Toyota has its eye on the sky as it backs ambitious flying car project

Why it matters to you

With another big hitter showing an interest in flying cars, serious developments in the sector could be on the way.

Early flying car projects consisted of sticking a pair of wings on a regular car, flooring the gas and hoping for the best, as evidenced by this ropey-looking effort cobbled together by a Russian fella a few years back.

Now, startups, carmakers and aircraft manufacturers are pouring money into a multitude of ambitious projects aimed at creating a viable flying automobile that could one day utterly transform the way we move across town.

Following in the footsteps of the likes of Uber and Airbus, as well as lesser known outfits such as AeroMobil, Terrafugia, PAL-V, and SkyRunner, auto giant Toyota has just demonstrated that it, too, fancies the idea of a car you can fly to the office.

The Japanese company has just provided funding worth 40 million yen (about $350,000) to Cartivator, a local group of enthusiastic volunteers — some of them Toyota employees — who’ve spent the last few years developing their flying vehicle.

“We’d already [approached] Toyota several times, so we were very happy that we finally made it,” Cartivator’s Ryutaro Mori told Digital Trends on Monday, adding that the car company’s cash will mainly go toward the purchase of parts and components for their three-wheel flying vehicle, dubbed the Skydrive.

The final version is expected to measure about 9.5 feet (2.9 m) by 4.3 feet (1.3 m) and carry one passenger at a time. Mori describes it as “the world’s smallest flying car that will help people take off and land anywhere,” with the 30-strong team planning to carry out the first manned test flight as early as next year.

The vertical take-off and landing vehicle, which uses drone technology to get off the ground, has a projected flight-speed maximum of 62 mph (100 kmh) and is likely to travel at about 10 meters above terra firma when it’s not tootling along a road.

Up to now, Cartivator has been relying mainly on crowdfunding efforts to drive its project forward, but Toyota’s interest is a major boost for the team as it seeks to commercialize a flying car within three years. The goal? Using it to light the Olympic flame at the opening of the Tokyo Games in 2020, a feat surely worthy of a gold medal if they manage to pull it off.

Intel and Samsung lend support to FTC’s lawsuit against Qualcomm

Qualcomm is facing litigation on several fronts.

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission leveled a lawsuit against Qualcomm for resorting to anti-competitive tactics to maintain its position in the semiconductor segment. According to the lawsuit, Qualcomm imposed “onerous and anti-competitive supply and licensing terms on cell phone manufacturers” in a bid to weaken competition. Qualcomm has since filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but Intel and Samsung — Qualcomm’s main rivals in the semiconductor category — are throwing their support behind the FTC.

In a statement on its blog, Intel said that Qualcomm’s “abusive patent and commercial practices” hurt competition and innovation in this segment:

Intel is ready, willing, and able to compete on the merits in this market that Qualcomm has dominated for years. But Qualcomm has maintained an interlocking web of abusive patent and commercial practices that subverts competition on the merits. These practices have illegally coerced mobile phone manufacturers into purchasing the chipsets they need from Qualcomm and Qualcomm alone.

Today, Intel filed an Amicus Brief in opposition to Qualcomm’s motion to dismiss the FTC’s complaint. Because the FTC’s attempt to shed light on Qualcomm’s anticompetitive practices is of great importance to the industry as a whole, several other companies and trade associations also have filed briefs supporting the FTC. Intel’s brief, in particular, illuminates the adverse impact that Qualcomm’s conduct is having on competition and innovation, and explains how that conduct violates the antitrust laws in several different ways.

Samsung has similarly stated that Qualcomm’s licensing deal prevents it from selling its in-house Exynos chipsets to other manufacturers:

Despite having requested a license from Qualcomm, Samsung cannot sell licensed Exynos chipsets to non-Samsung entities because Qualcomm has refused to license Samsung to make and sell licensed chipsets.

The main argument is that Qualcomm is leveraging its position in the semiconductor industry to create a monopoly by refusing to share its patents with other chip manufacturers. With its chipsets and LTE modems, Qualcomm collects a percentage of a device’s retail cost as royalties, a move that has led Apple to sue the chip maker to the tune of $1 billion over “royalties that they had nothing to do with.”

