These pics show what the iPhone 7 Plus dual camera is capable of
Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were launched on Wednesday last week and there was a lot of talk about their improved photo abilities. The latter in particular benefits from a new dual lens system, with a 12-megapixel telephoto camera sitting alongside a 12-megapixel wide-angle snapper on the rear.
That adds two times optical zoom (10x digital) and a new depth of field feature will be added soon.
However, specifications and hyperbole are all well and good, but what does it mean for you. What do the new camera units mean to the quality of photos they can capture?
We now have some indication as, for the first time, a images taken using the iPhone 7 Plus have started to appear online.
- Apple iPhone 7 Plus preview: Big changes, but some you’ll still have to wait for
- Apple iPhone 7 Plus camera: Dual camera tech explained
- Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: What’s the difference?
- Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: Release date, specs and everything you need to know
Professional photographer David E Klutho was tasked with taking pictures using the handset at the Titans versus Vikings American Football game yesterday, Sunday 11 September.
As Tim Cook pointed out on his personal Twitter feed, the photos were then posted on Sports Illustrated’s website at si.com. You can also see a selection by flicking through the gallery above.
Touchdown iPhone 7! First photos on @SInow https://t.co/BHXoA83ZgU
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 11, 2016
Of course, Klutho is a pro and had incredible access at the game, but we think you can agree that they look stunning. We can’t wait to get out and about with the new iPhones ourselves, to see what type of pics we can create too.
Microsoft to kill Lumia line by end of 2016, Surface phones going forward
Microsoft has been tipped to introduce a Surface Phone for a while and a new report suggests that could be all the company focused on going forward. It is said to be ditching the Lumia branding and ending production of the Windows 10 handsets by the end of this year.
Having already reported poor sales of the latest line, Microsoft is seemingly ready to ditch it and start again. An employee of the company told Winbeta that it will “end sales” of the range in December 2016.
That site suggests that Microsoft is ending production rather than sales – it’s not going to dump a load of Lumia handsets in landfill now, after all. Instead, it is likely to sell existing stock at discounted prices.
Indeed, you can already find several bargains online for Lumia devices as it stands.
Winbeta also claims that the much-rumoured Surface Phone will be announced at an event in October. It comes after Microsoft’s director of engineering, Laura Butler, tweeted about the handset with a cryptic tease.
“Surface Phone not NOT confirmed,” she wrote. The double negative has been taken by many to mean that the handset does exist.
If there is an event in October, we’ll find out soon enough.
Neural networks are powerful thanks to physics, not math
When you think about how a neural network can beat a Go champion or otherwise accomplish tasks that would be impractical for most computers, it’s tempting to attribute the success to math. Surely it’s those algorithms that help them solve certain problems so quickly, right? Not so fast. Researchers from Harvard and MIT have determined that the nature of physics gives neural networks their edge.
When you write down the laws of physics mathematically, you can describe all of them using functions with basic properties. As such, a neural network doesn’t need to understand every possible function (like a conventional computer would) to generate an answer — it just needs to know some fundamentals. The network can use each of its layers to approximate each step toward the solution, reaching a conclusion faster than a conventional computer when the solution involves a hierarchical structure (such as when you’re mapping cosmic radiation).
The insights could lead to better-designed artificial intelligence systems that do a better job of exploiting their inherent advantage. Moreover, it could help you understand your own mind. Many neural networks are patterned after the human brain, which suggests that brains are ideally structured for understanding the world around them.
Source: MIT Technology Review, ArXiv.org
BMW reportedly steps up its electric vehicle plans
Mercedes isn’t the only car maker determined to beat Tesla before it gets huge. Sources speaking to German business daily Handelsblatt claim that BMW is in the midst of planning an executive shuffle that will also include a big shift in its electric vehicle strategy. While the company would still offer ground-up EV designs like the i3, the new strategy would greenlight electric versions of some of BMW’s most important vehicles, including the 3-series sedan, X4 crossover and iconic Mini. If the leak is accurate, management is likely to approve the change at the end of September.
We’ve asked BMW for its take on the report, although it declined to comment to Handelsblatt. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the Munich crew change tack, though. While Tesla has received hundreds of thousands of Model 3 pre-orders, i3 sales dropped in 2016 — the upscale (if oddly-shaped) EV just isn’t as hot as it once was. If BMW electrifies some of its most popular cars, you wouldn’t have to choose between a super-efficient, eco-friendly EV and the familiar designs of the brand’s mainstream driving machines.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Handelsblatt
Morrisons to open ‘hundreds’ of in-store Amazon Lockers
In the UK, Morrisons and Amazon have become unlikely allies. After partnering up on Amazon Pantry, the supermarket chain has revealed new plans to open “hundreds” of Amazon Lockers inside its stores. The complete roll-out will be “the UK’s largest collection” of pick-up points, it claims, giving Amazon customers another useful place to retrieve their online orders. Morrisons will be hoping to lure these fly-by shoppers into making additional purchases in-store, thereby boosting its own revenue. It’s a bold, but sensibly strategy — if you’re in the supermarket already, doesn’t it make sense to pick up some supplies before heading home?
