Huawei’s $1500 Porsche Design Mate 9 is a special edition you’ll really want
Alongside the “vanilla” Mate 9 — itself a beast of a phone — Huawei has unveiled a special limited edition Porsche Design version of the phone to be sold in stores throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East starting in December.
Porsche Design already has a history of partnering with manufacturers on limited edition smartphones, though the most publicized were BlackBerrys that sought to stand apart through aesthetic alone. This time, Huawei actually has a strong foundation on which to build a special edition device, and the Porsche Design Mate 9 has a number of impressive aesthetic and performance differences to covet a glance in its direction.
The main differences between the Mate 9 and its Porsche Design equivalent are on the front: instead of a 5.9-inch 1080p LCD panel, the PD model has a 5.5-inch 2560×1440 AMOLED display with curved glass, bringing the fingerprint sensor to the front, below the screen. While that is sure to entertain comparisons to the Note line, Huawei has also given the PD Mate 9 an extra two gigabytes of RAM — 6GB in total — and 256GB of storage, up from 64GB on the regular Mate 9. The rest of the spec sheet is the same with a Kirin 960 SoC, an impressive dual camera setup, and a massive 4,000mAh battery.
More: Huawei Mate 9 Preview: Big deal
The Porsche Design Mate 9 will go on sale later this year in European PD stores for €1395 (around $1550), expanding to “select” Huawei retail stores in Asia, Europe and the Middle East in January of next year.
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Score two iClever dual USB travel chargers for the price of one!
Right now you can get two iClever dual USB travel chargers for the price of one with coupon code DEALTOP1. This deal scores you two chargers, one black and one white, for just $11, and each of them has 2 USB ports to plug in whichever cables you need to charge your gadgets. The lightweight and compact charger is a perfect addition to your travel bag or purse so that you are never without a way to charge your phone or tablet.
To get the free one, you will need to add both the white version and then the black version to your cart and use coupon code DEALTOP1 to get both chargers for just $11. You will need to add one of each color, and you’ll notice that the black one becomes free. If you need some extra wall chargers to have around, you won’t want to miss out on this deal.
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Go Time! Episode 16: Halloween Hangover
Episode 16 has arrived.
Russell is back with Jen and Erin for the latest episode of Go Time: A Pokemon Go podcast. The first Pokemon Go event has come and gone, and we’re talking about it. A week full of ghost- and poison-type Pokemon left us with plenty to discuss, and a Cubone that just wouldn’t appear for Jen. We also discussed what the next event might be, and when it might appear.
The wide world of Pokemon Go is still being discovered, join us there!
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- Or add us to your podcatcher of choice!
You can also join our Facebook page to keep up on all things Pokémon Go. See you in the world!
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Huawei announces Fit fitness tracker, offers continuous heart rate monitoring and running programmes
Huawei has revealed details of its new fitness tracker, appropriately called Fit. Fit is a round-face fitness tracker with a 35g aluminium body. It will also send notifications, messages and calls to your smartphone, is controlled using the 1.04-inch LCD display and has a rechargeable battery that claims to be good for six days of use.
- Best fitness trackers 2016: The best activity bands to buy today
But it’s sports that Fit has been primarily designed for and it can be used for cycling, running, swimming, walking and treadmill workouts. It can automatically detect when you’re walking or running and will record data accordingly, such as distance travelled, calories and fat burned and the time taken.
Fit can also monitor your heart rate, which Huawei claims is highly accurate thanks to an “innovative design and high-signal strength”. You can manually check your heart rate by scrolling to the heart rate screen, have it automatically track it during a workout or monitor it continuously throughout the day. At the end of each day or workout session, you’ll get a detailed view of how your heart rate has fluctuated.
To help motivate you to get up and exercise, the Fit has a number of built-in running programmes which can be tailored to your stamina and overall goals. There’s pre-installed programmes for 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon modes. Once you’ve completed a training run, Fit will show you your recovery time and an overall training score, in addition to distance, duration, steps and calories burned.
And once you’re tired from working out, the Fit will also track your sleep pattern and whether you’re in a deep sleep or not.
