Samsung unveils first 4G-enabled Tizen phone in India for ₹4,590 ($68)
Samsung has rolled out its third Tizen handset in the Indian market, the Z2 (the first was the Z1, and then Samsung launched the Z3). The phone is the first in the Tizen range to offer LTE connectivity, and will go up for sale starting August 29 via Samsung’s offline channels and e-commerce store Paytm. Much like its predecessors, the Z2 is aimed at the entry-level segment, with a retail price of ₹4,590 ($68).
As you can imagine, the hardware on offer with the Z2 is fairly basic, which is in the form of a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) display, 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage, microSD slot, 5MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera, and a 1500mAh battery.
Things get much more interesting on the software front, where we’re seeing the latest iteration of Tizen. Samsung says that the phone has been designed from the ground up in its Bengaluru R&D facility, with a slew of India-specific features on offer.
The first is called My Money Transfer, which lets customers transfer money (up to ₹5,000) even when there isn’t an active internet connection. Then there’s S Bike Mode, which is debuting on Tizen for the first time. The feature routes calls to an automated service to prevent distracted driving. The Z2 also offers Ultra Data Saving Mode, as well as the ability to unlock the phone with gestures, pinning apps to the home screen, and more.
Tizen OS isn’t as memory-intensive as Android, which means that the Z2 should be capable of handling basic tasks with ease despite its meager hardware.
By pricing the phone under ₹5,000 ($75), Samsung is clearly targeting feature phone buyers. There are 550 million feature phones in India, and over 10 million new phones are being sold every month. With the 4G-enabled Z2, Samsung is looking to entice feature phone users into making the switch to their first smartphone. The Jio Preview offer — which gives unlimited LTE data for 90 days on Jio’s 4G network — is the icing on the cake.
The Xbox Onesie is equal parts comedy and tragedy
For the folks who take their couch potato-ing very seriously, Microsoft has something up its rollable sleeves for you. It’s called the Xbox Onesie, and, as you might expect, it’s an adult-sized pair of zip-up pajamas packed to the seams with purpose-built, Xbox-themed accoutrement. We’re talking oversized pockets for gamepads and remotes, an arm pouch for your phone and a giant hood that shouldn’t interfere with even the bulkiest of headphones. That’s in addition to “forearm grips to prevent slipping on those ‘edge of your seat’ moments” and the option to have your Gamertag embroidered on the getup. There is a catch, though.
The Xbox Onesie is an Australia-only item for now, and even then, if and when it’ll go on sale isn’t clear. The items you see in this post were created to commemorate a regional study regarding media consumption. A Microsoft spokesperson tells us that availability details about the limited edition attire will be ready “soon.” Oh, and the Onesie is available in white, and, unlike the One S itself, black. Sure, the whole thing looks super comfortable (and follows the Xbox One S’ stylings pretty closely), but don’t you already have a Snuggie collecting dust in your closet?
Source: Sunshine Coast Daily
Facebook tests auto-playing News Feed videos with sound
It’s no secret that Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to become a more video-centric social network, and the company has been conducting various tests to see how its users would react to new features. One of its latest mobile app experiments is auto-playing videos on the News Feed… with sound.
According to Mashable, some affected users see an icon on videos that you can tap to toggle sounds or or off. That sounds manageable, and we can imagine people liking the feature. However, other testers are reporting that sounds automatically start up when videos play on their News Feed, so long as their devices aren’t on silent mode. That one sounds like a huge PITA. It appears that the test is only live for a small percentage of people on mobile in Australia, however, and it doesn’t seem like it will be expanding elsewhere just yet.
You’re probably well-acquainted with how videos work on the News Feed by now. They automatically (and silently) play while they’re visible on your screen, but they stop as soon as you scroll past them. The system’s pretty convenient for watching videos on the go, especially if you usually can’t be bothered to dig up your earphones. It will be tough browsing your friends’ posts in public places if sounds autoplay, as well.
If you’re Down Under and among the small number of users affected, you don’t have to deal with it if you don’t want to. You can always switch sounds off in Settings or mute your phone completely.
Here’s the statement we got from Facebook:
“We’re running a small test in News Feed where people can choose whether they want to watch videos with sound on from the start. For people in this test who do not want sound to play, they can switch it off in Settings or directly on the video itself. This is one of several tests we’re running as we work to improve the video experience for people on Facebook.”
