Google gives up on ‘Hands Free’ wireless mobile payments

Google has ended its “Hands Free” payment scheme, which let you live the retail dream of paying wirelessly with no need to pull out a card or phone. The program, which ran only in San Francisco’s South Bay area, first detects if you’re in a participating store using your smartphone’s location services. If you say you’re “paying with Google,” it then completes the transaction over Bluetooth LE or WiFi, with the cashier verifying the purchase using your photo ID.

After trying it for a year, however, Google has stopped the program, telling users in a letter seen by 9 to 5 Google that it’ll wrap up on February 8th. However, it did say that “we’ve learned so much from you and our other early adopters,” and that “we’re now working to bring the best of the technology to even more people and stores.” That vague statement could mean that it’s planning to bring some kind of wireless option to Android Pay.

Android Pay, the follow-up to the (largely unsuccessful) Google Wallet mobile payment system, now works with all major banks, and is accepted at most stores that take Apple Pay. Since it uses a similar system, Apple Pay retailers were reportedly able to adapt it fairly quickly. Thanks to a new partnership, websites that support Visa Checkout and Masterpass will soon support Android Pay, too.

Google is reportedly bringing tap-to-pay to Android Wear smartwatches, giving shoppers the same smartphone-free benefits of “Hands Free.” If the company also has a wireless payment scheme up its sleeve, there’s a good chance we’ll hear about it (and a lot of other Google Pay news) at its I/O conference starting May 17th.

Via: 9 to 5 Google

Source: Google

Tokyo’s Olympic medals will be crafted from old gadgets

Tokyo’s olympic planning committee has a novel idea for crafting new medals: old technology. Instead of relying on mining companies for new gold, silver and bronze, it’s turning to the public and its swathes of unwanted, forgotten gadgets. You might not realize it, but your smartphone and household appliances contain small amounts of these precious materials. Starting in April, public offices and more than 2,400 NTT Docomo stores will offer collection boxes in Japan. The initial target is eight tons of metal, which will be whittled down to two tons and then, hopefully, used to produce 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals.

The idea is mostly symbolic. Tokyo wants to promote sustainability and recycling, while also giving its medals an added sense of history. The event itself will, of course, give them significance — who they were won by, and how — but now, there will be an extra sense of worth as athletes wear them around their neck. “Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medals will be made out of people’s thoughts and appreciation for avoiding waste,” Japan gymnast and three-time Olympic gold medallist Kohei Uchimura said. “I think there is an important message in this for future generations.”

Via: Pocket-Lint

Source: Tokyo2020

ICYMI: Spinning synthetic veins and emotion-sensing smartwatch apps

Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers from Vanderbilt University are using commercial cotton candy machines to spin synthetic capillaries. Instead of sugar, the machines spin polymer fibers which are then coated in hydrogel and backed. The heat malts the polymer and hardens the hydrogel which then acts as scaffolding for human cell cultures.

We also take a look at an emotion-sensing smartwatch app from MIT. It pairs an iPhone 5S with Samsung’s Simband wearable to record and analyze conversational speech, then guess as to the emotion being expressed. And finally, it’s TLDR day, where we read you the top headlines of the week that you might have missed while watching American democracy slowly crumble before your eyes.

As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @engadget or @mskerryd.

Apple and Others Pen Open Letter to Trump: ‘We Are a Nation Made Stronger by Immigrants’

Last night news broke that a collection of major technology companies, including Apple among them, were prepping an open letter to United States President Donald Trump as a means to voice opposition to the immigration executive order that he signed last Friday.

Today, a draft of the full letter has been shared online, and it goes into detail about the importance of immigrants in the U.S., mentions concern for how the order will affect employees with visas, and explains that the companies are prepared to lend a hand to help the Trump administration make logical and necessary changes if and when it is ready to accept the help (via Recode).

Along with Apple, other companies collaborating on the letter are said to include Facebook, Google, Uber, Microsoft, Stripe, and more. The technology companies drafting the letter are reportedly working to include non-tech companies as well, but as yet none have joined.

