How a rugged smartphone case helps X Games athletes train better

Why it matters to you

If LifeProof’s rugged smartphone cases are good enough for X Games athletes like Kevin Rolland and Bobby Brown, they’ll probably be good enough for you too.

When you take a look at the rundown of current sponsors for the X Games, you’ll find a number of companies that you would probably expect to be a part of the action sports extravaganza. For instance, GoPro, Jeep, and Monster Energy all seem like a natural fit for the X Games audience, and even Polaris, Harley Davidson, and AT&T don’t seem especially out of place. Also on the list is LifeProof, a company that might not immediately leap to mind when you think of extreme sports competitions. But dig a little deeper and you’ll discover why the brand has become a favorite amongst professional athletes who rely on their smartphones while training.

More: Hellfire heated gloves first to provide all-day warming

As one of the leaders in the rugged smartphone case market, LifeProof has created some of the most durable options for keeping our iPhones and Android devices safe in extreme conditions. The company’s line of Frē and Nüüd cases are water and dust proof, while also providing protection from snow and ice – not to mention accidental drops – without adding a lot of undue bulk. That makes them excellent choices not only for those of us who put our phones through hell during our own outdoor adventures, but for the professional athletes who take part in the X Games too.

Recently we had a chance to chat with a number of those athletes while attending X Games Aspen. What we discovered is that they’re as attached to their smartphones as the rest of us and their mobile devices often play a crucial role in their day-to-day training as well. Unsurprisingly, that makes a rugged smartphone case somewhat of a necessity, both on and off the slopes. It turns out, if you’re pulling off high-flying, aerial stunts with skis or a snowboard strapped to your feet, you just might need some extra protection for your fragile gadgets.

Big air freestyle skier Bobby Brown, who has won eight X Games medals throughout his career, says that he needs to have his phone with him constantly, even while on the slopes. He tells Digital Trends, “We’re in the outdoors all the time and we don’t always know what the weather is going to be like. But with a good case I can take my phone out of my pocket at any time, even when its dumping snow, and not have to worry about my iPhone frying out.”

Brown’s comments were echoed by French halfpipe skier Kevin Rolland, who has not only 10 X Games medals to his name, but a bronze medal from the Sochi Olympics as well. He told us “I can ski with my phone in my hand and take great photos while training. But if you fall it’s okay. Your phone will be fine.” Those images are extremely popular on social media, which plays an important role for today’s action sports athlete. Rolland says, “There aren’t a lot of channels or media outlets that allow us to interact directly with fans, but social media allows us to do just that. When I’m out there, I’m using my phone a lot, especially to post on Facebook and Instagram.”

LifeProof

Christy Prior – who competed for New Zealand at the Sochi Olympics – was in Aspen to attend the X Games in a non-athletic capacity. Currently sidelined with an injury, she’s working on getting healthy and back on the pro circuit as soon as she can. The kiwi snowboarder was still able to weigh in on this topic, however. “I always carry my phone with me while training. It allows me to stay in touch with my coach, keep up with friends, and listen to music while I’m riding,” Prior says. She also admits that without a good case she’d be shelling out a lot of money on a regular basis. “We obviously train on snow, so there is always moisture and ice to deal with. And since we’re falling and crashing with our phones a lot, LifeProof helps me to not have to buy a new phone every month.”

Slopestyle and Big Air snowboarder Sebastien Toutant tells Digital Trends that he’s been using a LifeProof case for a year now, and really appreciates what it brings to the table. “It’s crazy how much we use our phones,” he says, referring to himself and other X Games athletes. “From summer to winter, its probably the best tool you can have.” Dubbed “Seb Toots” on the action sports circuit, Toutant is a popular figure on social media, which naturally influences the way he uses his phone on the slopes. “I’m always taking photos, shooting video, and posting them on Instagram or Twitter. But with a LifeProof case my phone doesn’t freeze up and I don’t have to worry about cracking it when I accidentally drop it off the chairlift either.”

