Motorola highlights Moto Mods as part of a crowdsourced competition

Why it matters to you

Motorola’s efforts to expand Moto Mods should result in a broadened range of useful apps appearing in its online store.

Modular smartphones aren’t going away anytime soon, if Motorola has its say. The Lenovo subsidiary unveiled new Moto Mods, the add-on peripherals compatible with its series of Moto Z line of smartphones, that may join the growing collection.

The new Moto Mods are the winners of an ongoing competition that Motorola launched last year. In India, it hosted more than 100 developers, engineers, students, and partners at a campus to discuss “new Moto Mod concepts” and “how to bring them to life,” and it  held Moto Mod hackathons in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and San Francisco.

The first Moto Mod highlighted in today’s announcement, Baby Care, provides automatic alerts when “conditions aren’t idea for a child.” Moto Color, a color sensor for the visually impaired, analyzes color and emits a sound indicating whether it’s red, blue, or green. A solar-powered battery charger charges a connected Moto Z in sunlight in as little as ten hours. Simple Syrup, designed for diabetics, tracks blood-sugar readings without the need for a syringe. And ModCoholic detects blood alcohol level when breathed into, and asks if the user needs a taxi if he or she is over the legal limit.

More: The Timewave is a Moto Mod that will give your Moto Z touch superpowers

“When we launched the Moto Z family of smartphones and Moto Mods, we opened up a new world of possibilities. We shared our commitment to innovation and engaging the development community by giving them tools, resources and inspiration to fuel the Moto Mods ecosystem while reducing the barriers to bringing great ideas to life,” Motorola said in a statement. “Since then, we’ve been hosting developer events around the world to support developers as they use our Mod Development Kit to come up with new Moto Mod concepts.

Motorola’s hosting its next hackathan in Shenzhen, China, in mid-March, before it invites representatives from the most promising startups to its headquarters in Chicago. If said reps manage to win over representatives from Lenovo’s investment arm, Lenovo Capital, they may receive funding, see their creations entered into the Moto Mods Partner program, and receive guidance from a business development mentor.

More: Motorola wants you to make mods for the Moto Z, and it’s willing to help

This is not the first time Motorola has turned to crowdsourcing in order to boost Moto Mod development. Last year, the smartphone maker launched the Transform the Smartphone Challenge, a competition that saw enterprising young hardware developers pitch ideas for Moto Mods at events in New York and San Francisco. They subsequently launched crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo, and have a shot at meeting with Verizon and Motorola representatives to get their Moto Mods featured in Motorola’s online store.

Apple reportedly requesting to sell refurbished iPhones in India — again

Why it matters to you

Apple selling refurbished iPhones in India could pave the way for other manufacturers to sell used devices in the country — which could have positive or detrimental effects.

Now that Apple has secured a deal to manufacture iPhones in India for the local market only, the Cupertino company is reportedly revisiting its goal of selling refurbished iPhones in the country.

Last year, the Indian government rejected Apple’s request to sell refurbished iPhones — the commerce and industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Apple doesn’t get any special treatment and the government is “not in favor of any company selling used phones … however certified they may be.”

More: Apple will start manufacturing iPhones in India at the end of April

But with the success of negotiating a deal to sell iPhones in India thanks to a local manufacturing plant, Apple may also be asking for permission to sell refurbished iPhones according to Bloomberg. This is reportedly one of the concessions in the deal to begin manufacturing phones in India. Refurbished iPhones are secondhand devices that are repaired, factory reset, and sold at a lower price.

The Indian government is against the sale of used devices as officials think it would undermine the “Make in India” program — an initiative meant to grow local manufacturing. Bloomberg says government officials believe allowing Apple to sell used iPhones would “open the floodgates” for everyone else.

More: Growing list of devices compatible with Apple’s HomeKit

But the anonymous source who spoke to Bloomberg says Apple’s second request promises that used devices will be compliant with quality standards due to the local manufacturing plant that’s expected to open at the end of April.

