Nest’s new Cam Outdoor is now up for pre-order to keep your home safe

Nest has launched an outdoor version of its popular Cam. It’s essentially the same product but with added weather proofing to ensure it’ll last the days when attached to the side of your property. This is achieved by a combination of magnets and screw mounts, which will in turn enable you to direct the unit to face in an orientation of your choice.

As highlighted by Engadget, it’s worth noting that this particular unit requires an outlet and does not run on batteries. It’s said the use of mains power means the Nest Cam can continue recording and uploading footage for viewing without needing to turn itself off and activate once movement is detected (running the risk of missing out on the object that triggered the sensor). On the flip side, should you happen to lose power to your home, the camera becomes decoration.

There’s no built-in storage either, so you’ll need to make sure your Wi-Fi remains up and running. That said, the Nest Cam does boast 1080p recording with a 130-degree wide angle of view. A total of eight infrared LEDs light up the night and all video streamed is encrypted. Sound like the perfect solution to add to your security setup? You can pre-order it now for $199 with shipping expected to hit in the fall.

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Nest Cam Outdoor: Full HD, Nest Aware connected, with talk and listen functions

Nest has announced a new connected camera, the Nest Cam Outdoor. As the name suggests, this is an outdoor camera, offering weatherproofing, but linking in to the rest of your Nest home.

The new camera is designed for DIY installation, opting for a cabled power connection, rather than using batteries. The reason for this is simple, say Nest, in that it means that the Nest Cam Outdoor can record all the time, offer full HD quality and excellent night vision, without compromise. 

The Nest Cam Outdoor is IP65 rated, with the cable offering an IP67 rating too. In total there’s 7.5 metres of cable, so whether you’re running it to an external plug socket, or via a circuitous route to an indoor socket, you should have plenty of flexibility for installation.

Connecting to the wall is easy enough too, with a magnetic base. This can be screwed onto the wall and then thanks to the magnets, you can freely position the camera to get the best angle of view for you. You get everything you need in the box, including screws and cable grips.

The camera features a 130-degree field of view, captures 1920 x 1080 resolution video and features eight IR LEDs for night vision.

The Nest Cam Outdoor also offers talk and listen functions, thanks to a speaker and mic. This will mean that you can, for example, talk to that delivery driver at your front door, and suggest he leaves the parcel with a neighbour.

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If you’re feeling particularly haughty, you could tell a lurking miscreant to politely shove off too.

Nest Cam Outdoor is controlled through a redesigned Nest app, which will now give larger previews to Indoor and Outdoor cameras, to save you clicks when you open the app. The Nest Aware service remains a subscription service, priced at £8 a month for one camera, and £4 a month for subsequent cameras. 

Nest Aware offers 24/7 recording with cloud storage, intelligent alerts and new person alerts. Nest is able to determine when there’s a person in the picture and alert you to that, which will be useful for anyone monitoring their back garden for example. 

Nest Cam Outdoor is available for pre-order in the US, priced at $199 and available in September. 

Nest Cam Outdoor will be available in the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland later in 2016, price to be determined.

Google Nexus Watch: What’s the story so far?

For the past few months, rumours have been building suggesting that Google is doubling down on its own hardware design. That means we’re likely to see Google-branded smartphones, tablets, Chromebooks and – perhaps – smartwatches.

With the holiday season closing in, here’s everything we know so far about Google’s rumoured Nexus watches.

Nexus Watch: Names

Like the upcoming HTC Nexus/Google phones, there are two watches in development and they are currently being called by their codenames which both feature a fish of some kind. The larger watch is currently named Angelfish, while the smaller model is Swordfish.

Google isn’t expected to stick with these names. Until recently, the watches were just branded “Nexus Watch” by the media. Of course, there’s a chance that Google won’t even continue with the Nexus naming. Whether they’re given the Nexus moniker or not, they will undoubtedly be launched with the Nexus spirit of being completely optimised for all that Android Wear has to offer.

Nexus Watch: Design

The larger and more spec-tastic of the two, Angelfish, is claimed to measure 43.5mm in diameter, while the smaller watch, Swordfish, is 42mm, similar to the Huawei Watch and 2nd gen Moto 360.

What’s interesting is that, according to Android Police’s sources, Angelfish will be equipped with a different array of physical buttons. This watch is claimed to feature the usual “crown” button halfway up the right edge, but also feature two shoulder buttons which don’t protrude as far. The larger model also appears to have a much thicker, darker metal casing with fitting for a wider watch strap.

