HTC U flagship with Edge Sense is launching on May 16

The HTC U will be powered by a Snapdragon 835.

We’ve seen several leaks of the HTC U in recent weeks detailing the Taiwanese manufacturer’s upcoming flagship. HTC has now confirmed that it will unveil the HTC U on May 16 in Taiwan. In a short video teasing the device, HTC showed off Edge Sense, a unique feature that’s coming to the flagship phone.

Squeeze for the Brilliant U. 05.16.2017 https://t.co/89OuHXbBlt pic.twitter.com/jLaeFD2wMW

— HTC (@htc) April 20, 2017

According to leaked documents, the HTC U will feature a touch-sensitive frame that will allow you to squeeze the sides of the frame to perform actions, like launching an app or taking a photo. The phone itself has specs you’d expect in a flagship launching in mid-2017, including a 5.5-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage (Chinese variants get 6GB RAM/128GB storage), 12MP camera, and a 3000mAh battery. Like recent HTC devices, the HTC U is rumored to eschew the 3.5mm jack, but it may offer water resistance.

With the company’s last flagship — the HTC U Ultra — fizzling out, HTC badly needs a win in this segment. The HTC U looks like it will have the hardware to go head to head with the likes of the LG G6 and the Galaxy S8, but that’s just one part of the equation. With Samsung heavily promoting the Infinity Display and LG counting on its camera prowess, HTC needs an easily marketable feature to entice customers to pick up its phone. And it looks like that feature will be Edge Sense. We’ll find out in three weeks’ time if the feature offers any tangible real-world utility or if it turns out to be another gimmick.

What would you like to see in the HTC U?

HTC U to be unveiled on 16 May, Edge Sense technology confirmed

HTC has sent out invites for a media event on 16 May 2017 to take place at 2pm in Taipei, 2am in New York and 7am in London. The event is undoubtedly for the HTC U, the company’s 2017 flagship smartphone that will sit above the HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play.

• HTC U ‘Ocean’: What’s the story on HTC’s next flagship?

The invite itself has the tagline “Squeeze for the brilliant”, and a letter U with its sides caved in slightly. This is a huge hint to confirm one of the features that we’ve written about several times, and that’s a touch-sensitive frame. Expected to be called Edge Sense, the technology will place sensors around body of the phone that will be used to control various functions.

As to what functions can be controlled remains to be seen, although a leaked video shows the sides being used to call up a side panel of apps and then being able to select one by scrolling your finger or thumb along the edge.

It appears to make controlling the phone a lot easier with one hand, as you don’t need to stretch your thumb across the screen. You will still likely need to if you want to type something using the onscreen keyboard.

Squeeze for the Brilliant U. 16.05.2017, London 7am. https://t.co/DBSzMqzLLj pic.twitter.com/sKYqRGEyaK

— HTC UK (@HTC_UK) 20 April 2017

HTC has sent out a tweet to accompany the invite that shows a phone, which could have a screen that takes up the entire front of the device – although some alleged official press pics show a front-mounted home button – being held in a hand and given a small squeeze. The video doesn’t show what action this causes on the phone though.

• HTC might unveil HTC U flagship with ‘touch-sensitive’ frame
• Amazing HTC U ‘Ocean’ press pics leaks, here’s the flagship handset

There’s just under a month to go until HTC unveils its new flagship, and we can’t wait to see just how the Edge Sense technology will be implemented. Other specs for the HTC U are said to include a 5.5-inch WQHD 2560 x 1440 display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 12-megapixel rear camera, 16-megapixel front-facing camera, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, Android 7.1 Nougat and HTC’s own Sense 9 UI.

4K cricket next to hit Sky Q and David Attenborough becomes a VR hologram

After showing the majority of its Premier League football matches in 4K for a while, Sky added Formula One races, qualifying and practice sessions to its Ultra HD line-up. Now comes another Sky Sports mainstay: cricket.

The company has announced that Sky Q 2TB box customers will be able to watch this summer’s Test matches between England and South Africa in 4K.

The on-pitch action, plus statistics, graphics and Hawkeye ball paths will all be shown in Ultra HD for those capable of viewing it. It will, of course, be available in Full HD too for those with Sky+HD and Sky Q 1TB boxes, as well as through Sky Q Mini devices.

• How to watch F1 2017 in 4K Ultra HD

Sky Sport’s first live Ultra HD Test match starts on 6 July, with the event held at Lord’s. That runs through to 10 July.

