Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S3 could be a true iPad Pro rival with S Pen stylus and keyboard dock

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 could be a genuine iPad Pro rival after the alleged manual has leaked online, just a week ahead of its expected launch at Mobile World Congress. The manual confirms a previous rumour, that the Tab S3 can be used with Samsung’s S Pen stylus.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S3: What’s the story so far?

However, there won’t be a dedicated slot in the tablet to house the stylus in, so if you’re going to use it, you’ll need to carry it around separately. The iPad Pro can be used with the Apple Pencil, and it too doesn’t have a slot to put it in when it’s not in use.

Where Samsung could get the upper hand over Apple is that the Tab S3 is expected to ship with the stylus, whereas Apple charges extra for the Pencil.

GalaxyClub

One of the features the S Pen stylus can be used for is called Screen Off Memo, which, as its name suggests, will let you write notes and memos on the screen without having to turn it on. You’ll then be able to save those memos to the Samsung Notes app.

The leaked manual also reveals a keyboard dock port, which looks similar to those found on the iPad Pro and Surface tablets. It suggests Samsung will offer a keyboard that can connect to the tablet to turn it into a 2-in-1 device, without having to rely on a Bluetooth connection, which will drain battery life.

The manual also confirms the Galaxy Tab S3 will retain a 3.5mm headphone port alongside a USB Type-C for charging and front-mounted home button with fingerprint scanner, something that was teased in the official MWC invite.

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

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 certainly has the features and likely the looks, to take on Apple’s premium tablet. All eyes will be on it in Barcelona this coming Sunday the 26 February.

Oppo will unveil new 5x technology at MWC, improved picture performance expected

Chinese electronics manufacturer Oppo has sent out official media invites to a press conference at Mobile World Congress on the 27 February 2017. The event will revolve around a new technology the company is calling ‘5x’. It’s claimed 5x is a new photography technology, and along with the tagline “so close you can feel it”, we’d suspect it relates to optical zoom.

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

Oppo has also said the new technology will help it to “further differentiate itself from its competitors and build on its unprecedented growth to date.”

Oppo’s vice president Sky Li has been quoted as saying: “Oppo’s relentless pursuit of perfection without compromise has given birth to a remarkable technological breakthrough that will change how the world perceives smartphone photography”.

“This remarkable achievement is the result of an extensive, year-long R&D process, combined with Oppo’s unparalleled expertise in smartphone imaging technology”.

It’s not clear if Oppo will have a new device to show off at the show as well, but if not, it can be safely assumed the 5x technology will feature in future devices, perhaps even later this year.

• See all our Oppo news and reviews

It’s not the first time Oppo has introduced a new technology at MWC, as it announced VOOC Flash Charge at the show in 2014. The battery technology claims to give you 75 per cent charge after just 30 minutes. 

The Morning After: Monday, February 20 2017

Welcome to the week. The Pacific Ocean might be hiding a whole other continent, Bill Gates wants to tax the robots, and some other robots crash in the midst of a road race. A pretty thrilling Monday morning, we’d say.

Funds could help humans find new work when automation takes over.
Bill Gates wants a robot tax to compensate for job losses

How would you deal with the likelihood that robots and automation will lead to many people losing their jobs? For Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the answer is straightforward: tax the robots. In an interview with Quartz, Gates argues that taxing worker robots would offset job losses by funding training for positions where humans are still needed, such as child and senior care.

Never work with children, animals and UAVs.NBA player gets some Slam Dunk Contest help from an Intel drone

Isn’t this cheating?

The landlord says Airbnb is helping tenants break its ‘no short-term rental’ rule.Airbnb sued by major US apartment landlord

Denver’s Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIMCO) has sued the rental service for “helping tenants breach their leases,” according to The Wall Street Journal. AIMCO, one of the biggest landlords in the US, owns and manages over 50,000 apartments across the country. Real-estate research firm Green Street Advisors told the WSJ that this is the first time Airbnb has been sued by a major landlord. Other apartment owners might now feel emboldened to follow suit if the service refuses to cooperate with them. The plaintiff says short-term rentals are against their leases, and Airbnb is helping its tenants break that rule.

Not ready.Self-driving car race finishes with a crash

Fans attending Formula E’s Buenos Aires ePrix got a nice treat: the first ‘race’ between self-driving cars on a professional track, courtesy of Roborace. It didn’t go according to plan, however. Roborace’s two test vehicles (known as DevBots) battled it out on the circuit at a reasonably quick 115MPH, but one of the cars crashed after it took a turn too aggressively.

