Faraday Future sued over missed payments on $2 million VR video

Faraday Future may have had a new car to show off at CES earlier this month, but everyone’s left Las Vegas and old problems are cropping up. Now, the company is being sued by a video effects company for failure to pay for a virtual fly-through of one of its concept vehicles. Last September The Mill gave Faraday an estimate for how much it’d cost to produce a “graphic presentation with virtual reality, augmented reality and holographic components” for January’s trade show, according to court documents obtained by Jalopnik.

Faraday allegedly agreed to pay the $1,822,750 in three installments, but The Mill claims that it has only been paid once despite “repeated requests.” And it wasn’t the right amount, either. Instead of the agreed-upon $455,687.50, Faraday paid $20,000 for the work. It leaves a balance of $1,802,750 plus interest and other costs for the video.

At this point, it’s par for the course for the company. In December we reported on the heap of lawsuits stacking up from unpaid vendors and that the company could be out of business by February 2017 if it couldn’t secure funding at CES.

Since then, the automaker has racked up at least 64,124 reservation slots for its FF 91 SUV, but how many people ponied up for the $5,000 priority reservation isn’t clear. Had that been the only way to pre-order (a free reservation was also offered) the company would’ve had over $320 million laying around — more than enough to pay for the fancy holograms and VR video. The FF 91 is slated to begin production in 2018.

We’ve reached out to Faraday for more information and will update this post should it arrive.

Source: Jalopnik

LG G6 breaks cover in fresh leak, offers great look at tiny bezels

It seems like we learn something new about this phone every day.

LG’s continued strategy of letting plenty of details out ahead of its phone launches is well under way for the new LG G6, but now we also have a solid render of the front of the phone courtesy of The Verge. LG will be officially releasing the G6 at MWC 2017 in just over a month, but this render gives us plenty to talk about in the meantime.

So what are we looking at here? Well, the top half of a finely sculpted phone viewed from the front. We see a metal frame with nicely beveled edges flowing into a front that looks to have very small bezels. A typical set of sensors and a front-facing camera sit left of a standard speaker — nothing too exciting there until we know the exact specs.

So far the LG G6 is looking slick.

The display panel itself looks quite interesting, though. Rather than the typical 90-degree corner you see on most phones, the edges of the screen are actually rounded in this render, nearly matching the curve of the phone itself. We already know that the LG G6 will have an interesting (and tall) 18:9 aspect ratio, but there could be a couple more display tricks at play here.

Previous renders give us some sort of an idea of what the rest of the G6 will look like, but based on this new render those old versions may be a tad off from the final design. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too much longer to see it all for real.

Amazon’s new wake word for Echo will have all the Star Wars geeks smiling

Now all we need is a Q voice app that randomly speaks at you.

The number one request from every voice assistant speaker right now is for more wake words. Lots of people would prefer being able to designate their own wake word instead of a list of pre-defined options, but a longer list wouldn’t be bad either. Amazon already had more options than anyone else with “Alexa,” “Amazon” and “Echo” as wake words that could be set uniquely for each Echo you own, but now there’s a fourth option and it’s easily the best one for Star Trek fans.

That’s right, you can now use “Computer” as a wake word for your Amazon Echo! It’s part of an update slowly rolling out to Echo owners, adding the fourth wake word to the bottom of the existing list. Like any other Echo wake word, you can choose to only have one Echo respond to this wake word or let all of them do it.

All you need to do now is make sure no one in your life is going to shoot you sideways glances when you’re wandering around the house in your Science Officer robe asking your Echo to lower the bedroom lights.

Amazon Echo

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Amazon

Android Instant Apps begins limited testing

Back at last year’s Google I/O conference, the search giant introduced a new concept that the Android team had in the works: Instant Apps. The abbreviated applications would be streamlined enough to start working immediately after users open them with a URL tap, temporarily loading the full software’s functionality without going through the rigmarole of a traditional Play Store installation. After half a year, the Android team has opened up a select few Instant Apps to live testing.

But it seems these Instant Apps won’t be available for the public to tinker with just yet. Users will get access to them for a limited test to generate feedback for product iteration, according to Android’s developer blog.

The first few to companies who get to try out Instant Apps include Wish, Periscope, Viki and Buzzfeed — the latter of which seems the only one still onboard from the original lineup presented at Google I/O, as VentureBeat points out. That means we might not see electronics megastore B&H’s Instant App yet, which released the demo below at the conference.

