Shopping for phones is still a mess of hidden details

They get you with the fine print, then make the fine print hard to find.

I spent the better part of last week digging through websites, calling representatives and generally pulling my hair out trying to sort out all the details about cellular phone service from the Big Four. I came to a couple of conclusions, the clearest of which is that all four of them do whatever they can to hide the tiny details that can make a big difference for some of us.

I know that most companies do this. But most companies aren’t all over your TV, paying for ads on YouTube and everywhere else, and have huge colorful graphics plastered all over their website with tiny disclaimers and superscript references way down at the bottom in a different color font. I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s damn near deceitful.

You don’t have to trick people into buying something that’s worth the money. Phone service included.

The things they feel the need to hide behind three links aren’t even that terrible. I doubt many people would fault a company for cutting off your service if you make too many calls from outside the U.S. on the “wrong” plan or using your phone to do something against the law. And we all know there are fees for everything, so why bury them? It only makes a carrier and their service look better to people who aren’t aware of all the baggage that comes with any phone plan, so I’ll assume they are doing it to purposefully deceive new customers. If you know someone shopping for their first phone plan, help them out.

I also saw two things that I really liked this week. Verizon and Sprint get a shout out here for doing something better than anyone else.

Starting with Sprint, I want to talk about their new changes to their unlimited plans. They are super basic — calls, texts. data and some tethering. They are also super cheap, especially if you need more than one phone line. This is just what a lot of people are looking for. There are options for calling to Canada and Mexico (for example) but they are options, as is not added to a base plan making it more expensive. I’d like to see the rest follow and show us something a good bit cheaper with zero frills.

Verizon and Sprint each buck a trend and get a good-guy award.

Verizon does something important about those hidden details I talked about earlier. If you go through the motions to set up new phone service through Verizon on their new unlimited plan, part of the checkout process has a big blue link saying “see all the details of this plan” right where you can see it. When you click on it, you’ll find the full terms and conditions for everything you picked and have in your cart. They are written in garbled legal language, of course, but they are there. Where you can find them. The only thing they could do better would be to force you to click to agree and put them in those bullet points telling us how great the plan is on the front page of Verizon.com.

So thanks, Sprint and Verizon. I’m not a fan of any service company, but I do appreciate the little things.

Short and sweet this week so we all can prep for an onslaught of phonery stuff in the next 48 hours.

iPhone muggers turn to phishing to access the device

If your phone was stolen or got lost somewhere, keep an eye out for any suspicious texts or emails: thieves and muggers could have a high-tech trick up their sleeves. A Brazilian woman who got robbed began receiving phishing attempts not long after the event. Her husband told Krebs on Security that he located the device using Find my iPhone and sent it text messages asking if he could buy it back. After that, he began receiving texts telling him that his iPhone had been found — all he needed to do was click on a link to retrieve it.

Further, the link leads to exact replicas of Apple’s and Find my iPhone’s log-in pages. The couple even got a call from a Siri-like robotic voice asking them to look for the text message for more info about their “recovered” phone. Clearly, it’s a well-thought-out scheme by tech-savvy muggers: rob people and then phish them to get their passwords.

The victim’s husband wanted to get the word out, since the scheme can definitely dupe anyone who’s not that familiar with phishing attempts. It’s also a good reminder to switch on Find My iPhone, so you can lock or erase it remotely if anything like this happens.

Source: Krebs on Security

Dolby Vision software promises HDR on more of your devices

Wonder why you can only get Dolby Vision’s high dynamic range video on a limited number of devices? It’s because you’ve needed specialized hardware — if a device wasn’t designed with Vision in mind, you’re out of luck. Expect to see it in many more places before long, though. Dolby tells Forbes that Vision is now available in pure software form, enabling its take on HDR for any reasonably capable device. In theory, your console, media hub or TV can get Vision support through an update. It could also lower the cost of including Vision by avoiding the cost of dedicated components.

There shouldn’t be a performance hit, Dolby adds, so you won’t necessarily need a brawnier processor. And unlike the competing HDR10 standard, you don’t need a newer HDMI 2.0a connector to make HDR happen — HDMI 1.4 is enough. Your launch day PlayStation 4 could handle it, as Dolby once demonstrated by running Vision on Sony’s console.

