LeEco’s Black Friday sale offers up Le Pro3 phone for $279, 65-inch Super4 TV for $1099
If you want a big TV or an inexpensive phone, LeEco’s Black Friday deals are for you.
LeEco’s first Black Friday sale since launching in the U.S. kicks off the morning of November 25 and runs all the way to midnight on November 28, offering up steep discounts on its two phone sand range of 4K TVs. Similarly to its flash sales, you’ll need to sign up for its LeRewards program (it’s free) in order to get access to these extra Black Friday discounts, but unlike the flash sales these Black Friday deals run the entirety of the four days, rather than simply while supplies last.
All of the deals will go live on its own LeMall.com store start at 12:01 a.m. PT on November 25, and will be available all the way to 11:59 p.m. PT on November 28, giving you plenty of time to shop and pick out what you want. Some of the discounts are quite steep.
You may not care about the free phone, but those are great prices for 4K TVs.
The flagship Le Pro3 smartphone, which usually retails for $399, will be available for $279 and offer an extra option to buy a $20 bundle that gives you a Bluetooth speaker and power bank. Its lower-end Le S3, which retails for $249, will be on sale for $129 and have a “gift bag” bundle available for $12 that includes a case, screen protector and power bank or Bluetooth speaker.
There are also big discounts on LeEco 4K TVs. You can pick up a 65-inch Super4 set for just $1099, which is $300 off, and get a Le S3 phone included for free. The lower-end 55-inch model will be $599 ($300 off) and also include a Le S3 phone, while the 43-inch will be $349 ($300 off). If you want to go big — and expensive — you can get the uMax 85-inch TV for $3999, which is a full $1000 off MSRP.
LeEco has yet to prove itself in the U.S. when it comes to either phones or TVs, but at these prices it may be able to convince a few people to give them a shot.
Press release:
Double the Holiday “LeJoy” During LeEco’s “LeMall for All!” Four Day Black Friday Event
LeMall.com offers special bundles including ecophone with 65-inch or 55-inch ecotv purchase, ecophone accessory bundles and a chance for additional savings over four-day sales event
SAN JOSE, CALIF. – November 17, 2016 – Today, LeEco™ detailed the company’s four day Black Friday event in the U.S., which kicks off on Friday, November 25, 12:01 a.m. PT, and continues through Cyber Monday, Monday, November 28, 11:59 p.m. PT.
On top of its already disruptive prices, the company offers customers the chance to not only bundle an ecotv and ecophone to save more, but grab even greater savings with a “spin of the wheel.” Customers who purchase a Super4 X65 or Super4 X55 ecotv will also receive a Le S3 ecophone, a $200 LeRewards instant rebate, and the opportunity to receive another $100 instant rebate with a spin of the wheel. Customers who purchase an ecophone can add a valuable accessory bundle at incredible savings, plus a chance for another $20 coupon with a spin of the wheel.
The complete list of offers includes:
ecotv
- Super4 X65 — $1,099 ($200 LeRewards instant rebate plus $100 spinner coupon applied towards the MSRP of $1,399) including a Le S3 ecophone (valued at $249)
- Super4 X55 — $599 ($200 LeRewards instant rebate plus $100 spinner coupon applied towards the MSRP of $899) including a Le S3 ecophone (valued at $249)
- Super4 X43 Pro — $349 ($200 LeRewards instant rebate plus $100 spinner coupon applied towards the MSRP of $649)
- uMax85 — $3,999 ($1,000 LeRewards instant rebate applied towards the MSRP of $4,999)
ecophone
- Le Pro3 — $279 ($100 LeRewards instant rebate and $20 spinner coupon applied towards the MSRP of $399)
Customers who purchase a Le Pro3 also have the option to purchase an exclusive bundle for $19.98 that includes a LeTV Super Power Bank and Letv Bluetooth speaker (total value of bundle is $80)
- Le S3 — $129 ($100 LeRewards instant rebate and $20 spinner coupon applied towards the MSRP of $249)
Customers who purchase a Le S3 also have the option to purchase an exclusive gift bag for $11.97 that includes an ecophone case, an ecophone screen protector and Letv Super Power Bank or Letv Bluetooth speaker (total value of the bundle is $70)
To qualify for the event, customers must pre-register for LeRewards at LeMall.com by clicking on the LeRewards banner. From there, the web site will take you through the process of signing up for an account and selecting the LeRewards instant rebate you’d like to claim. The instant rebate will be automatically uploaded into your account for you to use when the Black Friday sale begins on Friday, November 25, 12:01 a.m. PT. The event last through Cyber Monday, ending at 11:59 p.m. PT, Monday, November 28.
