GoPro is planning to release a Hero 6 camera in 2017

If you’ve been following GoPro for the last few months through its Hero 5 production issues and Karma drone recall (now back on shelves), you’re probably not surprised by a disappointing earnings report showing a net loss of $116 million. Now, the company has closed offices and shut down its entertainment division with an eye towards returning to profitability this year. Of course, for fans of its products, the question is what new devices are on the way, and while CEO Nick Woodman didn’t drop any specific details, he did confirm that there will be a new Hero 6 action camera this year.

Transcript via SeekingAlpha

Paul Coster – JPMorgan Securities LLC

All right. And the follow-up is, can you just talk to us a little bit about the product cadence moving forward. I think in the prepared remarks it sounded like this year you will have several new products coming to market. Can you confirm that and we’re not going to be on a two-year kind of timeline now between HEROs. Thank you.

Nicholas Woodman – GoPro, Inc.

Thanks, Paul, Nick here. Yes, we can confirm there will be new cameras and other accessories released during the year and new camera namely being HERO6. But we’re not going to share any information as to the timing or any other details around the release of those new products as you can imagine.

Due to GoPro’s issues, there was some speculation last year that the product could be pushed back or canceled, repeating the two-year gap between the Hero 4’s release in 2014 and the Hero 5 last year. We can only speculate what the new camera might be able to do, but Woodman shared his vision of a spherical GoPro camera with us just a few weeks ago during CES.

Source: GoPro, SeekingAlpha

NASA’s gliders could deliver more accurate weather forecasts

A group of students and NASA Armstrong scientists are developing a small inexpensive glider that could help deliver more accurate weather forecasts. The device is called Weather Hazard Alert and Awareness Technology Radiation Radiosonde (WHAATRR) Glider, and it’s based on NASA’s Mars-bound, boomerang-shaped Prandtl-m drone. According to the agency, it could save the National Weather Service up to $15 million a year compared to its current methods. WHAATRR can also deliver more reliable data a lot faster. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could use WHAATRR as an airborne platform for its experiments, as well.

The team is still working on the glider’s final design, but it’s expected to have a wingspan of about three feet and to be made of double ply carbon fiber. Once they’re done making a mold for the design, they’ll perform a test flight by tossing one out of a weather balloon from 20,000 feet. They’ll then equip the final version with all the necessary sensors, instruments and flight control software before dropping test gliders from an altitude of 100,000 feet as part of another series of tests. These first fully-equipped WHAATRRs will be remotely piloted to a predetermined location.

While it’s unclear when the gliders will be officially deployed, we at least know that the team has some funding to make it happen. The initiative was one of the NASA Innovation Kick Start grant winners back in November. That means the team received up to $10,000 in seed funding to get the project off the ground.

Source: NASA

Best Budget Phone in India

Update, 03 February 2017: The Redmi Note 4 is now our top budget pick in India.

• Best Overall
• Best camera
• Best for updates

Best overall

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

See at Flipkart

The Redmi Note 4 is the phone to beat in the budget segment. It offers a 5.5-inch Full HD display with 2.5D curved glass, a premium design with an all-metal chassis and contoured edges, and class-leading battery life.

For the first time, Xiaomi is offering a variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage in this segment, making the device an even more enticing option. The Redmi Note 4 is available in three configurations, with the base version coming with 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage for just ₹9,999. The Redmi Note 4 has a hybrid SIM card slot, so if you want to use two SIM cards, you should get the 64GB version.

The phone runs MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box, with Xiaomi rolling out software updates with stability fixes once every two weeks. If you’re new to the MIUI ecosystem, there’s plenty to explore.

The camera has received a sizeable upgrade as well, and it now takes great images in daylight conditions. Overall, you’re getting a phone that offers an incredible amount of features for not a whole lot of money.

Bottom line: A premium aluminum design, great battery life, decent camera, and attractive pricing make the Redmi Note 4 the standout device in this category. For its retail price, it’s bordering on illegal to ask for more.

One more thing: Xiaomi is testing the Nougat update for the phone. It’s in preview right now, but a stable build should be available shortly.

Why the Redmi Note 4 is the best

Xiaomi has figured out the formula to succeed in India’s competitive budget segment: offer a handset packed to the gills with features, and price it lower than its rivals. The Redmi Note 3 relied on this formula and became a runaway hit, selling over 3.6 million units in just ten months.

