Google Calendar is down

It’s not just you. Google calendar is down.

From the app status dashboard:

We’re investigating reports of an issue with Google Calendar. We will provide more information shortly.
Users of Google Calendar see ‘Server Error’ page intermittently.

If you all you do in your daily existence is Google Calendar, now would be an excellent time to attempt to do something else.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview: Specs, software, release info and more!

Once again, it’s almost Galaxy Note time — and 2016’s big-screen Samsung phone looks like being the best in years.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note series has always been a fan favorite. It’s said among followers of the series that the only thing which can replace a Note is another Note. And so after a strong showing earlier in the year with the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, all eyes are on the Galaxy Note 7, due for arrival in the second half of the year.

As usual, the rumor mill is buzzing with speculation about what we can expect from the latest in a popular line of big-screened phones. And to help you cut through the hype and speculation, we’ve collected all the most reliable info here, in our Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview. Read on to learn more.

What happened to the Galaxy Note 6?

You would be forgiven for thinking Samsung had skipped a generation. In fact, it’s looking likely that the sixth Note will come to market as the Galaxy Note 7, not Galaxy Note 6. The most convincing evidence thus far comes from Twitter leaker Evan Blass, who’s uncovered an official-looking Note 7 logo. But he’s not only source to mention the Note 7 name.

Earlier reports suggest Samsung may have passed over the Note 6 monicker in order to avoid the impression of it being “an outdated phone.” With the next Note set to follow the Galaxy S7 series, and compete against Apple’s iPhone 7, it’s an understandable move.

Galaxy Note 7 design

No real-world photos of the Galaxy Note 7 have yet emerged, but the most likely images to have leaked thus far come from Steve Hemmerstoffer, a.k.a. @onleaks, in conjunction with British outlet USwitch. Renders created by Hemmerstoffer, allegedly based on CAD images of the phone, show a device incorporating parts of the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S7 edge’s design language.

First up, the biggest change: We’re looking at the first Galaxy Note since 2014’s Note Edge to have an Edge screen, meaning Note 7 owners will be able to enjoy the curved sides and extra software features from phones like the S7 edge and S6 edge Plus. In fact, one way of looking at the Note 7 is as a combination of last year’s Note and Edge Plus lines. Instead of two phones, Note 7 owners will get the best of both worlds in one handset.

The first Galaxy Note with an Edge Screen since 2014’s Note Edge.

Besides that, it should come as no surprise that water resistance is rumored to be built in, given that that’s a major tentpole feature for the GS7 line. Nor should it be shocking to see Samsung sticking with its metal-and-glass design language, which has served it well over the past couple of years. The render also appears to show a USB-C port, which among other things (like faster file transfers and charging speeds) would mean Samsung would have to launch a new Gear VR with the next Note.

In terms of aesthetics, there’s a lot of crossover between these renders and the GS7 edge, albeit in a more rectangular design. The Note 7 shown here appears to sport “2.5D” tapered edges and rounded corners, which should give a more comfortable in-hand feel than last year’s model.

Galaxy Note 7 key specs

As much as we’re reaching a plateau in terms of high-end phone specs, raw hardware power remains important. And based on a handful of reports from SamMobile, Evan Blass and USwitch, here’s what we’re expecting from the Note 7’s hardware:

• Samsung Exynos 8890 processor (similar or identical to that of the GS7 in Europe/Asia) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 820-series in some markets.
• 6GB of RAM
• 4,000mAh or 3,600mAh battery
• 5.7-inch QHD SuperAMOLED display, possibly with RGB subpixel matrix. (Higher subpixel density than diamond PenTile matrix displays used in most AMOLEDs, and thus sharper images.)
• IP68 water and dust resistance
• black, blue and silver color variants.
• USB-C with USB 3.1
• 64GB internal storage + microSD
• 12-megapixel rear camera, likely the same as the GS7’s; 5MP front camera.
• Iris scanner for added biometric security.
• An S Pen, presumably.