Obama: We have to get serious about facts
After a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Obama tackled the topic of fake news following a number of reports detailing Facebook activity during the 2016 election. He explained at a time when so many people are getting their news via sound bites on social media, we have to get serious about facts.
“If we can’t discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems,” Obama explained.
Before speaking on the need to get the facts right “in the age of social media,” Obama explained that if 43 percent of eligible voters in the US don’t cast a ballot, “democracy is weakened.” He went on to say that if people, both conservatives and liberals, are unwilling to participate in the democratic process, democracy will cease to function as it’s intended.
“My most important advice is to understand what are the foundations of a healthy democracy and how we have to engage in citizenship continuously, not just when something upsets us,” he said. “It’s hard work.”
President Obama’s made the comments during a stop in Germany during a European trip where he’s also scheduled to meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
The president’s statements follow Facebook’s continued issues with fake news stories trending on its social network weeks after backlash began. The company has vowed to take care of the problem, but hasn’t announced many details on how it plans to do so. Earlier this week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that 99 percent of content on the site is authentic. BuzzFeed News reported Wednesday that the amount of fake news soared on Facebook in the days leading up to the election. That report found that 17 of the top 20 hoaxes were openly pro-Trump or anti-Clinton in nature, the most popular of which was the fake news that the Pope endorsed the President-elect.
Source: The Washington Post
iCloud logs your calls, but it’s not leaking anything
Apple scored points with privacy advocates early in 2016 by resisting the FBI’s attempts to crack into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. But the tech giant gave the government one concession: If the phone’s data had been backed up to iCloud, Apple would have handed it over to help the investigation. Which gives some cause for concern — like from a Russian security firm, which discovered that if users sign up for iCloud Drive, their devices secretly sends call records back to the tech giant’s servers. But this is exactly how it’s supposed to work, says Apple.
The security firm Elcomsoft illustrated the privacy issue in a brief: If users have iCloud Drive active, they can’t prevent it from uploading their call history every time the phone is synced up. Conveniently, the security firm is also announcing a new version of its cloud-cracking software that can extract call logs and contacts even if the targeted phone is locked and its passcode is unknown.
In short, Elcomsoft is advertising a new tool for law enforcement to sidestep iCloud’s security protections while alleging that Apple keeps those call logs for up to four months. But as The Intercept points out, a hacker used the software back in 2014 to break into over 100 celebrity iCloud accounts and steal compromising photos.
But far from denying it, Apple confirmed that it logs calls to its servers. That’s how you have the same call, Facetime and text data synced across all your iCloud-connected devices:
Apple’s statement to me on call history sync via iCloud and security thereof. Article/explainer to follow: pic.twitter.com/LhmF9W62n2
— Rene Ritchie
That’s not to say it’s clear-cut what activity iCloud saves and doesn’t save automatically. In July 2012, an Apple forums user asked whether iCloud backups contain recent calls. They do, someone replied, pointing to iCloud’s backup overview page — but that changed in the interim, since call logs are no longer listed in the summary bullet list of backed-up data. Even then, most recent call recovery methods for iOS devices instruct users to restore from backups.
The crux of the issue is both disclosure of the logs and whether the government would have easier access to them given how long they’re stored on Apple servers. But call histories are as protected as the rest of your iCloud data — that is, they’re locked behind your Apple ID and password, along with two-factor authentication if that’s enabled. More alarming, the chief technologist of the ACLU told The Information, was the revelation in September that Apple keeps records of end-to-end encrypted iMessage conversation metadata. The government can get call logs in other ways, the expert said, but keeping those encrypted text message info on Apple servers might be the only way officials could get to them.
