Europe’s top court advised to treat Uber like a taxi company

Uber is a service that enables people to get from one place to another, but don’t you dare call it a taxi company. That way lies a whole mess of burdensome regulations that the startup has fought tooth-and-nail to avoid. Unfortunately, Travis Kalanick and co. may not be able to get away with the ruse much longer in Europe, as a senior expert has suggested that Uber might just be in the transport business.

The European Court of Justice is being asked to decide on a case between Uber and a body representing taxi drivers in Barcelona. Like many other taxi bodies around the world, the Asociación Profesional Elite Taxi believes that Uber operates as unfair competition. A Spanish commercial court, hearing the complaint, referred parts of the case to the higher, European court, which will rule on it later this summer.

Before the hearing, a question was referred to one of the court’s advocate generals, Maciej Szpunar to weigh in on. He was asked to determine what Uber’s business model was, since Uber positions itself much like so many of those gussied-up hotel-booking platforms. As such, it shouldn’t be bound by the same rules on background checks, safety and insurance. In his opinion, however, Uber is not simply a way for people to connect to drivers, but something far more meaningful.

Szpunar believes that Uber drivers “do not pursue an autonomous activity that is independent of the platform,” and wouldn’t even be Uber drivers without Uber. Secondly, Uber “imposes conditions” on its drivers that go beyond the hands-off approach of so many e-commerce platforms. Szpunar also points out that Uber hands bonuses to drivers who perform well and, conversely, excludes low-performing drivers.

All of these, in Szpunar’s opinion, means that the company “cannot be regarded as a mere intermediary between drivers and passengers.” In addition, the fact that its reason for being is to move people from one place to another, so it’s a transportation company. Put simply, if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck, no matter how hard Travis Kalanick says otherwise.

We’ve probably explained hundreds of times by now that these advisory documents are not binding decisions. But, opinions like this are often used by the court to make its judgments and frequently reflect how the court is thinking. So while, for now, Uber can continue to go about its business, plenty of eyes will be pointed towards Europe to see what the judges decide.

Source: Europa (.PDF)

Jobs Biographer Walter Isaacson: Apple ‘No Longer the Most Innovative Company’

Walter Isaacson, the biographer of Steve Jobs, went on record this week to express his belief that Google and Amazon have overtaken Apple to become the most innovative technology companies of the modern day.

The Aspen Institute CEO and writer of the best-selling biography made the frank remarks in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” show, during which he singled out Apple’s lack of movement in the virtual assistant space as an example of where the company had been left behind.

Image via CNBC

“Apple is no longer the most innovative of companies,” Isaacson said. “But they are good at execution. The innovation in the virtual assistant space, for example, is coming from Google and Amazon, not Apple.”

Isaacson said he was “surprised” that Apple hasn’t moved its virtual assistant Siri into the home and claimed that he frequently used both Amazon’s Echo speaker and Google Home. “Sometimes I let them compete,” he said.

Apple is expected to release a smart speaker with Siri integration soon, possibly as early as next month at WWDC. However, Isaacson thinks it could be too late for the company to catch up in that space, and suggested Apple should at other areas in which to innovate.

“You could have a great company — and Apple is a great company — without having really a next big thing, but it isn’t in Apple’s DNA to be that way,” said Isaacson.

Related Roundup: Siri Smart Speaker
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Steve Jobs Opera Coming to California and Washington After Santa Fe Premiere in July

An opera exploring the life of the late Steve Jobs has won the financial backing of opera companies in San Francisco and Seattle, ensuring the musical production will be shown in the Apple co-founder’s home state of California (via CBS SF Local).

The partnerships were announced on Tuesday, ahead of the premiere of “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” this July at the Sante Fe Opera’s open-air summer stage, in the foothills of New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The opera is a “deeply layered, moving portrayal of a man grappling with the complex priorities of life, family and work,” according to San Francisco opera general manager Matthew Shilvock, who called Jobs “a real person and a member of our community”.

“This is not an opera about technology, although it will be the highest technology production that we’ve ever done,” said Charles MacKay, general director of the Santa Fe Opera. “It is an opera about relationships, and it is an opera about human frailties. He could be a very difficult man.”

