Pokémon Go Set App Store Record for Most Ever Downloads During its First Week of Availability
Ultra popular augmented reality game Pokémon Go set a new App Store record during its first week of availability, seeing more first week downloads than any other app in App Store history. Apple unveiled the statistic to iMore’s Rene Ritchie this morning.
According to Apple, #PokemonGo has set an @AppStore record with more downloads in its first week than any other app in the Store’s history.
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) July 22, 2016
Pokémon Go was first released in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States on July 5, rolling out to other countries over the course of the next two weeks. Pokémon Go is now available in 30 countries around the world.
Despite server issues and in-game bugs that have yet to be resolved, Pokémon Go has become a smash hit, luring players outside to explore their neighborhoods in search of Pokémon. Last week, Pokémon Go had earned an estimated 7.5 million downloads in the United States alone, hauling in more than $1.6 million each day, and at two weeks, that number had grown to 21 million daily active users.
On the instant success of Pokémon Go, Nintendo shares jumped more than 25 percent, and businesses and restaurants near PokéStops, where players can collect items and find Pokémon, have reported significant increases in foot traffic.
In Japan, Pokémon Go today launched with a McDonald’s sponsorship deal, hinting at future methods Niantic will use to monetize the game. In Japan, McDonald’s locations are marked as “Gyms” where players can battle each other for control of the spot to earn daily prizes and experience.
Over the course of the next year, Apple could make upwards of $3 billion in revenue from Pokémon Go, as it receives a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases.
Tag: Pokémon GO
Discuss this article in our forums
Review: AyeGear’s J25 Jacket Holds a MacBook, Two iPhones, Two iPads, and More
One of the realities of living in Toronto, Canada, about a two-hour drive from the nearest American city when traffic cooperates, is experiencing a distinctly four-season climate. Winter lives up to the stereotype of being bitterly cold, before giving way to a mild and rainy spring, and eventually a hot and humid summer. The warmth lasts for no more than three to four months, however, before the leaves turn orange in October and Starbucks brings out the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
For the past three months, I have been testing the AyeGear J25 Jacket to see how it holds up to those Canadian extremes, starting with a below-freezing, snowy day in early April to a comparatively sweltering 90º day in mid July. In addition to wearing the jacket around Toronto, I brought it with me on a recent trip to San Francisco, allowing me to test its convenience going through airport security and away from home in general. Ahead, find out if the jacket lived up to the task.
Fashion and Functionality
The jacket has over 25 separate compartments for storing portable devices, valuables, travel essentials, and general items, including six credit card and ID holders, two hand pockets, two chest pockets, two sleeve pockets, two smartphone pockets, two tablet pockets, two pen holders, two coin holders, two memory stick holders, two SD card holders, one back laptop pocket, and one passport holder.
There is also a Velcro-based earphone routing system along the neck of the jacket, an elastic strap that can hold a drink bottle, and an in-pocket retractable reel for securing your keys — or anything with a carabiner clip.
On my trip to San Francisco, I packed a tableful of items into the jacket with ease, including a 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, two iPhones, two SD cards, EarPods, Lightning-to-USB cable, wall charger, pack of chewing gum, car keys, sunglasses, passport, boarding pass, charging case, portable battery pack, wallet, and loose change. In addition to all of that, the jacket could hold two iPads.
My immediate reaction after putting on the jacket was that, perhaps as to be expected, it was rather heavy. It almost feels like wearing a lead apron at a dentist office during teeth X-rays. Walking around with all of your electronics and personal belongings strapped to your body obviously hunkers you down somewhat, and wearing this jacket for an extended period of time can become rather uncomfortable.
The weight might be a worthy tradeoff for frequent flyers, however, as the jacket makes airport security a much less frustrating experience. Anyone that has stood in line at the TSA checkpoint knows it can be a tedious, albeit important, process: take your shoes off, take your laptop out of its bag, and place all of your individual belongings in the bins before proceeding through the metal detector.
When wearing the jacket, however, all you have to do is quickly take it off with your shoes, much to the delight of those waiting behind you.