Via: The Information
Source: Elcomsoft
Instagram sees shopping as the next step in its evolution
Gone are the days when Instagram’s scope was clear-cut. For better or worse, the app is no longer just about sharing photos with other users or scrolling through a river of images with hundreds of digital likes. Since being acquired by Facebook in 2012, Instagram has left behind its roots as an unambiguous social network in favor of becoming a more robust platform. Whether to monetize or to enhance the experience for people, newly minted features like Stories have catapulted Instagram beyond being a simple photo-sharing app. And it’s not finished yet.
A couple of weeks ago, the company rolled out support for shopping tags, which gives users the ability to buy products they see in ads in their feed. Rather than a brand telling you to click a link in the bio, you now hit a tap-to-view button on an image to learn more about any item you’re interested in. Once you’re ready to buy the goods, companies have the option to send you to their website or app to complete the checkout process. The idea, naturally, is to keep people glued to Instagram for longer periods and, most importantly, make shopping an integral part of the app’s design.
Instagram shopping tags on JackThreads’ profile
Right now Instagram is only making this tool available to 20 fashion brands, such as Warby Parker and Kate Spade, as well as online retailers like JackThreads. But the feature, which is only viewable by iOS users in the US at launch, could expand to other countries in the near future. Android support is expected down the road too. According to Instagram, that’ll happen once it’s comfortable with how partners display and recommend products without affecting the core experience. Eventually, users will also have the option to bookmark products they’d like to buy at a later time, in what’s going to be an obvious move to challenge Pinterest.
Surprisingly, Instagram isn’t earning revenue based on how many people use shopping tags to make a purchase. Instead, the company hopes brands see the feature’s potential and spend more money advertising on its platform. That strategy could pay major dividends, especially if things continue to go as smoothly as they have during this trial period. The challenge for Instagram, however, will be ensuring this doesn’t become obtrusive, which wouldn’t be good for either the user or the brand advertising.
“We’re really kind of focused on being very craft oriented and doing the simple things first,” says Vishal Shah, director of product management at Instagram. He points to the feature being aesthetically similar to when you see someone tagged in a photo, with an icon on the lower left corner indicating that you can go deeper than viewing or liking the picture. When asked about feedback from consumers, Shah said it is too early to know, though he noted that brands and retailers are excited about the possibilities.
If it feels really good for the consumer, it’s going to be good for the brand.
Vishal Shah
For Instagram’s partners, having access to shopping tags allows them to further engage with consumers. Most importantly, it sets up another platform where they can sell products with ease. Dave Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, says this new feature won’t be replacing its website or apps anytime soon. That’s not only because you can’t shop directly through Instagram (yet) but also because he sees it as a complement, not a replacement, to his company’s current marketing strategy.
“We don’t view this as anything that extreme,” he says, “but it does remove friction.” Gilboa notes that a lot of Warby Parker customers are already discovering products on Instagram, but up until now there wasn’t a simple way for them to capitalize on that engagement. Naturally, Instagram is hoping to alleviate that problem with shopping tags and other recently launched business-focused tools. In August, for example, Instagram started letting business profiles add a “contact” button to their account, which made it simple for followers to call, email or text them without having to search for that information on Google or elsewhere.
While Instagram is now making an official push to keep shoppers glued to its app, some of its actual users (read: not businesses) have been two steps ahead. In recent years, Instagram has become a platform for streetwear resellers, who post anything from Yeezys to highly coveted Air Jordans and sell them directly to anyone interested. “Andre,” a reseller whom we interviewed about his unconventional marketplace, said he chose Instagram over eBay because of the one-to-one aspect of it.
Individual resellers have a big presence on Instagram.
Andre isn’t the only one doing this either. There are thousands of users mirroring what he does through his Sole Street Sneaker Co account. To some extent, what Instagram is hoping to accomplish with brands and retailers feels akin to that — namely the direct-to-consumer approach. “There’s a lot of different kind of ways we’re thinking about this to expand to,” says Shah about whether smaller players could ever get access to shopping tags. “Right now we’re really only focused on retailers.”
