OnePlus Loop VR headset preview: This is the free VR headset for the OnePlus 3 launch

When OnePlus said it was giving away free VR headsets, the internet blew up and soon stock had vanished. Fortunately we were at the front of the queue and now we’ve had our Loop VR headset delivered. 

It would be selfish not to share, so here it is, the launch vessel for the OnePlus 3, the Loop VR.

OnePlus Loop VR hardware design

Emblazoned across the side of the Loop VR is “powered by ANTVR”, aping the wording on Samsung’s Gear VR which reads “powered by OCULUS”. In the case of the Loop, there’s no “power” in the hardware: this is a passive headset. 

In that sense, the Loop VR is similar to existing VR headsets that have been developed for use within the Google Cardboard system, such as Homido. But in this case it offers a plastic body that’s fairly substantial, combined with a rubber flange and foam pad to make a seal against your face.

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It’s substantial and attractively designed for something that’s free and we like the solidity of the main plastic body: it will certainly last longer than something made from cardboard. The Loop VR measures 189 x 103 x 133mm and it weighs about 366g, and that’s without the phone.

There’s a three-point strap that offers some adjustment to hold the headset to your face, so it has an immediate advantage over many of the Cardboard viewers that need you to hold them in place, although this isn’t the most comfortable of headsets and we found it pressed on the bridge of the nose, and there’s no padding there. 

This is perhaps made worse by the weight: as it’s pretty heavy, especially once you’ve added a phone to the front, gravity pulls it down your face onto the top of your nose. You could tighten the straps, especially the top strap to try and pull it up, but in reality the problem is a lack of support in the lower sections where it presses against your cheeks. Still, it was free, so you can’t complain too much. 

As is the convention, there are two magnifying eyepieces within the headset and these offer some adjustment, to accommodate the distance between your eyes. These have to be clicked back and forth from the inside, but it’s easy enough to make these minor adjustments. 

You’ll notice there’s been no mention of any buttons or controls: there aren’t any, so this isn’t a fully compliant Google Cardboard headset.

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OnePlus Loop VR smartphone requirements

The phone slips into the front and is held in place via friction with a couple of rubber bubbles on the outside pushing the phone against the rubber-foam front. That’s a fairly conventional setup for these types of headsets and in our tests, phones are held in place securely enough, so they don’t slide around when you move your head about.

The official specs say that the Loop VR supports iOS and Android and that it is designed for devices with a display around 5 to 6 inches. We tested it mainly with the Nexus 6, a device that we’ve used for a number of VR applications because of its large high-resolution display. Of course, all the sensors of the phone provide the movement in the VR universe and the speakers provide the sound, although headphones are recommended.

The Nexus 6 works well (aside from being rather heavy) and the display fits into the Loop VR’s field of view well. If you happen to have an Xperia Z5 Premium you’ll find this is also great, because it offers even greater resolutions for those applications, like YouTube 360 video, that supports it.

We also tested it with the Xperia X. Although the phone’s smaller size and slimmer body are held in place securely enough, because it’s only 5 inches, it doesn’t fill the field of view so well. This means you can see some of the phone and the edges of the display, where the bigger devices give a better, more immersive, experience. 

Additionally, the full HD display is ok for VR, but only ok: the higher the pixel density, the better your content can look, especially when you consider that it’s being magnified by those lenses. Still, the long and short of it is that most mainstream phones will be fine and some will be better than others.

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OnePlus Loop VR: Controls and content

Normally when looking at a VR headset, content is king and control is what makes the difference. In the Google Cardboard universe, the addition of a capacitive button made a big difference, as it allowed you to select and navigate, finding your way out of virtual lobbies more dynamically than just the hover-to-select method. 

Some headsets, like Gear VR, give you even more controls, but that’s a deeper integrated headset designed to work with Samsung’s phones. The Loop VR gives you nothing, so in that sense, it’s a slight step back. For content to be effective, it’s going to need easy navigation, or you might have to be sliding the phone out to tap the display every time you want to do something. Currently there’s a mixture of navigation options presented by VR apps.

