Dutch Court Rules Apple May Not Use ‘Remanufactured’ iPads for Warranty Replacements

A new ruling by a judge in the Subdistrict Court of Amsterdam has mandated that Apple can not replace a broken iPad unit with a “remanufactured” device, and must supply the plaintiff with an entirely new iPad instead. The case stems from a woman who purchased an iPad Air 2 with AppleCare back in 2015, and subsequently faced problems with the device’s Wi-Fi around four months later.

Apple then supplied the woman with a remanufactured version of the iPad, which Apple said is a process by which the company reconstitutes damaged products by using “the same production and inspection procedures” as it does for brand new devices. The woman disagreed with Apple’s methods of replacing her iPad and took the company to court, with Tweakers [Google Translate] reporting that she “was not satisfied” with the remanufactured device she was given under AppleCare.

The Dutch judge has now ruled in agreement with the plaintiff, stating that a remanufactured version of the iPad is not enough. The judge said that the purchase state of the original iPad is what should be looked at when considering replacement devices, meaning an iPad purchased as remanufactured could be replaced with a remanufactured iPad, although it’s unclear how — or if — purchasing a remanufactured iPad is even possible.

But an iPad purchased brand new — as is the case here — should be replaced with a new iPad. The Amsterdam court goes into more detail in a briefing posted online recently, translated from Dutch:

If a plaintiff had purchased a refurbished or replacement iPad, Apple may replace it with a refurbished or replacement copy, but if the consumer, as in this case, purchased a new iPad, she is entitled to a new iPad as a replacement.”

A similar case passed through the Dutch courts last summer, wherein another Dutch woman sued Apple for refusing to replace her broken iPhone 6 Plus with a brand new model. The victory nullified the purchase agreement that the woman made with Apple, and ordered the company to refund the woman the full €799 that she paid for the iPhone. In short order, that case set a precedent for the future of similar cases in the country, placing a stain on “refurbished” devices sold by Apple, leading the company to use “remanufactured” ones instead.

Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, refurbished refers to the redistribution of used products to consumers at a slightly reduced cost, after they first go through a process that ensures their quality is ready for the market. Remanufacturing is generally a more rigorous and expensive process for companies to go through — which is one of Apple’s arguments in the Dutch case — as it requires a level of specifications to be met that are as high-standard as they were for the original product.

The argument hasn’t worked for Apple, and the judge has now ruled that Apple has to pay the woman in question €100 for every day that she was left without the new replacement iPad.

Tags: lawsuit, AppleCare, warranty
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Google may release three Pixel devices this year, all to use Snapdragon 835 chip

We already know that Google will release second-generation Pixel phones sometime this year, to improve upon the rather excellent Pixel and Pixel XL. But there may be a third, as yet unknown device on the way too.

• Google Pixel 2: What do we want to see?

German site WinFuture has discovered three devices in Google’s AOSP (Android Open Source Platform) code with the codenames ‘Muskie’, ‘Walleye’ and ‘Taimen’. It’s widely thought that the first two refer to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, but Taimen may refer to something completely new.

What we do know about the three devices is that they’ll use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, or more specifically, the Qualcomm MSM8998 chip, which is the full name for the 835. We have heard that Google may release a Pixel 2B budget phone, but if true, it’s unlikely it would use the top-of-the-range Snapdragon 835 processor.

WinFuture

It’s no surprise that Google will want to use the latest and most powerful chip currently available for Android devices in its new handsets, which are expected to be built by HTC once again.

We don’t know too much else about the new Pixel phones, but it’s reported they’ll focus on improving low-light photography and will have a “decent water and dust proof rating”.

• Google Pixel 2 flagship and Pixel 2B budget phone details leak out

The Snapdragon 835 is slowly starting to find its way into more flagship devices in 2017, the first being Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Sony will use it in the XZ Premium, Xiaomi has used it in the Mi 6 and HTC is expected to use it in the U 11 when it launches in May.

Vizio’s XLED TVs might make you forget its tracking software

Vizio’s pushed a wider range of affordable HDR screens with its recent E-series, which follows the trend of high-resolution 4K televisions getting cheaper and cheaper. So follows the company’s SmartCast P- and M-series lines for this year, which offer upper and mid-level TVs at reasonable cost.

While neither feature OLED found in more expensive screens, both series have Vizio’s XLED full-array backlighting — a clear branding move to rival Samsung’s similar QLED.