Nevertheless, only time will tell how this test plays out for Instagram. Both Shah and Gilboa emphasize that they won’t find out if shopping tags are a success until later, but they’re confident users will be fond of what this feature and others like it bring to the table. One thing is certain: Instagram is evolving, which may be a hard pill to swallow for people who don’t appreciate change and want the app to stay true to its simple roots.
At the end of the day, Shah claims everything Instagram does is with the user in mind first and foremost. Although business partners may play a major role in how the app is shaped, he says it’s not the main one. “If it feels really good for the consumer,” he adds, “it’s going to be good for the brand.” You can be the judge of that.
The Passport foldable drone makes for a fun travel companion
My first drone flight experience was with the DJI Phantom 2 Vision, and as much as I appreciated its advanced capabilities at the time, I longed for something more compact — a device so small that I wouldn’t need to carry a separate bag or case for it, preferably without sacrificing performance. Eventually, a Chinese startup called Zero Zero Robotics released the $599 Hover Camera Passport, which comes in the unique form of a foldable cage while packing cool features like body tracking, face tracking and orbiting. I got to spend some time with the Passport over the past few weeks, and eventually it got to the point where I rarely leave home without it, lest I find time to take it for a quick spin.
Compared to higher-end foldable drones like DJI’s Mavic Pro and GoPro’s Karma (assuming GoPro issues a fix for random power losses), the Passport’s major advantages are its size, weight and caged propellers. At just 242 grams, or 0.53 pounds, the Passport is exempt from the FAA’s mandatory registration and is also unlikely to hurt anyone should something go wrong, as its propellers are shielded by a carbon fiber enclosure. When folded, it’s just 33mm (1.3 inches) thick, and even in its 45mm-thick protective case (which stores the drone and two batteries), it fits in my backpack with plenty of room to spare.
Speaking of, I’m impressed by the thoughtful set of accessories included in the box. In addition to that aforementioned protective case, there’s a shoulder strap for it, a soft bag (just make sure you won’t squash the drone), a second battery, a dual-battery charger, a USB 3.0 cable, four spare propellers, 12 extra screws and a pair of screwdrivers.
Zero Zero Robotics is currently only selling the full drone package, but you’ll soon be able to buy spare accessories as well, including batteries for $40 apiece. (In fact, the company will be throwing in a third battery plus free shipping as part of a Black Friday promotion.) From my experience, each battery offers a flight time of about 10 minutes, as promised, and it takes about 40 minutes to recharge each, so the more the merrier.
The Passport doesn’t come with a dedicated controller, as it’s geared mostly towards casual users. You’ll have to download the companion Hover Camera app onto your iOS or Android device and then connect it to the drone’s WiFi hotspot over 2.4GHz or 5GHz (you’ll want the latter for better streaming quality; both go up to 20 meters). This is all very straightforward as is navigating through the relatively simple interface. As someone familiar with the basic controls for the DJI Phantom series, I tend to pick the “Joystick” control mode (my preferred mode) instead of “Classic” (up and down buttons for height and a four-way pad for horizontal direction) or “Motion” (a height stick and a toggle button for tilt control).
Unlike most other drones, the Passport can only be launched from one’s hand: Hold up the powered-on unit with its wings open, tap the power button to rev up the propellers for about one second, and then release the unit to let it hover. Similarly, you can retrieve the hovering Passport with your hand without ever having to worry about the blades: Grab it and tap the power button to kill the propellers, or you can first tilt the unit downward to slow the propellers down before tapping the power button. When the battery level is critically low, the drone can slowly land itself using the sonar sensor under its belly; you can also use the One-Touch Landing button to toggle automatic landing at any time.
It’s safe to say that the Passport is one of the very few — if not the only — drones that can be launched and retrieved so safely. This is guaranteed to impress your family, friends and strangers alike — in my case, strangers include the security officers at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport who were so curious they didn’t mind me flying the drone inside the building.
