Great deal! These are our 3 favorite Amazon tech bargains today

Friday’s Amazon Gold Box deals feature top-of-the-line products to make life easier and just a bit more fun: A nearly everything-proof Bluetooth speaker, sweat-resistant and noise-canceling headphones, and a handy travel keyboard with clever backlighting. Stock up on all these accessories and snag savings of up to $50 and discounts as deep as 66 percent.

Altec Lansing Life Jacket 2 Bluetooth Speaker

Many portable speakers claim to be durable, but that doesn’t mean they can handle all the wear and tear you can put them through. This Altec Lansing Life Jacket 2 Bluetooth Speaker, currently $50 off on Amazon, has an IP67-rated waterproof rating and is sandproof, shockproof, snowproof, and can float and be submersed.

The sturdy speaker isn’t just ultra-durable, it also provides brilliant sound with dual 2-inch neodymium drivers, a passive radiator, and Altec Lansing DSP audio enhancement technology. The speaker itself is not much larger than your standard wallet, weighing in at just one pound and measuring 7.5 by 3.125 by 2.825 inches. With a unique elliptical shape, this speaker is stylish as well as easy to mount anywhere, including on bikes, kayaks, jet skis, and motorcycles.

The speaker features 30-foot range and Bluetooth pairing capabilities, along with NFC pairing. It also doubles as a power bank with a built-in mobile charger that works even while music is being played. With a 16-hour battery life, this speaker can stream music, amplify phone calls, or play your podcasts all day long.

The Altec Lansing Life Jacket 2 Bluetooth Speaker regularly retails for $150 but is currently marked down to $100 on Amazon, providing a $50 (33 percent) discount.

Buy now on Amazon for $100

Hopday L6 Wireless In-Ear Sports Earphones

You probably use the same headphones or earphones to go from work to working out, right? Maybe not. A pair of earphones designed to handle sweat and fit more comfortably can actually make your workouts more efficient. These Hopday L6 Wireless In-Ear Sports Earphones, currently 66 percent off on Amazon, last through the most intense workouts and feature a unique hook design that allows you to focus without having to worry about the earphones falling off.

These earphones provide more than four hours of talk time, five hours of continuous music playback, or 200 hours standby time on a single charge. Advanced Bluetooth V4.0+ EDR APT-X audio decode technology provides easy and fast pairing with smartphones, tablets, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices within a 30-foot range. You can even connect multiple devices at the same time so you’ll never miss important calls or messages while driving or hitting the gym.

CVC 6.0 noise-cancellation technology ensure you hear your music without the distractions of loud gym music or passing traffic. The built-in HD microphone gives you a more clear sound, and the ergonomic design of the earphones ensures extreme comfort and a secure fit.

These Hopday L6 Wireless In-Ear Sports Earphones normally retail for $70 but are currently discounted to only $24 on Amazon, saving you $46 (66 percent).

Buy now on Amazon for $24

iClever Ultra Slim 3 Color Backlight Aluminum Alloy Bluetooth Keyboard

Having a keyboard can make working from your portable devices much easier, but most keyboards aren’t exactly portable. Maybe it’s time to invest in a keyboard designed to be taken on the go, such as this iClever Ultra Slim 3 Color Backlight Aluminum Alloy Bluetooth Keyboard, currently 26 percent off on Amazon. It’s a full keyboard, but comes in at about one-third the size of traditional models.

Convenient and lightweight, this keyboard has full standard-size keys for a user-friendly typing experience. It’s iOS, Windows, and Android compatible with a built-in Broadcom Bluetooth module that has an operating range of 10 meters. The keyboard operates both wired and wirelessly, so you can easily connect a wireless device or PC simultaneously and switch between them. It features a full USB port for easy charging, with a single charge lasting up to 10 days.

The ergonomic design and balance stand mean the keyboard stays flat while you’re typing. It’s made of aircraft-grade aluminum alloy for superior durability. Choose from red, blue, or green backlighting at two brightness levels to make the keys easy to see in a variety of situations, even dimly lit rooms. 

The iClever Ultra Slim 3 Color Backlight Aluminum Alloy Bluetooth Keyboard normally retails for $50 but is currently discounted to $37 on Amazon, saving you $13 (26 percent).