Recode obtained a draft of the letter:

Dear President Trump,

Since the country’s birth, America has been the land of opportunity – welcoming newcomers and giving them the chance to build families, careers, and businesses in the United States. We are a nation made stronger by immigrants. As entrepreneurs and business leaders, our ability to grow our companies and create jobs depends on the contributions of immigrants from all backgrounds.

We share your goal of ensuring that our immigration system meets today’s security needs and keeps our country safe. We are concerned, however, that your recent executive order will affect many visa holders who work hard here in the United States and contribute to our country’s success. In a global economy, it is critical that we continue to attract the best and brightest from around the world. We welcome the changes your administration has made in recent days in how the Department of Homeland Security will implement the executive order, and we stand ready to help your administration identify other opportunities to ensure that our employees can travel with predictability and without undue delay.

Our nation’s compassion is a part of what makes it exceptional, and we are committed to helping your administration identify approaches for thorough screening without a blanket suspension of admissions under the U.S. Refugee Admissions program. While security and vetting procedures can and should always be subject to continuous evaluation and improvement, a blanket suspension is not the right approach.

Similarly, we stand ready to identify ways of helping to achieve your stated goal of bringing clarity to the future of the 750,000 Dreamers in this country under the protections of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in a way “that will make people happy and proud.” Removing these protections by barring renewals would effectively end the program and eliminate the ability for these Dreamers to work and live without the fear of deportation.

The business community shares your commitment to growing the American economy and expanding job creation across the country. We hire both thousands of Americans and some of the most talented people from abroad, who work together to help our companies succeed and expand our overall employment. As you contemplate changes to the nation’s complex and interconnected immigration policies, whether business and employment-based visas, refugees, or DACA, we hope that you will use us as a resource to help achieve immigration policies that both support the work of American businesses and reflect American values.

Trump’s order banned Syrian refugees from entering the country, blocked citizens of seven countries (Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria, and Yemen) from entering the U.S. for 90 days, and suspended entry of all refugees entering the U.S. for 120 days. The bans left groups of immigrants stranded in airports around the country while also sparking protests and blowback from various tech companies, some of which are now included in the open letter.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that “it is not a policy we support” in an internal letter sent to employees last weekend, explaining that the company had reached out to the White House to try to “explain the negative effect” the ban would have on Apple. Included in the potential negative reaction surrounding Apple and other tech companies is another Trump executive order, currently in the drafting stages, that centers around changes to various work-visa programs and could greatly affect how Apple hires tens of thousands of foreign workers each year.

For the immigration-related ban, Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that Apple is considering its legal options as a way to pressure the Trump administration into rescinding the executive order. Cook didn’t give further details, but said Apple would be “productive” and “constructive” in its opposing response to the Trump order, which now includes a partnership with other tech companies and today’s open letter.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Everything you need to know about Samsung Pay

Mobile payments have come a long way since Apple made a huge push into the space with Apple Pay in 2014. Google introduced Android Pay last year, and Samsung has joined the fray with its own mobile payment system called Samsung Pay. Here’s what you need to know about Samsung Pay.

More: Everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsung Pay Mini

Samsung has announced Samsung Pay Mini, a slimmed-down version of Samsung Pay designed to work on other Android phones, and not just those made by Samsung. Samsung Pay Mini will initially be available in South Korea, where the app will be ready to download over the coming few months.

What’s the difference? Samsung Pay Mini is only for online payments. Offline payments, that’s those used in stores, will require ownership of a Samsung phone and the full Samsung Pay app. This is due to Samsung Pay Mini and phones not made by Samsung, not supporting the magnetic secure transactions (MST) hardware that allows Samsung devices to complete wireless payments at legacy payment terminals.

The app is compatible with Android phones running version 5.0 Lollipop and later, provided the device’s screen has a resolution higher than 1280 x 720 pixels, which should cover most models released over the past few years. In addition to online payments, the app will feature Samsung Pay features for membership cards, transportation cards, and lifestyle options. The final launch date hasn’t been confirmed, but a trial version for existing Samsung Pay users to try out will be released on February 6 through Google Play in South Korea.

