Would you be able to sleep in a hotel room ‘pod’ floating in the ocean?

Why it matters to you

If you’re a fan of wacky hotels, then this one should go straight to the top of your bucket list.

For your next hotel stay, how do you fancy the idea of sleeping in a pod that floats, unattached, in the sea? A pod with a glass roof so you can stare dreamily at the starry sky as you bob up and down and gently drop off to sleep? A pod that drifts several miles across a bay as you snooze, arriving at an attraction-filled island at sunrise?

The ambitious plan is set to become a reality before the end of the year, according to the operator of Huis Ten Bosch, a Dutch-inspired theme park near Nagasaki in Japan.

Each pod will reportedly have two levels — a lower one for relaxing and dining, and an upper one with a bed from where you can gaze at the night sky.

Aimed squarely at those who enjoy life’s quirkier offerings, your aquatic hotel room will depart from the shore of the Huis Ten Bosch park in the evening. From there you’ll float a distance of about 4 miles (6 km) across the bay to a small island where you’ll be able to spend the following day enjoying a number of yet-to-be-built attractions. A second night in the pod will return you across the water, back to Huis Ten Bosch.

Possible drawbacks include rough crossings when the weather’s bad, though in such cases you’ll likely be offered alternative accommodation on solid ground. And if you’re a big fan of room service during hotel stays, then this particular hotel probably isn’t for you.

Those behind the plan haven’t yet revealed how the pods will reliably reach their destination, an important point if they want to reassure guests that they really will be waking up at a spot four miles away rather than 40.

A night in the pod is expected to cost around 35,000 yen ($315), though you may as well double that as it seems this is a two-nights-minimum deal.

More: The best underwater hotels — rock bottom never looked so good

Japan’s Huis Ten Bosch park appears to have a penchant for peculiar hotels. Two years ago it made international headlines with the launch of a hotel staffed entirely by robots. Features include a robot dinosaur to check you in, facial recognition technology for door locks, a tulip-shaped concierge robot for every guest, and sensor panels that detect your body heat and adjust the room’s temperature accordingly.

How to edit the Air Command menu on the Galaxy Tab S3

The S Pen is already pretty great. You can make it even better by customizing its companion Air Command dock.

The S Pen is the Galaxy Tab S3’s most powerful trait. It features a clickable button that, when pressed while hovering the S Pen above the Tab S3’s display, brings up the Air Command dock. You can program this pop-up menu window with oft-used S Pen actions or shortcuts to your favorite stylus-compatible apps.

How to edit the Air Command menu on the Galaxy Tab S3

With the S Pen

Click to bring up the Air Command menu.
Tap on Add Shortcuts.

Drag and drop the S Pen features and App and functions you find most useful to the dock area.

You can add up to ten shortcuts to the Air Command window.

Without the S Pen

Go to Settings.
Tap on Advanced Features.
Tap on S Pen.
Tap on Air Command

Tap on Shortcuts.

From here, you can drag and drop the S Pen features and App and functions you find most useful to the dock area. Tap on minus icon to remove an app or feature from the dock.

Got an S Pen?

What’s your favorite Air Command configuration for your S Pen? We’re dying to know!

Snag the excellent Ecobee3 smart thermostat at one of the best prices we’ve seen

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with a great deal on an awesome smart thermostat!

If you’re looking to add some extra smarts to your home and save a little money over the long-term, a smart thermostat is a great place to start. Luckily, the Ecobee3, our pick for the best smart thermostat, is currently on sale for just $199.99 at Amazon. That’s a full $49 discount off of its usual price tag and one of the lowest prices we’ve seen.

With the Ecobee 3, you can potentially save big on your energy bills throughout the year. The thermostat is able to sense when anyone is home, and can adjust the temperature accordingly, keeping you comfortable while you’re around, and saving energy while no one is in the house. The Ecobee3 also keeps an eye on the weather outside and thousands of other data points to make sure you’re always comfortable.

If you’re up for adding a smart thermostat to your home, you can snag the Ecobee3 and take advantage of this discount at Amazon now.

See at Amazon

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Astell & Kern XB10 review: Cranking it up to 11

A DAC – that’s digital-to-analogue converter for the uninitiated – is found in every electronic device with a speaker. Phones, laptops, wireless speakers – every device that needs to take a digital signal and turn it into an analogue one (i.e. soundwaves) for your listening pleasure.

But the DACs found in such products are typically of a limited quality, hence some consumer demand for higher quality, better sound to go with their higher-grade files. The Astell & Kern XB10 external Bluetooth DAC is capable of transmitting up to 24-bit/48kHz audio via Bluetooth aptX HD, which is ideal for that audience.

