AT&T announces plans for 5G ‘testbeds’ in Austin and Indianapolis

Why it matters to you

High-speed 5G networks aren’t expected to launch in earnest until 2020, but AT&T is wasting no time deploying test networks in select U.S. markets.

There’s no doubt about it: 5G is one of the biggest buzzwords in tech. It’s been called the next “revolution” in wireless by Goldman Sachs. The big four major United States carriers — Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint, have pledged to hasten its deployment. And today, AT&T made concrete promises to begin broader 5G tests in select markets this year.

At a “5G Evolution” event in San Francisco on Wednesday, the AT&T announced that it would begin laying the infrastructural groundwork for high-speed wireless networks in Austin, Texas, and Indianapolis. The prototypical deployments are expected to reach a top speed of 400Mbps, or about 40 times faster than a standard cellular data connection. And later this year, the carrier expects they’ll reach theoretical peaks of up to 1Gbps.

More: AT&T will begin testing 5G network technologies in Texas later this year

One city — Austin, Texas — is getting special treatment. It will house two “testbeds” for AT&T’s 5G technology that will feature dedicated 5G outdoor and indoor test locations with “flexible” infrastructure that’ll allow modifications and updates. AT&T says it’ll work with “multiple vendors” to evaluate advanced 5G technology, test network infrastructure and devices, and explore 5G signal coverage.

The work will inform what AT&T’s calling Network 3.0, or Indigo, a platform designed to replace network hardware elements with software. It says that data on the mobile network has increased about 250,000 percent since 2007 (thanks largely to video), and that software-controlled networks are well-suited to handle bandwidth of that volume.

AT&T’s specifically self-driving cars, internet of things, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity — applications that it believes will play a crucial role in the development of next-generation cellular.

More: Should you upgrade to T-Mobile’s One or One Plus Plans? We break it down

“We see Indigo as the third generation of modern networking,” chief strategy officer John Donovan said in a statement. “Indigo is our term for a world where it isn’t just your connection speeds that are accelerating, but every element of the network becomes more seamless, efficient and capable. It is a living, evolving, upgradable platform.”

News of the new networks follow AT&T’s Austin trials of fixed wireless 5G connections, DirecTV streaming, and enhanced broadband services for residential and small-to-medium business customers.

In early 2016, AT&T achieved speeds of 14Gbps over a wireless connection — fast enough to download a 15GB file in nine seconds. And in 2015, the carrier partnered with Intel to roll out point-to-point millimeter wave technology, which delivers high-speed internet via high-frequency radio waves.

More: T-Mobile is giving unlimited data to every customer, but there’s a catch

The International Telecommunications Union has set the date for commercialization of 5G for 2020.

AT&T announces plans for 5G ‘testbeds’ in Austin and Indianapolis

Why it matters to you

High-speed 5G networks aren’t expected to launch in earnest until 2020, but AT&T is wasting no time deploying test networks in select U.S. markets.

There’s no doubt about it: 5G is one of the biggest buzzwords in tech. It’s been called the next “revolution” in wireless by Goldman Sachs. The big four major United States carriers — Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint, have pledged to hasten its deployment. And today, AT&T made concrete promises to begin broader 5G tests in select markets this year.

At a “5G Evolution” event in San Francisco on Wednesday, the AT&T announced that it would begin laying the infrastructural groundwork for high-speed wireless networks in Austin, Texas, and Indianapolis. The prototypical deployments are expected to reach a top speed of 400Mbps, or about 40 times faster than a standard cellular data connection. And later this year, the carrier expects they’ll reach theoretical peaks of up to 1Gbps.

More: AT&T will begin testing 5G network technologies in Texas later this year

One city — Austin, Texas — is getting special treatment. It will house two “testbeds” for AT&T’s 5G technology that will feature dedicated 5G outdoor and indoor test locations with “flexible” infrastructure that’ll allow modifications and updates. AT&T says it’ll work with “multiple vendors” to evaluate advanced 5G technology, test network infrastructure and devices, and explore 5G signal coverage.