New Zealand would just be the peak of a much larger underwater land mass.
The Pacific Ocean is hiding a whole continent

Researchers have confirmed the existence of Zealandia, a giant land mass (roughly two thirds the size of Australia) hiding in the Pacific Ocean, with New Zealand is its peak. Academics have long suspected that the mass was a continent, but they only recently gathered enough information to make a convincing case.

But wait, there’s more…

• JJ Abrams and Stephen King are making another Hulu series
• Amazon lowers its free shipping threshold to counter Walmart
• SpaceX reschedules its unmanned mission to Mars for 2020

Google and Microsoft agree to demote pirate search results

The UK government has drawn up a ‘Voluntary Code of Practice’ designed to demote search results for copyright-infringing websites. The new guidelines, which come into effect immediately, have been signed by Google, Bing, the Motion Picture Association and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). They formalise and “accelerate” the process by which a rights holder can flag what it perceives to be a site containing illegal content. If the request is upheld, the link will be removed from “the first page of search results,” according to the UK’s Intellectual Property Office.

Jo Johnson, the UK minister for universities, science, research and innovation, will be monitoring the code and its usage alongside the IPO. The idea, of course, is to make illegal content so difficult to find that casual internet users seek out official alternatives instead. “We have a responsibility to make sure that consumers have easy access to legal content online,” the UK’s minister for digital and culture Matt Hancock said. “Pirate sites deprive artists and rights holders of hard-earned income and I’m delighted to see industry led solutions like this landmark agreement, which will be instrumental in driving change.”

The code builds on existing anti-piracy mechanisms, which include ISP-driven site blocking and written warnings to suspected pirates. While these policies have had some impact, illegal streaming and file-sharing — the latter mainly through torrenting — remains rife. Rights holders are relentless in their fight to shut the practice down, but, unsurprisingly, file sharers have always managed to stay one step ahead. At this point, it’s all rather like internet whack-a-mole. The BPI admits that the new code “will not be a silver bullet fix,” but believes casual users searching for music, movies and TV shows “are more likely to find a fair site” on Google now.

“Pirate websites are currently much too easy to find via search, so we appreciate the parties’ willingness to try to improve that situation,” Steve McCoy, president of the Motion Picture Association added.

Source: GOV.UK, BPI

Apple Comes Fifth, Amazon Ranked Top, in Company Reputation Poll

Apple is the fifth most reputable major company active in the U.S. according to an annual poll that gauges public perception of 100 consumer brands (via The Korea Herald).

The Reputation Quotient Ratings from the 2017 Harris Poll are based on an online survey completed by over 30,000 adults in the U.S. The survey analyzes brand reputation across six gauges: social responsibility, vision and leadership, financial performance, products and services, workplace environment, and emotional appeal.

The Reputation Quotient Ratings saw Apple fall three places from the previous year, losing ground to Wegmans, Publix Super Markets, and Johnson & Johnson. Amazon meanwhile maintained its 2016 position at the top of the table, but the effects of the exploding Note7 phone debacle saw Samsung slump to 49th after last year ranking at seventh.

Other companies in the top ten include Google, which slipped from fifth in 2016 to eighth, and Tesla Motors, which was not included in last year’s rankings. Netflix and Microsoft both ranked in the top 20 (18th and 20th, respectively), with Facebook sitting at 66th.

According to Harris Polls, the biggest risks to a company’s reputation are illegal actions by corporate leaders and lies about products or services. The poll was carried out between November 28 and December 16 of last year, so just before Consumer Reports denied Apple’s new MacBook Pro line-up a buyer recommendation, based on perceived battery life issues. Consumer Reports later revisited the issues with Apple’s input, and ultimately decided to award the laptops a recommendation in January.

Samsung meanwhile will be eager to resuscitate its brand in 2017 after some of its Galaxy Note7 phones caught fire, leading to the discontinuation of the model in October. However, the company had a setback last week when Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong was arrested over his alleged role in an influence-peddling scandal that has led to the South Korean president’s impeachment.
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The UAE’s next ambitious project is to build a city on Mars

Why it matters to you

Mars may not be the first place that springs to mind for a house move, but an increasing interest in the red planet suggests some humans may one day end up living there.