For its part, Qualcomm is trying to get the FTC lawsuit dismissed, stating that there’s no “coherent theory of competitive harm” from its patents licensing model:

The Federal Trade Commission’s latest submission to the court does nothing to cure the fundamental flaws in its complaint against Qualcomm: no coherent theory of competitive harm and no allegations of the type of conduct that the antitrust laws are designed to address. The complaint therefore should be dismissed.

With the company fighting litigation on several fronts, it will be a tough year for Qualcomm. The manufacturer has slashed profit projections for Q2 2017, and its stock is down 15% from earlier this year. The FTC’s hearings are scheduled for June 15, which is when we’ll hear more on the lawsuit.

Full OnePlus 5 specs leak in retail listing

The OnePlus 5, its specs and features may have just leaked in all their glory on Chinese retail website Geekbuying.com. Interestingly, at the time of writing, the page still hasn’t been taken down.

• OnePlus 4/OnePlus 5: What’s the story so far?

The listing confirms many features we’ve come to expect already, such as dual cameras on both the front and back of the phone 23-megapixel on the back and 16-megapixel on the front. It also shows a front and rear-view of the phone; the rear panel looks similar to what we’ve seen before, with a vertically arranged dual-camera, but doesn’t obviously show the dual front camera is alleged to have. We’re sold on the idea of a dual front camera, but not convinced by this photo.

Elsewhere, the OnePlus 5 should come with a 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 ‘2K’ display, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and 8GB of RAM. Storage is marked down as 64GB, but there’s a microSD card slot for expanding that, although the listing doesn’t say how much you can expand it up to.

Finally, the battery is a 4,000mAh unit and while it doesn’t say on the listing, we expect it to feature Quick Charge technology.

All in all, the OnePlus 5 looks every bit the “flagship killer” that it has been in recent years. The inclusion of dual cameras both front and back will help it, on paper at least, to more than hold its own against the likes of Samsung, LG and even Apple. Of course, we’ll have to wait until a full review to see just how well they work.

• OnePlus 5 may have double dual cameras according to leaked sketches
• OnePlus 5 confirmed following official teaser from CEO

The listing lets you choose your local currency to buy the phone, and asks for £360 to have it sent to the UK, or $450 for US customers. It’s not available to ship just yet, but you can register your interest, but the website doesn’t say when it expects to have stock. The OnePlus 5 still hasn’t been officially unveiled, but we expect it to launch sometime in June.

The Legend of Zelda coming to iPhone and Android

Nintendo is planning to release a Legend of Zelda game for iOS and Android and it is likely to be released in 2018.

The Wall Street Journal reports the Japanese gaming giant will follow its next mobile release, based on Animal Crossing, with a Zelda game thanks to the phenomenal success of Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch and Wii U.

Sources claim that the game is being developed by DeNA, the mobile-specific studio that Nintendo entered into partnership with in 2015. The same developer created Super Mario Run, the recently released Fire Emblem Heroes and Miitomo.

It is also working on a mobile version of Animal Crossing, which was due this March but was put back to “the next fiscal year”. That could mean a release from now until early 2018, although it is expected to be sometime in 2017.

Certainly Nintendo needs to get a wriggle on if it plans to meet a promise by company president Tatsumi Kimishima. He stated in December last year that the firm would release two to three mobile games a year, starting in 2017.

So far we’ve had Fire Emblem Heroes in February, so a second game is forthcoming. The Android version of Super Mario Run doesn’t count.

Samsung QLED Q7F 4K TV review: QLED gets off to a flying start

The flagship 2017 Samsung TVs carry the QLED name, a new branding for the company’s top-tier tellies.

QLED has been called many things, but there are two important things to consider: firstly, QLED is the third-generation of Quantum Dot; secondly the naming is really there to resonate with customers.

Although the technology in the TV is enhanced over previous years (and some similar rivals), it’s not a new tech. Instead it’s one aiming to compete with OLED in the premium TV stakes, which is where this Samsung is pitched. 

The Q7F sits just down from the true flagship, the Q9F, but offers much the same experience: it’s fully connected, fully featured, and a fully worth your attention.

• What is QLED? Samsung’s new TV tech explained 

Samsung Q7F review: Design

• Separate-to-panel One Connect box for connections
• New cable-routing stands, invisible cable
• Zero-gap wall mount
• Invisible Cable

Samsung continues the idea of 360 design with the Q7F. This is a TV that looks great from the back as well as the front. Sculpting to the top and sides appear to give the TV a slim look, while the whole of the back is a striated textured plastic.