AyeGear’s J25 Jacket is built to last in all weather conditions. It is made from a mixture of cotton (67 percent) and nylon (33 percent) that proved to be waterproof — water drops bead off — and wrinkle free. The jacket also has an adjustable rollaway zipped hood, a breathable lining, and removable sleeves to turn the jacket into a vest, making it useful for hiking trips or similar activities in warmer weather.
In terms of fashion, the AyeGear J25 is not an incredibly stylish jacket — but it’s not ugly either. As a 20-something who typically wears skinny jeans and a slim v-neck crew shirt, I found the jacket to be baggier than ones I normally wear. To be fair, however, the jacket serves a specific purpose that inherently prevents it from being more of a formfitting jacket that I might purchase from a fashion retailer like H&M.
It also looks much nicer as a vest, in my opinion, so give it a go without the sleeves and hood when possible or consider the cheaper V26 Vest instead.
Value
One knock against the AyeGear J25 is its price: £149.99, which is $198.75 in the U.S. or around $260 in Canada and Australia based on current exchange rates — and that’s after the British pound’s recent post-Brexit vote decline. The jacket is certainly convenient, but whether it is worth dropping two bills on is debatable.
As is often the case, a better deal can be found on Amazon, where the jacket sells for between $149.99 and $190. Prices vary depending on the size selected.
Bottom Line
AyeGear’s J25 Jacket is a convenient, multipurpose jacket that fills a niche, particularly for the outdoorsman or frequent flyers, but its drawbacks of being somewhat heavy and expensive should be duly considered. For most people, it may be wiser to save your money and stick with a traditional jacket and backpack combo.
How to Buy
The J25 Jacket can be purchased on AyeGear’s website (~$198) or Amazon ($149.99-$190) in small, medium, large, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, or 5XL. Free delivery is offered within the U.K., while worldwide shipping is available.
Note: AyeGear provided the J5 Jacket to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received.
Discuss this article in our forums
Acer Chromebook R11 review: Solid laptop, mediocre convertible
Acer Chromebook R11 Full review
As we head toward the future of Android apps being available on Chrome OS, the idea of a small, convertible touchscreen Chromebook makes a little more sense. Before that announcement at Google I/O 2016, a Chromebook that could fold back into a touch-only device didn’t really have much appeal. Chrome apps weren’t ready for touch, and the OS as a whole still preferred a mouse and keyboard.
The Acer Chromebook R11 is one of these convertible Chromebooks that launched a bit ahead of its time, being ready for the touchscreen convertible future before Android app support came to the OS. And even at this point, though we know Android apps are coming, they won’t be here for everyone for several months. There’s little reason to buy a Chromebook for what it could do in the future — what it can do right now is far more important.
Acer knows the Chromebook world, and has the sales numbers from the past few years to prove it. But does the Chromebook R11 continue the company’s history of making great Chromebooks with this convertible-style laptop? Our full review will tell you just that.
About this review
I (Andrew Martonik) am writing this review after over a week using the Acer Chromebook R11, configured with 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, which was provided to Android Central for review by Acer. The entirety of the review was written with impressions of the laptop running on the stable channel of Chrome OS, except where noted.
Basic, but built well
Acer Chromebook R11 Hardware and display
The Chromebook R11, just like the non-convertible Chromebook 11 before it, builds on a standard design that Acer has been using since the original C720 Chromebook. It’s a mashup of different plastics of varying thicknesses and textures, accented by an etched metal lid that brings some grip and style to what is otherwise a pretty bland laptop. However the smooth plastic on the inside clashes with the textured plastic around the screen and sides, while exposed screw holes along the bottom and there are visible seams all around that remind you of an older style of laptop. It pales in comparison to the sleek all-metal look and feel of the ASUS Chromebook Flip, its main competitor.
With all of that being said I still don’t mind the look, even in the white color I have here (a black choice seems to be sporadically available) — I just wish there was a bit more of a cohesive design here that didn’t look like it was put together by a committee of people who were never put in the same room.
In typical Acer fashion, the Chromebook R11 is still built to take a beating, even though the chintzy plastic doesn’t immediately give you great feelings about how robust it is. The chassis doesn’t unnecessarily flex in your hands, the keyboard offers good travel without bounce in the frame and the display hinge is tight. You shouldn’t go throwing this around the room, but getting bumped around in your backpack or tossed on the couch isn’t going to cause any issues.
