Sofas are now getting smart and can be controlled with ROM’s Aladin app

Our homes are getting smarter and smarter by the day, we’ve seen smart plugs, smart coffee machines and smart thermostats. One area we thought perhaps couldn’t be made smart though is the sofa. British sofa company ROM has different ideas though and has found a way to incorporate a smartphone into your sitting experience.

The company has come up with the Aladin app, which can be used with any of the company’s five Premium2 sofas, with the smart technology being available as an optional extra from £185. Once specified, the app can be used to individually control each seat, with up to five different seating positions available per seat. Settings can be stored for each seat, so you can sit down, press a button and have the sofa adjust to your seating preference.

You don’t have to lift a finger to reset the sofa to its normal position either. Just tap a button and it will morph into its resting state.

ROM

ROM has heavily embraced apps and smart technology, as the whole ordering process for its sofa is done on an iROM app in-store, so you can see what your sofa will look as you’re making changes. ROM’s smart sofa technology is available to order now on the Bellona, Jupiter, Fortuna, Remus and Levana ranges.

Roku’s new players start at $30, make 4K and HDR more affordable

You’d think that there would be no surprises left for Roku’s next batch of streaming media players, following a bunch of leaks which revealed plenty of details and some very clear photos. But that’s not entirely true, chiefly because we didn’t have the most important aspect of Roku’s new lineup: price. What’s most impressive about the company’s new players — which are available for preorder today, and will ship on October 9th — is how they’re driving down the cost of adding streaming media to your TV while also expanding on useful capabilities like 4K and HDR.

How does a $30 streaming box sound? That’s how much the new entry-level Roku Express will cost, coming in at $20 less than the previous Roku 1 and the latest Streaming Stick. The new model is faster than the Roku 1, but if you want the composite cable inputs from its predecessor, you’ll have to shell out for the $40 Roku Express+. Both new players are longer and thicker than the Streaming Stick, but they’re still smaller than their remotes. And speaking of the clickers, they’re IR-based, so you’ll have to keep the Express players somewhere in front of your TV.

Replacing the Roku 2 and 3 in the mid-range are the Roku Premiere ($80) and Premiere+ ($100), both of which will support 4K video up to 60 frames per second. They’ve got faster quad-core processors than before, as well as dual-band 802.11AC wireless, which is useful for areas with congested WiFi. The Premiere+ also offers HDR, an ethernet port, a microSD card slot for more storage and an RF remote with a headphone jack.

At the high end is the $130 Roku Ultra, which replaces last year’s Roku 4 and delivers the same 4K and HDR capabilities as the Premiere+. It also adds an optical audio port for connecting to older receivers and soundbars. The Roku Ultra sports a USB port for playing back your own files, voice search through its remote, and a lost remote button on the player itself. While it’ll likely have its fans, the Premiere+ sounds like the best overall deal for most consumers. That model offers more features than the Roku 4 for a far lower price.

For now, Roku’s more expensive players are only supporting the HDR10 standard, and there’s no word if they’ll ever be able to support the competing Dolby Vision standard. You’ll also be able to play Dolby Atmos via HDMI pass-through (which makes your receiver deal with all the decoding). On the software front, a new “night listening” mode will compress the dynamic range of audio (so booming explosions don’t shake the walls) and Roku’s Universal search feature now works across 100 different services (the most recent being HBO Now).

Aside from the naming changes, most of the new players seem like fairly standard upgrades for Roku. The mid and high-end boxes all share the company’s penchant for flat boxes with rounded edges, and their remotes all look pretty familiar as well. The $30 Express model seems the most intriguing, since it’s the sort of thing you can easily buy to throw on TVs all over the house. It’s also a smart way for Roku to connect people with older TVs (though it’s a shame you’ll have to pay more for composite ports). And don’t forget, Roku’s $50 streaming stick remains a compelling (and portable) way to get in on the binge-watching fun.