The others are 14-18 July, 27-31 July and 4-8 August, being held at Trent Bridge, Oval and Old Trafford respectively.

In addition to 4k sport, Sky has announced that it is once again working with Sir David Attenborough in order to render him into a virtual reality hologram.

Sky

He will be the virtual guide in a VR tour of London’s Natural History Museum the broadcaster is developing with specialists Factory 42, Dream Reality Interactive and Talesmith. Called Hold the World, as you can go “hands-on” with virtual versions of some of the exhibits, it will be the first fully interactive production by Sky.

In its Q3 financial report, Sky also revealed that Sky Q is now installed in over one million homes in the UK and Ireland.

The long-awaited new feature for the Sky Q box, which adds the ability to record six channels at once while watching another, much like the Virgin TV V6 box, will go live in the summer.

FTC letters warn social media stars about advertising labels

Over the last few months, the feds have slowly turned their attention to the spread of advertising over social media. With a lack of rules and information, celebrity “influencers” paid to push products on their growing audiences haven’t had consistent guidelines on how to reveal those relationships. Last year, the FTC pressed brands to educate influencers, and now it has sent over 90 letters to influencers and marketers alike. Those letters indicate that any material connection between an endorser and advertiser “should be clearly and conspicuously disclosed, unless it is already clear from the context of the communication.”

While the FTC did not say who it sent letters to, The Fashion Law notes that Public Citizen’s formal complaint cited big names like the Kardashian/Jenner family, David and Victoria Beckham, Drake and others. The FTC did say that its letters responded to a sample of Instagram posts, and noted that some of the tactics used to mark advertising didn’t go far enough. Particularly, tagging a post with simply “#sp,” “Thanks, [Brand],” or “#partner” isn’t easy enough for consumers to understand, and putting a tag beyond the third line of text (where it would be hidden unless someone clicks the More button), just doesn’t cut it. Anyone who wants to stay in the clear should include terms like “Ad,” “Promotional” or “Sponsored” early and often.

The letters don’t include any enforcement action, but a more thorough investigation could be the next step.

Via: The Fashion Law

Source: FTC

Over 1,000 Intercontinental hotels hit by a data breach

The Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) thought only a handful of Holiday Inns were affected by a data breach that happened last year, but it turned out to be a much bigger deal. In a statement posted on its website, IHG has admitted that it found signs of malware designed to access credit card data used at front desks in a lot more locations. It didn’t mention a specific number, but it linked to a tool where you can look up which Holiday Inns, Intercontinentals and Crowne Plazas were affected. A Krebs on Security reader did some digging, though, and found 1,175 properties in IHG’s tool. That’s a sizeable chunk of the 5,000 hotels it has worldwide.

According to the hotel chain’s investigation, the malware was active from September 29th to December 29th, 2016. Since it was designed to pilfer info from a card’s magnetic stripe, the company believes it could have stolen guests’ CC numbers, expiration dates and verification codes. The malware showed no signs of activity after December 29th, but IHG wasn’t able to remove it from cash registers until around March 2017.

Based on IHG’s tool, only hotels in the US and Puerto Rico were affected, but a spokesperson told USA Today that the company still isn’t done investigating its other properties. The chain could very well update the tool later with even more locations in other parts of the globe. Those who stayed in any IHG-owned property late last year may want to keep a close eye on their credit card transactions.

InterContinental Hotel Group breach explodes, from 12 hotels (lots of Holiday Inn’s) to more than 1,000 https://t.co/FBFW5ZNVFB

— briankrebs (@briankrebs) April 19, 2017

Via: USA Today

Source: Krebs on Security, IHG

Google Could Include Ad-Blocker in Future Versions of Chrome Browser

Google is planning to introduce an ad-blocking feature in both the mobile and desktop versions of its Chrome web browser, according to sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.

The feature could be turned on by default within Chrome and would be designed to filter out certain online ad types that result in poor user experiences on the web, as defined by industry group the Coalition for Better Ads.

According to the coalition’s standards, ad formats like pop-ups, auto-playing ads with audio, and ads with countdown timers fall under “a threshold of consumer acceptability” and could therefore be targets of any blocker.

Google could announce the feature within weeks, according to the paper’s sources, but it is still working out specific details and could still decide to reverse course and can the feature. One possible implementation of the filter includes blocking all advertising on a website if it hosts just one offending ad, ensuring a set standard is kept by website owners. Another option is to target specific ads.