If Apple’s request is accepted, it would become the first company allowed to import used devices in the country. It would certainly be beneficial for the company as 70 percent of new smartphone sales in India were handsets priced under $150.

Trailer for fan-made ‘TimeSplitters Rewind’ project confirms 2017 release

Why it matters to you

TimeSplitters was a beloved gaming franchise that died off too soon, but a group of its most ardent admirers seems poised to bring it back.

Cinder Interactive Arts has unveiled the first teaser trailer for TimeSplitters Rewind, its upcoming multiplayer-only resurrection of the beloved FPS franchise. The clip doesn’t reveal too much — there’s no gameplay footage at all — but it’s welcome confirmation that the project is still in development.

TimeSplitters Rewind was borne out of an unsuccessful attempt to convince Crytek to continue the development of TimeSplitters 4. In an attempt to placate the series’ loyal fanbase, the decision was made to let the fan project go ahead, since there apparently wasn’t enough demand for an official sequel.

Crytek U.K. — known as Free Radical Design during its time working on the TimeSplitters games — gave its blessing to the project, and offered up assets from the first three games as reference material. Rewind will utilize CryEngine, as a result of the now-defunct studio’s relationship with its creators, CryTek.

More: Crytek offers unprecedented support to TimeSplitters mod

Initial plans for TimeSplitters Rewind stated that the game would be a recreation of the series’ classic multiplayer mode, set to feature dozens of playable characters from across the trilogy of games. The team also had plans to recreate each installment’s single-player campaign, but multiplayer has always been the first priority.

Cinder Interactive Arts was given permission to pursue TimeSplitters Rewind in 2012. Many fans were worried that, as with TimeSplitters 4, the game would drop off the radar. However, this new teaser trailer confirms a 2017 release date, so it seems that the project is coming along quite nicely.

The audience for multiplayer FPS games has changed dramatically in recent years, and it remains to be seen whether there’s a place at the table for the TimeSplitters series. Rewind will be warmly received by fans if it can recreate the unique feel of the original games — and if it can appeal to the masses, we might see the franchise make a more official comeback.

Samsung files a patent for a flexible device screen

Why it matters to you

Samsung’s bendable display technology may mean a flexible tablet or smartphone is on the way.

Rumors of a flexible Samsung device have been swirling for some time, but concrete evidence emerged on Monday. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the Seoul, a South Korea-based patent that describes a device with a foldable display, a mechanical hinge in the middle, and a screen that folds inwards.

The patent, titled “Electronic Device with Flexible Display,” was filed by Samsung on June 9, 2015.

As far back as March 2015, Samsung was rumored to have been working on a curved smartphone with a bendable display. An official from the company’s Samsung Display division told Business Korea that commercialization of foldable smartphones “would be possible” in 2016.

More: Samsung wants to give you a smartphone you can fold in 2016

That prediction didn’t come to pass, of course, but rumblings of a flexible Samsung smartphone persisted. In November, the Korea Herald, quoting anonymous sources, described Samsung as “cautious” about the release of a flexible smartphone, but on track. And in early January, reports emerged that the company was prepping a foldable smartphone for the third quarter of this year, albeit contingent on “marketability” and “profitability.”

The most recent rumors suggest a smartphone that folds out into a 7-inch tablet, likely with an OLED screen. Last year at the SDI conference in San Francisco, Samsung showed a flexible 5.7-inch, 1080p display that could roll up like a scroll.

Samsung is wary of releasing a device that’s both expensive to produce and expensive to sell, according to the Korea Herald. It might decide to produce a foldable tablet to judge market reaction, as such a device would be easier and cheaper to produce.

More: Microsoft’s mighty morphing mobile device would be a great surface phone

Samsung’s not the only one exploring the idea of flexible devices. Reports suggest that LG is preparing to commercially release devices with flexible screens later this year, and that it has already started retrofitting one of its factories with the infrastructure needed to mass produce a flexible-display device. And the company’s signed related contracts with Ignis Innovation, a Canadian company that builds flexible circuits.

