Blackberry Mercury mid-range phone appears on Geekbench
BlackBerry could release a new mid-range smartphone alongside the upcoming flagship DTEK60 ‘Argon’. The mid-range phone, known as Mercury for now, has appeared on Geekbench, the benchmark testing website.
- BlackBerry DTEK60: What’s the story so far?
The Blackberry Mercury has been listed with a decent array of specs for a mid-range phone, including a 2.02GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with 3GB RAM and Android 7.0 Nougat. The official model number for the new phone is BBB100-1, whereas the DTEK60 is BBA100-1, so it confirms this new device will be targeted as a mid-range one.
The Geekbench listing doesn’t confirm any other specs, but rumours are pointing to 32GB of internal storage, 4.5-inch full HD display and a 3400mAh battery, which is quite large for a mid-range device. The rear-facing camera is expected to be 18-megapixels while the front-facing should be 8MP.
It’s also been said the Mercury will be the next BlackBerry device to come with a physical QWERTY keyboard, something that will no doubt please long-serving BlackBerry fans.
Neither the Mercury or the DTEK60 ‘Argon’ will be made by BlackBerry in house since the company confirmed it was ditching its hardware division. It’s likely the Mercury will be produced by TCL Corporation, which owns the Alcatel brand and is responsible for making the DTEK50 and DTEK60.
It’s not known when the BlackBerry Mercury will be announced or released, but since it has appeared on Geekbench, it’s making its way through the system, so hopefully it won’t be long until we see more of it.
Singapore’s self-driving taxi service has its first accident
That didn’t take long: One of Singapore’s nuTonomy self-driving taxis has already been in an at-fault collision. Less than a month after the service launched, a slow-moving taxi hit a lorry (translation: a truck) while changing lanes, according to a Facebook post from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA). Thankfully no one was injured in the accident, but that isn’t stopping the LTA and local police from investigating the matter anyway.
In a statement to The Verge, nuTonomy says that it’s fully cooperating with the LTA and will be conducting its own investigation to determine the “exact cause of the accident.”
Instances like this are just a matter of course at this point. As self-driving vehicles continue move from fringe tech to something more mainstream, accidents are bound to happen. Google and Tesla have had their own mishaps, and it’ll only be a matter of time before Uber and Delphi join the ranks alongside nuTonomy and co.
Via: The Verge
Source: Land Transport Authority (Facebook), Reuters
Tinder’s premium Boost feature is rolling out worldwide
Tinder’s latest idea to monetize its mobile matching service is rolling out worldwide, as users outside of Australia and the UK will be able to Boost to the top of nearby dater’s queues. Getting Tinder to put its thumb on the algorithm is free once a week as a part of the variably-priced Plus subscription, or it can be purchased individually. Either way, it lasts just 30 minutes, so Pokémon Go players can just treat it like a lucky egg — the company says it can result in as much as a 10x increase in profile views.
Of course, even if you pay the fee for extra exposure, that doesn’t guarantee any extra matches, so making sure you’re using the best picture or handing control over to a professional could be worthwhile. Cuffing season is upon us, so choose wisely — or don’t, Netflix is releasing Black Mirror season three this week anyway, you have so many other things to do.
Source: Tinder
Onehundredforty wants to sell you your tweets as arty posters
Tweets are usually forgotten quickly, replaced by the next thing-du-jour — and frankly, most of us like it that way. However, a startup called Onehundredforty thinks that your succinct observations (or someone else’s) can become permanent art posters for your home. “The average lifespan of a tweet is 18 minutes, then it’s gone,” the company says. “There’s way too much magic happening out there to just let them die out in an archive, or even worse, disappear in a feed.”
You may argue that very few of the 200 billion tweets sent per year are worth keeping on your wall. After trying it for a bit, though, some of us found it kind of amusing to memorialize some of the mind vomit from Kanye and other famous Twitter users. If you want to try it, just pick a tweet, either your own or from another user like @50cent (above), and the company will automatically lay it out into a grid on the background design of your choice.
You can preview it (above) then pay $69 ($59 during the launch month), to receive a numbered poster with your 140 character (max) tweet printed on fancy stock with UV resistant ink. There are certain limitations — it doesn’t appear to handle emoji characters, and tweets over a few years old don’t seem to show up.
