Apple Officially Ends iPod Nano Replacement Program, but Still Honoring Requests

Apple recently removed its first-generation iPod nano replacement program from its support website, over five years after it started.

MacRumors contacted a few Apple Authorized Service Providers that confirmed the program has indeed ended, and we were advised to contact Apple directly. Apple’s support team initially informed us the program is no longer in place, but a senior AppleCare advisor honored the program after we escalated our request.

In other words, if you still have a twelve-year-old iPod nano, you may be in luck still, but it could take some persistence to reach the right person.

The replacement program was launched worldwide in November 2011 after Apple determined that, in very rare cases, the battery in the first-generation iPod nano may overheat and pose a safety risk. The manufacturing defect is limited to iPod nano models sold between September 2005 and December 2006.

Related Roundup: iPod nano
Tag: repair program
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At $399, you better not dismiss the Moto Z Play

Why you should think about buying a Moto Z Play right now.

I’ve been a huge proponent of the Moto Z Play since its unveiling and subsequent release late last summer, largely because it is such a strong example of a mid-range phone that does almost everything right while incorporating trickle-down technology from its more-expensive flagship, the Moto Z.

Right now, the unlocked Moto Z Play is a cool $399 from Motorola and Amazon alike. The phone may not have the sheer power of the OnePlus 3T, the other “near-$400” device that we love, but it’s also a more versatile option, compatible with the growing (and unlike LG’s, continually viable) Mods ecosystem. Here’s why, at its discounted rate and with Nougat on the horizon, you should consider this phone.

See at Amazon

Battery life is insane

You don’t have to read too many reviews (including our own) to suss out the Play’s biggest selling feature: its incredible battery life. Combining a 3510mAh cell with a power-sipping Snapdragon 625 chip and an efficient 1080p display, the Moto Z Play easily lasts more than a full day on a charge, and then some.

Since its release, Motorola has teamed with Mophie to release a massive 3150mAh juicepack battery Mod, too, which for $80 extra makes the Play practically unkillable with a combined 6660mAh of energy. Of course, that comes at a thickness of over 15mm, but given that the Mod can be removed at any time, the solution is both practical and impermanent.

Performance is outstanding

For a device with “only” a Snapdragon 625, I am constantly amazed at what this thing can do. In day-to-day performance, there’s little between the Play and its more expensive Moto Z counterpart, and outside of a few very minor situations — it won’t be Daydream-compatible when it’s updated to Nougat, for instance — I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it over any flagship today.

And while it remains to be seen whether the update to Android 7.0 will take a toll on that hardware, Nougat has proven itself to be fairly performance-neutral on devices like the Xperia X, which uses a Snapdragon 650 based on an older 28nm manufacturing process. If anything, the fact that the Snapdragon 625 is more thermally efficient is an advantage for the Moto Z Play running newer software, since there’s a greater thermal runway to work with. And if Nougat proves to be a little more battery-heavy than Marshmallow, a 5-10% hit will be less noticeable on a device like the Play than it would be on, say, a Xperia X or Nexus 5X.

The camera is surprisingly good

I was astounded at some of the photos I was able to pull off with the Moto Z Play, largely because its 16MP rear sensor isn’t particularly impressive on its own. But coupled with a very sharp f/2.0 lens and a massively-improved camera app over the company’s last generation of phones, I have few complaints about the Moto Z Play, even in low light.

In particular, over the past few months I’ve found the Z Play, with its 1.3 micron pixels, to be more adroit at capturing low light photos, even without optical image stabilization, than many other devices with smaller pixels and OIS. That’s because Moto’s camera team has calibrated the sensor to optimize for both shutter speed and ISO, and I’ve found that unless the scene is completely devoid of light, the Z Play can pull off some outstanding photos.

Moto Display

I say this in every article I write about the Motorola devices, but Moto Display continues to be a game changer in the world of smartphones, even as other manufacturers have implemented so-called always-on displays. Moto Display isn’t just a method of checking notifications on the lock screen; it’s a form of essential triage that truly makes a difference to how I use a smartphone on a daily basis.

It’s getting Nougat soon

While it would be better to say that it’s getting Nougat now, or even better it ships with Nougat, alas I can only confirm that it will be arriving in March. Likely early March.

Since I’ve used the Moto Z on Nougat and have no complaints, I have every reason to believe the same will hold true of the Moto Z Play. And Nougat on the latest Moto devices is near-flawless.

Your thoughts

Moto Z Play isn’t a perfect mid-range phone, but it’s damn near close. Would you buy at its limited-time discounted rate of $399? Let us know in the comments!

Moto Z, Moto Z Force and Moto Z Play

• Moto Z + Z Force review!
• Moto Z Play review
• The Hasselblad True Zoom is a Mod to remember
• Moto Z specs
• Moto Mods custom backs
• The latest Moto Z news
• Discuss in our Moto Z forums

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Best apps for starting a meditation habit

Because life is crazy and we should all take a little time to settle down.

