Olive & Dove RemoBell Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The Olive & Dove Remobell runs on 6 AA batteries.

Olive & Dove

If you’re intimidated by the prospect of installing a doorbell, you aren’t alone. Fortunately, startup Olive & Dove wants to help. Its $199 smart doorbell, RemoBell, relies exclusively on AA batteries. That means you can’t even hard-wire this thing if you wanted to — with RemoBell, it’s AAs or bust.

Check out its specs:

• Requires 6 AA batteries
• Wi-Fi-enabled
• 720p HD video resolution
• Infrared night vision
• Heat-sensing motion detector
• Push alerts
• Two-way audio
• 120-degree field of view

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19 outdoor cameras that take home security seriously

Other smart doorbells:

• SkyBell downsizes the smart doorbell with Trim Plus
• Yale’s new doorbell lets you see who’s at the door
• This smart doorbell doesn’t have a security camera
• Knock, knock: August’s Doorbell Cam helps you see who’s there
• SkyBell’s HD door buzzer steals the show
• Is Ring a better smart buzzer for your buck?
• Pro version of the Ring Video Doorbell swaps flexibility for refinement
• Doorbird brings facial recognition to your front door

RemoBell isn’t the first door buzzer to work over battery power, but it is the first HD video-streaming smart model I know of that opted for AAs over a rechargeable battery.

Olive & Dove says RemoBell should run for up to 4 months before needing a new set of batteries. While the reliance on batteries could be annoying if you don’t always have a stash of them on hand, it’s definitely faster than waiting for a rechargeable battery to charge fully. It also helps that AAs are easy to find, compared to Netgear’s indoor-outdoor Arlo camera, which relies on expensive and hard-to-find CR123 batteries.

I do question the 4-month battery life, particularly if the camera is located in a busy area, but RemoBell’s “heat-sensing” motion sensor is supposed to help limit alerts to people only. I’ve reached out to Olive & Dove for a review unit and hope to test out this functionality soon. The startup doesn’t mention any specific smart home integrations with RemoBell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re added soon — a blog post on their site discusses the importance of the smart home and home security.

Olive & Dove hasn’t yet announced international availability, but the price converts to roughly £160 and AU$265 at the current exchange rate.

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12 iPhone reviews in 3 minutes for its 10th anniversary

The iPhone turned 10 on Monday, forever changing the course of smartphone history. But even game-changing devices, like humans, have good years and bad years. Remember antenna-gate? What about all of those dongles? And that time Apple tried to make the 5c happen. We’ve rounded up all our reviews (listed below) and also summed them up in one short video. Enjoy, and prepare to feel old: Remember when copy-and-paste on iOS was a big deal? Or when we thought the iPhone’s killer app would be making phone calls? Yeah.

• The One That Started It All: the iPhone (parts 1, 2 and 3 — hey, we had a lot to say)
• The One With The App Store: the iPhone 3G
• The One That Looked Like The Last One: the iPhone 3GS
• The One You Were Holding Wrong: the iPhone 4
• The One That Made Siri a Thing: the iPhone 4S
• The One With a Lightning Connector: the iPhone 5
• The One In All the Colors: the iPhone 5c
• The One With Touch ID: the iPhone 5S
• The Ones That Went Big-Screen: the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
• The Ones With the Pressure-Sensitive Screens: the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus
• The One Where Apple Decided People Like Small Phones After All: the iPhone SE
• The One With No Headphone Jack: the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus

The Morning After: Weekend Edition

Letter from the Editor

Most tech companies shoot their proverbial wads at CES, showing off their finest wares for the coming year and beyond. Usually, this means that the second week in January is a peaceful time, meant for reflection upon the technological wonders seen in Las Vegas. Nintendo, however, is not most tech companies.

This week revealed much more about the company’s forthcoming next generation console, the Switch, which many on the Engadget staff have been eagerly awaiting. You’re not gonna believe this, but a good portion of the internet says that the price, at $300, is too high — despite the fact that its pricing is right in line with the console competition from Sony and Microsoft. Regardless, early returns on its innovative home/mobile console hybrid hardware design are good. And yes, there will be a new Zelda game available at launch in early March, with a brand new Mario game on sale before the end of the year.

Despite Nintendo’s dominance of this week’s news cycle, we did, in fact, do our regularly scheduled deeper thinking about what we saw at CES, too. Nick Summers was disappointed by Sony’s showing, while Roberto Baldwin explained how Faraday Future impressed the right people with the debut of its first production electric car. And, Devindra Hardawar detailed how one company (Amazon) ruled the biggest tech show on earth without even having an official presence at the show.

Pre-orders are openHands-on with the Nintendo Switch

Now that we know everything about the Switch ($300, March 3rd, Zelda launch title), it’s time to grab those Joy-Cons and go to work. Ultimately, our editors were impressed, even if it “really just feels like Nintendo nailing what it tried and failed to accomplish with the Wii U.” We also have first-hand impressions of all the games on display and a 12-minute edit of the main presentation in case you missed it.

