Zika test machine needs just a drop of blood

At this point, the idea that you could use a drop of blood, taken from your finger, to test for disease is pretty played out. After all, a certain company has spent the last year or so burning up any remaining goodwill for the technology. Despite this, a Danish – Taiwanese company called Blusense Diagnostics claims that it has developed a tiny box that can test for both Dengue Fever and the Zika virus with a single drop of finger blood.

Zika may not be the top story on the evening news anymore, but that doesn’t mean that the virus has gone away. Between January and May 24th of 2017, the CDC has reported 121 instances of infected people living in the United States. BluSense, in fact, won a cash prize as part of USAid’s Grand Zika Challenge to develop an effective way of diagnosing the problem.

Once the fingerprick has been taken and drawn up into the plastic cartridge, it is mixed with magnetic nanoparticles. The sample is then loaded into the BluSense machine, which contains a small turntable to centrifuge the sample for nine minutes. Once that’s done, the blood is then scanned — amusingly, with the same sort of blue laser that you’d find in a Blu-ray player — and a result provided.

BluSense’s EVP, Jessie Sun, explained that the company already has validation for its Dengue tests, and is currently working with the FDA on its Zika diagnostics. Sun is confident that the company will breeze through the process, since she says that both are diagnosed in a similar way. If successful, BluSense’s device will enable medical facilities to run the tests for less than $20 per patient. That’s a lot less than some private Zika tests you can get, which run into the hundreds of dollars per person.

Chris Velazco contributed to this report.

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Barclaycard’s ‘Grab+Go’ swaps store checkouts for an app

With nigh-immediate grocery deliveries becoming more and more accessible, there’s less incentive to pop down to your local shop to pick up the essentials. But Barclaycard is working on a way to make the in-store experience more convenient by allowing customers to dodge the checkout queue and pay for their basket with their smartphone. The “Grab+Go” app basically turns your device’s camera into a barcode reader. When you’re done combing the isles and scanning your haul, you simply checkout inside the app and your purchases are charged to a linked card. It then generates a digital receipt that the merchant also has access to, in case they suspect your bag is hiding a few undocumented items.

The “pocket checkout” concept is currently being trialed in the staff canteen at Barclays’ London HQ, with further testbeds in UK and US offices going live in the near future. A high-street partner is expected to have a Grab+Go pilot up and running within the next year, and Barclaycard says the functionality can be integrated into retailers’ existing apps. The company doesn’t think self-scanning an entire supermarket trolley-load is a particularly good use case for the technology, though. Instead, Barclaycard imagines it would work best in independent shops and smaller convenience stores — the kind of places customers dive in to for just a few items.

Using smartphones to speed up the checkout process has fallen in and out of fashion over the years. Various stores and chains already offer apps that turn your phone into a barcode scanner, but typically they ask you to visit some form of register or another to pay for your purchases and complete your shop. Perhaps by supporting in-app checkout and with a name like Barclaycard behind it, Grab+Go might get the traction similar systems haven’t.

After conquering the world of online retail, Amazon is also trying to reimagine the in-store experience. While its checkout-free Go shop in Seattle isn’t quite ready for the masses, it takes self-scanning out of the equation altogether thanks to cameras and sensors that track you and what you’re adding to your basket. And if recent trademark filings are anything to go by, it looks like Amazon is planning to expand the Go concept to the UK and Europe at some point in the future.

Via: Gizmodo, The Telegraph

Source: Barclaycard

Apple hints you should wait to buy that MacBook Pro

If you needed a clue that Apple might be launching new Macs at WWDC, you just got it. Typical free shipping times for 15-inch MacBook Pro orders have slipped from same day to 3-5 business days in many countries, pushing deliveries to June 6th or later — conveniently, a day after the WWDC keynote. There aren’t any delays for the 13-inch model as of this writing, but it’s not clear whether that’s due to more bountiful supply or a lack of planned updates.

If the rumors are accurate, there won’t be any major external changes. This would be the classic speed bump with new processors (Intel’s 7th-generation Core chips) and other possible under-the-hood improvements, which isn’t surprising when the current design isn’t even a year old. While you’re unlikely to see a dramatic leap in performance, this could lead to longer battery life and better integrated graphics performance (mainly useful for 13-inch models). You could also see the MacBook Pro support up to 32GB of RAM, addressing a pain point for pros who struggle with the current 16GB limit.

