How to get your drone license (and legally make money) – CNET
Aerial photography. Real estate tours. Drone burrito delivery.
Imagine the money you could make (and fun you could have!) if you flew for profit.
Sadly, drone businesses aren’t legal in the United States unless the government makes an exception for you — or unless you get your own drone license under the FAA’s brand-new rules.
Starting Monday, August 29, you can apply for your very own license by passing a multiple-choice test and paying a small fee. No experience necessary!
What, you mean I can’t just sell my drone photos already?
Nope! You could get fined $1,100 (or more) for operating your unmanned aerial system (UAS) for business purposes without FAA approval.
What is a Remote Pilot Certificate?
It’s the official name for the drone license I’ve been talking about. With it, you can legally fly drones with intention of making a profit — either by selling the footage, delivering goods and everything in between. You still have to follow a lot of restrictions when you fly…but more on those in a bit.
Enlarge Image
Prosumer camera drones like the popular DJI Phantom start at around $500 — but the sky’s the limit on price.
Joshua Goldman/CNET
What if I’m just flying for fun?
You don’t need the certificate…but you do still need to register your drone if it weighs over half a pound (0.55lb to be precise).
Oh, but if you’re a drone racer — weaving through obstacles with a nifty set of first-person-view glasses on your head — you’ll still need that Remote Pilot Certificate. At least that’s what the FAA tells Forbes.
OK, I want to make money. What do I need to get my license?
- Be at least 16 years old
- Have a valid government-issued picture ID with your name, address and signature
- Make an appointment to take the knowledge test at a test center near you
- Pay $150 to the testing firm
- Study
- Pass the test
- Wait up to 48 hours for your test score to get uploaded
- Apply for your Remote Pilot Certificate (using the code from your successful test as proof)
- Complete a TSA background check
- Print out a temporary Remote Pilot Certificate (while you wait for the real one to be delivered by mail)
- Register your drone (maybe do this first?) and start flying!
OK, that does sound like a lot. Let’s break it down.
Close
Barn owl vs. DJI drone: Which is the ultimate flyer?
Drag
How do I get an appointment for a Remote Pilot Certificate?
You need to call, email or submit an online request form with one of the two companies supervising the test — not the test center.
CATS (Computer Assisted Testing Service):
- 1-800-947-4228, then press 3 (Monday to Friday, 5:30 a.m. PT to 5 p.m. PT, Saturday to Sunday 7 a.m. PT to 3:30 p.m. PT)
- Online registration and payment (CATS calls you back within 24 hours to schedule)
PSI (formerly LaserGrade):
- 1-800-211-2753, then press 1 twice (Monday to Friday, 5 a.m. PT to 5 p.m. PT, Saturday 5 a.m. PT to 2 p.m. PT)
- examschedule@psionline.com (PSI replies within two business hours)
- Online request form (PSI replies within two business hours)
According to testing centers we called, CATS and PSI handle pretty much everything, including assigning you a test center and accepting your $150 payment.
The DJI Phantom 4 taking flight.
CNET
How long is the waiting list?
In the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s not too bad as of August 26. One testing center told us they were booked for two weeks, another said they had openings later in the week.
Is there a testing center near me?
Probably! There are 686 of them across the United States. Check for yourself in the FAA’s full, official list of test centers (PDF).
You’ll need to call CATS or PSI to get your appointment, though. While the FAA’s website says you can just walk in, testing centers in the San Francisco Bay Area told us we needed to arrange everything with CATS or PSI first.
How hard is the test?
You get two hours to answer 60 multiple-choice questions, and you only need to answer 70 percent of them correctly to pass! (You can totally miss 18 questions and still succeed.)
But these aren’t exactly easy questions. You’ll probably need to study.
Oh yeah? How hard can the questions be?
While monitoring the Cooperstown CTAF you hear an aircraft announce that they are midfield left downwind to RWY 13. Where would the aircraft be relative to the runway? (Refer to FAA-CT-8080-2G, Figure 26, area 2.)
A. The aircraft is East.
B. The aircraft is South.
C. The aircraft is West.
That’s just one of the FAA’s sample questions. Find more here (PDF).
What’s the best way to prepare for the test?
The FAA actually offers a free two-hour training course (register here first) to get you up to speed, plus an 87-page study guide (PDF).
I passed the test! Where do I apply for the actual certificate?
- Register here first (pick Applicant) and fill out your personal information. (You can ignore the Airman Certificate Number and Date of Issuance fields)
- Log into the site using your new username and password
- Apply for the certificate here; pick Pilot from the first dropdown menu, then click on the Remote Pilot certification
If you get lost, here’s a complete set of instructions.
Enlarge Image
The Yuneeq Typhoon H drone.
Joshua Goldman/CNET
Now that I’ve got my certificate, I can fly anywhere, anytime, yes?
Not so much — as you’ll see when you study, there are a lot of rules (PDF) about when and where you can fly your drone.