The Redmi Note 4 also follows the same principles. The phone comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS LCD display, Snapdragon 625 with eight Cortex A53 cores, a 13MP rear camera with PDAF and dual-tone LED flash, 5MP front camera, and a massive 4100mAh battery.

The design is much more premium than its predecessor, and the camera is of a higher quality. It’ll take you the better part of a day to explore everything MIUI 8 has to offer, and you won’t be lacking for battery at the end of the day thanks to the efficient processor and huge battery.

You even get an IR blaster that lets you control appliances in your house. There’s no dearth of features on the Redmi Note 4, and all things considered, you’re getting a lot for your money.

Best camera

Honor 6X

See at Amazon

If you associate with the phrase “digital native,” then the Honor 6X is the phone for you. The highlight of the phone is the dual camera setup at the back, which sees a 12MP camera joined by a 2MP shooter that adds depth of field to your images. The camera app offers a ton of shooting modes — there’s one for “Good food” — and there are several filters to choose from.

The hardware is on par with what Xiaomi has to offer with the Redmi Note 4. You get a 5.5-inch Full HD display, an octa-core Kirin 655 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 8MP front camera, and a 3340mAh battery.

The software has its drawbacks, but that will be fixed soon with the Nougat update, which will introduce the vastly improved EMUI 5.0.

Bottom line: The camera is the standout feature of the Honor 6X, but the phone is kitted out very well elsewhere too.

One more thing: The Honor 6X is available in two variants: one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage for ₹12,999, and a model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage for ₹15,999.

Best for updates

Moto G4 Plus

See at Amazon

The Moto G series has picked up a considerable upgrade in the Moto G4 Plus, which offers a 5.5-inch Full HD display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, and a fingerprint sensor. Then there’s the 16MP camera with PDAF, which is not only the best we’ve seen in a budget Motorola phone, but also one of the best shooters in this segment.

The Moto G4 Plus is powered by a Snapdragon 617 SoC with eight Cortex A53 cores — four clocked at 1.5GHz and the other four at 1.2GHz — and an Adreno 405 GPU clocked at 550MHz. Combine that with vanilla Android and a few proprietary features such as Moto Actions and you get a handset that offers a lag-free experience. You also get a dedicated microSD card slot, along with dual SIM card slots.

You get the promise of quick updates with the Moto G4 Plus, and the phone is the first in India — outside of the Pixel and Nexus devices — to pick up the Nougat update. Motorola’s commitment to a clean software experience gives it the edge over its Chinese competitors.

The Moto G4 Plus also features Motorola’s TurboPower quick charging, with a 25W charger bundled in the box. When you run out of juice from the 3000mAh battery, you’ll be able to get up to three hours’ worth of usage from a 15-minute charge.

Bottom line: The Moto G4 Plus isn’t as powerful as other phones in this category, but it gets the basics right. If you want a phone with clean software, great camera, and quick updates, the Moto G4 Plus should be high on your list.

One more thing: Although the Moto G4 Plus has a microSD card, you should pick up the model with 32GB base storage, which costs just ₹1,500 more.

Conclusion

The budget category fields over a hundred devices, but if you’re looking for a phone that offers the most value for your money, then the Redmi Note 4 is at the top of that list. Even on the base model that costs just ₹9,999, you get a great design, incredible hardware, amazing battery life, and a camera that holds its own.

Best overall

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

See at Flipkart

The Redmi Note 4 is the phone to beat in the budget segment. It offers a 5.5-inch Full HD display with 2.5D curved glass, a premium design with an all-metal chassis and contoured edges, and class-leading battery life.

For the first time, Xiaomi is offering a variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage in this segment, making the device an even more enticing option. The Redmi Note 4 is available in three configurations, with the base version coming with 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage for just ₹9,999. The Redmi Note 4 has a hybrid SIM card slot, so if you want to use two SIM cards, you should get the 64GB version.

The phone runs MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box, with Xiaomi rolling out software updates with stability fixes once every two weeks. If you’re new to the MIUI ecosystem, there’s plenty to explore.

The camera has received a sizeable upgrade as well, and it now takes great images in daylight conditions. Overall, you’re getting a phone that offers an incredible amount of features for not a whole lot of money.

Bottom line: A premium aluminum design, great battery life, decent camera, and attractive pricing make the Redmi Note 4 the standout device in this category. For its retail price, it’s bordering on illegal to ask for more.

