House of Marley Get Up Stand Up Bluetooth Speaker: Cutting edge sound in a sustainable and modern package (review)
House of Marley is a company that was founded by Bob Marley’s family. It is only fitting that the company’s value directly reflects his primary beliefs. Bob Marley was a musical icon, whose unique style put reggae on the map. As a notable Rastafarian, Bob Marley valued equality, sustainability, and charity. House of Marley’s Get Up Stand Up speaker truly reflects all of Bob Marley’s value with its sustainable design and sound quality.
Sustainability is an important factor to consider when it comes to limiting our footprint on this world. The amount of waste humans generate is only increasing, so finding ways to minimize our environmental impact is imperative. My roommates and I try to be responsible inhabitants of Earth by minimizing waste and recycling, but our trash cans still fill up quickly. That’s with only three people, can you imagine the waste created by all seven billion people in the world?
Sustainability is extremely important in the tech world. Lately, it seems as though the majority of consumers are upgrading their devices every time a new phone or tablet comes out. I know people who even upgrade their laptops every year.
Tech-related waste is especially harmful to the environment because of their components. Toxic metals and non-recyclable materials find their way into off-site locations such as Ghana. E-waste is only increasing with the amount of technology we have at our disposal and it is a problem we cannot ignore anymore.
Build
The package includes the Get Up Stand Up speaker, power cord, and remote (batteries included).
The Get Up Stand Up speaker addresses the environmental issues facing our planet by going with a sustainable design. The front of the speaker is made of FSC-certified birch wood with a walnut finish. The speaker sports two dual 4.5 inch woofers and two 1 inch tweeters.
House of Marley went with simplicity when it comes to the controls. There are only four buttons located at the top of the speaker. The small remote control allows all the same options as the physical buttons on the speaker with the addition of dedicated buttons for skipping and rewinding music.
The back of the speaker features a recycled plastic enclosure. There is a bass port on the side to let the large woofers move air in and out allowing for a fuller sound. Red and white stereo auxiliary inputs, and a 3.5 mm auxillary input are located on the back to play music from devices that do not have Bluetooth. The addition of a USB port allows charging of various devices even while the Get Up Stand Up speaker is turned off.
Sound
The premium build of the Get Up Stand Up speaker is accompanied with high quality audio. This is due to the aptX technology which uses a unique compression algorithm to produce higher sound quality over Bluetooth.
I found this speaker to offer well-balanced and detailed sound. The highs were incredibly crisp due to the presence of the dual tweeters. The bass has a warm and full presence that doesn’t overpower the complete dynamic range. Most wireless speakers feature only one driver which tends to muddle up the highs and lows, but with four, this speaker manages to sound very clear.
The location of the speaker also had a huge impact on how it sounded. I played Black Beatles with the speaker next to a wall and the bass sounded incredibly rich, deep and punchy. In open space, the Get Up Stand Up speaker has more of a balanced sound. Even at the lowest volume, the vocals were clear and wasn’t overpowered by the highs or lows.
Due to the well-balanced sound, this speaker is exceptional for most genres. The versatility of the speaker was evident being able to play reggae all the way to pop. John Coletrane’s saxophone sounds incredibly detailed on the Get Up Sound Up. I had to put on Get Up Stand Up in honor of Bob Marley, and I could feel the soul emanating from the speaker. When I closed my eyes, it really felt like he was right in front of me performing the song. It was such a great auditory experience even though reggae is not the type of music I normally listen to.
Usage
The Get Up Stand Up Home audio system is not a portable speaker. There is no battery in the device so it needs to be plugged into an outlet. However, due to its heavy frame (15.6 pounds) I couldn’t imagine why you would want to move it around frequently.
The pictures of this speaker do not do it justice. It is absolutely beautiful with its rustic and wooden design. The attention to every aesthetic detail and premium wood finish looked almost too good for my apartment. It’s like seeing a classic 1955 Chevy Bel Air next to your used 1998 Honda Accord. The best part comes from the conscientious decision of using a sustainable product that will have minimal impact on the environment. You don’t have to sacrifice quality, sound, or design for the sake of the planet.