None of these should be considered confirmed, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a next-gen Note with any of the specs listed here.

Galaxy Note 7 software

Here’s where things get kinda interesting. Early rumors pointed to the Galaxy Note 7 potentially shipping with Android N out of the box, which wouldn’t be out of the question considering the likelihood of an early release for the next version of Google’s OS. However more recent reports suggest Android 6.0-based firmware is much more likely.

Minor tweaks make TouchWiz a more polished experience in late 2016.

Italian blog HDBlog.it recently outed what appears to be an future version of Samsung’s TouchWiz software, which seems to have been designed around Galaxy Note-level hardware. (The firmware was shown running on a Note 5, for what that’s worth.) The look and feel isn’t a dramatic departure from TouchWiz as seen on a Note 5 or GS7 today, but Samsung does seem to have tightened things up visually, while leaving the core look and feel of the GS7’s software intact.

The most interesting feature is shown in the TouchWiz launcher, where a gesture activates certain secondary functions for apps, much like 3D Touch on an iPhone 6s. That’s not guarantee that this technology will be included — after all, on a Note, it could well be implemented through the S Pen or, as shown in the video, through a simple swipe gesture.

But there’s one crucial distinction: This next-gen TouchWiz appears to be based on Marshmallow, not Android N — note the old-style notifications and Multi Window implementation in the video above.

Galaxy Note 7 release date

Last year’s Galaxy Note 5 launched in the United States in late August, closely following a mid-August announcement event. This year there’ve been unconfirmed reports of an Aug. 2 launch event, which could once again see a Galaxy Note on store shelves before the Berlin-based IFA trade show — traditionally a big show for Samsung — later that month.

Based on an unverified image, SamMobile reports that the launch event for the Note 7 will indeed fall on the second day of August, being held at the Lincoln Center in New York City. We’d also imagine satellite events would be held in Europe and Asia, given the importance of the handset.

(And yes, we’d absolutely expect a European release for this year’s Note, after Samsung strangely opted not to launch the Note 5 in that region.)

Join the discussion!

Eagerly awaiting the Galaxy Note 7? Chat it up with fellow fans on the Galaxy Note 7 forums!

Amazon Prime Day will offer 1,000s of Black Friday style deals on 12 July

Amazon is to hold is second annual Amazon Prime Day on Tuesday 12 July, where it will discount more than 100,000 products in a Black Friday style sell-off.

All deals will be offered to Prime members exclusively and they will be available globally.

That means Amazon Prime subscribers in the UK, US, Canada, Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium and Austria will be able to purchase items at huge discounts.

And if you aren’t already an Amazon Prime member, you can sign up now (or just before the sales start) for a 30-day trial from amazon.co.uk/primeday.

New deals will start every five minutes and when they are gone, they are gone. There will also be countdown deals on the build up to the day, starting on 5 July and running through to 11 July. These will include a 40 per cent discount on a 43-inch Finlux UHD TV with Freeview Play.

In the UK, Amazon is also holding competitions with Prime Music prizes on offer throughout the day. Gig tickets, signed items and even a full Sonos system will be up for grabs. You could even have Brit Award winner Passenger play a private gig in your front room.

In addition, Prime members who upload at least one photo on their included Prime Photos account will be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win £3,500 in Amazon.co.uk gift cards.

12 secret WhatsApp tricks

WhatsApp. Wonderful, wonderful, WhatsApp. The messaging service that made BBM look boring and text messages redundant.

Of course there are now heaps of messaging services around, but WhatsApp has had a massive head start on almost all of them, meaning it has tonnes of features.

You can read all about what it is and how it works in our WhatsApp feature, but for those who already know the beauty of the service, here are some secret tips you might not know about.

Hide the blue ticks

Those blue ticks can get you in a whole world of trouble, especially when you don’t reply instantly and someone sees you have read their messages. You can turn them off, but it’s worth noting that if you do, you won’t get read receipts for your messages either.

iOS: Settings > Account > Privacy > Toggle off Read Receipts.

