Analogue Nt Mini Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Nintendo fever is back. Pokemon Go is a global sensation, and the incredibly cute $60 NES Classic Mini is poised to be a must-have gift this Christmas.
Yes, it takes actual Nintendo cartridges.
Analogue
But if your Nintendo nostalgia runs deep — and we mean pockets — there’s another product you should consider. The $449 Analogue Nt Mini just might be the finest Nintendo Entertainment System ever.
Perhaps you’ve heard tell of the original Analogue Nt: a gorgeous game console carved out of a single block of aluminum. A game console compatible with every single NES and Famicom cartridge, controller and accessory collectors have stockpiled over the years.
A game console that used the exact same Ricoh 20A3 and 2C02 silicon chips as the original NES, harvested from actual Famicom motherboards, to ensure picture perfection.
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Analogue NT is 8-bit NES perfection
Drag
Analogue couldn’t make enough of the $499 Analogue Nt, shown in the video above, to satisfy rabid demand. There simply weren’t enough chips.
So its engineers spent 5,000 hours re-engineering the NES’ circuits to fit in a modern Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). They shrunk down down the aluminum alloy case to make the system 20 percent smaller, and added a 1080p HDMI output to play nice with modern TVs. (The original needed a $79 upgrade board to do that.)
The new Analogue Nt Mini even has a bundled wireless NES gamepad with an estimated 20 hours of battery life, so you can play from your couch. Wouldn’t want to get too close to that TV screen! Not to mention 16-bit, 48kHz digital and analog audio, plus component, composite and S-Video outputs for practically any type of TV.
“I can’t overstate how sophisticated our hardware is now,” says Analogue founder Christopher Taber. We can’t wait to test that claim.
A closer look at the Analogue Nt Mini
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Preorders should now be open at Analogue’s website, though we hesitate to say when the new device might ship. The original Analogue Nt was delayed several times, and eventually arrived a year behind schedule.
Xiaomi isn’t ready for the U.S. market — yet
Flagging sales in China could lead to Xiaomi accelerating its U.S. launch window, but there’s a lot of work to be done.
Xiaomi has been rumored for a long time to bring its value-for-money phones to the U.S. market, and it looks like the brand is paving the way for a debut in the country. In an interview with Bloomberg, Xiaomi’s global VP Hugo Barra said that the company would enter the U.S. market “in the near future.”
The company has been making strides toward an eventual launch in the U.S. market: Xiaomi already sells fitness trackers and power banks in the country from its e-commerce store, and the brand signed patent deals with Microsoft and Qualcomm in recent months.
Without going into the specifics, Barra said that a product the vendor “talked about previously” will make its way to the U.S. in October. While it could mean the launch of the Mi 5 or the budget Redmi Note 3 in the country, it is more likely we’ll see the arrival of the Mi Band 2, the successor to the popular $15 Mi Band fitness tracker.
Coming to America
Barra said that the U.S. launch would progress slowly, as Xiaomi needs to establish an after-sales network from the ground up. Given that Xiaomi primarily sells phones online through its own store, setting up a robust customer service network is vital before it starts selling phones in the country, as you won’t be able to take a Xiaomi phone to your local AT&T or Verizon store to get it serviced.
As for sales strategy, Xiaomi will continue to rely on social media, an approach that paid dividends for the brand in China and India:
The U.S. is a market that we definitely have in our sights. We will lead with social media, with the channels that allow us to get in touch with the young generation that are enthusiastic about new technology. We are definitely going there.
The U.S. is a very important market for any consumer electronics and lifestyle brand, certainly for us as well. Obviously we’ve got to time things carefully.
Then there’s the matter of competition. Xiaomi’s rise to fame was largely because it undercut Apple and Samsung, offering high-end hardware for a fraction of the cost. While that model worked magnificently for the vendor three years ago, other manufacturers have adopted a similar strategy, with the likes of the OnePlus 3, ZTE Axon 7, and the Honor 8 featuring flagship-level hardware for $400. Just like in China and India, it will be hard for the vendor to compete in the mid-range segment.