One more thing: Xiaomi is testing the Nougat update for the phone. It’s in preview right now, but a stable build should be available shortly.

John Carmack airs grievances over ZeniMax lawsuit on Facebook

ZeniMax might have only won a small fraction of the $4 billion it wanted to get from its Oculus lawsuit, but John Carmack was still definitely unhappy with the court’s decision. The Oculus CTO has posted on Facebook to publicly disagree “with [ZeniMax’s] characterization, misdirection and selective omissions” during the proceedings.

He denied the claims the plaintiff’s computer expert made about being “absolutely certain” that Oculus “non-literally copied” from the source code he wrote when he worked for ZeniMax-owned Id Software. If you’ll recall, the plaintiff accused Carmack of bringing company secrets with him when he left Id and joined Oculus in 2013. The CTO said that the internet would have “viciously mocked the analysis” the expert presented in court if the code samples were released publicly. He argued:

“The analogy that the expert gave to the jury was that if someone wrote a book that was basically Harry Potter with the names changed, it would still be copyright infringement. I agree; that is the literary equivalent of changing the variable names when you copy source code. However, if you abstract Harry Potter up a notch or two, you get Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, which also maps well onto Star Wars and hundreds of other stories. These are not copyright infringement.”

Carmack also denied accusations that he wiped his hard drive when the lawsuit was filed. “[A]ll of my data is accounted for, contrary to some stories being spread,” he wrote. However, ZeniMax says he destroyed 92 percent of his HDD as soon as he heard of the lawsuit. In a statement it issued as a response to the CTO’s post, the company also said that it’s not just the expert it brought in who said its codes were copied:

“In addition to expert testimony finding both literal and non-literal copying, Oculus programmers themselves admitted using ZeniMax’s copyrighted code (one saying he cut and pasted it into the Oculus SDK), and Brendan Iribe, in writing, requested a license for the “source code shared by Carmack” they needed for the Oculus Rift. Not surprisingly, the jury found ZeniMax code copyrights were infringed. The Oculus Rift was built on a foundation of ZeniMax technology.

As for the denial of wiping, the Court’s independent expert found 92% of Carmack’s hard drive was wiped—all data was permanently destroyed, right after Carmack got notice of the lawsuit, and that his affidavit denying the wiping was false.”

Source: John Carmack (Facebook), UploadVR

How to watch Super Bowl 51 online

This Sunday, NRG Stadium in Houston will host the country’s biggest annual sporting event: the Super Bowl. This year, Super Bowl LI — that’s 51, for those of you who didn’t read the headline — will feature the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, in what promises to be a high-octane contest that pits the top offense in the NFC (the Falcons) against the top offense in the AFC (the Patriots).

This year, Fox has exclusive rights to the live broadcast, and fans — including those without a cable subscription, or a TV — will have several options for watching the big game in high definition. Whether you plan to tune in using your smartphone, tablet, computer, or TV, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to find out how to watch Super Bowl 51, even if you’re just tuning in for the commercials or the spectacle that is bound to be Lady Gaga’s halftime performance.

TV

As previously mentioned, Fox owns the rights to this year’s Super Bowl, which means you’ll want to navigate to whichever channel Fox is on at 3:30 p.m. PST. The exact channel depends on your location and your cable or satellite provider, but doing so will afford you access to unparalleled quality and stability — not to mention unhindered access to those oh-so-important commercials.

More: Banish the bunny ears (and monthly bills) with these potent indoor antennas

If you’re not a cable customer but you have an antenna capable of receiving signals, enter your address on this page to find out which RF channel Fox is currently being broadcast over in your local area.

Web browsers

This year, Fox is offering live HD streams of the game at FoxSportsGo.com, even if you don’t have a cable subscription. This means that every major browser — including Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Safari — should have no problem displaying the stream, assuming your software is up to date. The football gods are benevolent, and, apparently, they want you to glue your eyes to the field on Sunday.

Tablets and set-top streaming devices

Last year, most everyone with a tablet or set-top streaming device was able to watch the game for free using CBS’s Sports app. This year, the names have changed, but the method stays the same. Instead of CBS Sports, you’ll want to download the Fox Sports Go app on your iOS or Android device. Fox will be integrating local and national advertisements into the broadcast, so don’t worry about missing those hilarious Super Bowl commercials by cutting the cord.