How Fox Sports is bringing augmented reality to NFL games

By Mark Spoonauer

As a tech nerd and a New York Giants fan, I couldn’t help but geek out during the recent Giants-Cowboys game. Fox Sports debuted a new kind of augmented-reality graphics package that placed a massively tall scoreboard on the field in 3D and then later added a larger-than-life quarterback comparison.

As the aerial Skycam moved forward, the perspective changed as I watched my TV, allowing me to peek around the side of a digital Eli Manning and then literally move through the graphics to see the live action. I’ve never seen anything like it before, because it had never been done before.

According to Michael Davies, senior vice president of field and technical operations for Fox Sports, this is just the beginning of what’s possible with AR graphics. And the source of his and his team’s inspiration is clear.

MORE: How to Get Sunday Ticket Without DirecTV

The key to the new AR graphics package is the Skycam, which provides the quintessential video-game-like view that’s piloted above the field and sits right behind the play. Last year, Fox Sports used the Skycam to debut a virtual 1st-and-10 line from above, and now it’s working with three vendors — Skycam, Sportvision and Vizrt — to show other types of augmented reality and 3D graphics on the field.

Image: Nick Bush / Tom’s Guide

It took a fair amount of research; but it’s good, and I think it’s getting better,” Davies said.

The Skycam gives Fox Sports the data on where the camera is and what it’s doing. The second ingredient is Sportvision, which provides optical tracking info and synthesizes the information coming from the Skycam. Vizrt, the third ingredient, is the graphics engine that renders and produces the 3D graphics, which takes into account not only the position of the camera but also lens zoom and lens distortion.

So far, the response from fans has been fairly positive, partly because Fox Sports is very cognizant of the line between attention-grabbing and distracting. “In the past, when you needed to throw up a graphic, it would cover up and almost take you away from the action,” Davies said. “This allows us to stay in the field of play and keep the audience connected to the game and still get the information up.”

MORE: Best TVs – Top-Rated Televisions From 40 to 65 Inches

What’s next? Davies wants to be able to take the tracking data that Fox Sports gets from the Skycam and integrate 3D graphics in real time, whether it’s for displaying important statistics, analyzing important matchups or dropping a virtual pointer on a player that has just entered the game. Fox Sports might also use its new system to highlight a route.

“To be able to put augmented reality over actual gameplay, or during replays and highlights, is something I think we would really like to get into,” Davies said.

Just don’t be surprised when advertisers start asking for the AR graphics treatment.

More from Tom’s Guide:

• How to Watch NFL Games Online
• 15 Best Sports Apps
• Best 4K TVs
• Top-Rated Fitness Trackers

Apple Facing European Commission’s Tax Ruling Without a Lobbying Presence in Brussels

Following the European Commission’s ruling that Apple must pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in back taxes because of its “undue tax benefits” in Ireland, The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Apple is facing the EC “without the army of lobbyists and public relations campaigners typical in such fights.”

The company’s lack of a lobbying presence in Europe isn’t new, however, as it spent less than €900,000 lobbying European institutions in 2015. According to public filings, in total Apple “doesn’t employ any full-time lobbyists” in Brussels, and only five people work part-time. In contrast, Google spent “at least” €4.25 million in 2015, and employs more than ten people in lobbying positions in the European capital.

Apple’s retail location in Brussels
Sources familiar with the matter stated that Apple’s “lack of a presence in the EU capital” led to it being unsuccessful in gathering information over the past few years about the impending tax evasion ruling from the European Commission. Still, a source close to the commission’s competition office theorized that a heavier lobbying presence might not have been all that helpful for Apple in the end, since the lobbying tactics of a company like Google have not gotten it out of “many antitrust investigations” over the past few years.

Google’s experience with the commission’s many antitrust investigations over the years may suggest a bigger Apple lobbying presence in Brussels wouldn’t have had a meaningful impact on the regulator’s decision.