Source: Mashable
Apple Patent Details Visual-Based AR Navigation Device
Apple has been granted an augmented reality navigation patent stemming from its acquisition of AR startup Flyby Media earlier this year (via AppleInsider).
The patent was published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under the title “Visual-based inertial navigation”, and describes a system that allows a consumer device to position itself in three-dimensional space using data from cameras and sensors.
The system combines images from an onboard camera with measurements gleaned from a gyroscope and accelerometers as well as other sensors, to build a picture of the device’s real-time position in physical space.
The patent notes that visual-based inertial navigation systems can achieve positional awareness down to the centimeter scale without the need for GPS or cellular network signals. However, the technology is unsuitable for implementation in typical mobile devices because of the processing demands involved in variable real-time location tracking.
To overcome the limitation, Apple’s invention uses something called a sliding window inverse filter (SWF) that minimizes computational load by using predictive coding to map the orientation of objects relative to the device.
The system could be used in a navigational AR device that overlays an output image with location-based information. One scenario describes how the technology could be used to pinpoint items in a retail store as a user walks among the aisles. Another describes the use of depth sensors to generate a 3D map of a given environment.
Whether or not Apple uses the patent in an upcoming product is obviously unknown at this time, but the company has been relatively open about its interest in innovating in the virtual reality and AR space. Apple is said to have a large team experimenting with headsets and other technologies and is believed to have been working in the area since at least early 2015.
The patent was filed in 2013 and credits former Flyby Media employees Alex Flint, Oleg Naroditsky, Christopher P. Broaddus, Andriy Grygorenko and Oriel Bergig, as well as University of Michigan professor Stergios Roumeliotis, as its inventors.
Tag: patent
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LG OLEDB6P series review – CNET
The Good With the exception of even more-expensive 2016 OLED TVs, the LG B6 outperforms every other TV we’ve tested. It evinced perfect black levels, wide viewing angles, accurate color and a brighter picture than last year. It’s compatible with both types of HDR TV shows and movies, Dolby Vision and HDR10. Its striking design features a super-slim panel.
The Bad Expensive.
The Bottom Line LG’s high-end 2016 OLED TVs deliver the best picture quality of any TV we’ve ever reviewed, and the B6 is the best value of the bunch.
LG’s 2016 OLED TVs are everything I expected, and even after hours of watching them, they still surprise me with how good they look.
I expected the best picture quality ever, anchored by perfect black levels and viewing angles, along with expanded HDR compatibility for the widest access to the best video content available. I expected beautiful design and the thinnest panels around. I expected to pay out the nose. Check, check and check.
In side-by-side comparisons with LCD TVs I tested there’s not much of a contest: the B6, LG’s “cheapest” 4K OLED TV, simply looks better in almost every way. Its picture is basically the equal of the more-expensive E6 I tested at the same time, so I don’t think it’s worth paying extra for that TV’s superior sound and styling. It’s also better than the 55EG9100 and the EF9500, two OLED TVs from last year that are still available (often at slight to steep discounts). The gap is narrow, but wide enough that I don’t advocate buying the older version unless the discount is truly steep, say $800 to $1,000 for the 65-inch versions.
So yes, with the exception of the E6, the B6 is the best TV I’ve ever tested. And yes, most people will think it’s too expensive to buy one. Extremely good LCD TVs, like the Sony XBR-X930D and the Vizio P series, cost thousands less, and deliver image quality that’s good enough for just about anyone.
LG OLEDB6P (pictures)
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But maybe you’re not “just about anyone,” and a “good enough” picture isn’t good enough for you. Maybe you’re sick of waiting for the price of OLED to fall while you watch an inferior TV every day. And maybe the price difference between a good LCD and a great OLED is worth paying, for whatever reason. You, dear reader, should buy a B6.
Series information: I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 55-inch LG OLED55B6P, but this review also applies to the 65-inch OLED65B6P. Both sizes in the series have identical specifications and according to the manufacturer should provide very similar picture quality.
I also reviewed the more expensive OLED65E6P at the same time. It has very similar picture quality as well, with most of the differences noted below. For that reason the two reviews are very similar.
LG sells curved a version of the B6, the C6, which has the same specifications and features — the exception being that the C6 has 3D, while the B6 does not. I prefer flat to curved TVs, but the difference is largely aesthetic. Then there’s the ultra-expensive G6, with its rotating sound bar stand. I didn’t test either model, but LG says they all have the same picture quality as the B6 and E6 I did review.
