Qualcomm is selling more chips for high-end smartphones
Qualcomm shipped more Snapdragon chips this quarter than even it expected, and for that reason (and others), made more money. It reported sales of 201 million high-end chips, beating its estimates by at least 6 million. As a result, it raked in sales of $6.04 billion, up 3.6 percent from last year. Not coincidentally, Samsung also reported a very good quarter earlier this month, selling 15 million Galaxy S7/S7 Edge models. The company is, of course, back to using Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chips (which it actually builds itself), after it stopped with the Galaxy S6.
Though Qualcomm’s revenue bump was small, its net income is up 22 percent over last quarter to $1.44 billion. That can also be attributed, in part, to improved sales of its more profitable high-end chips. However, another big reason is that the company is licensing more of its chipsets and technology to China-based OEMs like Huawei, Xiaomi and ZTE, it said. Overall, Qualcomm’s licensees sold $62.6 billion worth of devices.
The immediate future of the company looks good, though there could be a few dark clouds. Samung is going to release it’s much-leaked Galaxy Note 7 shortly, a smartphone that’s expected to have Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 821 CPU in the US, Europe and other markets. That CPU, which gives about a 10 percent performance bump over the 820 model, will likely also appear in upcoming Nexus phones and other important models. However, Apple could switch from Qualcomm to Intel modems on its next model, and as it sold some 231 million phones last year, that could impact the chip company’s bottom line.
Source: Qualcomm (1), (2)
Pick up ‘Inversus’ and other new PS4 indies this August
August is shaping up to be a big month for indie gaming for PlayStation 4 owners, with a smattering of titles hitting next month, like the creative puzzler Inversus. It’s headed for the PlayStation Store on August 16th in all its monochromatic glory.
Inversus tasks players with moving on either white or black tiles. Much like Ikaruga is all about reversing the polarity (read: swapping between white and black) and Inversus is about flipping tiles over to create a path while ensuring you keep your enemies from progressing further. You can also play alone while fighting off waves of enemies if you’re more of a solo player. If you’re more interested in taking your game on the road, there’s a full suite of multiplayer options too.
Summer is a great time to pick up other indies as well, like Headlander, which comes out on July 26th. August is bringing Abzu, Brut@l and Bound as well. If indie gaming is your thing there are several new releases coming your way to help you beat the summer heat. Just wait until fall gets here, though.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Hubble study finds two potentially habitable exoplanets
Scientists from MIT and the University of Liège studying a planetary system orbiting the star TRAPPIST–1 have discovered two rocky, Earth-like and potentially habitable planets only 40 light years away from home. According to a paper published in Nature today, the atmospheres on planets TRAPPIST–1b and TRAPPIST–1c are likely to be dense and compact like the atmospheres of Earth, Venus and Mars.
The research team, led by MIT postdoc Julien de Wit made the discovery by pointing the Hubble Space Telescope in TRAPPIST–1’s direction just in time to catch a rare double transit – when both planets were passing in front of the star. Using Hubble’s spectrograph, the team was able to observe variations in the light passing around the planets. Because the wavelengths didn’t vary much, de Wit’s team could conclude that the planets’ atmospheres were not “light, large and puffy” like the ones found around Jupiter and other Jovian gas giants.
“Now we can say that these planets are rocky,” de Wit told MIT News. Now the question is, what kind of atmosphere do they have? The plausible scenarios include something like Venus, with high, thick clouds and an atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide, or an Earth-like atmosphere dominated by nitrogen and oxygen, or even something like Mars with a depleted atmosphere. The next step is to try to disentangle all these possible scenarios that exist for these terrestrial planets.”
Even if one of these planets is habitable, life as we know it on Earth would be extremely difficult in the system because the two planets orbit much closer to their star, an ultracool dwarf that gives off less heat than the sun, but emits more radiation in the infrared spectrum. While the planets orbit TRAPPIST-1 in 1.5 and 2.4 days respectively, they are also locked into their rotations — meaning they have a fixed day and night side. On the other hand, NASA scientists believe planet c is within the star’s habitable zone, where temperatures are right for liquid water to pool.
Sky Q update makes binge-watching that little bit easier
In the UK, Sky Q offers a bunch of improvements over the old Sky+ platform: a better interface, a fancy new remote and support for 4K content. It’s also an acknowledgement of the role streaming now plays in the TV landscape, putting on-demand episodes and box sets at the centre of the experience. Today, Sky is adding some basic but welcome features for binge-watchers, including the option to auto-play the next episode in a season. (Much like Netflix and Amazon do already.) The new software update also adds an auto-download option, meaning the next episode will start downloading while you watch the preceding chapter in the season.