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The advantage this offers over smooth plastic is it doesn’t look as dirty. Should you have your TV standing in a location where you can look at the back of it, it will always look clean, whereas TVs have a habit of attracting a lot of dust to their back surfaces, even if this surface still clings onto fingerprint grease.

The screen is framed with a simple chrome strip around the edges for a premium look, something that’s also carried into the stand design. Following the lead of Sony, Samsung is now also offering hidden cable routing – not that this Samsung really needs it in the way that many TVs do. 

As with the 2015 and 2016 flagships, the brains of this TV is the in the separate One Connect box. As all inputs connect to that, the only wires you need to run to the TV are the power cable and the new Invisible Connection cable. Both of these connect to the bottom rear of the TV and can be hidden with a cover. Some of the stand options, like the standard pedestal, can also accommodate these cables, so they aren’t left draped over surrounding areas.

Samsung has created a range of stand options, as well as a bespoke wall mount for this TV, alongside a standard Vesa mounting option. You can use a standard TV wall mount which you might already have, or you can use Samsung’s own mount designed to get the TV as close to the wall as possible.

The advantage that Samsung’s mount offers is that it’s designed to fit right into the back of the TV, whereas many Vesa mounts have a stand-off, meaning a larger gap between TV and wall. As there are no cables to worry about with the QLED models, option for Samsung’s mount potentially gives you a much cleaner solution, even if it does cost an extra £129.

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There’s one problem: the fairly short length of included power cable. This is coloured off-white which potentially matches most people’s décor, but unless you’ve mounted the TV close to a socket, it simply won’t reach. 

All said, the Q7F is nicely designed. Although there’s minimal bezel around the display, but it doesn’t quite have the wow factor of LG’s picture-on-glass design for its OLED TVs.

• Samsung 4K HDR TV choices for 2017: QLED Q9F, Q8C, Q7C and Q7F compared

Samsung Q7F review: Setup and connectivity

• 4x HDMI, 3x USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, optical
• One Connect box requires separate mains power to panel

Initially setting up Samsung’s new QLED TV couldn’t really be easier. The stand attaches simply if that’s what you’re going to use and you then only need to connect the power cable and the Invisible Cable.

This Invisible Cable is so-called because it’s essentially a translucent optical cable, meaning that if you are wall mounting, it’s just this thin cable that you need to hide. This, unlike the power cable, comes with decent length (there are 5m or 15m options) and you practically can’t see it from across the room if it’s hanging down the wall.

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The Invisible Cable is all you need to connect to the One Connect box. Like previous years, this has all the wired connections for this TV. It also now has to be powered independently, so this is a TV that needs two plug sockets before you add any peripherals.

The One Connect box offers four HDMI, all of which support the latest Ultra HD and HDR standards, one used for ARC. There are aerial connections and a satellite connection (no pass-through), alongside three USB connections (all USB 2.0, one rated at 1A and designed for HDD connection), Ethernet for physical network connection, and optical for audio.

The TV offers Wi-Fi for network connection too, as well as wider connection to other devices like smartphones. It favours Samsung’s own phones, but offers connected apps for Apple and other Android devices. Experience says that opting for the Ethernet connection is the better choice, resulting in much more stable connections – we found the Wi-Fi to be a little temperamental and suspect it was causing our router to crash.

• When QLED meets Galaxy S8: A guide to Smart View, Samsung Connect and controlling your Samsung TV with your phone

Samsung Q7F review: Smart remote and connected device control 

• Smart remote with voice control
• Universal controls
• Auto device detection

Samsung’s new QLED TVs all come equipped with a new smart remote. There’s a wonderfully premium feel to this remote, with its metal finish and compact dimensions. There’s no gimmickry in terms of motion control, instead you’re presented with minimal buttons. 

That keeps things tidy, offering you home, volume, channel, a four-way controller and OK button, plus a couple of other universal buttons, like back. We’ve not always been fans of this smart remote system, because it assumes that minimal controls will do everything you might want to – but if you feel the same then there’s a fully buttoned remote also included in the box, giving you access to everything, but minus that premium feel. 

