KnowRoaming’s virtual SIM makes global roaming a breeze with ZTE Blade V8

Why it matters to you

For smartphone users, roaming internationally is a challenge, but KnowRoaming’s virtual SIM technology makes it easier.

If you’re an international traveler, you know that finding a cheap, reliable mobile network can be a challenge. First, there’s the matter of finding a plan that won’t nickel-and-dime you on international calls and texts.Then you have to switch your phone’s SIM for a compatible card. The lucky owners of ZTE’s Blade V8 won’t have to deal with those problems much longer, however.

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, KnowRoaming, a tech firm that “delivers end-to-end solutions for global connectivity,” announced the launch of the KnowRoaming SoftSIM in the new ZTE Blade V8. Thanks to KnowRoaming’s virtual SIM technology, roaming with the ZTE Blade V8 is a cinch: Users can get unlimited data in 61 countries worldwide without the need for additional SIMs or hardware. (In the U.S., that excludes Verizon and Sprint.)

More: Xiaomi Redmi Pro review

“We’re proud to partner with ZTE to relieve Blade V8 users of the burden of high roaming fees, and provide the freedom and flexibility to stay connected no matter where they travel,” KnowRoaming CEO Gregory Gundelfinger said in a press release.

Managing the SoftSIM is easy. The Blade V8’s native Roam Now app lets users manage real-time usage, choose the country, select the data package, top up their account with prepaid credit, and automatically connect to unlimited data in the aforementioned countries.

KnowRoaming’s announcement comes on the heels of tech firm uCloudlink’s CloudSIM. It, like KnowRoamin’s SoftSIM, tricks your the phone into thinking a card has been inserted. But CloudSIM’s services are restricted to the Xiaomi’s Mi Max phone. And uCloudlink must regularly send a signal to a central server in order to detect which local network is the strongest at any given time.

More: ZTE Blade V8 Pro: Our first take

There’s also the matter of compatibility. Xiaomi phones aren’t sold in the U.S. and don’t support U.S. carrier bands, while the Alcatel and ZTE phones supported by KnowRoaming’s technology are confirmed to work for U.S. GSM carriers.

The $240 Blade V8, for the uninitiated, is an affordable phone with uncompromising hardware. It sports a 5.5-inch 1,920 x 1,080 pixel screen, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 624 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. Its dual-camera lens combines images from two adjacent 13-megapixel lenses to create a blurred background (bokeh) effect similar to that on the iPhone 7 Plus, and the 3,140mAh battery compatible with quick charging technology supplies about a day’s worth of juice.

KnowRoaming’s Roam Now app will launch worldwide in the second quarter of this year, a company spokesperson said.

Google confirms it has no plan to create a third Pixel-branded Chrome OS laptop

Why it matters to you

Google’s two Pixel-branded laptops served as the flagships in the Chromebook business, but the quality may have gotten to the point where Google no longer needs to lead the pack.

During the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain, Google conducted a small meeting with journalists. Senior Vice President for Hardware Rick Osterloh took that time to reveal that, for now, Google has no plans to continue refreshing its Pixel-branded laptop family. The company isn’t making any additional units of the current Pixel 2015 models either, which have sold out.

That said, head into Google Play’s Devices section and there is no sign of a Pixel-branded laptop. Instead, customers will find Chromebooks from third-party manufacturers. These includes the $449 Samsung Chromebook Plus, the $300 Acer Chromebook R11, the $300 Acer Chromebook 14, and more.

More: Make the most out of Google with this list of ‘OK, Google’ voice commands

But don’t let Google’s current withdrawal from the laptop market be misleading. The Chrome OS platform will continue as an alternative to Windows and MacOS. Osterloh said that Google has “the number two market share in the U.S. and U.K.” but there’s no plan to continue producing Google-branded laptops at this time.

