LeEco is set to lay off over 85% of its U.S. workforce

LeEco is getting ready to lay off a majority of its U.S. workforce following exec reshuffle.

LeEco’s debut in the U.S. didn’t go according to plan, and it looks like the company is gearing up for a round of massive layoffs. Earlier this week, LeEco founder Jia Yueting announced he would step down as CEO of Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp Beijing, the company’s publicly listed unit.

Anonymous sources confirmed to CNBC that the Chinese company will lay off over 85% of its U.S. workforce at townhall meetings scheduled at its offices across the country:

Two people told CNBC the company is planning massive layoffs in the U.S., with one source saying that only 60 employees will be left after the cut. The company’s current headcount in the U.S. is over 500, according to this person.

CNBC obtained an email calling employees together for a Town Hall Meeting that will occur in three of the company’s U.S. locations, including San Diego, Santa Monica and San Jose, at 10 a.m. PST. The email asks employees to attend unless they’re off for the day, in which case they’re asked to call in.

According to the publication, LeEco will turn its attention to getting “Chinese-American consumers to watch LeEco’s Chinese content library” in the U.S. As for Yueting, he’ll continue to be the chairman and CEO of LeEco, but Leshi will be run by former Lenovo executive Liang Jun. Yueting said that the restructuring will improve “the listed company’s performance,” freeing up his resources to focus on “governance, strategic planning and core product innovation” of LeEco.

Most of LeEco’s troubles stemmed from its expansion to the U.S. The resulting cash crunch has led to a series of layoffs in global markets including India, and delayed payments to staff in the U.S.. The company picked up a $2.4 billion investment at the start of the year, but its bid to acquire Vizio fell through.

Tracking your pet with TrackR creates a false sense of security

Using a TrackR device to keep tabs on your pet works, although it’s not as convenient and easy as you may expect it to be.

It’s spring time, which means we’re all itching to get outside and enjoy the warm sun — and that goes double for your pets. Whether you try to keep close tabs on your pet or keep them fenced in your backyard, there’s always a risk that your furry friend might make a break for it and go for a wander around the neighborhood.

Few moments are more nerve-wracking as when you realize your pet is lost.

Few moments are more nerve-wracking as when you realize your pet is lost. It was the fear of that moment that inspired me to test out using the TrackR Bravo as a means of keep tabs on my feisty feline — and assist me in tracking her down if she manages to get out.

TrackR produces a line of small and simple-to-use tracking devices that use Bluetooth and your smartphone using the TrackR app. It’s slim enough to be tossed in a wallet or added to a keychain so that you can track down those vital items if you misplace them in your home.

What I found is that the TrackR technology certainly works for tracking pets, but not quite at the level was hoping it would.

Great in theory, flawed in practice

Setting up the TrackR in the Android app is easy. You’re able to add and manage multiple trackers with labels for different items you may want to track — including pets!

So I went in, set up my tracker for my cat Shelley and then attached it to her harness. Given the slim size of the tracker, she barely noticed it was there which is great. It really does just look like any other dog tag, so we were off to a great start.

The TrackR Bravo’s size makes it ideal for adding it to your pet’s collar.

Once I was all set up, it was time to run my first tests. I threw the cat outside — and by that I mean I opened the back door as she darted between my legs — and went back to my office to work, with the TrackR app open at my side. From my window, I could still see my cat exploring the backyard, and could also see her location on my phone.

I did this same thing for a few days before it finally happened: I looked outside and Shelley was nowhere to be found. “Great,” I thought, “now is the perfect time to really test the TrackR app.”

So I loaded it up and… the cat and TrackR were out of range of my phone’s Bluetooth radio. I was able to see her last tracked location, which was in my backyard about five minutes before I noticed she was missing, so I knew she couldn’t have gone far. And lo and behold, when I opened the back gate, there she was waiting to be let back into the back yard. I found it took a bit of time for the app to reconnect with the TrackR again.

In the tracker settings, you’re able to turn on features like “Device Separation Alert”, which will have the TrackR alarm ring if you leave it behind — or in this case, when it walks out of range from your phone. But due to warnings of false alerts and increased battery consumption I left that feature off as it didn’t seem like it would be effective for my needs.

Ideally, I was hoping the pet settings would include a feature that let me set an acceptable location range for the tracker, and if the app detects the TrackR has left that outlined parameters I get a warning alerting me that my cat is trying to make a break for it. Unfortunately, it seems like the pet icon is nothing more than a label, and the app treats a TrackR Bravo attached to your pet’s collar the same way it would a set of keys.

It’s better if we work together!

TrackR sporting some battle scars after Shelley’s great escape.