Meditation is not just something that flower children do. You can do it, too, and you don’t have to go to a yoga studio or spend a weekend at an ashram to get started. All you have to do is download an app to your smartphone.

Meditation offers plenty of benefits. A consistent meditation practice can help reduce stress, improve concentration, and encourage a healthy lifestyle by virtue of requiring routine. It’s also the practice of self-awareness, which can admittedly be a tad overwhelming for those who may have quite a bit they’re contending with internally. As a person with an inconsistent meditation practice, I can say that when I have stuck to the program, I’ve never felt better.

If you’re hoping to get started with a meditation practice of you own, here are several apps worth trying out.

Insight Timer

Insight Timer is one of the more worthy meditation apps that appeals to both newcomers and season meditators. If you’re new, you can select from one of 3,500 different guided meditations led by well-known meditation teachers, and if you’re already a pro, you can set a timer and choose from the library of ambient background sounds. There are also helpful interface elements, like the ability to bookmark your favorite guided meditations for later use, and there’s a social networking aspect so that you can see who else is meditating alongside you.

Insight Timer does have a few drawbacks. It’s free, but you’ll have to fork over some cash for different bell sounds. You’ll also have to maintain a separate login to keep your data synced. At the very least, that data can be easily backed up and carried over to other devices.

Download Insight Timer (Free, IAP)

Stop, Breathe, and Think

Stop, Breathe, and Think has been gaining quite a bit of traction since its debut in the Play Store. Whereas most apps require you to sort of know what kind of meditation you’re into, this app asks you about how you’re feeling before offering up the appropriate program for the day. Stop, Breathe, and Think also employs a sticker system for accolades, in case you need that extra push to make it to your mat each day, as well as the ability to share your progress with friends.

Be forewarned that Stop, Breathe, and Think requires quite a bit of commitment, including logging in daily to maintain your streak and actually paying to unlock longer meditation sessions.

Download Stop, Breathe, and Think (Free, IAP)

Headspace

Whether you’re already seasoned at meditations, or merely a bashful beginner, Headspace is one of the most popular meditation apps precisely because it’s so effective. One major catch, however, is that you’ll have to pay monthly for full access to the app, which includes over a hundred hours of content, a buddy system for you and your pals, and special meditation packages. Think of Headspace as a class on meditation; if you’re hoping to really commit to the practice, this is a great place to start if you don’t mind figuratively having your hand held for a bit in the beginning.

Download Headspace (Free, IAP)

Best Earbuds With Microphone Under $20

Cheap can be good and these earbuds prove it.

A headset — earphones or earbuds (or even a single earbud) with a microphone and controls — is a different beast than a set of earbuds or headphones without a mic. For starters, not every set works with every brand of phone once you add the third wire. You need to make sure what you’re buying is made specifically for one brand (Blackberry and Apple come to mind) and will work with Android when you need to answer calls and adjust the volume. And when products are cheap, there are literally thousands of choices to wade through.

We searched around the internet to see who was using what and why they liked or disliked them, then ordered a handful of headsets that seemed to be better than average. Here are your five best, including the overall winner.

Aukey Arcs: The Best

The Aukey Arcs wired headphones with microphone are the best set of earbuds with a mic you can buy under $20.

They’re comfortable, and the over-the-ear design keeps them in place for extended periods or while you’re on the go. Aukey uses a silicon-coated cable with fairly large strain reliefs at the connections so you won’t get things tangled up and they won’t need to be replaced very often due to loose connections. The sound, while not “powerful” by any means, is bright and clear. It’s perfect for talking on the phone or watching a movie or a show, and good enough for listening to music — which is exactly what you want when you buy earbuds with a mic.

What puts them over the top and makes them the best is the fit. Over-the-ear buds can be a chore to wear, but we put up with it if that’s what it takes to keep them in place. Aukey’s silicon cable and soft tips mitigate this very well and you won’t mind it nearly as much as you would with other brands.

Aukey is well known for making products that deliver the same features as the expensive brands do, and their Arcs headset is no different.

See at Amazon

The best for calls

NoiseHush NX85

The NoiseHush NX85 is the best headset we tested when it comes to talking on the phone. The microphone picks up your voice while you’re talking naturally and the result is surprisingly clear voice calls on both ends. The NoiseHush NX85 also checks most every box when looking for a great set of earbuds with a mic. They have a flat tangle-free cable, easy to use controls to answer calls or activate any voice assistant and deliver surprisingly good sound when listening to music or watching a video.

The one place they are lacking is when it comes to the fit. The NoiseHush set suffers from the common malady that many earbuds do — they pop out too often. These just aren’t going to stay in place for active users.