And that’s a good thing, because the Chromebook R11 is quite compact — and while it’s not the thinnest laptop ever it weighs in at just 2.76 pounds, light enough to carry around every day without issue.
Though the resolution of the Chromebook R11’s 11.6-inch display is a somewhat disappointing 1366×768, it is absolutely great in terms of clarity, brightness and colors. Aside from the 1920×1080 display on the ASUS Chromebook Flip (which is also smaller, it should be said), this is quite possibly the nicest Chromebook display I’ve ever seen (Pixel aside, of course). And that’s really saying something considering it’s notably a step down from the Dell Chromebook 13.
This is also a touchscreen, of course, which is plenty responsive and supports multi-touch manipulation. And even though there isn’t much of an application for touch on Chrome OS as it stands today, the future will bring Android apps that you may be far more inclined to use directly with the touchscreen. Those who have no desire to use the touchscreen will have to either understand they’re paying extra for a feature they won’t use or look elsewhere. But considering the affordable price of the Chromebook R11 and the great quality of the panel itself (touch aside), you shouldn’t dismiss it just because you aren’t going to be tapping and swiping on it every day.
What’s inside
Acer Chromebook R11 Specs
You get a very standard set of internals and ports on the Acer Chromebook R11, with a mid-range fanless Celeron processor supported by 2 or 4GB of RAM, and 16 or 32GB of storage. In terms of ports, it’s all standard Chromebook: a couple of USB ports, HDMI out and an SD card slot. Nothing too fancy here.
| Display | 11.6-inch 1366×768 IPS |
| Processor | Intel Celeron N3150quad-core 1.6GHz (turbo 2.08GHz) |
| Memory | 2/4GB DDR3L |
| Storage | 16/32GB |
| Connectivity | 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Ports | USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4microSD card, headphone/mic |
| Battery | 3-cell Lithium-ion, 3220 mAh9.5 hours estimated battery life |
| Charger | 45W/19V chargerproprietary plug |
| Camera | HD web cam (1280×720) |
| Sound | Stereo speakersmicrophone |
| Dimensions | 294.6 x 203.2 x 19.2 mm |
| Weight | 2.76 lb |
One good, one bad
Acer Chromebook R11 Keyboard and trackpad
The keyboard situation on the Acer Chromebook R11 is identical to Acer’s previous Chromebooks, which is to say it’s quite good for the price but isn’t going to blow you away. The keys themselves are cheap and have a little too much texture for my personal preference, but they have good travel, proper spring and almost no side-to-side movement. I had no issue at all typing on the Chromebook R11 for everything from quick tweets up to long emails, and including this entire review. There’s no backlighting here, which shouldn’t come as a surprise at this price range.
A really solid keyboard, paired with a bad trackpad.
The trackpad situation isn’t quite as rosy, unfortunately. Somehow, I feel like Acer has regressed from the trackpad it offered some two years ago on the C720 Chromebook. The trackpad surface is the same glossy plastic as the rest of the inside of the laptop, which just doesn’t offer me the right amount of drag — my finger sticks far too much — to be able to smoothly track around the interface and select precise elements with one finger. This makes precise actions like selecting text and clicking small interface elements quite frustrating. Large movements like getting the cursor across the screen or scrolling with two fingers are no problem at all, which shows that the issue isn’t necessarily the trackpad firmware or the performance of the processor … it really comes down to the surface of the trackpad itself.
Perhaps I’m spoiled by the glass trackpads on the likes of the Dell Chromebook 13, but even inexpensive models like the ASUS Chromebook Flip do far better than this.
Actually using it
Acer Chromebook R11 Daily use and battery life
Beyond the looks and feel, how does it actually work in day-to-day use? That’s what is really important.
Performance
Fanless, lower-powered Chromebooks haven’t really done much to impress me as of yet, with only the Rockchip-powered ASUS Chromebook Flip offering enough to really get me to recommend it without hesitation. The Intel Celeron N3150 in the Chromebook R11 slots its performance a step below the Chromebook Flip, for sure, but easily outperforms the last generation of fanless Celeron models running an N2850 processor.
It can handle what an average user needs to do.
