If you’ve never considered a cruise before, you will now

Why it matters to you

Cruise ship companies are always looking to outdo each other with attractions, but this could be hard to top.

Go-karting is awesome fun wherever you do it, but have you ever thought of hitting the gas on the deck of a luxury cruise ship in the middle of the ocean? Now that’d be something to tell your buddies about when you’re back on dry land.

The world’s first ship-based go-kart track — wait, let’s just say that again: the world’s first ship-based go-kart track — is coming soon to Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest boat, the Norwegian Joy.

Passengers hopping aboard for the ship’s maiden voyage this summer will find the two-level Ferrari-branded racetrack “at the top of the ship,” the company says, and from the images showing the planned design, it looks pretty darn crazy. Hopefully crashing off the track won’t mean a life-threatening dip in the ocean.

Whether you race your whole family or the folks you just dined with at dinner, having a go-kart track on a cruise ship looks likely to risk leaving all the other amenities wondering if the boat sailed empty.

Oh, and we’re assuming the miniature motors will be electric, for the noise and fumes from regular karts would surely cause a mutiny on the high seas among any passengers who were hoping for a more restful vacation.

NCL

The company is targeting moneyed Chinese travelers with its new boat, which looks set to be one of the most luxurious liners ever to set sail. Catering to nearly 4,000 guests, the wealthiest passengers can stay in “concierge staterooms … with luxurious en suite amenities and the services of a dedicated concierge to make arrangements on board, from entertainment to dining.”

As you’d expect, the boat is going big on cutting-edge tech too, with the “Galaxy Pavilion” home to a good chunk of it. If you’re able to pull yourself away from the racetrack, you can have some fun in the pavilion with virtual reality experiences and interactive video walls. You’ll also find interactive simulators designed to “dazzle passengers with real-time 3D graphics, 360- degree surround sound and multi-sensory special effects, while flight and car simulators will let guests take flight or take to the road for an adrenaline-filled experience,” the cruise company says on its website, though really, who wants a driving simulator when you’ve got the real thing out on deck?

BlackBerry KEYone gets exclusive launch at London’s Selfridges

BlackBerry Mobile’s new QWERTY slab will be available for a limited time from the high-end Oxford Street department store.

BlackBerry Mobile has announced that its new KEYone smartphone has gone on sale exclusively, for a limited time, at London’s Selfridges department store on Oxford Road. Today’s launch means QWERTY fans can pick up the phone more than a week early at the store, ahead of its nationwide launch at Carphone Warehouse on May 5. In Europe, the KEYone will launch on “the majority” of major carriers, the company says.

Selfridges is selling the KEYone for the standard retail price of £499, which gets you a phone with classic BlackBerry design influences, a full QWERTY keyboard and BlackBerry’s security and productivity-focused software, atop Android 7.1 Nougat

Speaking at the BlackBerry KEYone launch event at Selfridges, Johnathan Young, UK Country Manager for BlackBerry Mobile said “We are delighted to launch the BlackBerry KEYone first in the UK with Selfridges. Selfridges, voted world’s best department store three times consecutively have been a longtime supporter of BlackBerry. Our retail strategy is to be where our customers are and, as a multichannel retailer dealing in the premium end of the market, Selfridges reflects BlackBerry KEYone’s identity in the smartphone market.”

“We want to congratulate BlackBerry Mobile on the UK launch of the BlackBerry KEYone.” said Bosse Myhr, Selfridges Director of Technology, Home and Menswear “We are thrilled to be the first UK retailer to offer customers the BlackBerry KEYone at our flagship Oxford Street store and provide them with a premium smartphone that aligns with their unique and discerning style.”

Today’s London launch marks the global debut of the KEYone, which is expected to hit other markets in May.

More: BlackBerry KEYone hands-on preview

B&O Play BeoPlay P2 is a palm-sized wireless speaker you control with your hands

B&O Play, Bang & Olufsen’s lifestyle arm, has released a new portable wireless speaker. Called the BeoPlay P2, it’s the company’s smallest wireless speaker to date and comes with some intuitive controls to replace physical buttons.

• Which B&O Play speaker is right for you?