This might all change in the future however. With Daydream presenting a new future for Google VR – and thereby smartphone-based VR – the lack of controls might be side-stepped with the introduction of a controller, something that Daydream has in its specifications. That’s some way off for now, but could change the VR landscape later in 2016.

READ: What is Daydream and when is it coming?

There’s no content per se, although you can use any of the current VR or 3D apps on Google Play and it works with YouTube 360 video. You’ll quickly find that Android prompts you to set it up via the QR code scanner method that Cardboard offers – but there’s no QR code, so you can’t. 

The Loop VR was pitched as a giveaway to help you watch the OnePlus 3 VR launch event. There’s a Loop VR app, but this is currently just a 2D countdown timer. This is likely to become a VR lounge to launch and showcase the OnePlus 3 on launch day, but currently doesn’t offer any other functions. We’re sure it will blossom into a slick app to use with the Loop VR when the time comes.

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OnePlus Loop VR: Conclusions

With everything free there’s always a caveat and that is that you can’t complain too much. Is this the best headset out there? No, it isn’t. It’s not the most comfortable, it is heavy and it lacks Google Cardboard compatibility, so as it stands, it’s not as functional as it could be. 

That said, it supports plenty of phone sizes and does so securely, it offers a modicum of adjustment for different sized heads and it looks good. The Loop VR isn’t a silver bullet that will mean you don’t need to look at other VR headsets for a longer-term solution, but it’s a lot more attractive than a piece of cardboard.

Roll on 14 June for the launch of the OnePlus 3!

READ: OnePlus 3: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know

Lenovo Tech World 2016: How can you watch and what will be unveiled?

Lenovo will hold an event in June to introduce new phones and more.

This event, dubbed Tech World, will not only see the introduction of a new line of Moto phones but will also serve as the official launch of Lenovo’s Project Tango phone. If you’d like to know more about these devices and what else Lenovo might have up its sleeve, we’ve rounded up all the speculation along with confirmed information – including how you can stream Tech World.

Lenovo Tech World 2016: What is it and when is it?

Lenovo Tech World is Lenovo’s second annual technology conference. It’ll be held in San Francisco on 9 June 2016. Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo’s CEO, is scheduled to take the stage during the conference’s main keynote, where Lenovo has promised it will address “the most promising and emerging topics in innovation, including virtual reality, smart connected devices/IoT, and harnessing the power of the cloud.”

Lenovo Tech World 2016: How can you stream it?

Lenovo will livestream its keynote at 10 am PST on 9 June 2016 at http://www.YouTube.com/Lenovo (the video is embedded above).

Lenovo Tech World: What will be unveiled?

Lenovo already revealed that Tech World 2016 will host major product announcements, such as the world’s first consumer Project Tango-enabled phone in partnership with Google and a “new mobile technology designed by Motorola that will dramatically change the way people think about and use their most personal devices – in a snap”.

Here’s everything we know so far about Tech World 2016…

Project Tango

Lenovo

Lenovo and Google announced a Tango phone for consumers earlier this year, but the device, which will be the first commercially-available phone loaded with Google’s 3D mapping tech, won’t get an official launch until Tech World 2016. We know that the phone will be under 6.5 inches big, should cost $500 or less, and features a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The rest is a mystery.

The consumer version will likely have a different design than the prototype released in January. It will still able to use its cameras to measure a room in 3D and overlay augmented reality objects onto the screen. This shoul allow for accurate indoor tracking, which is ideal for places like shopping centres. You can learn more about Lenovo and Google’s Tango device from here.

Moto Z

hellomotoHK

Lenovo-owned Motorola is expected to release a follow up to the Moto X Pure Edition, but all the rumours so far have indicated Lenovo wants to ditch the Moto X brand in favour a new brand name called Moto Z. With this fresh line, you can expect Lenovo to initially launch two new devices: Moto Z Play and Moto Z Style. The interesting thing about these phones is that they’re modular.

Both phones are thought to be 5.5-inches devices that work with modular backplates called MotoMods. They will add new functionality to the phone. Recent leaks have suggested we can expect JBL speakers, a projector, and a Hasselblad-branded camera, for instance. Keep in mind that because of the MotoMods, the Moto Z cannot have a rear-mounted fingerprint reader.