Amazon is pushing a few different delivery services in the UK at the moment. Prime Now is a one-hour delivery service, spanning London, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and a bevy of smaller municipals. Amazon Fresh covers your everyday fridge requirements, including meat, seafood, fruit and veg, while Amazon Pantry is meant as a larder and cupboard-under-the-stairs filler. Together, these three represent a major assault on traditional supermarkets. You can’t push a trolley around an Amazon store, but the company’s argument is that you should never have to — its delivery services are more than sufficient. (That’s the argument, anyway.)
The Morrisons partnership is, in the short-term, beneficial to both parties. Amazon has an established, reliable supermarket partner, which can help to sell its vision of an online-only food delivery service. More Amazon Lockers will buoy the rest of its business, while minimising the costs that would be required with owning its own stores. For Morrisons, the deal is a chance to piggy-back on a highly aggressive, tech-savvy company. Amazon could one day threaten its own business, but for now it’s a useful ally, one that could help driver customers away from its brick-and-mortar rivals.
Source: Morrisons
Samsung Shares Plummet After FAA Warns Passengers of Note 7 Dangers
Samsung has urged customers to stop using its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones immediately and return them for exchange as soon as possible, after more reports of the handsets catching fire emerged.
“We are asking users to power down their Galaxy Note 7’s and exchange them as soon as possible,” said Koh Dong-jin, Samsung’s mobile president. “We are expediting replacement devices so that they can be provided through the exchange program as conveniently as possible.”
A Note 7 caught fire after its charger was unplugged (Image: Ariel Gonzalez)
The advice comes after U.S. aviation safety officials warned airline passengers not to turn on or charge Note 7 model handsets during flights.
In the unprecedented move, the Federal Aviation Administration also warned passengers not to store the phones in checked bags, citing “recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung” about the recalled devices.
Last week, Samsung initiated a global recall of the 5.5-inch handsets after faulty batteries were blamed for 35 reports of exploding handsets and devices catching fire. In one case, a family in St Petersburg, Florida, described how a Note 7 phone left charging in their Jeep caught fire, destroying the vehicle.
On Saturday in Brooklyn, New York, a six-year-old boy was left with burns after the Note 7 he was using to watch videos exploded in his hands. The boy’s family called 911 and he was taken to hospital. The boy has returned home following treatment and the family has been in contact with Samsung, but declined to comment further.
In another incident last week in Perth, Australia, a man’s Note 7 exploded while it was charging overnight in his hotel room, causing $1,382 worth of property damage and leaving the handset “completely fried”, said the owner. Samsung offered a replacement device, and the company confirmed that it was arranging to cover the bill for damages to the hotel room.
Samsung shares fell to their lowest level in two months on Monday, wiping $14.3 billion off the South Korean firm’s market capitalisation. “Some said initially the Galaxy Note 7 could be the best smartphone ever, but now it’s possible the phone will go down as the worst ever,” IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo told Fortune, predicting weak sales in the fourth quarter.
Some analysts estimate the firm might lose up to $5 billion worth of revenue after accounting for recall costs – a huge blow to a company that was just starting to reclaim market share on strong sales of its Galaxy S7 smartphones launched in March.
Some commentators have blamed the flaw in the device on a rush to manufacture, given that Samsung launched the $900 Note 7 about a month ahead of Apple’s iPhone 7 announcement in an attempt to pre-empt Cupertino.
Tag: Samsung
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Mobile Websites – 8 Things You Must Consider
There is no longer much choice as far as a mobile version of your website is concerned – you simply must have one. Visitors who are visiting your site on their smartphone or tablet don’t have time to wait for the page to load properly, and as the world become more active on their mobiles whilst on-the-go, you must check how your website performs on these formats.
Here are the 8 things you must consider when designing or converting a website for mobile use:
- Do you need a Mobile Website?
Yes is the simple answer here. Unless your business model is staunchly against the use of mobile devices there is no escaping the necessity. The most common reasons for a site being designed for mobile use are:
- A new site in need of desktop and mobile functionality
- Redesigning an existing site for mobile use
- An additional mobile site to a desktop site remaining the same
Whichever applies to your business will dictate which steps you must take in accordance with the remainder of this guide.
- What are your Business Objectives?
Is your business website focused on relaying information to a customer or is it used to advertise your products/services? It is key to understand the difference as a website that is very text heavy can equally as difficult to translate to a smaller screen as a website littered with images.