By default, a simple double tap anywhere on the front grille of the compact speaker will play or pause whatever song is playing, while shaking it will skip forward to the next track. There’s not a single button or switch on the speaker, save for an embedded power button on the rear, as all other controls are done through the companion Beoplay app for iOS and Android.

You can use the app to access personal assistants such as Siri and Google Assistant to play music, you can change the sound profile of the speaker using the ToneTouch feature, and even set alarms. The double tap and shake features are entirely customisable, so you can double tap to access Siri for example.

Despite only having a speaker grille on one side, B&O Play says the P2 can output sound in 360 degrees, and borrows sound technology from the larger BeoPlay A1. 

However, the speaker drivers inside the P2 are completely new and of a custom design to fit into such a small body, while still being able to produce B&O’s signature sound. It benefits from a brand new anodised aluminium cone mid-woofer, coupled to the same 0.75-inch fabric dome tweeter that’s used in the BeoPlay A1. The drivers are connected to two 15 Watt Class D amplifiers to ultimately deliver 100 Watts of peak power.

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• B&O Play BeoPlay A1 review: Bluetooth speaker bliss

Because of its small size, you’ll want to take the P2 everywhere with you, including by the pool, and you can as it’s splash proof and dust proof. A built-in microphone for taking calls through the loudspeaker is able to pick up your voice in 360 degrees, so you don’t need to be standing in a ‘sweet spot’ of sorts for the person on the other end to be able to hear you properly. 

The P2 also has a long-term sleep mode, which will keep the speaker on for a month, but in a low-power state. It’s so you can instantly connect your smartphone to the speaker, without having to turn it on, enable Bluetooth pairing and find the P2 in your devices. 

The B&O Play BeoPlay P2 is available now in Black, Sand Stone and Royal Blue for £149 and an optional black lambskin leather sleeve is available for £29.

Garmin Virb Ultra 30 review: Action cam Hero, or GoPro-imitating zero?

When you think action camera, you probably think GoPro. But Garmin wants to change that with the Virb Ultra 30, its top-of-the-line 4K action cam.

With considerable fitness gadget clout under its belt, Garmin has brought much of this experience to the Virb Ultra 30: including altitude, speed and location measures to make those videos altogether more exciting.

Can Garmin out-muscle the current Hero?

Garmin Virb Ultra 30 review: Design

• 57.5 x 45.9 x 31.3mm (without waterproof case); 87.9g
• Touchscreen; power, Wi-Fi/Menu buttons & record switch controls

Take the Virb Ultra 30 out of its box and you’ll soon realise just how small it is. Much like the GoPro Hero5, this thing is tiny, with only a few millimetres of difference between them.

On the front of the Virb, next to the protruding lens, is a small squared grid – which is Garmin “doing design”, we suppose, as it doesn’t serve any purpose. Otherwise the black and red finish hosts Garmin branding both front rear, keeping the look simple and effective.

On top of the Virb Ultra 30 you’ll find a power button, a button to connect the device to your smartphone via Wi-Fi, plus a switch to start and stop recording.

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On the left hand side when looking at the screen there are ports for Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB, while the right has a switch to open up the battery cover on the bottom. The 1,250mAh battery is removable and this is also where you’ll find the microSD card slot.

On the back is where you’ll find the 1.75in touchscreen, which can still be used with the waterproof case on. This case is included within the box, making it possible to kit out the Virb so it’s waterproof down to 40 metres.

However, we did have a bit of a problem with ours when we took it into the sea: it kept the camera dry, but it did pick up a bit of sand which clogged up the opening mechanism. This meant we couldn’t get the camera out without digging out the sand – using a rolled up bank note to improvise (outlandish party people that we are). Dust, sand and grit? Not so much. Water? No problem.

If you plan to use any mounts with the camera – such as strapping it your bike handlebars or chest – you’ll want to keep the waterproof case on, as this is the part which hosts the mounting points.

Garmin Virb Ultra 30 review: Display

• 44.5mm/1.75-inch touchscreen

The display to the rear of the Virb is a touchscreen, which makes it easy to tap away to adjust those settings. The panel may not be quite as large as the GoPro Hero 5 Black’s 2-inch screen, but it serves up a clear image with good brightness levels to deal with pesky sunlight.