It seems like the Moto Z Style will be the flagship device. Rumoured specs include a quad HD display, 32GB of storage, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, an 0.2-inch thick body, and Snapdragon 820 processor. The Moto Z Play will feature a 1080p screen, either 16GB of storage and 2GB RAM or 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. You can read more about both of these phones from here.

Lenovo Tech World: What about the Razr?

No, Motorola isn’t re-releasing its Razr flip phone. Although the company posted a short teaser video featuring the device, a company spokesman told The Telegraph that the hinge-based mobile phone, which sold more than 130 million units globally after launching in 2004, is not coming back. Instead, the teaser was described as a “throwback video” designed to generate excitement. 

“We love how the throwback video has been embraced and the excitement it has generated,” the company said of the video, which shows a student from the early 2000s using the phone. “The Razr was one of the most iconic phones ever designed and redefined how stylish a mobile phone can be. While Moto is not re-releasing the RAZR, we will transform mobile again on June 9.”

Lenovo Tech World: Is that all?

It’s hard to say. The company could unveil a third-generation Moto 360, but the second-generation version of the smartwatch is less than a year old. Also, we might see some new PCs announced, though it seems like Tech World is laser-focused on smartphones at the moment.

Pandora isn’t selling, plans to offer cheaper subscriptions

Reports of Pandora’s possible sale or merger with another company were swirling when its founder Tim Westergren returned as CEO in March. In an interview at the Midem music industry conference in France over the weekend, Westergren addressed those rumors and provided some info on the upcoming subscription service. Spoiler alert: the company isn’t for sale and doesn’t plan on merging.

“We are on a path to do something big and something for the long term, and that’s why I got back in the saddle,” Westergren said. “So no plans for that.”

Pandora nabbed what was left of Rdio after that streaming service filed for bankruptcy last year. When that move was made, it seemed pretty obvious that Pandora was planning an on-demand monthly subscription of its own. Westergren told Glassnote Records founder Daniel Glass during the interview that the upcoming service will take what the internet radio option knows about your listening habits and personalize the on-demand experience for each listener. In other words, don’t expect to only get access to a library of millions of songs and that’s it. The things Pandora is known for, like recommendations, will be a big part of what’s coming.

“Our approach is going to be to take what we know about you to make it intuitive and personalized,” he explained. “I think it will be a [benefit] to the industry in a way that nobody else can do, so we bought Rdio to do it.”

Westergren also noted that in addition to the going rate of $10 a month, the plan is to offer “mid-level” features at a cheaper rate. “I think the big challenge is there’s a small segment of the population that will pay the $120 per year, but we think there’s a much bigger audience that will pay maybe something less,” he said. There was no indication if this would be something like Hulu where TV streaming with some ads costs less than a pricier plan that’s free of the interruptions.

Expanding the places where Pandora is available is also on the company’s to-do list. Right now, only listeners in the US, Australia and New Zealand can employ the service, but that could change soon enough. Westergren said Pandora has “rank-ordered every country based on dozens and dozens of factors,” but explained that the goal is to be eventually be everywhere. Perhaps that expansion will be part of the new service when it arrives.

Via: Billboard

Source: Midem (YouTube)

Netflix built a tool to gauge real-world video quality

Real-world video quality is tricky to measure: a bitrate that looks good for a crowd shot might be terrible for a close-up. Netflix, however, thinks it has the problem licked. It developed a tool that measures videos based on perceived quality, not just pure numbers. The technology works by gauging visual information fidelity (how much has changed?), detail loss and the effect of motion. The end result is a test that’s much more reflective of real life, regardless of what you’re watching; you know what should be appealing, whether it’s a live-action drama or an animated kids’ movie.

While Netflix created the tool, it’s not hoarding the technology for itself. It’s releasing the software as open source code, both to let other companies test their videos and to help tackle remaining questions (such as how viewing conditions affect the image). If this pans out, you could see video services of all kinds fine-tuning their streaming to deliver consistent picture quality, no matter what movies and TV shows you enjoy.