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There’s thin, then there’s OLED TV thin
Plenty of LCD TVs are exceedingly slim in profile these days, but few take it to the level of OLED. The top half of the B6 TV, which consists of just the OLED panel itself and enough structure to support it, is pencil thin, just 0.18 inch deep. The bottom half, where the electronics, power supply, inputs and other stuff live, is thicker at just under two inches.
The B6 lacks the striking picture-on-glass design of more expensive 2016 LG OLEDs, but it’s still beautiful TV. It’s nearly all picture from the front, with just a tiny LG logo. The stand is angular and darker shade of silver, and adds a mass of transparent plastic on the back to create a more floaty look.
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I’m guessing most buyers in this price bracket will opt to wall-mount, though, foregoing the stand. Unlike earlier LG OLEDs, which required a special add-on wall bracket, the B6 and other 2016 models can work with a standard VESA wall mount.
The remote is basically the same as last year, and I’m a fan. LG kept its trademark motion control, which allows you to whip around the menus with a responsive cursor rather than a plodding directional keypad. That keypad is still available too, if you want it, along with a slick rubberized scroll wheel. The step-up E6 and G6 TVs enjoy a new, redesigned remote, although it’s not much better than this one.
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Smart TV is solid, but not the best
There’s nothing wrong with LG’s Web OS Smart TV system, and I am glad that response times are snappier than last year throughout the menus, but competing systems (with the exception of Vizio) are better. Roku and Android TV have more apps and a better design, and Samsung has the unique ability to control more of your gear.
4K streaming with Dolby Vision HDR is available from Netflix, Amazon and Vudu, which outpaces the HDR selection of Samsung (which lacks Vudu’s HDR) and Vizio (which lacks Amazon’s) and matches Sony’s. 4K-capable apps include YouTube and Xfinity’s lame 4K sampler, formerly exclusive to Samsung, which only works for Comcast subscribers.
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Other apps are hit or miss. You get Hulu, Crackle, MLB TV, Plex, Google Play Movies and TV, Spotify and Pandora, for example, but LG’s system is missing both HBOs (Go and Now), Showtime (or Anytime), Pluto TV, Sling TV, Watch ESPN, CBS All Access, PBS, PBS Kids and more. Roku and Android TV have all of those, and many more niche apps too, while Samsung’s selection is about the same, give or take a few services. (Note that CNET is a division of CBS.)
You also get voice search and a “content store” but none of it is as easy to use, or as comprehensive, as other systems. In the end you’re best off, as usual, getting your streams from an external device.
Features and connectivity
Key TV features
| OLED |
| N/A |
| 4K |
| HDR10 and Dolby Vision |
| Flat |
| Web OS |
| Motion |
| No |
OLED is the dark star of the show here. Its basic tech closer to late, lamented plasma than to the LED LCD (SUHD or otherwise) technology used in the vast majority of today’s TVs. Where LCD relies on a backlight shining through a liquid crystal panel to create the picture, with OLED and plasma, each individual sub-pixel is responsible for creating illumination. That’s why OLED and plasma are known as “emissive” and LED LCD as “transmissive” displays, and a big reason why OLED’s picture quality is so good.
New for 2016 LG is claiming 25 percent higher light output and a wider color gamut compared with previous models like the EF9500. Interestingly, it also says all of its new 2016 OLED TVs have the same picture quality. See the picture quality section below for tests of those claims.
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The other big improvement over last year is support for both types of HDR video: Dolby Vision and HDR10. Today at least, that means TVs like the B6 can access more HDR TV shows and movies than other devices. On the other hand, the B6 is also the only 2016 4K OLED TV to lack support for 3D sources. If you want a non-curved 2016 OLED with 3D, your cheapest option is the E6.
The only other features difference between the B6 and E6 is the latter’s superior sound system.
- 4x HDMI inputs with HDMI 2.0a, HDCP 2.2
- 3x USB ports
- 1x component video input
- 1x composite video input (shared with component)
- Ethernet (LAN) port
- Optical digital audio output
- RF (antenna) input
- Remote (RS-232) port (minijack)
The selection of connections is top-notch. Unlike many of Samsung’s sets, this one actually has an analog video input for legacy (non-HDMI) devices.