As Vizio announced for all its SmartCast-equipped devices back in January, these lines respond to Google Home and Assistant voice commands. That’s on top of the SmartCast features, which let users stream content through a custom app. This summer, all SmartCast models (including last year’s) are getting an over-the-air upgrade that dispenses with the mobile app entirely to stream straight from the display.

Vizio has been in hot water since the FTC brought suit against the company for tracking its users’ viewing behaviors without their knowledge on over 11 million televisions. In February, it was ordered to pay a $2.2 million settlement fee and delete any data it collected before March 2016. Rest assured, new TV buyers, the data collection feature is not currently enabled on SmartCast Display units.

Here are the model price ranges:

M-Series:

• VIZIO SmartCast™ M-Series™ 50″ Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus™ Display™ (M50-E1) MSRP $799.99
• VIZIO SmartCast™ M-Series™ 55″ Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus™ Display™ (M55-E0) MSRP $999.99
• VIZIO SmartCast™ M-Series™ 65″ Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus™ Display™ (M65-E0) MSRP $1,499.99
• VIZIO SmartCast™ M-Series™ 70″ Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus™ Display™ (M70-E3) MSRP $1,999.99
• VIZIO SmartCast™ M-Series™ 75″ Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus™ Display™ (M75-E1) MSRP $2,999.99

P-Series:

• VIZIO SmartCast™ P-Series™ 55″ Ultra HD HDR XLED Pro™ Display™ (P55-E1) MSRP $1,299.99
• VIZIO SmartCast™ P-Series™ 65″ Ultra HD HDR XLED Pro™ Display™ (P65-E1) MSRP $1,999.99
• VIZIO SmartCast™ P-Series™ 75″ Ultra HD HDR XLED Pro™ Display™ (P75-E1) MSRP $3,499.99

Source: Vizio

Vizio’s $250 soundbar hosts Google Assistant and Chromecast

Vizio may have been knocked by LeEco after its $2 billion buyout deal was cancelled, but the company’s not going to fall into a grief-stricken funk. The home theater business has announced a new raft of soundbars that work with Google Assistant and come with Chromecast built in. Leading the pack is the SmartCast 36″, which packs 5.1 wireless sound, the promise of crystal-clear dialog and a wireless subwoofer. Vizio had trouble with its soundbars working with Spotify via Chromecast in the past, so hopefully its remedied that issue. This new model is on sale right now, setting you back $250, while smaller options in the same range will cost less, obviously.

The company has also wheeled out an addition to its Sonos-troubling Crave speakers in the form of the Crave Go. The WiFi-streaming device can either be used as part of your whole-home audio setup, or on the road as a portable speaker. Again, it’s packing Chromecast, so you can use it to play a variety of music services, including Google Play Music, Spotify Premium and Pandora. There’s a built-in battery, promising up to six hours of life while on the go, and the unit is available for $199 at Vizio’s website.

Apple has NASA minds working on its AR glasses

Apple has hired former NASA JPL augmented reality expert Jeff Norris to help shape its AR projects, according to Bloomberg. Based on previous reports, Cupertino has been working on a pair of AR glasses and related features for future iPhones since 2016. Now we have a better idea of what’s going on behind the scenes. Norris apparently joined the AR team as senior manager under former Dolby Labs executive Mike Rockwell earlier this year, though none of the parties involved confirmed Bloomberg’s story. Taking what he did while he was with NASA into account, Apple might conjure up some very interesting products and services.

He worked on many projects as Mission Operations Innovation chief at NASA JPL, including building the Mars 2020 rover in mixed reality. Norris also led the development of a HoloLens experience that puts you on Mars with Buzz Aldrin (see image above), as well as a project called Sidekick that makes remote collaboration easier for astronauts and ground-based scientists by using holograms.

It’s not entirely surprising for Apple to hire high-profile people in the field when Tim Cook himself admitted that the company will be heavily investing in AR projects. The pair of augmented reality glasses the team is reportedly working on might be just the first of many. “We are high on AR for the long run,” he proclaimed in an earnings call back in July. “We think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity.”

Source: Bloomberg

Uber’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad 2017

Uber is believed to be the world’s most valuable startup, with estimates pegging the company as being worth around $70 billion. Its business, and its CEO, have always garnered controversy, but to date, Uber has been able to survive whatever slings and arrows were thrown its way. 2017, however, may be the year that the company faces its reckoning as crisis upon crisis washes over it. Here’s a timeline of some of the major events that have hit the service in the past four months.