LifeProof

Darrin Mees was in Aspen to take part in the first ever Snow BikeCross event, which is a race involving motorized vehicles that are a blend of dirt bikes and snowmobiles. He doesn’t have the time to take out his phone in the heat of the moment of a race or training session, but appreciates what a LifeProof case brings to his day-to-day life. As someone who constantly works and plays in the outdoors, he tells us, “My phone would have been destroyed on many occasions if it weren’t for this case. It’s a real lifesaver.” With a young family back at home, his smartphone is the key to staying connected with his wife and two daughters while on the road, making it an important piece of equipment indeed.

Obviously, not everyone is an extreme sports athlete, or needs to have a case that can survive a fall from a chairlift. But for those who do, its nice to know that there are some options available to protect our mobile devices when we’re in the outdoors. Keeping that in mind, it makes perfect sense that LifeProof is among the sponsors for the X Games, and that so many of the athletes who compete there rely on its products in both their personal and professional lives.

MacBook Pro vs. Surface Book vs. Razer Blade: What’s best for video editing?

Video editors looking to take their craft out of the house have a glut of choices when it comes to stylish, slim laptops. Apple’s MacBook Pro is a perennial favorite, but recent changes to its connectivity and battery life has hurt its reputation among the power users who relied on the system. Razer’s Blade has been revised a few times, and packs in the latest gaming hardware — a good look for video editing. Finally, Microsoft’s Surface Book with Performance Base has splashed onto the scene, offering up competitive performance and a versatile form factor.

But the question remains, which is the best for video editing and encoding? To find out, David from The Unlockr faced them off in a test that replicated his real-world working conditions. He took 4K footage, did some light color correction, and then times the process to encode to both 4K and 1080p for YouTube.

More: Want Hollywood results on a budget? Here’s the best free video editing software

Of course, video encoding is an incredibly demanding process that stresses basically every component in your system. The processor and RAM are working overtime, and even your drives are going to be sweating trying to keep up. In order to help leverage the extra computing power in the GPU, Nvidia users can use CUDA acceleration to help speed up the process. As a result, the more powerful GTX 1060 and high-wattage, quad-core, eight-thread CPU in the Blade pushes it to a strong lead over both the Surface Book with Performance Base and MacBook Pro 15 with Touch Bar.

Of course, encoding performance isn’t the only factor when it comes to video editing, as the video mentions. The Macbook’s amazing display and Touch Bar may be a good fit for people already used to the MacOS ecosystem. Likewise, the Surface Book’s 3:2 aspect ratio is a great layout for video editing, and the sensitive touch screen could allow for easy touch-up work.

LG G5 review re-do: The worst Android flagship of 2016 isn’t that bad

MWC is just beginning, and LG is slated to show off the G6. Since we’re just about to look ahead, I’m taking a look back at the LG G5. This phone was a flop, but now that the price has dropped, it’s worth taking a look at again. Well, not too close a look.

I’m Michael Fisher, better known to the wider world as MrMobile, and if I had to recommend a good camera phone for under $400, I’ve got a new contender. Watch this video and revisit the good (just the camera, which is really good), and what was not (pretty much everything else).

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Bose QC35: Wireless, noise-canceling, and near-perfect

If you fly a lot — or maybe even just a little — you need a good pair of noice-canceling headphones. My new go-to cans absolutely are the Bose QC35.

First Serenity Caldwell, then MrMobile, and now Modern Dad. At this point I think it’s safe to say the Bose QC35 wireless noise-canceling headphones have reached a trifecta here.

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I’ve been using Bose buds on planes for years. I’ve burned through two sets of the QC20 earbuds. They’re great, too. But I wanted something wireless. And I wanted something more comfortable for those REALLY long flights.

The QC35 fit that bill. They’re wireless with Bluetooth for use with your phone. They’ve got a cable and airplane adapter for when you want to use them for in-flight movies. And I’ve yet to kill the battery at an inopportune time. (20 hours is more than enough to get me from one end of the world to another.)

There’s a companion Android app that you might be tempted to skip — but don’t. Bose is using this to push firmware updates. They take a few minutes — like, 20 — to download and apply. But it’s great to see a product like this get some fairly regular upkeep.