Xiaomi has successfully managed to undercut Apple and Samsung, but it isn’t the only vendor to do so.
A bulk of Xiaomi’s sales is in the entry-level segment, with the vendor selling over 110 million Redmi phones to date. However, the margins in the budget segment are razor-thin, which is why Xiaomi needs to have a strong showing in the mid-range segment. The current flagship Mi 5 has specs similar to that of the OnePlus 3, but it fails to translate that to real-world performance.
Xiaomi is all set to launch a phone later this year, with rumors suggesting we’ll see the Mi Note 2. The current batch of rumors indicate a phone with a 5.7-inch QHD display with dual curves like the S7 edge, Snapdragon 821 SoC, dual cameras at the back, 6GB of RAM, and a 4000mAh battery. The phone is also likely to be certified for Google’s Daydream virtual reality platform, much like ZTE’s Axon 7. The Mi Note 2 could be the phone that kicks off Xiaomi’s U.S. journey, but we’re still some ways off before the phone is official.
Trouble in Asia
Entering new markets is pivotal to Xiaomi’s continued growth following a downturn in sales in key markets. However, the brand is facing an increased threat from the likes of OPPO, Huawei, and vivo in key markets. According to the latest numbers from the IDC, Xiaomi shipped 10.5 million handsets in China in Q2 2016, a decline of 38.5% from the 17.5 million shipments during the same period last year. Xiaomi now accounts for 9.5% of the market, and is in fourth place behind Huawei, OPPO, and vivo.
OPPO and vivo witnessed a huge increase in shipments — to the tune of 124.1% and 74.1% YoY respectively — due to their focus on offline stores. Huawei, meanwhile, saw a modest 15.2% uptick in shipments from Q2 2015, with the three brands now occupying 46.6% of the Chinese market.
In India, the company has sold over 1.75 million units of the budget Redmi Note 3, which accounted for a majority of its shipments this quarter. Recent launches like the Mi Max are getting a lot of attention, but Xiaomi is no longer among the top five vendors in the country. Samsung is leading the pack with strong sales of the abominable Galaxy J series, followed by Micromax. Lenovo’s Moto G4 Plus and the more recent Vibe K5 Plus are also doing well in the country.
With other vendors successfully managing to take a leaf out of its playbook, Xiaomi’s first priority will be to claw back market share in its two largest markets before entering the competitive U.S. market.
The Big Android Dev Interview: Maarten Edgar
From the Big Android BBQ Europe, Appstudio.nl senior developer Maarten Edgar on transitioning from Windows Mobile to Android, why you need to read the documentation, and what might lie ahead for Google’s OS.
The Big Android BBQ Europe, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands recently, brings together some of Europe’s top Android developers, enthusiasts and other community members in a celebration of Android, code and cooked meat. A spin-off from the U.S.-based Big Android BBQ, the European event is now in its second year.
In addition to the actual BBQ part, it’s also host to two days of talks from Android developers. Among the devs presenting this year was Appstudio.nl senior Android developer Maarten Edgar. We caught up with Maarten to talk about breaking into Android development, current challenges for devs, and what the future might hold.
Who are you and what are you doing here at the Big Android BBQ Europe?
My name is Maarten Edgar. I’ve been developing [for] Android pretty much since it came out. I used to be a Windows Mobile developer, of all things, until they switched to Windows Phone and I couldn’t make my apps anymore. The apps which I’d written didn’t exist; I couldn’t port them. So I got pissed off, and haven’t looked back since.
I’m here at the Big Android BBQ, talking about surface views and how to get the best performance with them. And when to use them and when not to use them.
You already touched on this a little, but how did you get started in the world of Android development?
They switched from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone and I couldn’t make my apps anymore.