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The thing that Samsung is pushing to ease away the pain point of having no buttons on the smart remote is universal device recognition. When you connect a new device to your TV, the Q7F goes off to identify it and opens up a connection wizard to take you through the process. The idea is that you connect, for example, a BT YouView box, and the TV sees it, asks you to confirm what it is and then guides you to testing the remote’s controls.

That not only sets up the remote, but identifies the device in the sources list and in some cases, pulls information into the TV’s Tizen user interface. This is where things get more interesting, because you can then have, for example, those TV channels from the connected BT YouView box appearing as shortcuts in the TV’s interface when you press the home button.

This is really a measure to counter the TV becoming just a display while your connected devices take over the interface, making Samsung redundant. The same method is used for apps like Netflix: recent programmes are displayed so you can immediately resume what you were watching.

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The downside to this whole system is that the TV really doesn’t like it if it doesn’t know what is attached. You can’t connect something to HDMI and just get the TV to switch inputs. It wants to run through the connection wizard for each device. If that wizard doesn’t identify the connected device or you can’t get the remote setup, you’re essentially forced to lie to the TV and say it’s all fine before it will let you watch that device. We connected a Blu-ray player and after some time trying to setup the remote, we decided it was too long and basically just had to say it was working when it wasn’t, just so we could watch that input.

One thing that Samsung offers to make general access to the TV easier is voice control. This is via a button the remote control, letting you press the button and then say just about anything you like. That might be to launch an app like Netflix, to search for content or to change a particular setting. 

Like Samsung’s Bixby, voice designed to make interaction easier, although it’s not fully universal. While it will launch Netflix, it won’t control it; while it will search for content, it’s only on YouTube; while it will attempt to change the channel on a connected set-top box, it doesn’t always get the right one – neither is it completely savvy with the channels from its own tuner.

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For example, having setup the TV with a YouView box as detailed above, asking to “watch BBC One” by voice control sees the request recognised, but not always executed. We were offered the BBC red button channel, BBC Two and BBC Two HD, but not BBC One.

Voice can be mastered, however. If you know the channel numbers “watch 105” then the performance is flawless, but that makes it feel essentially gimmicky – plus you have to press a button to activate voice, so you might as well just use the remote that in your hand to do what you want instead.

• What is Bixby? Samsung’s smart AI explained

Samsung Q7F review: Picture and performance

• 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels)
• Edge-lit LED (bottom edge illumination)
• High Dynamic Range (HDR) support
• No Dolby Vision, HDR10+ incoming
• 40W 2.2 channel speaker arrangement

Samsung has talked up QLED a lot since launch. The message is about delivering wonderful colours (high colour volume as Samsung calls it) thanks to the enhancements to the Quantum Dot layer, increased contrast and the most impactful high dynamic range (HDR), thanks to the 1500-nits brightness this TV can achieve.

The Samsung Q7F is an edge-lit LED panel and those LEDs are arrayed across the bottom of the display. It then has dimming blocks to control the spread of light across the display. This is really where it differs from the Q9F which has LEDs top and bottom and greater control of the light on the display and how it is used.

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However, even without the hardware advantages that the Q9F offers, the Q7F offers wonderful quality. It offers realistic colours throughout the spectrum, it offers brilliant clean whites and deep blacks. 

The best quality is reserved for Ultra HD and that HDR content – which looks exceptional. HDR has punch when coming from a native source, like Netflix. Jessica Jones not only offers great visuals, but some of the noise that’s common to a lot of streaming content at top quality levels if deftly handled by the TV, leaving you with glorious HDR imagery. 

Ultra HD Blu-ray has the edge, however, delivering solid visuals for the very best Ultra HD and HDR experience. Blu-ray is equally well served with detail and clarity. There’s no Dolby Vision support from Samsung, but the company is pushing a new standard with dynamic metadata called HDR10+. We’re yet to see this in action, but Amazon Video has announced support, so we should see more enhanced visuals in late 2017.

• What is HDR, what TVs and devices support HDR, and what HDR content can I watch?

Samsung very much wants you to leave the picture settings alone on this TV. It’s been designed to work optimally out of the box, without needing you to alter the brightness or backlight. For quality HDR sources that rings true and we’re impressed with the out-of-the-box experience in these cases, where the source controls the display’s output. 