Source: Netflix Tech Blog, GitHub

Robots, VR and the future of male masturbators

In my time as a human with a penis, I’ve penetrated more inanimate objects than I care to admit.

NSFW Warning: This story may contain links to and descriptions or images of explicit sexual acts.

There were pillows, mattresses, bottles, a couple of cuts of raw meat and even a vacuum. Yes, sometime not long after I discovered the wonders of masturbation, I attempted to have sex with a vacuum and it turned out about as well as you might imagine.

When I was a kid, masturbation was an adventure in engineering. As I’ve come of age, however, so has the sex-toy market. After centuries of ejaculating into whatever we can find, a seemingly robust market has sprouted up around male-masturbation aids. With the promise of sex robots and fully immersive VR on the horizon, manufacturers are finding new and engaging ways to embrace the dick.

Over the course of the past two months, I’ve had sex with a crowdfunded “blowjob robot,” fucked myself with the help of teledildonics and had my fair share of VR porn experiences. Sex shops sell celebrity pocket pussies, just-the-tip vibrators and silicone sex sleeves in increasing numbers. A new breed of masturbators, pump, suck, stroke and connect to the internet like sexualized IoT appliances, playing on the promise of fully autonomous lovers.

Despite all of the innovation in male masturbation, I’ve yet to find a sperm catcher as appealing as my left hand. So, why, all of a sudden, is the sex-toy industry so focused on the dick? In my quest to get a grasp on the rise of the male masturbator I found that the recent influx has a long history and a potentially rich future.

“If you ask guys: hey, do you want a machine that makes your penis feel good, the answer will nearly always be yes.” — Brian Sloan, Autoblow

As Anthony Ferguson points out in The Sex Doll: A History, the first known sex dolls — precursors to today’s pocket pussies and tomorrow’s sexbots — appeared during the 17th century. Long stints at sea led some very resourceful sailors to create life-size sex dolls out of cloth, that they then shared among their shipmates.

Ferguson writes that the earliest manufactured sex dolls — expensive, hand-made inflatables — likely appeared in France during the turn of the 20th century. Advertisements from that era even refer to full-bodied figures with “phonographic attachments” to give the devices voices, and an “apparatus” to give their limbs movement. The iconic flat-faced blowup doll apparently appeared in the 1970s, but its wasn’t until the end of the 20th century that the flesh-like silicone figures we see today started to take shape.

Perhaps the most obvious descendant of these early sex toys is the RealDoll, intricately detailed silicone mannequins made to order for deep-pocketed fetishists. While these lifelike sexual aids may not be for everyone, there’s a whole new wave of male masturbators democratizing dick tickling. Brian Sloan, the man behind the “blowjob robot” Kickstarter success story, the Autoblow 2, attributes the boom in male sex toys at least in part to the affordability of materials like silicone.

“Customers are coming to expect quality materials in sex toys. The stuff that the big ‘founding’ sex-toy companies in the US got away with selling in the ’80s and ’90s and even still, to some extent, today is pretty disgusting,” Sloan said.

Ferguson cites three types of sex dolls: vinyl novelty toys with painted-on faces; heavier though still awkward latex toys; and the more realistic and forgiving silicone figures that can take the shape of a full human or just part of the body, such as with porn-star branded vaginal or anal molds. The majority of today’s male masturbators, including the Autoblow 2, are made in-part or in whole from silicone that mimics lifeless human flesh.

Sloan produces and directly markets a number of different sex toys, but it’s the Autoblow 2 — a large canister-like device with a silicone sleeve at its center and a small, fleshy mouth to stick your dick in — that has captured the public’s attention. He has sold 90,000 units since August 2014, despite the device’s outsize proportions, dependency on an outlet to function and a sound that its maker compares to windshield wipers.

“I created a device that finally gave men the chance to experience something they’d all envisioned for years while using their hands or the more traditional devices,” Sloan said. “If you ask guys: ‘Hey, do you want a machine that makes your penis feel good?’ The answer will nearly always be yes.”

“Let’s face it: Any time a new technology is introduced into society, it’s not long until someone finds a way to connect it to sex.” — Sherri L. Shaulis, AVN

Sloan’s machine, while still relatively rudimentary, has benefited from material technologies and the promise of human-like robotic lovers.