If you’re the type that spends more time browsing than watching, a new “Top Picks” section could be of interest. It houses a bunch of TV and movie recommendations, including those being shown live, on-demand and in the near future. Other additions include a “Series Record” option on the Mini Guide, making it simpler to download a complete season. There’s also a redesigned Sports homepage and a parent-friendly pin-lock option for adult video clips. Finally, if you press pause with the remote, you can now swipe or swipe-and-hold to scrub through with pinpoint precision.
Source: Sky
Samsung fixes Galaxy S7 Active’s waterproofing problem
Earlier this month, Consumer Reports found that two units of the Galaxy S7 Active failed a water immersion test that was within the limits of the phones’ IP68 rating. Samsung issued a statement, saying that it will replace any S7 Active that suffers water damage.
In an additional statement to Consumer Reports, Samsung said that it found a manufacturing problem in the production line that has since been corrected.
From Consumer Reports:
Samsung says it has fixed a manufacturing problem that caused some Galaxy S7 Active phones to fail in underwater conditions the phone was designed to withstand. The company says it launched an investigation after two phones failed a Consumer Reports dunk test, and that the manufacturing problems were corrected approximately one week after our results were published on July 8.
Samsung would not reveal the total number of Galaxy S7 Active phones sold since the model was introduced in mid-June, or how many had been returned with water damage. However, Phil Berne, a public relations manager for the company, said “compared to the total number of devices sold, it was tiny.”
According to Berne, all Galaxy S7 Active phones are manufactured in the same facility in Asia. “We found a problem in the production line that we were able to correct,” he said. He declined to provide details. Phones now being shipped should be problem-free, according to Berne. However, to his knowledge, Galaxy S7 Active devices already in stores were not being removed from inventory.
Consumers whose Galaxy S7 Active phones sustain water damage can return them to the retailer where they were purchased, or directly to Samsung, for a replacement.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
- Galaxy S7 Active review
- Galaxy S7 Active specs
- Get all the Galaxy S7 Active news
- Unboxing the GS7 Active
- Join our Galaxy S7 Active forums
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NASA tests composite material for lightweight rockets
NASA has subjected an 8.4-foot-tall barrel made of composite materials to a series of abuse for the sake of building lighter and stronger rockets. The agency put it under extreme loads of almost 900,000 pounds to determine just how tough the material is. In order to get detailed data of the seven tests they performed, the scientists outfitted it with thousands of sensors and had high-speed and low-speed cameras monitor the whole process. Thanks to those cameras, you can see the barrel suddenly snapping under all that weight in the video after the break.
Dr. Marc Schultz, NASA Langley research engineer, said the “failure still caught [them] off guard” even though they were expecting it. “The loud bang first startled us and then we saw the crack all the way around the barrel that formed almost instantaneously from the buckling event,” he added. This is only the first in a series of large-scale tests for NASA’s composite material. The researchers plan to apply what they learned from this round to the next four rounds planned over the next four years.
NASA’s primary goal is to determine a composite material and structural design that can be used to make rockets lighter and tougher than their metallic counterparts. Those will allow the agency to send off missions with more payload than current ones can carry. Since those rockets will give NASA a way to pack more food, water and other supplies, they could make manned flights to Mars and other deep space destinations a reality.
Source: NASA
Nightdive Studios’ ‘System Shock’ remake is coming to PS4
The Kickstarter-funded System Shock remake from Nightdive Studios is coming along swimmingly, having already reached its funding goal of $900,000 with 7 days to go in its campaign. Because of the huge demand from fans, it’s now coming to an additional platform: PlayStation 4.
The announcement showed up on the project’s Kickstarter blog, with an update detailing the impending console release. After taking note of an “overwhelming demand” for a PS4 version of System Shock, the team at Nightdive Studios collaborated with Sony to make it happen, and it looks like it’s definitely going to happen. It’s not contingent on a stretch goal or additional funds, but as the company describes it, it’s a “thank you” to backers who put their faith in the project.
Currently System Shock is set for release on PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One and now PlayStation 4. You can pick up a free alpha demo for a taste of the game now.