Dolby hasn’t offered a definitive list of devices that will get Vision upgrades, but Sony’s Z-series TVs are already in line, as is Oppo’s Ultra HD Blu-ray player. Don’t be surprised if the format becomes relatively commonplace on older devices (those still getting firmware updates, at least), and if it shows up in products where you’d either get HDR10 by itself or wouldn’t get HDR at all.

Source: Forbes

BlackBerry’s $550 KeyOne targets physical keyboard lovers: Our first take

BlackBerry’s KeyOne is a promising Android phone targeted toward people who prefer physical keyboards, as well as BlackBerry’s suite of secure apps. 

BlackBerry kicked its own BlackBerry Operating System to the curb last year in favor of the more popular Android OS, and it no longer manufactures its own phones.  But the Waterloo company isn’t exiting the business anytime soon. Rather, BlackBerry has partnered with Chinese company TCL to release Android phones under the BlackBerry brand name. Its latest phone is the KeyOne, a traditional BlackBerry phone with a full QWERTY keyboard.

More: BlackBerry hits rock bottom in phone market

If you’re unaware, TCL manufactures phones under the Alcatel brand name. BlackBerry’s first devices under the new partnership with TCL were the DTEK50 and DTEK60, which are rebranded Alcatel phones announced and released toward the end of 2016. They all carry the same software experience that includes the BlackBerry Hub, the DTEK security app, and the famed BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).

The same applies for the KeyOne. What makes the KeyOne unique compared to the company’s first Android smartphone with a keyboard — the Priv — is the product’s tier.

“In hindsight, it was probably not the place for us to launch the first Android device,” Bruce Walpole, general manager of BlackBerry Mobility, told Digital Trends about the Priv. “If I was to say where did we maybe misstep? Probably the tier — the product is still innovative because of the slider but in trying to be everything to everyone … you weren’t necessarily best in class.”

We managed to get some hands-on time with the KeyOne here at Mobile World Congress. The software isn’t the final build yet, but it’s close.

Something different

BlackBerry’s latest mantra is “Distinctly Different.” There are a ton of all-glass Android slabs on the market, but hardly any with a physical keyboard. The company understands that while there may not be many people that want a physical keyboard anymore, there’s still a market for it. It’s why the DTEK60 and DTEK50 exist as alternative choices for people who want big screens with BlackBerry brand name as well.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

For all you hardcore BlackBerry fans, the KeyOne’s unique quality is its backlit QWERTY keyboard with capacitive gesture capabilities, akin to the physical keyboard on the Priv. That means you can swipe up and down, left and right on the keyboard to move through your home screen, or even scroll through apps.

A fingerprint sensor is embedded into the space bar on the front of the device. We couldn’t test it out yet, but it’s a unique way of adding the sensor onto the front panel, rather than extending the bezel to accommodate it. Above the keyboard are capacitive navigation buttons that offer strong haptic feedback.

More: BlackBerry sues Nokia, alleging networking patent infringement

The device carries a rectangular shape that’s quite elongated due to the physical keyboard, but the screen — protected by Gorilla Glass 4 — is only 4.5-inches. It’s easy to hold with one hand, but it can be slippery at times. That’s in part due to the soft-touch textured back.

The KeyOne is a little chunky and it feels like a brick — that’s not an accident. The company was quick to remind me of the days when its devices were known for their durability. BlackBerry is confident the anodized aluminum frame that surrounds the phone will protect the device from most accidental drops.

The Mercury runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

There is a headphone jack and down-firing speakers. Sitting in between the speakers is a USB Type-C charging port. The power button is on the left, and the volume rocker is on the right above the Convenience Key. The Convenience Key, which is available on the DTEK60 and the DTEK50, is a customizable hotkey for specific apps or tools, such as the camera.

Speaking of customizable keys, KeyOne owners will be able to create up to 52 shortcuts with every key on the keyboard. For example, you can set a quick press on “I” to open Instagram, and a long-press on “I” to open your inbox.