Either way, your mobile site must maintain the clear impression your desktop site does without compromising on the Business Objectives. Simply reducing the size of the site is not enough, you will need to make sacrifices to convey the same message – lose an image here, make a paragraph of text more concise; simplify.
- Consider Past Data
If you have access to Google Analytics, there is a handy tool that shows you how your website is accessed. It provides information on the type of device and the browser used giving you insider information on how best to design your mobile site and which devices/browsers to test it on.
- Simply Simple?
Keeping your mobile site as simple as possible is important if it is a redesign but there have been significant advances in how mobile sites can be displayed.
New technology allows mobile sites to resemble mobile apps rather than the classic website look – this is definitely worth investigating as mobile users become more comfortable with apps instead of websites.
- One Way Only
Single columns have been found to display better than any other format on mobile devices. Mobile sites such as TripAdvisor have converted their expansive web design into a single column with reduced functionality – sacrifices in favour of simplicity.
- Collapsing Content
If you have a lot to fit into your mobile site it may be worth looking into collapsible menus and sections. Wikipedia offers this function on their mobile site – sections of articles are collapsed under headings that expand when tapped. Even the menu bar is tucked away unless expanded – maximise space by minimising information.
- Clicks become Taps
Your desktop website can have links that are very small as the mouse is a precise navigation tool – sadly, this isn’t the case on mobile websites. Users will navigate using either their finger or a purpose designed stylus – much clumsier than the traditional mouse so your links may need to be increased in size to suit.
- Test, Test and Test Again
You may think that all mobile devices are the same but have a wander through a technology store and you’ll be proven very wrong. Not only are mobile phones all vastly different, tablets are now coming in a wide variety of styles and functions.
You will need to test on a vast array of devices and using as many browsers as you can get your hands on – test until you can’t test any longer; then test more.
UNITEK 60W 10-port Charging Station with QC 2.0 (review)
The number of tech gadgets I own is getting embarrassingly high. Smartphone(s), tablet, smartwatch, fitness tracker, wireless headphones, Bluetooth speaker, and portable battery are some of the many portable gadgets I own.
Almost all tablets and smartphones come with single port USB chargers, but many accessories do not. The solution is to use the same wall charger while switching out the charging cable if need be. There’s also multi-port chargers which are nice to have, most of which go up to five output ports. The main issue with these desk style chargers is they don’t provide a good way to keep things organized which can lead to a mess.
Even though I live alone, this mess really bothers me and it has bothered me for a long time.
I like to be organized, and I finally broke down and did a search of charging stations that would clean up my bird’s nest of wires. That’s where the UNITEK 10-port charging station comes in to save the day.
Design and Usage
The UNITEK 10-port charging station is a flat charging station with 10 USB ports with each port able to deliver power at 2.4A. There’s also one USB port (at the end in the image with the green slot), that is Quick Charge 2.0 compatible meaning it can charge certain Android devices (Galaxy S6, S6 edge, Note 5, LG G4, LG V10) at maximum speeds. No matter what your device’s charging needs are, UNITEK’s smart circuitry will auto detect the proper settings and charge your devices safely for every individual port.
The flat charging station is designed with multiple slots to insert fins so you can organize your devices to fit your specific needs. When setting up the dividers, you’ll want to make sure to make them fit as tightly as possible for larger items like my iPad Pro 12.9″. If the dividers are too far apart, the tablet will lean on the plastic divider which will cause it to bend. If it’s set up properly though, it will have no issue with holding it upright. It’s all about physics and torque. The more upright the heavy item is, the less pressure it will put on the fins holding it up.
You can keep the slots narrow to slide in smartphones, batteries or tablets, while leaving wider charging slots for things like wireless headphones and smartwatches. What’s particularly nice about having 10 USB ports to pick from, is the ability to add devices when I make another purchase. The fins are not permanent installations meaning you can reconfigure the setup anytime you want.
There are some of you who are thinking, “Why do I need 10 charging ports when I only have three devices?” The answer is you don’t need 10 charging slots right now, but you may in the future. As technology progresses, more and more products that once required wired connections are now going wireless. In my case, I really need more than five charging ports for my desk.
With a charger of this capacity, if you were to charge 10 devices at a single time, it naturally generates heat during the energy transfer. However, UNITEK planned for that scenario quite well and installed various vents all over the device.
With the adequate ventilation, I never experienced heat concerns, nor is there a need for an active fan to cool the charger. There’s only one input to power this charging station which is nice for keeping my wall outlet free to use for things like a desk lamp, or desktop speakers. The power input is also compatible with 100-240V meaning you can use it worldwide without a converter.
After taking about five minutes to set the charging station up, my desk went from mess to organized and freed up quite a bit of space.
Before
After
The result speaks for itself. Look how much cleaner my desk is with the UNITEK 10-port charging station. This charging station is also good for families and can be set-up in common areas like the kitchen or living room since the footprint is so small. It’s simply a great way to stay organized while only using one wall outlet.