As the quality of the source drops, there’s the temptation to swing in and make alterations to get the type of picture you want. On lower quality sources, such as SD broadcast TV or streams like Now TV or All4, we found that with the contrast enhancement set to high that some shadow detail could be crushed, while other areas of colour get the pop you want. Turn off the contrast enhancer and shadow detail will return, while highlights can lose their bite. It’s here that striking a balance on contrast and tweaking the gamma to help brightness can improve the picture.

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Part of Samsung’s control comes from a built-in light sensor that’s aiming to detect the room’s lighting and make changes to the TV’s backlight to suit. That should avoid previous complaints about needing different settings based on the time of day, to reduce the backlight in the evening, for example, due to it being so bright. 

The ambient light sensor controls live in the eco settings in the “general” section. It’s worth looking at, too, because you can set a minimum backlight brightness – so if you’ve blacked out the room and feel the TV is dimming too much, you can change this setting.

Note that this is separate from power saving options, it’s specifically about adapting the backlight for the room. However, we also noticed that brightness was sometimes changing within scenes, when one character was in shadow and the other in bright conditions, which we assume is because the bright scene was illuminating the room more. Switching off the ambient sensor seems to solve this.

It’s in dark scenes where you’ll notice the effect of that bottom edge illumination and see where this TV is weaker than OLED equivalents in the same conditions. Take a scene where you have mostly darkness and one bright point – perhaps credits or backlit subjects – and you’ll see the screen lighten around the width of that highlight from the bottom, spreading up. OLED, as it emits the light from the pixels themselves rather than having to manage the light path from a source at the edge, will give you that clean credit in an ocean of black with more impact. That has an impact on letterboxing bars too: in dark scenes changing from light to dark, you’ll notice that the black bars top and bottom can change brightness too.

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That’s not something that blights regular watching, with rapidly changing scenes, full of colour and so on. And that’s where Samsung’s QLED TVs triumph over OLED: while OLED TVs are getting brighter, they can’t match the punch that this Samsung TV will put out. It’s proper smack-you-in the-face with a colour punch when HDR swings into full effect. It’s visually staggering.

Viewing angles are pretty good, too, but you will notice a drop in contrast as you move to a more extreme angle away from the centre point. If you’re in the unfortunate position of having to watch the TV from that corner chair that’s at 90-degrees to the screen, then it’s a problem, but on the whole, in a regular setup with the sofa in front of this TV mounted at the right height, viewing angles are perfectly acceptable. 

The Samsung Q7F’s onboard speakers are reasonable too, certainly adequate for anyone after a general TV watching experience. They don’t give you any subtlety or sophistication when it comes to presenting a wider sound stage, so they’re not great if you’re planning to listen to music, for loud gaming or if you spend most of your time watching movies.

Verdict

Samsung’s QLED adventure takes a step up over its flagship SUHD TVs from 2016. The interface is simplified, lightning fast and easy to use. The connectivity is good and the One Connect box is practical to keep everything looking cleaner. The choice of stands and bespoke mounts give you options, with that neat Invisible Connection cable allowing for a neat installation – as long as you can accommodate that short power cable. 

Samsung’s smart TV features give you all the apps and services you’ll need, offering plenty of 4K HDR content from a variety of subscription services and negating the need for other devices in many cases. Those devices you do connect get smartly setup and controlled by the smart remote, although that process might irk some. 

The screen’s performance is excellent with HDR getting all the glory with wonderful impactful colours and great highs. There’s skill in handling blacks and plenty of contrast, although the single edge illumination can lead to some light bleed in extreme dark/light scenes. Lower quality content can struggle to pull out darker detail, but you do have options to edit the settings on each input to suit your preferences.

Overall, there’s plenty to keep you entertained with the Q7F as the centre of your home. Perhaps the only stumbling block is the price: at £2,299 for the 55-inch model on review here, you can get last year’s excellent KS8000 in 55-inches for about £800 less. The Q7F is a great TV, but it seems that moving to the QLED branding has also jacked the price up too.

Alternatives to consider…

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LG OLED B6

Time is a double edged sword in TV ownership, but the falling price of LG’s “entry-level” OLED TV makes it a realistic proposition for anyone looking for a premium smart TV. OLED technology has some distinct advantages when it comes to illumination of dark scenes and excellent viewing angles. This is a very refined package, but perhaps the most appealing thing is that you can now get this OLED TV at 55-inches for under £1600. Downsides are that the HDR delivery doesn’t quite have the punch and this TV has all the connections on the back, meaning cables everywhere.