But it will take time to ramp up production. “The development of display technology that creates a virtual space on glass is already completed, and even a promotional prototype is available,” an LG official told the Korea Herald in 2015. “However, it will take time until the product becomes commercialized due to mass production according to demand and supply.”

Even Microsoft is exploring the idea of a transforming smartphone. In January, the company filed a patent for flexible devices with dual and triple hinges and a variety of screen sizes.

Verizon offers Daydream View to ‘subset’ of customers waiting for their Pixels

Why it matters to you

If you have been waiting for more than a month on your Google Pixel order from Verizon, you may get a free Daydream View VR headset as a apology.

Google is having a very good problem — orders of its new phone, the Pixel and Pixel XL, are “exceeding expectations,” a Google spokesperson recently told Digital Trends. But that also means angry customers that have been waiting weeks if not months to receive their Google smartphone.

Verizon is stepping up to the plate to keep customers happy. Big Red is offering a free Daydream View headset to Pixel customers that have not received a device yet due to shipment delays. The Daydream View headset is a virtual reality headset used to jump into Google’s Daydream VR platform. It only works with the Moto Z and the Pixel smartphones.

More: Google’s all-knowing app will design you a dress based on your daily habits

The headset retails at $80, though there’s a temporary price cut that brings the price down to $50 — this deal lasts until February 25.

A Verizon spokesperson told Digital Trends the free headset offer only applies to a “certain subset” of people who have experienced an abnormal shipment delay period. Verizon is offering the headset as a “thank you” for customers staying loyal and not canceling their orders.

The carrier says while the product is back-ordered on its website, there’s a “rolling inventory” and the product gets shipped out as soon as it comes in. Verizon couldn’t comment on sales numbers, but the representative said it’s safe to say that the Pixel is “very popular.”

More: Google Daydream View review

An erroneous email from Telus, a Canadian carrier, suggested Google had ceased production of the Pixel, but it turned out to be false.

“We’re really excited by the demand for the Pixel XL in Canada,” a Google spokesperson told Digital Trends. “Telus is currently out of stock of the Pixel XL. We’re working with our partners to restock inventory across our retail channels and we can confirm that production of the Pixel has not stopped.”

While high demand is a good, shipment delays three months after the product was released may put people off from purchasing the phone.

Satellites tremble as Japan’s ‘space junk’ collection mission ends in failure

Why it matters to you

A cloud of space junk threatens satellites and future spaceflight. If you want to watch NASA’s Journey to Mars, we need to solve the debris problem ASAP.

There’s a lot of space junk orbiting Earth and it could make future space travel impossible. Unfortunately, one of the few projects focused on cleaning it up just failed.

Over 100 million pieces of space junk orbit Earth, 29,000 of which are big enough to cause major damage. Bits of retired satellites, metal expelled from rockets, and abandoned equipment make up this ominous cloud of debris. The danger is already very real. In 2009, American and Russian satellites collided and created thousands of large pieces of rubble. The International Space Station (ISS) had to pull an avoidance maneuver around that debris two years later.

More: Japan’s high-tech space junk collector isn’t doing what it’s told

Space junk has no easy cleanup, and it’s a problem that’s worsening exponentially. Every time satellites collide, they create debris that then crashes with other debris to create even more debris, and so on. If these collisions progress unchecked, the amount of debris in low Earth orbit will make spaceflight unfeasible.

Agencies around the world acknowledge this problem and a few have organized missions to combat it. In June, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced Clean Space, an initiative to remove large objects of debris from orbit by using a giant net gun and robotic arm to snag pieces out of orbit.

A few weeks later the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) described its comparatively simple and cost-effective plan to magnetically “pull” debris out of orbit with an electromagnetic cable. The debris would then be directed toward Earth were it would burn up on reentry into the atmosphere.

Today, JAXA announced its experimental method failed.