The company points out that “Twitter is dying,” so the service could also become a “memorabilia creator.” However the service still has 300 million-plus users, and if you really want your posts to survive the Twitterpocalypse, you can save them to a permanent archive. Perhaps Twitter itself could use the service, though — it could turn its most hateful, bullying tweets into posters as a daily executive reminder of how bad the harassment problem still is.
Microsoft Hails ‘Historic Achievement’ in Speech Recognition Technology
Researchers at Microsoft claim to have created a new speech recognition technology that transcribes conversational speech as well as a human does (via The Verge).
The system’s word error rate is reportedly 5.9 percent, which is about equal to professional transcribers asked to work on the same recordings, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft researchers from the Speech & Dialog research group (Image: Allison Linn)
“We’ve reached human parity,” said chief speech scientist Xuedong Huang in a statement, calling the milestone “an historic achievement”.
To reach the milestone, the team used Microsoft’s Computational Network Toolkit, a homegrown system for deep learning that the research team has made available on GitHub via an open source license. The system uses neural network technology that groups similar words together, which allows the models to generalize efficiently from word to word.
The neural networks draw on large amounts of data called training sets to teach the transcribing computers to recognize syntactical patterns in the sounds. Microsoft plans to use the technology in Cortana, its personal voice assistant in Windows and Xbox One, as well as in speech-to-text transcription software.
But the technology still has a long way to go before it can claim to master meaning (semantics) and contextual awareness – key characteristics of everyday language use that need to be grasped for Siri-like personal assistants to process requests and act upon them in a helpful way.
“We are moving away from a world where people must understand computers to a world in which computers must understand us,” said Harry Shum, who heads the Microsoft AI Research group. However it will be a long time before computers can understand the real meaning of what’s being said, he cautioned. “True artificial intelligence is still on the distant horizon.”
Tags: Microsoft, Cortana
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Olympic Games Limited Edition overview
Samsung has released a few limited edition smartphones over the years, like the Batman edition of the Galaxy S7 Edge and the Iron Man version of its predecessor, all the way back to a pre-Galaxy era Matrix edition feature phone. While these releases have generally coincided with a major movie release, this year, Samsung also decided to commemorate Rio 2016 with a Limited Edition Galaxy S7 Edge.
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
This certainly makes sense, given the fact that Samsung has been a sponsor of the Olympics for quite a while now. The summer games may already be well behind us, but we still thought it would be a cool idea to check out this special edition smartphone. Here is a quick look at the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Olympic Games Limited Edition!
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The first thing you will notice is that the packaging this phone arrives in is quite different from the regular box. The black box is much bigger than the standard retail version, and comes with “Rio 2016” printed on the front. Inside the box is a nice black carrying case with an Olympic Games Edition logo, in which the phone can be found.
While I am not entirely sure of the materials used, it does feel like a high quality carrying case, that includes a couple of pockets inside that will allow you to store smaller items like charging cables or microSD cards and adapters.
Underneath the carrying case is a black pouch that also feels like it has been made using high quality materials, and holds everything that is typically available with the Galaxy S7 Edge. This includes the user manual and other documentation that nobody reads, a pair of earphones, wall charging adapter, and a microUSB cable.
We aren’t going to focus on the specifications, features, and performance of this device, since it is essentially identical to the regular Galaxy S7 Edge, save for a few aesthetic changes in the design and software package. This special edition iteration comes with the same display, processing package, battery, and cameras, and as such, we can expect this device to perform exactly as its regular sibling does.
There are a few differences between the two however, starting with the design. To maintain the theme of the Olympic Games, you will notice colored accents for the buttons and ports, that include all the colors of the Olympic rings. You will see red around the power button, yellow for the earpiece and home button, green for the volume rocker, and blue around the camera unit and heart rate monitor on the back.
There is also the Olympics logo printed on the back, along with “Rio 2016 Olympic Games Limited Edition” written right below the FCC logo. The color version is similar to the Black Onyx version available with the regular Galaxy S7 Edge, but instead of a silver frame, the metal has been treated with a dark chrome finish, which I find looks a lot nicer, and gives the device a stealthier look.