I primarily used the speaker in the living room and connected it via stereo audio auxiliary input into my television. I previously had a sound bar connected to the television and this speaker blew it out of the water. Those people who don’t want to invest in an expensive surround sound system can opt out for this less pricier option. It was effortless to connect my phone via Bluetooth and play Spotify from the comfort of the couch.
Conclusion
Bob Marley’s legacy is present in the vision of House of Marley. The company reflects the values of equality, sustainability, and charity derived from the music legend. Bob Marley truly cared for the planet and it is echoed in the Get Up Stand Up Bluetooth Audio System. In an industry that produces a great deal of waste, it is refreshing to see companies like House of Marley taking an initiative on the e-waste issue.
This is a premium speaker that you can be proud to own knowing that you are actively making an impact on reducing e-waste. The Get Up Stand Up speaker is made from FSC-certified birch in the front and a recyclable plastic enclosure in the back.
The use of multiple woofers and tweeters leads to a well-balanced sound that is versatile with any type of music. This is a speaker you want to display proudly with its rustic and wooden design that is a nice fit for any home.
The Get Up Stand Up speaker is only $329.99 on House of Marley or $294.00 on Amazon with free shipping. The speaker is an investment into a technology that will be with you for many years to come. If you eventually decide to upgrade to another device, you can be comforted knowing that this was designed to have a minimal impact on the environment.
91 Launcher and 91 Locker: Can these apps revamp your phone? (Review)
With the countless number of launchers and lock screen replacements in the Play Store, it can be a daunting task to find one that fits your personality. In this review, we’re taking a look at a launcher and lock screen combo that I had never heard of before – 91 Launcher and 91 Locker. Will these be the next apps to adorn your smartphone? Let’s find out.
Setup
Setup for these apps is mostly the standard stuff for all launchers and lock screen apps. After downloading them from the Play Store, you need to select 91 Launcher as your default launcher, and that is the extent of the setup for that app. 91 Locker is slightly more involved because you have to open the app and enable it along with allowing it access to things like notifications and your camera. If you only want 91 Locker to be your lock screen, you will need to disable the default lock screen on your phone, too.
Experience
For the last several days, I have been using 91 Launcher and 91 Locker as my only launcher and lock screen on my phone. My experience with them has been mixed so let’s take a look at 91 Launcher first. Unlike other big name launchers, 91 Launcher does not try to make everything look like stock Android but instead relies on a theme system that allows you to change the entire look of your phone with one click. Pressing and holding anywhere on the home screen will bring up a menu with several personalization options. There are normal options here for adding apps and widgets to the home screen, but others such as Effects, Quick Beauty, and Personality might not be recognizable at first glance.
Effects contains all of your options for changing transitions between homescreen pages as well as folders and the app drawer. Along with normal transitions, you can also set animations for finger presses on the homescreen. While I personally was not a fan of the effects, I imagine there are some who would love to have fireworks explode on the screens everywhere they tapped. Quick Beauty is the theme selection page where you can choose between themes you have downloaded or search the fairly large database for any theme you like. I would have liked to see a theme that imitates stock Android, but for those looking to add personal flair to their phone, the themes available are great. Personalization also brings you to the themes menu, and I wonder why they would have two buttons leading to essentially the same app.
Finally, you have a Settings button that I assumed would take you into the settings for the app, but it actually takes you into a phone settings menu but not stock one on your phone. You’ll see options for WiFi, Bluetooth, and Battery but tapping on any of them will take you to the stock page for that setting on your phone. If you are looking for the settings of the app itself, you need to tap on Preferences instead.
In the Preferences app, you have the normal swath of options such as desktop layout, wallpaper settings, and icon settings, but none of them are as full featured as I have seen from other apps. Just as an example, while you can change the icon size, you do not have the option to apply icon packs. Quick Screen Search is a page at the very left of your homescreens that seems to function as nothing more than ad space. While I assumed it would be more of a BlinkFeed style selection of news, it actually a single search bar with some website links and app recommendations. Thankfully, it can be turned off.
There are a few gesture options in the Preferences menu, and I would recommend taking a look at them because the presets are not great. Swiping up will bring you to the search option that allows you to search through your apps and contacts but at the expense of viewing more ads. The same can be said for the default app that opens when you swipe down. Dubbed “91 Know,” this pull-down shade seeks to be a news aggregation page, but with no way to select news sources and a plethora of ads among the stories, it got in the way more than it helped.
