as well. Paid add-ons include weapon unlocks, different colored bullets and a season pass that grants access to the game’s forthcoming expansions. Oh, and dropping $10 on that opens up the game’s soundtrack and a dynamic (read: moving) theme for your PlayStation 4. For a refresher of what it all looks like in action, peep the video embedded below.
Source: Housemarque
Evernote Announces Price Hikes and Two-Device Limit for Free Users
Cross-platform note-taking service Evernote has announced new limits for its Basic account holders on the same day the company hiked the prices on its paid subscription plans.
Users of Evernote’s free Basic plan will soon be limited to using the service on no more than two devices, such as a computer and a phone, two computers, or a phone and a tablet.
Meanwhile, Plus and Premium subscriptions are now $3.99 per month (or $34.99 a year) and $7.99 per month (or $69.99 a year), respectively. Previously a Plus plan cost $2.99 per month, while a Premium account was $4.99.
News of the two-device limit imposed on Basic plan holders came in an email last night, explaining that users had 30 days to adjust to the change. The company said Plus and Premium account subscribers would continue to enjoy the note-taking service from an unlimited number of devices.
Evernote CEO Chris O’Neil explained the new pricing tiers and the device-limit decision in a blog post:
We don’t take any change to our pricing model lightly, and we never take you for granted. Our goal is to continue improving Evernote for the long-term, investing in our core products to make them more powerful and intuitive while also delivering often-requested new features. But that requires a significant investment of energy, time, and money. We’re asking those people who get the most value from Evernote to help us make that investment and, in return, to reap the benefits that result.
Evernote isn’t a vast corporation, and note-taking isn’t a sideline for us. It’s what we do, and we strive to do it better than anyone else. We hope you’ll continue to capture your thoughts and develop your ideas with us.
Evernote is a free download for Mac on the Mac App Store, and available for iPad and iPhone on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Tag: Evernote
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Live Video Streaming App ‘Live.ly’ Reaches #1 Spot in App Store
New live streaming app Live.ly has shot to the top of the App Store, beating regular jostlers Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, and Instagram to the coveted #1 ranking in the Top Free iPhone Apps chart (via TechCrunch).
Live.ly lets users broadcast video of what they are doing in real time, and has received over half a million downloads since its full rollout last Thursday.
The app’s popularity follows the success of musical.ly, an app by the Shanghai company of the same name which lets users create music videos. Musical.ly has seen 100 million downloads by mostly U.S. teenagers since it launched last year.
“We want to thank the musical.ly community for embracing live.ly as an exciting new platform and canvas for creativity and self-expression,” Alex Zhu, co-CEO of musical.ly, told TechCrunch. “The fact that this comes almost one year after musical.ly hit #1 on the same chart makes the news even more exciting.”
Competition for the mobile live streaming space has been hotting up in recent months, with Facebook Live and Twitter’s Periscope gaining increasing popularity. The services have been used to document a variety of sporting and political events, such as NBA Final press conferences and the recent sit-in at the House of Representatives.
Last week, Google also threw its hat into the ring, announcing it was rolling out support for the feature through its YouTube mobile app.
Live.ly is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Tag: Live.ly
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Pentax K-1 review – CNET
The Good The Pentax K-1 delivers excellent photo quality and a ton of features in a sturdy, well-designed body.
The Bad The autofocus is inconsistent and the image stabilization isn’t as good as competitors’.
The Bottom Line For photographers who want great photo quality for less than $2,000, the Pentax K-1 hits the bullseye.
Pentax’s full-frame dSLR debut, the K-1, hits at an opportune time. Canon hasn’t updated its 6D or 5D Mark III in at least a couple of years, nor has Nikon done so with its D750 or D610. That makes a new model at an aggressive price a welcome option. The K-1 offers a ton of features with excellent photo quality and a great shooting design, but it also has one of the least-sophisticated autofocus systems and occasionally sluggish performance.
The K-1 costs $1,800 (£1,600, AU$2,900) for the body. Pentax recently released two lenses optimized for the camera: the company’s K mount works for both APS-C and full frame, but the older lenses aren’t designed for the K-1’s high-resolution, 36-megapixel sensor. There’s the fast, wide-angle HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm F2.8ED SDM WR ($1,450, £1,550, AU$1,350) and a more consumer-focused, less-expensive HD Pentax-D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6ED DC WR ($500, £580 and AU$850).
I tested it with the 28-105mm. While it’s nice that Pentax offers a relatively inexpensive lens for the K-1, I really didn’t like it much. It feels very much like an APS-C kit lens: I do recommend it for Pentax’s other cameras, but it just doesn’t do the K-1 justice.
Great photos, at its own pace
The camera’s photo quality is generally excellent. I don’t like the default Bright image setting, which overdoes contrast and saturation, but Pentax gives you plenty of options to fine-tune the options to your taste, and the camera can produce quite accurate colors. I’m a Natural girl.
JPEGs look clean through ISO 1600 and depending upon the image, remain usable at least up through ISO 12800. The JPEG processing is pretty good, too; while you can get a little more detail shooting raw, out-of-the-camera JPEGs will suit a lot of people.
The camera retains color well as sensitivity rises, too, though the raw files show a lot of hot pixels in dark images. That said, between the high resolution and solid dynamic range, I was able to get decent results cropping way into photos where I had to bring the exposure up five stops because the flash didn’t fire (not Pentax’s fault). I wouldn’t count on photos beyond ISO 51200, though. Blown out highlights are more hit-and-miss when it comes to recoverability.
Pentax K-1 full-resolution photo samples
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I didn’t see much moire in stills; there was a bit in video, though. The video quality is OK. You’ll need to play with the settings to retain highlights (there’s a flat image profile), and it’s just not very sharp.
Analysis samples
The K-1’s JPEGs are clean through ISO 800. They’re not exceptionally sharp at ISO 800, but I think that’s just the lens I used for testing.
Lori Grunin/CNET
You can see some blurring at ISO 3200, but JPEGs aren’t bad through ISO 12800.
Lori Grunin/CNET
Depending upon the scene, you can still get usable JPEGs through ISO 51200. Above that they’re pretty noisy.
Lori Grunin/CNET
With the Natural image settings, the colors are quite accurate.
Lori Grunin/CNET
Even as high as ISO 51200 you can recover some highlight detail.
Lori Grunin/CNET
AIVAnet 