These Android phones support wireless charging

It’s the feature you either have to have or don’t care about at all.

Updated February, 2017: Removed older phones that are EOL and added current phones that support wireless charging.

Wireless charging has been around for a few years now, but sadly it hasn’t become as widely adopted as we’d like. Our Micro-USB ports start to loosen and bend over time and being able to limit that wear and tear by using wireless charging would be a godsend, but due to the fight over wireless charging standards, most phones simply go without it. And while Qi and Powermat and the various companies backing them fight it out, smartphone users are left in the cold.

However, many popular phones are beginning to embrace wireless charging, and if that’s something you’re looking for in your next phone, here’s a list of those lucky devices.

Note: All devices below support Qi charging. We will indicate support for AirFuel compatibility where applicable.

• Blackberry Priv (select models)
• Moto Z (with Mod)
• Moto Z Force (With Mod)
• Samsung Galaxy Note 5
• Samsung Galaxy S6
• Samsung Galaxy S6 Active
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
• Samsung Galaxy S7 *
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge *
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Active *

* indicates support for AirFuel/PMA.

While wireless charging may not be as fast as a traditional plug, being able to plop your phone on a wireless charging block/stand/mat while at your desk, eating dinner, or sleeping can make a world of difference to the phone and its user.

We’ll update this list periodically with new devices that support this wonderful feature.

Amazon’s delivery drones could drop packages with parachutes

Amazon’s much-anticipated (and long time coming) drone deliveries might technically finally be happening, but a new patent spotted by CNN suggests your next book or box-set might actually arrive via parachute. There are many practical, legal and technical challenges that drone deliveries present — and getting the parcel on the ground is just one of them.

So far, deliveries have been carried out in relatively controlled locations where a drone can land to release its cargo. A safe landing isn’t possible everywhere, not to mention other environmental hazards such as humans, pets and other obstacles. Also, this is Amazon, where efficiency is king.

According to CNN, the patent proposes that Amazon’s drones could complete deliveries by releasing the package from the air. The drone would watch from above, and attempt to adjust the package’s descent with either a parachute, a burst of compressed air and other such mechanisms.

The first official delivery happened in Cambridge, UK in a location far away from the densely populated urban centers that most of us live in. If Amazon hopes to make drone deliveries a meaningful part of its distribution — and a recent Super Bowl ad suggests it does — then city-friendly solutions are essential.

Books and games floating down from the sky isn’t even the weirdest idea Amazon’s had for its drone deliveries. Another patent that surfaced at the end of last year described floating warehouses (think “blimp” motherships) that act as hubs that the relatively short-range drones would deploy from. Of course, a patent is just an idea on paper, and no real indication of intent to create.

Right now, Amazon’s being beaten at the drone delivery game by unexpected airspace rival 7-Eleven, which has reportedly completed almost 100 aerial deliveries. Then, of course, there’s the ever-changing red tape that comes with drones being used autonomously and for commercial use. But at least we can be sure Amazon’s working to stamp each of those issues out.

Via: The Verge

Source: CNN

Toyota’s 10 millionth hybrid sale hints at a greener future

Toyota announced that as of January 31, it has sold over 10 million hybrid cars. Business has been strong in recent months, as one million of those sales have come since the end of April 2016.

“When we launched Prius, no one even knew what a hybrid was,” Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota, said in a press release. “Those who drove it were called geeks or other names. Today, thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius a chance, hybrids have grown in popularity, and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream.”

Since the Prius became the first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle in 1997, hybrid sales as a whole have grown. The energy efficient cars accounted for over three percent of new passenger vehicles sold in 2013, Though, that number dipped to around two percent in 2015, according to HybridCars.com, partially due to falling gas prices. However, German automotive manufacturing company Continental AG predicts that the hybrid’s market share will jump to around 20 percent by 2020, largely because of lower emissions goals from countries around the world.