NFL players can track and sell their own health data

Professional athletes know that it’s not just the matches and training sessions that matter: it’s what you do in your downtime too. Whoop’s wearable straps specialise in this area, tracking your movement, heart rate, and ambient temperature to better understand your health and recovery rate. Now, it’s being adopted by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), which means straps will be handed out to every current and incoming player in the US. Whether they’ll wear them is a mystery, but the hope is that they’ll be used to track and optimize their training schedules, reducing injuries and improving in-game performance.

The partnership is being handled by the ‘OneTeam Collective,’ a sports-focused accelerator joint-owned by the NFLPA. The deal means that players will, if they choose, be able to sell their own health and performance data. That could be attractive to technology companies — who want to better the algorithms and training regimes they offer to customers — rivals teams and coaching staff. It could also be useful to medical professionals who need a substantial dataset to conduct new research and analysis. In addition, Whoop and the NFLPA will be generating reports to “advance player safety” and “maximize athletic performance.”

As Bloomberg reports, it could even be used by TV broadcasters who want to add some extra stats to their half-time match analysis. “Picture this,” Scott Soshnick writes, “a television network during an NFL broadcast comparing the heart rates of star players doing the same workout — or while they sleep. Say Tom Brady versus Cam Newton. Now picture being able to determine which player’s body was better prepared to play.”

Whoop’s straps have already being embraced by Major League Baseball. They’re not just for hardcore athletes though: the standard Whoop Strap 2.0 costs $500, which is pricier than the average Fitbit and the Apple Watch Nike+, but cheaper than hiring a personal trainer day in, day out.

Via: ESPN

Source: NFLPA

Tenor for Mac App Introduces First Touch Bar Support for GIFs Amid Rebranding

GIF creation and sharing company Tenor is today introducing the first app that puts GIFs directly into the Touch Bar of the 2016 MacBook Pro, which is debuting amid a rebranding of the company’s Mac app as well. Previously known as “GIF Keyboard” the app will now be called “Tenor for Mac,” and when it’s launched on the desktop Tenor will display emojis on the Touch Bar and allow users to tap one to see a list of GIFs representing certain feelings, such as “Happy,” “Tired,” “Excited,” and so on.

Touch Bar support is also coming to search results in the Tenor Mac app, so when users query the service for a specific GIF they will receive a horizontal list of GIFs related to their search input. Users can then use the Touch Bar to scrub through the search results, and when the right GIF is found a simple tap will copy it to the Mac’s clipboard, allowing it to be shared in the usual places, like in Messages.

The right GIF makes all the difference. As the mobile GIF-sharing leader, we at Tenor know that people often struggle to get their point across quickly. So we deliver just the right GIF that says it better — fast.

Today we’re extending that lightning-fast experience to the laptop with the launch of our Tenor Mac App. Now available for free in the Mac App Store, Tenor makes it easy to search, discover and share GIFs across apps, browsers and messages. Tenor for Mac is the first app to put GIFs directly into the Macbook Pro’s Touch Bar.

Tenor’s Mac app will otherwise remain unchanged with the new rebranding and Touch Bar update. Users can still browse through GIFs using the service’s dropdown toolbar menu, as well as create their own collections of GIFs — called “packs” — themed around specific emotions, TV shows, movies, or whatever they choose.

If a GIF is missing from the service, users can also simply drag and drop the one they want into Tenor, after first saving it to their computer from another source. Word on a similar rebranding update for the GIF Keyboard iOS app was not given.

Tenor for Mac is powered by the company’s “Emotional Graph,” which aggregates more than 200 million GIF searches that are executed every day as a means to map the most popular GIFs people use to express themselves. Using this information, Tenor then displays the most-used GIFs at the top of its search results so users can find what they want at a quicker pace.

Tenor for Mac will begin replacing GIF Keyboard in the Mac App Store today, and will be available to download for free. [Direct Link]

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tag: Tenor
Buyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Neutral)
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Waymo Opens Up Self-Driving Car Program to the Public in Phoenix Following Initial Success

For the last month, Waymo has been testing out a small fleet of self-driving vehicles with a handful of participating residents in Phoenix, Arizona, and this week the company has noted the success of that test by opening up applications to join its autonomous car program to all Phoenix citizens. Dubbed the “early rider program” and stocked by 600 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans, Waymo said it will be accepting “hundreds of people with diverse backgrounds and transportation needs” into the program.