My biggest complaint with 91 Launcher can be summed up in a single word – inconsistency. I first noticed this when the Settings button redirected to a separate settings app but clicking on a setting would open the stock option. Why not just have the Settings button redirect to the stock settings app on your phone? Also for most things, tapping the home button on your phone will take you back to the homescreen, but when you are on the Quick Screen Search page or in a folder, you have to hit the back button to return to the homescreen instead. Inside the Preferences menu, some options were labeled with capital letters while others were fully lowercase.
Finally, the app itself would have to randomly reload. I cannot count the times when I was on my homescreen and everything would go blank only to have the icons pop back up one at a time. About every-other-time I opened the app drawer, it would be blank for a second or two while the apps loaded. I didn’t think much of this at first, but when it was still happening a week later, I began to get annoyed.
91 Locker is a much simpler app and replaces your lock screen with a more customizable option. In order for the app to work as best as possible, you need to give it access to your notifications so they can be displayed on the lock screen as well as your camera so you can take advantage of the quick launch feature. In the app itself, you can select from a ton of different lock screen themes that you can add your own pictures to. One thing I would like to see is the option to search for a theme as the only options currently are to pick from the latest or trending themes.
Since you have to disable your stock lock screen to get the best experience, you might be worried about losing your security, but 91 Locker has you covered with some passcode options. There are two very reminiscent of iOS’s number pad and Android’s pattern lock, but the others add a bit more style. While the rest are all in the passcode style, instead of the standard grid of numbers you can choose between several shapes and even add pictures to each of the buttons for a more personalized and probably more secure lock screen.
Unfortunately, my phone has a fingerprint scanner that I could not use with 91 Locker for obvious security reasons. But if your phone does not have a fingerprint scanner on it, I think you would definitely be able to find a security option that fits your needs. These are all of the customization options you are given aside from choosing what way to slide the lock screen to unlock your phone and what apps can show notifications on the lock screen.
As far as using the lock screen, I had mixed feelings. While the customization features were a welcome addition, I missed the ability to unlock my phone with my fingerprint. Also, the “quick launch” camera option takes considerably longer than I expected. In fact, I don’t think you’re saving much time over just unlocking your phone and opening the app that way. That being said, 91 Locker does exactly what it promises and adds a nice dose of personality to your lock screen, and those looking for that will be pleased with the options this app offers.
Conclusion
So are 91 Launcher and 91 Locker the next apps you should download. It depends on what you want. If you are looking for a launcher that is going to mimic stock Android, you should look somewhere else. But if you are looking for a launcher that adds a ton of personality to your phone and can deal with some of the inconsistencies and bugs, 91 Launcher is definitely one to try out. As for 91 Locker, it does a great job of letting you customize your lock screen, and I imagine you know if that’s something your interested in. If you are, 91 Locker is one of the best that I have tried.
Backdoor in some cheap Android phones sent personal data to China
If you’ve used certain kinds of disposable or prepaid Android phone, your device may have been unknowingly transmitting personal data and usage information to a Chinese server, according to a new report released by security contractors at Kryptowire.
As reported by the New York Times, code written by Shanghai Adups Technology Company was preinstalled on some Android phones and used to monitor where users go and record communication data including call logs and text messages.
From the article:
Kryptowire, the security firm that discovered the vulnerability, said the Adups software transmitted the full contents of text messages, contact lists, call logs, location information and other data to a Chinese server. The code comes preinstalled on phones and the surveillance is not disclosed to users, said Tom Karygiannis, a vice president of Kryptowire, which is based in Fairfax, Va. “Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t have known about it,” he said.
Making things all the more troubling was the fact that this was no bug in the code, but instead an intentional effort by Adups to “help a Chinese phone manufacturer monitor user behavior” via device firmware. This information comes from a document Adups provided to executives from BLU, a U.S-based manufacturer of budget Android devices. According to BLU CEO Samuel Ohev-Zion, the company was unaware of the backdoor, but says that BLU moved quickly to correct it and has been assured by Adups that all information taken from Blue customers has been destroyed:
Mr. Ohev-Zion, the BLU chief executive, said he was confident that the problem had been resolved for his customers. “Today there is no BLU device that is collecting that information,” he said.