You’ll need a device capable of handling this quality to benefit this quality level, however – and there aren’t loads of phones, for example, that can just yet; the LG G6 is one recent example – but the XB10 also functions as a headphone amp, delivering added pomp to tunes whatever the source.

However, at £150, would spending the cash on a better pair of headphones ultimately be the better option for many?

Astell & Kern XB10 review: Design

• Belt clip for portability
• iOS and Android compatible
• Built-in battery

The XB10 looks similar to a Google Chromecast streaming dongle. It’s a simple design: round and black.

Pocket-lint

Plug your output device into the XB10 and it’ll hand over the controls. There are four controls buttons on the front: play, pause, volume up and volume down; plus track skip and rewind buttons on the left side. There’s a Bluetooth pairing button (when you switch on the XB10 for the first time it will automatically go on the hunt for a Bluetooth device to pair with), and a power button which can also be used to lock the device so you don’t accidentally press any buttons and interrupt your music.

On the bottom you’ll find a 3.5mm unbalanced headphone output alongside a 2.5mm balanced output, should you have a compatible pair of headphones for the latter. A balanced output is said to deliver better sound than an unbalanced out because it adds a reverse phase signal (left and right channels) to help eliminate any unwanted noise.

The XB10 also comes supplied with a clip for you to fit to the back which allows you attach it to your clothes – handy if you want to go for a run, but just as useful for walking around town without the need to get your phone out of pocket with a headphones wire dangling out of it.

Pocket-lint

However, priced at £150 we would have liked the XB10 to feel a little more premium. It’s incredibly light and the buttons have a slight flimsy feel to them. You’ll also want to make sure you don’t have greasy fingers when you use it, as it’s a bit of a fingerprint and dust magnet.

While Astell & Kern envisages most buyers will use it to stream music from a phone or tablet to some headphones, you can also plug it into an amplifier or even to an auxiliary input in your car for Bluetooth streaming. It can even handle hands-free calling, no matter where you use it, just as long as you have a phone connected of course.

Astell & Kern XB10 review: Sound quality

• 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution audio support
• 24-bit/48kHz audio via aptX HD Bluetooth
• Supports SBX, aptX, aptX HD, AAC

The first thing you’ll notice when you listen to music through the XB10 is just how much louder it is than your phone. It’s called an amp for a reason.

Pocket-lint

When it comes to hi-res, however, a word of warning: as you can’t connect the XB10 to phone via USB it won’t override the native device’s DAC. You’ll need a device capable of 24-bit/192kHz and tracks of said quality for those benefits, which will only be a handful of devices.

That said, even using an iPhone without hi-res audio we immediately noticed just how much cleaner and clearer our music sounded. Flicking between the XB10 and our iPhone, we were amazed at just how much more enjoyable and engaging our tracks could sound. They sounded dull in comparison when our headphones were just plugged into our iPhone.

The XB10 adds more impact and depth overall. Dynamically it’s very impressive, with any subtle changes in volume handled with expertise. Throw different genres at it and it’ll swallow them up and spit them back out with rhythm and emotion.

Pocket-lint

And don’t forget that the XB10 also needs its own charger. The XB10’s built-in battery lasts for between three and five hours. So if you plan on using it for extended periods make sure you have a phone charger to hand to plug into its Micro-USB, as you’ll be running low on juice before you know it once you’re lost in the music.

First Impressions

The Astell & Kern XB10 adds volume and dynamism to your music. It can’t make non-hi-res devices hi-res, though, so that’s something to keep in mind.

For us we loved the convenience of being able to stream our songs wirelessly when out and about, which works just fine from a clipped-on pocket position. While your headphones may still be plugged into a physical device, it frees up your phone, so you don’t have to worry about being tethered.

However, £150 is a lot to spend for a headphone amp and DAC – especially one of limited build quality – when a simple headphones upgrade might be money better spent for many.

For those high-quality heads in the know, however, this wireless release will be their perfect match.

Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear Wireless review: Immersive quality without the over-ear bulk

Momentum headphones from Sennheiser are among the most well regarded on-ear and over-ears cans on the market. For 2017, the company has added a whole new take for the range: a neckband-equipped in-ear version. 

At £169, the Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear Wireless earphones are roughly the same price as their on-ear counterparts, but the question is whether they can still meet the high expectations already set by the brand.

Has trimming the fat in the name of an in-ear design also trimmed the performance?

Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear Wireless review: Design

• Neckband design
• Soft sheepskin leather 
• Controls housed in neckband

There’s been a rise of a two new kinds of wireless earphones over the past couple of years: one is the AirPod-like completely wireless kind; the other is the kind that features a neckband.