So what does that mean in terms of regular use? Using a model with 4GB of RAM — which is the only configuration I’d ever recommend — the Chromebook R11 is capable for a basic set of tasks, but can bog down if you give it a bit too much to do. I regularly load up my Chromebooks with about 10 tabs in the browser and a couple more apps — often Tweetdeck and Slack, at least — and in this situation the Chromebook R11 did show signs of slowing down. It took quite a bit to get actual window switching or text input to become noticeably slow; the only place where slowdowns were really noticeable is in initial page load times, and when reloading pages in the background.
But in dealing with individual tasks, or hopping between just a handful of open tabs, the Chromebook R11 took care of what I needed it to do just fine. Importantly it also streamed video well, and could handle Google Cast display mirroring, too.
Battery life and charging
Acer quotes nine and a half hours of battery life out of the Chromebook R11, but as is often the case my heavier use drained the battery quicker than that. The 3220 mAh battery averaged out to giving me about eight hours of use, which as I note above usually involves several tabs open in the browser, plus one or two additional apps running at any given time.
I often kept the screen quite bright, at about 75% brightness — a little high perhaps, but not unreasonable. For an 11-inch Chromebook, getting around eight hours of battery life is pretty good but not stellar, and considering the performance shortcomings of using a fanless design I do expect a little more of a positive trade-off in battery life. The lighter, more powerful ASUS Chromebook Flip lasted longer for me.
You get a very standard Acer charger, color-matched white to the laptop, that’s a bit more compact than what you got with Acer Chromebooks of yesteryear and is almost identical to the one that comes with the larger Acer Chromebook 14. It’s ugly, and still has the standard two-cable-and-brick design (I’d prefer something more compact for a small laptop like this), but it gets the job done.
Convertible tablet use
I got a great taste for using Chrome OS in a tablet environment when I reviewed the ASUS Chromebook Flip, and my findings of using it on the Chromebook R11 are much the same — with a few changes. The Chromebook R11, just like the Flip, can fold back its screen into a few different modes, whether that’s a “tent” or “display” mode for all-touch use while propped up, or folded all the way back into a tablet-like form factor (which, remember, weighs 2.76-pounds). When you enter any of these modes (automatically when the screen pivots to a certain point), Chrome OS switches into a full-screen experience with every window maximized, where you can quickly swap between them with the use of a task-switching button in the status area.
The tablet-focused interface works fine enough, and the touchscreen is very responsive, but the issue is that Chrome apps and web pages just aren’t designed to be touched. When you navigate to a webpage on a Chromebook, the web page looks like it belongs on a laptop, and it expects a mouse pointer — and often a keyboard — to navigate properly. Sure you can swipe and scroll through pages, tap large interface elements and read or watch videos just fine, but as soon as you need to tap small buttons, highlight text or type, you have to flip the keyboard back around and do it the “normal” way. Having the choice is great, and I found myself using it for some casual content consumption, but for the most part I left the Chromebook R11 in its standard laptop configuration.
What it really comes down to is this: if you want a tablet, right now, you should just buy an Android tablet — yes, maybe even one that offers a keyboard accessory. Perhaps in the future we’ll see new Chromebook form factors that make a bit more sense — such as those with detachable keyboards — as convertible devices, but right now using a 2.76-pound tablet is a poor experience, even if the software was perfectly made for touch.
The future: Android apps
One of the main reasons an enthusiast may be considering a Chromebook R11 is that it’s one of the first Chromebooks available to be compatible with the Google Play Store and Android apps. At the time of writing that list is limited to just the ASUS Chromebook Flip, Google Chromebook Pixel (2015) and the Chromebook R11, and only in the Developer Channel, which nobody should really be using on a daily basis.
I’ve written specifically about the experience of using Android apps on the Chromebook R11, and the general feeling right now is that this isn’t something to get too excited about yet. Being in the Dev Channel alone introduces a performance decrease and lots of instability, and issues with Android apps being either incompatible or not ready for use on a laptop are very clear. Even once Android apps arrive in the Chrome OS Stable Channel — which should happen at some point near the end of 2016 — the issues with the apps themselves will largely still remain.