Over three million Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles have been sold in the US, while UK buyers have purchased over a quarter million hybrids. The automaker estimates that driving its hybrids has reduced CO2 emissions by 77 million tons and has saved nearly 8 million gallons of gas. That’s a good start, but it’s just a drop in the bucket considering the roughly 1,750 million tons of greenhouse gasses pumped into the air by our planes, trains and automobiles. Of course, since over 25 percent of greenhouse emissions come from transportation, according to the EPA, every little bit helps.

Source: Toyota, Toyota

Stream live NBA games in VR à la carte starting February 23rd

The NBA announced its plan to stream weekly games live in VR last fall and soon there will be a much cheaper à la carte option. Starting February 23rd, basketball fans will be able to watch matchups live in virtual reality without having to pay for an NBA League Pass subscription. Each game will set you back $7 and they’ll still be available though the League Pass app. Before now, you had to pay for the $200 TV subscription if you wanted to stream live basketball games in virtual reality. NextVR does say that this is the “introductory price” for the rest of the current season, so the rate may not be permanent.

NextVR also announced today that will offer free VR highlights from the NBA All-Star Game festivities this weekend in New Orleans. The on-demand options will include clips from the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest that take place Saturday night. The company will also offer highlights of the All-Star Game itself on Sunday, February 19th. Coverage of the All-Star weekend and live VR streaming is available on Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream headsets.

Source: NextVR

Caavo hopes to be the one box to rule your home theater

If you’re a home theater geek, chances are your days are spent juggling several different remotes and TV inputs. Caavo, a startup from the folks behind the original Sling box, hopes to make your life a bit easier with its set-top box, which can control up to eight different devices at once. Think of it like a super-powered universal remote: It not only lets you easily swap between all the gadgets under your TV, but you can also use it to search for stuff to watch across them. And yes, that includes streaming offerings on services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, as well as live TV.

At $399, though, Caavo is clearly aiming for a very niche audience. And since it’s another box you have to hook up and configure in your home theater, it doesn’t really do much to simplify clutter. Sure, it means you’ll only have a single cable connected to your TV or receiver, but all of your other devices and cables will still be nearby.

Caavo sure is attractive, though, with a removable wood top that sets it apart from most other home theater boxes. It’s also fairly wide, so you’ll likely need to make room on your TV stand. Luckily, since it doesn’t really emit much heat, the company says you can easily place other devices right on top of it.

The most intriguing aspect of Caavo is its universal switching and searching capabilities. After logging into your streaming services, you can use its remote to search for movies and TV shows with your voice. Ask it to play Bob’s Burgers, for example, and it will immediately start playing the show on Netflix via one of your streaming devices. You can also specify which device specific services launch on (for example, Amazon Video shows can be configured only to launch through your Fire TV). Since it’s keeping track of all of your streaming habits, it also lets you quickly pick up where you left off.

Caavo automatically handles all of the input switching as you’re hopping between devices, so there’s no need to juggle remotes. And if you just wanted to start playing a game on your PlayStation 4, you just need to turn on your game controller and Caavo will automatically switch over. The developers also showed off Amazon Alexa integration, which works just like the voice commands with its remote.

While it can handle 4K content, Caavo doesn’t yet support any HDR standards. The company says it’s working on building in HDR10 support, which can be added in a software update down the line. Unfortunately, there are no plans to include Dolby Vision support, since that would require additional hardware. That’s a shame, since there are already plenty films and TV shows relying on Dolby’s standard. Of course, you could always connect a Dolby Vision-capable device to your TV separately, but that instantly defeats the point of Caavo.

Aside from its price, the biggest issue with Caavo is that it seems to be solving a problem that’s already fixing itself. It’s built for a world where you might have an Apple TV, Roku and Chromecast hooked up to your TV, alongside game consoles and cable boxes. But there simply isn’t much reason to be juggling multiple streaming devices these days, especially when many consumers can just use the apps built into their TVs or game consoles. And if you’re just hopping between a few devices, I’d wager most people would rather save the $399 and live with a bit of inconvenience.

Caavo CEO Andrew Einaudi and co-founder Ashish Aggarwal recognize that their box isn’t exactly for everyone, yet. The company is currently aiming for home theater enthusiasts who wouldn’t mind paying a bit for seamless TV watching (though I wonder how those folks would stomach limited HDR capabilities). Pre-orders will kick off in May, and it plans to ship the device later in 2017. Next year, it’s considering a smaller and cheaper model that could appeal to more mainstream buyers.