From the Android team’s blog post, other interested developers probably won’t be able to join this early access period, though they can apply here for the SDK’s wider release in the “coming months.” They’ll need to prepare their app beforehand, trimming it down for modular on-the-fly installation and complying with some Android 6.0 permissions. Hopefully then we’ll begin see a streamlined end to lengthy and data-crunching app store install processes, as Google foretold in its first Instant Apps presentation:

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Android blog

Super-fast camera records light-based ‘sonic booms’

Scientists have suspected that light can create its own conical wakes, like a sonic boom, but how do you capture something that happens so quickly? With a very fast camera, naturally. Washington University in St. Louis has recorded these photonic shockwaves using a “streak camera” that measures both the image and temporal data at 100 billion frames per second. To visualize the cones, the team shot very fast green laser pulses (just 7 picoseconds long) through a tunnel full of dry fog and placed between plates made from aluminum oxide and silicone rubber. Since the laser moved faster in the tunnel than in the plates, it produced a sonic boom-like effect as some of the light dragged behind.

The approach to the camera is particularly important. Other techniques for capturing very fast events usually require many, many exposures to see anything; the streak camera only needs one. On top of the simplicity, this lets you capture events that won’t repeat in the exact same way, such as the laser pulses.

This could provide new insights into light, of course, but the scientists are ultimately interested in biology. Their system is fast enough to track neurons as they fire, and map brain activity in real time. You could track even the smallest details, which could improve our understandings of both the mind and brain-related diseases.

Via: Popular Mechanics

Source: Science Advances, Live Science

Google X co-founder Yoky Matsuoka returns to Nest

Silicon Valley’s most in-demand robotics professor has returned to Alphabet Inc.’s Nest. As Recode reports Monday, Yoky Matsuoka will step back into the Google fold as Chief Technology Officer at the smart home devices company.

Matsuoka co-founded Google’s experimental Google X labs before her first stint as VP of Technology of Nest. As Google, Nest and other subsidiaries were re-organizing under the Alphabet umbrella in early 2015, Matsuoka accepted a VP role a Twitter but ended up passing on the opportunity to deal with a life-threatening illness. Appropriately enough, she bounced back to work as CEO of health-data company Quanttus for a year before joining Apple in early 2016 to work on the company’s health-related projects. According to Bloomberg, she left that role around the end of the year before popping back up at Nest.

Although her new title is slightly different from the one on her old Nest business cards, the company told Recode that the CTO position was a new one.

These could be LG’s new Android Wear watches

While we still need to wait until February 9 to get all the details of Android Wear 2.0 and the new watches that are coming with it, this is probably what LG’s Watch Sport and Watch Style will look like.

The photo, published by Techno Buffalo, shows two distinct watches that line up with all the past leaks and tidbits of information we’ve seen about them.

The LG Watch Style (pictured on the right) is a smaller version with no additional buttons and a strap that appears to be leather. We imagine you’ll have several different straps to choose from, as well as different finishes for the watch body itself.

On the left, the LG Watch Sport looks to be taking on Samsung’s Gear S line. It’s shown in a metal and rubber configuration and is a good bit larger than the Style version. Like the Style, we expect to be able to buy one with a choice of bands and finishes.

LG was a launch partner for Android Wear when it debuted, and it’s no surprise that they are one of the first companies out of the gate with a 2.0 watch. They’ve been committed to the platform and already offer some great choices in their G Watch line. It will be interesting to see what Android Wear 2.0 and LG can bring to the table to refresh a wearables market that’s not seeing much (if any) growth. We’ll know more in a few weeks.

LG G6 fully (well, partially) revealed in leaked photo – see it here

LG is still a month away from unveiling its next flagship, but thanks to a new leak, we know what it will look like.

The leak, posted by The Verge, only shows the top half of the LG G6. As you can see from the image (above), which appears to be a press shot, the phone has minimal bezels, with the top one being taller than the bottom one, apparently. The screen-to-bezel ratio is supposed to be “greater than 90 percent”, as well. You can’t see it in full, but the display is expected to be 5.7 inches with an aspect ratio of 2:1.

• Mobile World Congress 2017: Nokia, Sony, Huawei smartphones and more

The upcoming LG G6 will be made of glass and metal – no plastic whatsoever – and has curved corners. It’ll also be waterproof but will come with a headphone jack. The battery also won’t be replaceable. Other leaked specs include a dual-camera system and center-mounted fingerprint sensor on the back, which seems to be the only thing LG is keeping from last year’s modular Android flagship, the LG G5.