There are some situations in which having Android apps on your Chromebook is useful, but it isn’t a game-changing experience just yet, and for that reason there’s no need to buy the Chromebook R11 specifically to run Android apps. My estimation is that by the time the compatibility and design issues with Android apps on Chrome OS are addressed, there will be far better models of Chromebooks to choose from that are also better set up to use them. The Chromebook R11 just isn’t that great when being used as a pseudo-tablet, and having Android apps installed doesn’t change that.
Good for the basics
Acer Chromebook R11 Bottom line
Being a convertible laptop that offers a touchscreen and the promise of Android apps in the future seems tempting. As such, expectations may be unreasonably high considering what the Chromebook R11 can actually do. It isn’t going to blow you away in terms of design, the trackpad definitely isn’t leading the industry, and the convertible functions are more of a novelty than a truly useful feature. Yup, this is a pretty mediocre convertible and doesn’t really work any better as a “tablet” than the handful of other convertible Chromebooks out there. And even when Android apps arrive for everyone, this may not be the model to get if you want to try them out.
Keeping that all in mind, if we lower the bar back down to what we’d normally expect from a $275 Chromebook, this is actually a decent offering for the right person. The Acer Chromebook R11 is a compact laptop with a really good screen, solid build, almost full-day battery life and performance that’s good enough for the average user. Sure it isn’t doing anything particularly special and isn’t one to clamor over, but it’s a really good basic Chromebook — don’t let the extra stuff get in the way of your decision, positively or negatively.
See at Amazon
Where to buy the Acer Chromebook R11
You can find the Acer Chromebook R11 at pretty much any major electronics retailer, though things narrow down a bit if you want to buy a model with 4GB of RAM (believe me, you do). Best Buy at the time of writing offers it, but as models come and go often from other retailers, be sure to shop around a bit for the best price on the model you need.
Chromebooks
- The best Chromebooks
- Should you buy a Chromebook?
- Google Play is coming to Chromebooks
- Acer Chromebook 14 review
- Join our Chromebook forums
Police look to unlock smartphone using 3D-printed fingerprints
A law enforcement agency has turned to a researcher at the University of Michigan for help in creating 3D replicas of a victim’s fingerprints in order to gain access his phone. The technique, demonstrated earlier this year by Anil Jain, could help law enforcement unlock a device equipped with a fingerprint scanner.
While many modern fingerprint sensors require not only a fingerprint, but the electrical conductivity of a living finger, this technique is designed to get around that. From The Guardian:
First, the two-dimensional fingerprint scans are converted into three dimensional fingerprints and these are then sent to a high resolution 3D printer, to make a physical replica in a soft plastic that retains the subtle ridges of the fingerprint while also distorting under pressure like skin.
Once printed, a micron-thick coating of metal – gold, copper or silver – is applied to the surface. This recreates the electrical conductivity found in human skin that is required to make modern capacitive fingerprint readers work. Plastic fingers aren’t conductive enough on their own.
The model of smartphone being targeted by law enforcement wasn’t disclosed, nor what exactly police are hoping to find on the device. You can see the technique in action in the video below.
MrMobile’s Moto Z review: A smartphone like no other
With an aluminum frame barely 5mm thick and slap-on “mods” that give it crazy capabilities, the Moto Z is unlike any smartphone you can buy today. It’s also the latest installment in one of the most inconsistent product families in mobile technology.
In 2013, Motorola introduced a small, modest mobile that tried to redefine what a smartphone should be, and it called it the “Moto X.” The next two years would see the company gradually abandon most of the principles it laid down with that first phone, making the X bigger and brawnier to better battle the Galaxy-class competition from Samsung.
For 2016, Motorola (now a Lenovo sub-brand called simply “Moto”) has taken its flagship smartphone so far afield of its origins that it isn’t even an “X” anymore. The result is a smartphone that I like very much – one I’ll probably buy when the unlocked edition arrives in the fall – but one I’m not sure I’d recommend to many people. Join me for the Moto Z Droid Edition review by MrMobile!
About this review
MrMobile’s Moto Z Review was based on six days’ trial of a Moto Z Droid Edition review device on loan from Motorola/Verizon Wireless. The Moto Z Droid Edition was not paired to a wearable for this review. Test areas included the North Fork of Long Island, New York; Amtrak’s CT/NH/MA Northeast Corridor; and Greater Boston, Massachusetts.
Socialize!