However, the very fact that there’s an update so relatively soon is notable by itself. It’s not necessarily proof that Apple has renewed its commitment to the Mac (it may just be easier to update now that Apple has the support it needs for Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C). However, it definitely suggests that the days of agonizingly long update intervals could be over. As MacRumors notes, there was a year and a half between the old MacBook Pro and the current model — if a refresh arrives at WWDC, that gap will have shrunk to just 220 days. While we wouldn’t expect updates to always show up that quickly (that’s partly dependent on Intel), Apple may well be back to keeping pace with the latest CPU technology.

Via: MacRumors

Source: Apple

Apple Pay Rumored to Arrive in Ukraine in Q2 2018

Apple Pay will continue its worldwide expansion next year, with a new report suggesting that Apple is planning to launch its mobile payments wallet in Ukraine in the second quarter of 2018. The news comes from PaySpace Magazine (via Tehnot.com) [Google Translate], which reported on the announcement of a new digital banking service, Alfa Digital, a division of financial institution Alfa-Bank.

During the announcement, Alfa-Bank Ukraine’s head of e-business, Maxim Patrin, mentioned that Apple Pay is set to debut in Ukraine sometime in Q2 2018. Patrin’s source of the news is said to come from an anonymous tipster in one of the payment systems currently in operation on the Ukrainian market.

Alfa Digital is said to be keeping a close eye on the Ukrainian debut of popular digital wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, and plans to support the addition of cards issued by Alfa-Bank into Apple Pay whenever it launches. Patrin didn’t mention any further details about the launch.

In the second quarter of 2018 Apple Pay payment service can run on the Ukrainian market. This was stated by the head of “Alfa-Bank Ukraine” e-business, Maxim Patrin, citing an anonymous source in one of the payment systems that operate on the Ukrainian market.

Ukraine currently lacks Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, instead relying on contactless payment solutions like Privat24 to let users pay for items using their smartphone. Samsung Pay is rumored to beat Apple Pay to Ukraine, with a potential launch of Samsung’s mobile wallet sometime in the middle of 2017.

The latest Apple Pay launch took place in Italy in the middle of May, with users in the country able to add Visa and MasterCards issued by Boon, Carrefour, and UniCredit into their iPhone. Apple Pay is now available in the United States, UK, China, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Ireland, and Italy.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
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BlackBerry KeyOne review: BlackBerry’s bold return to form

If there’s one company that, by all accounts, should have been killed off by the smartphone revolution started by the iPhone way back in 2007, it’s BlackBerry. For years, the company was hampered by its insistence on sticking with its own operating system, and also by its legions of physical keyboard-needing fans.

A lot has changed in recent years. BlackBerry switched to making Android phones then signed a deal with TCL (which owns Alcatel) to produce its phones. Its first Android phone, the Priv, was promising, the next two were rebadged Alcatel phones. None of them were true, modern replacements for the classic BlackBerrys of old.

Then came the KeyOne: the first Android-powered BlackBerry with a physical keyboard sitting pride of place on the front, beneath the screen. Is this the Android phone BlackBerry loyalists and former fans have long wished for? Or just prolonging what many think is the inevitable?

BlackBerry KeyOne review: Design

• 149.1 x 72.4 x 9.4mm; 180g
• Grippy plastic back, metal frame

The easiest way to describe the KeyOne’s design is that it almost looks like an elongated Passport Silver Edition. It has a similar, industrial design on the top bezel, with the aluminium broken up by the pill-shaped ambient light sensor, squircle front camera cut-out and the machined holes covering the earpiece.

By today’s standards, the KeyOne is a thick device. At 9.4mm, it’s a full 2.3mm thicker than an iPhone 7, and 1.5mm thicker than the less-than-skinny LG G6. It’s also technically heavier than both of those phones. Despite this, it doesn’t feel like a hefty phone. It’s well balanced, and has very rounded edges on the sides and on the bottom to make it ergonomic.

Interestingly, the top edge is completely flat, which adds to the charm of the device. It’s different, which we think is a good thing. The only port here is the 3.5mm jack, which means the bottom edge has a more symmetrical design, featuring a central USB Type-C port, flanked by two trios of pill-shaped cut-outs covering the microphone and single loudspeaker.