The opera has been composed by electronica DJ Mason Bates and written by librettist Mark Campbell. Accompaniments include a live orchestra, guitar, natural sounds, and expressive electronics. The co-commission from the Seattle Opera and the San Francisco Opera will cover artistic creation of the opera as well as its physical stage production, and guarantee their right to stage performances beyond Santa Fe in California and Washington, although it could take a few years before that happens because of the time it takes to schedule opera calendars.

Since his death in 2011, Jobs’ personal and professional life has been the subject of several books, documentaries, and films. MacKay said Jobs provides the “sort of heroic, tragic figure” that operas have explored for centuries, and hopes the performances may lure new and younger audiences to metropolitan opera houses.
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TSMC Begins Production of A11 Processor After Initial Manufacturing Issues Resolved

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has commenced production of Apple’s A11 processor, according to a new report by DigiTimes. The chip is expected to power the company’s redesigned OLED “iPhone 8”, scheduled to launch in the fall.

TSMC is the sole supplier of A11 chips, which could also make their way into the upgraded “S” cycle models of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and potentially upcoming iPad refreshes this year, too.

TSMC originally aimed to start producing the chip in April with a view to completing 50 million units by July, but production was delayed because of issues in the 10-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process. However, those problems have now been solved, according to today’s report.

TSMC has begun 10nm chip production for Apple’s next-generation iPhone 8 series, the sources said. Production was once affected by issues involving stacking components in the backend integrated fan-out packaging process, but they have already been solved, the sources said.

Apart from faster A11 processors, all three rumored iPhone models may include glass bodies and wireless charging (though rumors disagree on this point). It is unclear if the two LCD models will feature the same edge-to-edge display rumored for the higher-end device and what other features will be included.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested that production issues could result in a “severe” shortage of Apple’s upcoming “tenth anniversary” OLED iPhone in the months following its rumored September launch, but other sources claim production is on schedule.

TSMC was also the sole maker of the A10 chip in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which helped lead the chip maker to revenue growth towards the end of 2016.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tags: TSMC, A11 chip
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The TReGo turns your bike into a cargo trike

Why it matters to you

TReGo looks like the perfect solution if you ever need to transport heavy loads by bike.

Now here’s a neat idea for cyclists who sometimes want to carry loads that are too heavy for a backpack.

It’s called the TReGo, and it transforms just about any adult bicycle into a very handy cargo trike.

TReGo is the brainchild of Israel-based Ofir Yadan. The industrial designer and keen cyclist spent the last four years working through a dozen prototypes before finally launching it on Kickstarter this week.

The trolley, which includes an aluminum rack to hold your load, attaches quickly to the front of your bike via the unique “Fast Connector” — no tools needed. The system can handle anything weighing up to 40 pounds, making it perfect for a big trip to the supermarket or for carrying all your barbecue stuff to a nearby park or beach.

TReGo

And here’s a cool feature: When you arrive at your destination, you can detach the TReGo and pull it around like a regular cart or trolley, great if you need to collect or drop off a heavy load that you’re not keen on carrying. Oh, and when you detach the trolley, the Fast Connector acts as a bike stand so you don’t have to waste time looking for a post or wall to lean your bike against.

The TReGo’s two 16-inch wheels tilt when you turn, giving you a dynamic and agile riding experience, while its hydraulic disc brakes are part of the trolley and controlled by a separate brake lever that attaches quickly and easily to your handlebars.

The team is also working on additional designs, such as a baby carrier for the front and a towing cart attachable to the back of the bike that can handle an even heavier load of 88 pounds, though if there are inclines on your journey you’ll want to be sure your legs up to the job.

Providing the Kickstarter project reaches its $80,000 funding goal and the production schedule goes to plan, a $635 pledge — half the expected retail price — will get you the basic system, including that Fast Connector and rack. Pledge $700 and you’ll get the above plus the 10-gallon TReGo bag, marking a 50 percent saving on the retail price. Shipping is estimated for December, 2017.