The claim is interesting given that the Windows platform dominates most of the PC market followed by MacOS 10.12 (2.75 percent) and Linux (2.27 percent). Regardless, Chromebooks are a big business in the educational and budget-friendly notebook sectors. Even more, owners love their Chromebooks due to their ease of use, their speed, and their stability.

Google’s first Pixel laptop arrived in February 2013. Like its eventual successor, the unit served as a flagship for Chrome OS, showing what third-party manufacturers should strive for when creating their own Chomebook solutions. The second model arrived in March 2015, raising the bar with high-end components, loads of system memory, Wireless AC connectivity, and more.

That said, Google’s Pixel Chromebooks didn’t come cheap. The original Pixel sold for $1,300 with Wi-Fi only and $1,450 for the LTE version. The two 2015 models weren’t quite as expensive, selling at $1,000 for the base configuration (i5-5200U, 8GB DDR3 memory, 32GB storage) and $1,200 for the LS configuration (i7-5500U, 16GB DDR3 memory, 64GB storage).

Google simply may not need to produce another flagship product because the quality of affordable, third-party Chromebook solutions has increased over the years. The HP Chromebook 13 is a good example with a starting price of $500.  The most expensive starting point ($1,040) consists of a sixth-generation Core m7-6Y75 processor, 16GB of system memory, 32GB of internal storage, and a 13.3-inch screen with a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution.

Despite Google’s current pause in the laptop market, the Pixel name isn’t dead. Google’s Pixel-based smartphone has proven to be quite popular, causing supply issues and the inability to meet consumer demand. The company also has the Pixel C tablet for $600 which is based on Android 7.0 “Nougat” and not the Chrome OS.

More Pixel devices could be on the way. Osterloh indicated that future products may don the Pixel name that are based on Google’s concept of building a product from the ground up that fuses together its own software and hardware. Laptops, it seems, aren’t part of the broader picture for now.

The Sistine Chapel’s masterpiece frescoes have been digitized

To prepare for future restoration projects, the Sistine Chapel’s world-famous frescoes and mosaic floor have gotten the up-close-and-personal treatment by way of an army of DSLRs. The last time the Sistine’s masterworks were documented photographically (both by Michelangelo and other artists) it was a 14-year-long job that wrapped in 1994, according to Reuters. This time out, photographers spread 65 nights of work across five years, resulting in 270,000 digital still photos.

“In the future, this will allow us to know the state of every centimeter of the chapel as it is today, in 2017,” former head of the Vatican Museums Antonio Paolucci told the publication.

“We used special post-production software to get the depth, intensity, warmth and nuance of colors to an accuracy of 99.9 percent,” fine-art book publisher Scripta Maneant’s Giorgio Aramroli said.

Speaking of, if you can’t make it to Vatican City to check the ceiling paintings for yourself, these benchmark photos will be available in book form. Reuters writes that some 220 pages are printed at 1:1 scale, including The Creation of Adam and Jesus Christ’s face from The Last Judgment.

The thing is, the three-volume work is targeted at libraries and deep-pocketed collectors. There will only be 1,999 copies printed and for the price — $12,693 (€12,000) — so it’ll likely be cheaper to book a trip to Rome. Ciao!

Source: Reuters

What is YouTube TV, how does it work, and where is it available?

It’s been long rumoured that Google will use YouTube to introduce a live TV service. The company has now confirmed those suspicions.

Google officially announced its entry into the streaming of live TV, with YouTube TV. It will let you access live and recorded content from major networks typically found on cable. It will be available alongside YouTube’s existing content, and it’ll work on practically every screen you can watch YouTube on, but it’ll only cost $35 a month without a contract. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

What is YouTube TV?

When people watch TV, they tune into live sports, breaking news, sitcoms, dramas, and a number of other different types of programmes. Although there is a tonne of content to choose from, there are limitations to how you can watch it. You simply can’t watch TV when you want and on any screen without a contract. And you certainly don’t always have access to fancy TV features such as DVR.

YouTube TV is attempting to change that. It is described as “live TV designed for the YouTube generation – those who want to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, without commitments.”

