GoTenna Mesh Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
A trip to the wilderness can be a relaxing break to unplug from the always-on connectivity of city life, but it can be tricky to stay in touch with the group once your cellular service drops out.
You can pick up a satellite phone or a set of two-way radios, but there’s no way to guarantee message delivery unless you get an immediate response — not to mention a loud barking radio isn’t the most considerate way to communicate in nature.
That’s why the GoTenna is a popular accessory for campers, travelers, preppers and even search-and-rescue teams. It’s a small communication device that connects to smartphones via Bluetooth and creates a low-frequency radio wave network, allowing users to send messages and broadcast GPS coordinates to other GoTenna carriers without the need for a cellular connection.
It doesn’t offer an actual data plan for Web surfing or other online activities, but it can transmit a connection signal for three miles in outdoor scenarios and a mile in urban areas, depending on the source elevation.
GoTenna cofounder and CEO Daniela Perdomo came by CNET last month to show us the company’s next project called GoTenna Mesh. While the original sent encrypted messages via point-to-point networking, the company’s second product relies on mesh networking which allows devices to share their connections with other users and relay messages to widen the coverage area.
GoTenna just launched a Kickstarter for its second device, the GoTenna Mesh, which uses mesh networking to share device connections, relay messages and widen coverage areas.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Here’s how mesh networking works in a real-life scenario: let’s say you and a buddy are planning a trip off the grid in Yosemite National Park in California. Before you go, clip a GoTenna Mesh to each of your bags and download the offline maps for your trip, available for both iOS and Android.
Once you’re out there, if you and your buddy wander off and go out of range of each other’s GoTennas, you can still send messages back and forth using the mesh network, provided there are other GoTenna users around.
The device will automatically crawl the area attempting to locate other users nearby with a clean network connection. If it finds another GoTenna, it’ll use that device’s service to slingshot your message forward to the destination. All this happens in the background of the app to keep messages private, but the mesh network can double or even triple the effective frequency spectrum using this dynamic tool.
The demo I saw in the office wasn’t nearly as dramatic as it will be in the wilderness, but keep in mind GoTenna and GoTenna Mesh aren’t exclusively made for campers hiking off the grid. Its ad-hoc messaging has potential for emergency preppers in the event of a city-wide cellular blackout, attendees of large gatherings like concerts and sports events and anyone traveling without a working SIM card.
Like the flagship model, the GoTenna Mesh also shows read receipts, logs and sends GPS coordinates, and includes a function called Shout that lets you transmit information to any GoTenna devices in range — sort of an on-the-go “anyone out there?” call to action.
The Brooklyn-based company has simultaneously announced an open SDK for future projects as well as a premium service called GoTenna Plus that offers additional features like topographic maps, network relay, and real-time trip stats for a yearly fee.
GoTenna is using a Kickstarter campaign to give early adopters a chance to invest in the GoTenna Mesh. Preorders are available for the next month for a limited promotional price of $129 (£100, AU$170) to start, but the actual retail price will be $179 (£140, AU$235) for a pair when the product ships later this year.
Likewise, the original GoTenna without the mesh network capability will be sold for $149 (£115, AU$200) for a pair.
As always, please note that CNET’s reporting on crowdfunding campaigns is not an endorsement of the project or its creators. Contributing to a crowdfunded project comes with risk. Before contributing to any campaign, read the crowdfunding site’s policies, such as those for Kickstarter and Indiegogo, to learn more about your rights (and refund policies, or the lack thereof) before and after a campaign ends.
Spotify is in ‘advanced talks’ to buy SoundCloud
Those rumors that SoundCloud is shopping itself around? They just got more substantial. Financial Times sources understand that Spotify is in “advanced talks” to buy SoundCloud. Details of the terms are still scarce at the moment, but it won’t surprise you to hear that Spotify is declining to comment. We’ve asked SoundCloud for its take as well.
A buyout would be expensive for Spotify, which is seeing a surge of paying customers but still isn’t turning a profit. However, it would definitely make a sense from a strategic perspective. Spotify has been expanding to include more than just albums — this would give it a wider catalog of DJ sets, demos and other rough tracks. That, in turn, would give it leverage over Apple Music, Tidal and other services that try to lure you away with artist exclusives. You could listen to an in-development song and check out that artist’s commercially available music immediately afterward.