Specs and camera

BlackBerry’s 4.5-inch screen features a 1,620 x 1,080-pixel resolution, with 424 pixels-per-inch. The display looks vibrant and colorful, and the keyboard’s capacitive gesture capabilities mean there are fewer opportunities to leave fingerprints smudges all over.

It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625 and 3GB of RAM, which seemed to perform exceptionally well in our brief tests, with no lag or stutters whatsoever. If you were hoping for a Snapdragon 835 or 821, that’s not the market BlackBerry is going for with the KeyOne.

The 3,505mAh battery should help keep the device alive for a while, and BlackBerry has a unique feature when you plug in the Typc-C charger — you’ll get two options: One to charge the device normally, or another to switch the device into a battery-saving mode-like state so it charges even faster. The phone supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0, so charging speed should be relatively quick. BlackBerry claims you can get to 50 percent in 36 minutes.

More: New Nokia 3310 will feature swappable face plates, according to new leak

It only comes with 32GB of internal storage, but there’s a MicroSD card slot that allows for expandable storage up to 2TB. It also has an NFC sensor, meaning you will be able to take advantage of Android Pay.

The front camera packs 8 megapixels, and it can take 1,080p videos at 30 frames-per-second with video and image stabilization. The rear camera has 12 megapixels (with large 1.55µm pixels), and it uses the same Sony IMX378 sensor as the Google Pixel. The camera took great shots indoors with decent lighting and there was very little shutter lag, but in low-light areas, some images were blurry.

A security-focused Android 7.1.1

The KeyOne runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat, and BlackBerry’s mobile team will continue to issue digitally-signed security updates for the device — including Google’s monthly security updates for Android.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The user-interface is almost exactly stock Android, but BlackBerry has added few of its own tweaks to the OS. For example, the overview button shows previous apps in a grid-like layout. You’ll also find pre-installed BlackBerry apps, such as BBM, BlackBerry Hub, and DTEK by BlackBerry, the company’s security software that easily tells you the current status of your device.

On standard Android Nougat devices, multi-window mode is usually compromised when you need to type something, as the keyboard would take up a large part of the bottom app’s space. What’s neat with the KeyOne is that you’ll be able to type in multi-window without sacrificing any screen real-estate thanks to the built-in keyboard.

We saw no hiccups in the software, even if it wasn’t the final build. It’s as close to stock as you can get, and BlackBerry’s overview screen is also more useful than what’s available on stock Android devices.

Can the KeyOne be BlackBerry’s comeback?

The Priv was supposed to be BlackBerry’s splashy comeback into the mobile arena, but its high price deterred many from jumping back. The DTEK50 and DTEK60 have been around for a few months, but it’s hard to tell if they’ve turned the heads of enthusiasts — or anyone.

The KeyOne is promising because it will be the go-to device for people in search of a physical keyboard, though the market is likely not large. Will it attract people away from Apple, Samsung, or Google? It really comes down to if you prefer a physical keyboard, and if you like BlackBerry’s security-focused apps. Chances are the device won’t see mainstream appeal like in BlackBerry’s prime, but there’s potential in the enterprise market.

The BlackBerry KeyOne will cost $550 in the U.S. and it will be available unlocked and from various carriers in the second quarter of the year, likely April. It’s clear that even with the price tag, BlackBerry is not interested in the flagship tier for this phone. Still, for the processor it has the price may be a little too high compared to competitor’s devices — you can get a phone with a Snapdragon 820 for as low as $400 after all.

But, from our brief tests, the KeyOne seems like a good smartphone — and it’s hard to find one these days with a solid keyboard. The price may be justified.

We’ll update this article when we receive final release date information.

Highs

• Runs near-stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat
• BlackBerry is promising fast security updates
• Physical keyboard has gesture capabilities
• Solid build quality
• Fast, smooth performance

Lows

• Keyboard feels a little cramped
• On the bulkier-end of phones
• Slightly blurry photos in low-light

Article originally published in January. Updated on 02-25-2017 by Julian Chokkattu: Added in the official name of the device, final specifications, as well as more hands-on impressions.

