Huawei Nova 2 could arrive later in May

New mid-ranger tipped for May 26 unveiling in China.

The Huawei Nova series landed in late 2016, bringing metal-clad designs, long battery life and dependable cameras to a price point below the premium Huawei P series. And although the Nova and Nova Plus haven’t yet reached their first birthday, it appears successors may already be on their way.

GizChina highlights a teaser for the new Nova 2 phones, with the slogan “That’s one small step for self-shooter, one giant leap for the value of the device” and a May 26 launch date. The poster also references the Nova 2 “series,” so we should be in for a one-two punch of Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus devices, like last year.

The Nova 2 appears to have already passed through China’s TENAA, where images from the certification body reveal a metal design based on the Huawei P10, complete with dual camera setup — a first for the Nova series.

Hardware specs remain a bit of a mystery, though it’s been suggested the Nova 2 could be one of the first phones to debut Qualcomm’s new mid-range champion, the Snapdragon 660. The original Nova phones were among the first to use the Snapdragon 625, another important mid-range milestone in terms of performance and battery life.

Pair that with Huawei’s new, more palatable EMUI 5.1 interface, and you’ve got an intriguing little handset.

A Western launch for the Nova 2 series could also come earlier than expected. Huawei has scheduled a press conference for May 23 in Berlin for the launch of new “flagship” products, and given the close timing between that presser and the Chinese launch, we wouldn’t bet against seeing the Nova 2 announced for Europe.

Blue Satellite review: Wireless headphones with real power

A great addition to the Bluetooth headphone canon from a company with the color in its name.

If you’re a podcaster, Blue Microphones is a company you know, or need to know. If you’re a headphone fan, not so much. But the company has been making inroads into the lucrative over-the-ear headphone business since it launched the powered Mo-Fis back in 2014.

Now the company is moving into the wireless headphone space with its Bluetooth-powered Satellite cans, and is bringing a lot of what it learned with it along the way. Active noise cancellation? Check. A powered headphone amplifier built in? Check. Apt-X codec support? Yep. 24-hour battery life? Oh, yeah. Amazing sound quality? Yes, yes, yes.

The phones, which are available May 12 for $399 from a number of retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg, Fry’s, Dell, and Microcenter stores, were unveiled at CES but remained elusive to the public. Blue said it was tweaking the hardware and ensuring the ANC was up to par, and I’m glad it put in the extra time because these things sound great — with a couple small caveats.

Let’s start with the basics: these are big, over-the-ear headphones built mainly from rigid plastic, with small amounts of aluminum peppered throughout. The mesh headband and leather cups provide adequate comfort for long periods of listening — much more so than previous Blue headphones I’ve used — and despite their size, the Satellites don’t feel heavy or burdensome.

Because they are wireless, the Satellites have all of the important toggles on the outside of the phones themselves: on the left bottom is a small power toggle and Micro-USB charging port; on the left cup are toggles for Bluetooth pairing, Active Noise Cancellation and the powered amplifier; and on the right are the play/pause and volume up and down buttons. These are sensibly located, and after a few days with the Satellites I was able to “touch” activate the various modes, though if you’re not wearing them you can see a helpful white LED pulse flashing momentarily after pressing a button, which is a nice touch.

You’ll be pressing those buttons a fair amount, too, if you’re a traveler or an audiophile — or both. First, let’s talk about the included amplifier; this is one of Blue’s signatures, and it essentially bypasses the source’s built-in amplifier, be it a phone or laptop or dedicated music player, for something that is likely more powerful. I say likely more, because while the 280mW amp is likely more powerful than your phone’s powering these headphones, some audiophile devices, like the LG V20 or HTC 10, may sound fuller without the additional power. And the amplifier cuts down the battery by two-thirds, so it’s better if you leave it off.

These are some of the warmest, most inviting wireless headphones I’ve used to date.

The Active Noise Cancelling is slightly more forgiving on the battery, but you’ll likely only need it in bursts. The headphones themselves sound incredibly full and lush, thanks to the two 44mm drivers inside the cans, but Blue attempts to justify the headphones’ $400 price by utilizing separate 30mm drivers for the ANC, which is, to my knowledge, unprecedented in this category. That accomplishes two things: it doesn’t “paste over” the existing audio feed by using the same drivers; and it allows the ANC to operate independently, which improves the overall effectiveness. In practice, I didn’t find the noise cancellation to be that much better than my current go-to ANC headphones, the Phiaton BT220 NC, but I have also yet to take them on a noisy airplane, and will update this review when I do.

Now let’s get to the most important part, the sound. Though when connected to Bluetooth (the Satellites support the Apt-X codec, if you’re interested) there is a slightly audible noise floor, once the music begins these are some of the warmest, most inviting wireless headphones I’ve used to date.

They’re more accurate than the Bose QC35s, though not quite as boomy, and don’t sound as accurate as the Sennheiser Momentum 2s, but they’re certainly up there with some of the top choices in their class, especially with the amplifier turned on.