Moving on Swordfish, and it appears that this model only has the one, single oddly designed button on the right edge. Despite its case diameter only being 1.5mm narrower than the larger model, the watch strap is quite noticeably much narrower, by at least 4-5mm.

As well as being smaller, the 42mm Swordfish model is claimed to feature a much rounder design. Although both have a circular face, the smaller model is rumoured to have glass that curves towards the edges, and a bezel which itself curves a little. Angelfish is much flatter, and more angular.

If one was to generalise it, we could assume that perhaps the more rounded, less angular model with a thinner strap was designed with a female target market in mind, while the bigger version is supposedly more “masculine”.

Android Police

Nexus Watch: Display

Nothing has yet been specifically mentioned about the Nexus Watch displays in terms of exact dimensions. However, Android Police noted that the screen would be slightly smaller than the Moto 360, and will have a small black gap between where the watch body ends and visible display begins to avoid a section being cut-off. In other words, the screen will have a slim black ring around the edges, but thankfully won’t have a hideous “flat tyre”.

As for size and resolution, any mention of those would be completely speculative. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a display similar in size and resolution to the Huawei Watch which features a 400 x 400 resolution 1.4-inch circular display boasting a pixel density of 286ppi (pixels per inch).

Nexus Watch: Specs

Google has long been a partner with Qualcomm for its Nexus smartphone chips. Likewise, most notable Android Wear watches are powered by a Snapdragon chip of some kind, so it’s likely that Google’s Nexus Watch will make use of the newest Snapdragon 2100 chip designed specifically for wearables. That is, of course, unless Qualcomm announces a new processor in between now and when the watches hit the market, which wouldn’t be surprising.

More interestingly, as well as being different in design and size, the Angelfish and Swordfish are predicted to offer different features to each other. As you can imagine, that means you’ll see more packed in to Angelfish.

For the most part, it seems the Angelfish is being designed to work as a standalone device. In other words, you won’t need to have your phone on you all the time to make use of it. It will have LTE connectivity for data connection, and GPS for location tracking, while the smaller Swordfish watch will not, according to Android Police.

With Android Wear 2.0 featuring the ability to have apps natively installed on the watches, you’d expect that also means a slight jump in available storage space: 4GB could be enough, but 8GB would ensure users don’t get storage anxiety.

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Nexus Watch: Software

Of all the rumours surrounding the Nexus watches (or whatever they end up being called), the software is the one element we have some certainty over.

Google announced a brand new wearable operating system called Android Wear 2.0 at Google I/O 2016 this summer. If the company does launch these watches, they will run Android Wear 2.0 and will be a glittering showcase for the new software.

Android Wear 2.0 features – among other things – standalone native apps so that your watch is less reliant on your smartphone. It also has a more advanced messaging system, which allows you to scribble or type replies on the touchscreen, as well as a refreshed app launcher screen.

The fitness app and notifications have also seen something of a design revamp, plus, advanced complications means you can have all kinds of information showing on your watch face, regardless of which watch face it is.

Nexus Watch: Release date and price

Until Google officially confirms their existence, we won’t know precisely when the Angelfish and Swordfish watches will be released, or how much they will cost. However, it would make complete sense to launch them alongside the next Nexus smartphones later this year. That could put the date as September or October 2016.

Prices will likely be similar to current Android Wear watches. We’d expect the smaller 42mm model to cost between £230-£300, while the larger model will likely cost more than £300. Unless of course Google decides to return to its Nexus roots and offer them at close to cost price, making them ultra-affordable.

Fresh Galaxy Note 7 leak shows device from every angle, almost

A new set of images has emerged claiming to show the Galaxy Note 7 from virtually every angle. Although we can’t confirm the authenticity of the device in the photos, it certainly seems very convincing. The device being handled looks exactly like we expect it to; essentially a larger, less curved version of the Galaxy S7 Edge. 

The images were posted on Chinese social media site, Weibo, and show a device which – although similar – isn’t exactly like the S7 Edge in appearance.

While it clearly has curved edges to the screen on both sides, they don’t seem as pronounced as the Edge-branded phone. Likewise, the curves towards the edges on the back panel seem a little more shallow. What’s more, the corners of the device – while round – are a little more squared off. 

Noticeably, there are a couple of angles missing here. There’s no view of the bottom edge to confirm the existence of an S-Pen silo, neither is there a picture of the back to show off the camera makeup. 