The Waymo trial is extensive, offering those participating full-time, on-demand access to one of the self-driving minivans, which can drive the participants anywhere within the targeted area, equivalent to “about twice the size of San Francisco.” Waymo said that its intention in the test is to really delve into the reasons why people would prefer using an autonomous vehicle over a traditional car.

In a new video posted today to highlight Waymo’s self-driving van, one of the first families in the program mention small but meaningful advantages like taking stress from traffic out of the equation, and not having to ask a parent for a ride every day.

Our early riders will play an important role in shaping the way we bring self-driving technology into the world — through personal cars, public transportation, ride-hailing, logistics and more. Self-driving cars have the potential to reshape each and every one of these areas, transforming our lives and our cities by making them safer, more convenient and more accessible.

Now, the early rider program is open up to the Phoenix public at large. During the application process, Waymo asks potential participants to answer questions including why a self-driving car is most needed in the household and how it would improve the lives of those who use Waymo’s van. Although the test is expanding this week, the company still says that it is accepting only a “limited number of early riders at this time.”

Waymo originally began as a self-driving initiative within Google in 2009, and then spun off into a subsidiary of Alphabet late last year. Besides Waymo, a growing number of companies have shown interest in self-driving vehicle technology, but none have yet to launch a program as practical as Waymo’s current public test in Phoenix. Uber has tested a fleet of self-driving cars in places like San Francisco, but the car-hailing company subsequently faced restrictions from the California DMV and pulled the cars from the road.

Even Waymo itself sued Uber earlier this year, with Waymo claiming that Uber stole its self-driving intellectual property. The lawsuit was specifically tied to Waymo’s LiDAR system, which works by bouncing millions of laser beams off of surrounding objects to create a 3D picture of the world for detecting and avoiding objects. Waymo alleged that a former Google employee had stolen the LiDAR data after he had moved over to Otto, a self-driving trucking company that was then acquired by Uber.

In the midst of the self-driving car boom, Apple is now rumored to be working on an autonomous car software of its own that could be placed within existing vehicles. Early rumors of an “Apple Car” have since been dashed “for now” as the company focuses on building the self-driving system. The team behind that initiative is said to have until the end of 2017 to “prove the feasibility” of its autonomous technology, at which time Apple will officially decide a final direction for the platform.

Tags: Alphabet, Waymo
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Epson Expression Home XP-420 review

Research Center:
Epson Expression Home XP-420 Small-in-One

Years ago, an advertising campaign extolled the virtues of “thin and rich.” The ads talked about cigarettes, however; when it comes to printers, “small and cheap” seems a bit more reasonable.

Epson’s Expression Home lineup of MFPs hits that nail on the head. These units are lumped under the banner of “Small-in One” (a play on all-in-one of course) and are three-function models — they print, copy, and scan. If you need fax capability you’ll have to pay a bit more for an Expression Premium or Expression Photo model that adds this functionality.

And at a street price of around $80, the otherwise humdrum Expression Home XP-420 is a remarkably good deal.

What’s in the box

The XP-420 is a three-function device, so there’s no fax telephone cord packed in the box. What the box does contain is the XP-420 itself, a power cord, a CD containing print and scan drivers, a setup poster, and a very short user’s guide. There’s a set of starter ink cartridges, too — no word on their capacity, strangely.

Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends

This Expression Home model can’t print on CD/DVDs, so no special tray is included, nor is a USB cable. You’ll have to provide your own or use Wi-Fi to connect to the MFP. It’s a no-frills product with no frills in the packaging to clutter up the box either.

Features and Design

All of Epson’s “Small-in-One” models are physically slight and light. The XP-420 measures only 15.4 × 11.8 × 5.7 inches when the input and output trays are not extended and weighs in at just 9 pounds. You’ll need a bit more room to actually operate the device as the dimensions increase to 15.4 × 20.8 × 11 inches when the trays are extended.

Paper is fed from a hopper at the rear, which folds down and hides behind a hinged flap when the printer is not in use. This input tray has a capacity of 100 sheets of letter or legal paper, while the output tray, which you pull out from the bottom of the front panel, can hold somewhat fewer. Epson doesn’t give the capacity, but the tray was pretty filled after a performance test runs of 44 pages.