The only real negative I have here is that my ears can get a little sweaty after a couple hours inside the cans. Is that the headphones’ fault, or poor design of the user? Pick your poison.

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Everything you need to know about Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom plan

A complete breakdown of Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom plan and everything else you can get when you sign up for service.

In the United States, there are a lot of companies that can get you and your phone online, but most people use one of the four biggest: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. Choosing between them can be difficult. Your first priority should be what service works best in the places you spend your time. It’s not worth saving $10 a month if the service is bad. Once you have that sorted, you can look at what each company has to offer and the prices they charge for it.

More: Which unlimited plan should you buy?

Let’s take a look at Sprint to see what they can give you and what it will cost.

Note: The details of this plan are current as of February 20, 2017.

Sprint Unlimited Freedom plan details

• Unlimited talk, text, and data (with certain restrictions)
• Unlimited data for streaming video up to 1080p
• Unlimited data for gaming up to 8Mbps
• Unlimited data for streaming music up to 1.5Mbps
• 10GB high-speed mobile hotspot with VPN and P2P support
• Add a tablet with unlimited data for $25 per month

Note: These features apply only to new accounts.

Sprint’s definition of Unlimited Data means that after you use 23 GB in a single month, your service can be slowed down if you’re in a congested area. You’ll hear the word throttled used here but you need to know that it’s only a temporary deprioritization of your data connection when you’re in a busy area. It may not happen at all depending on how many other customers are using the same towers.

Buying a phone and getting exactly the data plan and extras you want is far easier on Sprint than every other company we’ve tried.

Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom plan applies only to new customers who are also buying (outright purchases or financing) or leasing phones from Sprint at the time of purchase, and credit approval is required. There is an activation fee of up to $30 per line and the Unlimited Freedom Plan requires eBilling. Current customers can call 1-866-275-1411 with questions about changing their plan.

Sprint offers a 14-day satisfaction guarantee and devices purchased on installments are subject to a $350 early termination fee.

Additional lines can be added to a Sprint Unlimited Freedom plan. Every line has the same benefits outlined above and requires an equipment purchase. Here is a pricing breakdown.

• One line of service is $50
• Two lines of service is $90
• Three lines of service is $90
• Four lines of service is $90

Sprint Unlimited Freedom plan add-ons

Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom plan is a no-frills option at a low price. There are few extras and add-ons available if you want international options or a few extra features.

• Free Sprint Open World Winter Promo: Free calls, texts and high-speed data from Canada, Mexico and 25 other countries in Latin America until March 31, 2017
• Mexico-Canada Plus: Unlimited calls and texts from the U.S. to Mexico and Canada, unlimited messaging to 180 countries and discounted international calling rates from the U.S. for $5 per month
• Upgrade your phone every 12 months with a $5 monthly charge

Sprint also offers trials and discounts on some premium services for new customers. Spotify Premium has a 30-day trial available, as does Lookout and Sprint Family Locator. After the trial period, normal monthly rates apply.

Sprint also will offer “unlimited access to exclusive artist content not available anywhere else” now that the company has bought one-third of Tidal, though exact details on this aren’t yet available.

See at Sprint

Exploring portability with room-scale VR

Does a laptop make your VR rig portable?

The first VR-Ready laptops barely deserved to be named as such. The hulking desktop replacements were difficult to take with you anywhere and didn’t really have the battery life necessary to enjoy the experience. Times have changed, and now several manufacturers have thin, light laptops that can easily travel with you and handle VR with no problem.

This leaves a lot of people planning their VR playspaces with a fun new question — how easy is it to pack up and take your VR setup somewhere new? Can a VR setup become the center of a party when it’s not at your house?

Read more at VR Heads!

Google pledges to help initiate criminal justice reform

The company has committed to doubling its investment in organizations working to help solve the issue of mass incarceration.

As a company, Google isn’t one to shy away from political topics. It’s come out in support of gender equality, immigrants, and now it’s taking a stance against mass incarceration.