More: Get Siri-ous about your Super Bowl preparations with Apple’s AI assistant

Most big-name devices, including the Apple TV and various Roku devices, are compatible with the app, and you won’t need to pilfer your parents’ login information to gain access. Every bone-crunching tackle and each close-up of Tom Brady looking bored are yours for the viewing — no strings attached. Below is a list of compatible devices.

Devices
Requirements
iOS
Requires iOS 8.0 or later
Apple TV
Requires 4th Generation Apple TV running tvOS 9.0 and above
Android devices
Requires OS 4.2 or later
Android TV
Requires NVIDIA Shield, Sharp TV, Sony TV (BRAVIA 4k 2015 / SVP–DTV15 and BRAVIA 4k GB/BRAVIA_ATV2), or Nexus
Chromecast
Requires a Chromecast device running firmware 1.1 and above
Kindle Fire devices
Requires HD 3rd Generation or later devices running Fire HD OS 4.5.5.2 and above
Kindle Fire TV
Requires Kindle Fire TV or Kindle Fire Stick
Roku
Requires a Roku Streaming Player or Roku TV running firmware 7.2 or higher.
Requires Roku XD/S, Roku 2500, Roku 2 XS, Roku 3, or Roku 4.
Windows desktop
System Requirements:
Operating System: 32 or 64 bit version of Windows 10
Processor: 1 GHz or faster
Supported Processors: 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64)
Memory: 1GB of RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
Resolution: 1024 x 768 minimum
Windows Mobile
All Windows Phone 10 devices are supported
Xbox One
Requires an Xbox One running firmware 10.0 and above

Smartphones

Although fans can watch the game via the Fox Sports Go app on tablets, smartphones are a different story. Due to Verizon’s exclusivity agreement with the NFL, the only way to stream Super Bowl LI on your smartphone is by downloading the official NFL Mobile app — and even then, you’ll need to be a Verizon customer.

The small screen certainly isn’t ideal, but for fans unable to find their way to a living room or dive bar, it might be the only option. Just keep an eye on your data usage.

Sales are higher for GoPro — but Karma recall has the firm’s stock price dropping

Why it matters to you

GoPro’s financial struggles recently resulted in cutting the entertainment division — but despite positive sales for the Hero5, the company isn’t out of the woods yet.

The GoPro Hero 5 is the best-selling digital camera in several regions including the U.S., but despite the relaunch of the Karma on February 1, the recall is making what would otherwise be a bright spot in the company’s history look rather bleak. Despite the success of the Hero 5, the firm’s stock price dropped by $.82 per share in the last quarter of 2016, indicating that while sales may be improving, confidence in the company has been affected by the recall.

According to the latest financial reports, the Hero5 was the best-selling digital imaging device both in the number of cameras and total spent in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Features like voice control and stabilization brought a much-needed update to the GoPro line two years after the Hero4. The company says the GoPro Hero Session is estimated to be the second-best-selling camera in the U.S. The action camera’s success resulted in the second highest quarterly earnings in the company’s history, although the firm posted a loss for the year.

More:  GoPro’s tiny Remo remote expands your voice control options

Launched at the same time, the Karma was expected to be a bright spot in an otherwise difficult year for the company, but just a few weeks after the drone launched, the company voluntarily recalled it when some units lost power mid-flight. The issue was a simple fix to the battery latch to keep the battery in place, but identifying the issue has not prevented the firm’s stock price from falling.

The recall likely could not have happened at a worse time, as the company was already struggling, with several manufacturers introducing competitive products with similar features as the older Hero4. Shortly after the recall, GoPro announced a restructuring plan with 200 layoffs.

January saw a stock price rise for the company, up by 23 percent in the first month of the year. But, a day after relaunching the recalled Karma, those numbers dropped by ten percent in after-hours trading.

Along with the highlights of the Hero5 sales, the company also noted that the number of Quick Mobile app users tripled, while the company’s social media followers also grew, with Instagram up by 53 percent and views on YouTube up by 86 percent.

According to founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman, the company will continue to adjust costs to return to profitability. “In 2016, big investments in hardware, cloud, and mobile yielded a solid foundational experience for our customers,” he said. “In 2017, we will build on this foundation for our customers while improving efficiency and managing cost to achieve profitability.”

Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA review

Research Center:
Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA

One day soon, Chromebooks are going to gain wide access to over a million Android apps. While Android apps aren’t quite the same as full-featured applications running on Windows and MacOS, gaining access to the Google Play Store will significantly improve what users can do with Google’s Chrome OS.