Unless you get a 107 waiver (and you need to apply for those months in advance), you can’t fly:
- At night
- Over people
- Higher than 400 feet (unless you’re within 400 feet of a building; skyscraper climbing is OK)
- Further away than you can see with your naked eye
- At speeds over 100 miles per hour
- From a moving vehicle (or inside a covered stationary vehicle)
- Within five miles of an airport — unless you clear it with air traffic control using an upcoming tool at the FAA’s website.
Also, you need to register your drone (if it weighs between 0.55 and 55 pounds), do pre-flight checks before you fly and report any accidents that hurt people or do $500 worth of damage to property.
What if my drone weighs more than 55 pounds?
You can’t do it with a drone license, or even a 107 waiver. Only a 333 exemption (which are hard to get, can take a long time and generally require a real pilot’s license to fly) can let you pilot something that heavy.
What if my company already has a Section 333 Exemption?
Lucky you! But in many cases, you can’t actually fly a drone for profit under the 333 unless you’re a certified pilot. The Remote Pilot Certificate is another option.
What if I’ve already got a pilot’s license?
If you want your Remote Pilot Certificate, you can actually skip the knowledge test and take the online training course instead. You’ll still need to fill out a form, make an in-person appointment and have completed a flight review within the last two years, so it’s not necessarily any easier.
Here’s a step-by-step guide for existing pilots.
Close
Toy drones are a cheap ticket to get in the sky
Drag
Could I really start a drone burrito delivery service?
Yes, the FAA says package delivery is OK — but it’d be tough! Particularly given the rule about needing to keep the drone within eyesight, and the one about drones needing to weigh 55 pounds or less. It’d probably be easier to just hand someone their food.
How about a journalist covering breaking news stories?
That could be tough, too. You can’t fly over people without a waiver, and the FAA says those will take months. But if you’re not reporting live, or not directly over people… the FAA says media companies can do it.
What if I have awesome video goggles and a camera on the drone? Do I really need to watch it with my actual eyes?
Someone needs to: either you, or a second person who can act as a visual observer. Them’s the rules!
Which drone should I buy?
If you’ve never flown before, buy a toy drone. Not kidding — you’ll learn the basic motor skills without any risk of hurting people or turning a $1,000+ aerial camera into scrap. Then, pick one of our top-rated prosumer drones that matches your needs and budget.
Is that it?
So far, so good…but there’s still a lot to think about. Maybe you’ll want to insure your drone against damage, and yourself against liability? You’ll definitely want to practice flying and camera skills, and you’ll need to figure out how to convince potential clients that you’re right for the job.
Lastly, know that your Remote Pilot Certificate is only good for two years. You’ll need to pass another knowledge test once that’s done.
Android and chill
Settle in and get comfy. This is how we’re gonna do Saturdays — talking about stuff.
Hey there!
I’m Jerry. I’m a former Electrical Engineer who ended up writing software (like many an EE) and then ended up with a cushy job that lets me work from home and do cool stuff. I’m also a Linux Professional (I love saying that for some reason) which is a fancy term for a masochist. I’ve been here a while, and the people in charge were wise (read: brave?) enough to tell me I can write words about stuff every Saturday. Mostly Android stuff, but there’s a big world out there. I’m also pretty laid back (or I like to think so) about most things. I started writing for Android Central in 2010, and this is my full-time job. Some may recognize my name here, and I’ve even met some of you in real life, which is a hoot.
Long time readers probably have noticed we’ve made a few changes here. Phil Nickinson, the long-time Editor-in-Chief and an awesome SOB that I truly love, has moved on to things that need more Phil added to them. For real. I only know half of what he’s doing, and already love it. He’s still here at Mobile Nations, and we’ll rope him into writing a few words or saying a few things here and there, but now this is our gig. And that’s cool, we got this Phil.
“We” means Dan Bader, the man who has to steer this boat and an all around Rock Star, Alex Dobie (Executive editor for the EU, licensed to thrill and dapperAF), Andrew Martonik (Executive editor for the U.S. and the best damn proofreader in the universe) and me. I’m in charge of touching things until they break, trying to figure stuff out, and talking about Android as a platform instead of just talking about the phones that use it. We’re supported by awesome people, too. All of our writers and contributors work hard to put out quality material, and they make the place better just by being here. It’s turning out to be a great mix of people, and I think we have one of the best teams out there when it comes to Android websites. We’re all doing what we’re good at, and what we enjoy. I love this job. Being surrounded by stuff that needs a battery and people with the same love for their work is part of it, but you are part of it, too. Hell, I’m one of you and I don’t want it any other way.
Now that a few details are out of the way, welcome to Saturday time with Jerry. Let’s talk about stuff.
- Android 7.0 finally showed up. It’s a big deal for the platform with fundamental changes to the way Android works on the inside, but also polishes some of the details. I like the direction Google is taking Android, and I like the way they seem more serious about improving the experience for all the people who use it. That’s tough because Android isn’t a stand-alone product, and there are all sorts of partners with different ideas. All of it needs to be unified in some ways while letting it be very different in others. Forget about which phone is best or which company has better ideas for software features for a minute — third-party apps from Google Play and certain core Android features need to be great on all of them. Nougat is a step in that direction.