There’s a lot to look forward to with 5G technology, like 20Mbps downloads

Why it matters to you

Sure, you know that 5G is supposed to be better than 4G. But how much better? Now we have a sense.

We’ve been hearing a lot as of late about 5G technology and its upcoming tests in the U.K., U.S., and beyond. But what exactly does all of it mean? Sure, we know that it’ll be a step above 4G, but now we have a better sense of just how much better the network of the future will be. According to new guidelines released by the International Telcommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies, a single 5G cell must have a download capacity of no fewer than 20Gbps. For comparison, the peak rate for today’s LTE cells stands at about 1Gbps. So get excited, friends. The 5G future is looking supremely fast.

As per the ITU’s draft report released earlier this week, the 5G standard will need to support up to a million connected devices in a square kilometer, and carriers must have at least 100Mhz of free spectrum, and where possible, up to 1Ghz. This will allow for the continuing proliferation of the Internet of Things — after all, as more and more of our devices become connected, we’re going to need more bandwidth to support all that functionality.

More: 5G to debut in U.K. in 2017, with tests in 11 U.S. cities starting this spring

The draft 5G specs also specify how base stations will need to support networks in different environments. That means that whether you’re on a train, in the middle of a city, or out in the country, you ought to be able to access your network. Moreover, the ITU calls for 5G to be quit energy efficient. For example, when their radio interfaces are not in use, they ought to downgrade into low energy mode almost immediately. In fact, a 5G radio ought to adjust from full-speed to battery-efficient statuses in just 10ms.

While these specifications are currently only in draft form, it seems as though we’ll have a final version by November. By then, service providers will be seriously working on building out 5G capabilities, so hopefully, we’ll be able to enjoy all these benefits sooner rather than later.

With 1,000 frames per second and a global shutter, Phantom Flex focuses on science

Why it matters to you

Long used for high-speed cinema work, the updated Flex4K-GS is built for scientific research.

Vision Research has unveiled an updated version of its high-speed Phantom Flex4K camera, popular for shooting cinematic slow-motion sequences at up to 1,000 frames per second. The new version is called the Flex4K-GS, with “GS” standing for global shutter. While a global shutter is desirable in all aspects of video production, the Flex4K-GS is specifically focused on the scientific, defense, and aerospace markets.

In a standard CMOS sensor, pixels are exposed and processed one line at a time, commonly called a “rolling” shutter. This means each row of pixels is capturing a different moment in time from the row above and/or below it.

For shots without much motion in the frame, the effect is unnoticeable. But when shooting fast-moving subjects (or, alternately, when the camera itself is moving quickly), this can cause a real problem. In the filmmaking world, the resulting skew and wobble of the image is colloquially known as “jello cam.” In science and research applications, it’s simply called unacceptable.

A global shutter, by contrast, exposes every pixel at exactly the same moment and is much better for accurately capturing motion. By introducing a global shutter version of the Flex4K, Vision Research is packaging the best high-speed cinema camera tech in a product that meets the exacting demands of scientists and engineers. The company sees it as being particularly useful in aerospace and defense, where the camera can record spinning propellers and other rotating motors without causing motion artifacts.

More: As global shutter sensors improve, so does the tech that uses them

A global shutter often comes with one drawback, however: decreased dynamic range. Dynamic range refers to a camera’s ability to capture detail from shadows to highlights, and depending on the situation, achieving the maximum dynamic range may be more or less important than getting accurate motion capture. As such, The Flex4K-GS will allow users to toggle between global and rolling shutter modes.

“There have always been trade-offs between speed, sensitivity, and resolution in modern CMOS-based cameras, but Vision Research is changing the game with the new Flex4K-GS,” said Product Manager Toni Lucatorto in a statement. “The camera brings pixel resolution to the forefront, allowing for incredibly fine detail and improved visibility of phenomena and measurements.”