I do have a few gripes about the Satellites: they have no auto-off function, so for the many times when you take them off your head and inevitably forget to hold down the power button for three seconds to turn them off, you’re going to come back to a pair of dead cans the next day. No big deal, but just something to keep in mind. As is the fact that the Satellites charge via Micro-USB, which isn’t ideal in an office where I am trying to go all-in on USB-C.

Despite their size, the Satellites don’t feel heavy or burdensome.

Finally — and this is my biggest issue — the Satellites will automatically connect to the last source it paired with, and will not allow another source to take it over. There is no grace period when turning them on either, like on most other Bluetooth headphones I’ve used, which means you actually have to disconnect them, or turn off the previous source, before pairing with a new one. Because I often go between my phone and my laptop, having to explicitly disconnect the one before engaging the other has proven immensely frustrating.

Foldable and easily stowed, the Satellites are Blue’s best headphones to date, and aside from the small gripes, my favorite portable Bluetooth experience, too. At $399.99, they’re on the same level as flagship headphones from Bose, Sony and Sennheiser, but I think they stand their ground.

See at Amazon

Xiaomi kicks off retail push in India with its first Mi Home store

You no longer need to wait for flash sales to buy Xiaomi phones.

After selling its phones online for three years, Xiaomi has set up its first Mi Home in India. With the brand gaining momentum in the country, launching an offline store gives it a new platform to sell its devices.

The manufacturer has ambitious plans for its retail push into the country. Over the next two years, Xiaomi intends to launch over 100 Mi Home stores across India. The move certainly makes sense. Even though online retail has grown by a significant amount in recent years, the offline market still accounts for a bulk of the sales.

By going offline, Xiaomi will be able to market its wares more effectively, and to a wider audience. Xiaomi isn’t gunning after the likes of Samsung or Vivo in this segment. Although the Chinese manufacturer is one of the largest when it comes to online retail, it doesn’t have the resources to go head-to-head in the retail space.

Instead, it will focus its energies on what it does best: carve out a niche for itself and build a loyal customer base. This is what made the brand so alluring to millions of users in the country back when it made its debut in 2014, and the same strategy is being used for its offline stores. The fact that its handsets offer great value for money doesn’t hurt either.

Xiaomi will be selling accessories, its VR headset, power banks, fitness bands, air purifiers, and phones — the Redmi Note 4, Redmi 4A, Mi 5, and Mi Max — at the store. The main allure with the Mi Home is that there’s no waiting involved — customers will be able to walk into the store and get their hands on a device. There’s also the option of pre-booking a phone online and picking it up from the Mi Home.

The Mi Home in Bangalore is located in Phoenix Marketcity, a high-end mall located on the outskirts of the city. The store will be open to customers starting May 20 at 9 a.m.

There isn’t a timeline for when Xiaomi will launch stores in other cities, but the next four Mi Home stores will be coming to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

LG to make Google Pixel 3 is ‘pure speculation’ at present

Even though the 2017 versions of Google Pixel phones are yet to be revealed, even confirmed, there has been plenty of speculation flying around that the company has chosen LG to make their 2018 replacements.

The Google Pixel 3, it is said, will be made by LG.

However, LG itself as dismissed those reports as poppycock, saying that any such idea is “pure speculation”.

The current Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL were released at the end of 2016 and are still widely regarded as amongst the best Android phones out there. They are manufactured by HTC, which is also tipped as making the next generation models – Google Pixel 2, for want of a better name.

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL tips and tricks: Getting to grips with Google’s phone

LG was cited by a Korean news source Chosun Biz as getting the contract next though. It does have some element of believability considering LG has made Nexus handsets in the past – namely, the Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and Nexus 5X. But it’s far too early for this kind of rumour to be popping up.

Even if LG and Google have entered into an agreement, it will be a considerable while before either is willing to talk about it.

Instead, let’s look forward to the Google Pixel 2. It’s not likely to be ready for public consumption until the second half of 2017 but we do have a wish list of what we’d like to see from it. You can check that out here: Google Pixel 2: What do we want to see?

ICYMI: Hyper directional sound guides runners

Today on In Case You Missed It: Malaysian sportswear company Ash Be Nimble has expanded their product line to include the Handbag Dyetonator, a fob-style accessory that will expel ink and smoke onto anyone who walks (or runs, or scoots) away with your bag. The Dyetonator attaches to a purse similar to a keychain and can be deployed via SMS message (so hopefully your phone wasn’t in that bag…) to mark a thief for easy identification. It also contains a GPS tracker, should the culprit succeed in getting away with your pocketbook. It’s still in early testing phases, and certainly isn’t foolproof, but the idea of a dye pack exploding on a thief is a satisfying thought, so hopefully this will eventually make it to market.