Stand on the observation deck of the world’s tallest building and you’ll find yourself gazing out over the UAE city of Dubai, a super-modern, gleaming metropolis built slap in the middle of a desert.

The digital telescopes atop the 830-meter-tall Burj Khalifa let you flick between a live view, a night view, and an intriguing “historic view” that shows how the surroundings used to look around 30 years ago when the first of its several hundred skyscrapers started to go up. Yes, that historic view is mostly sand. In every direction.

With that in mind, perhaps the United Arab Emirates’ proposal to build a city on Mars within 100 years doesn’t sound like such a daft idea. After all, with the construction of Dubai and the other Emirates, the UAE has already achieved something remarkable in one of the harshest, hottest, driest, and dustiest environments on our own planet.

UAE prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum revealed the lofty ambition in a series of recent tweets.

“The project, to be named ‘Mars 2117,’ integrates a vision to create a mini-city and community on Mars involving international cooperation,” the prime minister said.

The project, to be named “Mars 2117”, integrates a vision to create a mini-city and community on Mars involving international cooperation. pic.twitter.com/v27jA3K3pS

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) February 14, 2017

He described the project as “a seed we are sowing today to reap the fruit of new generations led by a passion for science and advancing human knowledge.”

Of course, logistically speaking, building a city on a faraway planet is likely to prove a little more challenging then building one here on Earth, but considering the UAE’s already well-known penchant for grandiose projects, perhaps this place more than any other has some chance of actually pulling it off.

More: A crew of six has entered a geodesic dome to find out what it’s like to live on Mars

The UAE first revealed its interest in Mars in 2014, following up last year with an announcement that it was working with NASA on a range of space projects, one of which hinted at a joint mission to the red planet.

But the UAE isn’t the only one talking about colonizing Mars. Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, also has grand plans for the planet.

Speaking at a tech event last year, Musk asked, “Do we want a future where we are forever confined to one planet until some eventual extinction event, however far in the future that might occur? Or do we want to … ultimately be out there among the stars, and be among many planets, many star systems? I think the latter is a far more exciting and inspiring future than the former.”

Mars cities aside, the immediate goal is to achieve a manned mission to the distant planet. Besides SpaceX, others showing an interest in getting humans to Mars in the next 20 years include NASA, Japan’s aerospace exploration agency, and China’s national space body.

Tag Heuer Connected Modular could arrive in March, will focus on customisation

Tag Heuer has already confirmed it will release a new smartwatch this year. CEO Jean-Claude Biver told the Swiss press that it would be released in May 2017, but now, sources familiar with the watch have told Android Central that it will in fact launch on 14 March instead.

• Tag Heuer Connected review: Android Wear gets its luxury tag

The same sources have also divulged a few of the watch’s features, most notably, interchangeable straps and lugs which will make the second Connected smartwatch – expected to be called Connected Modular – a lot more customisation than the previous model.

It’s also claimed the Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch will be able to switch between digital and traditional analogue faces, and use an automatic movement. It’s not clear if you’ll receive two different watch faces which can be interchanged, but considering the alleged name of the watch, it would certainly make sense. 

While the original Connected could already pass as a regular watch thanks to its looks, if the new feature is true it will make the Connected Modular a much more versatile wrist companion. You would theoretically be able to use it as a smartwatch or fitness tracker during the day, and switch it to a smart dress watch for the evening.

There’s no word on pricing at the moment, but automatic movements don’t come cheap. Add on built-in GPS and NFC for mobile payments, plus the Tag Heuer badge and it’s shaping up to be pretty expensive.

Tag Heuer will of course be hoping the second watch will be just as successful as the first. The company only expected to sell around 20,000 units in the first six months, but in fact sold around 56,000. As for how many of the $9,900 Rose Gold edition Connected have been sold remains to be seen.  

Motorola Moto G5 listings leak ahead of MWC launch

The Motorola Moto G5 and G5 Plus are expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in one week. But even though there’s not long to go, that hasn’t stopped information from leaking onto the internet. Online retailer Ktronix accidentally posted, and quickly took down, official listings for both phones, complete with specs and promotional images with the tagline “Captivating Design. Unlimited Performance”.

