Facebook Live Audio elbows in on radio and podcasting
Facebook spent much of 2016 tricking out its Live video broadcasting feature, most recently opening it up to footage shot with 360-degree cameras. But it seems they’ve been busy bringing another streaming option to professional organizations and amateur users alike. Today, the social titan is launching Live Audio for a select group of publishers, with plans to open it up to everyone next year.
The sound-only service could bring content like podcasts into News Feeds just like Live does for video. As Facebook’s announcement post points out, this could be useful for folks in low-connectivity areas to broadcast more data-efficient media. Should their signal get low, hosts could theoretically switch to audio for a seamless stream.
Facebook envisions that Live Audio will be used as a semi-professional stage for esteemed events like book readings and interviews with its Live service’s viewer interaction bolted-in. Currently, the first organizations cleared to use it are: BBC World Service, talk radio broadcaster Leading Britain’s Conversation (LBC), book publisher Harper Collins and authors Adam Grant and Britt Bennett.
Currently, Android users can keep listening to a Live Audio broadcast while using other services, while iOS users must stay within Facebook’s app to continue hearing it. The social platform plans to open the service up to other publishers and users next year, though it didn’t specify the rate it would be expanding broadcasting privileges.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Facebook
Apple Stops Signing iOS 10.1 and iOS 10.1.1
Now that iOS 10.2 has been available for over a week, Apple has stopped signing earlier versions of iOS 10, including iOS 10.1 and iOS 10.1.1.
Customers who have upgraded to iOS 10.2 will no longer be able to downgrade their iOS devices to iOS 10.1.1, the previous version of iOS.
Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out to encourage customers to stay up to date. iOS 10.2 is the only version of iOS 10 that can be installed on iOS devices, though developers and public beta testers can download iOS 10.2.1, a future update that is currently in a beta testing phase.
Released to the public on December 12, iOS 10.2 introduced major new features like the dedicated TV app, new emoji, and a range of bug fixes. Apple has also stopped signing tvOS 10.0.1 for the fourth-generation Apple TV.
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Grab a Nextbit Robin for just $145 — yes, really
This is easily the best deal we’ve seen on the Nextbit Robin.
After hovering around in the mid-$200 range for a while, and regularly receiving small price drops, you can now pick up the exceptionally solid Nextbit Robin for just $145 on Amazon. It’s available in both Mint and Midnight color options, in the standard configuration of 32GB of storage with the addition of 100GB of cloud storage.
Looking at the Amazon page you’ll also see that the Robin is available for shipping directly from Amazon, meaning if you have Prime you can get it in time for Christmas if you order soon. So not only is this a great deal for the phone, it’s also available as a last-minute gift (even if it’s just for yourself).
We’re not sure how long the reduced price will last, but you can check it out at the link below.
See at Amazon
Nextbit Robin
- Nextbit Robin review
- Nextbit Robin unboxing
- Nextbit Robin specs
- Join the Nextbit Robin forums
See at Amazon
Porsche Design Huawei Mate 9: The $1500 phone unboxing
The Porsche Design Huawei Mate 9 is a smaller, curvier version of the new Huawei flagship. It’s based on the Mate 9 Pro, which is sold in Huawei’s home market of China, and is supercharged with a whopping 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage to augment the already high-end specs of the regular Mate 9. Oh, and it’ll sell for €1395 in Europe when it launches in January — that’s around $1500 at the current exchange rate.
So what do you get for such a hefty investment? Check out our unboxing video to find out, and be sure to hit up our Mate 9 written review for more on the new Huawei flagship and its insanely pricey sibling!
More from Android Central
- Our Huawei Mate 9 written review
- Huawei Mate 9 video review
- Android Central on YouTube
Google Store offering free expedited shipping for Christmas orders
Get those Google gifts under the tree in time for Christmas morning!