- Android 7.0 is also just the beginning. There are rumors flying around and we have things we’re bursting to be able to talk about (soon, Alex). If even half of them are true we’ll see Android itself move forward in a different way than we’re used to and Google caring more about its own customers than ever before. Both awesome things that fit well with the tightening of Android itself.
- The best part is you don’t have to worry about any of it if you like what you have now and how it works. Platform updates on Android are for hardcore enthusiasts and developers for the first six months, and by the time you get an update on your phone or are ready to move on to a new one, it will be ready for you. Letting people who want to be guinea pigs and beta testers do it while you keep on doing what you do is never a bad decision.
- Why did I not know about this? Ordered.
- The Note 7 has been around just long enough to gauge some early response from people who buy phones instead of review them. Samsung killed it. Absolutely murdered it. Sure, there are some issues when you dig into the forums where people like to talk about issues, but nothing with a screen has ever been produced that is 100% perfect. Watch all the lag test videos, read all the benchmark scores and discuss them to death, but also know that the Note 7 in your hands is one of the best Android phones you’ll be able to buy in 2016. Yeah, the price is stupid high. But for a lot of folks, it’s going to be worth every penny.
- I love what The Wirecutter is doing here. Using mAh (milliamp hours) to measure how long a battery will last just doesn’t work well with battery packs or power supplies. I’m going to urge the powers that be to make it so across Mobile Nations.
- Are you ready for the LG V20? I am. So are my headphones. A head to head between the HTC 10 (my pick of 2016 so far for audio quality) and the V20 is going to happen as soon as I wrap my filthy mitts around one. If LG’s take on Android 7.0 doesn’t turn me off, it could be my daily. Carrying three phones sucks 50% more than carrying two.
- This is scary. Apple’s response was excellent, but a reminder that world governments have resources we couldn’t imagine and they aren’t afraid to spend them so they can hack a cell phone is always jarring. I hate to think about what the United States is doing. Or England. Or Germany. Hell, it’s all scary.
- Remember, alt-right, PC culture, establishment and a host of other buzzwords are just that: words. Don’t let the media and their agenda (which is making money at any cost) define you or influence you no matter which side of any issue you’re on. Everything sucks. Everything always sucked. And it always will. I’ve seen presidents get caught spying and covering it up, get shot, get impeached over a blowjob and be tricked into going to war. The one thing I’ve learned from it all is that both sides will do anything to distract you, and the media circus flourishes because of it. You be you and do what you think is right.
We’ll talk again next week. In the meantime, remember we’re all in this together and kindness feels good both ways. Adios.
Motorola’s latest wireless earbuds don’t live up to expectations
In June, Motorola unveiled its VerveLife line of “lifestyle” products, with the VerveOnes+ wireless earbuds being the first to go on sale. These are truly wireless, existing as two independent pods that you wedge into your ear holes, with no wires or headband to be found. Needless to say, I was excited at the prospect of ultracompact Bluetooth earbuds — especially after reading about the Bragi Dash, a very similar device. Sure, these headphones will be easy to lose (something the company addresses), but having a semi-smart audio system without tangles that’s easy to stow in your pockets… that seemed like the future. Sadly, while there are some useful features and the sound quality is indeed respectable, the form factor itself still has some lingering issues — most notably, drops in earpiece-to-earpiece syncing. That’s a problem, given the $250 price tag.
The package includes two wireless earbuds and a charging case, which you’ll unfortunately need to keep close at hand most of the time. The Hubble Connect companion app for iOS and Android gives you a place to customize the settings, but the buds will need to be inside the case in order for the app to connect with them. Without the app, you can still control playback, select EQ presets and connect to Google Now or Siri through simple button presses. If you misplace the buds, the app will help locate the last place they were synced, which is helpful, if only a bit.
The orange and black design with matching charging case is attractive, but unlike in the press photos, the bulky buds don’t sit flush and tend to hang a bit awkwardly out of your ear. I suppose someone out there with larger ears than mine could pull these off a bit better, but for me, it’s tough. Sure, the battery and audio drivers add to their size, but the similar Bragi Dash manages a far sleeker design, with more features inside, no less. That’s not to say the VerveOnes+ ever felt like they were going to fall out of my ears, they sit in pretty well, but do feel as big as they look. As a bonus, at least, IP57 waterproofing means they can withstand sweaty workouts and even the occasional dunk in a sink.
There’s definitely a tradeoff of style for functionality, then, but even that doesn’t seem totally worth it. The headphones have deal-breaker levels of audio dropouts between the left and right earbuds (and sometimes the pocketed source-device), which makes listening a bumpy ride. A recent firmware update helped keep the signal solid while I was sitting at my desk, but go outside amongst the Bluetooth-emitting populace and it’s dropout city.
As for audio quality — dropouts aside — they sound pretty good. Motorola, which actually licensed this product from Binatone, hasn’t revealed the frequency range, but they have 6.8mm dynamic drivers providing what’s described as “deep, rich HD sound.” That’s not much to go on unless you’ve given them a listen yourself, but the bass is indeed deep and full, with solid mid-range tones and generally crips highs, especially with high-resolution audio files. These earbuds also support Bluetooth aptX, so if you have a phone or player that supports the format, you can expect “CD-quality” wireless listening.