The Passport’s camera features a 13-megapixel CMOS sensor that can capture video at 4K, 1080p and 720p, all with a normal frame rate of 30 fps. All captured images and videos are stored in the 32GB internal memory (my unit showed 22.6GB of usable space after formatting), and since the Passport is basically a Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight 801 device running on Android, you can transfer its content to your PC in the same way you do with Android phones. With the exception of 4K clips, you can also download the content directly from the app to your smartphone.
During my vacation in Okinawa, I captured all my Passport footage in 4K without realizing that only the lower resolutions support electronic stabilization — a necessary feature since the camera hinges on just a one-directional gimbal as opposed to the three-axis gimbal on more advanced drones. I’m glad that I did use the 4K setting by accident as, truth be told, even with the slightest breeze I was bound to see some shakiness, regardless of the video resolution. If it’s a moderately windy day, forget it — the lightweight Passport won’t stand a chance. That said, braver folks may want to challenge Mother Nature by toggling “Beast Mode” for the maximum flying speed of eight meters per second (about 17.9 miles per hour).
Back in Hong Kong, I found that it’s only a tad better with electronic stabilization at 1080p resolution, but it’s the loss in detail that’s more noticeable. In some cases, I could even see some annoying warping across the frame due to the electronic stabilization. To put things in perspective, the Passport’s 1080p clips have a maximum video bit rate of 16 Mbps (I get 17 Mbps from the Samsung S7 Edge and 20 Mbps from the Xiaomi Mi 5s) whereas its 4K clips are capped at a more impressive 60 Mbps (beating the S7 Edge’s 48.1 Mbps and the Mi 5s’ 42 Mbps).
Simply put, I don’t think it’s worth giving up the 4K sharpness for that little bit of stabilization; I’d rather stick with 4K and use PC video-editing software to stabilize the clips afterwards. Shakiness aside, I’m actually quite happy with the general picture quality offered by the Passport, so long as there’s plenty of daylight. There were a few still images which could use a slight boost in exposure, but that’s an easy fix. And when it’s dark, you can try using the dual-tone LED flash for the still shots.
As I mentioned earlier, the Passport is capable of face tracking and body tracking. Just pick one of these features in the sidebar, and when you see a yellow bracket around you (you need to keep a minimum distance of four meters from the drone), tap on it and off you go (it’ll start recording as well if you weren’t already recording). Despite the wind, my unit did surprisingly well in chasing after me along the beach in Okinawa. I also had similar success on a soccer field and along a waterfront park in Hong Kong, and the drone could even follow me walking up the stairs — up to the point where I had to make a turn to walk along the bridge, but the bridge wall partially blocked the drone’s sight of me.
Another neat video recording feature is the orbit mode because it’s the easiest way to make anyone look cool. Once the app recognizes me, I just have to tap the yellow bracket on my face and the drone will start circling around me until I stop it. The one thing you need to be wary of here is that the drone may drift a little in the wind, thus ending up with an incomplete orbit. Last but not least, there’s the 360 spin feature that does exactly what it says. Again, you have to tell it to stop spinning. Check out what I got out of these in the above sample video reel.
Even after playing with the Passport for several weeks, I continue to be impressed by how capable and unique this drone is. It’s essentially your personal travel cameraman, except you won’t have to buy an extra plane ticket for it. Better yet, Zero Zero Robotics has already delivered a couple of firmware updates to improve the Passport’s video quality plus body tracking performance, and it’ll continue to do so in the many days to come. But, due to its form factor, little can be done about the drone’s weak resistance against even moderate wind — either avoid the breeze or spend an extra $400 on the Mavic Pro if you want to avoid the hassle.
Facebook is adding donate buttons to charity Live videos
After spending a week battling a fake news epidemic, getting to grips with privacy regulators in Europe and dealing with another admission of misreporting ad data, Facebook finally has some good news to share. In a bid to do more “social good,” Mark Zuckerberg and his team have announced a new round of updates to community tools aimed at keeping users safe and allowing them to help others.
First is an update to Facebook’s Safety Check feature, a tool that lets users tell their friends and family they are safe during a natural disaster or a potentially dangerous event. As we reported last week, Facebook has confirmed it’s in the process of creating always-on Safety Check hubs called Community Help, which will let people mark themselves safe, but also offer or request things like shelter, food and supplies. Facebook will also put Safety Check activations in the hands of users, so when a lot of people share news of an incident in a particular area, they may be asked to confirm they are out of harm’s way.