Android: Settings > Account > Privacy > Untick Read Receipts.

Find who you talk to most

Who is really your favourite person? It might not be who you think. On iOS, there is a way to find the people you send the most messages to and how much storage each person takes up, among other things.

iOS: Settings > Account > Storage Usage > Select Contact

Add dates to your calendar automatically

If you’re prone to forgetting dates mentioned in various chats, it’s possible to automatically create an event directly from WhatsApp on iOS.

iOS: Press and hold date within chat > Create Event

Mark chats as unread

Ever been out and about, read a chat and then completely forgot to reply? We do it all the time. There is a way to mark important chats with dot to remind you to go back to it though.

iOS: Chats >  Swipe left to right > Mark as Unread

Android: Long press chat > Open Menu > Mark as Unread

Save your data allowance

If you’ve got a limited data allowance, you don’t want WhatsApp munching it all away. Thankfully, you can customise when media is allowed to download, as well as ensure calls use as little data as possible.

iOS and Android: Settings > Data Usage

Stop people seeing your messages

Ever passed your phone to a friend and instantly panicked about the messages they might see come through? Yeah, we haven’t either. For those that have, you can turn off message preview on iOS so only the contact’s name will appear, rather than their life story.

In Android, it’s not possible through the WhatsApp app but you can stop private information showing up on your lock screen in Android itself.

iOS: Settings > Notifications > Toggle off Show Preview

Pocket-lint

Hide your profile picture

You might not want everyone to see your profile picture, especially if you’re part of several groups where you don’t know everyone in the group. Or perhaps you just fancy being a little mysterious for the day. Either way, you can choose if everyone, no-one, or only your contacts see your picture.

iOS & Android: Settings > Account > Privacy > Profile Photo

Get shortcuts to specific conversations

Do you have a few extra special people you talk to all the time via WhatsApp? We do too. You can create a shortcut for specific conversations on Android, making it easier to access those chats you need all the time.

Android: Chats > Specific chat > Menu > More > Add Shortcut or Chats > Press and hold individual chat > Menu > Add Chat Shortcut

Bookmark important messages

Some messages are more important than others. Whether it’s a date you need to remember, or a good restaurant you’ve been recommended. It’s possible to bookmark these messages and find them all easily in the Starred Messages section.

iOS: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Double tap or hold down and press the star

Android: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Hold down and press the star

Send a public message privately

Ever had a free evening and wanted to ask several of your friends if they are around without having to open up each chat to ask them seperately?

You can send a broadcast message to a list of contacts with it appearing as though you’ve asked them individually. Great for saving time, terrible if they all reply yes.

iOS: Chats > Broadcast Lists > New List > Add contacts

Android: Chats > Menu > New Broadcast

Find out how long you’ve been ignored for

There is nothing more annoying than seeing those blue ticks appear without a reply following soon after. If you want to torture yourself a little more and find out when your message was actually read and how long you’ve been ignored for, you can. We don’t advise it though.

iOS: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Swipe left to right

Android: Chats > Specific chat > Specific message > Press and hold > Tap the info “i” icon at the top

Customise notifications

There might be certain contacts you want to know instantly if they are calling or messaging you. To make sure they don’t blend into the crowd, you can change their specific alert tones so you recognise when that particular person has sent you a message or is WhatsApp calling you.

iOS & Android: Chats > Specific chat > Tap on contact name at top > Custom Notifications

B&O Play get into the wireless earbud game

B&O Play came very late to the Bluetooth audio game, but it didn’t matter because the sound quality was worth the wait. The firm is now widening its wireless range with the H5, its first set of in-ear buds that ditch the 3.5 mm connector. The big selling point is that the gear will connect to a smartphone app, letting you tweak the sound profile to the situation, such as commuting, podcasts or working out. They can also tweak the “tonality and staging” to their own ends by delving further into the app, the settings saved until you choose to readjust.