If this is is the genuine article, we expect the Note 7 to retain its slightly square-ish appearance compared to the S-series phones, even if it is a little more rounded and curved than previous Galaxy Notes. 

• Samsung Galaxy Note 7: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 edge, aka Note 6, to feature dual cameras

With less than a month to wait until the device is announced, we can expect the number of leaks and rumours to increase. Over the coming weeks we should get a full enough picture of the smartphone that we’ll be surprised by very little during the unveiling on 2 August. 

So far, rumours have claimed the Note 7 will have a 5.7 to 5.8-inch Quad HD display with curved edges, 6GB RAM, expandable storage, a brand new Snapdragon 800-series processor (either 821 or 823) and will come with an enhanced S-Pen for scribbling notes on the ultra-sensitive screen. It’s likely to have the same fantastic camera from the S7/S7 Edge, as well an updated Touchwiz user interface. 

The phone is going to be announced on 2 August at an event in New York, and we’ll be at the satellite event in London to bring you coverage of Sammy’s next big flagship. If speculation is to be believed, it could hit store shelves just two weeks after being shown off by Samsung, which means you could get your hands on it as soon as the middle of August. 

Withings Go review: Tracking on a budget

French company Withings has been central to the activity tracking and health markets for some time. It might not be as well known as the likes of Fitbit, but it has produced some winning devices in the past.

Buy into the Withings platform and your options are plentiful: from activity trackers and smart scales to blood pressure monitors and smart cameras – there’s a whole network of devices. 

The latest in the company’s portfolio is the Go activity tracker, designed to be fun, easy-to-use and affordable. At £50 it’s no surprise it’s basic, with a black-and-white E Ink display and a plasticky finish.

Does such simplicity stand in the way of it being a desirable entry-level tracker for walking, running, swimming and sleep tracking, or is it a worthy addition to the portfolio?

Withings Go review: Design

The circular pebble-shaped device can be worn pretty much any way you choose, whether that be on the wrist, placed in a pocket, or attached to your belt. It’s versatile and even water-resistant, which are among its biggest attributes.

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The always-on E Ink screen – which is the same technology as used in many Amazon Kindle e-readers – shows step progress first and foremost, but a hard push on the display briefly presents a clock face. When the user-defined step goal is reached, the virtual “walking man” displayed in the centre changes to a star and the progress lines around it reset.

While E Ink might not look as snazzy as full colour display options, it is visible in all conditions, its avoidance of reflective sunlight being one of its obvious benefits.

On the rear of the Go there is a small indent for accessing the battery, which should last for eight month stints at a time. That’s another of the Go’s best attributes, along with its waterproof rating of up to 50-metres.

The Withings Go doesn’t have a ground-breaking design by any means, nor does it look particularly great on the wrist. But it is easy to use, comfortable and it doesn’t need to be seen to be heard.

Withings Go review: Features

The Withings Go will track walking, running, swimming and sleep. Step tracking is its biggest focus, given this is what is seen on the E Ink display, but information for other activity can be found in the accompanying Health Mate app.

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In terms of walking and running, the Go will record steps taken, distance travelled, time and calories burned. When it comes to swimming, there are no specific swimming metrics recorded, it’s simply a case of calories burned and time.

Sleep tracking offers duration of sleep, time awake, time in light sleep and time in deep sleep. It will also record how many times you woke up and how many minutes it took you to fall asleep. If you can bear to wear the device in bed anyway.

The Go is all about basic activity tracking, which is reflected in its price. There are no fancy features like smart notifications, GPS tracking, elevation data or heart-rate monitoring.

Withings Go review: Performance

We found the Withings Go to slightly underestimate in terms of step tracking, which is what we have found from previous Withings devices. We tested it alongside the Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Alta on the Moon Walk, which is a walking marathon. In our experience, the Fitbit Charge HR has been accurate almost to the step – so it’s a good indicator to how other devices perform.

The Withings Go measured 46,977 steps for the duration of the walk after midnight, whereas the Fitbit Charge HR measured 47,922, and the Alta  49,255. It’s not a huge discrepancy across such a long distance – but a discrepancy nonetheless.

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Distance was more accurate on the Withings Go than the Fitbit devices – but still not accurate enough. The Go measured 23.45 miles for the 26.2 mile distance, while the Alta measured just 22.73 miles (we had to take the information from the hour before midnight too, which is why the screenshots above show different data). 