Source: Kickstarter
New imaging method reveals how Alzheimer’s reshapes the brain
Researchers at Yale University have led development in to a new type of brain scan designed to detect changes in synapses associated with common brain disorders. Until now, researchers have only be able to detect these changes during autopsies, but by combining a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan with a new type of injectable tracer, Yale radiology and biomedical imagining professor Richard Carson was able to measure the synaptic density in a living brain. According to the findings published in Science Translational Medicine Wednesday, the technique could help doctors better understand and treat a wide range of neurological conditions from epilepsy to Alzheimer’s disease.
To achieve their goal, Dr. Carson and his team developed a new radioactive tracer that binds with a key protein in the synapses of the brain. The tracer is visible through a traditional PET scan and Dr. Carson’s team applied a mathematical formula to the results to determine the synaptic density. According to the university, the imaging technique has already been used on both baboon and human subjects, and it has already been used to show lower synaptic density in three patients with epilepsy compared to healthy individuals.
“This is the first time we have synaptic density measurement in live human beings,” Dr. Carson said. “Up to now any measurement of synaptic density was postmortem.”
Moving forward, Carson and the team believe this method could be use to track the progression of degenerative brain disorders or to track the effectiveness of medications meant to slow the loss of neurons. The team is already planning to use the same method in similar studies for Alzheimer’s schizophrenia, depression and Parkinson’s disease.
Whirlpool WRT511SZDM Top Freezer Refrigerator review – CNET
The Good The Whirlpool WRT511SZDM is the most powerful top freezer we’ve ever tested, with consistently low temperatures throughout the entirety of the fridge.
The Bad Those temperatures were often too low, with main shelves falling below the freezing point even at the default setting. The design is also pretty plain, and there aren’t any features worth getting excited about.
The Bottom Line If your refrigerator’s cooling performance matters more to you than fancy features or design flourishes, then this Whirlpool workhorse deserves your consideration.
If you were to list the habits of highly effective refrigerators, pumping out cold air would sit right at the top. Thankfully, that’s what you’ll get from the $1,100 Whirlpool WRT511SZDM top freezer, and then some — it’s actually the coldest refrigerator we’ve ever tested.
How cold is too cold, though? The freezing point (32 F) seems like a fair place to start, and sure enough, this Whirlpool blows right past it, with an average body temperature of 26.4 F at the coldest setting. Even at the default setting, the refrigerator’s bottom shelf comes in at 30.1 F.
That said, it’s tough to fault a fridge for being too good at its job — especially when you can dial it up a setting or two and save a little money on your power bill. If cooling performance that errs on the cool side is what matters most, then this no-frills top freezer fits the bill. Just don’t blame me when your milk freezes.
Here’s a Whirlpool fridge that really keeps…
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There’s a whole lot of storage space in those in-door shelves.
Chris Monroe/CNET
Design and features
The WRT511SZDM is a sturdy-feeling stainless-steel fridge that’s also available in white or black for $100 less. It’s a very basic build that passes on significant design flourishes in favor of a safer, more traditional aesthetic. In other words, it’s a token top freezer.
Open it up, and you’ll find a grand total of 21.3 cubic feet of storage space, 15.2 of which are in the fridge compartment. That’s a decent amount of room as far as top freezers go, but it’s not as much as you’ll get with the king-sized LG LTCS24223S — that fridge beats Whirlpool by 2.5 cubic feet. Still, it was big enough to fit all of our test groceries, along with five out of six of our king-size stress test items (I couldn’t quite jam the party platter and the extra large pizza box inside at the same time.)
By the way, the MVP of those storage tests was the in-door shelving. The shelves are sizable enough to hold a surprising amount of groceries, and there are enough of them to make it easy to section things off and organize everything just how you like. I also appreciated that there were plenty of different spots into which I could rearrange the shelves.
Top freezer fridges for around $1,000
| 15.2 cubic feet | 17.6 cubic feet | 14.2 cubic feet | 13.5 cubic feet |
| 6.1 cubic feet | 6.2 cubic feet | 4.1 cubic feet | 4.0 cubic feet |
| 21.3 cubic feet | 23.8 cubic feet | 18.3 cubic feet | 17.5 cubic feet |
| Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel |
| No | Yes (+$100) | No | No |
| No | Yes | Yes | No |
| 443 kWh | 501 kWh | 363 kWh | 399 kWh |
| $53 | $60 | $44 | $48 |
| $2.49 | $2.52 | $2.40 | $2.74 |
| $1,100 | $1,200 | $1,100 | $1,000 |
| $900 | $1,075 | $850 | $900 |
Feature-wise, there isn’t much else worth mentioning, save for the “Flexi-Slide Drawer,” which is just a drawer that slides from left and right beneath the top shelf to make room for tall objects below. That’s really about it. No water dispenser, no spill-proof shelves, no extra bells or whistles whatsoever.