As I say, I used to make stuff for Windows Mobile — this is Windows Mobile 5.0 — I really liked developing for it, but then they shifted over and I could not make my apps anymore. The apps I made I couldn’t port, I couldn’t access things, and so I got pissed off. And Android had come out, looked good, so I went and did that. And I’ve been enjoying it ever since.
And I’ve touched pretty much all aspects of the phone to dual camera to Wi-Fi to Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, encryption. You name it, I’ve screwed around with it.
What are some of your favorite and least favorite things about working with Android — especially considering you’ve come from Windows Mobile back in the day?
Good question! Well, I like [that] it’s open source, I like that [in mobile development in particular] you make something and it’s “one there.” Specifically or Android, I like that it runs on a lot of different things. I’ve done some commercial Google Glass development — and, you know, it has a skin, but it is Android.
I like that you can do really useful stuff [with Android], it keeps on evolving and getting more interesting, so I like that.
What I don’t like is… implementations of Android that are not truly Android — Samsung had this problem where, for example, you’d ask something in the system, you’d do a system call [asking] what kind of resolution it was and it would lie to you! It would say “oh no, I’m HDPI” when really it was an MDPI thing. And that just pisses me off. Incorrect documentation. And what’s difficult is all the different device sizes. That is a challenge. Not necessarily something that I hate but it is challenging.
What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to someone starting out in Android development today?
The best documentation is already there. You don’t have to buy a book.
Read the documentation and start at developer.android.com and work through everything that’s there. Especially the basics, and then just pick and choose depending on what you’re doing. But too many people look for — y’know, oh, what paid course can I do or what YouTube video can I see. Anything you’ll see there is actually often a shallow interpretation of what’s there already. The best documentation is already there. Some of it might be a bit off, but it’s all there, and it’s free, and it’s well laid out. You know, you don’t have to buy a book because it’s already there.
And I see this on Stack Overflow and hear it from people and they go like: “oh, well, where can I find that?” And very often, especially for the beginner, it’s all there and you have to read through it to get to “grok” the Android lifecycle, and that kind of thing. So that, I think, is the most important thing that you can do when you’re starting out, when you’re an absolute beginner. Just do that.
Where do you see Android development, or Android in general, headed in the next few years?
Desktop. You see the freeform windows mode [in Nougat]? I’ve played around with it on my Pixel C. It’s buggy as all hell, but with a proper windowing system you’ve got the infrastructure to be a desktop replacement. That’s the most important thing that I think might come up.
Maarten Edgar is a senior Android developer at AppStudio.nl
Best screen protectors for Galaxy Note 7
What’s the best screen protector for Note 7?
The Galaxy Note 7’s screen is covered with Gorilla Glass 5, one of the most scratch-resistant subtrates out there. But even the strongest glass can scratch, which is why it may be a good idea to invest in a screen protector.
Screen protectors and curved screens still aren’t really friends, and the “halo effect” runs rampant. But, if you don’t want to see your screen marked up any time soon, you should cover it up and put up with the halo.
Here are the best screen protectors for your Note 7.
- IQ Shield LiQuidSkin
- Skinomi TechSkin
- IQ Shield Matte
- Samsung Screen Protector
IQ Shield LiQuidSkin
IQ Shield’s LiQuidSkin screen protector is one that employs the wet-install method, wherein you spray the heck out of the screen protector with the provided solution and it becomes as floppy as cooked ramen. This is perfect for a phone with a curved screen like the Note 7.
The wet screen protector will conform to the contours of the screen and even has a little stretch, so you can slap it on, make sure there are no bubbles, and ensure it’s covering absolutely everywhere it needs to. That being said, it won’t go all the way to the very edge of the screen, since it’ll just end up peeling up, thus creating the halo effect. It’s not the end of the world, just something to get used to.
The way IQ Shield protectors are manufactured is what makes them some of the best money can buy. Instead of being a bunch of layers of film slapped together, these protectors are a single layer of flexible, tough film that’s as good as other products with several layers.
This means you never lose touch sensitivity and it’ll stave of discoloration, since there aren’t as many layers absorbing light.