And SoundCloud… well, it may not have much of a choice. Its paid SoundCloud Go service hasn’t exactly taken off, and it can’t really make money from those unofficial mashups and remixes. There’s no saying whether or not SoundCloud as you know it would survive under Spotify, but it would at least have a financial cushion.
Source: Financial Times
Spotify in ‘Advanced Talks’ to Purchase SoundCloud
Streaming music service and Apple Music rival Spotify is in “advanced talks” to acquire audio distribution platform SoundCloud, reports Financial Times. Little information is available on the terms of the potential deal at this time.
SoundCloud, which allows users to upload, promote, and share audio recordings ranging from music to podcasts, has upwards of 175 million total listeners a month, which could bring a huge influx of customers to Spotify and give it an edge over Apple.
Spotify has 40 million paying subscribers compared to Apple Music’s 17 million paying subscribers, but Apple Music’s numbers have been growing steadily since its 2015 launch. Apple Music is also backed by the strength of Apple’s subscriber base, which dwarfs that of most other music services and gives the company a huge pool of potential future subscribers.
As competition heats up between Spotify and Apple Music, the two have become bitter rivals and have been involved in some public battles over issues like exclusivity, the App Store, and free listening tiers in recent months.
SoundCloud recently introduced a new subscription service designed to compete with Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and other music streaming options. SoundCloud Go, priced at $9.99, gives users on-demand ad-free access to 125 million tracks, including premium licensed content.
With a SoundCloud acquisition, Spotify could potentially add all of that user-created content to its own music catalog, giving customers more original content to listen to along with its existing licensed content.
Tags: Spotify, SoundCloud
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Best heavy duty cases for Moto G4
Which heavy duty cases are best for the Moto G4?
You’ve just picked up your shiny new Moto G4 and you’re looking for a good protective case for it. That’s where we come in: here are some picks for the best heavy duty cases for the Moto G4.
- Cimo Moto G4 hybrid case
- TUDIA Extreme Protection case
- DAYJOY Moto G4 case
- J&D Moto G4 kickstand case
- OEAGO Defender case for Moto G4
Cimo Moto G4 hybrid case
Coming in a variety of colors, the Cimo Moto G4 Hybrid case offers good protection while enhancing the look of your Moto G4.
Composed of two layers, a soft flexible inner layer and a hard outer layer, the Cimo Moto G4 hybrid case protects against drops and shocks. Additionally, it has a grippy texture on the back that helps you keep hold of your Moto G4, preventing you from dropping it. It also has raised bezels around the edge to protect the screen and the camera lens from getting scratched when you lay your phone down.
Like most heavy-duty cases, the Cimo Moto G4 hybrid case does add to the thickness of your phone; however, that is to be expected from a case that’s supposed to protect it from damage.
If you’re looking for a good protective case for a decent price that’s comfortable to hold and is nice looking, then the Cimo Moto G4 hybrid case is for you.
See at Amazon
TUDIA Extreme Protection case
The TUDIA Extreme Protection case is a protective case that easily snaps on your Moto G4 while also keeping it looking sharp.
The TUDIA Extreme Protection case is made out of two layers: a hard polycarbonate outer shell that fits over a soft thermo-plastic urethane (TPU) inner shell. The two layers form a protective shield against shocks and drops, as well as keep out dust and dirt.
It’s stylish, too: it comes in four different colors — black, slate, mint and rose — so choose the one that suits you best.
If you’re looking for a stylish yet protective case for your Moto G4, the TUDIA Extreme Protection case is a great option.
See at Amazon
DAYJOY Moto G4 case
If you want a rugged case that makes your Moto G4 hard to drop, and you want a kickstand that you can prop up at any angle, then the DAYJOY Moto G4 case is the one you want.
Like other heavy-duty cases, the DAYJOY case has two layers: a hard polycarbonate outer layer and a soft inner layer made of flexible thermo-plastic urethane (TPU). This dual-layer construction helps to protect your device from the shocks associated with drops and well as preventing it from getting scratched up.