“For me at least, the next steps are working on robotic features that are more human-like in their movement styles, and to innovate on the materials that come into contact with your penis to make those more human-like as well,” Sloan said.

He dismisses the power of virtual reality to have a great impact on the male sex toy market, pointing to the expense of current hardware, but many in the industry see VR as a driving force.

“Let’s face it: Any time a new technology is introduced into society, it’s not long until someone finds a way to connect it to sex,” Sherri L. Shaulis, senior editor of pleasure products for Adult Video News (AVN), said. “For the past few years, we’ve seen a wave of app-driven sex toys but most of those were vibrators geared toward women. Now, companies are pairing strokers/masturbators with VR porn to give men a truly immersive experience.”

Shaulis points out that sex-toy sales are hard to quantify, despite reports of massive growth like those in a recent Broadly story. Anecdotally speaking, however, she’s seen a big shift in dick-centric pleasure products, driven at least in part by virtual reality.

“Most manufacturers and retailers keep their numbers close to the vest,” Shaulis said. “But I can attest to the fact that sex toys geared toward men — especially masturbators/strokers — are getting a lot more attention these days from manufacturers. With the increased focus recently on VR porn, many manufacturers are trying to capitalize on that, and the easiest way to do that is to create products that allow men to masturbate while viewing and ‘experiencing’ VR adult content.”

Tenga, a pioneer of male masturbators, has sold 47 million toys since its launch in 2005 and has seen year-over-year growth every year since, according to Eddie Marklew, the brand’s global marketing manager. Tenga was founded on the idea of quality design and materials, and while it has its sights set on the future, its product lineup mostly consists of low-tech, high-design male masturbators. Marklew says advancements like teleldildonics and virtual reality hold a lot of promise for the industry, but Tenga’s sole focus is on a simple user experience.

“Right now, the technology is not quite up to the level it needs to be to become anything beyond a gimmick, so we have no concrete plans for a teledildonics line just yet,” Marklew said. “That said, you can be sure we have our finger on the pulse for the latest tech innovations and our R&D team are constantly coming up with new ideas to take advantage of any advancements.”

Like Marklew, Sloan sees the power of simplicity when it comes to male desire. Like most things in consumer technology, we want the stuff we stick our dicks into to just work. Some of the most successful male sex toys on the market today are simple silicone reproductions of porn stars’ orifices. There’s no doubt the promise of sex robots and fully immersive pornography have had an impact on male sex toys, but as the history of the sex doll bears out, men are simple creatures looking for simple human contact. When that’s not available, they’ll go for the next best thing.

“As interesting and fast-growing as the market is for higher-end-technology-oriented male-masturbation products, I gotta admit that we sell many thousands of traditional fake vaginas every year,” Sloan said, “Some guys just enjoy getting on top of something that vaguely resembles a vagina and having their way with it.”

Apache helicopters now have real-time drone vision

After 30 years in service, the Army’s AH–64E Apache attack helicopters now have the ability to fly with an unmanned wingman. A new system called Manned-Unmanned Teaming (or MUM-T) allows Apache flight crews to tap into the real-time video feeds, sensors and control systems of nearby Army Shadow and Grey Eagle drones. According to Scout Warrior, the system is already being used in Afghanistan.

“Now before the unit even deploys out of the Forward Arming Refueling Point, or FARP, they can actually bring up the UAS (drone) feed, look through the sensors and see the target they are going to attack up to 50 or 60 miles away,” Colonel Jeff Hager of the Army’s Apache program told Scout Warrior. The system also allows the helicopter crews to keep tabs on moving targets why they are en route to a destination.

The MUM-T system is similar the Navy’s similar cloud computing efforts to share data between drones, manned aircraft and combat ships. The AH-64E, meanwhile, is the latest version of the Apache platform, which boasts a new engine, composite rotor blades and next-generation avionics that make it a lighter, faster and more maneuverable model that the previous Delta edition. The “E” models have already begun flight missions in Afghanistan, but the Army plans to have an arsenal of 690 total AH-64Es by 2025.