The Huawei Fit is available now in the US in titanium gray and moonlight silver finishes and will be available in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal towards the end of November. There’s no word yet on UK availability.
Vimeo is working on a subscription streaming service
Vimeo plans to start a new Netflix-type streaming service and develop its own content, but its won’t spend Netflix dollars. Rather, the site (owned by Barry Diller’s IAC) will help its creator community develop original content and supplement it with licensed programming. “Vimeo has the once-in-a-generation opportunity to, following in Netflix’s footsteps, deliver compelling subscription viewing experiences for consumers in the market for pay TV,” CEO Joey Levin said in a shareholder letter
Levin didn’t give any specifics, but said that Vimeo will experiment with proprietary subscription services. To get the required content, the company will lean on its pro subscribers, who are often emerging filmmakers, directors and producers. He points out that High Maintenance, for instance, aired for two seasons on Vimeo before HBO picked it up, and that three of four Oscar-nominated shorts come from Vimeo directors.
The site already offers video streaming services via its On Demand service, with content from independent producers and major studios like Lionsgate. However, users must purchase videos à la carte, whereas the new streaming service would be on a subscription basis.
We will supplement our creators with original and licensed programming, and can fill out a robust slate of programming for tens of millions, not billions, of dollars.
“[We] can fill out a robust slate of programming for tens of millions, not billions of dollars,” Levin said. Noting that the site has 240 million monthly viewers “with a strong propensity to spend,” he adds that “if we can convert just a small portion of our audience, we have a very large business.”
Levin acknowledges that Vimeo is in tough against established sites like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, and notes that the site is still losing money. But he said that profitability is not the near-term goal, and that the service has a unique niche. “It’s the combination of both the tools and the audience in one platform — a one-stop shop for creators to bypass the entire existing media infrastructure,” he said. Of course, Barry Diller tried to beat the existing broadcast infrastructure with Aereo, and that didn’t work out so well.
Via: Variety
Source: Vimeo (shareholder letter)
HTC wants to bring back the arcade for its VR gear
HTC’s high-end VR gear is expensive and takes up a fair amount of space that most people simply don’t have. That’s why the company is hoping to bring back the old-fashioned arcade in the hope of giving more people access to the future of gaming. At a VR developer conference, HTC announced that two popular titles are coming to Viveport Arcade, it’s licensing platform enabling titles to be played in public spaces. It’s hoped that the program will pave the way for businesses to create “thousands” of new arcades by the end of 2017.
The two big titles that have been added to the platform are The Brookhaven Experiment and Everest VR. The former is a zombie survivor game that our Devindra Hardawar called “the most terrifying VR experience I’ve had yet.” The latter, meanwhile lets un-athletic types scale the world’s tallest mountain from the comfort of sea level or thereabouts.
HTC is basing its assault on the real world in China and Taiwan, allowing shopping malls, theaters, internet cafes and arcades develop VR experiences. The Verge reports that the company will also spread its wings out in the US and Europe shortly afterwards in the hope of spreading the gospel far and wide. It makes plenty of sense, since a couple of bucks makes more financial sense if you’re not yet sold on the standard. Hell, if a UK retailer can charge £5 ($6.22) just for would-be customers to try PlayStation VR for 10 minutes, then HTC’s clearly onto something.
Source: PR Newswire
FBI investigating its own Twitter account over election posts
One of the FBI’s Twitter accounts was dormant for a year before it was revived over the weekend. @FBIRecordsVault began posting links to documents related to candidates in the US presidential election in the early hours of October 30th, starting with info on Donald Trump’s father Fred Trump. The account followed that up two days later with a release of files from an investigation into President Bill Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich, a case that was closed in 2005. ThinkProgress reports that the FBI has launched an internal investigation into the activity.
The FBI’s Inspection Division will reportedly look into the matter. As you might expect, it’s illegal (and against bureau policy) for employees to use the department’s resources to influence an election. In a statement after criticism about the posts, the FBI said the document releases were in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and that the files were posts automatically. This doesn’t explain why the account didn’t post anything for over a year. We doubt this wasn’t the first FOIA request in the last 12 months.