People familiar with the directorate say there is limited leeway for influencing the outcome of any competition investigation. The regulator can’t stray too far from previous case law in its decisions to ensure the ruling is upheld in court when the companies inevitably appeal it.

Still, “I don’t know what [Apple] would have done differently,” said a person close to the commission’s competition office. “It’s not a question of behavior; it’s a question of what’s in the numbers and what’s on the table.”

Many other America-based companies have a large presence in Europe, including Alphabet and Amazon, “which have built a European lobbying presence to try to sway investigations and potential legislation.” The two companies have also tried to advertise the benefits that Europe gains from their presence, with Google launching a digital journalism initiative and Amazon highlighting its storefronts that facilitate the livelihood of small European businesses.

On the Apple side of things, Tim Cook has called the EC’s ruling “total political crap” and described the lower end 0.005% tax rate as a “false number.” Ultimately, the Apple CEO believes that the decision will be reversed, and most recently Ireland’s coalition government agreed to appeal the ruling. Cook has stated that he has “faith in humanity” and “faith in what is just and right will occur.”

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: corporate tax, European Commission, Europe, Ireland
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Apple Highlights iOS and tvOS Apps for Watching U.S. Presidential Debate

Apple recently updated the iOS and tvOS App Stores with a collection of apps that will be able to live stream tonight’s first presidential debate, airing at 9PM eastern at Hofstra University. The debate between presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump marks the beginning of the seven week final stretch between the first debate and election day on November 8. There will be three presidential debates in total, and one vice presidential debate.

On both App Stores, Apple’s “Watch the Debate Live” section contains a few of the same apps. For iOS, top billing goes to major social networks Twitter and Facebook, and then news outlets CBS News and ABC News. Twitter recently launched a live streaming tvOS app, so it’s also first on the Apple TV app store, followed by CBS News, ABC News, Washington Post Video, Reuters TV, and more.

Watch the Debate Live on iOS:

Twitter
Facebook
CBS News
ABC News
The Washington Post
Reuters TV
NBC News
CNN
Fox News
YouTube
Univision NOW
MSNBC

Watch the Debate Live on tvOS:

Twitter
CBS News
ABC News
Washington Post Video
Reuters TV
NBC News
Bloomberg TV
CNNgo
Fox News
YouTube For those with a cable subscription, Wired reported that all three upcoming presidential debates will be broadcast simultaneously across most major networks and cable channels: ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, Univision, and C-SPAN.

Earlier in the month, the Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed that both Facebook and Snapchat will be covering each debate to provide content for users of both social networks. Users can comment and ask questions on Facebook Live videos, and follow along to Snapchat’s Live Stories “from the different perspectives of students from the debate host universities, volunteers, media and many others.”

Although not included in Apple’s collection of apps, other streamable services will support debate coverage, including: BuzzFeed News, Hulu, PBS, Yahoo, and more.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: App Store
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Morning brief: MediaTek debuts 10-core Helio X30, and Xperia XZ may get Nougat in Oct.

Ten CPU cores in a phone? MediaTek says yes.

It’s time to kick the week off. We’re eight days out from Google’s October 4 event, and the hype train is in full swing. We’re expecting to see the Pixel and Pixel XL, Google Home, a 4K Chromecast, and so much more.

Samsung is facing a three-day delay in restarting Note 7 sales in Korea. The company is trying to complete the recall process in its home market even as reports emerge of “overheating” issues in replacement Note 7s. Meanwhile, Lenovo is making the Moto Mods development kit available in China, Europe, and South America. The company is all set to launch the Moto Z series in India on October 4.

It looks like the Xperia XZ and X Performance will receive the update to Android 7.0 Nougat in October, with the likes of the Xperia Z5 picking up the update in December. Here’s what’s making the rounds today.

Samsung delays new Galaxy Note 7 sales in Korea by three days

According to Reuters, Samsung says the delay will enable it to speed up the return of remaining potentially faulty Note 7s.