Pocket-lint

In this latter category the Momentum In-Ear face serious competition from the likes of the Bose QC30 (despite those being much more expensive and primed for disruption).

Because the Momentum In-Ear earbuds are attached to the collar, with enough slack in the cabling, you can move your head freely without even the slightest feeling of your ears being tugged. There’s also the benefit of being able to take them out of your ears and just drop them when you need a pause, knowing they aren’t going to fall down the drain anywhere. No need to stuff them in a pocket; and there’s no chance of these earphones tangling.

Since all the electronic components – apart from the audio drivers – are housed in the neckband, that means tiny, lightweight earbuds are achievable without any compromise in sound, battery life or connectivity. With the Bluetooth chip sitting lower down at the base of your neck it’s closer to your phone and therefore poses less risk of sporadic disconnection.

Them being so slim and light also means you can barely tell you’re wearing the Momentum In-Ears, unlike on-ear cans which often restrict head movement when worn around the neck, when you’re not listening to them.

Pocket-lint

The short take-away from the design perspective is that, although unconventional and perhaps visually off-putting, this neckband solves many of those minor nit-picky problems we’ve had with other in-ear headphone styles.

Of course, there is a compromise: you can’t just take them out and put them in your pocket. But as wearing them is so easy, you soon forget about that. When you do need to stow these in-ears away, you can keep them in the slim-profile canvassed hard case that comes with them.

As for the neckband itself, it’s predominantly made from a lightweight, hollow and flexible plastic. For the most part, however, it’s covered in a soft, sheepskin nappa leather, giving it a more stylish look than other purely plastic options from other manufacturers. The only exposed plastic is at the ends of each side of the collar, with the left side hosting all of the controls.

Pocket-lint

There’s a dimple on the play/pause button, which makes it relatively easy to distinguish between the buttons by touch, although the difference between the surrounding volume buttons isn’t pronounced enough to make it a certainty. We found ourselves running our fingers along all of the buttons two or three times, every time we wanted to find the play/pause function. Not ideal.

Another slight negative on the design front is Sennheiser’s choice to use standard, small, round silicone eartips. We’ve seen other manufacturers (JBL and Bose) using wider, more cone-shaped tips which are more comfortable to wear for long periods, and don’t feel as invasive.

Sennheiser Momentum In-ear Wireless review: Battery performance

• 170mAh battery (10-hours of use)
• Bluetooth 4.1 (with aptX)
• Microphone for hands-free calls

The battery life in the Momentum Wireless In-Ears is a plus point too. Sennheiser claims that the 170mAh battery inside can last for 10 hours of playback before needing to be plugged in to refuel. That’s seemed accurate from our use, with a recharge taking around 90-minutes to full.

Pocket-lint

Measuring its performance hasn’t been the easiest, though. The only visible battery indicator appears as a tiny icon in iPhone or Android status bars. After two to three hours listening to music, the icon still showed a completely full battery. We tried digging through the app to see if there was a more precise indicator of the battery level, but we found nothing. There’s not even a voice prompt when you switch the earphones on telling you the battery level.

Alongside the Momentum In-Ears’ impressive battery performance is rock solid Bluetooth connectivity. We with an iPhone 7 Plus and LG G6. We were able to walk out of a room some two rooms away and still maintain a connection. This is thanks to the apt-X fused Bluetooth 4.1. There’s also NFC for easy pairing with compatible devices. If you have an Android phone with NFC switched on, all you need to do is tap the right end of the neckband on the back of the phone and a pairing request appears on screen.

Sennheiser Momentum In-ear Wireless review: App and sound quality

• Milled steel cones
• 15Hz – 22,000Hz frequency response

There’s an associated app which you can create your own custom equaliser (EQ) profiles using either the standard-type controls, or by going through a sound check. Using this sound check, the app goes through several screens, each with two slightly different sound profiles, asking you which sounds best to your ears. Once you’ve gone through that stage, it creates a custom overall sound for you. The end result is ideal personalised sound.

Another potentially useful feature within the app is the ability to play music directly through it. Although, somewhat confusingly, it only supports locally stored music in your phone’s library or Tidal accounts. You can’t hook it into any of the more popular streaming apps like Spotify or Google Play. So other than EQ options it offers no real other benefits at all.

Pocket-lint

Still, that aside, we’ve been really impressed by the sound quality of the Momentum In-Ears, especially as there’s not the physical size of driver compared to their on-ear counterparts.

The sound profile is extremely well balanced sound overall. There’s enough bass to fill your ears, without clouding over the mid and treble frequencies. Detail remains explicit over present low-driving bass, such as the high rings of steel guitar strings and the subtle brushing of a snare – all without any obvious weakness.