The application of the IQ Shield LiQuidSkin might be a bit involved, but it’s the best way to make sure that your Note 7’s screen remain pristine for years to come.
See at Amazon
Skinomi TechSkin
Skinomi’s TechSkin is another film screen protector that uses the wet-install method so that you apply a flexible layer of protection to your Note 7’s screen. It’ll resist scratches and won’t yellow over time like most TPU does.
The wet-install method helps to ensure that you won’t any air bubbles under the protector, which can harbor dirt that may, in time, scratch up your screen.
If you’re worried about the fact that TechSkin is a TPU film and not glass, fear not. Skinomi offers a lifetime replacement warranty, meaning that if it starts to peel, or you notice pits or scratches, just let Skinomi know and it’ll send you a replacement for free.
If you’re looking for a well-made, reliable screen protector with an unbeatable warranty, then check out Skinomi TechSkin.
See at Amazon
IQ Shield Matte
Some screen protectors can be far too shiny and produce an obtrusive glare that prevents you from seeing your phone outside.
IQ Shield Matte helps with your glaring problem with its anti-glare coating that lets your big beautiful screen shine through in broad daylight.
IQ Shield’s protectors comprise only one layer of tough, flexible film so that you never lose touch sensitivity or even really notice that there’s a screen protector on your phone at all.
If you want to protect your Note 7’s screen but can’t stand the glare that some protectors tend to produce, then IQ Shield Matte is definitely the way to go. You get a lifetime replacement warranty, and that wet-install method can’t be beat for phones with curved screen.
See at Amazon
Samsung Note 7 Screen Protector
Samsung might not have made screen protectors for previous Note phones, but on its website there is indeed an official screen protector.
The description doesn’t say much more than marketing speak, so we still don’t know if it’s going to be glass or film, but put money on it being a film protector, since (as mentioned) tempered glass and curved screens don’t get along.
Likely, if it’s made by Samsung, for a Samsung device, it probably fits nicely and precisely. I’ll give this an update once the screen protector is available for purchase, so check back!
See at Samsung
What’s on your Note 7?
Are you using a screen protector on your Note 7? Are you going to bother? Oh, and heed this advice:
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Review concludes UK bulk surveillance powers are necessary
Prior to the UK’s Investigatory Powers Bill being voted through the House of Commons in June, the surveillance legislation faced criticism from several top Labour MPs. Former Home Secretary and now Prime Minister Theresa May was able to get the Labour Party on board, due in large part by agreeing to an independent review of bulk powers provided in the bill. These allow security and intelligence agencies to collect large amounts of data in various, untargeted ways — putting the haystack before the needle. David Anderson QC, a respected authority on this type of legislation, has now published his review, providing the opinion that bulk powers are useful and fundamentally necessary.
Anderson and his team were tasked specifically with looking at the operational case for bulk powers. This is a document outlining specific use cases and is intended to justify the necessity of such powers. The key takeaway of his over 200-page report is that bulk powers are vital for security and intelligence agencies.
Having looked at “some 60 case studies,” other sensitive documents and fielding the advice of various experts, Anderson was satisfied that the kind of intelligence bulk powers are capable of providing can’t be matched by alternative and often more targeted means. “In many cases, there was simply no realistic alternative to use of the bulk power.”
While the report finds bulk powers have been crucial in combating terrorism and serious crime, Anderson does recommend the creation of a Technology Advisory Panel to support the government and the Investigatory Powers Commission (IPC) — the latter being a new independent body that would oversee (and potentially scrutinise) the use of surveillance powers. As Anderson describes it, the panel would be a group of technical experts that will advise “on the impact of changing technology on the exercise of investigatory powers and on the availability and deployment of techniques to use those powers while minimising interference with privacy.”
This panel would not be involved in oversight or regulation, nor would it comment on specific investigations. Rather, it would keep the government and IPC up to speed on issues that could/will affect the use of powers, such as the “trend towards universal encryption” and new hacking techniques, while also considering how to use powers effectively in the least intrusive way.