Calories burned is a little harder to determine in accuracy terms, especially without heart-rate monitoring, elevation or body metrics data. The Go measured 3,569 calories burned, compared to the 3,252 from the Fitbit Charge HR, which has both heart-rate and elevation measuring capabilities. We wouldn’t take either as gospel, but the Go hasn’t done badly in terms of estimation given it lacks two fundamental data points.

As we’ve said in previous activity tracking reviews, we’re not a huge fan of sleep tracking because it’s not the most comfortable, nor particularly reliable. But the Withings Go has it as a feature if you want to use it. And it’s nicer than some trackers in that its E Ink display doesn’t wake you up in the middle of the night by shining in your face.

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We measured the Withings Go against the Withings Aura Sleep System and the results were quite different. Where the Aura measured 6 hours 41 minutes in bed, of which 6 hours and 7 minutes were asleep, the Go measured 7 hours 38 minutes in bed, of which 7 hours 21 minutes were asleep.

In this case, the Aura was the more accurate as we were reading for the extra time the Go suggested we were sleeping. The Aura also registered us waking up four times, compared to the Go registering two times, the former of which was correct. The Aura provides more detail, while the Go provides a rough estimate.

Withings Go review: App

The free-to-download Withings Health Mate app – used in conjunction with the Go and other Withings devices – offers a good, clean interface. However, it’s not quite as simple or effective as the Fitbit app.

Rather than having tabs at the bottom like Fitbit, the Health Mate app has a main home page with a menu in the top left, offering access to various sections, such as user profiles, leaderboard and a dashboard with movable widgets. This is also where settings are, should you want to change units or language, for example.

There are far fewer options to fiddle with for the Withings Go than there are with Fitbit. For example, it’s not possible to tell Health Mate which wrist the Go is on or detail measurements like stride length for more accurate readings. It is possible to tell the app you’ve forgotten your Go, however, which is something you can’t do on Fitbit.

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On the Health Mate app’s main page there’s a colour-coded block sat at the top, which Withings calls Timeline. A swipe left or right on this block will display various metrics, such as activity (orange), weight (pink) and nutrition (purple), as derived from the Go and any other Withings devices you may have connected, like the Body Cardio scales.

A tap on each specific metric will display more details, including a graph, and allows you to view your history. It’s also possible to change goals and targets when within a specific metric by tapping on the three option dots in the top right corner.

Verdict

The Withings Go is one of the cheapest activity trackers out there, sitting in line with the likes of the Misfit Flash. Although the Go’s E Ink display couldn’t be called pretty, it is functional for showing step progress and, therefore, might be the preferable choice.

The biggest problem the Go faces is that there isn’t a huge price difference between the budget and higher-end of the activity tracking market. So an extra £50 could get you a better looking tracker with a colour OLED display, even better app experience and smart notifications.

For those who want what’s essentially a glorified pedometer with a few extra features, the Go is a great choice. For those after a proper activity tracker, there are better options if you can afford to spend a little extra.

Google Play update hits Pixel 2015 and Acer R11 Chromebooks

We’re hearing reports that the Pixel 2015 and Acer R11 Chromebooks have a Dev channel update that brings support for Android apps and the Google Play Store. The two devices will join the ASUS Chromebook Flip as part of the testing platform to get the stable channel of Chrome OS ready for the Play Store. When the program comes out of beta, many current and future Chromebooks will be able to install and run your favorite Android apps from Google Play with no trickery or difficulties.

To get Google Play up and running on your Pixel or R11, make sure you’re on the latest Dev channel build and look for “Play store” in your settings. See here for full details.

Read: These are the Chromebooks that will get Google Play support

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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Pokémon Go already the biggest mobile game in U.S. history

Barely a week into its debut, Pokémon Go has clocked 21 million daily active users, edging past Candy Crush Saga’s 20 million users recorded in 2013. The data comes from online survey company SurveyMonkey, which pegs Pokémon Go as the biggest mobile game in U.S. history. The game already surpassed Tinder and Twitter when it comes to daily active users, and it isn’t even available globally yet, with Niantic pausing its international rollout to deal with the massive influx of players.

From SurveyMonkey:

Within three days of its release, Pokémon GO attracted more users than Twitter, and rose to the top of the App Store revenue charts, earning millions of dollars a day for its publisher, Niantic.

As of yesterday, Pokémon GO attracted just under 21 million daily active users in the United States, surpassing Candy Crush saga’s rumored peak US smartphone audience of 20 million and making it the biggest mobile game in US history.

If you’re playing Pokémon Go, be sure to check out our extensive coverage of the game.

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