All told, using the TrackR on my pet didn’t work the way I expected it would, though my expectations were probably set a little too high going in. It does give me some added peace of mind, though, that if she does get out and lost I’ve got some technology to help track her down, and for that reason, I’m going to keep it on her collar going forward.

The crowdsourcing feature has the potential to be really useful — as long as TrackR beats out the competition.

This actually brings me to a key feature built into TrackR that will be really helpful if you plan to use their technology to track your pets — crowdsourcing. Like competitor Tile, TrackR relies on its users to create a sort of network of devices around your city or area to help pinpoint the location of its trackers. So let’s say your dog runs away, but your neighbor down the block has the TrackR app on his or her phone. In theory, their phone will recognize your dog’s TrackR and update its last known whereabouts in your app.

To this end, if you’re planning on using a TrackR device to track your pet, your best bet may be to try and coordinate with other pet owners in your neighborhood to get them in on the plan with their own TrackRs, or at the very least have the app running on their phone. The more devices running the TrackR app, the better the odds of getting updated pings if your pet gets loose.

Beyond that, if you don’t want your cat or dog to run away, common sense pet ownership still reigns supreme. Tie your cat up with a harness if you want to give them some unsupervised time outside, or better yet keep an eye on them yourself and enjoy some quality time outside.

See at Amazon

New Microsoft Surface Pro confirmed, rethought from the ground up

As leaked last week, Microsoft has announced a new Surface Pro during its #MicrosoftEvent in Shanghai, China.

Alongside the confirmation that the Surface Laptop and Surface Studio will be heading to the country on 15 June, Microsoft revealed that an all-new version of the Surface Pro is on its way.

Although it looks similar to former Pro devices, it has been “rethought” and is the lightest Surface Pro “ever created”.

It has a 12.3-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and 267ppi pixel density. Battery life is claimed to last up to 13.5 hours

A new Surface Pen stylus will come with the Surface Pro. Microsoft claims that it is the “fastest digital pen on the planet”, with the device offering 4,096 levels of pressure and 21ms latency.

Microsoft’s official @Surface Twitter account has also posted a video of the new Surface Pro, which you can view below:

Upgraded, versatile, and exceptionally powerful, with iconic Surface design. Meet the new Microsoft #SurfacePro. #MicrosoftEvent pic.twitter.com/o1RQjzlySE

— Microsoft Surface (@surface) May 23, 2017

Developing…

Amazon UK takes on Sky with TV Channel add-ons for Prime Video

In its bid to become the cord-cutting service of choice, Amazon UK has confirmed it’s bringing Channel add-ons to the UK. The service allows Prime subscribers to bolt subscriptions from various UK TV services onto their account, without the need for a bundle or a restrictive contract. Prices range from between £1.49 to £9.49, with notable streaming platforms including Discovery, Eurosport Player, ITV Hub+, hayu and BFI Player all available at launch.

Amazon Channels first debuted in the US in December 2015 with the launch of the Streaming Partners Program. US subscribers have a high-quality selection of bolt-ons to choose from — including HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, Cinemax and PBS KIDS — but what the UK offering lacks in quality, it delivers on diversity. There are workout channels for Acacia TV and BeFit UK; foreign films from Fandor and Filmbox; and Heera, Amazon’s curated Bollywood channel.

While Netflix doesn’t allow third-party services to integrate with its platform, Sky has built its TV empire around bundles. Typically, a Sky customer needs to subscribe to a package of channels in order to get access to the one they’re after, be it sport, entertainment or movies. Amazon does the opposite: it presents a variety of add-on subscriptions, allowing Prime members to pick and choose the most relevant channels and pay for them only.

Source: Amazon Channels

The Morning After: Tuesday, May 23rd 2017

The newest TV technology is a stretchable OLED display, a patent troll lawyer meets karma, and this week we’re talking about Tomorrow. No, not Wednesday, the conceptual one.

It bends both ways.
Samsung’s extra-stretchable display can survive dents

Samsung’s Display arm has a few new prototypes to show off this week, including a “stretchable” 9.1-inch OLED screen that can bend in either direction. If the tech comes to market, it could make for extremely durable screens on your phone, car or watch.

Only when it’s ready.
‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ is delayed until 2018

Rockstar Games announced that we won’t get our first current-gen taste of its old-west franchise this year, as Red Dead Redemption 2 has been pushed back until next spring. The company says that: “This outlaw epic set across the vast and unforgiving American heartland will be the first Rockstar game created from the ground up for the latest generation of console hardware, and some extra time is necessary to ensure that we can deliver the best experience possible for our fans.”