Buy now on Amazon for $37

5 annoying LG G6 problems, and what to do about them

Sporting a tall, but compact body with an impressive large screen, the LG G6 is turning plenty of heads. The dual-lens camera is capable of capturing great photos, LG has sprinkled a couple of handy extras on top of the latest flavor of Android, and there’s plenty of power under the hood. It’s a great smartphone, but we have picked up on some commonly reported LG G6 problems, which we’ve gathered together here along with some possible fixes or workarounds to help you get back on track.

Problem: Poor battery life

There have been mixed reports about the battery life on the LG G6. We were initially disappointed, but found that battery life on our review unit improved after it received a software update. It’s always worth bearing in mind that heavy usage, coupled with background app downloads, when your phone is new is liable to limit battery life in the first few days. It should settle down. The G6 is packing a 3,300mAh battery, so it should get through an average day with change.

Potential solutions:

• Make sure that you have the latest software in Settings > About phone > Software Updates > Update Now.
• Take a look in Settings > Battery & power saving > Battery usage and find out if any specific apps are causing a major battery drain. If something seems to be power hungry, even though you aren’t using it a lot, then check into the settings or consider uninstalling it.
• Getting rid of, or disabling, apps that you don’t plan to use is always a good idea and can help you save some battery life. Look in Settings > Apps for candidates to uninstall or disable.
• The biggest drain on battery life is generally the screen. Look under Settings > Display and consider turning off Always-on display, reducing Screen timeout, and turning down the Brightness to save battery life.

Glitch: Bluetooth streaming flaws

We’ve seen a couple of posts about glitches with Bluetooth connections on the LG G6. This is a really common problem with phones and Bluetooth car system connections. Some people are suffering with popping noises and stream interruptions, others are having trouble with the audio track display.

Potential solutions:

• The first thing to do is to clear the cache of any app you use for streaming, like Google Play Music. Go to Settings > Apps > Google Play Music > Storage > Clear cache.
• Go to Settings > Bluetooth and tap the cog icon next to the Paired device that you’re having trouble with, then select Unpair and start the process again.
• Check with your car manufacturer about software updates and make sure you have the latest release. It may also be worth deleting old Bluetooth pairings that you don’t need any more from your car system.

Issue: Camera performance with low light and motion

The dual-lens camera in the LG G6 is one of the highlights and it’s capable of capturing stunning shots in the right conditions, however not everyone is enamored with the G6’s camera performance. We’ve seen a couple of threads complaining about camera issues such as poor low light performance and blurring on motion.

Potential solutions:

• Make sure that you have the latest software in Settings > About phone > Software Update > Update Now.
• Open the camera app and tap the cog icon to enter the settings menu, then try toggling Tracking focus off and see if that improves things.
• Remember that you can switch between the wide-angle and standard-angle lens by tapping the tree icons.
• If you’re unable to see an improvement after playing with the settings, or you have an issue like this green banding, then you should contact your carrier, retailer, or LG and ask about a replacement.

Problem: Camera lens scratches

Quite a few people have been complaining about small scratches accumulating on the camera lens of the LG G6 — our own unit has a scratch as well. It’s a good idea to shop for LG G6 cases and get some protection to prevent any damage to the lens, but if you’ve already got scratches, you still have a couple of options.

Potential solutions:

• Some people are claiming that the scratches are not actually in the camera lens itself, but just on the coating, which can be removed. PolarisX on Reddit suggests using a polishing compound, but we would advise caution. Try this solution at your own risk.
• The obvious thing to do is to contact your carrier, retailer, or LG and ask about a replacement. It’s possible that there was a bad batch with a problem coating or some defect. Some people have exchanged for a new LG G6 and say that it does not have the same problem.

Glitch: Lagging and stuttering

The LG G6 is a powerful smartphone and the performance should be smooth and lag-free, but we’ve seen some owners complaining about lag and stuttering when scrolling and typing.

Workarounds:

• Go to Settings > Developer options. If you don’t see Developer options in the Settings menu, then go to About phone > Software Info and tap on Build number seven times. You should get a pop-up message about Developer options being enabled, and you’ll find the option back in the Settings menu now. Scroll down and find Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale. Set all of them to 0.5x or turn them off completely, and you should feel a difference.
• Some people also report that the lagging was reduced after they toggled on Force GPU Rendering in Developer options.