For a company that generated over $60 billion in revenue from online advertising in 2016, the feature would seem a surprise move. However Google appears to be reacting against the growth of third-party blocking tools – some of which charge fees to let ads pass through their filters – by considering offering its own solution, which would let it control which ads pass through filters.

In the U.S., Chrome commands nearly half of the browser market across all platforms, according to online analytics provider StatCounter.

Tag: Chrome
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Bose Wireless Headphones Spy on Listeners, Lawsuit Alleges

Bose has been hit by a lawsuit that accuses the company of spying on its wireless headphone customers through its Bose Connect mobile app and violating consumer privacy rights (via Reuters).

The complaint was filed on Tuesday in a Chicago federal court by Kyle Zak, who is seeking an injunction to stop Bose’s “wholesale disregard” for the privacy of customers who download the app to their smartphones.

The lawsuit alleges that Bose tracks the listening habits of users when they are wearing headsets like the company’s QuietComfort 35 headphones, gleaning information through the app such as music tracks played, podcasts, and other audio listened to.

According to Zak, who bought a pair of $350 QC35 cans, Bose sends all available information to third parties such as Segment.io, a data capture outfit whose website promises to “collect all of your customer data and send it anywhere”.

“People should be uncomfortable with it,” Christopher Dore, a lawyer representing Zak, said in an interview. “People put headphones on their head because they think it’s private, but they can be giving out information they don’t want to share.”

Audio choices offer “an incredible amount of insight” into customers’ personalities, behavior, politics and religious views, the complaint said, citing as an example that a person who listens to Muslim prayers might “very likely” be a Muslim.

Zak is seeking millions of dollars of damages for customers who bought Bose headphones and speakers, including QuietComfort 35, QuietControl 30, SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II, SoundLink Color II, SoundSport Wireless and SoundSport Pulse Wireless.

Zak also wants a halt to the data collection, which he said violates the federal Wiretap Act and Illinois laws against eavesdropping and consumer fraud. Bose has yet to respond to requests for comment on the proposed class action case.

Tag: Bose
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MasterCard Shopping Chatbots Now Taking Orders on Facebook Messenger

MasterCard added its digital wallet Masterpass to Facebook Messenger this week, enabling consumers to place online orders via the chat platform with just a few clicks. The rollout is still in the initial stages but the payment system is already available for some food merchants, including Subway, The Cheesecake Factory, and FreshDirect.

The transaction process involves searching for and interacting with a Messenger chat bot to specify the order from a range of options. The user then arranges a pick-up or delivery location, followed by checkout confirmation, where they pay for the order via Masterpass.

With 1.2 billion users on Messenger, MasterCard hopes the feature will boost fast food sales online by removing the need for consumers to type in their card information for every transaction. Instead, consumers load their card number and other identifying information onto the digital wallets and then use the wallets for faster shopping.

That said, users still need to input their password for every Masterpass transaction, so the system lacks the ease of use of biometric mobile payment systems like Apple Pay. MasterCard is said to be working on a similar solution.

MasterCard’s plans to bring merchant transaction bots to Facebook’s chat service where revealed in October. The credit card company also unveiled plans for bank bots, through which users can ask questions about their account, look at purchase history, monitor spending levels, receive financial assistance, and more.

Tags: Facebook Messenger, MasterCard
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Xiaomi Mi Note 2 review: Close to perfection

Quick take:

The Mi Note 2 is the first Xiaomi phone with global LTE bands, setting the stage for the company’s expansion in the future. With a dual curved display, excellent internal hardware, and high amount of customizability, the Mi Note 2 has a lot to offer for its $420 price tag.

The good

• Gorgeous design
• Excellent build quality
• High-end internals

The bad

• Limited availability
• Average camera

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Full review

Xiaomi rolled out the Mi Note 2 alongside the futuristic Mi Mix, and as a result the phone was overshadowed by its bezel-less sibling. Although it doesn’t have a cantilever piezoelectric driver for making calls, the Mi Note 2 is plenty capable and is the first from Xiaomi to feature global LTE bands. And while the dual curves at the front and back make the Mi Note 2 look like a Galaxy Note 7 knockoff, the design is an evolution from the original Mi Note which made its debut in 2015.