• Motorola Moto G5 and G5 Plus: Specs, release date and rumours

The listings, picked up by Venture Beat, claim the Moto G5 will shrink from a 5.5in screen to 5-inches, while the G5 Plus will also take a drop in size from 5.5-inches to 5.2in. Both will retain full HD displays, which given the drop in physical screen size, should result in higher pixel densities.

Both Moto phones will receive new processors too, with the G5 Plus getting a 2.0GHz octa-core Snapdragon 625, while the G5 will settle for a 1.4GHz octa-core Snapdragon 430. Both phones will get 2GB of RAM. Another area where the two phones will differ is internal storage. The G5 is said to get 32GB as standard, while the G5 Plus will get 64GB, however both phones will have a microSD card slot for expanding storage by up to 128GB.

Lenovo

The rear cameras will be slightly different as well. The G5 Plus will sport a 12-megapixel sensor with dual autofocus pixels, whereas the G5 will have a 13MP phase-detect autofocus sensor, but both will have the same 5MP front-facing camera.

Finally, the Moto G5 Plus is expected to retain the 3,000mAh battery from its predecessor, but the G5 is said to take a slight dip to 2,800mAh.

If these specs are real, the G5 Plus is, on paper, the phone to go for. However Motorola’s G-series has always performed consistently well in the budget mid-range market, so we have high hopes for both devices. Pocket-lint will be in attendance at MWC next week, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and hands-on as and when we can.

Xiaomi to announce its ‘Pinecone’ mobile chipset this month

Following reports from earlier this month, today Xiaomi confirmed on Weibo that it will be announcing its very own mobile chipset, named after its subsidiary “Pinecone,” in Beijing on February 28th. Little else is mentioned, but rumors going as far back as October are pointing to a Mi 5c aka “Meri” as the first device to carry this chip. Multiple Geekbench results suggest that the phone features an octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and runs on Android 7.1.1 (even though the leaked prototypes still show Android 6.0).

Xiaomi’s chipset plan isn’t exactly a secret. According to Chinese semiconductor expert Laoyao, Pinecone Electronics was set up by Xiaomi with help from chip maker Leadcore back in November 2014. In other words, this project has been under way for over two years. What this means is that rather than fully relying on the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek, Xiaomi can take advantage of Leadcore’s cellular radio technology for its own chipsets, thus keeping costs down in the long term.

Once Xiaomi gets comfortable with its chip production, it can potentially integrate more features into its future chipsets to stand out from the crowded mobile market — much like what Samsung, Apple and Huawei have been doing. That said, it’ll still be a while before we see how good Pinecone really is.

Update: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that Leadcore doesn’t actually own any share in Pinecone.

Via: Engadget Chinese

Source: Weibo

‘Horizon Zero Dawn’ made me fall in love with open-world RPGs

There’s something about Aloy. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s an enchanting kind of magic in the way she shoots a bow, speaks her mind and sprints across vast valleys littered with monstrous metal beasts. Aloy is powerful and loyal, an underdog outcast who rises to glory on an epic scale, and it’s impossible to not root for her. She’s as clever as Hermione Granger, as tough as Lara Croft and better with a bow than Katniss Everdeen — and she’s the reason I fell in love with Horizon Zero Dawn.

As is often the case, love hit me out of nowhere, when I least expected it. See, Horizon is not my typical kind of game. I’m generally drawn to experiences I can play in bursts, like League of Legends, TowerFall, Neko Atsume or Overwatch, and I’ve never been tempted to play all the way through massive, open-world role-playing games like Dragon Age, Skyrim or The Witcher. I see the appeal of these series — I’m a nut for the fantasy and sci-fi genres in general — but they never hold my attention for long.

I figured it would be the same with Horizon. I’d be intrigued by the futuristic world, my heart would pound with joy while watching the gorgeous trailers, but then I’d drop the game after playing for just a few hours. I’d hear reverent whispers about its 30-hour campaign and wonder how the hell anyone could get through it all. It would seem like too much.

But, with Horizon, 30 hours sounds like barely enough time. I wish it were 60 hours long. I wish it were an infinite MMO that I could live inside of for years to come. Finally, I understand open-world RPGs.

Aloy drives my infatuation with Horizon, which lands on the PlayStation 4 on February 28th. Aloy is the kind of character I want to hang out with for hours on end — compassionate, thoughtful, independent and the best warrior in the land. She radiates power, and it feels marvelous to wield her strengths and fight through her weaknesses.