Caavo is certainly a noble attempt at simplifying our home theaters, but I can’t help but think it’d be more useful as something that’s integrated in an A/V receiver, rather than a standalone box.

Former employee sues Magic Leap for sex discrimination

Augmented reality startup Magic Leap is being accused of sex discrimination and creating a hostile work environment. Ironically, the company is being sued by Tannen Campbell, who was hired to make the startup’s product more female friendly.

Magic Leap made waves in 2014 when it teased a mysterious mixed-reality headset that garnered attention and funds from Google, Qualcomm and other companies. But, a report from The Information, suggests the device doesn’t live up to the hype, making this lawsuit the latest in a string of bad news for the company.

Campbell, who was vice president of Strategic Marketing and Brand Identity, was hired to aid Magic Leap with what it calls its “pink/blue problem,” according to the lawsuit filed in the Southern Florida US District Court. It’s a term used internally by the startup to describe the fact it’s a predominantly male company designing a device for men that doesn’t appeal to women. But, Campbell says she was fired after challenging CEO Rony Abovitz to acknowledge the company’s misogynistic culture and asking him to correct it.

Campbell’s suit is full of unpleasant anecdotes. It describes a company culture where women are not valued for their technological skills and are instead stereotyped as wives, homemakers and sex objects. It also alleges that Magic Leap’s upper management are aware of the gender-based hostility within the startup.

In her first few months at Magic Leap, Campbell says she was asked to put together a 50-slide presentation about gender diversity in the workplace, only to have the meeting scheduled and cancelled six times. When she finally met with Abovitz in February 2016, he allegedly arrived late and ended the meeting early.

Months later, the lawsuit claims Abovitz asked some female Magic Leap employees, including Campbell, to create the “Female Brain Trust Initiative” (FBI) and tasked them with making their product more woman friendly. The group offered some design suggestions, but Campbell says their proposed changes were never taken seriously and the FBI was just window dressing.

The lawsuit also details an app that will ship with the headset called Dr. G. Campbell claims it has no female heroes and that the only female character is a busty woman shown on her knees groveling at the heroes’ feet. Campbell says she complained to developers repeatedly that it was misogynistic.

One of the more disturbing allegations involves Euen Thompson, an IT support lead. While giving a tutorial to a group of new hires, one woman asked Thompson a question and he allegedly responded, “Yeah, women always have trouble with computers.” When the women in the group asked him to repeat what he said, Thompson replied, “In IT we have a saying; stay away from the Three Os: Orientals, Old People and Ovaries.”

When Campbell spoke to Magic Leap Chief Administrative Officer Henk Vlietstra about the incident and asked why Thompson wasn’t fired, Vlietstra allegedly said he couldn’t fire Thompson because he was African American and there were white men who had done “far worse.” Vlietstra feared Thompson would sue the company for discrimination if he was terminated. When Campbell asked why the company didn’t fire all of its problematic employees, Vlietstra allegedly answered, “Because we need the white guys. They’re important. We need them. I know you’re upset, but my hands are tied.”

We’ve reached out to Magic Leap for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

Via: The Guardian

Source: U.S. District Court Southern Florida (PDF)

Apple’s Siri Promotes The LEGO Batman Movie When You Say ‘Hey Computer’

The LEGO Batman Movie, released last Friday, features the voice of Apple’s personal assistant Siri as Batman’s personal computer. Batman’s computer works in much the same way as Siri, responding to his voice requests whenever he says “Hey ‘puter.”

As it turns out, there’s a secret tie-in hidden in the iPhone, too. Whenever you say “Hey ‘puter” (or “Hey Computer”) to Siri, she responds to you as if you’re LEGO Batman.

“I am at your service, Lego Batman sir,” and “Welcome home, sir. I have your rom coms queued up, sorted by decade,” are just two of the multiple humorous phrases Siri shares whenever the personal assistant hears “Hey ‘puter.”