The work will inform what AT&T’s calling Network 3.0, or Indigo, a platform designed to replace network hardware elements with software. It says that data on the mobile network has increased about 250,000 percent since 2007 (thanks largely to video), and that software-controlled networks are well-suited to handle bandwidth of that volume.

AT&T’s specifically self-driving cars, internet of things, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity — applications that it believes will play a crucial role in the development of next-generation cellular.

More: Should you upgrade to T-Mobile’s One or One Plus Plans? We break it down

“We see Indigo as the third generation of modern networking,” chief strategy officer John Donovan said in a statement. “Indigo is our term for a world where it isn’t just your connection speeds that are accelerating, but every element of the network becomes more seamless, efficient and capable. It is a living, evolving, upgradable platform.”

News of the new networks follow AT&T’s Austin trials of fixed wireless 5G connections, DirecTV streaming, and enhanced broadband services for residential and small-to-medium business customers.

In early 2016, AT&T achieved speeds of 14Gbps over a wireless connection — fast enough to download a 15GB file in nine seconds. And in 2015, the carrier partnered with Intel to roll out point-to-point millimeter wave technology, which delivers high-speed internet via high-frequency radio waves.

More: T-Mobile is giving unlimited data to every customer, but there’s a catch

The International Telecommunications Union has set the date for commercialization of 5G for 2020.

Upcoming Snapchat feature will add augmented reality animations to scenes

Why it matters to you

The new Snapchat Lenses that are under development could make your future Snaps cooler.

Snapchat’s Lenses, the in-app filters that spice up Snaps with effects like dog ears and snowfall, are reportedly due for an overhaul. The Information reports that Snap, Inc., Snapchat’s parent company, is working on an updated version of Lenses that will overlay augmented reality animations onto scenes.

The experimental Lenses, which are reportedly being tested internally, are described as “smarter” than the Lenses in Snapchat’s existing library. They can interact with real-world objects and “identify environmental elements,” allowing them to superimpose digital effects atop Snaps.

More: You can now buy prescription lenses for Snapchat Spectacles starting from $99

It’s unclear whether the Lenses be applied automatically or let users place them manually within detected scenes. And the new Lenses aren’t expected to see the light of day for some time — they’re “not on Snap’s near-term product roadmap,” according to The Information.

If and when the new Lenses are released, though, they’re expected to hit the Snapchat app on iOS and Android.

The Information noted the potential for advertisers. A brand like Pepsi, for example, could sponsor a Lens that fits atop real-world bottles.

More: The incredible underlying technology of Snapchat’s Selfie Lenses

It wouldn’t be the first time Snapchat’s tapped Lenses for commercial purposes. In November, it partnered with film studio Screen Gems on a promotional lens for its upcoming release Underworld: Blood Wars, that used a gyroscope to create an “immersive 360-degree environment.”

In the past, the company’s cooked up Ghostbusters AR features for Sony and promotional tie-ins for 20th Century Fox’s X-Men Apocalypse. And last year, it released new filters to mark World AIDS Day in collaboration with HIV-fighting organization (RED) and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The timing’s conspicuous, to say the least. Snapchat’s gearing up for an initial public offering worth an estimated $25 billion. If the figure holds, it would make it the largest American tech IPO since Facebook’s in 2012.

Snapchat’s Lenses are a little more complicated than they look. They’re made possible by Looksery, a Ukrainian computer vision startup that Snap, Inc. purchased for $150 million in 2015, and apply Lenses in two phases.

First, Snapchat models faces and environments in 3D space, taking into account rotation and even occlusion so that the overlaid props and effects animate correctly. Then, they process camera movement in real time, producing the finished product.

More: Snapchat is making it easier to find content with new universal search tool

In a report earlier this year, Vox reported that as smartphones continue to gain processing power, Snapchat will be able to introduce increasingly complex Lenses. In that case, the rumored Lenses may be a sign of more to come.

Photo albums just went live in the Instagram Android beta

Why it matters to you

Instagram users may soon be able to upload more than one photo at a time, meaning you’ll be able to share more memories than ever!