Check out the video above to see the TReGo in action, or hop over to its Kickstarter page for more details.

This video render shows just how gorgeous the iPhone 8 could be

The iPhone 8, Apple’s supposed special edition to mark 10 years of the iPhone, has, unsurprisingly, been subject to its fair share of leaks and rumours. From those leaks, digital artists are able to come with renders to show what it could look like.

• Apple iPhone in pictures: Renders and leaked photos
• Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus: What’s the story so far?

The latest one, from notable leakster @OnLeaks, who has collaborated with GearIndia, gives us our closest look at the iPhone 8 yet, and boy, what a phone it could be.

The video has been created based on leaked CAD drawings, and shows a front screen with minimal bezels and no home button. We’ve heard contradicting reports to suggest Apple will lose the front-mounted Touch ID sensor and will instead embed it into the display, or at least have a multi-function panel at the bottom of the screen.

However other reports suggest the Touch ID sensor will be moved to the rear panel, in a similar move to Samsung with the Galaxy S8. This particular video sides with the former, as the rear panel is completely clear, save for a protruding camera.

• Apple iPhone 8 to come with “revolutionary” facial recognition front-camera system
• Great iPhone 8 schematic shows Apple’s next phone with edge-to-edge display
• This latest iPhone 8 schematic shows rear-mounted Touch ID sensor

The camera has been placed vertically, which ties in with previous rumours. This is because Apple is expected to fit a speaker, front-facing camera and a 3D depth sensor along the top of the front of the phone, which will take up space. Because Apple is expected to fit the iPhone 8 with a dual rear-camera, it therefore has to be placed vertically, with a flash in between both sensors.

Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR review: Great multi-sport watch misses a beat

The biggest claim with the Spartan Sport Wrist HR is that it’s the first watch with heart-rate that Suunto has produced. While it joins a family of capable devices, that removes the need for a chest strap, making it appealing to a wider range of athletes.

That’s a general trend across the industry and although heart-rate chest straps are more accurate, the convenience of a wrist-based tracking system seems to be winning. Cases in point: Polar is also shifting heart-rate reading to the wrist, as is Garmin.

That sees the Spartan Sport Wrist HR multi-sport watch up against some serious opposition from those established rivals, as Suunto looks to make a bigger impression. Does it succeed?

Suunto Sport Wrist HR review: Spartan design

• 50 x 50 x 16.8mm
• 100m waterproofing
• Available in black, blue, pink colours

Suunto’s history lies in navigation, from conventional compasses evolving to the wrist-worn compass favoured by divers. There’s still a hint of the compass in the design of the Spartan watches, with the bezel having four nubbins around the dial that remind us of compass points.

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We’ll come to the actual digital compass functions later, but from a design point of view, it’s worth noting that this is a large watch, about 16.8mm thick and with a diameter across the body of about 50mm. There’s a chunky but comfortable strap and despite the size, the watch only weighs 74g. 

In sports watch terms that’s large, but it’s not alone in that sense: the Garmin Forerunner 920 XT is similarly large, while the incoming replacement for that watch, the Forerunner 935 is only a few millimetres smaller in all directions.

We found the Suunto felt good to wear and have been happily wearing it for a month without the size worrying us. If you like smaller watches or have smaller wrists, then you might want to look elsewhere.

But the size brings an advantage: it’s easy to press the three right-hand buttons on the move, so the Spartan avoids being too fiddly. It’s touch-enabled too, but there’s a lean towards the buttons for stopping and starting activities, as well as confirming selections.

That bezel is stainless steel for protection, sitting atop a polyamide body with a mineral glass display. Available in a number of colours, we suspect the Blue or Sakura versions will fare better than the black in this regard.

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The only downside we’ve found is of the silicone strap: it likes to collect dust and debris, so we’ve found ourselves rinsing it off regularly, or it always looks messy. Not that rinsing or, indeed, submerging is an issue: the Spartan is waterproof to 100m, so is suitable for divers and generally happy in all conditions.