Adups writes software code for phones, cars and other IoT devices, boasting on their website that they have 700 million active users across over 200 countries and regions. BLU told the NYT that 120,00 of its phones had been effected. The full scope and scale of this discovery still unclear at this time.
Android Central reached out to BLU for comment, but had not received a response as of press time.
Google’s post-Brexit plans to include £1 billion investment in UK headquarters expansion, new jobs
Google is expanding in the UK, solidifying its presence for years to come.
After initial fears of big companies leaving the UK after its Brexit vote, Google has announced plans to build a new London headquarters and nearly double its workforce there by 2020. The new office in King’s Cross, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, will size up at 650,000 sqft and give Google the room to expand from its current 4,000 employees in London to 7,000. The total expenditure for the expansion is expected to reach £1 billion.
In an interview with BBC, Google CEO Sundar Pichai expanded on Google’s plans for the UK:
We see big opportunities here. This is a big commitment from us – we have some of the best talent in the world in the UK and to be able to build great products from here sets us up well for the long term.
The move to commit to the new UK headquarters comes as a bit of a surprise after many companies slowed investment in the UK after the vote to leave the European Union. Google’s choice to stick with — and expand — its London offices echoes Pichai’s sentiments that the UK’s strengths go well beyond the single Brexit vote. He notes that the combination of the local UK talent with the influx of people from other countries coming to the UK for education have been great for the technology sector in Europe.
When I look at London [I see] a place in which we are able to attract great talent, find great talent in the UK, thanks to a great educational system here, but it has also been a place where people are willing to come from anywhere in the world.
Pichai of course has concerns over potential restrictions on skilled immigration and free movement and how it could have an effect on its business, but said that these considerations were taken into account when Google made the decision to move forward with its London headquarters expansion. With this much money and this many jobs involved, it’s a great vote of confidence in the UK.
VINCI 1.5: The World’s most ambitious wireless headphones
What do you get when you mix Amazon Alexa, Spotify, Soundcloud, Google Play Music, a heart rate monitor, GPS, 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth with a neon-colored headset fitted with a huge LCD display running a custom build of Android? You get VINCI: the most ambitious wireless headphones I’ve ever used.
To be clear, VINCI 1.5 – and its higher-end sibling, VINCI 1.5 Pro – aren’t quite ready for primetime so I wasn’t able to test all of their promised functionality. But if even half of VINCI’s features work as designed, this is definitely a “hearable” series worth keeping your eye on – especially at the Kickstarter price.
Join Mr Mobile as we check them out together!
Get social with MrMobile!
- YouTube
- Le web
- Snapchat
Google’s new PhotoScan app gets your printed photos up to the cloud
It’s getting even easier to build up a digital archive of your old photos.
Most of us use Google Photos to back up every shot we take, but now Google has a great tool that lets you capture and upload your old printed photos as well. It’s called PhotoScan, and it’s a simple tool that will help you get your old prints backed up to the cloud right alongside your new photos taken with your phone.
The process is pretty simple: you just open up the app, and it will have you put the picture down on a flat surface in front of you. You then take four pictures of it at various angles to correct for glare, and PhotoScan will stitch them together to make one nice digital scan of the picture. It’s similar to the way Google Camera currently handles panoramas and Photo Spheres. The picture scans can be saved or uploaded to Google Photos with the tag “scans” for you to find later, and it can also do facial recognition just like digital photos.
Please save your printed photos!
Once the picture is scanned, it’ll automatically be color corrected and cropped in to look as good as possible, though as you would expect these scans won’t be as high quality as if you sent them to a scanning service or used a flatbed scanner yourself. But the thing is, most people won’t do that, and instead will just let their printed photos fall apart and be lost forever. This new PhotoScan app is an excellent way to help people preserve those memories forever.
The PhotoScan app is rolling out in the Play Store now for everyone to use.
OnePlus 3T specs: Snapdragon 821, 3400 mAh battery and 128GB storage option
From the outside, things look dead identical to the original OnePlus 3 — so it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
For this mid-cycle refresh, OnePlus has focused on bumping the specs and adding a few extra hardware features to the OnePlus 3T. The core of the experience in terms of external hardware, display and main camera components remain unchanged. But internally we have some new additions with a better processor, new front camera, 128GB storage option and a larger battery.