Picture quality
There’s nothing like OLED, and the B6 and E6 are the best OLED TVs I’ve tested so far. They improve on the EF9500 from last year with better brightness, wider color gamut and better uniformity in dark areas. They’re not perfect, but they’re better than any LCD TV I’ve tested. To be fair, however, my comparison crop didn’t include the very best 2016 LCD TVs from Samsung (the KS9800) and Sony (the Z9D), so I can’t say for sure whether the B6 is better than them.
If you’re looking for differences between the two, this review isn’t the place to find them. According to my eyes and measurements both were equally adept with the vast majority of stuff I tested. The B6 did have less input lag for gaming, there were slight differences in video processing, and the E6 was a bit brighter, but I can’t say whether that was the result of their screen size differences.
And in case you’re looking for a link to my picture settings, I’m not going to provide them for this review. Check out my calibration and HDR notes for details.
Comparison models
- LG 65EF9500 (65-inch OLED TV)
- LG 55EG9100 (55-inch OLED TV)
- LG OLED65E6P (65-inch OLED TV)
- Samsung UN65JS9500 (65-inch LCD TV)
- Samsung UN65KS8000 (65-inch LCD TV)
- Vizio P65-C1 (65-inch LCD TV)
Dim lighting: OLED was king here. All four of the OLED TVs in my lineup produced equally perfect black, compared with the variously lighter shades of black found on the LCD TVs. As usual the difference showed up most in dark scenes, for example in “The Revenant” Chapter 21 where Hugh emerges into the searchers’ torchlight. The black bars above and below the image, the shadows among the trees, and Hugh’s silhouette all appeared in true black or very dark shadow, and all looked blacker and more realistic than any of the LED LCD sets.
New PlayStation 4 Slim controller pictures break into the wild for all to see
A new version of the PlayStation 4 appeared on Monday, dramatically showing off its slim lines when it was listed on Gumtree in the UK, bought by a PlayStation fan, exhibited on Twitter and finally, verified by Eurogamer.
This twisting tale hasn’t quite reached its end, however, as now it is the turn of the controller to break free and show its lines.
It looks as though the new controller isn’t going to vary too much from the DualShock controller of the PS4, but there’s a change to the light bar, now showing through on the top of the controller.
Originally there was a video of this new controller shared by ZRZ on YouTube but it has since been taken down, although we do at least have an picture of this controller thanks to Engadget.
To verify the new design, @strongmaneighty2 (the fan who bought the original PS4 Slim from Gumtree) has confirmed that this visible bar on the top just looks like a transparent section, allowing the light that shows at the front to be seen on the top too.
@Jed05 I am not sure that it’s an additional light, It looks to be just a slim see through part on the touchpad which lets light through.
— shortman82 (@shortmaneighty2) August 23, 2016
Speculation suggests that this might be for linking-up with PS VR when it launches, or just for extra detail, so games can use the light for other in-game features.
With the number of videos appearing and being taken down, this is all looking more and more likely. We’re expecting the new PS4 Slim to launch on 7 September at PlayStation’s New York event, alongside the PlayStation Neo.
Fox News broke UK broadcasting rules with pro-Brexit views
Ofcom has ruled that Fox News broke the UK’s broadcasting guidelines when it aired a program discussing the EU referendum on the day of the vote. Your World with Neil Cavuto, a show produced in the US, was broadcast in the UK at 9pm on June 23rd, one hour before the polls had closed. During the business and financial news program, Cavuto said:
“We are governed by a bunch of bureaucrats that don’t speak English in a funny place called The Hague, which makes no sense at all, and it tells Britain what to do it takes British money, it doesn’t send much of it back — it’s a very unfair one-way street when you begin to dig into it and the biggest thing of course is that all of this is all a disguise over the immigration issue.”
At 9:55pm, mere minutes before the vote had closed, an additional news item produced the following analysis: “Long term I don’t buy this argument that Britain is going to fall apart. I means there’s no way…this is a very industrious culture they can set their own rules, I don’t know why any Brit — maybe I’m too much of a Yank — why would any Brit want to offshore its sovereignty to Brussels? That makes no sense to me.”