Like previous special edition Samsung smartphones, this Olympic Games version comes with a custom theme on the software side of things. You will notice that the icons, notification drop down, Settings menu, and certain apps have all been themed to incorporate the colors of the Olympic rings. Apart from that however, the software experience is exactly the same as what you would get with the Galaxy S7 Edge. In fact, if you aren’t a fan of the custom theme, you also have the option to switch it to the default Samsung one.
So there you have it for this quick overview of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Olympic Games Limited Edition! While this is a limited edition smartphone, it is actually pretty easy to get your hands on one on Amazon or eBay, and even at a Best Buy, and the price point is similar to the unlocked version of the regular Galaxy S7 Edge as well. There isn’t a whole lot of extras here, but it is always pretty cool to have one of Samsung’s special edition phones, and its unique look may be worth it.
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Google Pixel XL initial review: first 48 hours
The latest and most official Google device is here. We’ve only had it for a few days total and while we are able to draw some conclusions in that time, we definitely wanted to continue putting the Pixel XL through its paces to be sure our thoughts indeed hold weight.
For now, we are bringing you what we think in this initial review of the Google Pixel XL!
Don’t miss:
- Best Android smartphones of October 2016
- Android 7.0 Nougat review: an Android version for Android fans
First, we open up the box. As the new de facto ambassador in the world of Android, it comes as little surprise that an adapter for USB and Lightning cables is included so that transferring data from other Androids or iOS devices is easy – simply connect the original cable to your previous phone and the other end, adapter ready, into the Pixel. The phone takes care of the rest. A USB-A to USB Type-C cable is included, but the plug adapter requires a cable that is fitted with USB Type-C on both ends, which is also in the box.
Google brings their own design sensibilities to the Android world, in a phone that was built from the ground up. The results are, unfortunately, pretty polarizing. Many of you have already sounded off on the design of the Pixel XL, either saying that it has a beautifully simple look or lamenting its almost generic aesthetic.
We are as split about the design as all of you.
We here at Android Authority are about as split as all of you. Personally, I had become rather accustomed to the somewhat barebones style of previous Google devices, considering that it mattered more what the capabilities were underneath the surface. There was a quiet but effective capability to the Nexus line, but each device brought single quirks to the style. The Nexus 6P had its camera ridge and the Nexus 5 had a large piece of glass adorning the camera, for example. For the Pixel line, Google gave their new phone one key differentiating feature – a top third encased in glass. I don’t particularly find it an eyesore, but I rather think of it as a boring alternative to the different quirks we used to get from phones that bore the Google name.
That said, the phone’s look and feel still do their job properly – they make the phone feel really solid and sleek despite a measure of blandness in particularly this Very Silver version. The Quite Black version might be a little easier on the eyes while the North American-only Really Blue edition is, indeed, very different, but doesn’t add much more than a different hue.
A smaller Google Pixel is available with a 5-inch screen but we have the Pixel XL which sports a 5.5-inch screen. Larger upper and lower portions make the phone feel a little taller than it probably needed to be, but if there is plenty going on underneath all that surface area, then it can be excused. Overall, the XL feels plenty hefty and takes the usual amount of hand gymnastics in order to be used in one hand. Despite the glass on the back of the device, most of the backing is made of a smooth metal that unfortunately makes it slide about in the hand a bit too easily.
The sides of the device remind us of the Moto Z Force, which had a pretty aggressive chamfer to add texture to the sides. This was definitely the right choice considering how much the phone can slide around because if the sides were just as smooth, dropping it would probably be much more likely.
We will try our best not to compare the Pixel to the Nexus too much, but we do admit that the sideways Nexus logo is a bit missed. Even with a barebones overall design, that logo was distinctive. This time around, it is simply a large G on the bottom third and the glass upper side, all of which basically make for a phone that does look different, but does it in a somewhat boring fashion.