Why not?
HP debuts a tablet for artists at Cannes for some reason

Usually, movies make their debut at Cannes, but HP has decided the event is a perfect place to show off its new tablet and a few Envy laptops. The tablet is the Spectre x2, a Surface Pro-like slate with an Ink-certified stylus and detachable full-size keyboard. It has HP’s fast-charging tech, a battery that can last up to eight hours and enough horsepower to support two 4K external monitors — expect to see it next month with a price tag starting at $1,599.

Both the GS8 and full-sized Galaxy S8+ made the cut.

New in our buyer’s guide: The Galaxy S8 and Gear VR controller

Our latest buyer’s guide update adds Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+, as well as the company’s Gear VR controller. Rounding out the additions, we’ve added BlueAnt’s Pump Zone wireless exercise headphones, which are worth their (sharply reduced) asking price.

Interesting.
Valve quietly hired the team behind ‘Kerbal Space Program’

Kerbal Space Program developer Squad is one of the darlings of Steam’s early access program, and as it turns out, Valve snapped up the team a few months ago. There’s no word on what they’re working on, but the move could indicate a deeper commitment to game development.

Let’s talk about the future.
Welcome to Tomorrow, the home of stuff that hasn’t happened yet

We’re adding a new section to Engadget, one that executive editor Dana Wollman says will focus on “the products, technologies ideas and people that will drastically change the way we live.” We have over a dozen stories going up this week, covering topics like sex, warfare, video games, big data, solar energy, space, robotics, fashion, media and transportation.

When everyone has the power to destroy the world, no one does.
Nuclear warfare and the technology of peace

“This is what peace looks like in an atomic world: stability balanced on the back of a constant threat. While terrifying in its own way, the idea of mutually assured destruction has effectively halted all world war.”

But wait, there’s more…

• Copyright troll lawyer is finally disbarred for fraud
• ‘Far Cry 5’ is set in the US
• Supreme Court shuts down location loophole for patent suits
• What’s on TV: ‘War Machine,’ ‘Get Out,’ and ‘Beat Shazam’

Singapore’s RoboCop car has its own intruder-chasing drone

If RoboCop has a gun in his thigh, this robotic security car from Singapore has a drone that it can send after intruders. Singaporean startup Otsaw Digital has created a 176-pound golf-cart-sized automated vehicle called O-R3 that companies can use for security. It has 3D LIDAR sensors and GPS, along with other instruments that it uses to spot unattended bags and to differentiate between employees and intruders. If it spots a bag that remains unattended for five minutes, for instance, it raises an alarm and marks it for further investigation in case it’s something dangerous.

It can differentiate the people security personnel mark as employees from unknown individuals. If it determines that a person is an intruder, it will send a drone after him up to around 328 feet away. Otsaw chief Ling Ting Ming explains that the drone can be especially useful if there are obstacles blocking the vehicle’s way, since it can provide an aerial view of the area to expose potential hiding places.

Singapore expects robots to play a big role in its bid to become the world’s first smart city, and it sounds like Otsaw’s O-R3 fits its government’s vision perfectly. Clients will be able to rent one for $10,000 a month, which is slightly less than what establishments in the country are paying four security guards. While it can take over the low-level tasks, such as patrolling areas, from humans, though, Ling believes the machine can’t completely replace flesh-and-blood workers. O-R3, he says, can complement human security personnel hired for jobs that require a higher level of skills.

You can watch O-R3 in action below. To note, it’s the outdoor version of the machine. The company is also working on a smaller indoor version with no lasers and drones, and which will likely cost less.

Via: Mashable

Source: Otsaw Robotics

Scribd’s all-you-can read service adds major newspaper articles

Scribd’s transformation into an all-you-can-read subscription-based service hasn’t always been smooth-sailing, but it’s truly moving farther away from its PDF roots. The company has just announced that it’s teaming up with its first newspaper partners and a few popular news brands, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Financial Times, NPR and ProPublica.

Take note that you’ll only be able to access select articles that Scribd chooses from those publications. It doesn’t sound like the website was able to replicate the deal it made in 2016, which gave you unlimited access to Bloomberg Business Week, Fortune, New York, People and Time. Still, it’s a good way to get your hands on some pieces from notable news organizations if you don’t have existing subscriptions to any of them, especially since NYT and The Guardian have pulled out of Facebook’s Instant Articles platform.

According to the company, the newspapers will get paid for every article it publishes on its system. “This puts dollars back into the journalistic ecosystem and clears the hurdle publishers are struggling with: to get people to pay for news,” Scribd said in a statement. By paying the publications, it creates a “sustainable distribution model for high-quality journalism,” which can help fight off fake news.