To tweak the output, you get six pre-set EQ profiles to choose from: Bass, Brilliant, Balance, Rhythm, Live and Moto Sound. I’ve found Balance and Moto Sound to be the best for normal listening. To get a preview of the settings, just press the earbud button on either side for six seconds while music is playing. It’ll cycle through the options. Press once to lock in your EQ when you find one you like.
Other system options include Ear Detect — an IR sensor switches the buds on once inserted into your ear and vice versa. There’s also Voice Answer for taking calls using the onboard dual mics, and Pass-Through, which lets in a tinny version of the outside world. While this definitely helps, it’s not a safe enough (or often legal) solution for cycling and wind noise also becomes a major problem with Pass-Through enabled. All these settings are supposedly accessible through a six-second button press (without music playing), but so far I’ve only heard a prompt for toggling either music or video mode (something not indicated in the manual). Still, these are generally options that you’ll set once, which you can accomplish easily through the app, while the earbuds are stowed in the case.
One of my favorite features is actually using Google Now (since I’m on Android) for verbal inquiries or turn-by-turn directions when walking or biking around. You can trigger access with a long (but not six-second long) press of the left earbud button until you hear the Google “listening” tone as it accesses your phone. Saying “walking (or biking) navigation directions to a [specified location]” usually took me right into spoken prompts indicating where to go. I usually prefer not to plug up both ears with headphones when I’m out and about, so I’ve taken to using just one. Incidentally, that also solves the annoying audio-dropout issue.
Having a single earbud that can serve up music from your phone and provide one-click access to Google Now for searches, random info and especially directions is actually pretty great. Unfortunately, if you have Ear Detect on and happen to drop them into your pocket for five minutes or more, the buds will go to sleep and only the charging case will be able to wake them up. The workaround is to turn off Ear Detect, leaving the earbud on continuously. Your freedom will only last as long as it takes for each 72 mAh battery to run down, which is listed as about three and a half hours per earbud while in use.
The 600 mAh charging case also provides an additional charge, giving you enough juice for a total of more than 12 hours of playback time once you re-up. The 115-hour standby claim also seems valid. I’ve left them in my bag (in the charging case) for four or five days and they usually still had a healthy charge.
When I first tried these headphones, they seemed like an obvious skip. If I had paid good money and the earbuds cut out as much as they had, I’d be clamoring for a refund. I had high hopes that the recent firmware update would improve their ability to stay connected, but that only helped while indoors with few people around. It’s not just the Motorola VerveOnes+, though, that have difficulty with earpiece-to-earpiece and source device connectivity. Erato’s Apollo 7 buds and the Bragi Dash suffer some of the same problems, but the Dash at least has onboard memory, so you can listen to tunes without bringing a phone (and without suffering any dropouts). And again, they also offer a sleeker fit, which is important in a product with this form factor.
I look at these headphones as examples of fledgling technology: still at the mercy of what’s technically possible. If you can afford to experiment, you may get some enjoyment out of these earbuds, but for $250 most will be disappointed. Truly wireless still seems like a great idea, but the connectivity — a key factor here — is still not where it needs to be.
Juno probe makes the closest-ever encounter with Jupiter
If you thought the Juno probe’s first photos of Jupiter were tantalizing, you’re in for a treat. The spacecraft just completed the closest approach it will take during its primary mission around the gas giant, passing a mere 2,600 miles above the surface early on the 26th. It’s the closest any vehicle has been to Jupiter, and NASA researchers already believe that they’ll discover new things about the Jovian world once they process the data (which could take “some time,” NASA warns). And of course, it’s a prime photographic opportunity. You’ll not only get the sharpest-ever photos of Jupiter’s atmosphere when photos arrive late next week, but the first good look at the planet’s poles.
This isn’t the only close-up, as there are 36 in total before the mission winds down in February 2018. As such, you’ll probably learn a lot more about Jupiter in the next few years as scientists make sense of what they’ve found. However, this fly-by could easily be the most important of the bunch. It’s the first opportunity the Juno team has had to use all its scientific gear since entering orbit, and it’s unlikely that a probe will get that close for a long, long time.
Source: NASA
Six innovative rooftop solar technologies
By Cat DiStasio
It’s never been easier to give your house a solar roof. Falling manufacturing costs and increasing demand have led to a number of fascinating new solar products in recent years, including roof shingles with integrated solar cells, modular solar arrays and even efficient thermal tiles made from glass. As the technology improves and more people get turned on to the benefits of renewable energy, we expect to see even more innovative products hitting the market in the coming months and years, pushing forward the envelope for solar power production.
Dow Chemical Powerhouse solar shingles
In 2010, Dow Chemical unveiled a line of solar-integrated rooftop shingles that were a marked improvement over existing technologies. The sleek plastic-coated Powerhouse shingles were capable of converting 13 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity — a full 2 percent increase over other solar shingles on the market at that time. The shingles were expensive when they debuted ($10,000 for 250 shingles spread over 1,000 square feet), and an array that size would only make a small dent in energy usage for a typical household. However, Dow promised they would pay for themselves within a decade, and the product was an important step forward for integrated solar power systems.