Google opted for AMOLED touchscreens for the Pixel phones, but the smaller Pixel comes with 1080p resolution. The XL sports Quad HD, and it looks pretty dang incredible. A lot of YouTube videos have been viewed in our first few days with the device, and everything from animated content to daily vlogs look great at resolutions 720p and higher. We also had a good time with games, as colors are rendered with the proper amount of vibrancy. So far, the only gripe I had with this display is that it gets just a little too dim at the lowest brightness setting – then again, this is a common facet of AMOLED displays. On the other hand, the screen looks great even in broad daylight when pumped up to the highest setting.
There is a sense of polish and smoothness that is undeniable.
As one of the first phones to sport the Snapdragon 821, it should come as no surprise that the Google Pixel XL simply flies through its tasks without any issues. Especially considering the streamlined and pure version of Android that the Pixel sports, there is a sense of polish and smoothness that is undeniable. This is not to say that other Android devices lack in the speed department, there just seems to be a great deal of attention given to the transitions and movements among all of the Nougat 7.1 elements.
But even in situations when slowdown should have been experienced, the phone has performed wonderfully – for example, the first boot up and long setup process that included downloading and installing a ton of applications might have made the phone feel a bit warmer, but it didn’t give me the usual slowdown I experience with other phones.
We will be playing more games and performing more tasks for the coming days, but so far the Pixel XL is a good poster child for the Snapdragon 821 and, indeed, for point of using pure Android in the first place.
Hardware is a part of the Pixel phones that might put it at a disadvantage – after all, a Google device tends to not have all of the extra features plenty of Android devices sport.
Hardware is a part of the Pixel phones that might put it at a disadvantage.
That starts off with the lack of expandable storage, which I have already had to contend with in my weekend with the Pixel XL. My unit is a 32GB version, which means that 4K recording is not only stifled, but is a nuisance. Having a plethora of applications and, in particular, games installed takes up a lot of the 29.70GB made available to the user. With MOBIUS Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy 7, and Final Fantasy 9 installed, only about half of the available storage was left for me to do photos and videos with. And at the high quality 4K recording option, the camera constantly reminded me of the less than 15 minutes of recording time I had available to me. Granted, Google Photos on the Pixel allows for the full resolution uploading and saving of all photos and videos, but having to find Wi-Fi to upload and, for that matter, the need to let the app clean up the Camera folder is a step I am still not used to doing.
Sound is a welcome highlight for the Pixel, a phone that is supposed to take voice inputs at any time and play the soothing, if not robotic, voice of Google Assistant. To that end, the bottom mounted speaker (only one, the left one) is one of the best of its kind. It gets plenty loud and yet retains a good amount of body. It is by no means a good bass performer, but especially for evoking the voice of Google Assistant, it does the job incredibly well. For viewing videos or playing games, I did not feel the need to reach for a pair of headphones. Even so, the headphone experience on the Google Pixel is above average. There are no extra options and features in the phone for catering the sound like in the LG V10 or the HTC 10, but the default sound profile is still very enjoyable, with the headphone jack properly driving my pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50x headphones.
Our battery life testing is still ongoing, but I can definitely relay my experience after the last few days. A 3,450 mAh battery unit keeps the Pixel XL going for what can be described as the expected portion of the day, which can be easily tracked with the battery section of the settings. Personally, I really enjoy the way Nougat 7.1 shows the graph and the amount of time that has elapsed since unplugging the phone, even in the quick settings dropdown. With all that said, a day of somewhat aggressive usage that included GPS navigation and plenty of built-in speaker blasting took the phone out in about 16 hours with 4 hours of screen on time.
Which brings me to an interesting change in my battery usage that has only come about due to the Pixel. As I mentioned, the speaker got a lot of play and was a part of the overall battery drain. This is because Google Assistant, the main software addition the Pixel introduces, is so effortlessly useful that I have been talking and listening to this phone more than any that came before it. This is also due to a great microphone that sports noise cancellation and voice recognition that remind me of previous Moto X devices.
See also: Google Assistant: The top features you should know25
Due to one key feature of Google Assistant – the Daily Briefing – I’ve not only gotten used to saying ‘good morning’ upon waking without even touching the phone, but I’ve listened to the Assistant’s built-in podcast player that only plays a curated list of news shows. The last two days saw over an hour of news brief listening in the morning – which actually registers on the battery usage tally.