Scribd’s newspaper partners will go live today, along with the website’s new design and new curation tools. They won’t cost you extra outside of the $9 fee you’re already paying per month. If you don’t really care about the new additions, though, the service always has books, comic books, audiobooks and other reading materials you can devour.

Source: Scribd

iPhone Sales Flat in Q1 2017 as Chinese Phone Makers Increase Global Market Share

Worldwide iPhone sales were flat in the first quarter of 2017, according to Gartner, causing a year-on-year drop in Apple’s share of a growing smartphone industry boosted by the rise of top Chinese mobile manufacturers breaking out into neighboring markets.

Global sales of smartphones to end users totaled 380 million units in the first quarter of 2017, a 9.1 percent increase over the first quarter of 2016, reported Gartner. Of that figure, Apple sold 51.9 million units, up from 51.6 million in Q1 2016, leading to a drop in market share year over year. Samsung retained top spot with 78.6 million units sold to end users, and held on to 20.7 per cent market share, but both figures were declines on a year ago.

“Sales of iPhones were flat, which led to a drop in market share year over year,” said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner. “Similar to Samsung, Apple is increasingly facing fierce competition from Chinese brands Oppo and Vivo, among others, and its performance in China is under attack.”

Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo had a combined market share in the first quarter of 2017 that accounted for 24 percent, up 7 percent year on year. Huawei held third spot behind second-placed Apple, edging closer to the company with 34 million units in Q1 2017, while Oppo continued to catch up with Huawei, with a 94.7 percent increase in global sales, resulting in the best performance of the quarter and maintaining its number one position in China.

The top three Chinese smartphone manufacturers are driving sales with their competitively priced, high quality smartphones equipped with innovative features, according to Gartner, with aggressive marketing and sales promotion having further helped the brands to take share from others in markets such as India, Indonesia and Thailand. In India alone, for example, Vivo grew by 220 per cent.

In the operating system market, iOS saw continued growth, with a 0.9 percent uptick in market share year on year. But it was Android that fared best, growing its share by 2 percent, thanks to increasing acceptance of Chinese brands in global markets, led by high-quality smartphones.

Tag: Gartner
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Pay-to-View ‘Amazon Channels’ Come to Prime Members in the U.K. and Germany

Amazon expanded its selection of pay-to-view television channels to the United Kingdom and Germany markets today. The announcement means users of Prime Video in those countries will be able to subscribe to popular channels individually, rather than having to pay for bundles of channels.

Previously, Amazon’s on-demand Prime Video subscription service only offered movies and TV shows in the U.K. and Germany, which are two of the company’s biggest European markets.

“For the first time, Prime members in the UK and Germany will be able to choose to watch premium TV channels without having to sign up to a bundle or a contract, giving them the freedom to pay for only what they want to watch,” said Alex Green, head of Amazon Channels in Europe.

“From live sport to Bollywood, arthouse cinema to reality TV, and award-winning TV shows from popular channels like Discovery and ITV, Amazon Channels gives power back to customers to choose exactly what they want to watch.”

However, one analyst who spoke to the BBC said Amazon would struggle to attract satellite customers in the U.K., calling the list of channels – which includes the likes of Eurosport and Discovery – “not immediately desirable”.

“Amazon launched a similar thing in the U.S., and the big selling point was that you could get HBO and Showtime programs all under one umbrella,” said Tom Harrington, an analyst at Enders.

“That’s not going to happen here. Sky have HBO and Showtime locked down, at least for now, and will hold on to them aggressively. When you look at what’s available in the U.K., it does lack the wow factor.”

Close to 50 on-demand “Amazon Channels” will be available through Prime Video via a single click. Prices of the various channels in the U.K. vary between £1.49 and £9.49 a month, but are only available to Amazon Prime members.

Most of the content will also be available to download for offline, on-demand viewing, with free trials being offered for the majority of subscriptions. Amazon also said additional subscriptions would be added in the coming months. The full list of available channels can be found here.

Tags: United Kingdom, Germany, Amazon Prime Video
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Amazon Channels comes to UK: What is it and what channels does it offer?

Amazon has launched Amazon Channels in the UK. It offers a way to subscribe to a large array of premium TV channels and services for a low, non-contract monthly fee.

So to help you understand the new service, here’s our short, handy guide on what it offers…

What is Amazon Channels?

Starting at £1.49 a month, you can subscribe to individual channels such as ITV Hub+, MGM, Eurosport Player, Mubi and BFI Player+. You can then watch each service’s content on demand or, in some cases, live through your online browser or the Amazon Video app on multiple devices.