Hey all you last-minute shoppers! The Google Store is offering free expedited shipping on all orders, ensuring everything will arrive ahead of Christmas Day. But you’ll have to act fast, as the delivery window closes December 21 at 3 p.m. ET, though you won’t want to cut it too close to that deadline.
This is great news if you’ve got some people left to hit on your list, as Google’s got some of the hottest tech available this holiday season. As always, a Google Chromecast makes a great gift for just about anyone, with the newer Chromecast Ultra an ideal gift for someone with a new 4K TV. If you’re buying for someone with a Google Pixel, get a Daydream View and give the gift of VR. Get your loved one a Google Home and make them the envy of everyone on the block. Or be the greatest Santa of all time and put a Google Pixel under the tree.
Google’s shipping page says you can get expedited shipping before Christmas for order placed before December 21 at 3 p.m. ET, but also includes a note about orders about shipments placed after 11am local time counting from the day after you place your order.
The Google Store is packed with a ton of great stuff, and it’s your last chance to get your order order in before Christmas, so don’t be left out in the cold!
See what’s offered at the Google Store
Facebook launches Live Audio broadcasts with BBC partnership
Facebook delivers a new way to connect with audiences.
Expect to see a variety of live content on your Facebook news feed in 2017.
Today, Facebook announced a new way for broadcasters and publishers to go live with audio-only broadcasts, and will be launching the new feature with a couple British media partnerships — BBC World Service and talk radio broadcasters LBC — along with publisher Harper Collins and authors Adam Grant and Britt Bennett.
This new feature also helps Facebook offer an alternative streaming option for Pages looking to go live on Facebook in areas with low network connectivity. Audiences will still be able to offer live comments and reactions while listening to the broadcasts as is the case with Live Videos.
From the Facebook press release:
We know that sometimes publishers want to tell a story on Facebook with words and not video. We’ve even seen some Pages find creative ways to go live and reach audiences with audio only by using the Facebook Live API or by adding a still image to accompany their audio broadcast. Our new Live Audio option makes it easy to go live with audio only when that’s the broadcaster’s preferred format.
We also know that publishers sometimes go live from areas that lack strong network connectivity. Though we alert the broadcaster if their signal is low, Live Audio presents another option for connecting with audiences in real time from low-connectivity areas.
This news comes after Facebook added Live 360 videos to the fold last week.
It sure will be interesting to see how this new feature develops in the new year. It seems like BBC will look to set the standard for media outlets, while publishers and authors will be able to reach wider audiences with live book readings and interviews. However, we’re even more excited to see how this will be adopted by the Facebook community at large, as there’s great potential here for the emergence of live podcasts.
Freedom Mobile’s LTE network: Should you switch?
Should you switch to Freedom Mobile’s LTE network?
Last week, Freedom Mobile, formerly Wind Mobile, turned on its LTE network for the few customers with the right phones and plans, and though the network is still nascent, enough time has elapsed to give it a fair shake. So let’s talk about it.
But first…
A quick recap
In order to take advantage of the Freedom Mobile LTE network, you need to fulfil a couple of prerequisites:
You need to live in Toronto or Vancouver, or their immediate surrounding areas (the limits are a bit vague at the moment).
A LG V20 or ZTE Grand X 4
A dedicated LTE plan, which costs $40 for 6GB of monthly data
If you don’t hit all three, you won’t get LTE — and even then, it’s a bit touch-and-go right now.
Everything you need to know about Freedom Mobile
When it all comes together
On Thursday, December 15 I received an update to my Freedom Mobile LG V20 that turned on LTE. I live somewhat close to downtown Toronto, and upon restarting from the update, the phone quickly connected to LTE, though throughout the day, and even now, it went back and forth to 3G.
Let’s get a bit technical for a minute. Freedom’s LTE network uses AWS-3 spectrum, newly standardized under Band 66. Right now, it’s the only network in Canada using that particular piece of the airwaves, and right now it is very sparsely-populated.