Before we get deeper into Google Assistant, we have the other marquee feature of the Pixel XL – the camera, which is a 12.3MP main camera with f/2.0 aperture and a front facing unit shooting 8MP. While the cameras of the Pixel phones might look very similar to the Nexus 6P on paper, there are a few key enhancements that we’ve already noticed and thoroughly enjoy.
First of all, the app is the same Google Camera that you may already be used to from the Nexus and the Google Play Store, meaning that it is a simple to use, auto interface without manual controls. Modes include Panorama and Lens Blur, with Slow Motion available at 120fps at 1080p resolution.
HDR is now HDR+, a version of color and contrast enhancement that is technically always on. Though the option will show HDR+ Auto, most pictures show processing of HDR+ when they are accessed in the gallery immediately after shooting. Pictures are already well rendered, but having the HDR+ add that little extra bit will make for pretty consistently pleasing photos. That said, HDR+ does do a good job of adding some extra vibrancy to photos while bringing down the highlights in any picture that has a blown out area like the sun soaked sky. And the best part about the HDR+ is that it has basically no shutter lag – in only a few photos did I notice a small amount of processing after hitting the shutter.
Which brings us to the other main feature of the cameras – video stabilization. The camera of the Pixel XL does not come with optical image stabilization and instead relies on analysis of the gyroscope while recording and software based post-stabilization. One immediate positive feature of this electronic image stabilization is that it is available while recording 4K video, which is not a feature commonly found on current Android phones. However, it is very common for software stabilization to lead to weird warping of a video and the dreaded ‘jello effect’ that Google hopes their version of stabilization will remedy.
So far, video stabilization has been incredible
And so far, it has blown me away. I put it through a few simple tests that included one walking shot and a couple stationary handheld examples. In all cases, the difference is basically night and day – the stabilization does a great job of noticeably making footage smoother, making it seem like the phone was on a gimbal during my walking example. Even more impressive is the lack of the ‘jello effect’ when moving from side to side. For a user like me that likes to vlog, the stabilization makes this already good performing 4K shooter an even more impressive companion to have for pictures and video, even if available space is an issue in this 32GB device.
Overall, the camera has so far been very impressive and we will be doing more testing and comparisons with other Android devices to further consider its capabilities. For now, however, I have been very impressed with the camera and already consider it one of the better automatic shooters.
Which brings us to software, which is the latest version of pure Android in Nougat 7.1. Though the LG V20 was the first phone to come with Android Nougat, the ‘.1’ that the Pixel brings is quite significant and might make it one of the most sought after versions of Android. Unfortunately, it is unclear how much of this version of Android will actually make it to other, non-Google branded devices. And that might be a shame, because 7.1 is a delight to use, mostly due to Google Assistant.
Hold the home button and Google Now on Tap is nowhere to be found – unless you swipe up from the bottom again, that is – because it is replaced with the voice-centric Google Assistant. Talking to an Android device is now as seamless as it has ever been, as everything from questions to search queries to even time-killing can be done with Google speaking right back at you. As already mentioned, this means that certain features like a daily briefing can be enjoyed by just asking the phone to do it. Even better, setting up the voice recognition makes Google Assistant ready no matter where the phone is, as long as it is near enough to hear ‘OK Google.’
The microphone is delightfully sensitive and accurate, while Assistant is really responsive and quick. There is one hiccup, as Assistant doesn’t seem to be opening appropriate apps automatically based on the query anymore like it did during my First Look. Even the quick display of the top search result is still accurate, so a small tap on it is a small trade-off. Plenty of other features are available via Google Assistant and I found myself asking random questions just to see what it can do – I even played an odd game of Mad Libs where the Assistant asked me for all of the different words it needed to construct the ridiculous narrative.
Assistant is already quite robust, but I can only imagine how much more it will grow over the life of the Pixel XL – after all, it is the centerpiece of the new Google ecosystem that incorporates Google Home.
Assistant is already quite robust, but I can only imagine how much more it will grow over the life of the Pixel XL
Otherwise, all of the different elements of Android remain very familiar even with the Pixel Launcher as the interface. The app drawer is still around, thankfully, and is accessed by swiping up on the homescreen. Google Now is still available to the left of the homescreens, while the big ‘G’ at the top gives easy access to a search bar that felt a little obsolete once I got used to using my voice instead. There are a lot of built-in wallpapers that can be used singularly or cycled from a curated list that is updated every day. Personally, I am a fan of the Live Earth wallpaper that rotates with the homescreens and mimics the real life sun, moon, and cloud conditions.
