LG V20 available in Korea starting ‘this week’

V20 hitting North America, Latin America, Middle East, and other parts of Asia over ‘next several weeks.’

Sales of LG’s big-screened, Nougat-powered V20 begin this week — at least in the company’s home market of South Korea. In a press release this morning, LG confirmed that sales would begin sometime this week, but bizarrely neglected to mention a specific date.

Other markets — specifically North America, Latin America, other parts of Asia and the Middle East — will get “over the course of the next several weeks,” That’s exceptionally vague, but broadly in line with the U.S. date of October 21 date teased by phone leaker Evan Blass a couple of weeks back.

Conspicuously absent is any mention of a European launch. LG’s been cagey in the past on any plans to launch the V20 in the region, and the phone’s predecessor, the V10, only got a limited European release some time after it had launched in other areas. (It’s possible European carriers were cool on the V20 following the G5’s less than stellar performance.)

To wit, get your LG V20:

• Korea: This week!
• Europe: Maybe never!
• Anywhere else: ¯_(ツ)_/¯

LG V20

• LG V20 preview
• LG unveils the V20
• LG V20 specs
• LG V20 vs. Galaxy Note 7
• Discuss the V20 in the forums!

Allo’s best chance of beating WhatsApp in India depends on Google Assistant

Google is betting on native Hindi support for Google Assistant as a way to tackle India’s ubiquitous messaging service.

At its second annual “Google for India” event, Google launched several new features and services targeted at getting the next billion users online. Allo was prominently featured at the event, with Google stating that it is working on adding native Hindi support for Google Assistant by the end of the year.

The AI-driven Google Assistant is in its preview mode right now, and while it understands a few Hindi words and phrases, it mostly says that it is trying to learn the language. Localization is Allo’s biggest advantage in a market dominated by WhatsApp. The Facebook-owned service is ubiquitous in India, and everyone from financial institutions to government agencies uses it to engage with their customers.

WhatsApp’s simplicity is what enabled its meteoric rise over the last two years. For the uninitiated, WhatsApp is very straightforward to use: just enter your phone number, invite your friends, and chat away. You won’t find any ads; the user interface is spartan, and most importantly, the service works great on 2G networks and across all platforms. With end-to-end encryption and voice calling now standard, the service is now indispensable. For a majority of the online populace in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, WhatsApp is becoming the primary source of information.

Allo has WhatsApp’s simplicity combined with Google’s AI smarts.

Google has incorporated the same principles into Allo. The messaging service relies on your phone number, and it has a minimalist UI that merges into the background, putting the focus on your chats. While it currently lacks the ability to sync messages across devices, you do get group messaging, ability to share media with ease, stickers, and Google Assistant. The last feature could prove pivotal in taking Allo mainstream in India.

Localization is a big deal. While there are 100 million people in the country that can converse in English, nearly 300 million count Hindi as their native language. The segment is severely under-catered to, as most services — WhatsApp included — don’t offer a lot of options. That’s where Google’s work over the years in machine learning comes in handy. The company’s Knowledge Graph now understands Hindi queries, and when using Chrome on Android, Indian users can seamlessly switch between English and Hindi search results.

Localization is the differentiator for Allo.

By integrating all of these features into Assistant, Google is making its AI smarts accessible to a wider audience. Instead of switching to a browser to search on Google, people can directly type @google in a chat and get their queries answered in Hindi.

As for the initial push, Google may also decide to pre-install Allo on new handsets sold in the country. Micromax has already begun pre-loading Duo on its latest sub-$100 phones, and the company’s co-founder has said that the video calling service’s simple UI has the potential for mass adoption.

Allo is also in the same category. At its core, Allo is a lightweight messaging service powered by the Google Assistant. The conversational nature of the AI chatbot puts it ahead of WhatsApp, and the localization feature will entice local handset makers to pre-load the app as a way to differentiate their devices for their audience.

Brands like Micromax, Intex, and Lava don’t have the engineering resources of major international brands like Samsung or LG, and as such they rely on Google for software services. With Allo and Duo, the company is offering two compelling products aimed at the local audience. While not a unified solution, this is Google’s best chance of beating WhatsApp.

Pixel + Pixel XL versus Nexus 5X + 6P: Google’s new phones compared, to scale

Big Pixel and baby Pixel side-by-side, in context.

As reported yesterday, we know have the first official-looking renders of Google’s new Pixel phones, thanks to leaker Evan Blass. No surprise: Both the 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL look basically identical. In fact, the change in wallpaper is more noticeable than the difference in size, when viewed individually.

However, with a bit of simple math, it’s easy to put these two alongside each other in context, since we know the relative screen sizes. So here you go — here’s how Google’s two new phones should look relative to each other. (Note that the phones are only to-scale relative to each other. Obviously they’ll all appear larger or smaller than real life depending on the size of your screen.)

For greater context, here’s 2016’s Pixel phones next to the previous year’s Nexus 5X and 6P — once again, to scale.

Left-to-right: Pixel (5.0-inch), Nexus 5X (5.2-inch), Pixel XL (5.5-inch), Nexus 6P (5.7-inch). Click to enlarge.

This year’s Google phones are each smaller than their immediate predecessors, with the regular Pixel sitting below the 5X and the XL below the 6P. What’s most striking here is how the Pixel XL’s footprint isn’t actually much bigger than the 5X, despite the substantial increase in screen size.