- YouTube
- Le web
- Snapchat
Xperia X Ultra: After a disappointing start to 2016, I’m hoping for the best Sony phone in years
Sony’s Xperia X phones have been boring, overpriced and underwhelming. But there’s reason for cautious optimism.
Sony, and before it Sony Ericsson, has been part of the Android ecosystem almost since the very beginning. Along the way, despite tumultuous conditions elsewhere in the company and a hit-and-miss biannual release cycle, Sony has managed to turn out some genuinely great handsets. The Xperia Z3 stands out as the zenith of that series — the last Sony phone that was really worth a spot next to the Galaxy phones and iPhones of the time. (And a model that holds up so well two years on that it’s the only Sony phone currently involved in the Android 7.0 developer preview program.)
But over the past couple of years the Xperia series has stalled. The Z3+ was a mess of thermal and performance issues. The Z5 was decent, but looked tepid next to its immediate competitors.
Sony in 2016 so far: Boring, overpriced, disappointing rectangles.
Enter the Xperia X in 2016, with a new strategy and leaner phones focusing on user experience, with less overt spec-chasing. It seemed like a good idea at the time — the Xperia X was to be a Moto X-style “phone of the people” that would make up for its lack of bleeding-edge specs with intelligent software.
What materialized was another boring, Android-powered rectangle with obvious hardware issues. Plastic-framed in an age of metal and glass, with a slow camera that disappointed in low light, and at a $550 price point that made sense to nobody besides the hardest of hardcore Sony fans. You could get the same user experience elsewhere for a fraction of the cost.
Similarly, its big brother — the X Performance — offered little over the X to justify its eye-watering $700 price tag. The touchscreen was plagued by sensitivity issues. The same camera module from the X was used, so low-light photo quality disappointed next to the Samsungs and Apples of the world. Even with the latest Snapdragon 820 under the hood, the camera was painfully slow to load and to shoot. Once again, there was basically no reason to give Sony your money in a world where the Galaxy S7, HTC 10 and iPhone 6s exist around the same price point.
And buyers in the United States got a bum deal, paying $550 for the Xperia X, or $700 for the X Performance, with no fingerprint scanner — a hugely important feature included as standard in other territories.
That Sony, a brand with a strong pedigree of excellent standalone cameras, and the manufacturer of sensors used in the iPhone 6s Plus and Galaxy S7, is still making the same mistakes in its own mobile cameras, is mind-blowing. Going against the established wisdom of the industry, it’s still acting like optical image stabilization doesn’t matter, and that you can ship a traditional high-res sensor without OIS and rely solely on software.
It’s also mind-blowing that such a veteran manufacturer decided to exclude such a key feature as fingerprint security from its flagship phones in a market as important as the U.S., in defiance of a broad and obvious industry trend.
At this point, the Xperia X series’ only differentiator is the Sony brand itself.
The company has also been walking back its other major differentiator: battery life. In the days of the Xperia Z1, Z2 and Z3, Sony could legitimately boast of industry-leading longevity. Its big, boxy phones were able to hold big, boxy batteries that could go all day and then some. Battery capacity has been slowly eroded in the intervening years, and now the Z3+, Z5 and X will get you a single day if you’re lucky.
Bringing cutting-edge Sony tech to cellphones was the mission statement of the old Sony Ericsson. As recently as 2015, Xperia phones were being marketed as being “the best of Sony.” But the Xperia X series isn’t the best of anything, and increasingly the only real differentiator these phones have is the Sony brand itself — a brand which, let’s face it, no longer carries the cachet it once did.
Sony needs another big, impressive phone. Something worthy of a top-tier price tag and and something to justify the value it places in its brand. Something which isn’t as aggressively meh as its recent efforts. And as someone who’s used and loved Sony phones in the past, I really hope this leaked handset is the product to do that.
We don’t know much about the Sony F833X at this point besides its model number and a handful of leaked photos. (Like almost everything else, it’ll supposedly use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor.) However the pics obtained by GSMArena are revealing in themselves.
This leaked Sony phone looks like a bit of a tank — but that’s fine if it packs the hardware to justify its heft.