Meanwhile, a Swedish sound design company has come up with an inventive way to assist sight-impaired runners: Sound, or rather, “hyper directional sound.”. The company, Lexter, spent two years creating what is essentially an auditory flashlight which projects a narrow-band beam of sound to guide runners along a path. Should runners stray from their lane, the tones can guide them back into place. The system uses a pair of speakers to emit the tones, and given that some special olympic athletes have expressed interest, might be available on indoor tracks sooner rather than later.

As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @Dameright.

TBS, TNT launch new streaming apps and redesign old ones

Just a few years ago, Turner was newly entering live streaming game, promising TBS and TNT apps that would allow subscribers to watch across multiple platforms and screens. Now in 2017, it’s ready to “reimagine” the streaming experience with redesigned websites as well as apps for iOS, Apple TV, Android and Amazon Fire. New apps are extending to other platforms including Chromecast, Roku and Vizio’s Smartcast.

Of course, you’ll still need to be a subscriber to some TV package in order to get full access, but the apps will stream immediately to let viewers get a taste before they log in. Once viewers are all set, they’ll be able to easily pause and resume across different devices, and the networks say apps are on the way for game consoles and other connected TVs later this year. Finally, there’s also integration for something called Vizbee that is said to allow casting from a mobile device to connected screens without a special app or plug-in, although it’s not clear which platforms that will work on.

Source: Turner

Univision Now brings live and on-demand streaming to Roku

Hispanic US TV broadcaster Univision just got easier to find thanks to a hookup with Roku. The Univision Now streaming app is available on Roku boxes, Roku TVs from TCL and Roku apps on PCs or mobile devices. For $6 a month or $50 per year, users can stream live programming including telenovelas like Pasión y Poder, reality shows, awards shows and UniMás sports content including Liga MX and MLS fútbol.

Univision Now includes 2,000 hours of VOD content and 72-hour DVR functionality. If you’ve already got Univision via your cable TV subscription, you can also get all Univision Now content on a Roku device (or a smartphone, tablet or PC). Univision says its the “first among TV broadcast networks to promote the value of pay TV subscriptions by granting those subscribers easy access … in the same app.”

The company notes that it also offers the service through existing apps on iOS, Apple TV, Android and web browsers. You can also find some Univision content, including Liga MX mexican soccer, free on Facebook, of all places — as part of a trend that has social networks streaming live sports.

Source: Roku

Watch Microsoft’s Build 2017 day two keynote right here!

If you were bored during yesterday’s Microsoft Build livestream (here’s a catch-up of what happened), that’s entirely understandable. Aside from news that HP and Intel are building Cortana-powered devices and real-time translation for PowerPoint, there wasn’t much to latch onto. That should change today’s consumer focused keynote. And guess what? You can watch it all right here! We’re going to be live-blogging the event, so if you’re at work and video isn’t permitted, we’ve got you covered. It all kicks off very soon!

Click here to catch up on the latest news from Microsoft’s Build 2017.

Win a Huawei P10

Pocket-lint has teamed up with Huawei to bring you the chance to win a Huawei P10, a phone that brings beautiful hardware and the latest advances in software in one slim, cutting-edge design.

Featuring new Leica rear and front cameras, the P10 offers an unmatched photography experience with enhanced portrait features to produce artistic photographs in Leica image style.

Combined with the latest Kirin 960 high-performance processor, the Huawei P10 has the power to match its looks and photography excellence. In addition, to ensure that it is always topped up, the Huawei P10 comes complete with Huawei’s own SuperCharge technology and a large 3,200 mAh battery, meaning there is always plenty of power on tap.

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So for keen photographers who are on-the-go and need power and battery life to get them through their day, the Huawei P10 has it all.

All you’ve got to do to be in with a chance of winning, is answer one simple question. Entries for the competition must be in by the Midnight (GMT) on the 31 May 2017. Usual Pocket-lint terms and conditions apply.  

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Watch the highlights of NVIDIA’s GPU Technology Conference keynote

Under NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang’s iconic leather jacket is one of the tech industry’s sharpest CEOs — a man who can not only talk eloquently about GPU architecture, machine learning and the limits of Moore’s Law, but do so for hours without a strict script. It’s an impressive feat, but if you’re not well versed in the technology of server GPUs, his talks can be a little hard to digest. That’s why we cut Huang’s two hour GTC keynote into an easily digestible clipshow.

NVIDIA’s GPU Technology Conference may be mostly aimed at developers and businesses, but the company still had a few exciting things to show off, including Project Holodeck (no, not that project holodeck), NVIDIA’s take on high-end virtual reality teleconferencing. Still, most of the presentation was focused on how the company’s latest supercomputer GPU facilitates deep learning artificial intelligence — the kind of algorithmic wizardry that lets computers teach themselves how to identify and touch up photos, play golf and autonomously drive cars.

Interested in the details? You get the bulk of them in just under 13 minutes by watching the embedded video above.