SRS Energy’s Solé Power Tiles
A year before Dow wowed the solar industry with its attractive shingles, SRS Energy launched a product that promised to make installation a breeze. Its curved Solé Power Tiles were designed to mimic the shape of interlocking mission-style clay or cement shingles. In this case, the solar shingles had the same barrel design as their traditional counterparts, so they could be easily integrated into existing mission roofs. This adaptive quality would enable homeowners to replace as little or as much of their roof with the unique solar shingles as they liked, without having to rip off the entire roof.
SolTech Energy’s icy glass solar heat shingles
Solar shingles continue to evolve, not only in efficiency but also in design. Sweden-based SolTech Energy created a stunning example of the best of both worlds with its translucent glass mission tiles, which, when installed across an entire building, give the illusion of a roof tiled with ice. The shimmering SolTech roof tiles capture solar heat and use it to warm air beneath the tiles, which is then used to heat water and warm the home during the winter. The company claims the gorgeous roof tiles can produce about 350 kWh of heat per square meter (10.7 square feet), depending on weather conditions and the angle of the roof.
SunTegra’s Solar Roof Systems
Solar shingles — once a unique way to add solar power production to your rooftop — may actually become a thing of the past. That’s thanks to the emergence of new roof technologies that integrate solar cells so fully that they’re actually part of the roof, rather than just installed atop it. Elon Musk promised that SolarCity, which is being acquired by Tesla Motors through a $2.6 billion merger deal, will create such a roof, but the New York–based SunTegra Solar Roof Systems has already done it.
The company’s integrated solar systems have been installed on homes in the northeastern United States and in California, two prime spots for making the most of the sun’s energy. SunTegra’s solar roof (available in tiles or shingles) currently costs 15 percent more than typical rooftop solar panels, but the company claims it’s just as durable and weather-resistant as traditional roof coverings, which is something most solar panel manufacturers cannot say.
SolarPod Grid Tied requires no holes
When it comes to ease of installation for rooftop solar arrays, the SolarPod might have the market cornered. The system can be mounted to nearly any type of roof and requires no drilling of holes. Since holes are the last thing you want in your roof, this is a fairly clever solution to a common installation challenge. SolarPod’s Grid Tied solar array is an integrated and modular plug-and-play solar power system that includes a prefabricated frame made from corrosion-resistant steel that holds the solar panels. Because the frame floats above the existing roof, it’s also easy to adjust the angle of the solar array to capture the maximum amount of sunlight for that particular location, thereby increasing solar energy production.
SoloPower on a roll
In a completely different approach to easing the woes of installation, SoloPower developed a flexible solar panel that can be unfurled as easily as a carpet. The thin-film solar panels, linked together in long strips, boast an 11 percent energy conversion rate and a smooth installation process, thanks to their light weight and flexible composition. In theory, the flexible solar panels could be unrolled right over the top of an existing roof, in any quantity desired, without the sort of expensive glass and aluminum frames required by most rooftop solar arrays. Although the desire for integrated solar roofs may drive innovation faster, it would be nice to see more flexible — and potentially portable — options hit the market as well.
Lenovo’s Thinkpad X1 Yoga will make you want OLED everywhere
The dream of large OLED screens has, for the past few years, seemed perpetually on the horizon. LG has had OLED TVs on the market for a while, but they’re still far more expensive than comparable LCDs. If you’ve wanted to get your OLED fix recently, you’d have to get it on a smaller phone or tablet screen. Now, the technology is finally making its way to laptops from the likes of Dell’s Alienware, HP and Lenovo. So you can bet that I jumped at the opportunity to test out the new OLED-equipped Thinkpad X1 Yoga as soon as review units appeared. For the most part, it’s a pretty typical Thinkpad convertible PC, but its screen is truly a thing of wonder.
Hardware
The Thinkpad X1 Yoga doesn’t offer up many surprises design-wise. It sports a black matte case, clean lines and it’s built out of some sturdy material (a combination of a carbon fiber cover and magnesium alloy elsewhere). Its understated aesthetic befits its purpose: it’s here to do work, not game or be an entertainment powerhouse. That doesn’t mean it’s ugly, it just resembles very traditional PC laptops, much like its sibling the X1 Tablet. Really, the X1 Yoga doesn’t need any design flourishes, as it ensures the 14-inch OLED touchscreen is the real star of the show. (More on that below.)
While it’s built like a workhouse — there’s no flex to the case, and it feels like it could survive some major tumbles — the X1 Yoga is also impressively portable, at 2.8 pounds and 0.67-inches thin. That’s about on-par with most other Ultrabooks (and it’s even 0.2-pounds lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Air). It’s not as razor-thin as HP’s stunning new Spectre, but because of that it’s surprisingly versatile, with three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and miniDisplayPort connectors, and a microSD card slot. There’s also a proprietary OneLink+ port for connecting to Lenovo’s docks, as well as a fingerprint sensor to the right of the trackpad.