Suunto Sport Wrist HR review: Display and visibility 

• Round 360 x 360 pixel display
• Custom watch faces and colour modes
• Touch-enabled; plus three-button control

Having a big display means you can easily see a lot of information, which is generally what athletes want. You don’t want to have to swipe through a lot of screens to see the important stuff, most of which is presented on the main sports screen.

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For running, that means time, distance, pace and heart rate are displayed, with the option to swipe through to further different information. For swimming there’s distance and time, for example, to keep things simpler while in the water. Tapping the display will pop-up battery and current time, the latter a metric we always like – “is it time to go home yet?” “No, keep running”.

There are multiple additional screens, too, including routing, averages rather than current stats, plus things like a heart-rate graph that long distance users might find useful (but it’s fairly difficult to interpret when you’re on the move and tired out).

You can also lock the display and buttons, so that if you’re doing something where buttons might get pushed or the screen swiped by accident, you can lock it to a single display with a long press of the bottom button. When that’s done, any button press will then illuminate the display so you can see your data.

One option we particularity like is being able to choose light or dark themes. Not only does this cater for personal preference, it means you can pick the setting that gives you the best visibility for the conditions you’re exercising in. We find the light theme suits us better during activities, returning to a dark theme when not actually training.

There’s a backlight, too, which will dim leaving an “always on” state, waking up when you press a button. If the watch is off your wrist and doesn’t move, the screen will turn off completely, which no doubt helps that 10-day casual battery life.

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The display is colour, but it doesn’t make a huge use of the available palette. Some colours are used for highlights here and there, with the main use of colour to present graphs of your workout, or in big red or green banners to indicate which button is for pause and which is for stopping a workout.

The screen’s 360 x 360 pixel resolution is fairly high as these devices go, but the Suunto Spartan Sport display doesn’t attempt to give you the sort of visuals the Apple Watch will, preferring to keep things simple. There’s a choice of watch faces, but nothing hugely exciting, giving you the option of analogue-style hands or digital number readout, plus a steps count should you wish.

Suunto Sport Wrist HR review: A watch for all sports and your recovery

• Pre-loaded sports profiles
• Estimates for VO2 max and EPOC
• Recovery times suggested
• Supports intervals

Many of the watches we look at are designed primarily for running first, perhaps adapting that for cycling and walking, along with giving you a selection of other activities. The Suunto Spartan watches position themselves as devices for the multi-sport athlete and come with a comprehensive list of pre-installed activities.

When setting up your profile you can add or remove the activities that you do regularly, so that the watch only contains what you need, and you don’t have to flick past martial arts, frisbee or cross-country skiing to get to what you’re actually going to do. Also on the list is orienteering, adventure racing, obstacle racing and triathlon – meaning you’re well covered, no matter what your sport of choice. 

We like that there are different types of running and swimming, different options for indoor cycling or running, and the unusual stuff you can add when you’re on holiday – like stand-up paddle boarding, for example.

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For some, the Suunto will basically be bought as a heart-rate tracking device, just to keep track of what happens to your heart during a session, but at least when you look back at your stats you’ll know that your weight training session is tagged as such, so the data is valid, and you don’t have to put in a hike as a run and skew all your data.

As has been the trend across a lot of devices recently, the Spartan Sport will give you VO2 max and EPOC figures in the summary of your workout, plus your estimated recovery time. This last of these is useful (Polar gives you similar feedback in Polar Flow) because it serves as a reminder about the impact that the workout is having on your body, helping beginners pick the right intensity and more experienced users avoid over training. Recovery is based on averages, so those who are super-fit might find that they recover faster than the watch recommends.

Within all the different activities it’s possible to set intervals (where distance is being measured) and these are easy to set from the start of a new activity.

Suunto Sport Wrist HR review: Heart-rate tracking, but not the best 

• Optical heart-rate sensor on wrist
• Lifestyle heart rate tracking through the day

The Spartan Sport Wrist HR’s big focus is that heart-rate sensor on the rear. This means there’s a small bump on the inside to press the optical sensors against the skin. That might sound uncomfortable, but it’s standard practise now and perfectly comfortable to wear.