Anderson’s report will now be digested by the House of Lords as it nears the end of its own debate on the Investigatory Powers Bill (before it potentially becomes law). Initial reactions to the report have been mixed. The government has welcomed Anderson’s conclusions, but as Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham notes, remains mute on the recommendation for a Technology Advisory Panel to be established. He asserts that the government “must accept the report in its entirety and deliver on the separate concessions extracted by Labour in the Commons — tougher restrictions on the use of Internet Connection Records and stronger protections for journalists and lawyers.”
Alistair Carmichael of the Liberal Democrats has also said: “The government must table amendments to give effect to Anderson’s recommendation to create a Technical Advisory Panel…” Furthermore, he isn’t happy that the retention of Internet Connection Records wasn’t reviewed in this report, “despite it being one of the most intrusive powers.” His party “continue to be utterly opposed to this excessive and authoritarian measure that not only erodes our privacy but will likely prove to be a waste of money and fall foul of our courts.”
He isn’t alone in the opinion that the report had too narrow a focus, though human rights group Liberty have condemned the report for failing to even adequately review the operational case for bulk powers, among many other criticisms. “This was an opportunity to properly consider the range of targeted methods that could be used as effective alternatives to indiscriminate and potentially unlawful powers. That chance has been wasted.”
[Inline image credits: Counter-terrorism police – Flickr/Reuters & Houses of Parliament – Liam Bailey via Getty Images]
Via: Ars Technica
Source: UK government (1), (2)
Apple bought a company that tracks chronic health issues
Apple has purchased Gliimpse, a startup that helps users collect and personalize their health records, according to Fast Company. Apple confirmed the deal, which reportedly happened earlier this year, but was coy as usual. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” a spokesperson told Fast Co. However, it will likely be integrated into its HealthKit research app to help doctors improve treatment for chronic diseases.
The founder of Gliimpse, Anil Sethi, said on LinkedIn that he created the app because “there’s no single electronic health record that all physicians use … Worse, there isn’t even a common file format across 1,000+ systems.” As such, the app is primarily targeted at patients with complex health records, particularly those who suffer from chronic illnesses like diabetes, cancer and heart problems.
Apple’s HealthKit is used by half the hospitals in the US to monitor patients with serious health issues. The aim is to help researchers conduct trials to gauge the effectiveness of treatments for serious and chronic diseases. Since Gliimpse collects confidential patient data with “rigorous technical security,” the acquisition makes sense. However, it could be awhile before we see exactly how Apple brings it into the fold.
Source: Fast Company
MIT is exploring phones that put themselves together
We’ve seen a tiny chair that can assemble itself from MIT, but now the lab responsible for that adorable experiment has their eye on a much more complicated project: self-assembling cellphones. Specifically, MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab is looking at how putting together a handful of components in a rotating tumbler could come together as a complete cellphone, Fast Company reports. It’s a hard concept to grasp in words, so check out a video of the concept in action below.
Skylar Tibbits, who co-runs the lab, says he was originally inspired by MIT’s DIY cellphone project. That idea involved using $100 to $200 worth of parts to build a fairly simple dumbphone on your own. Tibbits took that concept even further to figure out how to build a functioning phone without human or robotic help. At this point, his team has managed to get six components to shape into two separate phones.
Naturally, there’s a lot to consider when designing the self-assembling experiment. The tumbler being used by the MIT team has to move fast enough to juggle the parts around, but not fast enough to actually break them. The components also need to connect at the right points and stay together securely. For now, MIT is relying on magnets to bring the right parts together.
The finished product, which looks like a prototype for a 90’s-era cellphone, is undoubtedly rough. But the fact that it can actually come together and turn on (there’s no word on calling capability yet) is impressive. Self-assembling devices won’t do much to save manufacturing jobs, Tibbits says, but it’s one way companies can automate and lower the cost of production.