Aloy is a lifelong outcast of the Nora tribe, a matriarchal society stationed in the wilds of the future, living among the ruins of our long-dead, technologically advanced civilization. The Nora are strict and isolationist, and its tribe members believe fiercely in the All-Mother, the goddess of nature. Of course, as an outcast, Aloy is less inclined to believe blindly in the gospel of the All-Mother.

Just beyond the Nora’s impressive huts and bonfires, dinosaur-like robots prowl the wilderness, hostile protectors of the precious resources that compose their bodies. No one knows where the metal beasts came from. However, they have something to do with the death of a hauntingly familiar society whose buildings, gadgets and corpses lie in ruins across Aloy’s homeland.

This is where Horizon separates itself from other open-world RPGs: It’s apocalyptic like Fallout, but it’s set in environments so lush they would make Bob Ross blush. It’s fantastical like Dragon Age, at least until the robot dinosaurs show up. It’s futuristic like Deus Ex, but feels like a story set in a distant, magical past. Horizon occupies a delicious space between sci-fi and fantasy, blending the genres into something that feels distinctly modern and unique.

This allows Horizon to tell a new, compelling story about our relationships with nature, technology and motherhood. It also allows Aloy to come to life.

At one point a few hours into the game, Aloy and a high matriarch are confronted with a computer interface embedded in the bowels of a mountain — the matriarch falls to her knees in supplication, convinced the All-Mother is speaking to them. Aloy doesn’t flinch. She’s spent her life on the fringes of Nora society, exploring caves filled with ancient technologies and learning how to fend for herself. She knows this isn’t a spiritual being and she doesn’t hesitate to tell the matriarch as much.

It sounds like a small moment, but it speaks to Aloy’s character as a whole. She’s fiercely independent, maneuvering around conversations as readily as she does a spear. She believes what she can see, touch and kill, and she isn’t afraid to use technology to her advantage.

A handful of mysteries enrich this underlying tension between nature and technology, and make Aloy’s world feel real: What happened to the ruined civilization? Where did the machines come from? What do they want?

But, these aren’t the most compelling questions in Horizon. They serve as background tales, solidifying the game’s narrative in a fresh, complex and fascinating world. Instead, the game is framed around a more specific, but no less complicated, question: Who is Aloy? And, just as importantly, who was her mother?

Aloy approaches these questions fearlessly and armed to the teeth.

Horizon features a robust crafting and upgrade system, allowing players to modify weapons, clothing and other items with unique abilities, and build a wide range of deadly traps and tools. Aloy herself also levels up as the game progresses, learning new skills that open up combat scenes in wonderful ways.

The wide range of weapons available in Horizon could easily be overwhelming, but instead it feels natural to tailor Aloy’s attacks to each situation. And it helps that the game is gorgeous, no matter which battle strategy Aloy employs.

Allow me to set the scene: Aloy is on a grassy ridge in the dead of night, staring down a gaggle of Watchers. By this point in the game, my hunter skills are so honed that I simply mosey up to one of the machines lurking in the tall grass, override it and sit back as it destroys all of its former comrades. In real life, I even set down the PS4 controller and answer a text message. When I hear the last Watcher die and I look up again, it’s to see the game’s dynamic day-night cycle in full effect: The evening sky, previously dark blue and green, has transformed into a sunrise of gorgeous early-morning pastels. Pink and gold light shines down on a tree-lined field littered with a half dozen sparking robot-velociraptor corpses. I take a moment to soak it all in (and grab some screenshots).

Horizon is, in a word, seamless. It’s massive, yet there are no loading screens peppered throughout the map (aside from fast travel and death), leaving Aloy’s path open as she travels from village to village. There are plentiful side quests and save points (giant campfires) dotted along the way, and miles of mysterious wilderness for her to explore.

Aloy’s personal journey is intrinsically tied to the broad mysteries hovering over Horizon’s world, and each new revelation unfolds beautifully throughout the game. The team at Guerrilla Games have crafted a powerful narrative headlined by an equally compelling protagonist: a young warrior desperate to discover her true identity and perhaps save the world in the process.

Maybe that’s what I love about Horizon. It’s familiar and new at the same time, but it’s infinitely relatable. Though I’ve never run across a giant metal stegosaurus in my own life, I know how it feels to wonder who I am and what I’m doing on this planet. I’d bet everyone knows how that feels. Maybe even giant robot dinosaurs. Maybe.