The settings area is a little easier to navigate now in Nougat, and it now has an entirely separate area for on-demand help, though I haven’t used it yet. Multitasking users finally have a Google-made multi-window feature that is accessed by dragging a window in the recent apps screen to the area up top, but this is also something that I have not used extensively because moving in and out of the recent apps screen has been as smooth as ever.
As long as Assistant continues to evolve, the Pixel has a feature that, if it never comes to other Android devices, does a great job of differentiating itself. The usefulness of Assistant predicates on whether or not the user actually takes advantage of it, and so far I think that everyone really should. Try it out with Allo and if you really enjoy Assistant, imagine having that functionality baked into the rest of the experience.
We have definitely drawn a lot of conclusions about the Google Pixel XL so far, and we are going to see if that positivity continues in our testing. A full review of the phone will be done in the coming days, perhaps just after the release of all the pre-order devices on October 20. All versions of the phone are still sold out in the Google Store, which undercuts what many users thought would be the Pixel’s Achilles’ heel – the price. For $649 on the base 32GB Pixel, the Google phones certainly hold a premium price point even if, at first glance, it doesn’t seem to offer nearly as much as the rest of the Android army. This is a very valid argument considering the Google Pixel XL at 32GB is a whole $120 extra.
Read next:
- Google Pixel XL vs Galaxy Note 7
- Google Pixel and Pixel XL vs the competition
So, before scoring the phone on its own merits, we will leave this initial review at this thought: if the rest of Android did not exist and the Google Pixel stood on its own, it would be one of the best phones we’ve ever seen or used. Unfortunately for the Pixel, the rest of Android undoubtedly offers more and for far better prices across the board. But the Pixel damn near perfects the basics where plenty of Android phones inexplicably falter. And for the first outing of the Pixel, Google has so far done a damn good job.
The most common ways people damage gadgets
“Let me ring you back. You’ve actually, don’t laugh, caught me when I’m just, er, in the loo, no, no, I’m just washing my hands.” You end the call, but your hands are wet and you know how slippery smartphones are. So down it goes, plonking into the wash hand basin (or worse, some other bathroom receptacle).
If this feeling, your spirits sinking as the phone does, is familiar, you’re not alone. Dropping your phone into water is a very common thing. Very few phones are waterproof and some manufacturers even have indicators inside which change colour on contact with liquid, thus invalidating the warranty, no matter how much you protest.
Of course, you needn’t be in the bathroom for calamity to strike. Knock that cup of tea, glass of wine or can of beer over and you may be worrying about more than just carpet stains. Act quickly and if you’re lucky your phone may have escaped liquid damage – this time. Less likely to end well is the wash cycle where your phone has found its way into the washing machine. This is one of the most common, not to mention most embarrassing, ways to ruin your gadgets. One recent survey put this about as common as dropping it in water.
More than just phones that get broken
It’s not just phones that are susceptible to water, of course. Although most fitness bands and smart watches are splashproof, plenty specify that they shouldn’t be used for swimming, though this doesn’t stop everybody.
Some surveys suggest that more than half of the damage we do to our gadgets happens at home. With mobile phones, much of the problem lies with the fact that they are mostly screen, usually flush with the front glass for extra svelte slickness. Which looks great, of course, but means it’s more susceptible to damage if dropped. A case will help, usually, but if it’s the garage floor that you’ve rather rapidly introduced your phone to, it may not.
Or if you plonk yourself down in the car a little too heavily, that crunching sound may remind you quite suddenly that your phone or MP3 player is in your back pocket.
You might be surprised just how many use the roof of the car as a shelf while fumbling for car keys, say. You might not be surprised how many forget they’ve put their smartphone, camera, tablet or wallet there as they drive off. Only the wallet is likely to bounce.
And the world is full of hazards – plenty of people have broken their phone because it’s fallen out of a bag or pocket (a survey shows this is a particularly prevalent thing to happen in Australia, apparently).