Like the standard Flex4K, the GS model can shoot 4K resolution at up to 1,000 FPS, or 2K up to 1,975 FPS. It can record uncompressed RAW video or shoot directly to Apple ProRes, a popular format for users who want to maintain a high-quality file that can be more easily stored, ingested, and edited. The camera body has also been redesigned with isolated electronics and can endure temperatures as low as -4 and as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

From RFID implants to genital yogurt, Epicenter is the future’s awesomely odd office

My aunt’s cat, Piglet, has exclusive access to her home. There’s no bouncer out front or PIN pad at the door. All Piglet has to do is stand near the cat flap and voilà, a sensor picks up the radio-frequency identification (RFID) from a microchip between her shoulder blades to unlock the latch.

Convenient as this keyless entry is, Piglet didn’t choose to be microchipped and it isn’t the chip’s primary purpose. Tagging has become routine around the world in order to match vaccination records, and track and identify pets. Pet door access came later.

At Epicenter, an office space in Stockholm, Sweden, many of the workers have chosen to be chipped, and they’ve done so mainly for convenience around the 86,000-square-foot facility. With RFID implants in their hands, Epicenter members can unlock doors, access printers, and pay at vending machines without having to fumble for cash or a card. Most of the nearly 1,000 members still use traditional means, but a healthy handful have opted in to the voluntary feature.

Epicenter is part of a movement to build the office space of the future. Members are encouraged to participate in over 100 annual events, from workshops on biohacking to concerts. Long distance calls can be taken through telepresence robots that roam around the corridors. A “robotic” vending machine makes fresh fruit smoothies on demand. There’s even a “biohacker breakfast” that consists of bulletproof coffee and a pair of boiled eggs.

“We’re trying to blur the distinction between electronic circuits and neural circuits.”

The idea is to make the workplace a place for play as well as productivity and experimentation. For well-known examples, look to startups and Silicon Valley, where offices sport things like nap pods, ping pong tables, and slides. However, for many Epicenter members, the goal isn’t just to kick back with yesteryear’s pleasures — it’s to push forward as early adopters of untested technology.

I met with Epicenter’s Chief Disruption Officer, Hannes Sjoblad, in the building’s atrium, which was alive with nomadic freelancers, corporate executives, and the atmospheric house music that’s become the muzak of the modern age. Within and without Epicenter, Sjoblad is a biohacking advocate, active in Stockholm’s maker spaces and online communities alike. The biohacker breakfast, he told me, was his idea.

“We have ambitions to take this way beyond a house where people work,” Sjoblad said. “We want to create magical experiences. Epicenter is founded by a group of guys who used to run big tech conferences, so one of our visions for epicenter is that it will be like a big tech conference everyday.”

Epicenter has an extended family of more than 300 companies — from Spotify to Microsoft — who are partnered with the space in one way or another. But a bunch of self-employed developers, designers, and creators of all kinds bump elbows in the atrium, cafe, and corridors, or at the center’s regular events.

Every month, Epicenter holds “Chip & Beer,” a meet-up where members can come get implants and sip libations. (Alcohol thins blood, so it’s best to start with the implant.)

More: Robots and AI are coming for our jobs. Can augmentation save us from automation?

“It’s really about the curiosity,” Sjoblad said, “and people accept the fact that we are early adopters. We think it is fun to try these things and don’t expect them to be products that will deliver a lot of value, but it’s fantastic to be part of a movement to explore uses for this tech.”

“A lot of what we do is highly experimental.”

Sjoblad acknowledged the privacy concerns associated with microchips and sensors around the workplace, and he stressed that the implant is strictly voluntary. And while France gives employees the right to disconnect as soon as they step out of the office, there’s something suspect about Epicenter members quite literally taking their work home with them, even though these chips can be used far beyond the office – as membership IDs for gym chains and supercenters, and to pay for goods at small shops all around Sweden .

It’s important, Sjoblad insisted, to have places like Epicenter where people willingly test new tech. It lets us know what we’re dealing with, while refining and ironing out the kinks before these devices become adopted by the masses. And what better place to be based than Stockholm, the capital of a country that’s as techno-progressive as any? Sweden is, in fact, so forward focused, it appointed a Minister of the Future a few years ago.