Sony Xperia X Compact on sale via Amazon in the U.S.

Sony’s latest tiny phone packs its latest 23-megapixel camera, but it’ll set you back a fairly hefty $499. Check out our review to see how it shapes up. More

MediaTek Helio X30 has more cores than your laptop

MediaTek has officially unveiled the Helio X30 in China. The SoC is one of first to be built on TSMC’s 10nm FinFET+ manufacturing process. It offers ten CPU cores — two 2.8GHz Cortex A73 cores, four 2.4GHz Cortex A53 cores, and four 2.0GHz Cortex A35 cores — and can handle 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM at 1866MHz. MediaTek is moving back to Imagination Technologies with the PowerVR Series7XT GPU. Expect to see the Helio X30 SoC in consumer devices next year.

Xiaomi teases Mi 5S camera samples

Xiaomi is all set to unveil the Mi 5S on September 27, and ahead of the official unveil CEO Lei Jun has shared a camera sample. The phone will feature a dual camera setup at the back, and is rumored to feature a Snapdragon 821 SoC. We’ll know more tomorrow.

Moto Z series launching in India on October 4

Lenovo has sent out invites for the launch of the Moto Z series in India. We’ll see the Moto Z make its debut in the country, and the affordable Moto Z Play is also expected to launch. We’ll bring you all the details from the launch event.

Moto Mods development kit comes to China, Europe, and South America

After rolling out the Moto Mods dev kit in the U.S., Lenovo is now making the Moto Mods Development Kit available in China, Europe, and South America. The kit allows devs to create new modules for the Moto Z, Moto Z Force, and the Moto Z Play. The dev kit will be making its way to Canada on October 5.

Xperia XZ, X Performance may get Nougat update next month

A leaked slide from Sony Slovakia (obtained by Xperia Blog) shows the Xperia XZ and X Performance receiving the Nougat update in October. Xperia X and X Compact are expected to get the update in November, followed by the Xperia Z5, Z3+ and Z4 Tablet in December.

‘Issues’ reported with some replacement Note 7s in Korea

In a rather vague report, the WSJ quotes a broadcast by Korean TV network YTN, which says owners of some “new” (post-recall) Note 7s in the country are experiencing “overheating or losing battery power even as they are being charged.” It’s not clear what’s meant by “overheating” — as we all know, phones can get pretty hot while being used and charged simultaneously.

A Samsung spokesman said on Friday that the issue is “completely unrelated to batteries,” calling the incidents “isolated cases” related to mass production issues.

Oculus Rift review: The VR revolution begins here

Our first dalliances with virtual reality (VR) were with Virtuality, a system created by W. Industries back in the early 90s, and it blew our minds at the time.

The graphics were basic and blurry, the headsets cumbersome and heavy, and a session with a Virtuality machine in an arcade often left us befuddled and queasy. But it offered a different type of gaming experience and had us intrigued as to how it might progress in future.

That particular tech – and VR in general – soon retreated back into obscurity, like many innovative but poorly realised technologies are bound to do. So while we were always hopeful it would return in some fashion one day, we kind of forgot all about it. We made do with PlayStation and Xbox consoles instead.

However, some 20 years later, we were thrilled and amazed when Oculus first hit Kickstarter with its plans to reintroduce VR into our lives. Touting what was to end up as the Oculus Rift headset and, despite it taking a further three or so iterations to get the final consumer device into our hands, its arrival couldn’t be better timed.

Virtual reality is a magical, wonderful proposition that never fails to delight. And in many respects, the Oculus Rift offers the perfect portal to experience the tech at its current best, with graphics and depth that a mobile platform couldn’t possibly hope to rival. But it does come with its caveats, as we shall explain…

Oculus Rift review: Taking control

The Oculus Rift headset is a less complicated beast than its main rival, the HTC Vive. When we reviewed the latter, we bemoaned the requirement and placement of sensors to ensure that you can be tracked while physically moving around a designated space. Not so with the Oculus Rift. At present, it’s better suited to sitting or standing in one spot, and therefore only needs the one sensor which is easy to plonk on a desk or cabinet.