That’s particularly true for Chromebook 2-in-1 devices, because running Android apps on touch-enabled devices in tablet mode is a much more natural experience than using a touchpad or mouse on a standard notebook. Google has guaranteed that every Chromebook released in 2017 will receive Android app support, and so we’re likely to see a greater number of manufacturers design machines that can best take advantage of the dramatic increase in apps.

More: Google: All Chromebooks launched in 2017 will run Android apps

Asus has released a new Chromebook, the Flip C302CA, that makes for a solid entry in the Chrome OS 2-in-1 space. It’s solidly built with a nice screen and decent components, including either an Intel Core M3 6Y30 or Pentium 4405Y processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of eMMC storage. But does it justify its $500 price tag?

Great build quality mated with a convenient 2-in-1 design

The Flip C302CA has an all-aluminum build that exudes quality, and thanks to the low-power processor and fanless design, it’s solid, without any vents to break up the clean look. It’s also a 360-degree 2-in-1, meaning that the display flips around from a standard notebook to a tablet, with tent and presentations modes in between.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The hinge does a good job of keeping the screen in position, with little to no wobble. And although the Flip C302CA is light enough at 2.64 pounds that it’s comfortable to use as a tablet, its solid build lets you use it as a tablet without feeling like you need to coddle it. As is always true of 2-in-1s (so far), this is not a straight replacement to the iPad Air or an Android tablet. But it’s close enough that people who use tablets only occasionally will see no issue.

An unfortunate dearth of connectivity options

As seems to be the trend lately, the Flip C302CA is equipped exclusively with USB Type-C connections. No dongles are included in the box, so if you need to connect to a legacy USB device, you’ll need to buy an adapter. The USB Type-C adapters don’t support Thunderbolt 3 either, topping out at 5Gb/s data bandwidth, but both do provide power to the machine.

The Flip C302CA has an all-aluminum build that exudes quality.

A microSD slot is also included for some expansion capabilities, and to make it easy to transfer files, providing up to SDXC support. The only other wired connection is a headphone jack.

Wireless connectivity is provided by 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. Range and stability were excellent throughout the testing period, with the Flip C302CA connecting to the test environment’s router and maintaining solid throughput. Bluetooth headphones connected and streamed music without issue and with the expected quality.

A lot of function in a small size

The keyboard is full-size, so the machine’s diminutive form wasn’t a detriment to the typing experience. The keys are of comfortable size with good spacing, and follow the typical Chromebook key layout that includes the search key where many people might expect a Caps Lock key.

Key travel is a little shallow, however, at 1.4mm, and a little spongier than is optimal for a touch typist. Still, the overall typing feel was acceptable. Getting up to typical typing speeds shouldn’t take long. The keyboard is also backlit, with uniform lighting to make it comfortable to use in darker settings.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The touchpad is on the small side, but that’s to be expected given the Flip C302CA’s small size. It’s responsive, however, with multitouch gestures supporting the usual pinch-to-zoom and scrolling functions. The integrated left/right click buttons are easy to activate, and have a nice click without being too loud.

Tap the screen, which supports up to 10 multi-touch inputs, and you’ll find it responds accurately to input. Swiveling the Flip C302CA into tablet mode provides a responsive experience that should work well with Android apps. Located above the display is an HD webcam that provides a decent enough image for videoconferencing.

A sharp and colorful display that could use another notch of brightness

The Flip C302CA has a 12.5-inch display running Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution at a moderately sharp 176 pixels per inch. Strangely, the machine came with a factory preset resolution of 1,536 × 864, which some users might find more comfortable because it effectively increased the size of all text. Switching to the highest resolution available was a simple toggle in Chrome OS settings, and doing so provides a sharper image, albiet with significantly smaller text and user interface elements.

In terms of display quality, Asus picked a good, but not great, panel for the machine. Colors were attractive without being over-saturated, contrast looked solid, and the white point didn’t appear particularly warm or cool. Brightness was a bit low at around 250 lux, however, and the glossy screen did reflect some overhead lighting. An ambient light sensor is packed onboard to keep the display adjusted based on the conditions.

Display quality is still mixed on Chromebooks, given some are very expensive. Overall, the C302CA is certainly above average – though you’d expect that for the price. Importantly, it also generally exceeds what you’ll find on a $500 Windows laptop. Quite a few now offer 1080p, but the panels available at this price point usually aren’t as vibrant.