“Per the standard procedure for FOIA, these materials became available for release and were posted automatically and electronically to the FBI’s public reading room in accordance with the law and established procedures,” the statement explained.
The social media posts come just days after FBI director James Comey wrote a letter to Congress informing them of new Clinton emails that turned up as part of an unrelated case. That case was an investigation of Anthony Weiner and the material surfaced during an examination of devices used by the former Congressman and his wife and Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The Justice Department said that Comey’s letter didn’t follow departmental protocols.
Source: ThinkProgress
OWC Debuts $279 Thunderbolt 3 Dock With 13 Ports
OWC today introduced its latest product, a Thunderbolt 3 USB-C Dock designed to work with the newly announced MacBook Pro. Designed for users who are concerned about the limited number of ports on the MacBook Pro, OWC’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock offers a range of different ports for connecting displays, external hard drives, and other accessories.
The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock has a total of 13 ports and it includes full support for Thunderbolt 3 with transfer speeds of up to 40Gb/s. Two Ultra HD 4K displays are supported, or a combination of 4K, HD, and other displays using the DisplayPort port and the Thunderbolt 3 port.
There are two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, each of which can support up to five daisychained Thunderbolt 3 devices. For connecting USB accessories, there are five USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 ports that support USB-A accessories, and two of the ports feature fast charging capabilities for charging the iPhone or iPad.
Other ports include FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, mini DisplayPort, an SD Card reader, an audio combo port for headphones or microphones, and an S/PDIF digital audio port.
“With our critically-acclaimed Thunderbolt 2 Dock and USB-C Dock, OWC defined a new standard in providing more connectivity at a time when new computers were shipping with fewer ports,” said Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, OWC. “The all-new Thunderbolt 3 Dock is the best expansion solution we’ve ever made, offering the incredible speed of Thunderbolt 3 technology coupled with 13 ports of connectivity, perfect for getting the most out of the new 2016 MacBook Pro.”
Announced last week, Apple’s new MacBook Pro models include between two and four USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, eliminating all other ports aside from the headphone jack. Most new MacBook Pro owners will need to purchase adapters and docks to support existing accessories as Apple and accessory makers make the transition to USB-C.
OWC is accepting pre-orders for the Thunderbolt 3 Dock, which is expected to ship out in February of 2017. Customers who pre-order will be able to purchase the dock for $279 and will also receive a free 0.5m Thunderbolt 3/USB-C cable.
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tag: OWC
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Google Home Reviews: Handsome Design Not Enough to Outweigh ‘Rough Around the Edges’ Feel
Reviews for Google’s new smart home speaker system, Google Home, have released this morning, bringing a collection of opinions about the newest entry in the wireless Bluetooth speaker category, which Apple is rumored to be entering in the future. Google originally introduced Google Home at its I/O Conference in May, and then officially announced it alongside the Pixel Phone at an event in October.
The first batch of reviews for Google Home appear to mostly align with a single opinion: the speaker is an impressive addition to the home, but in some ways it’s less reliable, and its Google Assistant-powered AI doesn’t beat Amazon’s Alexa in most instances. As is usual with a new product category gaining entries from various companies, the decision rests solely on personal preference of which company each user believes will deliver the best experience, and iterate most consistently down the line.
Images via Engadget
That’s the way that Wired began its review for Google Home, which it says can sometimes feel “like sci-fi magic,” and other times is simply unreliable. The sci-fi magic comes in with Google Assistant, which Wired says provides smart search results for random inquiries (“What’s the difference between acetaminophen and ibuprofen?”), but other times was “shockingly stupid,” fumbling movie release date trivia and other questions.
Ultimately, Wired found that Google Home was “a lot simpler” and less intuitive than the futuristic advertising Google is generating for the device. The site said that Google Home has great potential, particularly in upcoming features like voice-recognized user profiles, deeper connections with Pixel Phone, and the introduction of more third-party support. For now, it’ll depend on user preference for each company — Google or Amazon — since the speakers align so closely in most areas.