Here’s the complete spec sheet for the OnePlus 3T.
| Operating System | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
| Display | 5.5-inch Optic AMOLED1920x1080, 401 ppiGorilla Glass 4 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 2.35 GHzAdreno 530 GPU |
| RAM | 6GB LPDDR4 |
| Storage | 64/128GB |
| Expandable | No |
| Rear Camera | 16MP IMX 298, 1.12-micron pixelsf/2.0, OIS, EISPDAF, 4K video, 120fps slow-mo |
| Front Camera | 16MP Samsung 3P8SP, 1-micron pixelsf/2.0, fixed focus1080p video |
| Connectivity | 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPSUSB-C (USB 2.0)Dual Nano SIM |
| Audio | 3.5 mm headphone |
| Battery | 3400 mAhNon-removable |
| Charging | USB-CDash Charge |
| Water resistance | No |
| Security | One-touch fingerprint sensorSapphire cover |
| Dimensions | 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35 mm |
| Weight | 158 g |
OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T
- OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
- The OnePlus 3T is official
- OnePlus 3 specs
- OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
- Latest OnePlus 3 news
- Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums
OnePlus
OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
Here are the differences between the original OnePlus 3 and its mid-cycle replacement.
To lay it down from the start: not much has changed from the five-month-old OnePlus 3 to the new OnePlus 3T. Externally, things are identical between the two aside from a new color option. Internally is where you’ll find the subtle (yet important) changes, though most of the internal specs remain unchanged as well.
Rather than giving you a full spec sheet with mostly the same values, I’ve narrowed things down here to simply highlight the differing points internally. You’ll notice of course the processor, but also the new front-facing camera, optional 128GB of storage and the larger 3400 mAh battery. The rear camera also now has a sapphire covering, though the rest of the original components have remained. There’s also a new color option, gunmetal, that’s exclusive to the OnePlus 3T alongside the original soft gold color.
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821Quad-core 2.35 GHzAdreno 530 GPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820Quad-core 2.2 GHzAdreno 530 GPU |
| Storage | 64/128GB | 64GB |
| Front Camera | 16MP 3P8SP, 1-micron pixelsf/2.0, fixed focus1080p video | 8MP IMX179, 1.4-micron pixelsf/2.0, fixed focus1080p video |
| Battery | 3400 mAhNon-removable | 3000 mAhNon-removable |
| Colors | GunmetalSoft gold | SilverSoft gold |
| Price | $439 (64GB)$479 (128GB) | $399 (64GB) |
After that spec talk, it’s worth mentioning the software as well. OnePlus has worked in a few extra optimizations and feature refinements in the OnePlus 3T that, alongside the Snapdragon 821, purport to offer a solid bump in performance and fluidity of the phone. That’s all a bit moot in the end, however, as both the OnePlus 3T and original OnePlus 3 will be updated to Android 7.0 Nougat by the end of the year — they’ll also both be on the same update schedule thereafter.
The final difference between the two is price. Just six months removed from the launch of the original, the OnePlus 3T is launching at $439, or $40 more than what the OnePlus 3 sells for today. (A bump to 128GB of storage will set you back $479 in total.) The improved specs are definitely a welcomed addition, and they haven’t come at the cost of removing anything that made the original OnePlus 3 a great value.
OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T
- OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
- The OnePlus 3T is official
- OnePlus 3 specs
- OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
- Latest OnePlus 3 news
- Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums
OnePlus
OnePlus 3T is official: Mid-cycle bump adds new processor, bigger battery and $40 to price
Less than 6 months after launch, the OnePlus 3 gets a refresh with new specs and a higher price.
OnePlus has really led the charge in the popularity of high-end phones being sold at a mid-range price, and it’s doing something interesting with the mid-cycle refresh of its latest flagship the OnePlus 3. The new model is simply called the OnePlus 3T, and it brings some new internal specs, a fresh color option and new software to what is already regarded as one of the best phones you can buy for just $400.
Same great phone, with some strategic spec improvements.