The back features ridges along the upper half to help you maintain your grip when you are holding your Moto G4, while the bottom half is smoother and contains the kickstand. The kickstand is able to rotate 360-degrees, so you can prop your device up at any angle that’s comfortable for you to read, play games, or watch videos.
See at Amazon
J&D Moto G4 kickstand case
The J&D Moto G4 kickstand case is just what it says on the tin: a protective case that comes with a kickstand.
Made of a hard polycarbonate outer shell and a soft silicone inner shell, the J&D G4 kickstand case protects your Moto G4 if you drop it and prevents scratches.
The kickstand allows you to prop your Moto G4 up for reading, playing games, or watching videos in comfort, and it’s ruggedly stylish, with an opening in the back to display the Motorola logo. Carry your phone with pride.
If you’re looking for a rugged case with a kickstand that has an opening in the back for the Motorola logo, then the J&D kickstand case is on the top of your list.
See at Amazon
OEAGO Defender case for Moto G4
The OEAGO Defender case for the Moto G4 is a protective case with a grippy back that helps you maintain hold of your Moto G4.
Composed of a hard outer shell and soft core, the OEAGO Defender protects your device against scratches and drops. It covers the buttons of your Moto G4 in the soft core material, shielding the weak points from damage. Don’t worry, though, the button coverings don’t interfere with their functionality in any way.
Additionally, the OEAGO Defender has a kickstand that can open to a 45-degree angle for comfortable reading, gaming, or for watching videos.
If you’re looking for a solid case for your Moto G4 that has a kickstand and helps you grip your device, then choose the OEAGO Defender.
See at Amazon
Let us know
Did we miss any awesome cases? Let us know all about in the comments below.
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Pixel hype: Can the first real ‘Google phone’ make a splash outside the Android bubble?
The big message the company needs to convey on October 4 is why normal people should care about a phone ‘made by Google.’
Do you have an Android phone?
No, I have a Galaxy.
Just about every one of us at Android Central have had some variation on that conversation over the past few years. It underscores the difference in how normal people — those who don’t live and breathe smartphone industry nonsense every day — view phones. For the vast majority of humans, the way a phone looks and what it’s able to do is way more important than the operating system it runs or how up-to-date its software is.
That’s not to say consumers are ignorant, just that priorities outside of the Android/gadget nerd bubble are different.
Google’s Nexus phones never enjoyed mass appeal.
That’s partly why Google’s Nexus phones didn’t catch on in a big way. Taken as a whole, their biggest selling point was that they ran Google’s software as the company intended, and got new Android versions as soon as they were available. With the possible exception of the Nexus 6P, Google and its partners largely struggled to nail other really important parts of the experience — fundamental things like camera and battery life. Even the most visibly popular Nexus, 2013’s Nexus 5, sold because it was cheap. Without the Nexus badge or Google’s software, it was a boring plastic nothing with bad battery life and a temperamental camera.
Perhaps just as importantly, Google never really learned how to play the carrier game in the U.S.
The move to the Pixel brand suggests that Google, through its new hardware division, is serious about making a phone for the sake of making a phone, not just as a reference device for developers and a niche curiosity for enthusiasts. Serious money is being spent on serious, real world advertising — the sort you would expect to precede a major new Galaxy device.
And the “made by Google” marketing line — although pedants will point out HTC, as an ODM, is actually behind the Pixel phones — is the first step in a journey that could take us through to new Google tablets and eventually laptops running the rumored ‘Andromeda’ OS. Google wants everyone to know it’s serious about hardware, starting with the first Google phones next week.
Google needs to show normal people why its phones are exciting in a world that contains the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7.
So at its October 4 launch event, Google needs to set expectations. More importantly, it needs to show normal people why its hardware is worth getting excited about in a world that contains the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7. By all accounts, it’ll be asking for a hefty chunk of cash for its Pixel phones. At that price point, excellence across the spec sheet is table stakes.
The challenge shouldn’t be underestimated. Even ignoring the iPhone for a second, Samsung’s making life really hard for anyone selling an Android phone for north of $600 — as evidenced by the fact that the generally decent HTC 10 hasn’t made much of a dent in anything this past half-year. (Sure, Samsung’s facing its own difficulty over exploding Galaxy Note 7s and an unprecedented global recall, but in the meantime it’s still selling GS7s by the boatload.)