If you want clear and immersive sound from your in-ears then Sennheiser has it right on the money.

Verdict

If you’re looking for Bluetooth headphones that sound great, last for ages and don’t tug on your ears, the Momentum In-Ear Wireless are among the most well-rounded we’ve tested.

It might take a little while to get around to the idea of the neckband form factor, but once you’re wearing them, you’ll forget all of that and just enjoy the immersive listening experience. 

If on-ears or over-ears aren’t for you then the Momentum In-Ears don’t compromise on sound for the sake of form factor. Top job.

The alternatives to consider…

Pocket-lint

Jaybird X3

There aren’t many earphones that offer the insane value for money offered by the Jaybird X3’s. They could easily cost the same as the Sennheisers, and we’d still have no real trouble recommending them. Sound profiles are easy to customise, and the headphones are comfy, lightweight and resistant against the elements. What’s more, they only cost £110. 

Read the full review: Jaybird X3 review: Affordable sports earphones without the compromise

Pocket-lint

Denon AH-C821

They might be wired, but the Denon’s are among some of the best in-ears we’ve used. At £169, they cost the same as the Sennheisers, and they deliver incredible sound through their well-built drivers. From the moment we put them in our ears fell in love and didn’t want to take them out. We love their premium look and finish, their fit and , ultimately, the sound they produce.

Read the full review: Denon AH-C821 review: Big sound in a small package

Pocket-lint

Bose QC30

As mentioned at the top of the review, the QuietControl 30 by Bose is arguably at the pinnacle of this particular kind of earphone. They cost more, but have some incredible active noise cancelling skills, more comfortable ear tips as well as loud, full and detailed sound. 

Read the full review: Bose QuietControl 30 review

The Morning After: Thursday, March 30th 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Yesterday we focused on Samsung’s big Galaxy S8 reveal, and it didn’t disappoint. If you need to get up to speed in a hurry, we boiled the entire event down into one nine-minute video that you can watch here.

No more leaksMeet the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

Ever since the Galaxy Note 7 recall, Samsung has been waiting to get another flagship device into its customer’s hands. Now that the new Galaxy S8 family is here, we have new devices to talk about with new features like Bluetooth 5.0. Chris Velazco calls the S8+ “the most comfortable big phone I’ve ever held,” while Sean Buckley wants everyone to pump their brakes on the hype — it’s still just a phone. But it’s quite a phone, with Bixby AI, facial recognition and unlocking, and the DeX system that turns your smartphone into a desktop computer.

It’s good.Windows 10 Creators update release date & review

Microsoft finally has an official release date for its big upgrade to Windows 10: April 11th. Devindra Hardawar reviewed the OS, so you’ll know what to expect, which amounts to a series of tweaks and a few welcome new features. The Game Bar, upgraded Edge browser and Paint 3D are all useful additions, even if Windows doesn’t look very different after the update.

New Game+The Xbox One’s new UI is rolling out to everyone

While we wait for the Creators Update on Windows 10, Microsoft is pushing its latest software for the Xbox One. Already available to beta testers, this version brings a faster miniguide that pops up with a single button press, plus streaming with Microsoft’s Twitch competitor Beam. One thing, though, it’s time to say goodbye to the picture-in-picture Snap mode.

Six years after the premiere of ‘L.A. Noire’Hideo Kojima is headlining the inaugural Tribeca Games Festival

On April 28th and 29th the Tribeca Film Festival will have some company, as the Tribeca Games Festival takes place in New York City. Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima will speak, as some of the big names behind games like Bioshock, Max Payne, Firewatch and Overwatch. Also, Telltale Games promises a premiere and “crowd play” event for its upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy game. Tickets start at $30 and are available here.

But wait, there’s more…

• Facebook opens up 360-degree live streaming to everyone
• Lyft’s latest idea looks familiar because it’s a bus.
• Take a look at the first interior photos of Blue Origin’s space capsule for tourists
• Donald Trump is tweeting from an iPhone now
• Bioware: Expect ‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’ support info Tuesday

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.

Watch astronaut Peggy Whitson’s historic spacewalk

Dr. Peggy Whitson, the first woman to command the ISS, might soon also hold the record for the most spacewalks by a female astronaut. She’s scheduled to step out of the ISS today (March 30th), and once she does, she’ll have eclipsed the number of times current record holder Sunita Williams floated around in space outside the orbiting lab. Williams still holds the distinction of being the astronaut who fixed the ISS with a toothbrush, though.