Make sure to keep your headphones handy

A small side-firing speaker adorns each edge of the Flip C302CA, toward the front of the machine. The speakers aren’t particularly loud, though, and so you’ll want to use headphones if you’re planning to watch a movie in a room with any kind of ambient noise. You’ll also want to use an external speaker if you need to share your music with anyone else who’s not sitting right next to you.

More than fast enough for Chrome OS

Our review unit was equipped with a Core m3 6Y30 processor, which is a dual-core CPU running at 900MHz with a maximum Turbo frequency of 2.20GHz. While that processor would provide decidedly mixed Windows 10 or MacOS performance, it’s more than powerful enough to make for a smooth and hesitation-free Chrome OS experience.

More: How to try out ChromeOS in Virtualbox, and find out if a Chromebook is right for you

That puts the Clip C302CA at an advantage, given that Chromebooks are often equipped with lower-end Intel Pentium and Celeron processors. Intel’s Core processors offer a few higher-end features, including Hyper-Threading to boost performance in running parallel applications, Turbo Boost for higher peak performance, and Intelligent Power Management for better balancing of battery life with performance. By including Intel Core processors as options, Asus has given the Flip C302CA a leg up.

In short, no matter what was thrown at it, the Flip C302CA handled it with aplomb. That’s not going to change much with the upcoming onslaught of Android apps, either, none of which are likely to stress the processor. As mentioned earlier, the machine is fanless thanks to the low-power processor, and at no time did the chassis get uncomfortably warm.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

We’ll note here that the upcoming Samsung Chromebook Pro uses roughly the same specifications – Intel Core m3-6Y30, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC – and we had a chance to give it a hands-on treatment. That machine is optimized in some ways for Chrome OS touchscreen support, and it will ship out of the box with Android app support enabled (it’s not yet available for sale). From a pure performance perspective, The Chromebook Pro ran Android apps very well indeed, even with a higher resolution (2,400 x 1,600) display.

The eMMC drive is no SSD, but you won’t be notice a difference

The Flip C302CA comes with a choice of 32GB or 64GB eMMC flash storage. That technology’s not going to set any speed records compared to the modern SSDs in Windows 10 and MacOS notebooks, but again, Chrome OS is far more forgiving. Most Chromebooks come with eMMC flash storage as their only option, and so Asus is simply keeping up with the competition here.

As expected, the machine boots quickly, and apps open without hesitation. Files open and save quickly with no notable delay. You might notice a speed difference if you were working with large files, but Chrome OS wasn’t designed for that, so it never becomes an issue. Anyone seriously interested in editing photos and video should stick with a Mac or Windows rig.

The graphics are probably fast enough for Android gaming

It’s beginning to sound like a broken record, but once again Chrome OS’s very modest requirements mean that the Flip C302CA’s Intel HD 515 graphics were more than sufficient for whatever you might want to do with machine. Running the usual Chrome OS games, certainly, wasn’t an issue.

Swiveling the Flip C302CA into tablet mode is great for Android apps.

As we noted with processor performance, the Samsung Chromebook Pro serves as a good benchmark for Android app performance. And again, even with a higher resolution screen, the same GPU as used by the Flip C302CA ran Android games at the highest resolution. The Samsung does make for a better gaming machine despite the similar specs, given its inclusion of an accelerometer for more natural Android game controls.

For everything else you’re likely to do with the Chromebook C302C, including watching HD video streams, the Intel HD 515 graphics should perform more than well enough.

A light machine that’s comfortable to carry as a tablet – and it has a decent battery

The Flip C302CA is a relatively small machine at 11.96 x 8.26 x 0.53 inches, and it’s reasonably lightweight at 2.64 pounds. Carrying it from place to place isn’t much of a burden, and using it as a tablet in the crook of your arm is possible for reasonably long times – it’s not an iPad, but it’s not as heavy as some larger 2-in-1 devices with 13-inch and bigger displays.

The machine comes equipped with a 39 watt-hour lithium ion battery that’s well-sized for the machine’s overall diminutive form and power-sipping Core m3 CPU. Applying our usual tests showed the Flip C302CA to be a relatively long-lasting machine.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Using our most demanding Peacekeeper test, the battery lasted six hours and 18 minutes. This compares to the seven hours and 31 minutes experienced with the Acer Chromebook 14, which uses a lower-power Intel Celeron CPU, 14-inch display, 4GB of RAM, and otherwise similar specifications. The Acer Chromebook R 11, also with a Celeron processor and a smaller display, ran for six hours and 33 minutes. Finally, the Lenovo ThinkPad 13 that we reviewed with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, larger 13-inch Full HD display, and larger 42 watt-hour battery petered out after four hours.