Someday, assuming Google keeps caring about Home, I suspect the device will be more like the ad. It’ll be smart and integrated enough to know that your flight is delayed and change your dinner reservation, to turn on all the lights in your house, to tell you how to get to work, to teach your kids about the world, and all the rest. Right now, it’s simpler than that. Like, a lot simpler.
Both devices are excellent, both have bright futures, both are increasingly essential parts of your household. I bought a Home because I like the design, and I like the sound quality. If you buy an Echo because you love your Sonos and don’t trust Google with your data, you’ll be perfectly happy as well.
The Verge continued this “rough around the edges” sentiment in its review, liking the way that Google Home could carry on a casual conversation, asking about Abraham Lincoln, in a way that Echo could not. But the device’s Google Assistant felt like it’s “still in its very early days,” with inconsistent responses from a dual-speaker set-up, “fuzzy” speaker quality, and limited single account support. The site has “no doubt it will improve,” but early adopters should be aware of the bumpy road ahead.
Google Home also “looks a lot better than the Echo,” The Verge believed, with a softer white design that meshes better with most home decor than Amazon Echo’s tall black cylinder. The interchangeable bottom plates (for $20 extra each) also add to a better overall design that could be a sole selling point for some users who prefer to look at Google Home daily over Echo.
To paraphrase Google’s own CEO, Sundar Pichai, artificial intelligence is still in its very early days. And, in my opinion, Google Home shows that. I have no doubt it will improve. But I was surprised that Google Home arrived so rough around the edges, especially when it had an existing competitive product to learn from, and an unmatched wealth of data to draw upon.
Like a dominating batter in a tight World Series game, you kind of expect Google to hit a game-winning homer. But it merely hit a double, and the contest is still very much on.
One of the biggest categories that Google Home lags behind in out of the gate, according to Engadget, is third-party support. At launch, it can control devices from Nest, Hue, IFTTT, and SmartThings, but Amazon’s list stretches far beyond that, now including various “skills” that developers can update on Echo with new commands on a weekly basis. On the other hand, for users who are baked into the Google ecosystem, Engadget said “this might indeed be the home assistant for you.”
Right now, however, it’s little more than a toy. It’s fun and occasionally very convenient to ask it questions and have it perform simple tasks, but it’s hardly an essential part of my life. But Google Home is worth keeping an eye on — it will almost certainly be more capable in three months (or even three weeks) than it is now.
If you’re someone who loves tapping into Google’s mighty store of knowledge, don’t sleep on Google Home. Just as the Echo got smarter and more valuable over time, I expect the same will happen here. And if you’ve already bought into Google’s ecosystem, this might indeed be the home assistant for you.
Wired’s advice appears to represent the back-and-forth nature of most Google Home reviews: it’s a decent addition into a category that is only increasing in relevance and importance. “There’s only one mistake you can make, really,” the site summed up at the end of its review. “Not letting a smart speaker into your home at all. These things are great, and they’re only getting better.”
For more reviews and opinions on Google Home, check out the coverage from these sites:
– TechnoBuffalo
– Business Insider
– CNN
– USA Today
– Mashable
– Time
– TechCrunch
Tag: Google Home
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Huawei Mate 9 preview: The big-screen boss
The big phone market is in something of a spin: Samsung has crashed out with the Note 7, leaving Apple and Google to cruise along with the respective iPhone 7 Plus and Pixel XL phones.
But that would be a simple way of looking at it: Huawei also wants a piece of the pie, with its big-scale Mate 9 beast continuing to tow the line’s affordable tact, while also delivering on quality.
Which may come as a surprise that it’s not got a shout-about-it show-off specification – especially given all the talk there has been about a curved-screen flagship variation of the device – but the Mate 9 is all about undercutting the other two big competitors with a viable alternative that won’t blow-up your bank account.
Given our continued love of the Mate series, can the 5.9-inch Mate 9 once again work its way into our hearts? Or has it rested on laurels of old, leaving the door open for the pricier competition to capitalise?