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There are six soft buttons on the home screen for video, photo, playback, presets, wireless and display. Garmin has even managed to squeeze in a back button and a settings icon, too, to help with navigation. Considering the size of the display, these buttons are a good size and easy to press.

The display offers a couple of quick settings too, by swiping from the left to access video and photo settings, or from the top to access connectivity settings.

Garmin Virb Ultra 30 review: Features and settings

• Wi-Fi connection (to compatible smartphone)
• 2-hrs 15-mins battery life (removable battery)
• Voice control
• Altimeter, compass, accelerometer, and gyroscope built-in

Just like you can find on the GoPro Hero5 Black, the Virb Ultra 30 offers voice control. This means that if you’ve got the camera, say, mounted to your bike handlebars and don’t have your hands free, you can bark commands to the camera to get it to start and stop recording.

Voice commands include “OK Garmin, start recording,” and “OK Garmin, remember that,” so the Virb Ultra 30 will put a tag into the recent recording for easily re-locating an important moment when you come to import to a computer.

Once you’ve given a command, the camera will make a beep sound to confirm it has understood the command and will carry it out. If you don’t hear the beep, it means the camera hasn’t been able to understand what you’ve said – or maybe the surroundings are just too loud. Fortunately, we didn’t experience any such problems, with the Virb Ultra 30 always being able to pick up our voice, even in noisy and windy conditions.

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Response time to the commands we gave was impressive and it’s pretty good when it comes to understanding different phrases. For example, ask it to take a picture or take a photo and it will produce the same response. However, some voice-controlled cameras require you to give the exact programmed phrases, which needs to be learned rather than feeling entirely natural.

You can also connect the Virb Ultra 30 to your smartphone via Wi-Fi. You’ll need to Garmin Virb app installed – it’s available for iOS and Android – and can use it to see what the camera is seeing on your device, change video and photo resolutions, view the battery level, access the content stored on the camera’s memory card and even live broadcast to your YouTube channel.

You can also connect the camera to a smartwatch for remote control, along with a variety of third-party sensors such as heart-rate monitors, to add extra data to your videos.

The Virb Ultra 30 also has something very Garmin as part of its spec: G-Metrix. This allows the camera to measure various data which can be placed on top of your video. With the feature turned on, you can measure your altitude, speed and location – thanks to built-in altimeter, compass, accelerometer and gyroscope – to prove to your family and friends you did ‘board as fast as you said you did down a slope.

Garmin Virb Ultra 30 review: Performance

• 4K video at 30fps
• 1080p at 60fps
• 12-megapixel stills
• Night mode for low-light photos

Another standout feature of the Garmin Virb Ultra 30 is the ability to record video in 4K at 30fps. You will of course need a device which can display 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) for the best playback, but nevertheless the resulting footage is incredibly clear and detailed.

Here’s one area where the GoPro Hero 5 steps ahead if you’re in for Full HD capture, though. As that camera offers 120fps at 1080p, it opens itself up for better slow-motion editing – if that’s your thing. If you don’t have a computer or the tools to fiddle around with more advanced editing then this might not matter to you, but the Garmin is only churning through half the frame-rate equivalent.

One other thing we would like to see on the Virb Ultra 30 is a wind noise blocker. The GoPro Hero5 Black has this feature, which works a charm. A lot of our footage happened to be shot in windy conditions, and while it didn’t necessarily prevent us from hearing speech, the typical “wind tear” did take away from the main focus, which was some stunning scenery.

The Garmin Virb Ultra 30 will take 12-megapixel photos with a 4:3 ratio, or 8MP photos in 16:9. It also offers some “Pro Settings” that include manual adjustment of the ISO sensitivity and exposure, including real-time live preview. It won’t rival a dedicated digital camera or DSLR of course – not least given how mucky our lens got when splashing it about in all kinds of conditions – but for quickly capturing a shot (and you can take pictures whilst recording) the Virb Ultra 30 is a commendable performer.

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Last up, the crucial thing: battery life. We found the battery life to be just under the 2-hour mark, but this will differ depending on what resolution you’re shooting and which settings are active. Use 4K with G-Metrix and don’t expect it to be so long. Drop to 1080p with G-Metrix off and Garmin’s quoted 2-hours and 15-minutes of recording time is agreeable – and that’s typically better than what you’ll get from the GoPro equivalent too.