Ofcom received a complaint about the program, which argued that it broke the regulator’s TV code. Under rule 6.4, broadcasters aren’t allowed to discuss or analyse referendum issues while the polls are open. Breaching this point, the argument goes, can directly affect voters’ decisions and the final outcome. It’s the same reason why John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight show — a HBO production licensed by Sky Atlantic in the UK — wasn’t shown until 10:10pm, a short while after the vote had ended.
Fox News defended the program on multiple fronts. The company said it was aired in the UK and the US simultaneously, as the timing coincides with the closing of the US stock market. It helps viewers to “understand market performance that day,” its legal team argued, and was “prepared with a view towards an American audience.” Fox News said its program was not “advocating a particular position on the vote,” but rather discussing the issues “in the context of (their) impact on financial markets.” It later quoted article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which awards people the right to freedom of expression.
Ofcom waved this defence aside, however. “The prohibition in rule 6.4 on discussion and analysis of referendum issues while the polls are open is not qualified in any way — for example by the possibility of a broadcaster justifying the material by the context.” As a result, the regulator agreed with the complainant and ruled that program breached its broadcasting guidelines. As Politico reports, there will be no financial penalty, however frequent offences can give Ofcom the grounds to impose such a fine.
Microsoft inks a patent and software deal with Lenovo
Microsoft is dipping its fingers into the coffers of yet another Android device manufacturer. The company has just announced a partnership with Lenovo, which will put its apps in the Chinese’s manufacturer’s Android phones. It also includes a patent cross-licensing deal that covers Lenovo’s — and Motorola’s — devices’ giving it right to use some of Microsoft’s intellectual properties. According to Redmond, its new partner has agreed to preload Office, OneDrive and Skype on select Android phones. It didn’t specify which models are getting those apps, but company exec Nick Parker mentioned that they’ll be loaded onto the company’s “premium devices.”
Lenovo is the latest addition to the list of Android manufacturers sending money straight to Redmond. Microsoft started negotiating with hardware makers in 2010 after openly accusing Google of infringing on its software patents to make Android. It struck deals with numerous companies since then, including HTC, Samsung and even obscure phonemakers not active in the US.
Source: Microsoft
NVIDIA’s made-for-autonomous-cars CPU is freaking powerful
NVIDIA debuted its Drive PX2 in-car supercomputer at CES in January, and now the company is showing off the Parker system on a chip powering it. The 256-core processor boasts up to 1.5 teraflops of juice for “deep learning-based self-driving AI cockpit systems,” according to a post on NVIDIA’s blog. That’s in addition to 24 trillion deep learning operations per second it can churn out, too. For a perhaps more familiar touchpoint, NVIDIA says that Parker can also decode and encode 4K video streams running at 60FPS — no easy feat on its own.
However, Parker is significantly less beefy than NVIDIA’s other deep learning initiative, the DGX-1 for Elon Musk’s OpenAI, which can hit 170 teraflops of performance. This platform still sounds more than capable of running high-end digital dashboards and keeping your future autonomous car shiny side up without a problem, regardless.
On that front, NVIDIA says that in addition to the previously-announced partnership with Volvo (which puts Drive PX2 into the CX90), there are currently “80 carmakers, tier 1 suppliers and university research centers” using Drive PX2 at the moment. For the rest of the nitty-gritty details, be sure to hit the source link below.
Source: NVIDIA
Amazon Working on Echo $5-a-Month Music Streaming Service
Amazon is working on a $5-a-month music subscription service that will be exclusive to owners of the company’s internet-connected Echo speaker.
According to Recode, Amazon is planning to introduce the service in September alongside another music streaming service that costs $10 a month, to compete more directly with the likes of Apple Music and Spotify.
Industry sources say the company has yet to finalize deals with major music labels and publishers. One sticking point is reported to be whether Amazon sells the cheaper Echo-only service for $4 or $5 a month.
The $10-a-month service is said to replicate features common to the streaming market, such as unlimited, ad-free playback and an option to download music for offline listening. The company already offers Amazon Music as part of its Amazon Prime subscription package, but the music catalog is limited compared to streaming services like Tidal and Google Play Music.
The $5-a-month service would be different to discounted subscription models that other companies have tried in the past. Not only will the $5 service be restricted to Echo owners, it won’t be available to use on smartphones, which is what most users of existing streaming services sign up for.
Amazon started shipping the Echo last year and reportedly sold a million units. The company is aiming to sell three million more this year and 10 million in 2017, according to The Information.
Tag: Amazon Echo
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