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It means the overall experience is hamstrung a tad in comparison, but at least the set-up is a doddle. As long as the sensor is pointing straight at your head it will track you sufficiently to play any of the games that don’t require the use of the Oculus Touch controllers (sold separately).

You are, however, provided with an Xbox One controller, a wireless dongle for it to communicate with your computer, and a small Oculus remote to interact with experiences that only require a few clicks. The aforementioned Oculus Touch motion controllers are not expected to hit stores until late 2016, so current games and software titles are all usable through at least one of the two included controller mechanisms.

Oculus Rift review: Headset design

The headset itself is fairly lightweight at around 470g. It feels comfortable to wear, even during prolonged play sessions, and the detachable foam lining around the eyepiece ensures that you can wear it as tight as needed for visual clarity, yet not feel too constrained. It also allows the use of glasses for those who would rather wear them while playing.

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There are elasticated, adjustable straps for a perfect fit and stereo headphones are strapped to either side. The Rift is the only headset currently on the market that offers built-in earpieces and that helps when using the device on an ad-hoc, day-to-day basis. We’d recommend separate cans if you want better audio performance, but for speed of use it’s great that you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of putting on a pair every time.

The only other feature of the headset itself – bar its screen quality, which we’ll come to shortly – is a switch to space the lenses to best suit your eyesight. You can move them closer or further apart in order to sharpen the image. We also suggest that you tighten the straps as much as possible, which will further reduce image blurriness. The tighter and more stable the headset on your noggin, the better the clarity.

Oculus Rift review: Ultimate clarity?

The screen in the Oculus Rift uses OLED technology – so is vibrant and rich when in use. It has a resolution of 2160 x 1200 pixels in total, so serves 1080 x 1200 pixels to each eye. A 90Hz (90fps) refresh rate ensures action is smooth enough to prevent nausea during movement; it’s a higher refresh than many competitors.

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You can just about make out individual pixels during static brighter scenes, mainly if you’re purposely looking for them, but if that’s the case, the game itself is not doing enough to hold your attention. Games that are as immersive as Project Cars or Eve: Valkyrie should distract you enough to never notice pixels.

It must be said that the headset gets warm with lengthy use, which can prompt you to halt a lengthy bout of play, and your eyes can also get a little sore when flitting from one experience to another. We found a 30-minute blast to be absolutely fine, but more than that and you are wholly advised to take breaks.

Oculus Rift review: Note about nausea

Throughout Oculus’ development phase, there have been plenty of reports of headsets making people feel sick. We even had a moment of extreme nausea when playing Minecraft in VR using an earlier concept Oculus device, but it tends to vary from game to game, depending on their control systems and construction, rather than the headsets themselves. Thankfully, Oculus rates each available experience in terms of how extreme or comfortable they are to play.

Pocket-lint

For the most part, we have felt fine whenever we’ve used the consumer Rift, as long as we took regular breaks from the action and there was plenty of air circulating through the room. There’s often a sense of displacement and an odd acclimatisation period as soon as the headset is removed, but it soon passes and doesn’t feel too uncomfortable.

Essentially, these are going to be traits of virtual reality no matter the headset, be it Rift, Vive, PlayStation VR or even the mobile system of Samsung Gear VR. You’ll have to decide whether you can get used to such feelings. If not, VR really isn’t for you – at least with the current platforms.

Oculus Rift review: Worth the cash?

If you do want to take the plunge into VR and buy an Oculus Rift headset then you have to consider the cost. It costs £549 post-Brexit, but that doesn’t take into account that it also requires a beefy PC to run everything. That will invariably cost you much more – at least twice the price of the Rift if you want games to run at their best.