It means you can watch any of them through smart TVs, iOS and Android mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, the Fire TV Stick, Fire tablets and on games consoles. You don’t need to download the individual apps for the subscribed services, so it works on hardware that might not usually offer them.

Prices vary depending on the service, and you can cancel your monthly payments at any time. You also use your Amazon account to pay, making it more simple than paying for multiple subscriptions separately.

There are free trials available on some of the services.

Amazon Channels, which is also now available in Germany, first launched in the US, with HBO, Showtime, Starz and many other broadcasters available there.

What UK channels are available on Amazon Channels?

Here is a list of the channels available in the UK, more will be added in time:

• Acacia TV – Hundreds of fun and effective workouts for every fitness level for £5.99 a month
• Alchemiya – Great films and documentaries about Muslim culture and life for £3.99 a month
• Arrow Video – On demand cult classics and horror from Arrow Films for £4.99 a month
• BFI Player+ – On Demand classic British and critically acclaimed movies for £4.99 a month
• BeFit UK – Get fit fast with unlimited streaming of hundreds of workouts for £5.99 a month
• Comic Con HQ – Fan-favourite films, original programming, exclusive access and more for £4.99 a month
• Curiosity Stream – Exclusive documentaries from the world’s best filmmakers in HD for £5.49 a month
• Daily Burn – On Demand and live workouts including dance, strength training, yoga, cardio and more for £9.99 a month
• Discovery – Documentaries and unscripted entertainment from Discovery for £4.99 a month
• Eurosport Player – Live and On Demand sports programming, including Grand Slam tennis, cycling and winter sports for £6.99 a month
• Fandor – A hand-picked collection of the most talked about indie, foreign and classic films for £3.49 a month
• Filmbox – Hollywood movies, favourite evergreens and popular series for £3.99 a month
• Full Moon Features – All the Full Moon classics and new releases on demand for £3.99 a month
• Gaia – Yoga, nutrition, meditation and more for £7.99 a month
• Horse & Country Play – The home of equestrianism and British country lifestyle, now on demand for £3.99 a month
• ITV Hub+ – Watch live, download your favourite ITV shows for offline viewing, and catch up on tons of ad-free episodes for £3.99 a month
• hayu (NBC Universal) – On Demand reality TV programming including Keeping Up with the Kardashians for £3.99 a month
• Heera – An Amazon-exclusive on demand channel with over 600 Bollywood, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, and Telegu movies and series including blockbusters like Sultan and Kabali for only £3.99 a month
• Hopster – Make screen time smart with safe, ad-free content for kids for £3.99 a month
• Ketchup TV – Hundreds of episodes of shows for kids, packed with their favourites for £2.29 a month
• Love Nature – Ad-free, family friendly nature documentaries on demand for £3.99 a month
• MGM – Hollywood hits, timeless classics and cult favourites movies from MGM for £4.49 a month
• Motorvision – On Demand TV dedicated to the automotive world including car reviews & tests, motorsports and lifestyle shows for £2.99 a month
• Mubi – A new, critically acclaimed movie to stream every day for £5.99 a month
• Nautical Channel – The network focused on sailing lifestyle, available live and on-demand for £3.99 a month
• Nordic Noir and Beyond – The best thriller, crime and drama series from the Nordics and beyond for £4.99 a month
• Panna – Easy-to-follow video recipes from master chefs and cooking courses for £1.49 a month
• Pinoy Box Office – Filipino movies and series on demand for £1.99 a month
• Planet Knowledge – Exciting and informative HD documentaries on nature, history, culture and more for £2.29 a month
• Pongalo Next – Latin American movies and series on demand for £2.99 a month
• Qello Concerts – The greatest concert films from icons and new artists like The Who, Queen, The Beatles, Muse and more for £5.99 a month
• Realeyz – Independent films by award-winning filmmakers on demand for £4.99 a month
• Rooster Teeth – Original sci-fi, gaming and comedy for £3.99 a month
• Shudder – Backed by AMC Networks, Shudder super-serves fans of thrillers, suspense, and horror for £4.99 a month
• Studio Universal Classics – Classic movies from Universal Studios for £3.99 a month
• Sweatflix – Stream HIIT workouts and yoga flows for £9.49 a month
• Tastemade Plus – Our network of Tastemakers bring great food and travel to the world for £1.99 a month
• The Great Courses Signature Collection – A curated collection of educational courses On Demand for £5.49 a month
• UP Family – Entertainment for the whole family for £3.49 a month
• Viewster Anime – ad-free anime on demand from Viewster for £2.99 a month
• Yoga Anytime Channel – HD yoga videos on demand for £6.99 a month