Verdict

We think the Virb Ultra 30 is a decent little action camera. It’s incredibly easy to use, with a simple and intuitive touchscreen interface, plus it delivers excellent video and photo quality up to 4K resolution.

Garmin supplies the camera with a waterproof case and a range of mounts which only add to its appeal and the connectivity options on offer are a great addition and genuinely useful.

Is the Virb better than the GoPro Hero 5? Well, it doesn’t offer anything distinctive over the GoPro and it costs the same. Technically there are a few things lacking in the Garmin too: the GoPro offers higher frame-rates, better wind-resistance for sound capture, and easier-to-use software when it comes to pulling all your footage together.

That said, the Garmin Virb Ultra 30 is a solid action cam attempt, but it would need to considerably undercut on price for it to be considered an all-new action cam Hero.

The alternative to consider…

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GoPro Hero 5 Black

You knew it was coming. We’ve mentioned the Hero5 plenty in this review, for the simple fact it’s king of the hill in the action cam world. It’s better in every department than the Garmin, except for battery life.

Read the full article: GoPro Hero 5 Black review

Samsung confirms another new flagship phone this year, Galaxy Note 8 anyone?

Samsung has released its first quarter financial results, and while it’s interesting that the company seems to have ridden the storm of the Note 7 debacle well, with profitability looking good, there’s something far more tantalising shoehorned into its future forecasts.

The firm has confirmed that, while the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have been critically well received, a new flagship phone is on the horizon.

“The company will strive to maintain profitability through robust sales of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ and the launch of a new flagship smartphone in the second half,” it said in a statement.

Surely that confirms the much-rumoured Samsung Galaxy Note 8. And it is likely to hit the August – September release slot as previous devices in that particular range.

• This amazing picture leak could show us the Samsung Galaxy Note 8
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will have 4K display and Bixby voice assistant
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8: What’s the story so far?

There are few other details on the Note 8, codenamed “Great”, at present. However, it is thought to look similar in design to the excellent S8 and S8+ handsets.

Samsung also confirmed that it will be launching new smartphones in the low to mid-range: “Samsung will also look to sustain profitability in the mid- to low-end segment by launching new products and streamlining the line-up,” it added.

“Streamlining” clearly means it will be releasing fewer different phones in those areas, maybe focusing on specific screen sizes.

Curved OLED iPhone 8 confirmed by Samsung?

Samsung released its first quarter financial results today and might have done its biggest rival a huge favour.

Within a statement released by the company, it reveals that OLED panel production for mobiles is set to increase dramatically later this year, and that perfectly matches numerous rumours about the iPhone 8.

It has long been said that the iPhone 8 will be a premium handset and sport a curved OLED screen, much like the Galaxy S8. It has also been said by many sources that Samsung will be manufacturing the displays to be used by Apple.

That’s why this seemingly throwaway comment is relevant: “For OLED, revenue is expected to grow [year-on-year] due to an increase in the supply of flexible panels in the second half.”

Samsung is expected to release another “flagship phone” of its own in the second half of 2017 – the Galaxy Note 8 – but the comment says “supply”, suggesting that it will make them for third parties.

It already does make OLED panels for other device manufacturers. The “increase” part means it will have more orders – perhaps from one new partner specifically. And “flexible” panels at that, matching all the previous iPhone 8 rumours.

Admittedly, we could be jumping to conclusions. But they do make sense.

• Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus: What’s the story so far?
• Apple iPhone 8 in pictures: Renders and leaked photos

The iPhone 8 is said to be a standalone premium model. It is also rumoured to be accompanied by an iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus at launch.

Samsung’s chip business kept things looking up to start 2017

Samsung’s Q1 2017 earnings are in, showing the company’s highest quarterly profit since Q3 2013. That’s despite the Galaxy Note 7 recall, and a markdown in the price of its Galaxy Note 7, apparently because the company’s chip business (making memory, processors and camera sensors for phones) is booming. As a company, it brought home the $8.75 billion in operating profit expected, and looks forward to better results next quarter, since it will include sales of the new Galaxy S8 phones.