We haven’t even touched on one of the biggest reasons people find themselves without their gadgets – they leave them behind in a taxi, a pub or a restaurant. And whether they then get stolen or simply kicked across the floor of a cab by the next, unsuspecting traveller, the result is the same: you’re one gadget down.
Action and adventure
Even more rugged gadgets, like action cameras, say, still need to be treated with a degree of care, even if that’s just making sure the helmet mount is secure before cycling down that challenging hill.
Headphones are no stranger to damage with long cables being easy to catch on your arm, leg, whatever. Plus, if there’s a mobile phone on the other end of the cans, a misstep can lead to both gadgets suffering.
Insuring your tech, from laptops to cameras to iPads to GoPros, can be a good way to give yourself peace of mind, however clumsy or forgetful you are, or however slippery, fragile or water-unfriendly your gadgets are.
This content is brought to you in association with Gadget Cover (hyperlinked to site), Pocket-lint’s favoured UK partner. Visit Gadget-Cover.com and receive a quote for your mobile phone and gadget insurance in under 10 seconds.
Xiaomi sells 1 million phones in India in 18 days
After selling 500,000 phones in just three days at the start of the month, it was just a matter of time before Xiaomi hit the million mark during the festive season. The company has now announced that it sold 1 million phones in 18 days in India, setting yet another milestone in the country.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun penned an open letter on Facebook recognising the efforts of Mi India:
Yesterday we set an incredible record in India by selling more than 1 million smartphones within 18 days. On behalf of Xiaomi’s management, I’d like to congratulate the entire Mi India team for this outstanding performance.
A big round of thanks to Manu and Hugo for their outstanding leadership, to everyone at Mi India for their dedication, and to the business teams in China for their support. I am extremely proud of each one of you! I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our partners in India, especially Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, for their support.
When we entered India, there was extremely fierce competition. We have achieved such extraordinary growth in India firstly because of our vision to bring innovation to everyone with our high-quality products at incredible prices. Secondly, we have an amazing team in India. We will continue investing in India to deliver the best products to our Mi fans — expanding our supply, ensuring the high quality of our products, and further improving our after-sales service.
The core of the Xiaomi model is creating high-quality products, making friends with our users, and operating our business extremely efficiently. This model has been proven in China. I believe that the Xiaomi model will resonate across the world, starting with India.
I am confident that with the sustained efforts of our entire Xiaomi family, we will be able to capture the largest market share in India within 3-5 years! Mi India, let’s make history together!
Xiaomi’s ₹11,999 Redmi Note 3 is a standout success in the budget segment, and the Redmi 3S is catering to the entry-level category. The company’s sales were buoyed by discounts during Amazon’s festival sale, with its handsets consistently topping the best-selling charts.
The company is now turning its attention to the offline market, which should allow it to continue its sales momentum.
Chrome’s bleeding edge Canary channel makes its way to Android
Chrome is available in four builds: the Stable channel is the main public client, the Beta channel has a few bugs but gets new features roughly a month before the Stable build, and the Dev channel is for developers looking to test out the latest features. Then there’s the Canary channel, an untested build that gets updated every weekday with the latest codebase as soon as it’s built.
The Canary channel was limited to desktop versions of Chrome on Windows and Mac, but is now making its way to Android. Considering the nature of the build, the Canary channel uses a separate profile and can be installed alongside the stable build.
From the Chromium blog:
Just like the Canary channel for other platforms, new versions are built from the most recent code available and often contain a variety of new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. These builds are shipped automatically with no manual testing, which means that the build can be unstable and may even stop working entirely for days at a time. However, the goal is for Canary to remain usable at all times, and the Chrome team prioritizes fixing major issues as quickly as possible.
Initially, builds will ship every weekday. In the future new builds may also be available on weekends. The frequency of builds means that keeping the app updated will consume a lot of data, typically more than 100MB per week. This is especially important for phones set to update native apps over cellular data.
Right now, there isn’t a whole lot to differentiate the Canary build from the Dev channel, but in the future, new updates will show up on the Canary release before making their way to other builds. If you’re interested in trying out the Canary channel, you can now install it from the Play Store.
AIVAnet 