What can you watch on YouTube TV?

Google said the initial lineup of “more than 40 networks” includes CBS, Fox, NBC, and CBS, as well as cable players USA and FX. There’s a total of 10 sports networks available, including ESPN, Fox Sports, and NBCSN. Local affiliates will also be included, so you can watch news from the same channels you’d normally get over the air. You can even add Showtime for an additional price.

It’s safe to say YouTube will directly compete with existing services such as Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, both of which offer access to live TV from major networks, cable players, and sports networks. But there are some holes – like Viacom, Discovery, A&E, AMC, and Turner (with TBS and TNT). Sony’s $35 plan for PlayStation Vue offers many of these networks and more, such as CNN.

YouTube TV

You can see the full YouTube TV lineup above.

What else does YouTube TV feature?

Unlimited cloud DVR storage

Apart from live TV from major networks, YouTube TV includes unlimited cloud DVR storage. With that feature, you can even add a show or sports team to your favourites, and it’ll automatically save them for you. Your cloud DVR will record as many shows as you want, simultaneously, without using data or space on your phone (though you can stream recordings from any device at any time).

Google said it’ll store each of your recordings for nine months. And, yes, you can fast forward or rewind DVR content, so you can quickly pass right over all those annoying commercials.

Available across all your screens

YouTube TV works on both Android and iOS. That means you can watch YouTube TV on your phone, tablet, or computer. You can also stream to your TV with a Google Chromecast or Chromecast built-in TV. YouTube TV will even eventually work with Google Home, too, allowing you to ask Home to play a show on your Chromecast. Google said it’ll “just work,” according to Engadget.

How does YouTube TV work?

YouTube TV

YouTube TV app

When YouTube TV launches, you will be able to access it from the new YouTube TV app for Android and iOS or from the web on your computer. Other devices (like Apple TV, Roku, the PS4, and Xbox One) won’t have access to the new YouTube TV app at launch.

According to Engadget, the mobile app has a “cast” button available at the top throughout, so you can throw a video to your Chromecast or a compatible TV, as well as the ability to search by genre, network, and categories. You can also search for something like “dogs” and get a list of programmes that feature dogs. If you choose to search a series, you will see a page with all the episodes.

The mobile app features just three main screens: live, library and home.

Live

Live shows what is currently being broadcasted by networks, with live previews of what’s on each channel. Just tap to start playing. To record something to watch later, you can tap a plus icon on the preview. When watching in portrait mode, you’ll see recommendations at the bottom, or you can flip the phone to landscape to enter full screen.

It’s worth noting that because of Verizon’s deal with the NFL, you can’t watch NFL games on your phone. You’ll be able to stream them on the desktop or a TV, but not on your mobile device.

Library

Library shows everything you’ve recorded and everything scheduled to be recorded on your DVR.

Home

Home is kind of like what you see on YouTube. It’ll show what you’ve watched recently, as well as recommendations based on what you’ve watched so far, and you’ll see things you may have stopped and might want to continue playing.

Support

Google told Engadget that you will be able to contact customer service through the YouTube TV app any time, either via text chat or voice chat.

Is this different from YouTube Red?

This is a separate product from YouTube Red, a service Google launched in 2015 as a way to give you an ad-free YouTube experience. YouTube Red does feature some original programming, but with a YouTube TV membership, you can watch YouTube Red Original series and movies via the new YouTube TV app. But, unfortunately, you won’t get the full ad-free YouTube experience.

You can learn more about YouTube Red from Pocket-lint’s guide.

When will YouTube TV be available?

The YouTube TV app will be available sometime in spring 2017.

Where is YouTube TV available?

At launch, YouTube TV will only be available to customers in the US. It will be limited to “the largest US markets” but will quickly expand to cover more cities across the country, Google said. 

How much is YouTube TV?

YouTube TV will cost customers $35 a month with no contract. You can cancel at any time. Up to six users will be able to access content when they want – and they’ll have access to their own recommendations and personal cloud DVR storage.