Where you can tell this phone has the Alcatel/TCL influence is in the organisation of the buttons. Like the brand’s other phones, the power/sleep button lives two-thirds of the way up the left edge and can be tricky to reach. If, for instance, you’re done typing, you’ll need to adjust your grip purposefully to reach it with your index finger, which is annoying.

The volume rocker and programmable Convenience Key live on the right edge, both of which are easy to get at with your right thumb. If you’re left-handed, they’re placed low enough down the edge to be within easy reach of your index and middle fingers.

It’s rare these days to get a phone that fits so comfortably in the palm. Thanks to those aforementioned curved edges, combined with the textured plastic on the back, the KeyOne feels warm and comfy. As you’d expect from a phone with a full keyboard on the front, it feels better in two hands than in one.

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How natural it feels in use depends on what you’re most accustomed. Chances are, if you’re a regular BlackBerry user who is used to having to reach over a keyboard to interact with the touchscreen, the KeyOne won’t be a massive adjustment.

If you’ve become used to fully touchscreen phones, it might take some time, and a change of grip to work with the touchscreen. The KeyOne may only be 4.5-inches, but the bottom edge of the display is about one inch higher than you’d normally find it on most other smartphone screens – which means the very top edge and corners are about as far to reach as they would be on an all-touch 5.5-inch display equivalent.

BlackBerry KeyOne review: The keyboard

• Four row keyboard
• Touch-sensitive surface
• Fingerprint sensor in space bar
• Shortcuts possible from any key
• Capacitive Android buttons

There’s no pretending, it’s the physical keyboard that’s of most importance in the KeyOne. It’s the one feature that will draw the nostalgic former BlackBerry addicts back to the brand and the one thing that’ll persuade the Classic and Q10 owners to finally upgrade.

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As with many BlackBerry keyboards over the past few years, all four rows of keys are separated by attractive, polished metal frets. They not only help to create a visual distinction between rows and add a premium finish, they also add more space, helping you feel the space and – hopefully – help you to hit the right button.

In classic BlackBerry fashion, the keys are all sculpted, but nowhere near to the same levels as the famed keys on the old BlackBerry Bold range or the Classic. Indeed, they’re more similar in shape to the Passport. The sculpting is fairly subtle but, again, enough to help you distinguish between the keys as you glide your thumbs over them.

That’s not just a figurative phrase either, you can literally glide your thumbs over them, making use of the touch-sensitive surface. This can be used to scroll up and down lists, sideways through images and home screens, and to select the predicted words that appear on the bottom of the screen as you type.

While the phone does have a Convenience Key on the right edge, the truth is that each of the keys on the keyboard can essentially be used as a Convenience Key. You can assign shortcut actions to every single letter. In fact, you can assign two: one that launches when you just press it, and another for when you long-press.

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As an example, you can have you alarms show up when you press A or start a new timer when you press T. It’s entirely up to you. You can have each key launch an app, or have it launch a specific function. Once you’ve set them up, it’s a huge time saver. We love its usefulness.

Adding to the keyboard’s versatility and usefulness, the space bar on the bottom row also acts as a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone. In our testing, it’s been just as quick and reliable as some of the best scanners we’ve reviewed. It might not be as lightning fast as the likes of Huawei, but it’s quick enough, and hasn’t failed to recognise our thumbs so far.

The typing experience is pleasant enough too, and your own experience of it will depend entirely on which BlackBerry you last used. Compared to something like the original Bold, or – even further back – the 7230 (yep, nearly 15 years back), the keys don’t give as much of a hard click. It’s a softer, but still a pleasingly tactile response. While we would have preferred the more old-style pronounced ridges on the keys, they would disrupt the modern look of the KeyOne.

BlackBerry KeyOne review: Display

• 4.5-inch 3:2 ratio IPS LCD screen
• 1080 x 1620 resolution (433ppi)

There’s very little about the KeyOne that’s conventional, including the screen. It hosts Full HD levels of sharpness, but with a portion sliced off the bottom to make room for those keys (hence the stunted 1620 pixels of vertical resolution, rather than 1920).

That means, rather than a 16:9 ratio display that’s ideal for watching videos in landscape, you get a 3:2 ratio screen. That’s a ratio we’ve not really seen since Apple’s iPhone 4S.