It’s a big, blocky phone — a throwback to older Xperias, perhaps, with room for a hefty battery inside. The device’s thickness also bodes well for camera performance — there should, finally, be space for an optically stabilized module while still keeping the lens flush with the body. Other noteworthy camera improvements — dual-LED flash around the back and laser autofocus — suggests meaningful steps forward have been made here too.
And while it is thick, rectangular and tall, horizontal bezels have been kept to a minimum, and the design language seems to have moved on. Parts of the chassis may be plastic, but the frumpy polycarbonate trim of the Xperia X seems to have been largely eliminated. It looks like a bit of a tank, and that’s just fine if it packs the hardware muscle to justify its heft.
If the Xperia X is going to be the phone for the masses (still a tough ask at $550, admittedly) then this new model (an Xperia X Ultra, maybe?) could be the Sony phone for enthusiasts. That’s what I’m hoping for — an Xperia phone to reinvigorate this tired brand, with hardware, camera chops and battery life to get excited about.
It’s possible the Xperia X Ultra (or whatever it’s called) will break cover as early as IFA 2016 in early September. And if it lives up to our hopes, it could make a interesting addition to the fourth-quarter flurry of new smartphones. If not? Well, maybe it’s time to dust off the Xperia Z brand for a 2017 revival.
Microsoft’s OneDrive adds Pokémon Go image detector as part of latest update
Microsoft is rolling out new updates to its OneDrive image and file storage service. It includes a way for people to quickly identify and find any images taken from the Pokémon Go game.
In a blog post: Microsoft stated:
A lot of players take screenshots of their captured Pokémon to show off to their friends—both digitally and in person. We had to make it easier for you to find all your Pokémon screenshots, so we went to work and partnered with Microsoft Research to bring a Pokémon detector to OneDrive. When you have the OneDrive app on your phone and camera upload is turned on, the screenshots you take from the game are automatically saved to OneDrive and 150 Pokémon are identified for your searching and viewing pleasure. You can also search for your favorite Pokémon by name.
Microsoft is also adding a feature that automatically creates a photo album in a OneDrive account:
OneDrive detects whenever you take a few photos in a short period of time, in a particular location. The highest quality photos are then selected and put into an album. You are even notified when they’re ready to view and share on OneDrive.com, in our mobile apps or via the Windows 10 Photos app. In addition, to celebrate all of the fun stuff you do over the weekend, on Monday morning albums from your weekend photos are automatically created.
In addition, Microsoft has added search in OneDrive’s “All photos” view, along with dedicated view for folders that contain many images. There’s also a new “On this day” view in OneDrive accounts:
We love discovering photos we’ve taken in the past, and this view updates every day with images you have taken over the years on that same day. It’s a great way to relive birthdays or anniversaries or to remember old family vacations.
Pokémon Go
- Join our Pokémon Go forums!
- How to deal with GPS errors in-game
- Which team should you choose?
- How to play without killing your battery
- The Ultimate Pokémon Go Game Guide!
- Listen to the Pokémon Go podcast!
‘Splatoon’ isn’t dead, but it’s still saying goodbye
Today at 5am ET, the final Splatfest commenced for players of Nintendo’s squid-kid shooter Splatoon. Players were asked to choose one of two teams representing the in-game hosts, Callie and Marie. At the end of the festival, members of the team with the highest score will get a prize, the losing team will get slightly less, and so will end Nintendo’s active promotion of the game. It was inevitable, of course, as the game came out over a year ago. But Splatfests were one of the biggest ways for the company to foster community among Splatoon players, and their discontinuation is likely to bring about a sharp decline among active users. It’s been a great run, but this is the end of an era for the game.
Active community building is key for a game whose developers intentionally waived voice chat in order to avoid the hostility that normally pervades online interactions. I’ve certainly had moments where I’ve cursed and screamed at my TV during a particularly fraught Splatoon match, things I wouldn’t want the 10-year-olds I’m probably playing with to hear. But when person-to-person interactions are limited to a user handle on a screen and canned responses, how do you get players to bond over a game?
reminder to everyone who thought Splatoon should’ve had voice chat: https://t.co/3s8iGW0lMh pic.twitter.com/XdNwzxMo8m
— Nick Robinson (@Babylonian) December 17, 2015
A strong fan culture has grown up around Splatoon over the past year. It’s taken the form of cosplayers at conventions, all with their own take on the game’s unique brand of street style. If you search on Tumblr you’ll find artwork galore, including plenty of Callie and Marie art (as well as plenty of posts looking forward to this weekend’s Splatfest). I even bought a Splatoon fashion fanzine. Yes, you read that right. A fashion magazine, complete with a fake mascara ad.