Source: Fast Company
Barbra Streisand Called Tim Cook to Fix Siri’s Mispronunciation of Her Name
NPR posted an audio interview with singer Barbra Streisand over the weekend, focusing on Streisand’s North American tour of her new album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. In the middle of the 8-minute interview Apple gets mentioned briefly, specifically regarding the way that voice assistant Siri has mispronounced Streisand’s name over the last five years.
Siri uses a hard ‘z’ sound when saying the second ‘s’ in Streisand, so the singer took it upon herself to ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to get the company to correct the error in Siri’s language. Cook was said to respond with an agreement to fix the issue in “the next update,” supposedly referring to iOS 10.
“She pronounces my name wrong. Streisand with a soft ‘s’ like sand on the beach, I’ve been saying this for my whole career. And so what did I do? I called the head of Apple, Tim Cook, and he delightfully agreed to have Siri change the pronunciation of my name finally, with the next update on September 30th. So let’s see if that happens, because I will be thrilled.”
It’s unlikely Cook so readily divulged the release date of iOS 10, which is expected to launch earlier than the date mentioned by Streisand. The release for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus could be on September 16 or September 23, according to recent rumors, meaning iOS 10 would launch within a similar timeframe.
Related Roundup: iOS 10
Tag: Siri
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Backup your data with top-rated support from Carbonite, now 35 per cent off
We all know the importance of backing up our data, but how many of us have time to do it ourselves? With Carbonite, you can backup your computer’s data without a second thought, and space isn’t an issue when you have unlimited storage.
For a limited time, Pocket-Lint readers can save big on Carbonite protection. Get a year of Carbonite for £58.48 ($49.99 USD) or three for only £152.03 ($116.95 USD).
With Carbonite, you can say goodbye to clunky interfaces and storage limits. Just install once, and Carbonite will back up your data automatically. Carbonite also holds your security paramount by backing up your data with 128-bit Blowfish encryption. On top of that, you can enjoy SSL file transfer and access to your files from any device, anywhere.
In the event of a crash, restoring your data is a breeze with Carbonite’s easy-to-use restore wizard. Just pick the files you want, and they’ll get restored with zero hassle.
Subscribing to Carbonite also gets you free, award-winning support 24/7 via phone, chat, or email, so you’ll have all the help you need to secure your computer. With time and storage space taken care of, there’s no reason for anyone to leave their data unprotected.
A one-year subscription to Carbonite normally retails for £77.98, but Pocket-Lint readers can take 25 per cent off and get it for only £58.48 (49.99 USD). You can save even more if you opt for three-years of protection, normally £233.96, on sale for just £152.03 ($116.95 USD).
Enhance your design projects with Noun Project’s massive icon collection
Working under tight deadlines, graphic designers have to shave as much time off the design process as possible. That’s what makes resources like Noun Project essential for creative professionals.
With a subscription to Noun Project, you’ll get unlimited access to a myriad of royalty-free icons. For a limited time, you can purchase two years worth of access for only £63.70 ($49 USD).
Boasting a collection of over 430,000 icons, Noun Project is perfect for designers looking to shave time off their projects. Not only will you spend less time creating assets by hand, but Noun Project’s easy-to-use app interface lets you simply drag and drop icons where you please–no downloading required.
A fantastic source of creativity, Noun Project has a diverse range of icon themes and styles perfect for even the most intricate of ideas. All icons are available as PNG or SVG files, and you can organize them all just the way you want with kits. With Noun Project’s intuitive features, you can save time organizing your royalty-free assets and maximize your efficiency.
Too often, graphic designers are burdened with lofty demands and strict deadlines, making Noun Project an invaluable resource to have when the going gets tough. Noun Project not only cuts tedious steps out the design process, but it also serves as a convenient source of inspiration for any artist.
Normally £312, a two-year subscription to Noun Project is on sale to Pocket-Lint readers for only £63.70 ($49 USD)–that’s nearly 80 per cent off its original price!
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