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Generally speaking, optical heart-rate sensors on the wrist aren’t as accurate as those you wear as a chest strap – the latter being what the sister model, the Spartan Sport, uses. Typically, there can be some extraneous results or a response time that’s slower than chest straps.

In the case of the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR we got quick heart-rate detection, but some fairly inconsistent results, including occasional extreme highs, like running at over 180bpm at the start of a run (and sometimes peaking into the 190s, which suggests that the sensor can get a little confused – we definitely weren’t running that hard). Through our testing this trend of peaking at the start and then taking time to settle back down to expected averages became the norm.

Looking across results from the past runs, the Suunto certainly looks higher than our average. To verify this, we set it against a chest strap Garmin and the traditional method of taking our pulse against the clock and found that the Spartan was running high. The average is 10bpm higher, but there are peaks at the beginning that are anomalous (Suunto top, Garmin bottom in the graphs below over the same run).

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That’s the biggest weakness of this device: if the heart-rate reading won’t settle, then it’s not great for those who want to run in particular zones or are focusing on heart-rate training. It also means that things like your recovery time estimate and other stats will be out too. 

In addition to tracking your heart rate during exercise, the Sport Wrist HR will also trace your heart rate during the rest of the day. This is a move – along with step-tracking – to add a lifestyle element to the device. You can wear it all day and it’s doing more than just providing the time. This regular heart-rate tracking will give you a means to examine your resting heart rate and see how active you are during the day.

You can also pair the watch with a chest strap if you prefer. While some won’t see the benefit of a strap, one thing that it will give you is sensor memory if you use the Suunto Smart Sensor – i.e. the strap can remember and transfer your heart-rate data for your session, so if it gets disconnected it still records – but the point of this type of device is to avoid having to wear that strap around your chest in the first place.

Suunto Sport Wrist HR review: GPS tracking, digital compass and navigation

• GPS & GLONASS, GPS altitude, digital compass
• GPS accuracy modes to extend battery life

With GPS onboard, the Spartan Sport Wrist HR is poised and ready to track your activity. Like heart-rate detection, the GPS is fairly quick to locate the watch and we found that hopping from UK to Spain didn’t cause it much of a problem: it found the new location in about a minute after a big move and then locked on in about 15 seconds thereafter. You can also start running/timing before the device locks on, if you really can’t wait, although your route will only be traced once it picks up the location.

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One of the interesting details is that you can change the GPS accuracy – the trio of options are OK, Good, Best – and switch GLONASS on or off. This gives you some choice over how important GPS is to your workout – do you need the exact route, or is a general idea of the distance ok? At the Best setting data is captured every second and the GPS stays at full power. At Good it still logs every second, but is in low power mode between logging. At OK level, GPS is only captured every minute, so is probably best for walking.

This all has a big impact on battery life, with Best giving you eight hours of tracking, dropping to 12 hours at Good and 30 hours at OK. As there’s no altimeter, that information also has to come from GPS, and if accurate height changes are needed, then you’re best off sticking to the Best setting. 

We chose that Best setting and found that the performance was good in open areas, being accurate enough to reflect things like crossing to the other side of the road. As you approach built-up areas some of that keen accuracy is lost for the precise route, but that’s normal. We also found the distance readouts to be as expected, which for many is the important thing. Lap notifications can be given every kilometre, with a brief summary of your performance.

Under the navigation section you can also access the compass for directional guidance, but perhaps more useful is the ability to find your location (coordinates) and save that as a POI (point of interest). These can be named with things like home, hotel, camp, big game and a lot more, meaning you can find your way back to something, which is useful if you’re exploring a strange location.

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Aside from POIs, you can also add and create routes using the Movescount companion website. These can be evolved from your own runs, community sourced, meaning you can search in an area and adopt someone else’s route, or you can upload GPX files for particular routes – like long walks, for example.

The great thing about using your own routes is that you can add them to the route planner and change them on the map, perhaps to make it up to a distance you want to hit. All of this is relatively easy to do through the website, adding some skills that other watches don’t offer. In addition, there’s breadcrumb route tracking – which gives a detailed view and an overview, so you can find your way back to familiar ground by simply swiping to the navigation screen during an activity – so if you head out into the wilds you can find your way back.