On our looping Chrome web macro test, which puts a little less stress on the display and processor and likely leverages the efficiencies of Chrome OS, the Flip C302CA lasted for a reasonable seven hours precisely before powering off. The Acer Chromebook 14 kept going for nine hours and 29 minutes, while the Acer Chromebook R 11 lasted six hours and 35 minutes. Again, the Lenovo ThinkPad 13’s more robust processor limited its battery life by comparison, to five hours and 38 minutes on this test.

More: Chromebooks sales soar past MacBooks for the first time ever, according to analyst

Finally, if you’re wanting to watch HD movies and TV shows on your Chromebook, then you’ll get roughly eight hours and five minutes of viewing time.

Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA Compared To

Acer Spin 7

Lenovo Yoga Book

Lenovo ThinkPad 13 Chromebook

Acer Switch Alpha 12

Huawei Matebook

Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431-C5FM

Razer Blade Stealth

Toshiba Satellite Radius 12…

Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro

Dell XPS 12 (2013)

Lenovo ThinkPad Helix

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

Samsung Series 5 Chromebook

Warranty information

Asus provides a standard one-year warranty with the company’s Accidental Damage Protection (ADP) coverage included, which is a nice bonus in case you ever drop your Flip C302CA or spill a cup of coffee on it.

Our Take

The Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA proves that it’s possible to make a quality 2-in-1 with a luxury feel for a reasonable amount of money. Chrome OS helps, in that a relatively low-end CPU can provide outstanding performance for most tasks, and Chromebooks are gaining a real boost in value with the upcoming addition of millions of Android apps. For $500, the Flip C302CA provides a great experience for anyone who can live within the general constraints of Chrome OS.

Is there a better alternative?

Comparable alternatives include Lenovo’s ThinkPad 13 at around $400 and the HP Chromebook 13 at $600 with a 13.3-inch QHD (3200 x 1800) display to go with similar specs — Core m3 processor, 4GB RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage. Indeed, the Flip C302CA falls right in between the two, with a lot more storage and equal or better components – and neither of those machines are 2-in-1s. Unless you need a larger display, the Flip C302CA is a great compromise and provides a tablet mode to boot.

The DT Accessory Pack

Anker USB-C) to Micro USB adapter

$8

Anker USB-C to 4-Port USB 3.0 hub

$18

CableCreation Braided charging cable

$11

Another newer option is the Acer Chromebook R 13, which offers a 13.3-inch Full HD display, MediaTek M8173C quad-core processor, 4GB RAM, and 32GB of eMMC storage for $400. The Chromebook R 13 is also a 2-in-1 form factor with a touchscreen, and so will also fair well when Android apps are released. It’s also about half a pound heavier than the Flip C302CA and a bit larger, and so Asus’s model provides more portability for about $100 more.

If you were going to wait for any new machine, you could see how Samsung prices its Chromebook Pro. The ARM-based Chromebook Plus will be priced similarly at $450, and so the Pro version will likely come in at the higher end of the Chromebook market. Whether that machine’s touchscreen and Android app optimizations are worth the extra money remains to be seen.

How long will it last?

The Flip C302CA is equipped with USB Type-C connections, which means it’s in keeping with one of today’s most dominant trends. The Flip C302CA is also equipped with sufficient components and a 2-in-1 design that should make it particularly well-suited for the Android apps that it will soon be able to run. Taken together, these attributes alone make the C302C a great Chromebook option for the long term.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Asus Chromebook C302CA is the cream of the current Chrome OS crop. We’d only suggest you wait if you’re eyeing the Samsung Chromebook Pro, which will boast even better Android support and a higher screen resolution – though it’ll also set you back another $50, and won’t be available until late February.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk won’t quit Trump’s advisory council

While a boycott movement that registered over 200,000 account deletions and messages from employees convinced Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to end his tenure on the president’s economic advisory council, Elon Musk will not be moved. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO tweeted that at tomorrow’s meeting of the advisory council he and others will “express our objections to the recent executive order on immigration and offer suggestions for changes to the policy.”