Huawei Mate 9 preview: Design
At first glance the Mate 9 looks a whole lot like its Mate 8 predecessor from the front. It’s more or less the same, despite the smallest of nips and tucks here and there. Still, it’s an unavoidably big phone.
The screen is now 5.9-inches across diagonally, rather than the 6-inch of the Mate 8, which means the dimensions (79 x 156.9mm front-on) are the tiniest bit reduced – but only by a millimetre. And you really won’t notice that in the hand: the Mate line is all about being big. The screen resolution remains the same 1920 x 1080 Full HD LCD panel too.
It’s really when flipping the phone over to reveal its new dual camera make-up that the biggest differences can be seen, though. The twin cameras – one sensor 12MP colour, the other a 20MP Leica-sourced black and white – are stacked vertically in a single protruding unit, with flash and laser autofocus positioned alongside. Beneath is a fingerprint sensor that’s ultra-sensitive, just like other Huawei phones’ latest sensors have become.
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Just because it’s a big phone doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful, though. The Mate 9 has the familiar silver coat, with chamfered edges and curved corners to soften the overall look. Assuming the price is right – and historically it’s been around the £430 mark, which is approaching £300 less than its competitors – the 64GB base Mate 9 model ought to be a bargain, without looking too shabby at all.
Huawei Mate 9 preview: Born to last?
In addition to the new cameras, the Mate 9 houses the latest octa-core Kirin 960 chipset, which has been designed to function with a new intelligent algorithm to learn your usage over time and prioritise the importance of apps and avoid slowdown. Huawei calls it a very Apple-sounding iAware.
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In particular iAware is designed to get better over time for an improved life experience that doesn’t slow down after a matter of months. “Born Fast, Remain Fast” is the message that Huawei is running with – but how true it will ring remains to be seen.
Given how often the company’s EMUI software (a re-work over Android) flashes up various alerts and app-closing prompts, we’re not sure whether this will carry through into this new concept or not. And as its trio of pillars – smart memory allocation, CPU allocation and storage optimisation – are already baked into existing Huawei EMUI software as separate manual controls, it does make us wonder. Only time will tell.
Huawei Mate 9 preview: SuperCharged
Tucked beneath that big body is a 4,000mAh battery, which ought to last for a considerable period of time per charge. That’s the same capacity as the Mate 8 – so assuming the new Kirin processor is efficient, that’ll likely prove to last for two days at a time.
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A core difference to the battery is its fast charge capabilities, which Huawei calls SuperCharge. By lowering the voltage (to around 4.5V) and upping the current (to 5A) the battery can be charged in double-quick time – some 50 per cent quicker than the Mate 8 – meaning just 30-minutes at the plug could see the Mate 9 have almost 60 per cent charge. That’s Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 competitive.
But the potential problem here is safety given the increased voltage. We’ve all heard about Samsung Note 7 phones overheating and exploding into balls of fire. So Huawei has put in a dynamic charging mechanism, meaning the Mate 9 can adapt to the source charger and cable used as required – so a shoddy third-party charger will make the phone dynamically lower the current. A five-gate protection system also checks different points throughout the phone to ensure it’s not overheating.
Never once during our briefing did Huawei mention poor ole Samsung, but the company’s repetition of “safe” and “safety” was so apparent it was borderline amusing. Fair play, though: this is Huawei looking at the world around it and adapting to user concerns with heightened assurances.
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One of the potential issues with the SuperCharge system is that higher voltage recharging systems are more likely to run down the battery’s longevity – the exact thing the company said it was looking to avoid with its new iAware setup. Although Huawei denies this will be the case with the battery, it also confirmed the underlying source battery is the same as that in the last-generation Mate 8. Sounds like something is amiss here for all that to add up.
Huawei Mate 9 preview: Brighter, whiter, cleaner
It might sound like a toothpaste ad, but Huawei is all about brighter, whiter, cleaner: its latest EMUI 5.0 software (a re-skin over Android 7.0) drops the complex colours and themes of earlier software versions and runs with blues and whites. It’s all inspired by nature, apparently.