Stream starts at 12:34PM ETWatch the first SpaceX launch since September’s explosion

Before the NFL playoff games start, keep an eye out for SpaceX’s return to the launchpad. In its first launch since a rocket blew up in September, the company is sending a Falcon 9 into Low Earth orbit to deliver 10 satellites for the Iridium Next communications network.

Too soon for a new Sidekick?Andy Rubin is building another phone

The creator of Android is getting involved in mobile devices again. Bloomberg reports that Andy Rubin’s Essential Products Inc. is working on a “whole suite of connected products” and plans to launch a flagship smartphone later this year. Despite details of interesting bezel-less prototypes, it’s apparently “unclear” if they will use Android.

Wait, are wearables actually useful?Smartwatches can tell when you’re about to get sick

Stanford researchers found that by monitoring signs like heart rate and skin temperature, wearable smart devices could detect oncoming illness up to three days in advance.

Drone downLily Drone is dead despite $34 million in pre-orders

This week Lily Robotics announced it’s shutting down, despite taking $34 million in pre-orders for its crowdfunded drone. The company says the problem is that R&D costs cleaned it out, but that backers will get refunds. We’ll wait to see if that happens, especially since the SF DA is suing Lily for false advertising.

But wait, there’s more…

• MIT’s 3D graphene is ten times stronger than steel and 95 percent less dense
• Netflix’s ‘iBoy’ trailer introduces smartphone superpowers
• Verizon takes aim at its “unlimited” data plan customers once more
• The Engadget Podcast Ep 24: The Biggest Lie
• ‘Final Fantasy XV’ out-of-bounds glitch reveals an unused open world

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.

Open Whisper Systems defends Whatsapp against ‘backdoor’ claims

Last spring, Whatsapp announced that every message on its service is delivered with end-to-end encryption, meaning no one, not even Whatsapp, can tell what’s inside. Now, a report by The Guardian cites a security researcher claiming that its implementation is open to being backdoored or hijacked by government agencies. Whatsapp, and the people who helped design the implementation for its secure messaging, state this isn’t the case, and instead, reflects a user experience design decision that isn’t putting users at risk.

Whatsapp’s secure messaging was implemented with help from Open Whisper Systems — makers of the secure messaging app Signal — and on its blog, the company explains how things work. Based on its Signal Protocol (also used for encrypted messaging in Google’s Allo), each client is identified by a public key that’s shared with other people, and a private key on the device. Because people change phones, or uninstall and reinstall apps, the pair of keys can change. Users can ensure their communication is secure by checking the security code displayed on each end, if it matches, then they can be sure their messages aren’t subject to a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack by a third party.

The Guardian’s report is based on research by Tobias Belter. He claims that the server (potentially at the direction of a government agency) could generate a new key for one of the parties, and pretend to be them before the person on the other end is notified that something has changed. On the Signal app, this would cause an already sent message to fail, and the sender to be notified of a change before it could be attempted again. In Whatsapp, it displays a message that the key has changed, re-encrypts the message, and delivers it.

As Open Whisper Systems explains, this setup is better for Whatsapp’s large user base because it’s simpler for users. Also, since the server can’t know who has notifications turned on, it makes trying to exploit such a change risky because of potential detection. While it agrees that people could differ in opinion on the implementation, it disagrees that this could ever be described as a “backdoor,” which is what the article claims.

A number of security professionals have chimed in to agree, including Frederic Jacobs, who helped design the protocol being used. For users, the most responsible thing to do seems to be to turn on notifications, and check your security codes regularly.

It’s ridiculous that this is presented as a backdoor. If you don’t verify keys, authenticity of keys is not guaranteed. Well known fact.

— Frederic Jacobs (@FredericJacobs) January 13, 2017

Look, WhatsApp is a great choice for most. Turn on verify keys and don’t give your phone number to Facebook to protect metadata. -the end.

— Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep) January 13, 2017

I’m very disappointed by the @Guardian reporting, and even more by the tech community for uncritically falling for their anti-Facebook bias.

— Filippo Valsorda (@FiloSottile) January 13, 2017

Source: Open Whisper Systems, Whatsapp FAQ

Lucasfilm says it has ‘no plans’ for a digital Carrie Fisher

Given the recent release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story featuring an actor who died in 1994, and the recent passing of actress Carrie Fisher, perhaps it was inevitable there would be rumors she would get the same treatment. Lucasfilm has responded to murmurings that it is in negotiation to use her likeness, telling fans of the franchise that “Lucasfilm has no plans to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher’s performance as Princess or General Leia Organa.”

The use of the technology introduces some new questions about whether it should be used, and if so, when, but there may not be easy answers. In this case, however, it appears that Fisher’s existing performances (and scenes already shot for the upcoming Episode VIII movie) will stand alone without any posthumous additions.

Source: Star Wars

25 real-life robots that will make you think the future is now

If you’re anything like us, you probably can’t wait for the day you can go to the store and easily (and cheaply) buy a robot to clean your house, wait on you, and do whatever you want.

We know that day is a long way off, but technology is getting better all the time. In fact, some high-tech companies have already developed some pretty impressive robots that make us feel like the future is here already. These robots aren’t super-intelligent androids or anything – but hey, baby steps. 