This May, Epicenter will host the Biohacker Summit, which will focus on health and productivity hacking with topics on mindfulness and nutrition, but Sjoblad said they won’t shy away from themes on the fringes. “I want to introduce some crazy elements as well,” he said, “such as sensory expanding wearables, and lab biohacking,” including making “personalized” yogurt from a person’s genital bacteria.

Personalized genital yogurt may be gimmicky, but it illustrates how biohackers are willing — even eager — to experiment in seemingly unsavory ways. And it shows how biohackers push boundaries and demarcate the comfort zones of people not actively involved in the community because, to them, this tech is fundamental to the future. Implantable tech has relatively limited functionality, but give it a few years and, like Piglet’s microchip, these devices will find new applications and become as commonplace as smartphones.

“If you want to know what is mainstream tomorrow, this is where it’s at,” the Biohacker Summit states on its website.

Epicenter is a case in point for how quickly this technology is entering the mainstream. And though you won’t find your own yogurt on the shelves of your local supermarket any time soon, your doctor will probably recommend a biometric implant in just a few years. At that point we can nod to biohackers like Sjoblad and crew for paving the way through experimentation. Meanwhile, they’ll be keen to stay at the forefront of the field.

“A lot of what we do is highly experimental,” Sjoblad said. “And I appreciate the opportunity to do that kind of stuff. The technology that makes me excited is not the stuff that you can buy in the standard shop. By then it’s already boring. Give me the stuff you only find on biohacker websites.”

BlackBerry KeyOne is official, bringing classic QWERTY to modern day

Having already given a hardware teaser at CES earlier in the year, BlackBerry has now officially outed its next smartphone, the KeyOne, designed to tempt the hard-core BlackBerry fans to switch to Android, and invoke serious nostalgia in a serious phone. For those who have a soft spot for traditional BlackBerry phones, this could well be the key device of 2017. 

• Blackberry KeyOne preview: Fingerprint scanner and QWERTY keyboard for BB’s next flagship

The most important feature is undoubtedly the four row physical keyboard on the front, which has the Priv-like capacitive sensors built in to allow you to swipe around screens, and select predicted words when typing. Somewhat unusually, the fingerprint sensor is built into the space bar.

The metal frets between each row is a classic BlackBerry move, while the combination of a solid metal frame with its curved edges and soft-touch plastic back panel is a welcome design choice.  

Other standard features include a 4.5-inch 3:2 aspect ratio IPS LCD display boasting a resolution of 1620 x 1080, giving it a respectable pixel density of 434 pixels-per-inch. 

Inside, powering the device, is a mid-range Snapdragon 625 processor paired with 3GB RAM to ensure that all tasks are performed effortlessly. And, while the the chip isn’t the most powerful available, it’s more than capable for meeting the needs of the busy, productive business people and Classic fans BlackBerry envisions using the device. 

To ensure you get through at least one full day, BlackBerry packed in an impressive 3,505mAh battery, and has ensured that even when it does run out you’ll be able to top it up quickly again. With Quick Charge 3.0 juicing up the device through its Type C port, the company claims you can get 50 per cent charge in 36 minutes. 

As for the rest of the specs, there’s a 12-megapixel camera on the back equipped with PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus), video and image stabilisation, 4K video recording and an f/2.0 lens. 

On the software side, Android 7.1 runs the show with the usual smattering of BlackBerry influences. That includes a host of apps, most notably the security-focused DTEK app for easily checking your device’s security, and getting an easy overview as to which apps are getting far more access to your personal information than they reasonably should. 

The BlackBerry KeyOne will be available globally in April and will cost £499 in the UK, €599 in mainland Europe and $549 in the US. 

When is the Huawei P10 launch and how can I watch it live?

Huawei has been telling us for weeks that it’s launching the Huawei P10 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 26 February.

The new flagship smartphone from Huawei has been teased widely, showing off that dual-camera action, talking about the Leica love and telling us to see things differently. 

One different thing might be the colour, as Huawei has announced a pairing with Pantone and has been talking about colour.