“We believe the tether did not get released,” leading researcher Koichi Inoue told the Agence France-Presse (AFP). “It is certainly disappointing that we ended the mission without completing one of the main objectives.”

JAXA had planned to test the technique on an ISS-bound cargo ship that had launched in December, according to the AFP, but a slew of malfunctions left JAXA technicians pressed for time. A week ago the agency admitted its cable was misbehaving. The cargo ship re-entered Earth’s atmosphere early Monday, effectively ending the experiment.

Snapchat bringing bite-sized version of BBC’s ‘Planet Earth II’ to mobile

Why it matters to you

Snapchat will offer users another way to engage with the acclaimed series. Meanwhile, the move signals the future for the platform’s video content.

Add BBC’s Planet Earth II to the list of programs heading to a second life on Snapchat. On Monday, Snap, the company behind the social network that now also serves as a short-form video platform announced it will unveil six mini-episodes of the acclaimed nature documentary series beginning February 17 — one day before the actual show is broadcast on BBC America.

These episodes will differ from the long-form Planet Earth II in a number of ways. First, they’re exclusive to Snapchat users in North America. Second, they’ll run about 4 to 6 minutes apiece, according to The Verge, and they have been formatted for a portrait-style viewing experience. The footage used will be completely unique to Snapchat, rather than a retread of what viewers will see on television. Finally, actress Sophie Okonedo will take over narration duties for Sir David Attenborough.

More: Snapchat updates its Discover guidelines to tamp down on fake news and photos

While the Snapchat edition won’t benefit from 4K resolution, it does have one added perk — 3D audio. Snap said these sequences were recorded using dual microphones, which will lend a more immersive audio experience to the documentary.

The addition of the upcoming BBC series also introduces changes to the app’s Snapcode system, the QR-like codes that can link to users and, most recently, websites. Those interested in Planet Earth II ahead of its release can follow a Snapcode to subscribe to the upcoming series, view a preview video, or catch previous installments when the show goes live.

Snapcodes have become a powerful, convenient, and useful tool for navigating Snapchat, and they’ll become even more important as the platform continues to expand the types of content available to its community.

Planet Earth II follows in the footsteps of shows like Watch Party: The Bachelor, which launched on Snapchat last month as the first product of a partnership with Disney-ABC Television Group. The platform is going all-in on bespoke video content after inking deals with Turner and NBC to bring programming like The Voice and last year’s Rio Summer Olympics to a mobile audience.

It’s been a busy week for Snap. Late last week, the company’s initial public offering was made available to the public, revealing some fascinating clues as to what’s next for the social network. The app itself also saw a major update, introducing a new universal search feature designed to make it much easier to navigate.

Apple accuses Australian banks of seeking a free ride in Apple Pay battle

Why it matters to you

Apple Pay may not come to Australia as four of country’s largest banks are fighting with Apple over access to NFC technology.

The battle down under over Apple Pay is raging on and it looks like Apple is ready to fight to the death. In its latest submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Cupertino, California-based tech giant claims that a group of Australia’s largest banks is looking to “delay or even block” the expansion of Apple Pay at the expense of customers and other card issuers who might be able to use Apple’s technology “as a means of securing a digital presence in competition with the big banks.”

For months, Apple has been arguing against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank over whether or not these large banks can access the near field communication (NFC) antenna. In essence, these banks want to place their own digital wallets on iOS, for which they would need to use the iPhone’s NFC antenna. Apple, however, is saying no.

More: Look out, Apple Pay and Android Pay — here comes Target Pay

According to its most recent filing with the ACCC, Apple says that the banks are looking to avoid paying fees in order to use the technology. Indeed, the tech giant claims, these four financial institutions want to be “allowed to continue to free-ride on the significant investments’’ Apple has made.

The banks have already shot back at this charge, calling Apple’s assertions “incorrect and unsupported.” In a statement, the banks noted, “The application has never been about preventing Apple Pay from coming to Australia or reducing competition between wallets.” Rather, they continued, “It has always been about providing real choice and real competition for consumers and facilitating innovation and investment in the digital wallet functionality available to Australians.”