So let’s start by laying out the groundwork of what hasn’t changed. In terms of external design, physical dimensions and display, things are identical to the OnePlus 3. You get the same solid aluminum build, USB-C port with Dash Charge, fingerprint sensor and 5.5-inch Optic AMOLED display at 1920×1080 resolution. The phone still has 6GB of RAM and a base storage of 64GB, plus dual SIM functionality.
Now, what’s new? Well there are two big spec changes: the phone now runs on the absolute latest Snapdragon 821 processor, and has bumped the battery capacity over 10% to 3400 mAh in total. Those two specs will propel the already-strong OnePlus 3 battery life even further. Then we come to the smaller things: the front camera is now 16MP, the rear camera is unchanged but has a new scratch-resistant sapphire covering, and you now have an option to buy the OnePlus 3T with 128GB of internal storage if you choose. The OnePlus 3T also introduces a new “gunmetal” color, and the previously released “soft gold” color is also available.
More: Complete OnePlus 3T specs
Here’s the one rub, really: the OnePlus 3T still ships with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, though that shouldn’t be too surprising considering the original OnePlus 3 doesn’t yet have its Nougat update. OnePlus says that the latest OxygenOS customizations have improved performance and refined a few new features as well — and if you’ve used a recent OnePlus phone you know its software is quick, light and unobtrusive while also being more customizable than most.
This is definitely worth $439, no matter how you feel about the mid-cycle refresh nature of it.
You shouldn’t put a ton of stock in the exact software you see here, though, as OnePlus has already committed to releasing Android 7.0 Nougat to both the OnePlus 3T and original OnePlus 3 by the end of the year. When that new software arrives it should take on many of the extra features we’ve come to expect from OxygenOS, as well as the new levels of performance OnePlus is touting on the OnePlus 3T, but things can change a bit when you make a big jump to a new platform version. Going forward, OnePlus says that both versions of the phone will be on the same software release schedule — nobody’s being left behind.
More: OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
With all of these spec and feature bumps, the OnePlus 3T is also seeing a price jump — up to $439 in the U.S., which is $40 more than the OnePlus 3 debuted at. Similar price jumps set European pricing at €439 and UK pricing at £399. If you want to go for the 128GB storage option (as many will) you’ll pay just $40 more, bringing the total price to $479. The gunmetal OnePlus 3 will launch in the U.S. and Canada on November 22, with a worldwide launch to a dozens of countries on November 28. The soft gold color option will come shortly after launch.
OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T
- OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
- The OnePlus 3T is official
- OnePlus 3 specs
- OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
- Latest OnePlus 3 news
- Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums
OnePlus
Press release:
Presenting the OnePlus 3T – A Day’s Power in Half an Hour
Upgraded Flagship Smartphone Offers Dash Charge, Qualcomm® SnapdragonTM 821 Processor and Longer Battery Life for a Refined Android Experience
LONDON – November 15, 2016 – OnePlus today announced an upgraded addition to its premium flagship lineup, the OnePlus 3T. Staying true to the company’s Never Settle mantra, the OnePlus 3T builds on the success of the OnePlus 3, offering key hardware and software updates inspired by feedback from the active OnePlus community.
“At OnePlus, we are constantly striving to provide a better product and user experience for our customers, who are some of the most discerning and tech-savvy users in the world,” said OnePlus Founder and CEO Pete Lau. “We developed the OnePlus 3T to bring significant improvements with new technology that is available today, so that our customers do not have to wait for the best possible user experience.”
Dash Charge – A Day’s Power in Half an Hour
One of the fastest charging technologies on the global market, Dash Charge provides a day’s power in half an hour of charging, even while performing activities such as video streaming, graphic-intensive gaming or using GPS to navigate with the Dash Car Charger (also available on OnePlus.net). The OnePlus 3T also sports an upgraded 3,400 mAh battery, a 13 percent increase from the OnePlus 3, providing enough power to get users through the day and beyond. Dash Charge stays cooler than other fast charge solutions by carrying more current and shifting the power management process from the phone to the Dash Charge adapter, so a vast majority of the heat generated while charging never reaches the device. Along with five custom safety measures in place to safeguard the adaptor, cable and phone itself, users can charge the OnePlus 3T as fast as possible without worry.