Want to know more?

Visit tv.youtube.com to sign up and learn more about when YouTube TV will launch in your market.

Google quietly kills its high-end Pixel Chromebook laptop line

Farewell, Pixel.

No, not the Pixel phones. We’re talking about Google’s high-end, $1,299 Pixel Chromebooks. Long before Google started shipping flagship phones under the Pixel brand, it offered Pixel laptops. But, according to TechCrunch, which spoke to Google senior vice president for hardware Rick Osterloh at Mobile World Congress, Google plans to stop making the Pixel Chromebook line after just two iterations.

Google wants to chop the entire Pixel line down to just the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, as well as the Pixel C tablet, though there may be other devices carrying the brand name in the future. Just don’t expect laptops to be one of them. So, if you’re looking to snag a Pixel Chromebook before it’s too late… you’re simply out of luck. The company sold out of them last summer and has yet to restock them.

• Chromebook tips and tricks: Getting the most out of Chrome OS

This doesn’t mean Chrome OS is done. It just means Google is getting out of the Chromebook-making game; third-party manufacturers will still make and shipping their own Chrome OS-powered machines and Chromebooks. “Google hasn’t backed away from laptops,” Osterloh explained. “We have the number two market share in the US and UK – but we have no plans for Google-branded laptops.”

• Google Pixel tips and tricks: Getting to grips with Google’s phone

Osterloh also acknowledged at MWC 2017 in Barcelona that the Pixel smartphones have been suffering from supply and demand issues.

Now the NPR One app is plugged into Amazon’s Alexa

Amazon has been building out its voice-controlled AI system, Alexa, expanding into smart cars and Motorola phones. But part of its necessary growth comes from ingesting more content into its ecosystem. Today, National Public Radio announced that its NPR One app is now available on the fleet of Alexa-enabled devices, including Amazon’s own Echo and Dot.

Sure, the low-hanging fruit will be beckoning your AI hub to play the latest episode of Planet Money or Code Switch. But the app also provides audio-first stories and partner content from media outlets like Buzzfeed and Gimlet. If you want to build a personalized stream of NPR news and shows by barking commands at your Alexa-powered device as you’re in the middle of your bath or doing yardwork, today is your day.

Source: NPR

The tiny little Raspberry Pi ‘Zero’ board upgrades to Wireless N and Bluetooth

Why it matters to you

Application builders who used the original Raspberry Pi Zero board are no longer required to have dangling Wi-Fi dongles or USB hubs with the new model.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its original product’s launch by introducing the Raspberry Pi Zero W board. Costing a mere $10, the new addition builds upon the vanilla Raspberry Pi Zero by adding Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. In the United States, it can be purchased now through Adafruit, CanaKit, and Microcenter.

If you’re not familiar with the Raspberry Pi, it’s an inexpensive credit card-sized computer that can be used as the foundation of applications that require computing power, or simply slapped into a small case and used as a very capable PC. The first model, the Raspberry Pi 1 Model B, arrived in 2012 and was followed by numerous refreshes over the years.

The first entry-level Raspberry Pi Zero board landed during the end of 2015 for a mere $5. This version is smaller than the main Raspberry Pi product, packing fewer ports and general purpose input/output capabilities. According to the foundation, it’s “half the size of a Model A+ with twice the utility.” Features include a single-core processor clocked at 1GHz, 512MB of system memory, can more.