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What that means is that you get letter-boxing, or black bars, across the screen when you’re watching regular widescreen content. If you’re unfortunate enough to try and watch some of Netflix original series’ – which are beamed in roughly 18:9 – the letterboxing gets worse. It’s fair to say, then, this isn’t a screen designed primarily for video consumption.

Despite that, the ratio does make it ideal for some things. With the width being two thirds of the length, there’s more room on screen for text when you’re reading books, emails and web pages. It also happens to be ideal for more traditional ratio photographs.

The IPS LCD panel is certainly sharp enough to make any media enjoyable. Even when looking closely, it’s virtually impossible to distinguish individual pixels on the display. Round object edges are smooth, as is fine text.

While contrast isn’t as impressive as it might be from an AMOLED panel, it’s still decent. What’s more, colours are natural and look good. With a user interface and stock apps mostly using white backgrounds, the decision to opt for an LCD screen makes sense for a neutral balance.

BlackBerry KeyOne review: Software

• Android Nougat 7.1.1
• BlackBerry Hub suite of apps

As with all of its previous Android phones, one of the major benefits of choosing a BlackBerry is the additional software. While most manufacturers add redundant apps and questionable user interfaces, BlackBerry Mobile adds mostly useful extras. Some considerable enough to make BlackBerry the only obvious choice for some business types.

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That means you get the BlackBerry Hub, which brings in all the notifications from across your apps into one useful feed. There’s the email app, too, which we think manages email better than most other email apps. Conversations are collapsed neatly, without endless pages of replies, and individual messages and images are better scaled to fit the screen. There’s also the Notable app which lets you create notes and markup images or screenshots, while the calendar app is clean and distraction-free.

Like previous Android BlackBerry phones, the DTEK app gives you an overview of your system’s level of security and advises of actions needed to take to make it even more secure. On a similar note, the Power Centre app gives you an overview of settings you can change to better conserve battery.

In the Android software there’s also an updated version of the Productivity tab that gets you easy access to calendar, reminders, unread messages and recent contacts. This lives on the right of the screen by default, but you can switch it to the left side, and launch it by swiping the small white tab on the edge of the screen towards the centre.

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Device Search lets you search for virtually anything on your phone, whether it be an app, a contact, or anything else that could be in an email, calendar event or somewhere remotely online. You can also launch any widgets by swiping up from an icon on a home screen that has three white dots beneath it.

BlackBerry KeyOne review: Performance

• Snapdragon 625 processor; 3GB RAM
• 32GB storage (microSD expandable)

Under the hood you’ll find Qualcomm’s impressive mid-range Snapdragon 625 processor. Sure, it’s not top-of-line compared to other flagships, but even so you’ll find that virtually all of your transitions are quick and smooth. There’s no waiting around for anything to load, although we did find that sometimes the wireless network (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) was a little slower than we’d like. Taking a few seconds to refresh data in a web-dependent app was a tad frustrating at times.

For the most part, the KeyOne is a relatively lag- and stutter-free experience. We say relatively, because we noticed when gaming that as background data/processes were happening that animations on screen did sometimes stutter a little. It wasn’t too noticeable, but it was there, and something you won’t experience much of in more powerful devices.

Perhaps an increase from 3GB RAM to 4GB would have been beneficial here. Our average use – according to the KeyOne’s Settings menu – was 2.5GB out of total available 2.8GB, so more memory would make sense.

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Still, we think the KeyOne’s performance is impressive. This isn’t a device built for gaming or multimedia, rather for getting things done and communicating. It’s a noticeably smoother and more reliable experience than we had with either the DTEK50 or the Priv from the tail-end of 2015.

From a storage perspective, the KeyOne comes equipped with 32GB of internal storage to use for media and apps. It’s the bare minimum you would expect, but it can be expanded. You can adopt a microSD card (up to 2TB) and use it as internal storage if you need, although you need a fast one to ensure that performance isn’t negatively impacted.

BlackBerry KeyOne review: Battery life

• 3,505mAh battery
• Quick Charge 3.0 enabled

The battery life on the BlackBerry KeyOne is one of the best we’ve used so far this year. No exaggeration. Thanks to making full use of Android Nougat’s enhanced Doze mode, standby time uses very little of the battery’s juice. What’s more, having a smaller screen with fewer pixels than a traditional 1080p display helps.