Apple updates Siri on a regular basis, and this isn’t the first time the personal assistant has gained humorous responses ahead of an upcoming event, but it may be the first serious movie tie-in.

Siri was previously updated in August 2016 to offer funny responses to questions about Pokémon Go, and again in September to respond to questions ahead of the iPhone 7’s debut.

In addition to the Siri easter egg, there’s also a free iOS app that accompanies The LEGO Batman Movie, which was released back in January.

Tag: Siri
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Facebook’s next conquest: Your TV

Facebook’s recent push into video is coming for your big screen TV. The social network enabled streaming video to Apple TV and Chromecast last October, but it’s about to go native with an app specifically made for set-top boxes from Apple, Amazon and Samsung.

The new app will let you lean back to watch Facebook videos from the comfort of your couch. It also allows the social network access to millions of people relaxing in their living room, a move that could help Facebook sell more of its planned interstitial ads.

Facebook says you will be able to use the new app to watch videos your friends have shared, from Pages you follow and see the most popular live videos alongside videos recommended to you based on your interests. You can even save FB videos to watch later and re-watch the ones you’ve already watched, shared or uploaded.

Facebook announced a few other improvements, too. Now video audio will automatically play when your mobile device’s sound is turned on, you will see larger previews of video shot vertically, and you will get to keep watching videos in a minimized window on your screen as you scroll through your feed.

As of January of 2016, users have watched 100 million hours of video on Facebook, which could explain the company’s recent frantic strategy changes in the video space. Adding another way for users to consume video when they’re ostensibly away from their mobile devices or computers can only increase that number.

Via: Recode

Source: Facebook

Berkshire Hathaway Nearly Quadrupled its Stake in Apple Stock Last Quarter

Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway nearly quadrupled its stake in Apple stock to 57,359,652 shares last quarter, according to an SEC filing disclosed today. Its stake in Apple was worth nearly $6.7 billion as of December 31, and over $7.7 billion today if the shares are still held.

Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a nearly $1 billion stake in Apple last May, which led the iPhone maker’s stock to soar 9% once the investment became public knowledge. Apple stock has been on the rise since then, closing at an all-time high of $135.02 today just nine months after setting a 52-week low of $89.47 in May 2016.

Apple and Berkshire Hathaway are the world’s most and fourth-most valuable companies respectively based on their market capitalizations.

Tags: AAPL, Berkshire Hathaway
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Bold idea gets off the ground: First flying car now available for pre-order

Why it matters to you

We’ve all dreamed of a future with flying cars. Now that future has arrived at an exorbitant price.

Five years after demonstrating its first successful test flight, Dutch company PAL-V has begun accepting pre-orders for what may be the first flying car to hit the commercial market.

When driving, the Liberty takes form as an enclosed three-wheeler with propeller packed tightly to its roof. To get airborne, the propeller and tail blades expand and transform the vehicle into a gyrocopter.

The Liberty takes about 10 minutes to transform from car to copter, according to PAL-V, and has a top speed of 100mph on the ground and 112mph in the sky. On the road it boasts a range of 817 miles on a full tank. This dwindles to 310 miles once the vehicle takes off.

“After years of hard work, beating the technical and qualification challenges, our team succeeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards, determined by regulatory bodies around the world,” Robert Dingemanse, CEO of PAL-V, said in a press statement.

More: Uber’s newest hire aims to help the company make flying vehicles a reality

The company has been teasing flying car fanatics for years. It began testing its concept cars in 2009 and last year opened the first flying car school in North America. But now PAL-V seems willing to put money where its mouth is — or at least ask its customers to do so.

As you might expect, the Liberty will cost a pretty penny. PAL-V is taking pre-orders for the $400,000 “Sport” base model and the $600,000 “Pioneer,” which includes some seemingly essential features like at-home training and power heating. For that extra $200,000, the Pioneer also includes special detailing and an electronic flight instrument display that should give the Liberty an appropriately futuristic feel.

To reserve a Liberty of your own, you will have to front a $10,000 or $25,000 nonrefundable deposit for the Sport and Pioneer, respectively. The company is also accepting $2,500 refundable deposits to put customers on a waiting list.