See at Amazon

The best value

OnePlus Bullets

OnePlus makes its headphones just like its phones: solid, if unspectacular design mixed with good quality components and a great price. The Icons have compact solid metal enclosures, come with a variety of tips and have a solid cable with an in-line mic and remote. The sound is very average, but will easily be an upgrade from the headphones that came with your phone.

You would expect to pay much more for a product this well made, and the OnePlus Bullets live up to the OnePlus standard of offering more for less.

See at OnePlus

The most comfortable

Panasonic ErgoFit

You wouldn’t expect a pair of cheap earbuds to fit as well as the Panasonic ErgoFit earbuds do. The sound is average but more than good enough for your everyday commute, the design and construction are acceptable for a product you expect to replace at least every year and the call quality also comes in at average. But when it comes to how they fit and how they feel when you’re using them, these take things up a notch. We’re not sure what the ear tips are made of, but they mold to your ear canal much like a set of disposable ear plugs do, then they return to their original shape once you take them out.

These would be perfect for listening to an eBook while you’re relaxing or any other time when the fit in your ear matters more than anything else.

See at Amazon

The best sound

Airsspu High-Resolution Earphones

I’ve never heard of Airsspu, but word of mouth advertising works and I made sure to give their High-Resolution Earphones a look. I’m glad I did.

Call quality is acceptable at best. The mic placement picks up a lot of rubbing against clothing sounds and the other party says it sounds “tinny.” The over-the-ear design keeps them in place but you won’t forget you’re wearing them by any measure because they pull a little as you move your head like most over-the-ear buds do.

What sets these apart is the sound quality. I’m amazed that Airsspu is able to produce clear and full music with such tiny speakers. At 16 Ohms they won’t trigger a high-gain headphone amp, but they seem so easy to drive it doesn’t matter. While they can’t match an expensive (and big) set of over-the-ear headphones, they do give your music more life that you would ever expect from a set of earbuds. These are an audiophile must-buy to keep in your bag or briefcase to be ready when you need them.

See at Amazon

We couldn’t test every headset. You might have a pair of earbuds with a mic that you think are better than our picks. We’d love to know about them so we can give them a look, too! Let us know what you’re using and what you think of them in the comments, and let us know what you think of any of these brands if you’ve tried them.

ICYMI: The U.S. Army is making actual hover bikes

Today on In Case You Missed It: The Galactic Empire will have some competition for Speeder Bikes soon enough, from the US Army. Researchers there have been working on hoverbikes for a few years now, based on an Australian inventor’s design.

Make sure to watch the video of the temperatures stacking up each year, bringing us to the hottest recorded weather for 2016, or a video of the sunspot twice as big as Earth. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

Deliveroo Plus is a £9 subscription for takeout addicts

Deliveroo has made an impact in the UK because it allows hungry so-and-sos to order from their favorite big name restaurants, such as PizzaExpress, Wagamama, Giraffe and Gourmet Burger Kitchen. But you pay for the privilege — Deliveroo typically charges £2.50 on top of your regular order. If that sounds too expensive, or you’re simply addicted to the service, there’s now Deliveroo Plus. For £8.99 per month, or £89 per year, you don’t have to worry about individual delivery charges. You’ll still need to pay for your grub, of course, but everything else will be taken care of.

Think of it like Amazon Prime, but for food deliveries.

Deliveroo Plus is launching today in six UK cities — Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brighton and York. The company has described it as a “trial,” so there’s no guarantee that this will be rolled out internationally. Still, it’s an interesting pricing structure, and one that could make the service more appealing against UberEats, JustEat and the bevy of other food ordering apps in Britain. If it takes off, maybe the company will offer a similar model in other parts of the world.

Samsung brings Android Nougat to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

The Galaxy Note 7 might be no more, but Samsung is still supporting its other flagships in earnest. Today, the company is rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, coupling Google’s latest software improvements with a dash of TouchWiz design. The biggest changes can be found in the notification tray — swipe down and you’ll notice that the Quick Panel interface looks cleaner than before, with titles removed from each icon. The “second depth,” opened with a subsequent downward swipe, has been reworked too with grouped icons. Notifications have also been bundled for easier sorting, and now support direct replies.

Samsung’s devices have long offered split-screen apps, but with Nougat that feature now becomes standard (provided your apps support it, that is). With the new over-the-air update, Samsung has reworked the on-screen mechanism used to adjust the size of each window. There’s also a “pop-up window” mode that can run up to five app at once. Along with the regular split-screen mode, that’s a new maximum of seven apps. Quite why you would want to run that many simultaneously is beyond me (how much would you see on a smartphone screen?) but hey, the option’s there now.