Being a Yoga device, the X1’s screen can bend a full 360-degrees around the case, effectively turning it into a very large tablet. (In that mode the keyboard also recesses into the case, to prevent stray strokes and key damage.) You can also fold the screen over at an angle in a “tent” formation. That’s ideal for standing it up on a table, or on your lap in bed. Lenovo designed a new double hinge for this device, and it’s one of their smoothest implementations yet. The screen is easy to move around, but it also feels secure once you set it in place.
Lenovo also tucked a stylus into the side of the X1 Yoga, which is useful for drawing or quickly jotting down notes. It’s powered by super capacitor technology, which charges it whenever it’s sitting inside the case.
Display and pen input
The X1 Yoga’s OLED display doesn’t waste any time impressing you. The red border around Lenovo’s logo has an almost electric feel upon boot-up, and that carries over to everything in Windows. OLED displays are known for their bold colors and deep black levels, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Watching videos and perusing photos is a revelatory experience. OLED adds an enormous amount of depth to images that makes them seem almost three-dimensional.
With a resolution of 2,560 by 1,440 (1440p/2K), the X1 Yoga’s OLED screen is significantly sharper than a 1080p display, though it’s not quite 4K. That’s just fine, though, as Windows 10 still isn’t well suited to 4K, and the benefits of such a high resolution are wasted on laptop screens.
The X1 Yoga might not look like an ideal media machine from afar, but it ended up being one of my favorite ways to watch Netflix in bed. Mostly, that was due to sheer immersiveness of the screen. Its speakers sit right below the screen, and as is usual with Lenovo’s gadgets, they were merely adequate. If you really want to get into a movie or TV show, bring along a good pair of headphones.
The laptop’s ability to flip around in a variety of different orientations also made it very useful. When I needed help in the kitchen, the tent formation was perfect on my countertop for watching videos and references recipes. And when I wanted to dive into the NYT, Comixology or a digital magazine app, the tablet mode was immensely convenient. It also worked well in direct sunlight, but be prepared to deal with some reflectivity depending on how it’s oriented.
While the built-in stylus was convenient for jotting down quick notes, it’s also too light and flimsy to use for a very long time. It doesn’t feel as substantial as Microsoft’s Surface Pen or Apple’s Pencil, instead it’s like trying to write with an incredibly skinny pen. If you’re really looking forward to handwriting on the X1 Yoga, though, you’re probably better off investing in something that won’t cramp your hand after a few minutes. On the plus side, the stylus is pressure sensitive, which could be useful for artists.
Typing and trackpad experience
If there’s one thing you can be guaranteed to find on a Thinkpad, it’s a solid keyboard. That’s been true of the line since IBM debuted it decades ago, and it’s something Lenovo has maintained ever since it took over Big Blue’s computer arm. The X1 Yoga’s backlit chiclet keyboard is one of the most comfortable I’ve used in an Ultrabook. I had no trouble quickly typing up notes and reports from Intel’s Developer Conference, or banging out most of this review. The keys are sloped inward slightly, which feels comfortable as you’re resting your fingers on them, and they have a satisfying amount of depth.
Basically, the X1 Yoga’s keyboard feels like a balance of traditional Thinkpad typing with the modern chiclet style. I wish Lenovo included some media keys among its second functions though. Even the ability to start and stop music would be helpful (and being able to move between tracks would be even better). Lenovo used to offer some media keys on the X1 Carbon’s capacitive touch strip, so hopefully we’ll see those return eventually.
The Thinkpad’s trackpad is incredibly smooth, though it’s not as roomy as the MacBook Air’s or those found on other Ultrabooks. And if you’re a Thinkpad diehard, you’ll be pleased to learn there’s also red Trackpoint nub among the keys, as well as mechanical mouse buttons right below the keyboard. For the most part, I relied on the X1 Yoga’s trackpad, which was accurate for mousing, though it sometimes got confused between left and right clicks. I’m not a huge Trackpoint fan, but it was admittedly helpful while I was cramped in a middle airplane seat. In situations like that, being able to mouse with just your finger, and without moving your elbows, is immensely helpful.