Overall, the GPS tracking and route functions are a highlight of the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR.

Suunto Sport Wrist HR review: Movescount and a lacking app experience

• Movescount desktop and app experience
• Smartphone syncing and notifications
• Can link to Strava and other services

With it being 2017, any device is part of a connected experience. That’s true of the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR, which will sync to your phone, letting you view your results in the Movescount app. This app reflects some of the desktop experience visually, which makes the app rather fiddly. It’s a poor cousin to the likes of Polar Flow or Garmin Connect, with Suunto’s opening page showing you a loose barchart of activity.

The information is all in this app, from the details of your workouts to maps of your routes, but the app is really serving two purposes: it’s a home for your data; and a smartphone app for tracking more workouts, should you be carrying your phone rather than using a dedicated watch.

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Examining what you’ve done is ok – although the watch will give you that information too – but the maps section of the app seems wasteful. It will show you where you are as well as give you a heat map for other Suunto users’ activity. You can’t do anything with that information. On the website you can look at the map and find a route that someone else has logged and run it, but in the app you can’t. That seems like a missed trick: what better than arrive in a new city and be able to instantly find a route, send it to your watch and start running?

We’ve also had some syncing problems with the app. We can’t tell if these are platform related (is it an Android problem?) or related to particular devices (a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S8+ were slow, a Pixel XL was fine), or just a general issue with establishing connections. We’ve had some phones that would take 10 minutes before anything would appear – in most cases we’d give up. More recently we’ve found it getting faster – so perhaps this is a problem that’s been fixed?

You can connect Movecount to other services, such as Strava, and we’ve found that you can also connect to Movescount with other services, although it’s not as immediately willing to share as something like Garmin Connect.

Finally there are smartphone notifications as an option, which are accompanied by a little buzz. This will let you know if you have incoming messages and alerts, with the ability (on Android) to turn off those you don’t want. Sounds great, but we found it to be very inconsistent, often going for days without anything, then hitting us with a whole load. Again, this sounds like some sort of connectivity problem between the watch and phone.

Verdict

The Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR has a lot going for it. It’s a fully-feature activity watch, covering a lot of sports and giving you lots of sensible options to track your activities. The Spartan also gives you some of the strongest route tracking and management options around, making this a device that’s perhaps more appealing to the outdoorsman than the out-and-out runner. 

That’s compounded by the fact that the new wrist-based heart-rate sensor can be inconsistent in its tracking and, in our experience, more so than many rivals. Devices like the TomTom Adventurer, while not as all-encompassing, will deliver a better experience. So if heart rate is important to your training, you might be better with the Suunto Spartan Sport along with a chest strap – but there’s still a chance that the the Wrist HR’s performance can be bettered through software refinement.

The Suunto app is also a little lacking compared to Garmin and Polar rivals and could easily be evolved to give you more.

At its core, the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR is a great device. It has good battery life, lots of sensible options and is comfortable and enjoyable to use. However, that heart-rate tracking needs to be more consistent to take on the established rivals, especially at this price level.

The alternatives to consider…

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TomTom Adventurer

The TomTom Adventurer is similarly pitched at a wide range of activities, but with the great outdoors in mind. It offers many similar functions to the Spartan Sport Wrist HR and while it’s less well equipped for some of the navigation options, it delivers much better on heart rate and also offers a barometer for more accurate altitude readings.

The Adventurer also supports on-board music and can be connected to Bluetooth headphones, making it a slightly better choice for those who want it mainly for running. Like the Spartan, the app isn’t the most sophisticated and it doesn’t offer smartphone notifications. It is cheaper at around £210.

Read the full article: TomTom Adventurer review

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Garmin Fenix 5

Garmin goes after the great outdoors with the Fenix 5 and while the companies forthcoming Forerunner 935 will suit the sports set better, the Fenix is designed for those wanting rugged outdoor protection, solidity of build and great battery life. This is paired with great performance from the GPS and heart rate sensor and all pooling into the Garmin Connect app.