Google.org, in particular, has pledged to donate $11.5 million in grants to organizations across the country working on reforming the criminal justice system. From the official blog post:

We believe better data can be can be part of the solution [against mass incarceration], which is why we’re investing in organizations using data and evidence to reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system. We’re giving $5 million to support the Center for Policing Equity (CPE), which partners with police agencies and communities by bringing together data science, trainings and policy reforms to address racial disparity. This intersection gives CPE a unique opportunity to both identify the cause of problems, and propose concrete solutions. CPE’s National Justice Database is the first in the nation to track national statistics on police behavior, including stops and use of force, and standardizes data collection across many of the country’s police departments. Soon, Google engineers will be volunteering their time and skills with CPE to help build and improve this platform.

Google plans to dole out the grants to ten different organizations. “The goal of these efforts is a society where everyone, regardless of race, is ensured an equal outcome under the law,” writes Justin Steele, Principal at Google.Org. “We hope that our grants will provide resources and support to bring about this much-needed change.”

FCC lifts transparency requirements for some internet providers

The Federal Communications Commission today voted to remove reporting requirements for internet providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers, a move that chips away at the foundation of net neutrality. Today’s vote means these smaller carriers no longer have to publicly share information about data caps, fees, and network performance and management practices for at least five years.

The Commission just acted to relieve thousands of small broadband providers from onerous reporting obligations. #OpenMtgFCC

— The FCC (@FCC) February 23, 2017

The FCC, which recently became a Republican-controlled regulatory body, called the accounting and reporting requirements “unnecessary burdens” on carriers. The commission had previously exempted carriers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers from these reporting requirements, but today’s vote expands the waiver. As PC World notes, only about 20 internet service providers have more than 250,000 subscribers.

“Relieving small providers of these excessive, burdensome reporting obligations will free up resources for these companies to invest in new and expanded networks, which provide more competitive options for consumers and lower prices,” an FCC spokesperson said. “Consumers will continue to have access to the information they need to choose a provider and plan, which broadband providers already disclose and was required by the 2010 Open Internet Order.”

The vote passed 2-1 along party lines, with Democrat Mignon Clyburn opposed. Clyburn argued the new rules impact larger carriers as well, allowing their smaller subsidiaries to operate without transparency.

“In an ongoing quest to dismantle basic consumer protections for broadband services, the majority has decided to exempt billion-dollar public companies from being transparent with consumers,” Clyburn added. “This represents yet another in a series of steps being taken to jettison pro-consumer initiatives.”

New FCC chairman Ajit Pai is firmly against net neutrality, as is commissioner Michael O’Rielly. In early February, Pai announced the FCC would no longer investigate carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T for “zero rating” programs, which have been criticized as circumventing the goal of net neutrality.

All the smartphones we expect to see at MWC 2017

It’s that time of year again. Barcelona, with its stunning architecture and succulent jamón, will soon be packed with new smartphones, tablets, wearables, networking gear, app developers and, well, tech journalists like us. By the time you’re reading this, we’ll already be on the ground in Spain laying the foundation for a week of intense coverage. Read on for a rundown of what we expect to see as the show unfolds.

LG

I’ll admit, I was swept up in the sheer novelty of last year’s G5, but that modular gamble hasn’t paid off the way LG hoped. That explains why the G6, which LG has already revealed in drips and drabs, seems like a dramatic change. All signs point to the G6 being a non-modular device, which, while unsurprising in some ways, should come as a blow to G5 adopters who believed the company when it said those bolt-on “Friend” accessories would be compatible with this year’s flagship phone. Still, some things are familiar: It packs an upgraded quad-DAC for high-resolution audio (like last year’s V20), as well as a dual-camera setup similar to what was used on the original G5.

That’s not to say the rest of the package as we understand it isn’t a little weird. LG has confirmed that the phone will have a big screen running at an odd aspect ratio (18:9, compared with 16:9 on most other phones). Rumors also suggest that the device will pack a relatively common Snapdragon 821 chipset instead of the newer, more powerful Snapdragon 835. That would be a bummer, but there might be one big silver lining: Reports claim that the G6 will be the first non-Pixel smartphone to integrate Google’s Assistant. Considering that the V20 was the first phone to ship with Android 7.0 Nougat preloaded, we’d be a little surprised if that last tidbit wasn’t true.