Rounding out the new additions is Samsung Pass, a fingerprint-activated key for website logins, and a new Performance Mode that lets you activate various battery saving options. These include a best-of-all-worlds Optimized Mode, which promises to improve your phone’s stamina and speed, and Entertainment Mode, which boosts sound and image quality for your favorite movies and TV shows. While not the most exciting update, it does ensure that Samsung’s best phones are competitive from a software standpoint. That’s important as the company holds out until February, when it will almost surely unveil the next iteration of the Galaxy S line.

Source: Samsung Newsroom

Low-cost DNA sequencer uses Nokia 1020’s camera as a microscope

If the Nokia 1020 has a memorable feature, it’s surely the phone’s 41-megapixel camera — the same one a team of researchers are now using for their phone-based DNA sequencer and molecular analyzer. The scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, Sweden’s Stockholm University and Uppsala University have developed a $500 3D-printed phone attachment that turns a device’s camera into a microscope. Health workers in developing nations and remote locations can use the attachment to find genetic mutations that cause diseases without having to send samples to a lab. It’s definitely a lot more affordable than comparable microscopes medical professionals use, which could cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Testing starts by placing a tissue sample, such as tissue from a tumor, in a small container. The optical attachment and the phone’s camera capture multi-color fluorescence and bright-field images of the sample. They then feed data and images to an algorithm that analyzes DNA sequences and find mutations in the tissue. According to the researchers, their creation is powerful enough to detect small amount of cancer cells and other mutations in a large group of normal cells. Mats Nilsson, one of the team leaders, explained:

“It’s very important to have these molecular testing approaches at a doctor’s office or where care is being given. Oftentimes, advanced lab-based testing is performed at major hospitals, which is limiting, as not everyone has access to a hospital that can perform these tests.”

By the way, health workers won’t have to worry about running out of Nokia 1020 phones to buy from eBay. The researchers said that while the 1020’s camera has an impressive magnification factor (2.6x), the attachment can be adapted to work with newer phones.

Via: BBC, Gizmodo

Source: Nature, University of California, Los Angeles

How to follow the Obamas after they leave the White House

As President Obama prepares to leave the White House, his team must gather up not only his physical belongings, but the tweets, blog posts and other online content produced over the last eight years. Such a bevy of accounts and internet discourse is not simple to shift, so the White House has outlined exactly what will move where tomorrow. To keep up with the outgoing President, you’ll need to follow @BarackObama on Twitter, facebook.com/BarackObama and instagram.com/BarackObama. First Lady Michelle Obama will take a similar position online, posting with the @MichelleObama handle on Twitter and Snapchat, facebook.com/MichelleObama and Instagram.com/MichelleObama.

The current version of the White House website will be preserved at ObamaWhiteHouse.gov by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The agency will also manage a new set of social media accounts designed to store the tweets, articles and photos released by Obama and his team over the last eight years. President Obama’s musings under @POTUS will be preserved at @POTUS44, while his Facebook posts will be stored at facebook.com/POTUS44. Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will have their official tweets archived at @FLOTUS44 and @VP44 — you get where I’m going with this, right?

The official White House handles will be passed over to the next administration. These include @WhiteHouse, @POTUS, @VP and @FLOTUS on Twitter, Facebook.com/WhiteHouse and Instagram.com/WhiteHouse. No surprise there, really. (Although President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to keep tweeting from his personal account.) For a full breakdown of the changing accounts, it’s worth perusing this White House blog post. While a massive undertaking, it’s undoubtedly important to preserve the digital legacy of the President, the First Lady and the rest of the Obama White House team. Understanding how this group embraced social media between 2009 and 2017 will be vital in the future for historians, politicians and reflective citizens alike.

Source: WhiteHouse.Gov

Swiss cops use anti-drone guns at the World Economic Forum

Swiss authorities have added another security measure for this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos: anti-drone guns. Bloomberg has spotted local police preparing HP 47 Counter UAV Jammers to make sure no unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) gets too close to the venue, whether it’s sent by a spy organization or just a nosy onlooker. That’s the same jammer the German police used in Berlin when President Obama visited the country. The publication says authorities decided to bring in an anti-drone technology, because people with malicious intent could use UAVs to monitor security positions or even to launch attacks.

WEF spokesman Georg Schmitt explained:

“While drones have great potential, they have — just as every new technology or aspect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution — also a potential downside. The forum takes the safety and security of its participants seriously. It is therefore normal that we take any potential issue into account and prepare for it.”

The HP 47 can block drones up to 1,000 feet away from sending data, including video feeds, back to their operators. It can also disable operators’ remote access to their UAVs, as well as trap the machines within an invisible fence. Once the drones are trapped, authorities could either capture them with a net or shoot them down with the help of snipers.

A consulting firm told Bloomberg that it’s much too early to estimate the size of the anti-drone market, but jamming devices are clearly becoming more popular as drones become more common. Both the military and private companies are developing their own guns and jammers. The Dutch National Police, however, resorted to training eagles to take down drones during emergencies.

Source: Bloomberg