Potential solutions:

• You should always make sure that you have the latest software in Settings > About phone > Software Update > Update Now.
• The lagging might be down to old settings or apps if you restored a backup from a previous phone. Try backing up anything important, then factory reset your LG G6 via Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset > Reset phone. Once it is reset, make sure that you set it up as a new device, don’t restore a backup. Test to see if the performance is improved.
• If the factory reset without backup doesn’t do the trick, then you might have to consider returning your handset and asking for a replacement. There’s a slim chance it has a hardware fault.

Weekly Rewind: Samsung problems, Charlize Theron, ‘PIN’ cracking, and more

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from everything you need to know about Samsung’s latest hardware problems to a new superfluid — it’s all here.

Some Galaxy S7 owners report the camera lens is shattering without impact

Dozens of Samsung Galaxy S7 owners have reported shattered camera lenses on their phones without any actual impact occurring, potentially indicating a weird flaw in the device. But Samsung tells Digital Trends that the incidents are few and far between, and the company stands behind the quality of the very popular smartphone. As for why the weird incident is happening, nobody knows — and a law firm says it is investigating the issue.

Read the full story here.

Satan himself couldn’t have designed a more devilish dragster than Dodge’s Demon

There’s a new version of the Dodge Challenger Demon muscle car that’s even more extreme than the vaunted Hellcat. The aptly named Challenger SRT Demon is the company’s latest hot rod, and it finally broke cover at a private event in New York after a teaser campaign that lasted a whopping 13 weeks. That was the first record the Demon collected, but it very likely won’t be the last.

Read the full story here.

ZTE’s Quartz is one of the most affordable Android 2.0 smartwatches yet

It is safe to say that smartwatches, the once-derided mash-ups of digital guts and analog bodies, have graduated from passing fad to budding business. You need look no further than timepieces like Tag Heuer’s $1,500 Connected 2, Movado’s $700 Bold, and Michael Kors’ $350 Access for evidence that smartwatches aren’t just novelties anymore — they’re functional accessories. And they’re also a market that Chinese smartphone maker ZTE can’t wait to break into. ZTE’s Quartz, which leaked prematurely a few weeks back, is a first step in that direction.

Read the full story here.

Ohmni is a robot that helps make video chatting feel more personal

At one point, nearly everyone leaves their family for an extended amount of time. However, whether moving across the country, studying abroad, or going on an adventure, families will want to stay connected. Typically, people choose to chat over the phone or on video, but OhmniLabs developed something with presence. Ohmni is a home robot that allows families to stay connected more naturally than any typical video call. Even from across the word, users can control the robot and have it travel around the house.

Read the full story here.

Burger King’s new Whopper ad forces Google Home to read you ingredients

Arguably one of the Google Assistant’s best features is the ability to respond hands-free. On Google’s Home speaker and supported smartphones, shouting, “OK Google” wakes Google’s artificial intelligence-powered service in a jiffy. But as Google Assistant users who watched a new ad spot from Burger King recently found out, that convenience can be a curse. The 15-second advertisement features an actor standing next to a television and a Google Home.

Read the full story here.

Weekly Rewind: Samsung problems, Charlize Theron, ‘PIN’ cracking, and more

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from everything you need to know about Samsung’s latest hardware problems to a new superfluid — it’s all here.

Some Galaxy S7 owners report the camera lens is shattering without impact

Dozens of Samsung Galaxy S7 owners have reported shattered camera lenses on their phones without any actual impact occurring, potentially indicating a weird flaw in the device. But Samsung tells Digital Trends that the incidents are few and far between, and the company stands behind the quality of the very popular smartphone. As for why the weird incident is happening, nobody knows — and a law firm says it is investigating the issue.

Read the full story here.

Satan himself couldn’t have designed a more devilish dragster than Dodge’s Demon

There’s a new version of the Dodge Challenger Demon muscle car that’s even more extreme than the vaunted Hellcat. The aptly named Challenger SRT Demon is the company’s latest hot rod, and it finally broke cover at a private event in New York after a teaser campaign that lasted a whopping 13 weeks. That was the first record the Demon collected, but it very likely won’t be the last.

Read the full story here.

ZTE’s Quartz is one of the most affordable Android 2.0 smartwatches yet

It is safe to say that smartwatches, the once-derided mash-ups of digital guts and analog bodies, have graduated from passing fad to budding business. You need look no further than timepieces like Tag Heuer’s $1,500 Connected 2, Movado’s $700 Bold, and Michael Kors’ $350 Access for evidence that smartwatches aren’t just novelties anymore — they’re functional accessories. And they’re also a market that Chinese smartphone maker ZTE can’t wait to break into. ZTE’s Quartz, which leaked prematurely a few weeks back, is a first step in that direction.