More top freezer fridges
- Lots of storage space: LG LTCS24223S
- Exceptional performance: Kenmore 79432
- Style on a budget: GE GTE18GMHES
- Fingerprint-resistant: Frigidaire Gallery FGTR1845QF
- Compact size: LG LTNC11121V
Despite the sturdy exterior, certain parts of the interior also felt a bit flimsy to the touch. The crisper bins don’t glide out as smoothly as you’ll see in nicer refrigerators, and some of the door shelves didn’t snap into place as tightly as I’d like. The bar that blocks off the bottom in-door shelf was particularly annoying, popping out of place enough times during my tests that I was forced to tape it into position.
It all adds up to a fridge that doesn’t do very much to set itself apart from the competition. That’s somewhat forgivable in the top-freezer class, but still disappointing given that this is a $1,000+ refrigerator we’re talking about.
Asus ZenPad Z8 review | A spec-heavy $249 Verizon tablet
This post originally appeared on our sister site TabTimes.com where you can find benchmarks and additional screenshots
It’s not too often we see an affordable tablet compatible with a cellular network like Verizon deliver an experience nearly free of compromises. Although the affordable smartphone market has been more competitive as of late, with a sometimes even overwhelming number of excellent affordable options, budget tablets often leave something to be desired.
- ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 review
- Laptop, tablet or both, ASUS has you covered at Computex 2016
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the same company that brought us the remarkable Zenfone 2, various affordable tablets, and the Nexus 7 is now offering what appears to be one of the best “bang for your buck” tablets.
Where does the ASUS ZenPad Z8 excel and where does it fall short? Let’s find out in our comprehensive ASUS ZenPad Z8 review!
Buy the Asus ZenPad Z8 now!
Design
ASUS has undoubtedly delivered a clean and simplistic design with the Z8. Its textured plastic rear is subtle to the eye yet impressionable in the hand, and makes the tablet easier to grip. Unfortunately, the plastic band running along the edges of the tablet doesn’t seem to help with the ZenPad’s structural integrity, which is notably weak. The tablet’s plastic construction does lend to a nice handling experience in both portrait and landscape orientation, however.
The power and volume buttons, found on the right edge, are tactile and positioned well. ASUS has implemented a fairly inconspicuous flap towards the top of the left edge, which covers the microSIM card slot, for data connectivity, and the microSD card slot, for expanding the tablet’s 16 GB of storage, up to 128 GB.
The front of the Z8 features a Verizon logo on the bottom, as well as a 2 MP front-facing camera on the top. Capacitive navigation keys are absent, and navigation is instead handled by on-screen keys. Although the iconography follows ASUS’ ZenUI design language, the layout matches what Google has defined as standard.
Display
The ZenPad’s 7.9″ QXGA (2048 x 1536) display offers a high pixel density of 324 PPI, which is a pleasant surprise at this price. The display’s sharpness is very important when consuming text-heavy content, such as webpages or ebooks. Viewing angles are also good and the display’s color reproduction is fairly accurate.
ASUS’ Splendid app is also worthy of praise, as it offers granular control over the display’s color temperature, in addition to several screen color modes. If you’d like to bump up the display’s vividness, for example, you can simply select the “Vivid” mode.
Sadly, the display’s glass is very reflective and the highest brightness setting is still relatively low, which makes reading the display in direct sunlight challenging in many cases. I also noticed that auto-brightness tended to dim the display too much, which eventually became so frustrating that I had to turn it off completely.
One other attribute to keep in mind is the display’s 4:3 aspect ratio, which makes the tablet seem a bit too tall in landscape mode when watching 21:9 movies or even 16:9 TV shows or videos. Put simply, you may see some letter boxing when consuming this type of content. I should note that the 4:3 aspect ratio does work well, however, when reading or web browsing.
Performance
Under the hood, the ASUS ZenPad Z8 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650, which offers performance comparable to that of the Snapdragon 808. During my time with the Z8, I did not notice much lag nor did I find app load times to be unreasonably long.