Both Apple and Samsung have full U.S. carrier coverage, almost unrivaled consumer mindshare and massive marketing budgets. Google may have money to spend, but it’s effectively a newcomer in this field. The Google brand is valuable (second only to Apple, in fact), but mostly not associated with physical goods.
More: Everything we know about Google’s Pixel phones
If the leaked specs are to be believed, the Pixels will use standard high-end Android internals, just like many other phones currently on sale. From what we’ve seen so far, the body containing all this stuff is a standard metal-and-glass affair, much like its soon-to-be rivals. Maybe it’s software and services that’ll differentiate things — Google’s clearly been hard at work on a new UI for its own devices. But for a hardware-themed event, that seems like a bit of a mismatch.
When Microsoft does hardware events, we get crazy new concepts like the Surface and Surface Book. When Apple launches new hardware, we get Jony Ive in a white room talking about magnetized ultra-fine iron particle baths and buttons that aren’t really there. If Google is to prove itself in the world of hardware, it needs something of similar impact, not just another pretty nice Android phone with decent Google software and services.
That’ll determine whether Pixel becomes just another phone for enthusiasts, or whether it marks the beginning of Google as a major brand in hardware.
If so, maybe someday when you ask someone if they have an Android phone, they’ll reply, “No, I have a Pixel.”
Google Pixel + Pixel XL
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- Google UI + circular icons
- Android 7.1 Nougat
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How to pair Bluetooth headphones with your Android phone
How do I pair Bluetooth headphones on Android?
With Apple getting rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack on the new iPhone, there has been some speculation as to what’s next for Android. Luckily, there is no one, proprietary port that could replace the headphone jack on Android phones… For now. So, whether you want to future-proof yourself or you just want the convenience of wireless headphones, getting a pair of Bluetooth cans isn’t a bad idea at all.
All you have to do is pair them with your Android phone and away you go. Here’s how!
How to pair Bluetooth headphones to your Android phone
Whether you have a Samsung device or something a little more “pure Android”, the process is pretty much the same.
Before you get started, turn on your headphones and make sure they’re in pairing mode. Instructions will come with the headphones.
Launch Settings from the Notification Shade, your home screen, or the app drawer.
Tap Bluetooth.
Tap the switch to turn Bluetooth on.
Tap the headphones under Available devices.
Your headphones should automatically pair. For some headphones, you may have to hold a pair button during pairing, but for most, you’ll just put them into pairing mode, tap them on your phone, and that’ll be it. They’ll show up in your known devices and automatically connect from then on.
Questions?
Questions about pairing Bluetooth headphones to your Android phone? Let us know in the comments below!
Too sick to stand: What it’s like to ride the first VR video game roller coaster
Virtual reality roller coasters are certainly cool, but are they really the future of theme parks?
Whose bright idea was it to strap a vomit-inducing virtual reality headset to people’s faces and then flip them upside down at 55 miles per hour?
It’s certainly not my idea of fun, but in the spirit of Halloween and all the thrills that come with it, Samsung and Six Flags debuted Rage of the Gargoyles, one of the first virtual reality coasters with a video game built into the ride. You play it by pointing your head at moving targets with the Gear VR while flying through the air on one of eight participating Six Flags coasters around the U.S. The game is meant to seamlessly integrate with all the twists and turns of the coaster its synced to, and Six Flags even promises that you won’t feel any motion sickness. Well, I’m here to tell you that this is not entirely true, as I learned from my own experience playing Rage of the Gargoyles.
Read more at VR Heads
Google Express delivery expands along the East Coast
East coast residents now have a new way to shop online. Google announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its Google Express online delivery service to a dozen states throughout the Northeast. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are all now within Google Express’ delivery range.
Users can order from a variety of online retailers including CostCo, Whole Foods, PetSmart through Express’ single UI, then receive their orders two days later (or same day if you pay extra). It’s structurally quite similar to Amazon Prime except you’re able to order from a bunch of different retailers rather than a monolithic fulfilment center. Additionally, customers in New York can choose between the standard $95 per year subscription model or opt for a $5-plus per order, pay-as-you go system.
AIVAnet 