Whitson and Commander Shane Kimbrough will attach the docking module Canadarm2 recently moved to its new power and data cables. It’ll serve as the second docking port for the space taxis Boeing and SpaceX are developing to ferry astronauts to orbit. The duo won’t be stepping out of the ISS until 8AM EST, but you can tune in to NASA TV’s broadcast of the six-and-a-half-hour event as early as 6:30AM.

Source: NASA

Blue Origin’s New Shepard wins prestigious aeronautics award

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket has been winning awards left, right and center, but this one is “personally meaningful” for company chief Jeff Bezos. The reusable rocket has been chosen to receive the Collier Trophy for 2016, presented to those who’ve made the “greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America” for the past year. New Shepard is the latest in the list of impressive awardees, which include Boeing for the 747 and its successors, the Navy for its autonomous X-47B aircraft and NASA JPL for landing Curiosity on Mars.

According to the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), Blue Origin won the award “for successfully demonstrating rocket booster reusability with the New Shepard human spaceflight vehicle through five successful test flights of a single booster and engine, all of which performed powered vertical landings on Earth.”

The Jeff Bezos-owned private space corporation conducted five test flights using New Shepard 2 in 2015 and 2016, successfully relanding the rocket each time. NAA Chairman Jim Albaugh praises the company for “developing the first new large liquid hydrogen rocket engine in almost 20 years and demonstrating repeatable vertical takeoffs and landings makes the long sought after goal of low cost reusable rockets and access to space a reality.”

Blue Origin hasn’t been resting on its laurels despite New Shepard’s success. It recently finished building the new BE-4 engines for Shepard’s successor, the New Glenn rocket. That doesn’t mean it’s abandoning its award-winning creation, though — it even recently released the first photos of the New Shepard capsule.

Impossible to express how personally meaningful this is. A dream. Huge kudos to @BlueOrigin team that worked so hard https://t.co/q2P0Lsi81U https://t.co/D56XNkIiBP

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) March 29, 2017

Source: Jeff Bezos (Twitter), National Aeronautic Association (PDF)

Apple Store App Offering Free Download of Instagram Tool ‘Panols’ For Sharing Panoramic Shots

Apple is currently offering panoramic Instagram image-sharing tool Panols as a free download from within its Apple Store iOS app.

Usually $1.99, the Panols app takes pictures from a user’s photo library that have been shot in panoramic mode and accurately splits them into three images. The triptych of photos can then be uploaded in the official Instagram app using the new Multiple Picture post feature, after which they appear in an account feed as a carousel-like seamless panoramic image.

“Panols can be used by any iPhone photographer to display their Panorama photos the way they were meant to be seen. Users are no longer shackled by the limitations of Instagram, and instead can share their wide-screen shots in a fun and creative way.”

The app lets users edit the metadata of each shot, including name, description, and geolocation, while Panols images are stored in a separate “Panols” album in the Camera Roll.

To get the Panols app, users can scroll down to find it in the Discover section of the Apple Store app, which a free download from the App Store. [Direct link]

Tag: Instagram
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Lyft Shuttle is a bus service for commuters with fixed routes and fares

Why it matters to you

If Lyft’s shuttle service rolls out more widely it’ll mean more options — and cheaper ones — for getting to and from your workplace.

If you thought Lyft was all about comfy cars and rider-requested pick-up points, think again.

The ride-sharing outfit has stared piloting a new service called Shuttle in San Francisco and Chicago. As its name cleverly suggests, Shuttle is essentially a bus service with fixed routes and pre-determined stopping locations.

Shuttle is an expansion of Lyft Line, the company’s carpooling service that matches up riders heading in the same direction. Having identified particular commuter routes that consistently see lots of ride requests, Lyft wants to see how its loyal users take to the offer of a ride in a bus instead of a car.

Advantages include a regular, reliable service and competitive fixed-fare pricing. This means no sudden price increases during busy times, which is exactly when Shuttle operates — from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., and again from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays. However, unlike its car-based service, riders will have to walk to the pick-up points rather than designate a spot.

Besides aiming at current Lyft users, the company hopes Shuttle will also attract new customers who are yet to sign up to Lyft.

More: Ride-sharing showdown — should you grab an Uber, or hail a Lyft?

“Lyft Line is the future of rideshare, and we often test new features that we believe will have a positive impact on our passengers’ transportation options,” a Lyft spokesperson said. “We look forward to feedback on Shuttle from the Lyft community [and] we see a number of commuting use cases that this mode will make easier.”

Using buses may seem a bit old school for a company considered a disruptor in the transportation space, but its own R&D work suggests it could one day switch to self-driving buses, running them alongside a fleet of driverless cars that Lyft’s boss says could dominate its service by 2021.