On a call with reporters, execs reaffirmed that reports of a reddish tint on some S8s are a “natural difference” in the OLED technology that it will let users tweak after a software update. Samsung also mentioned “the launch of a new flagship smartphone in the second half,” but didn’t tag the Galaxy Note name to whatever that presumably large-screened device will be. It also did not play into any expectations for an OLED iPhone that it could supply screens for, simply saying that “YoY revenue growth in the OLED business is forecast on the back of increased flexible panel shipments in the second half.”

Source: Samsung

Nintendo Switch could outsell the Wii U in its first year

Nintendo’s profits are up. It’s claimed an operating profit of $1.6 billion (178 billion yen) for the last quarter, which, while around the same level as the last earnings report, is almost a billion dollars more than the same quarter in 2016, when it made just $701 million. It’s Nintendo’s first financial results after its Switch console went on sale, and since March 3rd, it’s sold 2.74 million units. The company believes sales will stay strong, forecasting 10 million more Switch consoles sold by this time next year. That prediction, shy of 13 million, would put it toe to toe with the total sales of its predecessor, the Wii U, over its entire lifetime.

The company added that it’s pulled in around 50 billion yen from related entities like The Pokemon Company, as well as gains from selling its part ownership of the Seattle Mariners. During a Q&A session, CEO Kimishima said that its reNew consoles aside, it’s the company’s games that seem responsible for making money. The Legend OF Zelda: Breath of the Wild has sold 2.76 million copies on the new console. Yes, that’s more Zelda titles than there are Switch consoles, and doesn’t even factor in sales of the game on Wii U — that gives a true total of 3.84 million copies sold. Those figures pale in comparison to Pokemon Sun and Moon, which have sold 15.44 million games on 3DS. The Switch’s sales pitch as a combination home and portable console makes a whole lot of sense to Nintendo’s accountants.

B&O puts its smallest speaker in your pocket for $169

What’s next for high-end audio company Bang and Olufsen following last year’s handheld BeoPlay A1 speaker? Making a smaller model, of course. The Beoplay P2 fits in the palm of your hand and perhaps more closely resembles an earbud case than it does a speaker. But maybe don’t fret that sound quality diminished because the speaker’s size did. Like the A1, the P2 blasts sound out in 360 degrees and it inherited a tweaked version of the mid-woofer from last year’s model. 2016’s sound carries forward in another way as well — the P2 shares its 0.75-inch tweeter with the A1.

Oh, and if you were a fan of the A1’s leather strap and speakerphone capabilities, those return here as well. More than that, the P2 does away with all physical buttons; everything is controlled via the Beoplay App.

If you’d rather not pull your phone out to skip or pause a song every time, the P2’s aluminum shell responds to touch as well. “With just a double tap or shake, you can play, pause and skip tracks, launch your favorite personal assistant [and] change sound profiles,” the provided announcement says. Cool.

The smaller size comes at a smaller price, too. The P2 is available today and will set you back $169 (£149) versus the A1’s $249.

Source: BeoPlay

B&O Play Unveils $169 P2 Bluetooth Portable Speaker With Gesture Controls

Danish high-end audio outfit B&O Play unveiled its latest Bluetooth speaker today. The Beoplay P2 features a grilled aluminum and leather design similar to the company’s impressive $250 Beoplay A1 speaker, which we reviewed last year, but otherwise there are some notable differences.

First of all, the P2 is cheaper at $169, and it comes in a smaller housing than the A1, which the company hopes makes this a device “you don’t want to leave your home without”. The other big change is that apart from a power button hidden on the back, the P2 doesn’t have any physical controls to speak of.

Instead of using buttons, users change the volume, and play, pause, and skip tracks via a series of taps and gestures that can be customized using the accompanying Beoplay mobile app.

The P2 shares the same tweeter at the A1 unit, but B&O Play says it has redesigned the A1’s mid-woofer using an anodized aluminum cone structure to house it in a smaller chassis without compromising on bass performance.

Elsewhere, the P2 also has a microphone to take calls, a USB-C cable for charging, up to 10 hours’ battery life, and splash resistance.

The Beoplay P2 can be had in black, sandstone, and royal blue colors, and is available today on the B&O Play website.

Tag: Bang & Olufsen
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