During our testing period, we’ve tried it with a self-constructed gaming PC that has more than the recommended minimum specifications – including 16GB RAM (twice the recommended 8GB) and an Intel Core i7 4790K processor (i5 4590 is the suggested minimum). However, it wasn’t until we boosted our graphics card up to an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 that everything ran without any fuss whatsoever. You can certainly get by with lesser spec: Nvidia’s GTX 1060 card is a cheaper, very capable option; or seek out a second-hand GTX 970.

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When you also consider that the Touch controllers will cost around £190 when they arrive, it’s a hell of a lot to shell out to be an early adopter in a new entertainment format, as mind-blowing as it can be at times.

That’s why this generation of Oculus Rift is more likely aimed at and will be bought by self-confessed geeks (a group to which we belong) rather than general public. Yes, it is now sold in highstreet stores in the UK and US, but it will mainly attract those who have already invested in the technology to drive it. And they will put up with its caveats too.

It must be remembered that this is a first generation device – putting aside the devkits and prototypes. It is delicate and complex, and while groundbreaking and well-built, still feels like something a PC accessory manufacturer might make than a product from a consumer lifestyle brand.

Oculus Rift review: Staring at the sun

It even has to be handled with care when not in use, thanks to an inherent issue with super-focused lenses. As we found to our cost with our first Rift headset, you cannot leave the lenses pointing anywhere near a window or it runs the risk of irreparably damaging the OLED panel.

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Remember the old trick of burning a piece of paper with a magnifying glass on a sunny day? Well imagine that, only replace the paper with a hugely expensive, inaccessible full-colour display. We can tell you now, through experience, that it’s hard to concentrate on fighter craft in a space battle when there’s a mighty red blob streaked across the field of view. It’s not covered by the warranty either.

So we’d suggest that only those who are experienced in handling their tech are best suited for Oculus Rift mark one. They’ll certainly get the most from it, as it is an impressive piece of kit that provides experiences that still wow – even after countless hours of play.

Verdict

The Oculus Rift is the reason why Facebook bought the VR hardware company and it’s easy to see why. But these are still early days for the technology – and while 2016 looked poised to be the year of VR, there’s a whole lot more yet to come.

The HTC Vive is already available and PlayStation VR could be a massive success when it launches in October, thanks to its huge target audience of PS4 owners. But even those utilise first-generation technologies so have their foibles.

As it stands, the Rift is a comfortable, pleasant VR headset that is well supported in software terms and offers great potential. It is pricey – pricier still if you don’t already own a PC capable of running it – but you are buying into something fresh and new.

Geeks like us will adore it, but we’d advise a little caution if you’re not. Just look down at the shirt you’re wearing: if it has Sonic the Hedgehog or a 1980s NES controller emblazoned across it, you’ll go mad for a Rift; if not then maybe you should try a demo in a store near you before making a final decision.

Eve Energy lets you control any mains-powered device by talking to Siri

The Elgato Eve Energy is the company’s latest product in the Eve family of products that work with Apple’s HomeKit connected platform and lays claim to being the world’s first HomeKit-enabled switch and can control any mains-powered device.

• Apple HomeKit and Home app: What are they and how do they work?

Setup is incredibly simple: all you need to do is plug the Eve Energy into a wall socket and then plug your device into the Eve. You don’t need to set it up on a wi-fi network as it relies on Bluetooth to communicate with your iOS device. Elgato says an Apple TV 4th generation can act as a hub, too.

By using the Home app you can control devices individually or have them operate as part of a scene. And of course, because it relies on Apple’s Home platform, you can speak commands to Siri, asking it to turn the switch on or off, or to activate a scene, such as “Movie Night” or “Bedtime”.

• Elgato Eve review: Data without due cause

The Eve Energy can also let you know how much energy the device plugged into it is using and report its findings in daily, weekly or monthly graphs. It will even give you an estimated annual cost.

You can buy an Eve Energy now for £44.95 and start relaxing, knowing you don’t have to get up to put the kettle on.