Specs won’t be confirmed until launch day, but here’s a comparison of what we’re expecting, based on the most reliable leaks so far.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Everything we know so far
• New navigation buttons
• Google UI + circular icons
• Android 7.1 Nougat
• Pixel vs Pixel XL
• Older Nexus phones

Kano is seeking funding for three new coding kits: Camera, Speaker and Pixel

Following the success of its Computer kit, British-based coding kit company Kano is back with three new packs to get young minds learning about the way things are made.

The three new kits are camera, which lets you build a camera and programming filters, tripwire sensors and more, Pixel, which is a grid of lights that can show sports scores, games and art, and Speaker, which is a Bluetooth speaker that lets you make music.

• Kano allows children of all ages to build a computer from scratch, like Lego

Like we saw with the Computer kit, all the pieces snap together like Lego and to programme code you simply drag and drop preset lines of code into order using the free software.

All three are currently seeking funding on Kickstarter where they’ve raised $135,000 at the time of writing of a $500,000 goal.

Camera kit

If you’ve seen or used Kano’s computing kit before, then you’ll instantly recognise any of the new coding kits. All are made to be colourful and fun to help engage kids and get them coding. To build the Camera kit it’s just a case of plugging all the supplied parts into the right places, connect it to the Kano brain and that’s it, you’ve got a working camera. You can add a tripwire sensor to take a picture every time someone or something goes past, but the real fun comes in the coding.

You use the free Kano Code software, which lets you programme the camera to take a picture at set time intervals, or when it’s sunny outside to recording timelapse videos.

Pixel kit

Pixel is a lightboard that can display virtually anything, including weather, stocks, scores, games, art, animations and more. Again you just clip the pieces together like Lego add the included tilt sensor and you’re done.

Speaker kit

The Speaker kit is a Bluetooth speaker and synthesizer in one. You can stream music to it, loop sounds, learn electronic music or turn it into an instrument. You can programme a drum machine and add a gesture sensor to change the volume, distort the sound and switch tracks.

All three kits are avaialble to pre-order now with a $99 pledge or you can get all three for $249 for a limited time. The Pixel kit is expected to ship in January 2017, the Camera kit May 2017 and the Speaker kit July 2017.

Audeze iSine are the world’s first planar magnetic in-ear headphones, we have a listen

High-end, California-based headphone manufacturer Audeze has taken much of the same technology found in the excellent Sine on-ear headphones, and put it into two dinky pairs of in-ears. The iSine 10 and iSine 20 bear a slight resemblance to the Millennium Falcon and the technology found inside the casings really is space-age. Rather than use a traditional configuration of a mid/bass driver and a tweeter, the iSine use planar magnetic technology. 

This setup marries Fluxor magnets with 30mm planar magnetic diaphragms, which also happen to feature patented Uniform Voice-coil technology. Audeze says the result should be “precise control and fast response times without distortion”.

• Audeze Sine review: When Lightning strikes
• Best Lightning headphones 2016: ‘Phones for iPhones

We’re inclined to agree, as some brief hands-on time with the iSine 10 proved they sounded incredibly spacious and almost as if we were wearing a pair of over-ear headphones instead. Bear in mind, they’re semi-open-backed, so passengers around you on a train may be able to hear what you’re listening to. Here’s looking at you One Direction fans.

Pocket-lint

They’re relatively heavy for in-ear headphones too, mainly because of the 24-bit DAC found halfway down the cable. It’s this DAC that helps the iSine sound so good, as it takes the audio signal from your iPhone – and only the iPhone, as the iSine connect via the Lightning connection – and puts it through the built-in DSP to improve the sound. 

Put them on though and that weight becomes barely noticeable, as they come with transparent ear hooks to fit over your ears, ensuring they stay in place, although we probably wouldn’t recommend you wear them on a run. 

The difference between the iSine 10 and 20 is that the 20 get a longer Uniforce voice coil which covers even more of the planar magnetic diaphragms. Audeze says the extra coverage enables “better control and responsiveness for enhanced bass, clarity and imaging”.

The Audeze iSine 10 in-ears will be available from October for £379 while the iSine 20 can be had for £579.

BlackBerry DTEK60 images leak ahead of official unveil

It looks like BlackBerry is all set to announce a follow-up to the DTEK50, dubbed the DTEK60. The phone is slated to make its debut on October 11, and ahead of its unveil, press renders have leaked out showcasing the device from all angles.

Unlike the mid-range DTEK50, BlackBerry’s upcoming phone will be targeted at the high-end segment. Our sister site CrackBerry has details on the specs, which include a 5.5-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 32GB storage, USB-C, fingerprint sensor, and a 3000mAh battery.

Head on over to CrackBerry for more on the DTEK60.

Google Play Music finally launches in India!

Google Play Music is here, and it’s everything you’ve been waiting for.

After several false starts, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is here. Google Play Music is finally available in India, and at an initial glance, it looks like the entire catalog is available for customers in the country.

Individual tracks are priced at ₹15, which is costlier than what you’d find on Apple Music (₹9 per song), and you can purchase albums for as low as ₹70 (Iron Maiden’s excellent The Number of the Beast), with prices going up to ₹210 (Metallica’s S&M). If you’re into regional music, Play Music has most Bollywood albums released in the last 20 years.

It doesn’t look like you can subscribe to Play Music All Access just yet, but you can upload up to 50,000 songs from your own music collection into the service.

Indian readers, what are you liking the most about Google Play Music? Let us know in the comments.