Here are the specs of the new Raspberry Pi Zero W compared to the full-size Raspberry Pi 3 Model B:

Raspberry Pi Zero W
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
Processor:
Single-core CPU @ 1.0GHz
Four-core CPU @ 1.2GHz (64-bit)
VideoCore IV 3D graphics core
Memory:
512MB
1GB RAM
Storage:
MicroSD card slot
MicroSD card slot
Connectivity:
Wireless N
Bluetooth 4.0
Wireless N
Bluetooth 4.1/BLE
Ports:
1x Mini HDMI
1x Micro USB On-The-Go1x Micro USB (power)
1x Full HDMI
4x USB
1x Ethernet
1x audio/video combo jack
Connectors:
1x HAT-compatible 40-pin header
1x Composite video and reset headers
1x Camera interface (CSI)
1x GPIO 40-pin header
1x Display interface (DSI)
1x Camera interface (CSI)
Price:
$10
$35

According to founder Eben Upton, the first Raspberry Pi Zero board saw the addition of the camera connector sometime after its initial launch. That led to its use in many projects that required computing power ranging from miniature arcade cabinets to electric skateboards. But many projects needed wireless connectivity, forcing users to connect an ugly, wireless dongle to the board’s USB port.

“Users often end up adding a USB hub to allow them to connect a keyboard, a mouse and a network adapter, and this hub can easily cost more than the Zero itself,” Upton said. That pushed the team to add the same Cypress CYW43438 wireless chip used in the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.

More: The Raspberry Pi Foundation offers its Pixel interface for Windows PCs, Macs

The launch of the Raspberry Pi Zero W also sees the release of an official injection-moulded case created by the foundation along with Kinneir Dufort and T-Zero. It’s similar to the case designed for the Raspberry Pi 3 (albeit smaller), and comes with the following components:

• A set of rubber feet
• A short camera adapter flexi
• One blank lid
• One lid with an aperture for accessing the GPIOs
• One lid with an aperture and camera mounting point

The tiny little Raspberry Pi ‘Zero’ board upgrades to Wireless N and Bluetooth

Why it matters to you

Application builders who used the original Raspberry Pi Zero board are no longer required to have dangling Wi-Fi dongles or USB hubs with the new model.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its original product’s launch by introducing the Raspberry Pi Zero W board. Costing a mere $10, the new addition builds upon the vanilla Raspberry Pi Zero by adding Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. In the United States, it can be purchased now through Adafruit, CanaKit, and Microcenter.

If you’re not familiar with the Raspberry Pi, it’s an inexpensive credit card-sized computer that can be used as the foundation of applications that require computing power, or simply slapped into a small case and used as a very capable PC. The first model, the Raspberry Pi 1 Model B, arrived in 2012 and was followed by numerous refreshes over the years.

The first entry-level Raspberry Pi Zero board landed during the end of 2015 for a mere $5. This version is smaller than the main Raspberry Pi product, packing fewer ports and general purpose input/output capabilities. According to the foundation, it’s “half the size of a Model A+ with twice the utility.” Features include a single-core processor clocked at 1GHz, 512MB of system memory, can more.

Here are the specs of the new Raspberry Pi Zero W compared to the full-size Raspberry Pi 3 Model B:

Raspberry Pi Zero W
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
Processor:
Single-core CPU @ 1.0GHz
Four-core CPU @ 1.2GHz (64-bit)
VideoCore IV 3D graphics core
Memory:
512MB
1GB RAM
Storage:
MicroSD card slot
MicroSD card slot
Connectivity:
Wireless N
Bluetooth 4.0
Wireless N
Bluetooth 4.1/BLE
Ports:
1x Mini HDMI
1x Micro USB On-The-Go1x Micro USB (power)
1x Full HDMI
4x USB
1x Ethernet
1x audio/video combo jack
Connectors:
1x HAT-compatible 40-pin header
1x Composite video and reset headers
1x Camera interface (CSI)
1x GPIO 40-pin header
1x Display interface (DSI)
1x Camera interface (CSI)
Price:
$10
$35

According to founder Eben Upton, the first Raspberry Pi Zero board saw the addition of the camera connector sometime after its initial launch. That led to its use in many projects that required computing power ranging from miniature arcade cabinets to electric skateboards. But many projects needed wireless connectivity, forcing users to connect an ugly, wireless dongle to the board’s USB port.