Read the full story here.

Ohmni is a robot that helps make video chatting feel more personal

At one point, nearly everyone leaves their family for an extended amount of time. However, whether moving across the country, studying abroad, or going on an adventure, families will want to stay connected. Typically, people choose to chat over the phone or on video, but OhmniLabs developed something with presence. Ohmni is a home robot that allows families to stay connected more naturally than any typical video call. Even from across the word, users can control the robot and have it travel around the house.

Read the full story here.

Burger King’s new Whopper ad forces Google Home to read you ingredients

Arguably one of the Google Assistant’s best features is the ability to respond hands-free. On Google’s Home speaker and supported smartphones, shouting, “OK Google” wakes Google’s artificial intelligence-powered service in a jiffy. But as Google Assistant users who watched a new ad spot from Burger King recently found out, that convenience can be a curse. The 15-second advertisement features an actor standing next to a television and a Google Home.

Read the full story here.

‘Master prints’ could be used to unlock nearly any phone’s fingerprint sensor

Why it matters to you

Think your smartphone’s fingerprint sensor is secure? It may not be if this research can lead to a physical master print.

Chances are that your smartphone has a fingerprint scanner built into it to help you unlock your device. One advantage to fingerprint scanners is that it makes it faster to unlock handsets than typing a pin number.

However, it’s also more secure because, as we’re constantly reminded about via CSI-style detective shows, all of us have unique fingerprints. As a result, a fingerprint scanner stops someone else unlocking your phone in the way that they could if you knew your passcode.

Right? Well, kind of.

As it turns out, computer scientists at New York University and Michigan State Universtiy have been working on developing digital “master prints.” These are the biometric equivalent of master keys, capable of tricking a variety of fingerprint sensors that trained to recognize your “unique” fingerprints.

“Our work shows that there are these things called ‘masterprints,’ which could be used by an attacker,” Nasir Memon, a computer scientist at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering who co-authored the study, told Digital Trends. “If they had a master print that maximized their probability of success, they may be able to get through a device’s fingerprint system.”

The problem, Memon explained, is that fingerprint sensors tend to be small. Because of this, they match according to partial fingerprints, rather than whole ones. When you register your fingerprint on a new device, it breaks down your single print into a number of smaller squares. This means that, regardless of how your finger is placed on the fingerprint sensor, your mobile device should be able to recognize it.

Aditi Roy, Nasir Memon, and Arun Ross

“When you take a full fingerprint, there’s some amount of uniqueness in it, even if it’s not total,” Memon continued. “The problem is that, as you start taking partial fingerprints, that distinguishability drops. As an analogy, if you think about a face, they’re distinct because two people are unlikely to have the same face. But if you just take a part of the face, the chances of two people having that partial face are higher.”

He said that one impetus for the research had been a previous study into pin codes, which claimed that around four percent of pin codes were simply “1234.” A thief wanting to maximize his or her chances of breaking into a phone should, therefore, start by trying this string of digits.

Memon and colleagues analyzed a database of 800 fingerprints, from which they extracted thousands of partial prints. According to their analysis, a master print — able to emulate a variety of partial fingerprints — could be used to fool a random fingerprint scanner 26 to 65 percent of the time.

As Memon notes, this work is still hypothetical. They did not create physical master prints but rather carried out their work using computer simulations. The idea of a hacker glove, with a different master print on each finger, fortunately, doesn’t exist yet — but it is still a reminder of some of the perils that exist with biometrics.

‘Master prints’ could be used to unlock nearly any phone’s fingerprint sensor

Why it matters to you

Think your smartphone’s fingerprint sensor is secure? It may not be if this research can lead to a physical master print.

Chances are that your smartphone has a fingerprint scanner built into it to help you unlock your device. One advantage to fingerprint scanners is that it makes it faster to unlock handsets than typing a pin number.

However, it’s also more secure because, as we’re constantly reminded about via CSI-style detective shows, all of us have unique fingerprints. As a result, a fingerprint scanner stops someone else unlocking your phone in the way that they could if you knew your passcode.

Right? Well, kind of.