In our experience, the 3,505mAh battery was capable of getting us to the end of a second day with moderate use. With heavy use, you’ll easily get from morning until bedtime with some battery to spare. For a device seeking to draw in the ultra-productive types, this is a big selling point. It means you can go from sunrise to sunset, crunching emails, taking conference calls, and taking the odd sly break to beat your Temple Run 2 score, and not have to plug in to top up.

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Even if you are hard enough on the phone and drain its battery before the day is up, then the Quick Charge 3.0 power adapter can give you 50 per cent charge in just 36 minutes (not at the upper end of the charge, however, which will take longer).

BlackBerry KeyOne review: Camera

• 12MP camera
• Phase-detection autofocus (PDAF)
• 4K video recording
• 8MP front camera

It’s no secret that BlackBerry has never really focused on its camera offering. Funnily enough, given our enjoyment of all the benefits of using a BlackBerry again, we almost forgot the KeyOne had one. But, surprisingly – and we think that’s a fair term – the KeyOne’s snapper isn’t bad at all.

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It’s features a 12-megapixel sensor with large pixels and 4K video recording capabilities. It’s also equipped with phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and a feature called fast focus lock, which means you can focus on whatever you’re shooting quickly. It succeeded in focusing in good light far more often than it failed, even when objects were close-up to the lens.

In daylight, the camera is capable of producing well-exposed shots with good colour and sharpness. In lower-light situations, results were mixed: sometimes they would come out a tiny bit blurry if we didn’t keep our hands perfectly still, and there was often image noise visible as a result of the sensor being worked hard.

The disappointing part is that – unlike so many other current Android phones – the manual mode is hidden away in the camera settings menu. But once activated, you can adjust focus, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation and white balance. 

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The front camera is a similar story. While low-light selfies can get grainy, the use of the screen as a front-facing flash means that your face will be adequately lit. Often we found that selfies came out looking soft, however, despite looking very sharp on screen before pressing the shutter.

Verdict

If there was ever a device to convince BlackBerry loyalists to jump onboard Android, the KeyOne is it. It’s a more complete package than the Priv was, and is a much more compelling device than either of the two most recent all-touch phones. It might even be the device to convince older BB fans to leave their newer iPhone or Galaxy device behind.

At £499 the KeyOne isn’t cheap considering its specification, but it’s not flagship expensive either. Besides, there’s literally nothing else like it on the market – it’s a truly standout device, for many of the right reasons. Its camera and screen are good enough to please anyone, while the battery is up there with the best we’ve seen.

Whatever you think of BlackBerry, we think it’s great to have something different in the world of Android. A phone with added software that enhances rather than tarnishes the experience. A physical keyboard included, without any major hardware compromises. It won’t be for everyone, granted, but for the ones the KeyOne is made for, it’s quite simply masterful.

The alternatives to consider…

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Samsung Galaxy S8

For those wanting a more traditional Android flagship, the Galaxy S8 is a great option. With Samsung Knox, you get the reassurance of great security protocols, and for those wanting some physical keys to type on, there’s the optional Keyboard Cover (which is nowhere near as good as the keyboard on the KeyOne, but it might help soothe your QWERTY withdrawals).

Read the full article: Samsung Galaxy S8 preview

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Apple iPhone 7 Plus

Apple’s iPhone has long been one of the most trusted devices by big business for its security. It’s big, elegant, powerful and a productivity powerhouse for those who don’t want a physical keyboard. What’s more, it has a great camera, a great selection of apps for all purposes and a battery that will last a full day without trying.

Read the full article: iPhone 7 Plus review

Essential’s Home assistant is slick, circular and not ready

When Essential Inc., the stealth startup headed by Android co-founder Andy Rubin, teased that May 30th would be a big day, it wasn’t lying. We’ve already taken our first look at the Essential Phone — a slick, powerful and durable Android-powered handset — but that isn’t the only product the company is showing off today. In its bid to take on Apple, Google and Amazon, Essential has unveiled “Home,” a new intelligent assistant that it hopes owners will be proud to show off.