The announcement follows earlier rumors published by ET News, a report which also discussed Samsung Pay Mini’s chances of reaching iOS in the future. Sadly, it’s highly unlikely, but it’s not entirely Samsung’s fault. The company told ET News that Apple had rejected the Samsung Pay Mini app for iOS devices, adding, “After Apple rejected registration of Samsung Pay Mini onto its app store, we have decided to focus on smartphones with Android OS.”

Samsung hasn’t made any announcements regarding Samsung Pay Mini’s launch outside of South Korea at this time.

HTC One M9 gets Nougat in Europe, Turkey, South Africa

Other regions to follow for Android 7.0 on HTC’s 2015 flagship.

HTC’s Android 7.0 Nougat update program in Europe hasn’t been running entirely smoothly so far, with the OTA for the HTC 10 being pulled shortly after last week’s launch. Nevertheless, the company is continuing its Nougat rollout, and today Android 7.0 hits the HTC One M9 in mainland Europe, Turkey and South Africa, according to HTC Europe’s Graham Wheeler.

Excited to share that Nougat will rolled out today for HTC One M9 devices in Mainland Europe, Turkey and South Africa.

— Graham Wheeler (@wheelergd) February 2, 2017

Wheeler says more countries will follow in the coming days, so don’t fret if you’re not seeing that update notification just yet.

Nougat is likely to be the last major platform update for the M9, so if you’re still rocking HTC’s 2015 flagship, be sure to hit the comments and let us know how you’re getting on!

Samsung Pay Mini is an online payments platform that works on all Android phones

Samsung rolls out an online payments service that works on all Android phones.

Samsung’s digital payments platform Samsung Pay is available on select Galaxy smartphones in 11 countries. In a bid to increase the reach of its services, Samsung has announced Samsung Pay Mini, an online payments solution that will be available on all Android phones. Samsung Pay Mini will be launching in South Korea later this quarter, and Samsung has said that the service will be available in other markets at a later date.

Samsung Pay Mini will be available to download from the Play Store, and will work on all Android phones as long as they have a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 or higher and are running Android 5.0 Lollipop and above. The app includes access to select Samsung Pay services, such as membership, lifestyle, and transportation. Samsung is also rolling out a shopping feature that highlights popular online shopping malls, and a rewards service through which customers will be able to accrue points based on their purchases.

Unlike Samsung Pay, those using Samsung Pay Mini will not be able to make offline payments at retail stores, as the app is designed for online payments. Samsung Pay includes a hardware tie-in that allows the service to work with older magnetic card readers, and that functionality is still limited to select Galaxy phones.

Samsung has announced that it will conduct a pre-launch trial of the app on February 6, in which customers in South Korea will be able to download the app from the Play Store.

Rolling out the app for non-Galaxy phones is a smart move, as it allows Samsung to reach a wider userbase while giving them a taste of what’s possible with the full-fledged Samsung Pay service.

Buy a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge from T-Mobile, get a year’s worth of Netflix for free

Get 12 months of Netflix for free when you buy a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge from T-Mobile.

With the launch of the Galaxy S8 imminent, T-Mobile is rolling out new offers to incentivize the purchase of a Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. From now until February 7, customers that purchase a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge from T-Mobile will receive one year’s worth of Netflix for free.

As detailed in the terms (via PhoneArena), the offer is valid until February 7, and you’ll have to register your device at this link by February 21 to receive the promo code for Netflix. You’ll have to then redeem the code before March 31 to receive a one-year Netflix subscription. The subscription included with the offer is the “2 Screens” plan, which lets you stream Full HD content on two devices simultaneously.

Interested? Head to T-Mobile from the link below to avail the offer.

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Is it time to bring back the Sony Xperia Play?

Would the world be receptive to a new Sony Xperia Play with updated specs for gaming in 2017?

Gaming on Android is arguably better than it’s ever been. We all love it here at AC, and with the success of the NVIDIA Shield and promising titles like Super Mario Run and many more on the horizon, there’s been some talk about bringing back gaming-first phone design, most keenly expressed in the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play from 2011.