As it turns out, computer scientists at New York University and Michigan State Universtiy have been working on developing digital “master prints.” These are the biometric equivalent of master keys, capable of tricking a variety of fingerprint sensors that trained to recognize your “unique” fingerprints.

“Our work shows that there are these things called ‘masterprints,’ which could be used by an attacker,” Nasir Memon, a computer scientist at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering who co-authored the study, told Digital Trends. “If they had a master print that maximized their probability of success, they may be able to get through a device’s fingerprint system.”

The problem, Memon explained, is that fingerprint sensors tend to be small. Because of this, they match according to partial fingerprints, rather than whole ones. When you register your fingerprint on a new device, it breaks down your single print into a number of smaller squares. This means that, regardless of how your finger is placed on the fingerprint sensor, your mobile device should be able to recognize it.

Aditi Roy, Nasir Memon, and Arun Ross

“When you take a full fingerprint, there’s some amount of uniqueness in it, even if it’s not total,” Memon continued. “The problem is that, as you start taking partial fingerprints, that distinguishability drops. As an analogy, if you think about a face, they’re distinct because two people are unlikely to have the same face. But if you just take a part of the face, the chances of two people having that partial face are higher.”

He said that one impetus for the research had been a previous study into pin codes, which claimed that around four percent of pin codes were simply “1234.” A thief wanting to maximize his or her chances of breaking into a phone should, therefore, start by trying this string of digits.

Memon and colleagues analyzed a database of 800 fingerprints, from which they extracted thousands of partial prints. According to their analysis, a master print — able to emulate a variety of partial fingerprints — could be used to fool a random fingerprint scanner 26 to 65 percent of the time.

As Memon notes, this work is still hypothetical. They did not create physical master prints but rather carried out their work using computer simulations. The idea of a hacker glove, with a different master print on each finger, fortunately, doesn’t exist yet — but it is still a reminder of some of the perils that exist with biometrics.

Microsoft’s first Windows Insider update after Creators Edition release targets bugs

Why it matters to you

If you’re a Windows Insider on the Fast Ring, then hit the update button to get some important bugs fixed via the latest preview build.

Now that Windows 10 Creators Edition has been officially released, Microsoft is turning its attention to the next major release, code-named Redstone 3. That means the Windows Insider program is cranking back up with new preview builds aimed at a late 2017 release for the next major Windows 10 update.

Microsoft released a Windows Insider update Friday that’s one of the earliest Redstone 3 releases. At this point, the company’s developers are working to solidify the core of Windows 10 before rolling out new features. Accordingly, Windows 10 build 16176 is mostly made up of bug fixes.

Before we get to that list, however, Microsoft did highlight one change that will be significant for a very particular subset of users. Specifically, it added serial device support to the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). WSL processes can now directly access Windows COM ports. You’ll know if that’s important to you, and if so, the company has provided more details at the WSL blog, along with that feature’s own list of features and fixes.

For everyone else, build 16176 is most notable for a few changes, improvements, and fixes. Here are some highlights:

• Holding the power button down for 7 seconds on newer devices that don’t use legacy ACPI power buttons will now trigger a bug check.
• Microsoft has Narrator working again in this build.
• An issue that was causing apps and games to crash due to advertising ID misconfiguration has been fixed.
• The Start menu and Action Center should no longer suffer from a slowdown in framerates on certain devices with transparency enabled that are using UWP apps.
• The Action Center should no longer erroneously dismiss multiple notifications when one notification is dismissed.
• The Clock and Calendar flyout should no longer be missing agenda integration for some users.
• Surface Books should no longer trigger a disk check when waking from sleep.
• Win32 app text should no longer fail to render, and require logging out and then back in to resolve the issue.
• The Extensions Process should no longer be inappropriately suspended during Connected Standby, which causes Edge to become unresponsive when waking from sleep.

If you’re a Windows Insider preparing to install build 16176, here are some issues that you should be aware of before hitting the update button:

• Apps using the “Centennial” Desktop Bridge technology and that are installed from the Windows Store, e.g., Slack and Evernote, will cause a green screen of death.
• Some Insiders might see the error “Some updates were canceled. We’ll keep trying in case new updates become available.” You can find out more details on that error in this forum post.
• You can’t double-click on the Windows Defender icon in the notification area to open the app. Right-click and select “Open” instead.
• Surface 3 devices won’t update to new builds with an SD card installed due to a lack of updated drivers.
• You might have issues when using F12 to open the Developer Tools in Edge.
• Tapping the apps listed in Windows Ink Workspace’s Recent Apps section might cause a crash.