The Essential Home sports a circular design, and isn’t too dissimilar to Google’s intelligent Nest thermostats at first glance. The round auto-display is activated in three ways: by a simple voice commands, a tap of a finger or just by looking at it. It offers a number of features that other smart home gadgets already provide, but Essential insists its AI is a lot more intelligent than its rivals.

For instance, when it’s playing music, Home can detect when you’re involved a conversation and automatically turn down the volume. It also takes note of your routines and can “let you know when something feels off or if a light is left on.” Got an appointment you don’t want to miss? Home will remind you how long you have until you need to leave and blink the lights when it’s time. It can also cater for boring tasks like setting timers, answering general knowledge questions and keeping you updated on what’s happening.

The features come as part of Ambient OS, the new platform that powers the Home. Essential hasn’t confirmed that it also runs Android, but given Rubin’s previous connections, it’s a pretty safe assumption. According to Essential’s Head of Engineering Manuel Roman, the operating system is aware of the layout of your home, the people in it and the services that your family or roommates are utilizing. Because it can interact with lighting, speakers and other smart appliances in your home directly, instead of directing all requests via the cloud, it also ships with privacy in mind.

Right now, the company is focused on the Essential Phone, which ships in the coming months. That means details on the Home’s availability and price are still hard to come by. However, it’s likely that Essential wants developers to embrace Ambient OS before the product ships (it’s already inviting developers to access its open SDK), ensuring that apps and integrations are ready for when it does launch.

Via: The Verge

Source: Essential Home

‘District 9’ director to debut his new sci-fi flick on Steam

After taking a lengthy absence from sci-fi, South African film director Neill Blomkamp has decided to pit the human race against extraterrestrial forces once again. Created by his new science fiction studio, Oats Studios, his latest project is a short film called Volume 1 — and surprisingly, it could make its debut on PC gaming platform, Steam.

With Hollywood currently afflicted by franchise fever, Blomkamp’s latest project aims to let viewers test out an experimental series of entirely new sci-fi movie concepts over the internet. While the famous director is still yet to confirm which streaming platforms he’ll be using, a recent tweet suggests that he could stream these movies over Steam.

If I sold experimental short films on @steam_games as tests for potential full feature films, would people watch them?

— Neill Blomkamp (@NeillBlomkamp) April 9, 2017

For Blomkamp, this isn’t the first time he’s used short films to test the water for new movie ideas. The project that made his name, District 9 also began life as a short film entitled Alive in Joburg. Although it’s not exactly commonplace for directors to focus test their new ideas online, a visible backing from audiences could make it easier for risk-adverse movie studios to take a chance on ambitious (and costly) original projects.

Steam may be most well-known as a games distribution platform, but this isn’t the first movie to end up on the service. With the Valve-owned digital storefront already boasting a huge userbase, this kind of exclusive movie content could help to legitimize Steam’s half-hearted video streaming service. You can check out the first trailer for Volume 1 in all its murky glory below.

Via: The Verge

Source: Oats Studios

Sony has shipped its last ever PlayStation 3 in Japan

11 years after its release, Sony has finally stopped shipping the PlayStation 3 to retailers in Japan. We all knew this day was coming, with the country ceasing production on the 500 GB standard model in December last year. Now, however, a recent update on PlayStation Japan’s website suggests that the final lingering units have all been shipped. For those who somehow still haven’t bought one, Sony’s long-standing game machine is still being produced in other parts of the world.

Selling over 70 million units in just seven years, the PlayStation 3 was certainly a console to be reckoned with. Yet, for all its achievements, the long-surviving gaming machine initially made a name for itself for all the wrong reasons. With Sony riding high on the PlayStation 2’s market-leading sales numbers, its successor launched at the eye-watering price of $499 — and consumers weren’t too happy about it. Luckily for Sony, publishers stuck with the pricey console, and exclusive games like Uncharted, Heavy Rain, The Last Of Us and Metal Gear Solid 4 helped to right the course of Sony’s initially water-riddled ship.

With the sun-setting on the aging console in the East, the news doesn’t bode well for the future of the PlayStation 3 across the rest of the world. Sony has previously announced that PS Now will soon move exclusively to PS4 and PC. While few players will be mourning the loss of the pricey service, there are many PS3 owners still benefitting from free games on PlayStation Plus and downloading new content from the PS Store. As Sony slowly begins to start winding the console down, it’s unlikely that gamers will be able to continue to use these services for much longer on the aging gaming system.