Instagram is set to make its photo-sharing tools a little (or a lot) more like Facebook. The company is testing a new feature for its app that will allow users to share multiple photos at a time — exactly like Facebook’s photo albums.

The feature isn’t available through the consumer version of the app just yet, but it is currently live in the beta version of Instagram’s Android app, and if it’s successful, it will most likely make its way to the full Instagram app on both Android and iOS.

More: Instagram rolling out new live-streaming feature globally starting next week

According to a report from Mashable, the feature allows users to select up to 10 photos and combine all of those photos into a single post — which is basically an album. It’s not yet known exactly how these posts will appear in a news feed, as the beta version doesn’t yet allow users to actually post those groups of photos — but some presume that it would appear kind of like the app’s “carousel” ads, in which users can swipe through photos.

If you do have the beta version of the Android app, it’s pretty easy to upload multiple photos. Just follow the steps you normally would, then hold down a photo. You’ll then have the option to select multiple photos, and even upload videos.

It remains to be seen how Instagram itself might change if the feature goes live. Currently, there’s a heavy emphasis on creating individual photos and making them the best you possibly can — if albums are introduced, single photos may become a little less important.

It’s worth noting that there’s no guarantee just yet that the feature will ever go live, but it being in the official beta is promising — much more promising than if it was rolled out to a small selection of users for testing.

These Galaxy S7 Battery Cases Can Keep You Powered Up

Keep your S7 charged up when you’re on the go with these battery cases.

If you’re finding that your Samsung Galaxy S7’s battery life is lacking these days, you might be in the market for a quality battery case to provide you some extra juice as you go about your day.

There’s a number of things to consider, depending on your specific needs such as budget, style, and which phone features are most important to you. While these cases help you keep your phone charged throughout the day, many of them affect your ability to use QI wireless charging, which might be a deal breaker for some.

Let’s take a look at your best options.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Wireless Charging Battery Pack

We’ll start with this charging pack option from Samsung themselves, which we’ve previously highlighted in our list of the best accessories for the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Like all the products features in this list, this battery pack from Samsung is going to add some substantial girth to your phone, but it’s also designed to be easy to install or remove. This makes it an ideal accessory to keep handy in your bag, so it’s always on hand if you need a boost to get through the rest of your day. It’s also worth noting that this is called a charging pack — not a case — so don’t expect this one to provide much protection for your phone in the case of an accidental drop.

This pack actually uses Qi technology to wirelessly charge your phone, which is great for keeping the Micro-USB port clear, but it also slower charging speeds — expect to get a 50% charge over 2 hours of charging time. That’s going to be disappointing for some, but for its current price of under $30, it’s still a worthwhile accessory to have handy for those times when you’ll need it.

See at Amazon

Trianium Charging Case

This charging case from Trianium offers 4,100mAh of backup power in a slim yet protective case that should also keep your phone protected from minor drops. The build offers much more grip than the slippery glass of the naked Galaxy S7. You can charge the case and your phone at the same time using a Quick Charge 2.0-compatible wall charger, or sync your phone to your computer with the case on via the included Micro-USB cable.

You’ll find the LED power level indicators on the back near the bottom of the case. The added bulk at the bottom of the phone blocks access to the headphone jack, so Trianium has included a headphone jack adapter — because that’s an important feature most of us can’t live without.

With a fully-charged phone and battery case, you should expect to get up to 18 hours of heavy use with this combo. This case interferes with the wireless charging capabilities of the Galaxy S7, so you’ll want to keep that in mind.

See at Amazon

ZeroLemon Rugged Battery Case

ZeroLemon claims that this is the world’s highest-capacity Samsung Galaxy S7 charging case — and with a capacity of 7,500mAh it’s certainly the best we’ve found.

But all that added power means that this thing is THICK. With it installed, your phone will be 0.82 inches, so don’t even think about wirelessly charging your phone with this puppy on. It’s a three-piece case that might be a little tricky to install at first, but once you’ve got it on, your phone is protected from drop damage as well as running out of juice. Power level indicators and the charging button are located on the top-half of the back, and it also support passthrough Quick Charge 2.0 capabilities for the phone itself.