Powerful Performance – Snapdragon 821 and 6 GB of RAM
Using the most powerful version of the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 821 processor (2.35 GHz), the OnePlus 3T boosts performance over Snapdragon 820 with faster processing speeds and greater power efficiency. The OnePlus 3T’s upgraded file system algorithm also improves the launch speed of large apps and games.
“OnePlus has proven once again that it never settles for anything less than the best. Using the Snapdragon 821 chipset, the OnePlus 3T gives the OnePlus community superior speed and performance in a beautifully designed smartphone,” said Alex Katouzian, Senior Vice President, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Featuring 6 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, the most found in any smartphone available today, the OnePlus 3T can handle next-level multi-tasking, including resource-intensive apps and games, without delay or lag.
16 MP Front and Rear Camera with Smart Capture
The OnePlus 3T’s 16 MP rear camera paired with OnePlus’s exclusive software suite, Smart Capture, allows users to capture the ideal shot in any environment or lighting situation. Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) helps to produce sharper still images, while an updated Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) algorithm ensures smoother video capture. A protective layer of sapphire glass, which has a Mohs hardness rating of 9, covers the rear camera to better protect
it from scratches.
The updated 16 MP front camera intelligently combines pixels to gather more light and reduce noise in low light scenarios, resulting in clearer, more colorful photos in any condition.
Premium Design – Aluminum Unibody and New Gunmetal Color
The OnePlus 3T’s design brings together the most premium materials and acute attention to the smallest details to give users a sleek and bold flagship smartphone. Each OnePlus 3T phone is carved out of a single slab of premium space-grade aluminum alloy for a seamless and resilient build, with fine details such as chamfered edges around the USB type-C port and speaker grill.
At 7.35 mm, the metal unibody is light and comfortably thin. Our new Gunmetal color gives the OnePlus 3T a bold look, while the Soft Gold version offers a subtle elegance. The stunning 5.5-inch 1080p Optic AMOLED display produces colors that are more vivid than other AMOLED displays while offering excellent battery life. Users may also choose to customize the display calibration or switch to sRGB mode for highly accurate color reproduction.
Android Refined – OxygenOS
OnePlus’ custom operating system, OxygenOS, offers a refined Android experience that is faster, cleaner and more customizable than other Android smartphones. It builds on Android’s core functionalities with additional features and customizations that further improve the user experience. OxygenOS’ new platform enables a more streamlined software development process, resulting in faster, more consistent updates guided largely by user feedback.
Price and Availability
The OnePlus 3T in both the 64 GB and 128 GB (Gunmetal version only) storage options will be available on OnePlus.net in the United States on November 22 and in Europe on November 28, starting from USD 439 / EUR 439 / GBP 399. The 64 GB Soft Gold edition of the OnePlus 3T will be available shortly after launch.
Hyundai adds Amazon’s Alexa to its Blue Link connected cars
It’s no fun starting your commute by going at your car with an ice scraper on a frosty morning. If you own a 2016 Hyundai, you won’t have to — at least if you have an Amazon Echo at home. The car-maker has baked Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant into its Blue Link connected car app. This means you can start your car, and set the temperature (among other things) from the warm embrace of your comforter using just your voice starting today.
Hyundai isn’t the first to think about connecting its cars to Amazon’s smarthome kit. Back at CES in January, Ford announced it’d be integrating Alexa with its SYNC platform. That still hasn’t come to pass, though. Hyundai still isn’t technically the first, with its own luxury Marque — Genesis — adding the same functionality back in August. At least now, those of us without the budget for a G80, or G90 can get in on the action.
What can you do from the driver’s seat of your new Hyundai? Most of the things you’d imagine, which include starting/stopping your car, setting the climate control, lock or unlock the doors, toggle the lights, or even set off the horn (for scaring the bejeezus out of the mail carrier, we assume). There’s no option to locate your car right now, but Hyundai tells us that’s in the works. If you’re familiar with Blue Link, you’ll know that much of this functionality is already in the app, Hyundai’s just adding in another layer of convenience.
You’ll need to be a paying user of Blue Link of course, which costs $99 a month, but if you are, you’re good to go starting today. Hyundai says that all 2017 vehicles will be compatible, and most of its 2016 lineup too. There are even a few 2015 models that will get the feature too, so be sure to check to see if your car made the cut.
AIVAnet 