HTC

In years past, HTC used MWC has a launching point for whatever new flagship it was working on that year. This year, however, the company pulled back the curtain on the U Play and flagship-level U Ultra closer to CES, leaving HTC without new high-end hardware to show off in Spain. It’s an unorthodox approach, but one that another competitor is running with, too.

Samsung

This year is a peculiar one for Samsung as well. 2017 is the first year in a long time where the company isn’t unveiling its new flagship smartphone in Barcelona. The Galaxy S8 should make its official debut shortly after MWC, but we have word of new tablets in Spain to keep us satisfied. One is a follow-up to last year’s Galaxy Tab S2, predictably called the Tab S3. Reports point to a 9.7-inch Super AMOLED screen and a Snapdragon 820 chip — all the rage in last year’s flagships — with an included S Pen, to boot. We’re also hearing Samsung will have another ultraportable Windows 10 tablet called the Galaxy Book. Conceptually, it’ll be pretty similar to the awkwardly named Galaxy TabPro S, with one of Intel’s Kaby Lake i5 processors. Surprise, surprise: This tablet will apparently come with an S Pen of its own, which only makes sense given Windows’ penchant for pen inputs.

Beyond the stuff you’d normally expect at a show like this, Samsung also confirmed it’s bringing some goodies from its experimental C-Lab. This time, it’s mostly AR and VR stuff, including a pair of glasses that could replace your traditional PC monitor, as well as a Gear VR app that pledges to help the vision-impaired watch TV and read screens more clearly. Remember: This is a part of the company where employees are encouraged to pursue offbeat ideas and generally act with the flexibility of a startup, so a little weirdness is to be expected.

Huawei

No surprise here: Huawei will unveil its new P10 smartphone at the show, most likely with an all-metal body and the usual dual-Leica camera setup. That should sound pretty familiar, but new to the mix are a slew of unexpected colors unearthed by prolific leaker Evan Blass. At this point, it looks like the fingerprint scanner has been moved to the phone’s front, under the screen, and it supposedly uses a Kirin 960 chipset with 4GB to 6GB of RAM and between 32GB and 128GB of storage. And like before, there’s persistent word of a bigger, more premium model — in this case, the P10 Plus. Leaked renders suggest it might have a curved screen similar to the S7 Edge.

It’s also clear that Huawei will launch a new Android Wear 2.0 watch at the show. Most recently, a teaser image posted to Weibo points to a sportier build than the original. Also on deck is optional 4G LTE connectivity, which has become a hallmark feature of high-end wearables — just look at Samsung’s Gear S3 Frontier and the LG Watch Sport. There’s currently no word on whether a classier model or a model specifically for women are in the works, but hey, what fun would this show be without surprises?

Sony

The love-them-or-hate-them Xperias Sony unveiled last year were a bit of a surprise, and you can expect even more this year. Rumors point to a broad array of Sony phones, the most exciting of which is said to pack a 5.5-inch 4K screen and one of Qualcomm’s brand new Snapdragon 835 chipsets. That sounds like serious flagship horsepower, which feels downright refreshing when you consider how little Sony pushed the envelope with the X Performance (pictured above). The rest of the line-up is considerably more mid-range. In particular, we might also see new Xperia XA phones packing Mediatek P20 chipsets and 23-megapixel rear cameras to round out Sony’s portfolio.

We’d also be surprised if Sony didn’t have projector-related announcement this year. After all, the Xperia Projector was revealed as a fascinating concept at MWC 2016 and a version we saw briefly at CES 2017 seemed very close to ready for the masses. Turning any wall into a touch-friendly Android interface is no small feat, though, so maybe its time just hasn’t come yet — the rumor mill has been pretty quiet about it.