The Mi Note 2 signifies an important step for Xiaomi as it looks to maximize revenues in its home market. With the likes of OPPO and Vivo gaining ground in tier 2 and tier 3 cities on the back of a well-connected (and well-funded) retail distribution network, Xiaomi is looking to the mid-range segment to boost profits.

With a generous 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage along with global LTE bands (37 in total), the Mi Note 2 is the showcase device for Xiaomi’s ambitions, and while the phone isn’t selling in the millions like those in the Redmi series, the goal for Xiaomi is to show that it can hold its own in the mid-tier category.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Specs

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Design and display

The first thing you’ll notice about the Mi Note 2 is the dual curves at the front and back of the device. The symmetrical curves are near-identical to those on Samsung’s ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, and combined with the availability of global LTE bands, the Mi Note 2 is seen as an ideal replacement for those looking for a large-screened device with a dual-curved display.

The Mi Note 2 fits that bill, but there are a few notable differences — the 5.7-inch display only sports a Full HD resolution, there’s no stylus, and the camera is strictly average.

What the screen lacks in resolution it makes up for in vibrancy. The Full HD LG-made OLED panel offers saturated colors, deep blacks, and high contrast levels. As is the case with all Xiaomi phones in this segment, there are plenty of options to tweak the color temperature, and you get a reading mode that acts as a blue-light filter. There’s also a Sunlight Display mode that selectively boosts contrast and brightness, allowing you to view the screen while outdoors.

While the phone has a dual-curved display, the screen doesn’t extend outward to the edges of the panel. There are noticeable bezels on the side that serve to minimize accidental touches, which is a welcome addition. The back of the device is sparse, sporting a round camera lens and LED flash module along with the Mi logo, which is located at the bottom. The build quality is excellent, and right up there with the best that Samsung and LG have to offer.

The phone definitely stands out in the Piano Black finish, but the downside is that the glass panel at the back attracts a lot of fingerprints. You’ll have to carry a microfiber cloth if you want to keep the Mi Note 2 looking pristine.

Xiaomi has been offering an IR blaster in its handsets for several years now, and the Mi Note 2 also has an emitter up top through which you can control a myriad of TVs and set-top boxes. The Mi Note 2 also offers USB-C connectivity, and the port is flanked by symmetrical grills that house a bottom-firing speaker and a microphone. The headphone jack is located at the top, and Xiaomi has bundled a DAC that allows for 192kHz/24-bit playback.

The fingerprint sensor located in the home button is an extension of what we’ve seen on the Mi 5. Xiaomi dabbled with various implementations last year, like Qualcomm’s Sense ID on the Mi 5s, and trying out a fingerprint sensor at the back in the Mi 5 Plus. The Mi Note 2 has a standard home button up front, and the surface area is thankfully larger than that of the Mi 5. The home button also doubles up as a capacitive key, allowing you to go back to the home screen with a quick tap.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Hardware

Like the Mi 5s, the Mi Note 2 has top-notch hardware in the form of a Snapdragon 821 SoC. You’re not going to notice any issues with the device when it comes to real-world performance, with the Mi Note 2 holding its own next to the likes of the Pixel and OnePlus 3T.

The Mi Note 2 is available in two configurations — a base variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage, and a global version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage. The latter variant is particularly interesting as it is the first Xiaomi phone with global LTE coverage, but the downside is that it is limited in supply. Furthermore, as the Mi Note 2 is officially sold in just one country (China), you’ll have to resort to picking it up from reseller sites if you want to get your hands on the device outside Xiaomi’s home market.

The variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage is available for as low as $420, making it a very enticing option in this segment. The Mi Note 2 doesn’t have a microSD slot, but the generous internal storage should be more than sufficient for most users. The global variant with 128GB of storage is available for $100 more.

Both variants offer dual-SIM support, along with NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS with GLONASS and Beidou.

Battery life

Xiaomi has been including massive batteries in its devices of late and the situation is no different in the Mi Note 2. The phone has a 4070mAh battery in a chassis that’s just 7.8mm thick, and when combined with the Full HD display the Mi Note 2 provides all-day battery life without breaking a sweat.

