Moto Z phones are Daydream ready thanks to Android Nougat update
Motorola promised to upgrade its Moto Z and Moto Z Force phones to Nougat before the end of the year and today the company revealed that it’s rolling out the update before the end of November. Motorola says the Android 7.0 update will being rolling out globally this week and it delivers a big feature to the phones: Daydream. That’s right, with the addition of Nougat the Moto Z and Moto Z Force are ready to take advantage of Google’s VR platform.
What’s more, Motorola’s Moto Z duo are the first phones other than Google’s own Pixel devices to be certified as Daydream-ready. Back when the virtual reality platform as first announced, Google mentioned that existing handsets likely wouldn’t make the cut. The Moto Z and Moto Z Pure were revealed just after Daydream’s debut and both house a Snapdragon 820 processor to help with the immersive visuals on mobile. Of course, the new VR features that Nougat delivers to Motorola’s modular phones mean you can use with with Google’s $79 Daydream View headset.
Source: Motorola
Canada gets real wireless competition as a key carrier adds LTE
Canada was supposed to get proper, national-level cellular competition when Wind Mobile hit the scene in 2009, but that’s not quite how it panned out. You see, Wind hasn’t had LTE all those years — if you wanted fast data beyond a regional carrier, you still had to go with one of the three main providers (Bell, Rogers or Telus) that have a tight grip on the industry. At last, though, you don’t have to choose between low prices and high performance. Wind Mobile is rebranding as Freedom Mobile, and it’s launching its first LTE networks in Toronto and Vancouver on November 27th.
Freedom will only sell two compatible LTE phones at first, but they’re at least solid choices: the LG V20 and ZTE’s Grand X 4. Unlocked phones should function when they support the network’s AWS-3 frequency range, although you’re unlikely to find one right now. Sorry, that iPhone 7 or Pixel won’t cut it. You’ll likely have to wait a few months before more flagship-class smartphones take advantage of the speedier service.
You won’t have to worry about traveling, at least. All of the greater Toronto and Vancouver areas will have native coverage by spring 2017, and LTE roaming in both Canada and the US will be ready early in the new year. Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa will have LTE by the summer, and the carrier’s remaining 3G areas (largely in southern Ontario) will get the upgrade by the fall.
The reinvigorated company still faces an uphill battle when the incumbents have LTE networks that blanket the country, not to mention frequencies that virtually guarantee support for most devices. However, the absence of LTE will no longer hold it back. Once Freedom has finished its rollout, your choice of carrier will mostly come down to local coverage and device selection — and that’s good news for Canadians wishing they had as many nationwide choices as their American counterparts.
Via: MobileSyrup
Source: CNW, Freedom Mobile
Adorable Cozmo robot will soon recognize pets
Owners of the Anki Cozmo robot will soon be able to have it interact with their pets. An upgrade slated to roll out during the week of December 5th will add new functionality to the tiny automaton that includes reactions to dog and cats.
The update will also add a new memory match game, an explorer mode for point-of-view camera action with night vision, the ability to give it words to pronounce and a workout mode. Of course all of those features pale in comparison to your artificial buddy hanging out with your furry friends.
Unfortunately, Anki doesn’t share any more details than, “he can now detect dogs and cats, and reacts appropriately to both.” In a video about the new feature, all we see is cute little Cozmo barking at a dog in its tiny synthesized voice. It’s really a heart-warming Instagram video waiting to happen.
But as pet owners know, their dogs and cats don’t always respond favorably to gadgets. So it’s probably a good idea to stick close to Cozmo when it says hi to Fido so it doesn’t end up crushed in your canine’s jaws.
Source: Anki
‘Uncharted 4’ adds a survival mode with a few twists
Gears of War 4 won’t have a monopoly on co-op survival modes this holiday, apparently. Naughty Dog is introducing an Uncharted 4: Survival mode that will arrive in mid-December. As with its Xbox rival, Uncharted will have you facing 50 waves of AI enemies as you build up defenses, rank up your character and coordinate with teammates. Don’t call it an outright clone of Gears’ Horde mode, however, as it periodically throws a monkey wrench into the works.
Some waves will have objectives you need to complete, such as collecting treasures or defeating specific enemies. Also, you’ll occasionally run into modifiers that prevent you from relying on the same tactics every round. You may have to use only melee weapons, for example, or limit yourself to head shots. And while you will face the mercenaries that dominate the conventional story, Survival adds plenty of supernatural opponents.
This won’t be a radical break from the Co-Op Arena mode you saw in the second and third Uncharted games, but it should inject new life into a title that’s already on some critics’ short lists. It might impact Sony’s bottom line, too. If Uncharted 4 has an answer to one of GOW4’s best-known modes, you might be tempted to pick up a PS4 Slim bundle when you were otherwise set on an Xbox One S.
Source: PlayStation Blog
WSJ: Amazon ponders live sports on Prime
Amazon already offers a robust library of movies and television for streaming, but the online retailer could be looking to tackle one of the last remaining strongholds of pay television. The Wall Street Journal reports the company has held talks over the last few months with the NBA, MLB, NFL and MLS. Amazon has reportedly also met with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which has it’s own network with a hand from ESPN, in addition to Campus Insiders and 120 Sports for college athletics coverage.
Details are scarce at this point, but WSJ’s sources say a new premium sports package would be tied to Amazon’s Prime. In talks with some leagues, including the NBA, the company is said to have proposed an exclusive sports tier that would be available alongside its annual subscription. It wouldn’t be a surprise if you have to pay a few dollars more to add live games to Amazon’s current Prime lineup similar to how DirecTV customers can add on NFL Sunday Ticket. In addition to the big-name US sports, the company has also reportedly spoken with the National Lacrosse League, Major League Lacrosse and World Surf League.
WSJ also reports that Amazon has reached out to networks about rights to games that they aren’t using. For example, Univision has a deal for Mexican soccer league matches (Liga MX), but it doesn’t air all of them so perhaps Amazon might be able to pick up the unused events for its own service. The company also spoke with ESPN and One World Sports about leftovers and is considering Indian Premier League cricket and international NBA coverage for viewers outside of the States.
As far as live sports on the internet go, Amazon would have a lot of competition if it’s able to secure rights. Twitter already has deals in place for NFL games and college sporting events while Yahoo streamed daily MLB matchups this season and currently offers an NHL game of the week. Facebook tried its hand at live sports as well and is reportedly considering more eSports coverage in the future. There’s also Sling TV that not only streams live network coverage, but offers add-ons like NFL Redzone and NHL Network.
“My sense is they are interested in anything that might be out there,” said ACC vice president of digital Chad Swofford told The Wall Street Journal.
Amazon may have to be content with sports like gymnastics, lacrosse and surfing as many of the major sports leagues and college conferences have television deals in place through the middle of the next decade. Of course, the company could still use those events as a means of promoting its selection of sports gear even if it can’t negotiate deals for action from the more popular leagues. We reached out to Amazon for a comment on the matter and we’ll update if we hear back.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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