“Users often end up adding a USB hub to allow them to connect a keyboard, a mouse and a network adapter, and this hub can easily cost more than the Zero itself,” Upton said. That pushed the team to add the same Cypress CYW43438 wireless chip used in the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.

More: The Raspberry Pi Foundation offers its Pixel interface for Windows PCs, Macs

The launch of the Raspberry Pi Zero W also sees the release of an official injection-moulded case created by the foundation along with Kinneir Dufort and T-Zero. It’s similar to the case designed for the Raspberry Pi 3 (albeit smaller), and comes with the following components:

• A set of rubber feet
• A short camera adapter flexi
• One blank lid
• One lid with an aperture for accessing the GPIOs
• One lid with an aperture and camera mounting point

YouTube viewers now tally up a billion hours — every single day

Why it matters to you

The average American watches over five hours of TV every day — but YouTube’s latest statistics show users are tuning in longer online than ever before.

If one person watched what all YouTube visitors consume in a day, it would take about 100,000 years. On Monday, YouTube shared a viewer stat milestone — a billion hours watched every day.

A few years ago, the video platform started tracking not just the number of times a video is viewed, but how much time viewers spent on each video. The statistic, at the time, was designed to help determine who liked a video well enough to actually finish it, and not just tally up the number of times someone started watching.

More: Google has shipped 10 million Cardboard VR headsets since launch in 2014

Now, that metric shows YouTube viewers are consuming an average of one billion hours every day. According to YouTube’s blog post, a single person would have to watch for 100,000 years to consume the same amount of video. That’s roughly how long it would take to travel from one end of the Milky Way to the other — if you traveled at the speed of light.

“That’s the great thing about this milestone,” Cristos Goodrow, VP of engineering at YouTube, wrote. “It represents the enjoyment of the fantastically diverse videos that creative people make every single day. Around the world, people are spending a billion hours every day rewarding their curiosity, discovering great music, keeping up with the news, connecting with their favorite personalities, or catching up with the latest trend.”

Just how long users watch is also likely a factor in the platform’s artificially intelligent search program that was rolled out last spring. Refined artificial intelligence programs track what users watch and flag patterns, improving the list of recommended videos.

The latest shared user count was over a billion users for YouTube — or nearly a third of total web users, according to the latest stats. YouTube is now in 76 different languages, with local versions available in 88 countries.

New holster sensor detects when a cop’s weapon is drawn, turns on nearby body cams

Axon is best known for its body and dashboard cameras that are worn by police forces in the US and the UK, but now the company is expanding its law enforcement lineup with the Signal Sidearm: a new gun holster sensor that turns on all nearby body cams when a gun has been removed from a holster.

Despite its name, the Signal Sidearm is not a sidearm itself. Rather, it is a wireless sensor attachment that can be retrofitted to most existing firearm holsters. The sensor detects when a gun is drawn from the holster and uses the company’s Axon Signal technology to alert devices in the area. This alert function turns on the recording feature for any Axon camera, including both body and in-car cameras, within 30 feet of the signaling holster. This simultaneous activation allows officers to record video footage from multiple camera angles, which is indispensable when documenting possible hostile confrontations.

More: BYU’s origami-inspired Kevlar shield pops up in seconds to block bullets

The sensor is powered by a coin cell battery, which is expected to last up to 1.5 years. Because it’s wireless device, there are no cables to worry about, making it both easy to install and a cinch to use in the line of duty. Axon plans to begin selling the Signal Sidearm starting in the third quarter of 2017.

Of course, the Signal Sidearm isn’t the only cutting edge technology designed to protect police officers in the line of duty. Earlier this month, the FCA announced new technology that will protect officers from ambush while they are parked. The Officer Protection Package uses the existing rear park assist systems and the backup to detect movement behind a police vehicle. When movement is detected, the officer is alerted and the car secures itself by locking the doors, rolling up the windows and flashing the taillights.

And that’s just a small sample of what’s out there. Law enforcement agencies all over the world are increasingly turning to technology to solve some of their toughest problems, so don’t be surprised if you see more