You’ll easily be able to get a day and a half’s worth of usage out of the Mi Note 2, and when you need to top up the battery, you’ll be able to rely on Quick Charge 3.0.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Software

There’s not a lot to talk about on the software front when it comes to the Mi Note 2, as it runs the same MIUI 8 skin that is present on the Mi 5s, Redmi Note 4, and other recent Xiaomi phones. For better or worse, MIUI offers a ton of customization, and there’s a high learning curve. If you’re one to dig into the settings to customize every single facet of your phone, then there’s plenty to like in MIUI 8. The interface has picked up a host of new features over the course of the years, and it takes a while to explore them all.

Notable additions include Dual Apps, which let you run two instances of the same app on the phone, Second Space, a sandboxed zone that lets you create a second profile, and a built-in video editor. MIUI 8 doesn’t have an app drawer, so if you’re like me and have lots of apps installed, you can install a third-party launcher like Nova to switch to a more familiar-looking interface.

MIUI 8 offers a ton of customizability, but it takes a while to get accustomed to the interface.

MIUI is designed primarily for Chinese users, and as a result a lot of those elements pop up in the global ROM which is installed on Mi Note 2 units sold on reseller sites. Unlike the Chinese variant, the global ROM includes the Play Store as well as other Google apps, making it easy for you to get started with using the phone.

Xiaomi rolls out regular updates to MIUI 8, delivering new features and security updates, but the one area where the manufacturer has lagged behind is platform updates. The Mi Note 2 is still running Marshmallow, and there’s no word on when the Nougat update will be available for the device.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Camera

Although the Mi Note 2 has a 22.5MP imaging sensor, the small 1-micron pixel size negatively affects its performance in low-light conditions. The Mi Note 2 takes good images for the most part, but when it comes to artificial lighting or night-time shots, the phone fails to deliver.

Taking photos with the Mi Note 2 is an easy affair, with the camera app offering several shooting modes and filters with previews. There’s also the option of shooting 4K video, but as is the case with images, the final quality is passable but not great.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Bottom line

The Mi Note 2 shows how far Xiaomi has come. The company has consistently put out great phones in the mid-range segment, and the Mi Note 2 is its best showing yet. The Full HD display may not be the densest in this segment, but it gets the job done. The only downside is the camera, which while decent at outdoor shots struggles when it comes to low-light imagery.

However, the biggest drawback with the Mi Note 2 — and recent Xiaomi flagships in general — is its availability. The phone is limited to China, and while you’ll be able to pick up the global version with 6GB of RAM and worldwide LTE bands for $529 (or $15 more than Xiaomi’s retail price), there’s no recourse should you run into any issues with the handset. The standard variant at $419 is also a lucrative deal considering you’re getting a phone with Snapdragon 821 and a dual-curved panel, but once again, there’s that uncertainty when it comes to after-sales service.

The availability of global LTE bands signifies the company’s move to expand its horizons, and while there’s no specific plans on when it will enter Western markets, the Mi Note 2 sets the stage for such an eventuality.

Should you buy it? Yes

It’ll be at least a month before Xiaomi’s 2017 flagship, the Mi 6, goes up for sale at reseller sites, and even after it does, the Mi Note 2 will continue to be a very compelling option. For one thing, Xiaomi isn’t offering a variant of the Mi 6 with global LTE bands, and for now, the Mi Note 2 is the only Xiaomi phone that lets you access LTE networks around the world. You’re getting a lot for its $529 asking price.

See at GearBest

Amazon opens up the voice control technology behind Alexa

Software and app developers can now use the technology that powers Amazon’s Alexa assistant to add voice control to their creations. Amazon has opened up the service called “Lex” in what Reuters describes as a move to become the top player in voice-controlled computing. According to Werner Vogels, the e-commerce titan’s CTO, Lex could lead to assistants and chatbots that sound friendlier and more human than their predecessors.

Lex, after all, lives in the cloud instead of within the actual apps and software. That means Amazon can make it better and better by continuously feeding it data from people’s interactions with Alexa. While the company’s Echo sales will likely never match Apple’s iPhone sales, Vogels said people use Alexa for various tasks around the house, but they tend to interact with their phones’ voice assistants only when they’re inside their vehicles.

Still, the company needs more sources of data, so it will also feed Lex people’s interactions with third-party developers’ apps that use the service. We’re guessing that data includes whatever it collects from its call center clients. If you’ll recall, Amazon started prepping a software package that includes Lex and another one of its developer services called Polly earlier this year. The package can field questions from customers’ phone calls and texts, giving the retail giant’s software more samples to learn from.

Source: Reuters