When then-Wind Mobile purchased the spectrum, all the way back in March 2015, it did so with the blessing of the Canadian government, which set aside 30Mhz of AWS-3 spectrum to so-called new entrants.
The growing network uses, or will use, that AWS-3 spectrum in paired 15Mhz combinations in all parts of Canada except for Eastern Ontario, where it was outbid by Videotron. In its current form, the maximum download speeds you can expect are 112.5Mbps; upload speeds at 50Mbps.
In reality, I’ve never gone above 75Mbps down and 34Mbps up, which, while not close to the maximum, are quite fast even for Canadian LTE network standards, and more than 10 times what Freedom Mobile offers on its existing 3G network.
The problems
The contrast between 3G and LTE is so jarring that it may as well be as if I lost signal altogether.
The problems are twofold: first, the LTE signal is not reliable, even when you’re right in the heart of downtown Toronto. I’ve heard anecdotes about it being a bit better in Vancouver, but the company must still be tweaking the equipment signal. That means I often drop down to 3G (or as my V20 says, 4G), which would ordinarily be fine expect that Freedom’s HSPA+ service is abysmal in Toronto.
The contrast is so jarring that it may as well be as if I lost signal altogether: songs stop streaming; photos stop loading; messages get stuck in transit. It may say that I have a network connection, but that’s not entirely true.
The other part is that because Freedom launched its LTE network without VoLTE or VoWiFi support, each time I make or receive a phone call, the V20 drops down to 3G, and takes its sweet time finding LTE again. This is all par for the course, and I am used to it on Telus, which has yet to launch VoLTE in Toronto, but the Big Three have 3G networks to fall back on that, despite being slower, are much more mature than Freedom’s, and more importantly, actually have capacity to support heavy network traffic.
There’s also the question of customer service. Wind Mobile was a made up of a network of tiny dealer stores, mainly to cut costs, with only a few (and shrinking number) of corporate flagships in the largest cities. While I’ve yet to have a major issue with my Freedom Mobile service, it’s important to know that when you sign up for service with one of the Big Three, you also get a pretty mature customer service funnel that includes web, phone and in-person care. It’s not always great, but it’s there. Over the years, I’ve heard from many people about then-Wind’s poor or non-existent care. Let’s hope under Shaw that improves, and quickly.
So, should you switch?
There’s a nine in 10 chance that your phone is currently connected to one of the Big Three’s networks, and over the years Rogers, Bell and Telus have built up extensive national networks that are fast pretty much anywhere, in any building and environment.
If you are to switch to Freedom Mobile’s LTE network, you have to keep in mind a few things: it’s not good for travelers. If you go outside Toronto or Vancouver on more than an occasional basis, you’ll either have to live with Freedom’s much-slower 3G, or one of its partners, which means paying not-so-cheap roaming fees.
You’re going to be forced into spending at least a couple hundred dollars on a new phone if you want to partake in LTE.
Also keep in mind that the company’s current LTE plan — and there is only one — eschews the built-in 1GB of U.S. roaming, which was traditionally one of Wind’s most attractive bolt-ons.
Over the past week or so, I’ve had a pretty good experience on Freedom Mobile. Speeds have been reliably good on LTE, though signal strength in my home has been much weaker than any of the incumbents, likely due to the lighter concentration of towers around me. If you live right downtown Toronto or Vancouver, signal strength shouldn’t be an issue, but it’s not like I live in the middle of nowhere, either.
Then there’s the question of device. You’re going to be forced into spending at least a couple hundred dollars on a new phone if you want to partake, and the entry-level option, the ZTE Grand X 4, is most likely worth skipping. The LG V20, which I’ve been using in anticipation of Freedom Mobile’s LTE launch, is an amazing phone, but it’s also $800, and will likely only appeal to the most hardcore of early adopters.