Some users have reported an issue with the charging port flap not properly closing, which might be something worth keeping an eye on. Otherwise, if you don’t mind carrying around a brick in your pocket or bag, the ZeroLemon Rugged Battery Case offers the most capable charging case available — as long as you’re willing to deal with all that added bulk.

See at Amazon

Bastex

Balancing price, functionality and style, the Bastex charging case offers 4,200mAh of charge that’ll easily top up your phone from the low battery to full.

In terms of protection, this case leaves the sides of your Galaxy S7 completely exposed, which is good for accessing the power and volume buttons but bad for drop protection. Your phone also sits nearly flush along the front edge of this case, with the two parts of this case popping together on the back of the phone case popping together. If you’ve used one of these two-piece charging cases before, you know that a drop might cause the case to come apart, which is obviously less than ideal.

There’s passthrough charge and sync capabilities, with priority given for charging your phone before the case recharges itself. And there’s also a handy kickstand build into the back of the case, so you can use that extra battery power to stream more media for hands-free viewing. It’s also available in three color options — black, gold or white — to match your phone or your personal style.

See at Amazon

How do you keep your phone topped up?

Do you have any opinions on the cases we’ve outlined? Found a better option than our picks? Let us know in the comments below!

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Galaxy S8 ‘eyewitness renders’ show new edge displays and that weird fingerprint sensor location we all already hate

Is this the Samsung Galaxy S8?

The Galaxy S8 isn’t yet official, but we’re learning more and more about what it will look like, and design decisions — for better or worse — Samsung has made.

The latest comes from CNET Korea which has procured a Galaxy S8 “eyewitness” who helped them create renders of the upcoming phone. There are several key differences here that others who claim to have seen it or have seen the parts that will be used to make it tell us. One on each side, in fact.

This is a render. This is not something that came from Samsung. There is no way to know if this is anything more than a figment of someone’s imagination or an elaborate hoax. But a lot of people are going to be hoping it’s real because the edge displays that we all hate love saw on other leaks are drastically different. They’re still edgy, but not Galaxy S7 edge style edgy and don’t appear to wrap around the actual sides of the phone.

The renders and person who helped create them still say the fingerprint sensor is in that weird, almost unusable spot next to the camera, and the buttons are all virtual. Toss in a headphone jack for good measure, too.

If this is the Galaxy S8, is it what we’re looking for? Comments are open so have at it!

AT&T’s Indigo network upgrades will bring 5G to Austin and Indianapolis in coming months

Indigo is AT&T’s network for today, and tomorrow.

AT&T has announced some details of their new 3.0 network upgrades, dubbed “Indigo”, at a wireless industry event in San Francisco.

The highlight from a consumer angle is the news that they are in the process of expanding their 5G network from its current testbed in Austin, Texas to a live implementation with consumer access in Austin and Indianapolis, Indiana in the coming months. Additionally, they are building out two new 5G testbeds for AT&T labs in Austin to further test fixed wireless 5G connections and signal coverage for the 28GHz, 39GHz, and sub-6GHz frequency bands.

The initial network speeds for the new 5G locations will be a theoretical 400 Mbps, that will eventually incorporate carrier aggregation and LTE-License Assisted Access to enable theoretical peak speeds up to 1Gbps in some areas in 2017.

“We see Indigo as the third generation of modern networking,” said John Donovan, chief strategy officer, and group president, Technology and Operations. “Indigo is our term for a world where it isn’t just your connection speeds that are accelerating, but every element of the network becomes more seamless, efficient and capable. It is a living, evolving, upgradeable platform. Think of Indigo like the operating system on your phone. We’re taking that model to the network.”

But 5G isn’t the only big change for Indigo. AT&T plans to extend their Software-Defined-Networking (their brand of network virtualization) to cover 55% percent of the customer base. Today, 35% of the network has been converted to SDN and the future goals are to have 75% of it converted by 2020.