A full formal response from the banks will be filed later this week and the ultimate conclusion to this battle royale has yet to be determined.

Palit releases completely silent GeForce GTX 1050 Ti KalmX graphics card

Why it matters to you

Palit’s GeForce GTX 1050 Ti KalmX card not only can fit into your low-end PC, but it can also provide you with blissful silence while you game.

If you’re stuck with an older PC, or just one with limited room and a smaller power supply, then your GPU upgrade options used to be pretty limited. Nvidia changed all that, however, with the introduction of the GeForce GTX 1050/Ti line, which provides good entry-level GPU performance with minimal space and power requirements.

We’ve seen the release of a number of low-profile graphics cards based on the GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti GPUs, many of which don’t need more power than what the PCIe slot can provide. Now, Palit Microsystems has announced what could be the first GTX 1050 Ti card using a completely passive cooling system.

More: Nvidia’s new GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti aim to put your aging desktop back in the game

The primary benefit of a passive cooling system is that it uses no fans that can spin up and create noise. And according, Palit touts the completely silent, 0dB environment that the new GTX 1050 Ti KalmX card represents. Looking at the card, you can see how Palit has accomplished the feat: It has utilized a massive 182mm wide by 142mm tall cooler that’s connected to the GPU using a copper base and twin nickel-plated heat pipes.

The GTX 1050 Ti KalmX card does take up two slots, which is something for buyers to consider. However, it sacrifices nothing by way of performance, running at the usual 1290MHz base clock with a Boost Clock of 1392MHz. Memory runs at 3500MHz, and the card can throttle in response to excessive heat.

While the GeForce GTX 1050/Ti series aren’t the highest-performing GPUs on the market, being limited to running most modern titles at 1080p and missing out on the VR gaming craze, they nevertheless provide a significant performance boost to users with older systems that don’t have extra GPU power connectors or the space for larger cards.

Now, such users can gain not only a vastly improved graphics experience, but also one that’s completely silent. Palit hasn’t yet released pricing or availability information for the GTX 1050 Ti KalmX.

Nvidia debuts line of Quadro Pascal GPUs, including superpowerful GP100

Why it matters to you

Nvidia promises that its formidable GP100 processor “transforms the average desktop workstation with the power of a supercomputer.”

Nvidia unveiled a selection of new additions to its Quadro family of cards at the SolidWorks World conference that’s being held in Los Angeles this week. The crop of new GPUs is headlined by the powerful GP100, but also features several more accessible options for less demanding applications.

The company’s Quadro line is tailored toward users working in computer-aided design and other similar fields. That’s why the announcement was made at SolidWorks World, an event that centers around one of the most widely used pieces of CAD software.

Nvidia pledges that this new range of GPUs caters to the ever-expanding demands of design workflow. Today’s users might use virtual reality simulations or machine learning techniques to ensure that their designs are perfect, which means they need a workstation that’s capable of tackling resource-intensive tasks.

More: Nvidia GeForce Now gives PC and Mac users access to a cloud-based GTX 1080

The formidable GP100 boasts 16GB of high-bandwidth memory, and can provide more than 20 teraflops of 16-bit floating point precision computing. Bob Pette, Nvidia’s vice president of professional visualization, noted that the GPU “transforms the average desktop workstation with the power of a supercomputer.”

The GP100 is joined by the Pascal-based P4000, P2000, P1000, P600, and P400, which will replace cards based on Kepler and Maxwell architecture. The refreshed Quadro lineup is expected to preserve the range’s established hierarchy of price, feature set, and thermal design power specs, according to a report from AnandTech.

The new range of Quadro GPUs will be offered by distribution partners and workstation manufacturers starting in March — Nvidia named HP, Dell, Fujitsu, and Lenovo as some of the companies that are set to use the components. No pricing information has been made available at this time, but it’s safe to say that the power of the GP100 won’t come cheap.