Samsung Galaxy Note 7 accessories are now available at ShopAndroid

ShopAndroid is now full of the best Samsung Galaxy Note 7 accessories, so check them out!

If you’ve recently picked up the Galaxy Note 7, odds are that you have been looking around at some accessories to pick up for it. Luckily, ShopAndroid has you covered with all of your needs, from cases to battery packs, Bluetooth speakers, memory cards and much more. We’ve got top brands like SanDisk, Belkin, Seidio and more in stock, and some pretty great bundles as well.

Whether it is protection that you seek for the phone or something to keep it mounted in the car, we’ve got you covered. Be sure to head over to the ShopAndroid Store for all your Galaxy Note 7 accessory needs, and remember, orders over $50 ship for free!

See at ShopAndroid

Android 7.0 and the Snapdragon 800 — a conundrum

You’ll have to get Android 7.0 for the Nexus 5 from XDA. Let’s try to figure out why.

Many of us are sad that the Nexus 5 isn’t getting any official update to Android 7.0. Especially when we watched and saw Google continue to build device trees in the code for Hammerhead — that means someone, somewhere, was working on it. And when Sony announced which phones were going to receive an update to Android 7.0, many noticed that the Xperia Z3 wasn’t on the list. While the idea that phones from 2014 not getting updated late in 2016 isn’t particularly surprising, the fact that the Z3 was part of Sony’s Android Concept Initiative — a fancy name for an Android 7.0 Beta program — but didn’t make the cut and that Google was working on Nougat for the Nexus 5 then just suddenly stopped was.

The situation has the internet asking the obvious question — why? The answer is that the Z3 and Nexus 5 actually can’t officially run Android 7.0, even though could as a beta. Read on. It will all make sense.

Android platform updates aren’t as important to consumers as we make them out to be. Here at Android Central we get excited about anything new and shiny, we tell you as soon as we can (often after you already know because leaks happen) and then we all get excited together. The reality is that Google Play Services and monthly patches will let you do everything you do on your phone for a long time, and by the time a must-have app comes out that requires the next version of Android you’ll probably have a new phone or the update.

We can still want it, but this is just how things go until someone Google steps forward and changes it. Then you’ll hear talk about Google’s iron fist and EU complaints and God knows what else. The status quo sucks, but it still is the status quo.

Android 7.0 has no official support for the Snapdragon 800.

For the Android 7.0 update, in particular, we need to look no further than the requirements and the hardware of the Xperia Z3 or Nexus 5 (and plenty of other phones) for a likely answer about why certain phones aren’t able to be updated. We can’t confirm this using official statements or documents or a fancy slide, but we’re sure enough to talk about it and why it worked out the way it did.

Android 7.0 in AOSP has removed support for the MSM8974 chipset. The Snapdragon 800 SoC uses this chip along with the Adreno 330 GPU. This means phones (and tablets — hello, Nexus 7) using the Snapdragon 800 are not supported. But this doesn’t explain why the Z3 was able to run the beta, and run it well. For that, Google Play compatibility comes into the picture.

Nobody from any of the companies involved is talking about these issues, and requests for an official statement haven’t been returned, but the internet has some clues about it all. Here we see Ola Olsson, of Sony Mobile Communications, talk a bit about it in a comment on Google+.

Yeah, this is sad but we don’t want to play the blame game which means that we can’t say more about the technical limitations. Even if we really wanted to give you N on the z3(c), we wouldn’t [have] been able to do it. Not if we wanted to pass the Google CTS.

You’ll find similar responses elsewhere, and this is Sony not throwing anyone under the bus and handling things in a professional, corporate way. The important thing there is the mention of Google CTS.

Google CTS is the Compatibility Testing Suite used to make sure a device can be certified to use Google Play. Android is a free application platform that anyone can take and use in any way it likes, but Google Play is not. It’s a true for-profit commercial venture and Google has full and complete control over everything associated with it.

The actual rules and requirements needed for Android 7.0 CTS compliance are a bit of a mystery — either partners can’t talk about it or don’t want to talk about it — but we know the gist of it. Your product has to be able to run any app targeted for your platform version. That means if you’re using Android 7.0, you need to support any app designed for Android Nougat. You can check out the Android 6.0.1 CTS documentation if you’re curious. The Android 7.0 CTS documentation should live in the same place once it’s been updated.

During the beta testing for Android N — just after the release of version four — developers were told that Android N APIs were finalized and they could start targeting apps for them in Google Play. One of the things Android N does for developers is let them use the Vulkan and OpenGL ES 3.1 APIs with both the SDK and the NDK. For that, though, you need hardware support. The Snapdragon 800 does not offer hardware support for either, and apps not designed to fall back to an older version of OpenGL would not run.