On the Android subreddit, users bandied around the idea of reimagining what a brand new Xperia Play phone might look in 2017, and whether or not it’s a worthwhile idea at all.

Here are some of the best reactions from that thread:

Reddit user pheymanss pitched perhaps the best idea which was upvoted to the top comment. They suggested that rather than another entire phone dedicated to gaming, there should instead be a gaming Moto Mod — complete with slide-out physical buttons — for the Moto Z.

Comment from discussion Would you purchase another Xperia Play like phone?.

User jcpb outlined some of the main specs they would need to see in a 2017 Xperia Play, focusing on four main areas: quality game library, flawless framerate performance, expandable storage space and, of course, a bigger battery to handle the power-drain associated with gaming:

Comment from discussion Would you purchase another Xperia Play like phone?.

Overall, reaction to the proposition was somewhat mixed, with Xperia Play fans enthusiastically in favor of a new update to their beloved device, and haters also chiming in. Perhaps the most balanced take was presented by user angelrenard:

Comment from discussion Would you purchase another Xperia Play like phone?.

So we turn to you, our loyal readers, with the same question: Would you purchase a new Xperia Play updated for 2017? Did you own an Xperia Play? We’d love to hear your opinions, so let us know in the comments!

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Google Wifi makes managing more than one network easy

When “just works” means it just works great.

There have been many good words praising Google Wifi and Google OnHub. Most of them center around how easy it is to set up a full-house Wi-Fi network and how taking away the confusion makes keeping one running well something anyone can do. They’re all true, and for anyone who just wants fast Wi-Fi everywhere in their house and has no need for advanced features and settings, Google Wifi is a perfect fit.

Fewer words have been written or spoken about the Google Wifi app. It’s an integral part of the experience and the friendly wording and simple tools will help you make the most out of your new network even after you’ve set it up. And everything that’s great here also applies if you have more than one network running.

Your cloud meets Google’s

When you set up a Google Wifi network — whether using the new mesh routers or a Google OnHub router with the latest software — you sign in with your Google account. All your settings and information are backed up not only on the device firmware but as data inside your online cloud on a server somewhere that Google has set up to hold our data.

Having an online account is trading convenience for privacy. But sometimes it’s worth it.

This can be a bit off-putting, and there are legitimate concerns about giving so much data to one company. I have them, too. We all should. But Google has been shown to value our privacy almost as much as we do and gaffes have been minor and few in number. So far. While it’s fine to be a little uncomfortable about it, there’s no denying that a lot of value is to be had from this arrangement.

One great way to see that value is if you need to setup and manage more than one Google Wifi network. Each is part of your Google account, and that means you can make any adjustments or new settings from anywhere with a data connection — even if that connection isn’t part of a Google Wifi network.

I have a Google Wifi network at my house. It consists of three Google Wifi mesh routers and an ASUS OnHub router using the latest software to merge it into the mesh. I can control who has access and what priority any devices on the network have, manage a guest network and even turn on my Hue lights. I can do this from anywhere right through my phone. I can even set someone else as a trusted person to manage my Google Wifi network.

Google Wifi lets me keep mom and dad’s network in tip-top shape instead of a cable company technician.

My parents needed a good router for their place so I picked them up a TP-Link OnHub router a while back. Mom and dad are pretty smart folks, but hooking up a cable modem and Wi-Fi router isn’t something they felt comfortable with. I set it up for them and used my Google account in the process. They have reliable and fast Wi-Fi all through their house (and in dad’s workshop thanks to the TP Link’s forward firing antennae) and I can make sure it stays that way without a long trip. They both are able to do the things they like to do online and don’t have to worry about any type of maintenance to keep their network running smoothly.

The best part of it all is that I didn’t have to do anything special to enable remote administration or open any ports or anything else. It just works because it was designed to just work this way. This is a small thing, but it’s an important thing for those who need it. Without it, my parents would be at the mercy of the cable company when it comes to equipment and service. Instead, they have me. That makes it one of the best features of Google Wifi for our family.

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