Google Voice updates are imminent
The useful (and slightly neglected) Google Voice app hasn’t seen many changes since the company cleaned up its voice transcriptions and integrated with Hangouts in 2015. Before that, the last major change to the core service was the addition of MMS messages in 2014. However, according to some credible rumors flying around today, a new version or redesign is right around the corner.
Some users checking their Google Voice accounts today were greeted with a link at the top of the inboxes telling them that “the new Google Voice is here” and to “TRY NOW.” While someone at Google apparently jumped the gun with that link (clicking it actually did nothing), Google did confirm to the Verge that changes were coming very soon for Voice. In a statement, a Google rep wrote, “Sorry, it looks like we must have dialed the wrong number! But don’t worry, this wasn’t a prank call. We’re working on some updates to Google Voice right now. We have you on speed dial and we’ll be sure to share what we’ve been up to just as soon as we can.”
So, while there’s no official word yet on what the refreshed Google Voice might include, it’s a good bet the changes have something to do with changes to the Hangouts API and maybe tighter integration with Google’s other messaging apps Allo and Duo. Also, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that the desktop site is mired in a dated gmail look and the iOS app hasn’t seen an update since some minor bug fixes back in June, so even a visual overhaul would make Voice feel less like an afterthought.
We’ve reached out to Google for additional details and will update when we know more.
Source: The Verge
Verizon Raises Smartphone Upgrade Fee to $30
Less than a year after introducing a fee for customers upgrading their smartphones, Verizon has raised the the price of said fee from $20 to $30, reports The Verge.
The fee change was quietly implemented last week alongside the discontinuation of two-year contracts for existing customers. Those customers previously had to pay a $40 fee when activating a new contract and purchasing a new device, while the fee has been $20 for device payment plans and outright purchases from Verizon.
With two-year contracts no longer available, all customers will now pay $30 when upgrading their smartphones on the Verizon network. A separate activation fee when purchasing a new line also applies.
According to Verizon, its upgrade fees help to cover “increasing support costs” from customers switching their devices.
Verizon also recently told clarified its data usage policies for unlimited customers, notifying employees that customers who use over 200GB per month will be forced to move to a tiered data plan.
Tag: Verizon
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Apple Allegedly Partnering With Carl Zeiss for Augmented Reality Glasses
Apple and German company Carl Zeiss AG are working together on a pair of augmented reality smart glasses that could be announced as soon as this year, claims well-known blogger Robert Scoble in a Facebook post.
According to Scoble, a Zeiss employed allegedly confirmed the partnership between the two companies in a conversation that took place at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada last week.
Zeiss’ booth at CES. Image via Robert Scoble
Scoble questioned the Zeiss employees at the show after noticing Zeiss had a booth in the augmented reality section of CES without showing off an augmented reality product. He believes Apple forced Zeiss to keep quiet about an upcoming release.
Exclusive news: Apple and Zeiss working together on augmented reality optics. […]
A Zeiss employee confirmed the rumors that Apple and Carl Zeiss AG are working on a light pair of augmented reality/mixed reality glasses that may be announced this year. (I thought it was next year but now that I saw this I believe it will happen this year).
It’s not clear how reliable Scoble’s information is, but previous rumors have suggested Apple is working on a set of smart glasses that would connect wirelessly to the iPhone and display images and other information to the wearer.
Apple is said to have contacted suppliers about the project, which appears to be in the exploratory prototyping phase of development. While Scoble believes the glasses could be released in 2017, previous information points towards a 2018 or later release.
Apple has a full team dedicated to AR/VR research and exploring how the technologies can be incorporated into future products. Multiple times over the past year, Tim Cook has said that Apple has a deep interest in augmented reality. “AR can be really great. We have been and continue to invest a lot in this. We’re high on AR in the long run,” he said in July.
Related Roundup: Apple VR Project
Tags: Robert Scoble, Zeiss
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Flir Duo Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Flir has been making thermal imaging devices since the late-70’s. In recent years, the company added its technology to smartphones and smartphone accessories. And this week at CES 2017, Flir showed off another adaptation of its technology: a thermal camera for drones called the Duo.
The Duo is tiny — about the size of a GoPro. It has two cameras: one a 1080-pixel HD camera, and the other a thermal-imaging camera. The thermal images represents heat in form of colors — orange is hot, blue is cool. You can easily switch between cameras, but the real magic comes when you use the combined mode. This overlays details from the HD camera onto the thermal photograph. It makes for a very sharp thermal image.
While there are many cameras capable of being used on drones, the Duo is the first thermal camera to be designed for such a purpose.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Such cameras can be used in a variety of manners: flying over farm property checking irrigation piping, finding lost animals, checking solar arrays for hot spots, or recreating scenes from the film “Predator.”
The Duo is aimed at consumers for commercial use. But there is a second Duo camera called the Duo R targeted for professional use. (The “R” stands for radiometric.) This allows pros to get accurate temperature readings from individual pixels of a thermal image.
Because of its Go-Pro-like form factor, the Duo cameras can be used on any drone that can mount a GoPro. However, Flir has teamed up with the company Autel — for non-Autel drones, you have to use the Flir UAS app.
The Duo costs $999 (which converts to £820 and AU$1,365) while the Duo R is $1,299 (which works out to £1,065 and AU$1,775) Both are available for purchase now.
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Volvo is testing self-driving cars with real families
Picture a self-driving car test in your head and you probably see an engineer or two scrutinizing data… and no one else. Everyday people, if they’re present at all, tend to be relegated to the back seat. Volvo is trying something different: it just revealed that it’s conducting autonomous vehicle tests with an ordinary family, the Hains from Gothenburg, Sweden. The four-person household is convenient for marketing, of course (we care about people!), but they serve an important purpose: they’ll help Volvo understand how non-engineers deal with self-driving tech. How do they react when the car switches between manual and autonomous modes, and what do they do at those times when they aren’t taking the wheel?
The Hain family will be an important part of the Drive Me project, which has Volvo collaborating with private and public allies on large-scale self-driving tests (up to 100 vehicles) in Gothenburg. The more input they provide, the more likely it is that Volvo’s planned 2021 launch of fully autonomous cars will go off without a hitch. Your car may not only transition to hands-free mode more gracefully, but do more to accommodate the other things you’d do in the car. Like, say, talking to your family.
Source: Volvo
Holocube by Merge VR was the coolest surprise from CES
Holocube is incredibly cool, and one of our biggest surprises.
Holocube surprised us — a lot. It’s a VR accessory for any Google Cardboard user, made by the company responsible for one of the most colorful Google Cardboard clones you’ll see on shelves in stores. Holocube doesn’t require Merge VR to use it — in fact it doesn’t even require an Android phone. Truly anything that runs Cardboard apps can take advantage of this new accessory. What does it do, you ask? In a way, it does whatever you want it to.
Holocube uses the camera on your phone to turn this little cube into an Augmented Reality playground. In the brief demonstrations Merge was giving, Holocube could turn into a heart, a brain, and a mini Minecraft world you could rotate in your hand and populate as you see fit. Merge claims you can do just about anything with Holocube if you’re willing to write the apps for it, and their demonstrations suggest that’s going to be fairly easy to do.
The idea is to combine VR and AR with this simple cube, and to pull this off Merge is reaching out to developers with the promise of an open API and a significant user base. Considering Merge is one of the few simple VR headsets that found a spot on shelves at Best Buy, there’s a good chance they have the numbers to prove there’s plenty of people out there ready to treat Holocube like an impulse buy and jump on it when released later this year. That means it’s likely to have a healthy selection of apps and games to go with it when you’re finally able to buy one yourself.
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