However, the preview Mate 9 we saw (on two separate dates) was running EMUI 4.1 software, so we can’t comment on whether the software tweaks will boost the phone’s appeal.
Pocket-lint
In a question and answer session Huawei confirmed that the phone won’t have Force Touch implemented – that’s the “deep touch” technology, where a stronger press on the touchscreen will action a different result, such as a secondary menu – citing lack of developer support for its absence. EMUI 5.0 does support Force Touch, however, suggesting that all hope isn’t lost on the tech just yet.
The knuckle-controlled “knock knock” does return, though, with knuckle-based quick commands such as screen grabs or audio recording being available. But you’ll more than likely never use them.
In addition to the general safety message of SuperCharge, this Mate is also targeting longevity. And we don’t just mean for a single charge’s use, but for years of use without slowing down. We get where the company is coming from here, but if things get that bad wouldn’t a hard reset solve things? Apparently defragmentation, memory compression and auto-cleaning will result in a smoother experience. Huawei also uses a different file system to stock Android for efficiency.
Huawei Mate 9 preview: Gaming powerhouse
Under the hood there’s a whole lot going on from the new Kirin 960 processor. We won’t get too bogged down with its reported 180 per cent increase in power over the previous generation chip (as found in the Mate 8), as it’s the new Mali G71 MP8 graphics processing unit that draws attention.
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This leverages AMD’s Vulkan API, which provides applications with direct control over graphics processing. It’s optimised for multi-core chipsets, such as the Kirin 960, less compute intensive than other graphics engines in similar devices and, as a result, should run applications and games with a level of smoothness at a truly flagship level. Faster loading, higher frame-rates and, hopefully, the end of any “stuttering” when beginning those more power-intensive apps.
Another notable push forward is the implementation of Cat 12 4G LTE for up to 600Mbps data rates in certain territories. This is all carrier, network and location dependent, of course, but with UK networks making progress it ought to be speedy indeedily when it comes to streaming when on-the-go.
Huawei Mate 9 preview: New dual cameras
When Huawei launched the P9 smartphone its headline feature was a dual camera setup (one colour, one black and white) with Leica endorsement. That relationship continues with the Mate 9, but the arrangement is different.
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How? The two sensors are different resolutions: the 12-megapixel full colour one is paired with a higher-resolution 20-megapixel black and white module. Both peer through 27mm equivalent, f/2.2 aperture lenses according to the rear body of the Mate 9 – a point which mirrors the P9’s setup.
The software is also slightly different, with a pinch-to-zoom feature that can digitally zoom into the frame. Huawei describes this as “optical zoom” – but that can’t be the case as it’s not using the lenses to resolve detail at an increased focal length, it’s merely cropping into the image. This is Huawei wanting to chase down Apple, but without utilising two different lens focal lengths we’re not sure it’s a particularly giant leap forward compared to the P9.
How you feel about the cameras is likely to be the same as it was with the P9: we think the monochrome sensor is fun, but a rare feature of genuine use. Most will just stick to the colour sensor. However, the data from both sensors can be used for depth effect software adjustment – making the background more blurred, for example – in much the same way as other brands are currently experimenting with.
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There’s also 4K video capture (H.265) and optical stabilisation for the colour camera – but no such stabilisation for the black and white camera.
First Impressions
Overall the Huawei Mate 9 is a big, bold and enticing prospect. It’s a phone that houses a huge battery for longevity, while progressing the lineage with amped-up power and a dual camera experience too.
It’s not the all-singing all-dancing flagship that we had expected, though, so the middling Full HD screen resolution at this 5.9-inch size might come as a disappointment. And how well the cleaner, brighter EMUI 5.0 software will stack up in its first outing is something that remains to be seen at launch.
Timing is another of the Mate 9’s inadvertent strengths: with the Samsung Note 7 dead and buried, and other large-screen flagship phones costing a pretty penny (yes Apple and Google, we’re looking at you), the likely mid-level price point of this big-scale powerhouse ought to sign, seal and deliver its success.
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