It’s not unusual for quirky, oddball games to garner a sizable fanbase. But it’s a bit more meaningful for Nintendo: The company has leaned heavily on the loyalty that players have for established franchises like Mario and Zelda, but it hasn’t been enough to prevent flagging Wii U sales. Nintendo needed something to stand out, especially in an industry where the biggest titles all seem to be multiplayer extravaganzas like Destiny and Overwatch. Nintendo needed Splatoon to make an impact. Other than the Mii avatars and accompanying apps like Miitomo, the company hasn’t produced something this fresh since Pikmin in 2001. (Other new series, like Xenoblade Chronicles and the upcoming Ever Oasis, have been produced by subsidiaries and second-party developers.)
Amazing #Splatoon cosplay found near our booth at #NYCC! pic.twitter.com/U4Oia8J5X3
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 10, 2015
For many who own the Xbox One or PlayStation 4, community is why they’ve chosen those particular consoles. Most online games don’t support cross-platform play (yet), so if you want to play with your friends you need to buy the same system as them. However, Nintendo’s never been great at the internet, especially when it comes to building bridges between players. The Wii and the DS relied on long, annoying “friend codes” for players to connect to one another. Even then, the amount of contact you had with your companions was somewhat limited. I’ve visited my friends’ houses in Animal Crossing and traded Pokémon with them, but without basic features like messaging and chat, Nintendo games have largely been a solitary experience in terms of how much interaction you have with other players.
Splatfests were one of the ways Nintendo tried to make up the difference. If you couldn’t connect with other players person-to-person, the company found a way to bring players together in a larger group by allowing them to choose a tribal identity. Were you Team Marshmallow or Team Hot Dog? Team Science or Team Art? Or, in one of the few sponsored events, Team Autobot or Decepticon?
The temporary nature and low stakes of Splatfests also served to make them more fun by taking the pressure off the decision to choose the “best” team: The results didn’t change the game for players in any significant way. Tribes were formed and dissolved in the course of a day and someone on the losing side in one event might easily find themselves a winner the next go-around. These festivals also brought everyone together into the game at the same time, meaning there was at least one day where it felt like everyone was involved: Even if you couldn’t talk to them, you knew they were out there, also playing Splatoon. Splatfests gave people a sense of connection to something bigger than themselves, if only for a little while.
This might seem silly, but plenty of games have used team identity to build dedicated communities. A recent example would be Pokémon Go, which asks players to sort themselves into one of three groups: Team Valor, Team Mystic and Team Instinct. There are colors along with associated Pokémon for each, as well as some vague spiel about what each team supposedly stands for, but ultimately the teams don’t matter much unless you’re looking to battle at a gym. And yet, players who are perfectly happy to spend their time with the game only catching Pokémon will still proudly proclaim which clan they’re a part of. (I’m Team Mystic, by the way.) In the short time the game has been out I’ve seen people chide each for the “wrong” choice, memes proclaiming the supremacy of one over the other and even fan-designed t-shirts on sites like TeeFury.
See. Even @TheRock knows who the better team is.#PokemonGO #TeamMystic pic.twitter.com/ntFqUjXAdv
— Team Mystic (@PGOTeamMystic) July 22, 2016
With the end of Splatfests, Splatoon loses a big part of its community feel. Sure, the servers will stay active for a few years, meaning you can still engage in a quick three-minute battle whenever the mood strikes you. But you’re not playing the game to bond with the other players on your squad; they’re nothing more than a name on a screen. The randomness of the team rosters also means that someone can be your ally one round and your opponent the next. You’re no longer playing Splatoon to make friends.
When games stop being updated and most people are already talking about the next big thing, the reason people return to a game is because of the bonds they’ve formed. Nintendo built a great fandom around Splatoon, but the company is ready to move on, and fans of its current games are being shown the door. Nice to know you: Maybe we’ll invite you back for Splatoon 2.
AIVAnet 