I did, however, have some minor trouble multitasking with more than a couple of apps. Unfortunately, the Z8 includes just 2 GB of RAM, which although often enough for some low-end smartphones, was not enough to keep up with my tablet usage demands. If you plan on using the tablet for simple tasks like video streaming and reading, however, this should not be an issue.
The Adreno 510 delivers great gaming performance and users should have no trouble playing higher-end games like Asphalt 8: Airborne. This is great to see, as tablets in this price category often skimp in this department.
Hardware
Unlike many sub-$300 tablets, the ASUS ZenPad Z8 allows you to receive 4G LTE data on the Verizon Wireless network. It’s also compatible with Verizon’s strong XLTE network, meaning that you’ll receive more reliable and faster data coverage in congested areas. And, although band support is limited to the Verizon network, the tablet itself is unlocked and can be used on other compatible LTE networks.
It’s great to see ASUS adopt the newer USB Type-C standard with the ZenPad Z8. Unlike the now outdated microUSB, USB Type-C is reversible so you won’t have to worry about plugging the cable in “the wrong way” when attempting to charge the device.
The ASUS ZenPad Z8 features dual front-facing speakers, which is something that we all love to see, especially on tablets. In terms of actual audio quality, they sound pretty good with some minor distortion and tinniness at full volume. But for the price, it’s really difficult to complain here.
Battery Life
Battery life with the Z8 was good, thanks to the tablet’s large non-removable 4680mAh battery. I was able to consistently achieve over five hours of screen on time with a minimum of twelve hours of standby. Although there are tablets out there offering better battery life, this should be more than enough for almost all users. ASUS’ power saving profiles can also help squeeze just a bit more juice when you are running low on battery.
Camera
ASUS has implemented an 8 MP rear camera on the ZenPad Z8, but you should really avoid using it whenever possible. Although it certainly is nice to have and may come in handy in some situations, the images it produces are soft, noisy, and lack detail.
Camera samples from the ZenPad Z8:
With that said, color reproduction is excellent, saturation seems to be good, and autofocus is reliable and fairly fast. Low-light performance is poor, although ASUS’ Owl mode does help bring up the brightness by reducing the image quality. Chances are, however, that the camera on your smartphone is simply better in most conditions.
Software
Shipping with ASUS’ ZenUI skin over Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, the ZenPad Z8 provides a great software experience. The user interface does feel a bit cartoonish, but the overall mechanics are very similar to stock Android. Overall, there’s nothing terribly out of the ordinary if you’ve used Android in the past.
There are some nice software additions, however. The screen color settings and audio equalizer are very nice to have, apps like Do It Later and Quick Memo can be helpful, and the included Help app could come in handy, especially for those who are not yet comfortable with Android. Thankfully, bloatware is also kept to a minimum, with only a few Verizon apps and four Amazon apps.
Sadly, the selection of tablet apps available on the Google Play Store is still very limited compared to Apple’s App Store. Many of the apps available on Android are simply not optimized for tablets, which is certainly a bummer. You’ll still have a wide selection of apps, but do be aware that not all will run as smoothly as they do on the iPad.
Gallery
Price & Conclusion
The ASUS ZenPad Z8 is now available through Verizon Wireless for $250 off contract (or $10.41/mo. for 24 months). That’s a very competitive price, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a comparable cellular connected tablet.
You can also purchase the Z8 for $150 with a two year contract. You should, however, consider how you’d like to use the tablet before agreeing. Although there are certainly use cases where paying for data makes sense, you may end up mostly relying on Wi-Fi, especially if you don’t plan on taking the tablet outside of your home often. By paying an extra $100 up front (or by financing the device), you can avoid any headaches down the road.
- ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 review
- Laptop, tablet or both, ASUS has you covered at Computex 2016
There is little complaining that can be done once you factor in the Z8’s affordable pricing. Although the display could be less reflective, there could be more RAM, and the camera could produce better images, there’s a lot to love about this tablet. With its dual front-facing speakers, excellent high-resolution display, and very good performance, the ZenPad Z8 is yet another home run for ASUS.
Buy the Asus ZenPad Z8 now!
What do you think of the ASUS ZenPad Z8? Will you be picking one up? Let us know in the comment section below!
This post originally appeared on our sister site TabTimes.com where you can find benchmarks and additional screenshots
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