Now, as mentioned, we don’t have access to the latest Android CTS documents. For Android 6.0.1, it said that hardware had to support OpenGL ES 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 or 3.1. I’ve been told that was amended to say “support OpenGL ES 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and either 3.1 or Vulkan,” but Google has said nothing officially. But this certainly explains why support for the Snapdragon 800 was removed and phones like the Nexus 5 and the Z3 aren’t going to see an official update, and I’m confident that this is the reason.

Android is open, but Google Play is not; there are rules involved.

This is a long, convoluted and confusing subject — much like Android updates in general. In the end, we know two things: the Sony Xperia Z3 will not be updated to Android 7.0 because it would not pass the CTS for technical reasons, and the Snapdragon 800 SoC does not offer OpenGL ES 3.1 support. The fact that no phone using the Snapdragon 800 or 801 (the 801 also uses the Adreno 330 GPU) has been announced as getting an update is a bit telling, too.

Let’s be honest — this sucks. As enthusiasts, we want to get an update even if it doesn’t change anything. The practical view that platform updates aren’t as important as we make them out to be is fine, and I do think it’s true, but that doesn’t satisfy the inner geek. But it’s also inevitable. Android has to advance and support new (and better) technologies like Vulkan. When these require hardware support, there has to be a cutoff. Maybe this time, the cutoff could have been avoided — the General Mobile 4G, an Android One device that uses the Snapdragon 410 and is in every way weaker on the hardware front than any phone running the Snapdragon 800 — already has Android Nougat and this throws a huge wrench into even the most plausible theory.

Is Google breaking its own rules here in regard to the CTS? Or is everything we have heard and think we know all bullshit and it really is some sinister plot to make us angry? (I’m fairly certain Google is breaking its own rules because it can, but I’m just as certain that everything is bullshit, so I still have no idea.)

The bottom line is that if you have a phone like the Xperia Z3, or the Nexus 5 or the Galaxy S5 and really want Android 7.0 Nougat, you’ll probably have to get it from the fine group building custom software for the phones on XDA.

NASA extends the Spitzer mission for two-and-a-half years

When the Spitzer telescope blasted off to space on August 25th, 2003, NASA didn’t think it would still be doing science by 2016. But since it’s alive and well 13 years later, the agency has granted it a two-and-a-half-year mission extension to make discoveries the astronomers “never imagined exploring with the spacecraft.” The space telescope’s next stage officially called the “Beyond phase” will begin on October 1st this year. It represents a period in the elderly spacecraft’s life fraught with engineering challenges due to its age.

First, since Spitzer travels slower than our planet, it’s now in a less-than-ideal position to continue communicating with its ground team. To make up for that, its antenna should always be pointed at higher angles toward the sun, which is risky, because the spacecraft is sensitive to heat. That’s also an issue since that would turn its solar panels away from the sun. Using energy until it’s almost depleted because the solar panels can’t absorb that much power will put great strain on the telescope’s batteries.

Spitzer’s mission has transformed over time, especially afer the helium coolant that was keeping its main scientific instruments cold ran out. Thankfully, its Infrared Array Cameras (IRAC) survived, so the agency has been using them to hunt for exoplanets and even early galaxies. “We never even considered using Spitzer for studying exoplanets when it launched,” NASA Spitzer’s Sean Carey said. “It would have seemed ludicrous back then, but now it’s an important part of what Spitzer does.” The telescope will continue what it’s been doing these past three years and will identify targets that its successor, the James Webb telescope, can observe more closely. James Webb — and its primary mirror that’s more powerful than Hubble’s — is slated to launch in October 2018.

Source: NASA

Bloomberg: Spotify buries artists with Apple and Tidal exclusives

Another week has passed with another high-profile exclusive debuting on Apple Music. As it does each time an artist keeps a new album off its service, Spotify reiterated this week that those exclusives are “bad for the whole industry.” According to a report from Bloomberg though, the company isn’t stopping there with its anti-exclusive stance. Bloomberg sources indicate that Spotify is retaliating against artists to release their new music on Apple’s service first by making those tracks harder to find when they do become available. Those sources say the strategy includes keeping songs off of featured playlists and burying them in search rankings. Spotify declined to comment on the report to Engadget.

Bloomberg’s sources also indicate that artists who have released new materials exclusively on Tidal are being treated similarly by Spotify, but specific names were not disclosed. The outlet does cite one unnamed artist who didn’t debut a new song on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show on Apple Music for fear of retaliation from Spotify. While Apple looks to continue to gain ground on Spotify’s 30 million subscriber tally, exclusive releases have provided it with a way to keep pace. This summer alone Apple Music debuted new albums from Drake, Chance the Rapper and Frank Ocean before they were available anywhere else.

Any added turmoil over exclusives couldn’t come at a worse time for Spotify. Today’s Bloomberg report reiterates that the company is still in negotiations with labels over new licensing deals and need those in place before filing for an IPO. A key point of contention between the two sides is having music released for paying subscribers only rather than having everything also available on the ad-supported free tier. Those record labels may be getting fed up with the exclusive debuts as well. At least one of the three major imprints in the US feels that way, based on a Billboard report.

Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge reportedly told his label heads that it would no longer allow platform exclusives just days after Frank Ocean released Blond independently with Apple. Ocean fulfilled his contractual obligations to Def Jam (a Universal label) just 24 hours prior with the Endless visual album.

Source: Bloomberg

Level is a pair of glasses that doubles as an activity tracker

Last year, VSP, the nation’s largest vision care provider, unveiled what it thinks is the eyewear of the future. It’s called Project Genesis and it comes from The Shop, a thinktank innovation lab within VSP. Project Genesis is essentially a pair of glasses with a slew of activity tracking sensors built into the temple. The idea here is that it’s a lot easier to remember to put on your glasses — which is what many people need to wear everyday anyway — versus something like a Fitbit. And sensor-laden eyewear offers other potential metrics too, like gait and posture. Now, VSP is ready to take the next step. Starting this Saturday, it’s partnering with University of Southern California’s Center of Body Computing to conduct a four-month long pilot study of the glasses with hundreds of volunteers. Oh, and the hardware has also been completely reimagined into something much more consumer-friendly. Say hello to the Level.

Level is essentially the second-generation edition of Project Genesis. It retains many of the same sensors as before — they include an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a magnetometer — but they are now housed in a much slimmer and more stylish package. “We built it from the ground up into something unique,” says Jay Sales, co-lead of The Shop on the west coast. “We shrunk the components down and made it into something much more aesthetically pleasing.” With Project Genesis, one temple was a little heavier and bulkier than the other due to the sensor housing. But with Level, both temples are equal in size.

There’s also Bluetooth for easy pairing with a companion mobile app (available on both iOS and Android) and a battery that lasts about three days in between charges. It has magnetic mount charging with a port access hidden inside the hinge and a charge time of around 30 minutes. It’s water-resistant too. But the one feature that really stands out to me is that it has a “Find My Glasses” feature, where you can locate your misplaced frames through the app.

The Level comes in three different eyewear designs. They’re designed for both men and women, come in a variety of different colors and are named after three famous innovators; Nikola Tesla, Marvin Minsky and Hedy Lamarr.

Right now, they’re set up to measure step count, calories burned as well as activity time. As part of the pilot study, the companion app is also set up to sync with VSP Global’s Eyes of Hope initiative. Every time participants accrue enough points from their daily step goals, it’ll trigger a donation of a comprehensive eye exam plus a pair of glasses to someone in need. The app also lets you connect with other users to form a social network of sorts. You can follow along with their progress and encourage each other along the way.

Dr. Leslie Saxon, the founder and executive director of the USC Center for Body Computing, hopes that it’s this community aspect that’ll help separate Level out from other wearables on the market. “A lot of people on wearables go off them,” says Saxon. “There’s no discovery after awhile because the experience isn’t durable. The community isn’t there.”

One of the reasons VSP is doing this pilot study is because it’s a health care company, not a traditional hardware company. “We’re not looking at it as a straight consumer product,” says Sales. “We need to make sure that the experience that we’re providing is actually adding value. We wanted to put more rigor around it.” So in addition to the USC study, VSP is also going to be distributing the device to MIT and select members of its provider network to get a better feel of how people react to Level.

“A lot of companies will put digital health products out there that are unregulated,” says Saxon. “At USC, we test all the products. We want to show the world that it’s better than the status quo, that it creates a positive feeling. Plus, we’re not going to sell that end data to anyone. We just want to test to see if it works.”

“It’s a mature, second-gen approach to wearables,” she adds.

As for when Level will finally be ready for consumers, well, it’ll probably be awhile yet. “We want to determine that we don’t have yet another wearable novelty,” says Sales. “It’ll be ready for the market when we know it’s adding value to our members lives.”

“Once we get the first one to market,” he says, “we’ll see where we go from there.”

Source: VSP

Snapchat is rolling out behavioral targeting later this year

Snapchat is bringing behavioral targeting, or advertisement based on data gathered from user activity, to the app in the near future.

According to Business Insider, Snapchat’s director of revenue operations Clement Xue came forward with the information in the Snapchat Advertising report, though Snapchat hasn’t offered an official comment on the situation so far.

It looks as though it’ll only utilize data collected from users while within the app, however, so if someone continually views news about Kim Kardashian or beauty products they might be targeted with celebrity updates or ads for new lipsticks or mascara, and so on.

This is an interesting move given CEO Evan Spiegel’s previous comments and general stance on avoiding “creepy” ads like the ones on Facebook that seem to track you all the way around the internet or haunt you from sites you clicked on two weeks ago.

It’s a huge step forward for Snapchat in terms of attracting new advertisers, however, as previously it lacked the same suite of targeting tools that Facebook, Google or even Twitter offer. It remains to be seen whether or not the “creepy” line will be crossed in the future, but hopefully that won’t be the case.

Via: Business Insider