Read the full review: LG OLED B6 review

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Samsung SUHD KS8000

Samsung’s QLED TVs now sit in a category above the SUHD TVs of 2016, but there’s no getting away from the fact that the new models are very much an evolution of last year. That poses something of a problem, because you can get yourself a TV that’s almost as well connected and almost as capable, but for a lot less money. The KS8000 is a great TV and wonderfully capable. It suffers some of the same shortcomings as the Q7F in dealing with extreme dark/light scenes. You don’t get the latest smart remote with voice control or the Invisible Connection, but you still get a cracker of a TV, with a 55-incher costing you around £1400.

Read the full review: Samsung SUHD KS8000 review

Nintendo is working on a ‘Zelda’ mobile game

One of Nintendo’s premium franchises is coming to smartphones, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The Legend of Zelda, co-developed by Japanese developer DeNA, will be be its next mobile title after Animal Crossing, the unnamed sources say. That lines up with president Tatsumi Kimishima’s recent comments that Nintendo will release two to three smartphone titles per year.

After a promised March launch, Nintendo said in an earnings report that Animal Crossing would be delayed until “the next fiscal year.” However, the WSJ report puts a more precise time-frame on it, indicating an arrival in the “latter half” of 2017.

The company recently released Fire Emblem Heroes on mobile, and launched Super Mario Run late last year. A Zelda game could be its biggest mobile hit yet, however, judging by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Nintendo Switch console’s breakaway hit. That title is so popular that Nintendo has sold more copies of it than Switches, thanks to a shortage of the console hardware.

While there’s no release date yet on the Zelda mobile game, it looks like it would arrive sometime in 2018. There’ also no word on whether it would be free-to-play with in-app purchases like Fire Emblem or paid like Super Mario Run, which costs $10 on mobile. So far, Nintendo has made a relative pittance ($176 million) on mobile games, so it may wait to see which strategy works best before deciding on its strategy for Zelda.

Source: WSJ

Test-approved app could kill off the graphing calculator

Math students have a love-hate relationship with the funky, expensive TI-84 graphing calculators, but thanks to a new deal, they’ll soon get a free option. Starting this spring, pupils in 14 US states will be able to use the TI-like Desmos online calculator during standardized testing run by the Smarter Balanced consortium. “We think students shouldn’t have to buy this old, underpowered device anymore,” Desmos CEO Eli Luberoff told Quartz.

The Desmos calculator will be embedded directly into the assessments, meaning students will have access during tests with no need for an external device. It’ll also be available to students in grades 6 through 8 and high school throughout the year. The calculator is free to use, and the company makes money by charging organizations to use it, according to Bloomberg.

The Desmos calculator is more advanced than the TI-84 or other devices, offering a friendlier interface, live graphing updates, and free access via a smartphone, tablet or any other connected device. Thanks to an earlier deal with Smarter Balanced, it also provides accessibility features for the blind and visually impaired. It’s used by students in 146 countries and racks up over 300,000 hours of use per month, the company says.

Not cheap: the TI-84 graphing calculator (Getty Images)

TI has monopolized the graphing calculator market for years, but Desmos has made rapid inroads since it launched its calculator app in 2011. It’s backed by the world’s largest education company, Pearson PLC, which uses it for its enVision high-school math program. It’s also supported by SAT exam administrator The College Board, which endorses it for drills, practice exams and curriculum assessments.

There are lots of online graphing calculators available, but educators are reluctant to allow them during tests. “Our products include only the features that students need in the classroom, without the many distractions or test security concerns that come with smartphones, tablets and internet access,” Texas Instruments’ Peter Balyta told Bloomberg.

However, the Desmos and Smarter Balanced consortium’s deal negates that concern by embedding the calculator directly into the test, cutting off any outside access. That means students can use the calculator app while studying and have access to the same tech during tests, without needing to spend a bundle on a TI-84 or other calculator. The need for pricey calculators is “a huge source of inequity, and it’s just not the best way to learn,” says Luberoff.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: Smarter Balanced Consortium

Netflix and Amazon leave the BAFTA TV awards empty-handed

What should have been a night to remember became one to forget for Netflix yesterday. The company entered the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) TV awards with six nominations — five for The Crown and one for Stranger Things — but walked away with nothing. Amazon and Transparent had a similarly poor evening, losing to The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story in the international category.