Via: Gematsu

Source: PlayStation Japan

Latest Apple Park Drone Video Catches a Glimpse of Historic Glendenning Barn

This morning Matthew Roberts shared a new drone video of Apple Park on his YouTube channel, representing the latest addition to the drone videographer’s ongoing monthly aerial coverage of Apple’s new campus. Roberts’ Apple Park coverage dates back to March 2016, and fellow drone pilot Duncan Sinfield has been providing aerial footage for Apple’s new workspace since 2015.

In the new video, a closer glimpse at the Steve Jobs Theater is provided, with some of the window coverings having been removed since the last update. The auditorium is still one of the areas of the campus that’s under heavy construction, as it isn’t expected to officially open until sometime later this year.

Roberts also captured one of the first glimpses of the historic Glendenning Barn that Apple has finished reconstructing and placed at Apple Park. Built in 1916, the historic Cupertino barn has deep ties to the city’s agricultural past and was located at the planned site for Apple Campus 2.

During preparation for the construction of Apple Park, Apple carefully deconstructed the building plank by plank and made notes on how to rebuild it exactly the same. Now, the company has done just that and remade the Glendenning Barn at Apple Park, residing next to the employee fitness center and in the middle of what will eventually be a larger collection of fruit trees once landscaping on the campus is finished.

Other spots at Apple Park highlighted in Roberts’ new video include the parking garage, R&D facility, and the Spaceship building itself. Yesterday, Apple quietly updated Apple Maps to include 3D models of these buildings in the mapping app, as well as access roads around Apple Park.

Apple recently gave Wired a behind-the-scenes look into Apple Park, including tidbits about Steve Jobs’ connection to the campus, a look into the “Ring” building’s original design, and detailed images of the campus’ construction and interiors.

Tag: Apple Park
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Andy Rubin’s Essential Products Announces Modular Smartphone and Amazon Echo Rival

New company Essential Products announced its debut products today, including a modular titanium smartphone with an edge-to-edge display and an Amazon Echo competitor. Andy Rubin, the founder of Essential and the original creator of the Android OS platform, announced the devices ahead of a talk he is scheduled to give later on Tuesday at the Code Conference.

The company’s logo-free Essential Phone features a 5.71-inch edge-to-edge QHD display that reaches all the way to the top of the phone and runs around the 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The unique design is in contrast to Samsung’s Galaxy S8, which retains a minimal bezel to house the camera and associated components.

The phone is constructed from titanium and ceramic, allowing it to survive a drop test “without blemish, unlike the aluminum competitor devices,” the company claims. Apart from the fingerprint sensor and camera lenses, the rear of the device also features a modular accessory system that works via a pair of magnetic pins.

Initially, the “Click” cordless connector pins will hook up to the company’s 360-degree camera and phone dock, with more modular products planned that Essential promises will “keep your phone cord-free, future-proof, and always up-to-date”. A USB-C connector at the bottom of the phone provides the only other connectivity; no headphone jack is included.

The Essential Phone is powered by a Qualcomm 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, and has 128GB of storage, while its 13-megapixel rear-mounted dual lens camera includes a monochrome sensor and supports 4K at 30 frames per second. The phone runs some form of Android, but the company promises no extraneous software is pre-installed. Available in black, grey, white, and “Ocean Depths” colors, the phone will launch in the U.S. later this summer and cost $699.

Onto the company’s new Amazon Echo competitor, the Essential Home. Details are still scant on the product, but here’s what we know. The intelligent assistant device has a relatively inconspicuous puck-like shape with a sloping top that’s dominated by a round touchscreen, which allows users to control music, ask general interest questions, set times, and control lights. It can be activated with a question, a tap, or even a “glance”, according to Essential, suggesting some form of face detection.

The Essential Home will run the company’s open platform Ambient OS, allowing it to interface with existing smart home products as well as SmartThings, HomeKit, Nest, and other popular standards. The intelligent assistant will also support notifications and reminders with contextual information displayed on-screen. Processing of user data is said to remain local to the device wherever possible. Pricing is yet to be announced, but the Essential Home is expected to ship later this summer.

Wired today published a write-up of Rubin’s new Essential venture that provides some interesting background on the company. You can read the article here.

Tag: Essential
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