Performance and battery life
| Lenovo Thinkpad X1 OLED (2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6600U, Intel HD 520) | 4,892 | 4,186 | E2,609 / P1,419 | 3,577 | 2.2 GB/s / 1.3 GB/s |
| HP Spectre 13 (2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U, Intel HD 520) | 5,046 | 3,747 | E2,790 / P1,630 / X375 | 3,810 | 1.61 GB/s / 307 MB/s |
| Huawei MateBook (1.1 GHz Core M3, Intel HD 515) | 3,592 | 2,867 | E1,490 / P887 | 2,454 | 538 MB/s / 268 MB/s |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet (1.2 GHz Core M7-6Y75, Intel HD 515) | 4,951 | 3,433 | E1,866 / P1,112 | 2,462 | 545 MB/s / 298 MB/s |
| Dell XPS 13 (2.3GHz Core i5-6200U, Intel Graphics 520) | 4,954 | 3,499 | E2,610 / P1,531 | 3,335 | 1.6GB/s / 307 MB/s |
| Razer Blade Stealth (2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U, Intel HD 520) | 5,131 | 3,445 | E2,788 / P1,599 / X426 | 3,442 | 1.5 GB/s / 307 MB/s |
| Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (2.4GHz Core i5-6300U, Intel HD 520) | 5,403 | 3,602 |
E2,697/ P1,556/ X422 |
3,614 | 1.6 GB/s / 529 MB/s |
| Lenovo Yoga 900 (2.5GHz Core i7-6500U, Intel HD 520) | 5,368 | 3,448 |
E2,707 / P1,581 |
3,161 | 556 MB/s / 511 MB/s |
On the hardware front, the Thinkpad X1 Yoga offers everything you’d expect from an Ultrabook today. It starts with an Intel Core i5-6200U, 8GB of DDR3 RAM and 128GB SSD. The model we reviewed is a bit beefier, with a Core i7 6600U, 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.
It tackled just about every productivity task I threw at it: My daily workflow typically consists of having several browsers open with dozens of tabs, Slack, Spotify, and photo editing software running all at once. The Thinkpad handled video streaming from Netflix and Hulu just fine, and it processed dozens of large photos without any issues. It was about as fast as other recent ultraportables, like the new HP Spectre, when it comes to benchmarks. Tough, since it’s sporting Intel HD 520 graphics, it can only tackle basic games.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the Thinkpad X1’s battery life. It lasted only around 4.5 hours during typical usage, and I always had to recharge it in the afternoons. In our battery test, which involves playing an HD video continuously at 50 percent brightness, it lasted 8.5 hours. It’s likely just far more efficient at handling video than a plethora of different programs running at once.
Configuration options and the competition
As always, expect to pay dearly for the privilege of using OLED. This Thinkpad X1 Yoga model starts at $1,682, while the standard LCD version starts at $1,400. Its hardware starts with the specs I’ve mentioned above, but it would cost you $2,168 to upgrade to all of the specs from our review model. Still, the premium is likely worth it if you’ve been hankering for some OLED goodness.
While there’s plenty of ultraportable competition on the market, there are few alternatives that pack an OLED screens. HP recently revamped its Spectre x360 convertible with the technology, which starts at a more reasonable $1,499. And Alienware’s gaming-ready OLED models come in at $1,800. It might be worth sticking with the Thinkpad if you want OLED with the best productivity build quality, but if you’re a gamer, Alienware’s option is worth a look too.
Wrap-up
It’ll likely be a while before OLED becomes the norm on laptops, but the Thinkpad X1 Yoga is a fine example of why we’d want it in all of our devices. Yes, even in a laptop that looks like it belongs in a boring corporate cubicle. That could also be appealing to some buyers: it looks like a dull Thinkpad on the surface, but it’ll blow your mind when you actually turn it on.
The Thinkpad X1 Yoga is a reminder that OLED isn’t just bright and bold, it’s a transformative display technology. Now if only it weren’t so expensive.
Recommended Reading: The political media machine on Facebook
Inside Facebook’s (Totally
Insane, Unintentionally
Gigantic, Hyperpartisan)
Political-Media Machine
John Herrman,
The New York Times Magazine
A barrage of political links, ads and other content has filled up your News Feed over the last few months. With each new election, the amount of noise seems to get worse and now that we have two candidates who both have quite a list of shortcomings, the chatter is at an all-time high. The New York Times Magazine takes a deep dive into how Facebook is serving as a massive political media machine and its influence on democracy in the US.
|
Dear Internet: It’s Time to Fix This Mess You Made In a week that saw actress Leslie Jones attacked online once more, Wired penned an open letter to the internet to plead for an end online harassment. |
Pandora Looks for a Way Out of the Doldrums. Cue Questlove. Will teaming up with The Roots’ drummer and DJ Questlove give Pandora a much-needed boost as it preps to launch a streaming service? The New York Times has details on the partnership. |
|
Tiger Electronics Took on the Game Boy with Devices as Powerful as Calculators Tiger Electronics was a mainstay in handheld gaming with simple gadgets that ran on two AA batteries. This piece from Motherboard offers a bit of nostalgia for those of us who played them and history lesson for those who didn’t. |
Def Jam Can’t Compete With Apple After Frank Ocean independently released his long-awaited album Blond as an Apple Music exclusive, there are a lot of opinions about what this means for record labels. As The Ringer notes, Apple Music has industry experts like Jimmy Iovine running the show which could lure more popular artists looking to cut ties to a label. |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (OLED) review – CNET
The Good The new OLED display looks stunning, and this professional-level Yoga has a great keyboard, active stylus, and rugged body.
The Bad It’s not as thin or light as the more consumer-oriented Yoga hybrids, and adding the OLED screen is an expensive option.
The Bottom Line The best 2-in-1 Yoga Lenovo makes gets even better with the addition of a stunning OLED display.
Configure at Lenovo.