ZTE

ZTE might have more secrets up its sleeves, but it already announced what is probably its more important device. It’s called the Gigabit phone (for now), and as the name implies, it’s a device capable of super-high-speed data connections that should make 360-degree VR, 4K video streaming and truly seamless cloud storage a very real possibility. Alas, this high-speed tech obviously requires some serious network infrastructure — good thing it looks like 2017 is the year real-world 5G testing will finally start ramping up. We wouldn’t be shocked to see some mid-range stuff from ZTE too, but do know that its style-conscious Nubia sub-brand will have a presence on the show floor. Too bad that stuff never winds up in the US.

Lenovo/Motorola

Credit to Lenovo for doing a nice job staying off the radar — we’ve heard that there will be at least one new Android tablet in the works, and a new Yoga 720 Window 10 convertible if we’re lucky. Beyond that, most of the major leaks have come courtesy of Motorola. We’re positive at this point that we’ll see two 5th-generation Moto G phones at MWC, one of which will have a 1.4GHz Snapdragon 430 chipset, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 5-inch display.

Moto G5 Plus for Verizon. pic.twitter.com/XfmzLMc8zn

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 22, 2017

Meanwhile, the “Plus” model will pack a bigger screen and a faster Snapdragon 625 processor. Fair enough, but we’re more impressed with the G5 aesthetic than the specs these phones sport — it looks like we’re getting curvaceous, comfortable-looking metal bodies that come off as more premium than prior models.

TCL/Alcatel/BlackBerry

TCL just might be one of the busiest companies at MWC this year. Part of that is because of its fascinating partnership with BlackBerry to develop devices like the impressive new BlackBerry “Mercury.” That code name may well disappear soon, but the device itself is still full of that BlackBerry DNA — after all, it was designed with BlackBerry and packs a great (so far) physical QWERTY keyboard. Sure, we saw it at CES already, but (barring any major mishaps) it’ll be out in the wild shortly.

Meanwhile, TCL’s Alcatel brand might have a modular smartphone of its own with a removable back to show off at MWC. If true, that would make Alcatel approach more Motorola than LG, and that might be a very good thing indeed. We’re hearing the brand will also have four other phones to announce, though the juicy details are hard to come by at this point.

Nokia

While we’re on the subject of unexpected companies representing storied brands, HMD-owned Nokia should show off around four new smartphones at MWC. That might seem a like a lot for a company trying to revive the Nokia name, but don’t forget the China-only Nokia 6 sold out within a minute. No wonder Nokia’s new parent company is prepping some follow-ups.

The rumor mill says the Nokia 3 will be a lower-end device with a plastic body, while the slightly higher-end Nokia 5 comes swathed in metal. The 8, meanwhile, could be a full-on flagship device with a 24-megapixel rear camera and a Snapdragon 835 chipset if whispers hold true. We’re hoping the specifics surrounding the 8 are true, though; it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a properly lust-worthy Nokia phone.

Most exciting, though, are rumors that the classic 3310 will make some kind of return at MWC. Is it a feature phone? Some sort of rugged, Android-powered affair designed to pick up where the original 3310 left off? We’re not sure, but we hope it’ll take a beating as well as Nokia’s truly classic candy-bar phone did years ago.

Apple Updates iTunes Remote App With Two-Factor Authentication for Home Sharing

Apple today updated its iTunes Remote app, which is designed to allow users to control their iTunes libraries from anywhere in the home.

The new update adds support for Apple’s Two-Factor Authentication system, adding an extra layer of security when signing in for Home Sharing purposes. Using Home Sharing will now require a verified device or a verified phone number that can receive a Two-Factor Authentication code, preventing an unauthorized user from accessing a home library with just a password.

For those unfamiliar with Two-Factor Authentication, it is an opt-in system that’s designed to increase the security of Apple ID accounts. It asks users to provide a verified code when signing in to new devices, when using iCloud, and when using services like iMessage and FaceTime.

Apple’s iTunes Remote app was last updated in September of 2016, adding iOS 10 compatibility and minor performance and stability improvements. The app lets users browse their iTunes libraries and send music to AirPlay speakers.

The iTunes Remote app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tags: Two-Factor Authentication, iTunes Remote
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