We’ll know more when Mobile World Congress rolls around, as LG is slated to unveil the LG G6 on 26 February. Pocket-lint will be there to provide coverage and full details on the LG G6. Check out our rumour round-up for more LG G6 leaks.

Vertu Constellation is a luxury handmade smartphone with a 5.5-inch sapphire crystal display

Vertu has announced its latest smartphone, the Constellation. Vertu, the British manufacturer of luxury smartphones, caters to a different sort of clientele, a discerning smartphone customer who wants the very best quality and craftsmanship, and is prepared to pay for it. 

Handmade in England, the thing that sets Vertu apart from mass market phones is that they are built by hand, making use of a wide range of materials of the highest quality. The Constellation here is pictured finished in leather, but Vertu’s experts can fabricate a phone finished with ostrich or snake skin or whatever you like through its bespoke personalisation service.

• Inside Vertu: Welcome to the world of luxury smartphones

Aside from premium leather finishes, anodised aluminium frame and that ruby (as in the gemstone) shortcut key to access Vertu’s Concierge service, the innards of the Constellation are impressive too. 

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset might be the signature powerhouse of 2016’s flagship devices, but there’s no lack of power here. There’s 4GB of RAM, a massive 128GB of storage, as well as microSD card support. That beats most flagship devices.

The display is 5.5-inches which is a decent size, with a sharp 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, very much flagship spec. But the real thing that marks this handset aside is the that it’s covered with sapphire crystal for durability and scratch resistance. This is something of a hallmark for Vertu, as it’s the covering of choice on its other smartphones too. 

There’s quick charging for the 3220mAh battery, as well as support for wireless charging, as well as USB Type C, but more interesting is the camera. Vertu specifies that there’s a 12-megapixel sensor with large pixels, 1.55µm to be precise, with phase detection autofocus.

This sounds very much like the sort of camera that’s performed so well in the Google Pixel phones and there’s a 4-megapixel front camera too.

Vertu says that its phones are more than just a physical device, they are the service that comes with it too. The Concierge is available 24 hours a day to cater for your every need, ensuring that you have what you need as your trot around the globe being a super star. 

Most people will never get anywhere near the Vertu Constellation, but we’re always happy that someone is enriching the world of smartphones with these extraordinary devices. And the price? If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.

When is the 2017 Super Bowl LI and where can you stream it online?

It’s official: The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons will face off in the Super Bowl LI.

The Pats beat the Steelers in the AFC Championship game, while the Falcons beat the Packers in the NFC Championship game. Now, the two teams are headed to the Big Game next month. This will be the Falcon’s second Super Bowl appearance, where as the Pats are on their ninth, an NFL record. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Erin Andrews are slated to announce the game, while Lady Gaga will headline the halftime show.

Luckily for us, there are a number of ways to watch the football broadcast in real-time. Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Patriots vs Falcons Super Bowl.

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NFL

When is the Super Bowl LI: 

• When: Sunday, 5 February at 6:30 pm ESTWhere: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

The New England Patriots will go against the Atlanta Falcons on 5 February at 6:30 pm EST at the NRG stadium in Houston, Texas.

Where can you stream the Super Bowl LI?

• Fox Sports Go app (iOS, Android, Windows, Amazon tablets, Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire, and Xbox One)
• NFL Mobile app (Verizon customers only)
• NFL Game Pass (available to watch online after midnight)

Turn on one of these live streams to watch the broadcast in real-time.

FOX and Fox Sports Go

If you want to watch the game on your TV, the only official way is through FOX, so you obviously must be a cable subscriber. You can however watch the same live coverage online for free on your phone, tablet, or computer at FOXSports.com or through the Fox Sports Go app. Again, for all these options, you’ll need a TV provider login. 

NFL Mobile

Verizon customers can access the game via the NFL Mobile app with a verified login.

NFL Game Pass

NFL Game Pass subscribers can replay the game starting at midnight with a verified login.

Radio broadcast

It’s not ideal, but you can also access a free radio broadcast. NFL Game Pass, Fox, Westwood One, SiriusXM, TuneIn, and Entravision will all cover the game live. Nfl.com will also offer foreign language broadcasts.

Is that it?

Yep. If none of those options suit you, because you’re a cord-cutter or whatever, there are a few workarounds you can find online.