There have been reports of customers canceling preorders due to Musk’s participation in the council, however, it has not received the level of focus directed at Uber last week. The way Musk sees it, participation does not indicate agreement with the Administration’s, and he can help “the greater good” by engaging.

Of course, only two weeks in, there have already been multiple mass protests in response to President Trump’s administration. Particularly as Tesla becomes a company serving a wider range of people, it will be interesting to see how customers react to its CEO’s decisions, even when they’re away from the main product lines.

Regarding the meeting at the White House: pic.twitter.com/8b1XH4oW6h

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2017

Source: Elon Musk (Twitter)

Plex for Alexa will get the party started with your voice

It seems like Amazon has been adding new Alexa skills nearly every day lately. The latest trick is voice control for the popular home media streaming server Plex. Just use your voice to ask Plex to bring up any movies or music you have stored on your home (or cloud) media server. Once enabled, all you need to do is ask Alexa for your favorite movies, TV shows and music, provided you have them all on a Plex-connected media server. The skill works on the Amazon Tap, Echo Dot, Echo, Fire TV and on newer model Fire tablets.

Got three minutes to spare? Check out this video on how it all works:

Now you can request The Big Lebowski by name or just ask to hear some Bob Marley songs; the Alexa skill will work the Plex install to find the right stuff.

While asking for a song or movie by name via Alexa is pretty great, the killer feature here is the ability to get suggestions. Just ask Plex to suggest some relevant music or videos. And yes, you can just tell Alexa to tell Plex to “get this party started” for some hip music or even “What’s new?” to find out what movies have been recently added to your Plex system.

Plex itself is easy to use, and is available on many common media streamers, like Apple TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and NVIDIA Shield. Using your voice seems like a useful addition, allowing fans of the app to perhaps spend less time with their remotes.

Just please, let’s all call it Plexa from now on, OK?

Source: Plex Blog

Lawsuit Alleges Apple Broke FaceTime on iOS 6 to Force iOS 7 Upgrades, Save Money

Christina Grace of California has filed a new class-action lawsuit that alleges Apple broke FaceTime in iOS 6 to force users to upgrade to iOS 7, reports AppleInsider. According to the lawsuit, Apple forced users to upgrade so it could avoid payments on a data deal with Akamai.

The class action found its genesis in internal Apple documents and emails disclosed in the VirnetX patent infringement lawsuit, which eventually ended in Apple paying $302 million after a retrial. Apple used two connection methods when launching FaceTime in 2010: a peer-to-peer method that created a direct connection between two iPhones and a relay method that used data servers from Akamai.

When Apple’s peer-to-peer FaceTime technology was found to infringe on VirnetX’s patents in 2012, Apple began to shift toward Akamai’s servers to handle iPhone-to-iPhone connections. A year later, Apple was paying $50 million in fees to Akamai, according to testimony from the VirnetX trial. The class-action lawsuit, pointing to an internal email titled “Ways to Reduce Relay Usage,” alleges that the growing fees were beginning to bother Apple executives.

Apple eventually solved the problem by creating new peer-to-peer technology that would debut in iOS 7. The class-action lawsuit, however, alleges that Apple created a fake bug that caused a digital certificate to prematurely expire on April 16, 2014, breaking FaceTime on iOS 6. Breaking FaceTime on iOS 6, the lawsuit claims, would allow Apple to save money on users who did not upgrade to iOS 7.

At the time, Apple recognized the bug, publishing a support document saying that users who were having FaceTime connectivity problems after April 16, 2014 could update to the latest software to fix the issue. The same support document eventually removed the date “April 16, 2014,” according to AppleInsider.

The lawsuit later points to an internal Apple email chain in which an engineering manager mentions that they were looking at the Akamai contract for the upcoming year and understood that Apple “did something” to reduce usage of Akamai’s services. Another engineer responded by pointing out iOS 6 leaned a lot on Akamai’s services and that Apple “broke iOS 6” and the only way to fix FaceTime was to upgrade to iOS 7.

Apple’s developer page pegged iOS 7 adoption at 87 percent on April 7, 2014, nearly 10 days before Apple allegedly broke iOS 6. The lawsuit claims that forcing iPhone 4s and 4 users to upgrade to iOS 7 was harmful to them because the software would allegedly crash more and run more slowly.

The lawsuit is seeking undisclosed damages and to prove Apple violated California’s unfair competition law.

Tags: lawsuit, FaceTime, VirnetX
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