If you’re in Toronto or Vancouver, you may be tempted to switch to Freedom to cut down on your phone bill. I’d recommend most people wait until there is a wider variety of phones to choose from, and until the company’s LTE network is a bit more mature. Outside of those two cities, hold tight: by the time LTE comes your way, the device selection — and network reliability — will be much, much better.
Your turn
Have you changed to Freedom Mobile LTE yet, or are you thinking about making the switch? Let us know!
Apple extends its discounts on USB-C gear through March 31st
Apple has tacitly acknowledged that prospective MacBook Pro buyers remain skittish about having to buy dongles just to keep using their favorite peripherals. The company is extending its sale on USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals through March 31st, giving you another three months to pick up adapters and cables at a discount. As before, some of the bargains are better than others — the USB-C to USB-A adapter is down from $19 to $9, for instance, while SanDisk’s USB-C SD card reader is down from $49 to $29. This still won’t be completely satisfying if you absolutely need dongles to attach your devices (a USB-A adapter in MacBook boxes would be great, Apple), but there’s a bit less pressure to buy them before you’re ready.
There’s also good news if you want one of Apple’s ultimate peripherals. It just started selling LG’s 27-inch UltraFine 5K display, making it under the wire for that promised December release window. The $974 display (normally $1,300) won’t ship for another 2 to 4 weeks if you didn’t order one right away, but the first customers should be getting theirs before 2016 is over. As with its smaller 4K sibling, the allure is routing everything through a single Thunderbolt 3 cable — you can charge your MacBook Pro and connect three USB-C devices without plugging in a rat’s nest of wires. It’s not quite as general-purpose as other 5K displays (it’s primarily intended for the Mac crowd), but its relatively low price makes it a deal compared to alternatives from the likes of Dell and HP.
Via: 9to5Mac (1), (2)
Source: Apple (LG), (accessories)
AT&T service prevents scam calls from reaching your phone
Yes, you can block phone numbers used for robocalls and tech support scams, but that usually means having to take at least one call (or running the right software) before you realize something’s fishy. And AT&T, at least, is trying to do better. In response to the FCC’s request for tougher action, the carrier has introduced a free Call Protect service for HD Voice (voice over LTE) users that aims to block fraudulent and spam calls, in many cases before they even reach your phone. An automatic fraud blocking feature will stop scams at the network level, while you’ll also get warnings about suspected spam calls if you’re in an HD Voice coverage area.
You can activate the feature either through your account or a dedicated Call Protect app that also offers temporary blocking (up to 30 days) for known numbers. And yes, you can make sure that the automatic fraud screening doesn’t inadvertently exclude your employer or a distant friend — you can greenlight certain numbers to make sure they get through. While AT&T would ideally have Call Protect on by default, this optional approach may have to do so long as call filtering is less than bulletproof.
Source: AT&T (1), (2)
Twitter is helping to find a user who sent a seizure-inducing tweet
Lest we forget how horrible people can be, news broke last week that a Twitter user sent an auto-playing, seizure-inducing animation to Vanity Fair editor Kurt Eichenwald, who is epileptic. He saw the video and promptly had a seizure — and then promptly vowed to track down the Twitter user who sent the animation and have them prosecuted for assault. Now, a court order released by Eichenwald reveals that Twitter will cooperate with his civil lawsuit and turn over all user data they have on the offender.
As noted by The Verge, Twitter retains the right to retain both IP addresses and other location-based data as per its privacy policy. If that data can be matched to an address or phone number, it’s something the police can use to investigate — but there’s no guarantee they’ll find anything, as the company does not store this data indefinitely.
Still, it’s good Twitter is cooperating with this investigation, as this sort of horrible action could become more and more common unless some real legal consequences come along with it. Indeed, Twitter has actually agreed to “expedited relief” in this case, not challenging the order or asking for more evidence from Eichenwald. Whether it’ll make a difference remains to be seen — it’s still not clear what data Twitter has and whether or not they can tie it to the individual responsible for the attack.
Via: The Verge
Source: Scribd
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