The Beoplay H5 is packing 100mAh worth of batteries, and the company promises that you’ll get up to five hours of play between charges. Included in the packaging is a magnetic charger as well as seven different sets of ear tips to ensure “optimal fit,” no matter what size your ear canals are. Of course, these days it’s a bit of a misnomer to call these devices wireless, since the H5 does have a wire linking both earbuds together. In the days of truly wire-free devices like the Bragi Dash and Samsung’s Gear IconX, we might need to sort out a new name.

The Beoplay H5 is available from today in black or pink dusty rose and is priced at $249 / £199 / €249.

Source: B&O

Blast Motion’s swing sensor data is coming to baseball broadcasts

Major League Baseball had already approved Blast Motion’s swing analyzer for use in training sessions, but now that the gadget is official hitting sensor of the league, it’s going to be used for a lot more. Data from the $150 device will be used in television broadcasts, starting with the MLB All-Star Futures Game on July 10th. While that matchup is only an exhibition of the baseball’s up-and-coming young talent, Blast says other “select television broadcasts” will feature stats collected by the swing tracker.

The main feature of the Blast Motion platform is overlaying metrics on top of video captured with a mobile device, so it’s easy to see a transition to the world of television. There’s no mention of being approved for in-game use in official contests though, so we’ll be interested to see when and where the stats pop up. The baseball sensor, attaches to the knob of a bat and beams collected data via Bluetooth to a mobile device on power, time to contact, bat path, swing speed and more. As you might expect, there’s a special version of the app for pro teams to use that requires a unique log-in to use. You know, because pro baseball teams can’t be trusted these days.

Source: Blast Motion

Apple Music Turns One Year Old With 15 Million Subscribers on Board and a Redesign on the Way

Today marks the one year anniversary of Apple Music, which launched in 110 countries on June 30, 2015. The streaming music service was initially limited to the Mac and iOS devices, and it has since expanded to Apple TV and Android.

Apple’s streaming music service, an evolution of the Beats Music service it acquired in 2014, has steadily gained listeners over the past twelve months, reaching over 15 million paying subscribers as of WWDC 2016 earlier this month.

Spotify still remains the world’s most popular streaming music service, with roughly twice as many paying subscribers as Apple Music, but the Swedish rival has been available in Europe for nearly eight years and in the U.S. since 2011.

Assuming that Apple Music maintains its current pace of growth, it is reasonable to assume that it will eventually eclipse Spotify as the top streaming service worldwide, with Apple Music benefiting greatly from its prominent placement within a default app on iOS and a lengthy three-month free trial to get users hooked on the service.

Apple Music has received its share of criticism since launch, partly due to somewhat confusing layouts that can make it difficult to find content and easily manage downloaded or owned content versus streamed content. Apple’s “Connect” social feature intended to allow artists to share content with fans also failed to take hold, with many quickly drawing comparisons to the ill-fated “Ping” social network that debuted as part of iTunes in 2010 but was officially canceled just two years later.

With iOS 10, Apple is undertaking a reinvention of the Apple Music experience on its mobile platform, completely revamping the app with new organization and a new design. The new design in particular has been controversial, with bold fonts standing in stark contrast to most of the rest of the operating system. But the new layout makes for a much more logical organization of content and features, with downloaded music receiving its own section and Connect receiving much less prominent placement.

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Apple is also pushing forward its relationships with artists for Apple Music, working hard to secure exclusive content as it seeks to follow the model of “MTV in its Eighties and Nineties heyday” in becoming the go-to place for artists and content.

Apple Music is clearly still in its early days, with Apple still evolving its integration of the Beats Music team and their streaming service into iTunes and the stock Apple user experience across all platforms. But with strong subscriber growth and industry trends pointing toward a continued shift toward streaming services, it’s clear this is where Apple’s content future lies, whether it be the current music service or future video services.

Tag: Apple Music
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