Has it really only been four years since Lenovo’s first Yoga hybrid? That 13-inch two-in-one PC was the biggest argument in favor of the then-new Windows 8 and its tile-based interface, because it could transform into a touch-friendly tablet with ease, and because it did so without compromising the familiar clamshell laptop experience that nearly every PC user is accustomed to.
It turned out that the Yoga really was the one hybrid to rule them all, and every other major PC maker, including Dell, HP, Toshiba and others, experimented with all sorts of flipping, folding, rotating, and shifting hybrid PC design before settling on a similar 360-degree hinge. Today, you can’t even casually browse a computer store (either brick-and-mortar or online) without tripping over Windows PC with kiosk and table tent modes.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
Lenovo went on to make several variations on the Yoga, including different screen sizes, different colors and higher-end models with watchband-style hinges. But the overall best Yoga design the company produced was the ThinkPad Yoga. This variant, part of the buttoned-down ThinkPad line of business computers, kept the best parts of the transforming Yoga experience, but also added a clever keyboard trick.
When the hinge rotates from its clamshell position all the way to its tablet position, the keyboard tucks itself away inside the base. It looks and feels like a retractable keyboard, but in reality, the outer edge of the keyboard tray raises up slightly to be flush with the keys, which are in turn locked into position. But the end effect is the same, so feel free to keep calling it a retractable keyboard. It’s a great feature missing from the standard IdeaPad Yoga systems, which leave a deactivated keyboard clacking under your fingers when in tablet mode.
Still, the ThinkPad Yogas were never as thin, flashy or lightweight as the consumer models, so I could see going with a slim IdeaPad Yoga 900 instead. Until now.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
The latest 14-inch ThinkPad model, called the X1 Yoga, adds an OLED display (in its highest-end pricing configurations), making it one of the first laptops anywhere to have this stunning new type of screen. This isn’t a surprise development, Lenovo announced OLED was coming to the Yoga back in January at CES 2016, but it’s taken until now for the first units to finally ship. We recently reviewed a version of Dell’s Alienware 13 with an OLED screen, and my colleagues and I were blown away by what a big difference it made in everything from gaming to video viewing, and to a lesser extent, casual web surfing and productivity work. The Samsung TabPro S, a Surface-like tablet hybrid, has a similar AMOLED screen and was also very impressive.
Here in the larger 14-inch X1 Yoga, you can really appreciate why OLED screen technology sets the standard for excellence in the best-looking current-gen big-screen televisions, and why, despite the very high costs, TV buyers crave them. Even for a smaller laptop screen, there’s still a premium to pay. The exact high-end configuration we tested, with the OLED 2,560×1,440 display, a Core i7-6600U processor, 16GB of RAM and a big 256GB SSD, costs $2,289, as configured through Lenovo’s website. In the UK, you can get an identical OLED configuration for £2,286. In Australia, the same configuration costs AU$3,999.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
If you’re looking for OLED on a budget, Lenovo also offers a Core i5 version in the US with the same OLED display but half the RAM and SSD storage for $1,682.
ThinkPad Yogas always cost a few hundred dollars more than the consumer versions, because of the retracting keyboard, better construction and built-in IT-friendly security features. Adding OLED drives the price up even further, but it’ll be a least a few more years before OLED laptops and TVs are as inexpensive as their LCD counterparts.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (OLED)
| $2,289 |
| 14-inch, 2560 x 1440 OLED touch display |
| 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6600U |
| 16GB DDR3 SDRAM 1866MHz |
| 128MB Intel HD Graphics 520 |
| 256GB SSD |
| 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Micorsoft Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) |
This new X1 Yoga keeps much of the look and feel of previous models, from the low-key matte black color to the red trackpoint nestled between the G, H and B keys — a throwback to an earlier era of laptop computing that feels more like a branding play than a practical navigation tool these days.
Android Central 303: 7.0 ways to enjoy Nougat
This week, Alex, Andrew, and Daniel convene in New York City to discuss Nougat. It’s a full hour of all the new features in Android 7.0, and why you’re going to want it — now.
(A quick warning: there is one curse word in the episode. Sorry, Jeff!)
Thanks to this week’s sponsor:
- Harrys: Use promo code AC to save $5 off your first purchase — start shaving smarter.
Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/androidcentral303.mp3
ICYMI: The first autonomous robotic octopus has arrived
Today on In Case You Missed It: Harvard Researchers created the world’s first fully-autonomous octo-robot, something that runs on hydrogen peroxide and moves by pumping oxygen into its tentacles. We’d be afraid, except it looks so similar to what research vessel EV Nautilus just spotted in the sea that we can’t help but be charmed instead. If you’re more into nature as medicine, you may be interested in the study that showed houseplants may be better at removing air pollution than many ventilation systems.
We round up the week’s stories with TL;DR but can’t limit our suggestions to just one this week. Read up on the Apple iOS patch after a human rights activist was spied on here, and the story about the VR video starring President Obama and more even more impressive, the National Parks!– is here.
If you’re similarly into that seal video, the full ‘avoiding feeding orcas’ thing can be found here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
AIVAnet 