Summary
The UNITEK 10-port Charging Station with QC 2.0 is available to purchase at Amazon for $59.99 with free Prime Shipping. If you have a need to charge multiple devices, as well a need for cleaning up messy wires, the UNITEK charging station is a great charger that I can recommend wholeheartedly.
I feel so much better that my desk is organized, but even better I love not having to unplug and plug devices in, with my limited 5-port charging station I used to deal with before this charger saved the day.
Learn more about the UNITEK 10-port Charging Station with QC 2.0 at Amazon.
Electron microscope draws nano-sized patterns in metal ink
One of the greatest challenges in designing electronics is drawing very fine details. You normally need lithography, which complicates the process by requiring masks. However, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has now found a way to write at an extremely fine level — and even get a little bit creative. Its researchers have developed a technique that relies on an electron microscope to draw nanoscale patterns using metal ink. The team first creates a grayscale template to guide its work, and uses the microscope to shoot electrons into palladium chloride cells along that template. The cells neatly deposit raw palladium wherever the microscope goes.
If you want to fine-tune your output, you only have to control the microscope’s speed and electron volume. And even in this early testing, the results are highly accurate: as you can see above, Oak Ridge managed to create an extremely tiny version of its own logo.
There’s still a long way to go before the technology is ready for prime time. The lab wrote at a resolution of 40 nanometers, while the processors in many modern PCs and phones are built on a 14-nanometer process. When it’s ready, however, it could help craft highly optimized electronics that aren’t practical using existing manufacturing methods.
Via: Phys.org
Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Nanoscale
Take the newest Prius for a virtual spin
Toyota has a new car and a new way to market it. During Techcrunch Disrupt this week, the automaker will show off its new Prius Prime, a plug-in version of its popular hybrid vehicle. But rather than have attendees simply clamber through a static floor model, Toyota wants to take them for a ride — a virtual one.
The demonstration begins with users donning a Vive VR headset and controller before being introduced to Toyota’s in-house version of Google’s Tilt Brush painting program and tasked with creating a piece of virtual 3D art. Once complete, the user puts down the controllers and sits down in a hydraulically-driven mechanical chair for a unique 4D VR experience dubbed “The Impossible Quest”:
You’re behind the wheel of the new Prius Prime and must safely deliver a mysterious stranger and his even more mysterious package to his destination, all while outrunning and outmaneuvering a cadre of villains who are in pursuit. The experience has the user navigating an ever changing cityscape designed in collaboration with Syd Mead, the concept artist for Tron and Blade Runner, as well as Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles and MediaMonks. While you’re dodging baddies, your passenger (who somehow knows more about your car than you do) show off some of the Prime’s various features, functions and benefits.
Toyota enhances this virtualized experience by blasting you with air and water vapor at certain moments throughout, just like those 4D theaters you’ve been trying to avoid. After you give your pursuers the slip and arrive at the destination, you’re rewarded by getting to see what’s in the box. That’s right, your passenger will totally show you his package and — surprise spoiler! — it’s the artwork you created a just few minutes before, displayed in a virtual gallery with other users’ recent creations.
The painting mechanics were custom-built by Toyota’s team of designers and animators — and in just a little over a month, no less. They decided to build a one-off alternative to Tilt Brush because Toyota found that they couldn’t display the program’s files in real-time inside the Unity game engine, with which the rest of the interactive experience is built. Unity, if you recall, is the engine that has brought us everything from Pokemon Go and Hearthstone to Alto’s Adventure and Firewatch. In this case, it does a commendable job rendering Mead’s futuristic vision, even if it can’t instantly add multiple user-generated elements to a virtual world.
I was afforded a hands-on demonstration of the Impossible Quest prior to the opening of Disrupt and came away impressed by the experience. The demo itself is a bit hokey and really just a glorified brochure for the new Prius Prime. But so long as you understand that you’re being treated to what amounts to an extended commercial and not a game or artistic performance, it’s actually rather impressive. Not the actual driving part, of course — I mean, you’re in a Prius. What’s more, there is precious actual driving to do. For the most part you can just sit there with your hands in your lap as the story unfolds around you. The entire experience lasts about 4 minutes.
But the fact that you can “sit” in a near-photorealistic virtual model of a modern vehicle, get a relative feel for the its handling through the pneumatic chair, and see all the bells and whistles (even if you can’t actually touch them) is an interesting method of marketing a car. Since their invention, you’ve had to go to where the cars are to preview them. That’s no issue if you live near a dealership but if you’re out in the sticks, taking a gander at a new ride can be challenging. But with this system, entire vehicles can be digitized — just like CDs and other physical goods before them. Now if you want to know what it’s like to drive a specific vehicle, all you really need is a VR headset and somewhere to sit down.
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