Transparent has won a TV BAFTA before, so its defeat was somewhat expected. For Netflix, however, last night was a big blow. The Crown is an expensive and beautifully shot docu-drama that wowed critics upon its release. It stars Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II and Matt Smith as Prince Philip, battling to keep the monarchy and their marriage intact. Foy was up for leading actress, while Jared Harris, who plays King George VI, and John Lithgow, the show’s Winston Churchill, were in the running for supporting actor. Vanessa Kirby, who plays Princess Margaret, was nominated for supporting actress, while the show itself was up for best drama series.

It means that Netflix will have to wait another year (at least) to win its first TV BAFTA. The company has been recognised with a film award before — Ava DuVernary’s 13th won the best documentary category in February — but a TV equivalent remains allusive. Maybe 2018 will be its year?

Yesterday was, instead, a night for the BBC to celebrate. The broadcaster scooped up a bunch of awards including best drama series (Happy Valley), best comedy and comedy entertainment programme (Charlie Brooker’s 2016 Wipe) and best specialist factual show (Planet Earth II). It also won the leading actor category with Adeel Akhtar’s performance in Murdered by My Father, best supporting actress with Wunmi Mosaku’s role in Damilola, Our Loved Boy and best supporting actor with Tom Hollander in The Night Manager. The next time the TV licence fee is called into question, we suspect the BBC will simply shrug and point towards its trophy cabinet.

Source: BAFTA

Redbox bets DVD rental kiosks are making a comeback

Redbox has spent years trying to reduce its dependence on disc rentals, and not without reason. You don’t have much as incentive to rent from a kiosk when online video (including from Redbox) is just a heartbeat away. That doesn’t mean the company is giving up on the idea, though — in fact, it just made a fresh commitment to the concept. CEO Galen Smith has revealed that Redbox will add a net total of 1,500 new DVD kiosks across the US, and will add more still in 2018. Don’t think of this as an attempt to pretend the internet doesn’t exist, mind you. Instead, it’s about a smarter use of resources.

It’s true that Redbox has pulled thousands of kiosks in the past four years. However, Smith says those were all “underperforming” machines. The new hardware is theoretically going to locations where they’re more likely to turn a profit… and Redbox is still quite profitable, according to the CEO. That and its new corporate structure lifts some of the expectations. Ever since a private equity company (Apollo Global Management) bought Redbox parent Outerwall in late 2016, Redbox has been a more independent outfit without the pressures it had before. It can invest as much as it needs, and it can focus more on raw cash flow from each kiosk.

The challenge, of course, is making sure that those kiosks offer something you can’t get by firing up Netflix or iTunes. Smith notes that Redbox still has coveted rental deals for most of the major movie distributors (Disney is the notable exception, but Redbox can still buy the discs), and paying $1.50 to $2 for a physical rental beats a few dollars through a download-based rental service. The danger may simply be that people are unaware of Redbox. It’s planning a renewed marketing push, but it could be hard for Redbox to draw your attention when you’re happy to sit on your couch.

Source: Variety

Motorola to release nine phones from C, E, G, X and Z lines in 2017

Motorola brings back old favorites and adds a Moto C line that offers “Unlimited Essentials.”

The latest leak from Evan Blass should get fans of Motorola phones excited.

In a leaked slide we get to see Motorola’s 2017 lineup, including the introduction of a new Moto C line. According to the photo, there are nine phones expected this year to cover everything from value shoppers to enthusiasts.

Motorola 2017 [via tip] pic.twitter.com/qahD9PIxrD

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) May 14, 2017

While seeing a return most of these phones isn’t unexpected, the new addition of the Moto C is intriguing. According to the leak, it will offer “Unlimited Essentials” which could mean anything. We expect it will be a budget-friendly model that can offer a no-frills experience for folks who aren’t looking for things like Moto Mods or other bells and whistles. It all depends on the meaning of essential to Motorola’s marketing team.

We’re also looking forward to some features from the existing lines, like 3D Glass for the Moto X (which promises “Unlimited Perfection”) and a dual-camera setup in the 2017 Moto GS+ which appears to replace the Moto G5 and G5+. No word on exactly when Motorola will make any of these phones official, but considering the source of the leak we’re betting that this is exactly what we’ll see from Moto throughout the year.