Epson Expression Home XP-420 Small-in-One Compared To

Canon Pixma MX492

Epson WorkForce WF-2660

Canon PIXMA MG7520

Brother MFC-J4420DW

Brother MFC-J870DW

Epson WorkForce WF-7510

Samsung Printer Xpress C410W

Dell C1765

Canon Pixma MG6320

Seiko SLP 450

HP OfficeJet 7410

HP PhotoSmart 8050

HP Photosmart 7760

HP 1100D

HP DeskJet 9670

The XP-420 has built-in templates to produce lined paper as well as calendars, a nice extra.

There’s nothing fancy about the XP-420’s looks or layout. The top panel is hinged and swings up to allow access to the scanner platen. There’s no ADF, nor does the MFP offer print duplexing.

The somewhat limited controls are on a tilting section on the front, with a very clear and crisp 2.5-inch color LED panel. This is not a touch screen, but a four-arrow touch panel, with an OK button in the center that makes it easy to navigate through the screens.

Given how inexpensive the XP-420, we were pleasantly surprised to find an SD Card slot on the bottom left of the front panel. While the output isn’t quite photo quality, you can print photos directly from the flash card without using your computer. You can also scan directly to Facebook if your network (or PC/Mac) is connected to the Internet. You can also do basic photo editing from the MFP using the LCD screen and control arrow buttons. The XP-420 also has built-in templates to produce lined paper as well as calendars, a nice extra.

Many low-cost printers and AiOs use a two-cartridge system, with black and tri-color cartridges. Out of cyan? Throw out the rest of the color cartridge. Yuck. The XP-420 fortunately isn’t one of these. It has four separate ink tanks and uses Epson’s DuraBrite Ultra pigment-based inks.

Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends

Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends

Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends

Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends

The 220 cartridges provide approximately 175 pages for the black cartridge, 165 pages for the Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow, and cost about $18 for the black and $13 for each of the color cartridges. A better buy are the 220XL cartridges, which provide about 500 pages of printing from the black cartridge and 450 pages from the color cartridges with the black cartridge priced at about $30 and the color cartridges $17. As with many inexpensive inkjets, a full set of XL replacement cartridges will cost about the same as the device originally did.

Setup and performance

Setup provided no surprises. The XP-420 doesn’t have a wired Ethernet port, but it does have USB and can connect over Wi-Fi or using Wi-Fi Direct. Wi-Fi Direct generally cuts the device off from the Internet, losing the Scan to Cloud or Facebook capabilities. As with all Epson printers these days, the XP-420 provides connectivity through Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, and Epson’s own Epson Connect.

We installed the ink cartridges, waited for the printer portion to prime, and installed the drivers. We connected through Wi-Fi using WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), which just requires that you press the WPS button on your router or access point and wait for the device to find and connect to the XP-420.

A full set of XL replacement cartridges will cost about the same as the printer originally did.

Epson doesn’t rate the Expression Home XP-420 as particularly fast; the company says you can expect about 9ppm in black, 4.5ppm in color. With our mostly black document set, we topped out at 7ppm — not particularly fast, but not too sluggish either.

Print quality was a mixed bag. We tested using three papers: Epson Glossy Photo Paper, Epson Premium Presentation Matte, and Hammermill Color Copy Digital, a paper that’s a bit brighter than other Hammermill papers we’ve used in the past. Prints were somewhat light with the photo and presentation paper and a bit on the dark side using the Hammermill paper. If you are going to use the XP-420 for printing photos, stick with photo paper for the best results.

Scanning was on a par for this price point. Scans were somewhat slow, but the output was quite useable. Copying was a drag, and made worse by the lack of an ADF or duplex scan or print capability. Scanning and copying are definitely there for convenience, but we wouldn’t count on them for moderate to heavy use.

Conclusion

The old adage that “You get what you pay for” definitely applies to the Expression Home XP-420. It’s somewhat slow compared to many other inkjets, and output quality, while fine for reports and such, suffers when printing photos. The standard 220 ink cartridges are inexpensive, but offer less than 200-page estimated yields.

Having said that, these characteristics are more than acceptable in a multifunction device that scans and copies too, especially one with a street price of under $80.

While the XP-420 wouldn’t be our first choice for a family that prints a lot, or one that needs photo quality output, it’s a pretty good deal if you want to reward a middle school student with his or her own printer. It’s also inexpensive enough to have around as a back-up in case your main print device fails in the middle of an important job — or if you find the family is hogging the printer.

Highs

• Good features for the price
• Uses separate ink tanks for each color
• Large color LCD panel for a low-cost MFP
• Slot for printing directly from an SD card

Lows

• Output okay, but not really photo quality
• On the slow side
• No ADF or duplexing