Next is a way for non-profit organizations to do more of what they’re good at: raising donations. Facebook says it’s in the process of expanding its Fundraisers tool to more than 750,000 non-profits, which includes the option to add a donate button to Live buttons and posts. If someone is broadcasting their charitable event via Facebook Live, you’ll now be able to donate instead of spreading goodwill via Likes and Heart Reactions.
For Movember, the charity drive that gives hairy dudes a valid reason to get hairier, US users will be able to collect donations directly via Facebook. To further promote #GivingTuesday, the company has teamed up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to contribute up to $1 million to Facebook fundraisers. “The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide $500,000 in matching funds, up to $1,000 per Facebook fundraiser, and Facebook will waive up to $500,000 of fees on all donations,” says Naomi Gleit, VP of Social Good.
Source: Facebook
Twitter CEO apologizes for white supremacist promoted tweets
Earlier this week, Twitter rolled out new tools to help users combat abuse. That seemed to stir up a hornets’ nest of white supremacists, as some Twitter users started noticing promoted tweets for those hate groups on their timelines. The company initially denied the veracity of those reports, but now CEO Jack Dorsey is offering up an apology and laying the blame on Twitter’s automated approval systems.
We made a mistake here and we apologize. Our automated system allowed an ad promoting hate. Against our policy. We did a retro and fixed! https://t.co/7gvycmzpsm
— 🚶🏽jack (@jack) November 17, 2016
Dorsey’s response also follows Twitter’s biggest moves yet against hate groups. The company banned several “alt-right” accounts yesterday, following their displeasure around the new troll blocking tools. Supporters of that movement also started a campaign to create “fake black people” accounts on the service to — what else? — cause a stir. Trolls gotta troll, after all.
.@twitter I can’t believe anything still surprises me, but why the fuck am I seeing nazi ads on this website pic.twitter.com/jtKKnn8XR5
— Ariana Lenarsky (@aardvarsk) November 16, 2016
Source: Jack Dorsey
Snapchat’s fans, not the media, are telling the world about Spectacles
If you’ve spent any time on Twitter lately, you’ve probably noticed people going on about Spectacles, Snapchat’s just-released camera sunglasses. But much of the conversation hasn’t even focused on the launch — it’s been about the bizarre and delightful game Snapchat has made out of getting them. Rather than letting anyone buy them online, it’s been dropping adorable Snap Bot vending machines around the country, providing a countdown and map on its website so fans can breathlessly await the next appearance.
This (potentially) artificial scarcity is all part of Snapchat’s strategy. When Spectacles were first announced, CEO Evan Spiegel referred to them as “a toy,” and the quest to get a pair has become a big game for ardent fans. Every few days, a new Bot machine drops; two have been in LA while the other two have been in more far-flung corners of the country. One showed up in Big Sur, on the California coast, and the other in Oklahoma at the Blue Whale of Catoosa — one of the more famous attractions on Route 66.
pic.twitter.com/9NyJuvu57J
— Spectacles (@Spectacles) Nov. 15, 2016
With every drop, people are tweeting their excitement and disappointment, getting their hopes up during the countdown only to have them dashed when the Bot is hundreds or thousands of miles away. And the Spectacles Twitter account catalogs all the ups and downs, retweeting fans who get their hands on the glasses and frustrated potential buyers still waiting for the Bot to show up in New York City.
Didn’t really care much about @Spectacles until they made them limited edition & only available in a vending machine that randomly appears. https://t.co/XdoHTUHp5Z
— Laura (@laurablakenc) Nov. 17, 2016
It’s proved to be a pretty brilliant strategy at driving hype: Dozens of people show up at the vending machines within minutes, and the glasses are always sold out within an hour or two. By turning Spectacles into a limited commodity, Snapchat has successfully built up a surprising amount of interest for such a goofy little gadget.