The downside is that the Fenix 5 is probably the most costly of sports devices you’ll find, but it does manage to have an air of elegance about it, looking good with its premium design whether you’re up a mountain or pointing at a flip chart.

Read the full article: Garmin Fenix 5 review

Teams are abandoning ‘Overwatch’ before its official league debuts

Yesterday, Blizzard announced that it had formed a dedicated eSports division within the company. It will operate under the name Major League Gaming, the organization bought by the studio in 2015, and run the official Overwatch League (OWL) and World Cup. But several major eSports teams have started abandoning the game ahead of the competitive league’s launch. Some of which did, reportedly, because it costs $20 million to franchise an official team.

That’s the figure sources told ESPN, which might even be higher in large markets like New York City or Los Angeles. Compare that to a spot in the League Championship Series for Riot’s League of Legends, one of which sold for $1.8 million last December. Five esports organizations announced they will stop fielding teams for Overwatch in the last week; a statement from one player on Team SoloMid’s roster for the game admitted that the cost of entering OWL was a factor in disbanding its team.

CompLexity Gaming’s statement outright stated that the game’s competitive scene was in too much of a “transitional phase” for them to keep a live roster. They also noted a “narrow field” of events limited competition, which was also a factor in professional gaming organization Splyce giving up their Overwatch team. Denial Esports has apparently also released their squad, as has Red Reserve.

Blizzard originally planned to launch OWL at its annual BlizzCon event in late 2017. The league is set up like the NFL or NBA, with teams centered in large cities. We’ve reached out to Blizzard and will update when we hear back.

Source: ESPN

Russian blogger found guilty of playing ‘Pokémon Go’ in church

A Russian judge has found a Russian YouTuber guilty of inciting hatred for posting antireligious videos after he filmed himself playing Pokémon Go in a church. Ruslan Sokolovsky, a 22-year-old man from the Ural mountain city of Yekaterinburg (around 1,000 miles east of Moscow), has yet to be sentenced — a ruling is expected later today — but he could face up to five years in jail for “offending religious sensibilities.”

Sokolovsky posted footage of him catching Pokémon in the Yekaterinburg’s Church of All Saints back in August 2016. The video was posted in response to the government imposing tougher penalties on people judged to have purposely insulted the feelings of believers in places of religious worship.

“Who can ever be offended by you walking around a church with your smartphone?” he asked at the start of his video. “Why the f*ck would they lock you up for that?” A few weeks after it went live on YouTube, Sokolovsky was awoken by police who had accessed his apartment using keys from his landlord and arrested. He was then placed under house arrest until his court appearance.

Prosecutors have lobbied for at least a three-year sentence for Sokolovsky under the new religious laws, but it could stretch to five. It is thought to be the same Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code that helped prosecute Russian punk band Pussy Riot.

Human rights organization Amnesty International has lobbied for Sokolovsky’s release, arguing that the punishment and the law is a restriction on free speech. In September 2016 alone, over 14,000 people had contacted the Russian authorities demanding he be set free.

Source: BBC News

EA Announces ‘The Sims Mobile’ Coming Soon to iOS

EA has announced a new free-to-play version of The Sims is coming to iPhone and iPad, six years after The Sims Freeplay – a simplified version of the original – launched on the mobile platform.

Called The Sims Mobile, the game looks like it will be the closest mobile approximation yet of the hit franchise, being based on The Sims 4 “legacy challenge” mode, in which players build and maintain a family across generations according to a set of self-imposed rules.

Like other games in the franchise, players will guide sims through life, establishing relationships, building homes, advancing through careers, and conquering goals.

Not much else has been revealed about the title beyond the fact that it will feature social elements, allowing players to become “virtual” best friends with their real-life friends. But the trailer for the game does show that it will include classic Sims mechanics, allowing players to design their characters and customize their home.

The Sims 4 on Mac and PC continues to have a healthy fanbase. Yesterday EA revealed that the game’s number of monthly active users jumped 33 percent year on year.

The Sims Mobile for both iOS and Android launches in Brazil today and should start rolling out globally soon after.

(via The Verge.)
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