• Huawei P10 and P10 Plus: Release date, specs and everything you need to know
• Huawei Watch 2: Release date, specs and everything you need to know

Luckily, you can follow the action as Huawei unveils the P10, the P10 Plus and the Huawei Watch 2. The action will be live streamed on YouTube. We’ve embedded the teaser video below, but we’ll update once we have the live stream for the event.

The action kicks off in Barcelona at 13:00GMT, that’s 14:00CET.

Six Flags’ new VR roller coaster is both breathtaking and broken

Imagine screaming through deep space, swerving through the wreckage of exploding starships in a high-octane scene plucked straight out of a science fiction movie. Suddenly the universe stops, frozen in time as your body continues to hurl through the void at high speed. Your stomach churns at the realization that it’s moving but, somehow, the world around you isn’t. That’s what happened to me this weekend on Six Flags’ Galactic Attack — a virtual reality roller coaster, available at Six Flags’ two California parks, that broke halfway through my ride. Twice.

This wasn’t the experience I was expecting. After all, Galactic Attack isn’t Six Flags’ first virtual reality roller coaster. Between the park’s experience and my personal love of VR, I was looking forward to a smooth ride. My optimism disintegrated when my VR headset froze during one of the ride’s first twists. Twice, the view in my Gear VR headset halted for more than a second, leaping forward to “catch up” with the speeding ride vehicle and creating a gap between what my eyes were seeing and the g-forces my body was experiencing. It was nauseating. If everything had gone as intended, I probably would have come away thrilled by a high-speed VR space combat experience that perfectly synced with the roller coaster’s track. Instead, I was fighting a headache brought on by simulator sickness.

This isn’t the typical riding experience, but it’s not unprecedented. Park officials told me that most guests are treated to a smooth virtual reality adventure, but certain seats on the ride vehicle have a higher chance of losing synchronization with the track. It’s a Bluetooth problem. Each headset connects to a black box mounted above the seats near the center of the car. On straightaways and loops, this hub can easily reach every rider’s Gear VR headset, but sometimes, tight twists and inversions can briefly put the roller coaster’s steel track between a specific user and the black box, breaking the Bluetooth connection just long enough to stall the simulation.

Six Flags’ representative told me it was enough of a problem that one of the park’s earlier VR roller coasters barred users from using Gear VR headsets in the front row, and the transmitter has since been moved to a location that minimizes the issue. Minimizes, yes, but doesn’t eliminate.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh. When the virtual reality space battle wasn’t frozen, it was breathtaking. It started off by showing me the real world through the Gear VR’s passthrough camera before drawing the roller coaster through an augmented reality wormhole to deep space. There, I was more than a passenger; I was a participant, playing a fast-paced action game that tasked me with shooting down alien fighter pilots while being rocketed through the chaos of a massive space battle. I walked away intrigued by the experience, but I was still nauseated. Enough so that every time I thought about riding Galactic Attack again, I felt sick.

If you ride Six Flags Discovery Kingdom’s Galactic Attack VR roller coaster, you probably won’t have the broken, frozen VR experience I endured. Park staff told me it happens only on a few seats at the front of the car, and even then, only rarely. Six Flags maintenance supervisor Charles Laureano claims that most riders don’t get sick at all. “The New Revolution Galactic Attack roller coaster is synched precisely with the coaster’s drops, twists and turns,” he said in a statement. “Because of this, riders are not affected by motion sickness as some might expect when on a VR coaster.” Indeed, park staff told me that sitting in the middle and rear seats will offer a more consistent experience, but a potentially nauseating ride shouldn’t even be an option — not even if the chances of failure are low.

Theme parks have always been centers of innovation, and virtual reality has the potential to be the next big revolution in ride technology — but harnessing that potential means accepting responsibility for it. Right now, Six Flags has a VR roller coaster system that sees failure as inevitable. The fact that my broken, stomach-churning VR experience was a known but acceptable issue is, frankly, unacceptable. I’m lucky to have a high-end VR headset at home, but many people will experience virtual reality for the first time on a roller coaster. They deserve to have that first foray into a digital realm be safe, exhilarating and free from avoidable simulator sickness.