Part of that strategy has been how Snapchat has dealt with the media around this launch. Which is to say, it mostly hasn’t. Usually the release of a high-profile gadget is accompanied by a wave of reviews. But that didn’t happen this time. The publications that have posted impressions of Spectacles are those that managed to get the glasses the same way as anybody else (read: by waiting in line or possibly buying a pair for an exorbitant sum on eBay).
It’s clear from both Spiegel’s earlier comments and the way the Spectacles launch has gone thus far that Snapchat doesn’t want these glasses being thought of as a traditional tech product. They’re a pair of sunglasses that also let you shoot short videos; they don’t try to do much. That’s a smart strategy: It helps lower expectations as Snapchat ventures into the minefield that is face-mounted wearables. Having a bunch of tech blogs tear apart Spectacles and whine about their flaws would suck all the excitement out of the room before the glasses were widely available.
Instead, Snapchat fans are controlling the narrative, and judging from the excitement around the product, it’s working. At some point, the game of “find the Bot” will get old and the hype will die down … and then Snapchat can drop Bots in New York or San Francisco and stoke the flames all over again.
I’m not sure how long the surprise-vending-machine strategy can go on. Eventually, would-be buyers are going to be turned off by not being able to get in on the fun. And there’s always the potential for chaos in these lines as more and more people swarm the Bots when they are revealed. But as long as Snapchat’s fans are enjoying the game, there’s no reason to stop: The US is a big country, and there’s a ton of territory left for the Bot to explore.
Bloomberg: An OLED iPhone is coming next year
OLEDs make for better displays because they draw less power and provide much nicer color reproduction. The only thing stopping them from being on every smartphone in the world is that they’re a hassle to make. It’s one of the reasons that an OLED iPhone remains as much-rumored as Half-Life 2: Episode Three. Bloomberg, however, believes that we’ll see the device hit store shelves in limited quantities by next year. At least, that’s what Apple is planning, but like the sapphire crystal display that never was, these things can always change.
The story claims that the change will coincide with a radical new design for the iPhone to celebrate its 10th anniversary. It will be “all glass,” with an edge-to-edge design and a virtual home button in place of the physical one we currently have. But Bloomberg also says that Apple wants to push an OLED iPhone in 2017, despite there being some obvious supply constrains that it can avoid if it just waited a year. It’s believed that suppliers like Samsung, LG, Sharp and Japan Display will only be able to meet Apple’s demand by 2018.
The report says that, in a rush to get OLED out of the door, it will release one device with the specification rather than across the whole line. It doesn’t seem likely that Apple would so radically bifurcate its iPhone product line beyond the two different sizes it already offers (not counting the iPhone SE). The only main difference between the iPhone 7 and its larger sibling is display size, battery capacity and an improved camera. To introduce an OLED display (and a new design) on one and not the other seems uncharacteristic.
Then again, looking at Apple’s strategy with the new MacBook Pro: keeping a lower-priced version with function keys around since the Touch Bar hardware itself is too expensive. Although it seems like it would annoy more customers than it would delight, especially since the company makes a big deal of introducing new technologies across both of its devices. It would also muddy the sensible “Small,” “Big,” “Bigger” philosophy that the company has going on across its mobile range, and make things much more like the cluttered iPad landscape.
Source: Bloomberg
Volvo Concierge brings the gas station to you
Today at the LA Auto Show, Swedish car maker Volvo introduced its new Concierge app. The application is a quick way to get third-party vendors to wash, refuel and service Volvos. The best part is that you don’t even have to leave your house to have any of these services completed.
So you can stay indoors and keep binge watching Luke Cage while a vendor that has been vetted by Volvo takes care of your car. You don’t even have to hand over your keys; the app creates a one-time digital key to open the vehicle. Once service on the car has been completed, the digital key is revoked and the car locks itself.
Volvo says that the service is open to add additional third-party companies, but it will be vetting vendors before they are added to Concierge. It’s also not adding all Volvo owners to the service initially.
A pilot program will run for about six months in San Francisco. After that pilot period ends, the company says it’s keen to start rolling out the service to owners of the new CX90 SUVs and S90s. The automaker notes that for the app to work, the vehicles require hardware only found in those cars.
Source: Volvo
AIVAnet 