Powering it all is ECOMP. ECOMP is a computing platform specially designed to handle the needs of a stressful environment like a virtualized data network, and starting today ECOMP is now part of a larger open-source project in collaboration with the Linux Foundation. We’re to learn more from the Linux Foundation in the coming weeks.

We also learned more about AT&T’s push to build a trusted network where confidential data can be shared and doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities can collaborate while keeping patient records safe and HIPPA compliant. This opens the door for remote testing and clinical trials and could speed research to fight disease. We’ve already seen a 5G network go live in Australia and chips from Qualcomm that can use it, so this is something happening now, not years from now.

There’s a lot of future thinking here. A virtualized 5G network is how AT&T envisions what’s next, and seeing important changes in the way the network is built for both better management and user privacy is encouraging. When 5G becomes common, it would be nice to see it future-proof even if only for a short time.

Can Boston Dynamics’ new wheeled robot look any creepier?

Google-owned Boston Dynamics makes several bipedal and quadrupedal robots, most of which look really creepy.

Don’t believe us? See this one and this one and this one. Oh, and look at the robot above too. The company apparently has been testing wheel technology lately, as it recently showed off a new wheeled, upright robot to investors. The robot is named Handle, because it can “handle objects”. Get it? Anyway, it basically looks like Boston Dynamics strapped its two-legged Atlas bot to a Segway

In the presentation, which was filmed and posted to YouTube by a venture capitalist, company founder Marc Raibert said wheels are more efficient than legs, though they have more trouble traversing uneven ground. He described Handle as an “experiment in combining wheels with legs, with a very dynamic system that is balancing itself all the time and has a lot of knowledge of how to throw its weight around”.

• 25 real-life robots that’ll make you think the future is now

Raibert also called Handle “a nightmare-inducing robot”. Like many of Boston Dynamics’s creations, it’s horrifying to watch. Handle can quickly glide around, lift different, heavy objects in warehouse-like situations, and frighten the heck out of people.

Here’s to hoping that robots of the future look a little more humanoid before they end up in our homes. Imagine how scary it would be to wake up and see this thing lingering in your bedroom at 2 am.

(Note: Jump to 3:45 in the video.)

March for Science set for April 22nd

That hoped-for protest against President Trump’s anti-science policies? It’s on. The newly-named March for Science is now slated to take place on April 22nd — appropriately, Earth Day — in both Washington, DC and satellite protests worldwide. The demonstrations will primarily voice opposition to gag orders, funding freezes and other White House attempts to censor climate change science, but it also represents a broader call for politicians to make decisions based on evidence, rather than ideology or corporate agendas.

If you’re interested, you can register for updates in your corner of the world. The protest’s financial sponsor, ScienceDebate.org, is also accepting donations to help fund the cause. Will people turn out in numbers large enough to compare to earlier protests? Not necessarily, but it’s clear that the March for Science is gathering momentum.

Via: March for Science (Twitter)

Source: March for Science

Nintendo will charge under $30 for Switch multiplayer in Japan

When Nintendo announced that the Switch would have a more robust online multiplayer network than previous consoles, fans were split. The new console’s online service promised voice chat and online multiplayer, but like Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus, it was going to cost an annual fee. Fans worried Nintendo wouldn’t provide enough value to warrant the price of entry can breathe easy — Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima says the new console’s online features will cost less than a new 3DS game.

Speaking with Japanese newspaper Nikkei, Kimishima said Nintendo Online Services’ annual fee would be somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 yen, less than $20 to $30 at current exchange rates. That’s less than half of what it costs to snag a year of Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus. That feels about right, reflecting the limits of Nintendo Online Services’ offerings compared to its competitors. Specifically, the lower price softens the blow of the time limit Nintendo has placed on the service’s free monthly games — instead of lasting for the duration of the player’s subscription, as with Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus’ monthly giveaways, Nintendo’s subscription games will expire after just one month.

Kimishima also confirmed that Nintendo is considering adding a VR headset to the Switch’s repertoire, echoing a patent the company filed last year. “If we are able to resolve the issues with playing VR comfortably for long hours, we will support it in one form or another,” he said. Still, don’t get too excited — Nintendo has been down this road before.

Source: Nikkei