As usual, if you’re a Windows Insider on the Fast Ring, then click on the Action Center icon, select All settings, then Update & Security, and then click the “Check for updates” button. Once the update is downloaded and installed, you’ll have to reboot. As always, proceed at your own risk and keep those known issues in mind.

Solar-powered device can pull water out of thin air, even in the desert

Why it matters to you

A solar-powered device that can pull clean drinking water out of thin air could transform life for people in parts of the developing world.

One way of providing drinking water to people in parts of the world where it’s not readily available is to give them the tools to literally suck it out of the air.

Those are exactly the lines that scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, Berkeley are thinking along. To that end, they’ve created a solar-powered device for carrying out this task.

“We’ve built a device that captures water from air,” Evelyn Wang, an associate engineering professor at MIT, told Digital Trends. “It can do this even in areas that are very arid, where the humidity range is down to around 20 percent.”

To accomplish this miraculous feat, the device uses a custom metal-organic framework, which seeks out water and then traps it in vapor form. It then uses the power of the sun, or some other form of heat, to separate the vapor molecules from the metal-organic framework; ending with them being turned into a familiar drinkable liquid, courtesy of a helpful dose of condensation.

Right now, the device the team has built is capable of producing 2.8 liters of water every day for each kilogram of metal-organic framework that’s used. That’s enough for one person (guidelines suggest that we should drink 2-3 liters per day), but researchers on the project think it should be possible to scale it up to produce more water.

“Our next step is trying to build a device that can capture a reasonable amount of water in a way that can be viable for remote areas, where there’s little access to clean water,” Wang continued.

The other challenge the team will have to face is the cost of materials. It’s one thing to have technology capable of performing this activity effectively; it’s quite another thing to do it at a price-point that could make it affordable to be distributed to whoever needs it.

“At the moment, at lab scale, this is quite an expensive piece of equipment,” Wang said. “The target would be to make it really cheap for the developing world.”

Next ‘Layton’ game is coming to Android and iOS before 3DS

Last we knew, the new Professor Layton game’s differences from prior releases were relegated to its protagonist and the absence of its original puzzle designer. Now word is out that Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy will arrive on Android and iOS this July 20th, ahead of its stateside debut on Nintendo’s 3DS handheld. According to publisher/developer Level 5 (spotted by Kotaku), the only way to play on 3DS at launch will be with an imported version and a Japanese console. Domestically, a localized version will release at some point after the mobile versions.

Pricing is going to be interesting here. On 3DS it costs ¥4,800 ($44.20), while the mobile version is ¥1,900 ($17.50) — less than half that. How? In-app purchases, of course. The press release stresses that you can play to the end without buying anything, though. Does that mean it’ll only have half the puzzles? Or that side quests will be hidden in some way? That’s anyone’s guess for now.

We’ve seen disparities in pricing before with the mobile and handheld versions of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, for example, but not exactly like this. When Rockstar ported the handheld crime simulator to mobile devices, it was well after their initial release. Furthermore, the DS and PSP were kings of gaming on the go at the time — Android devices and iPhones hadn’t caught up just yet. Okay, the PSP was far less popular, but the point still stands.

That was in 2009. In 2017, things are a lot different. Sony’s relationship with handheld gaming is… complicated, and the current 3DS is getting long in the tooth and waning a bit in popularity. So, maybe this move by Level 5 is prescient.

Via: Kotaku

Source: Level 5 (Japanese)

Sprint and The Onion have a video series no one asked for

Seeing the former Verizon pitch man (who’s named Paul) shilling for Sprint was a bit weird. Sprint seems to know this and has capitalized on it with a partnership with The Onion’s creative services team, Onion Labs. Together they produced a series of six tongue-in-cheek news magazine videos covering everything from Paul fan clubs to elementary school kids performing plays about opening their Sprint bill.

They’re not as good as The Onion proper’s satirical videos, though. And that’s mostly because despite the production values and cheesiness, it’s hard to get past the fact that you’re being advertised to by a company that recently killed its plan for cutting your bill in half and was raked over the coals for over-billing customers by “tens of millions” of dollars.

Source: BusinessWire