From Honda to Google, scientists at companies across the world are working diligently to make real-life robots an actual thing. Their machines can be large, heavy contraptions filled with sensors and wires galore, while other ones are tiny, agile devices with singular purposes such as surveillance. But they’re all most certainly real.

Pocket-lint has rounded up real-life robots you can check out right now, with the purpose of getting you excited for the robots of tomorrow. These existing robots give us hope that one day – just maybe – we’ll be able to ring a bell in order to call upon a personal robot minion to do our bidding.

Let us know in the comments if you know others worth including.

>> Check out the full gallery of robots here

Take a tour with President Obama through the White House in VR

Obama is leaving the White House in the most 2017 way: in VR.

He filmed a virtual-reality experience that’s basically a tour through the White House. Called The People’s House (another name for the White House), it’s supposed to be for people who want to remember Obama’s legacy as well as for people who may never visit Washington DC. The VR experience is available on Facebook for everyone, as well as in the Oculus Store for Gear VR and Rift owners.

The beginning brings you right through the front door and toward a podium. From there, you can sit next to President Obama in the Oval Office. You can take a look around the room and see things like a bust of Martin Luther King Jr, a bowl of apples, etc. Michelle Obama also makes an appearance. The whole experience is around 8 minutes long, but a 20-minute version is coming later this year.

VR studio Felix & Paul filmed the entire thing last November and December and said the extended edition will be available in stereoscopic 3D, whereas the current version is essentially a 360-degree video. 

Watch the first SpaceX launch since September’s explosion

SpaceX is busy preparing for its first Falcon 9 launch since its rocket exploded in September. The Iridium-1 mission will take off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California tomorrow, January 14th, and you can watch it all happen live after the break or through the space corporation’s website. This mission is headed to Low Earth orbit to deliver 10 satellites for communications company Iridium. They’re the first 10 of at least 70 satellites SpaceX will be ferrying to LEO for Iridium’s global constellation.

As always, though, the launch could still be delayed due to strong winds and other factors — in fact, this Falcon 9 was supposed to take off a few days ago. We’ll update this post in case that happens. Otherwise, keep an eye on the video below for the private space company’s return to flight. It will begin airing the corporation’s live broadcast at 12:34PM Eastern, 20 minutes before the launch window opens at 12:54PM.

Source: SpaceX

Bloomberg: Andy Rubin readying launch of new AI-focused phone

When the co-founder of Android makes a move, people pay attention.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Android co-founder and Google Robotics pioneer Andy Rubin has a team that’s going to build the next big deal — an artificial intelligence-centric smartphone and smart home products that work together.

Rubin is expected to announce the new company, dubbed “Essential,” and serve as its CEO according to Bloomberg’s sources. Making up the 40-man team at Essential are Rubin’s former colleagues from Google as well as talent from Apple, Samsung and Magic Leap. The goal is to blend AI with consumer hardware in a way where everything works together by design. Essential will be working on a full suite of consumer products, and “Essential” was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a brand for smartphones, tablets, accessories and computer operating software in late 2016.

This isn’t just talk: Rubin is going to launch a phone.

The showcase product of the company will be a high-end phone with a large screen. A supposed prototype shows a screen larger that the iPhone 7 Plus’ 5.5-inch screen in a frame with a smaller overall footprint. The phone was discussed at CES 2017 with mobile carrier execs, including people from Sprint according to the source of this information. The operating system of the phone wasn’t disclosed.

Rubin knows his stuff. If anyone can marry AI and consumer hardware the way we want them to be joined, it would be Rubin. But this is a big undertaking, and the world where Apple and Samsung exist is pretty hostile to any newcomer. Rubin has the big ideas and it looks like he has the right team. We’re looking forward to seeing how this develops.

How to install new games on your NES Classic

The NES Classic — you saw our first vid on it, right? — is a cool little piece of nostalgia. But it’s sorely lacking in the games department. Or, rather, it REALLY needs a way to add games.

Fortunately the NES community has answered, and in a big way. And after a few rounds of tinkering we now have a super easy way to add games to the NES Classic.

I used the “hakchi2” method. You’ll want to read through the instructions yourself, but here’s the gist of how I did it, boiled down from a reddit post … and another Reddit post. Full props to those folks!

You’ll need at least Windows 7 to get this done.

OBLIGATORY WARNING: You’re doing this at your own risk. If your teeth loosen and your eyes start to bleed, I didn’t do it.

Download hakchi2 and unzip: direct download link
Browse to your saved ROMs, and decide what you want to install on the NES Classic. (I kept the original 30 games, too.)
Find box art — either use your own, or just hit the handy Google button in the GUI to automagically search. (Nice touch!)
Plug your NES Classic into your PC using the Micro-USB cable. Leave the console turned off. We’re going to enter FEL mode.
Hold down the reset button on the front. Then press (and release) the power button. After a few seconds, release the reset button. You won’t actually see anything happen.
You should now be able to hit the sync button in the hakchi2 program. (If you didn’t get the FEL mode thing right, it’ll tell you. I didn’t do it right the first time and nothing blew up.)
Reboot the NES Classic.
Profit!

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See the NES Classic
See the NES Classic controller extension