‘King’ smartphone charges its 10,000mAh battery in three hours

Chinese phonemaker Oukitel is releasing a new Android phone June, according to The Verge and Android Headlines, and its slogan is apparently “To be the king.” You’ll be hard-pressed to recognize the device as “the king” when you see its specs. However, it does have one impressive feature: a 10,000 mAh battery that only takes three hours to charge, just like Oukitel’s $240 K10000 smartphone launched a couple of years ago. In fact, this one’s its direct successor called the K10000 Pro. The company showed the phone off at MWC this year, but it hasn’t officially announced its details and availability yet. We can probably expect to hear something similar to the 10 to 15 days per charge claim it made when it revealed the K10000, though.

One of the biggest issues with smartphones today is that manufacturers tend to load them with all sorts of features without giving their battery life the proper boost it needs. That why compared to most smartphone’s batteries today, 10,000 mAh is massive. Even Asus ZenFone Max only has 5,000 mAh. Google’s Pixel XL has a 3,450mAh battery, while Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus has 3,500 mAh. The downside is that the K10000 weighed a ton. This one is reportedly lighter at 292.5 grams, but it’s still much heavier than, say, the iPhone 7 Plus, which weighs 188 grams. Whether it can actually last 10 to 15 days is another story, but it’s worth noting Android Headlines got 24 hours of on-screen time out of it at MWC.

Despite its enormous power source, the K10000 Pro is far from the ideal phone we’ve all been dreaming of. According to The Verge and The Hans India it will sport a 5.5-inch 1080p Gorilla Glass display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and will be powered by a MediaTek octa-core 1.5Ghz processor. It’s definitely no tech titan flagship material. If you think it’s the perfect phone for camping trips, though, keep an eye out for Oukitel’s announcement.

Source: The Verge, The Hans India, Android Headlines

Amazon’s touchscreen Echo with video calling could launch this week

Amazon’s next Echo device will probably have a 7-inch touchscreen, and it could be announced within the next 24 hours.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon might announce a new Echo as early as 9 May. The device is expected to feature support for video calling. It might also support internet-based phone calls, sort of like how you can place calls through Skype. These calling features could be rolled out in stages, however, as Amazon is also testing intercom capabilities between other, existing Echo devices.

The new Echo will also support Alexa voice commands. It might also support some of the features found in the Echo Look, another Echo device Amazon announced earlier this month. That product, which helps you make fashion choices with the help of artificial intelligence, is currently available via an invite-only scheme, whereas the new touchscreen Echo will likely be widely available at launch.

• 12 best Amazon Echo compatible devices you can buy today
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• Amazon Echo: What can Alexa do and what services are compatible?

The WSJ seems to think Amazon will price the touchscreen Echo, images of which leaked out last week, at more than $200 (£154). Keep in mind the original Echo speaker launched in 2014 and currently sells for $149, while the Echo Tap and Echo Dot have cheaper price tags.

Amazon’s employees have been testing the new Echo for several months. It should start shipping in June.

• Buy Amazon Echo (UK), Buy Amazon Echo (US)
• Buy Amazon Echo Dot (UK), Buy Amazon Echo (US)
• Buy Amazon Echo Look (US)

Don’t expect a Surface Pro 5 from Microsoft anytime soon

Microsoft will not use its Shanghai event to announce a Surface Pro 5.

In an interview with CNET, Microsoft’s devices chief, Panos Panay, said Microsoft doesn’t plan to introduce a new Surface Pro 5 model until there’s “an experiential change that makes a huge difference in product line.” Panay explained a “meaningful change” doesn’t just mean the latest processor or a similar hardware upgrade. He also made it clear that “there’s no such thing as the Surface Pro 5” right now.

Earlier this month, Microsoft unveiled a new Surface Laptop at an education-focused event, and then a couple days later, it invited the media to another hardware event in Shanghai, sparking rumours that the company is planning to finally update its Surface Pro line, but now we know that’s officially not the case. Panay’s recent comments lead us to believe the Surface Pro 4 will be around for a while longer.

• Microsoft unveils the Surface Laptop, a Windows 10 S device
• What is Microsoft Windows 10 S?
• Windows 10 S is a streamlined version of Windows for education

“What I’m super, super sure of is that the people using a Pro 4 have a product that’s going to be competitive for five years,” Panay said. So, what does that mean? We think you shouldn’t expect a Surface Pro 5 anytime soon. But there may be some Surface news at Microsoft’s next event. Current reports even think Microsoft may refresh the Surface Pro 4 with Kaby Lake processors.

We’ll know for sure later this month.

Citymapper to trial its own smart bus transportation service in London

Citymapper, the popular route-planning app, now makes smart buses.

In an attempt to improve mobility in cities, it’s basically “reinventing the bus”. The company’s new buses are designed to collect route data, with the goal of helping improve public transportation around the city. It’s working with Transport for London on a trial in London. On May 9 and May 10, Citymapper will begin running the CMX1 on a circulator route around Blackfriars and Waterloo bridge.

It will use existing London bus stops, and arrival times will appear on the standard departure boards. Citymappers’ buses, however, are green and smaller than regular buses. They only have 30 seats. But passenger will have access to USB ports for charging their phones, while a screen toward the front of the bus will display the current location in real time as well as upcoming route stops on a map.

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The company plans to collect information for passengers and drivers and will analyse the harvested data to understand how people travel. Citymapper said it’s “reinventing the bus for the smart city era”. In fact, it’s reinventing “the entire software stack for running and operating a bus”. It’s built software for everything – “including real-time operational control to driver management to scheduling systems.”

CityMapper

Citymapper said it will eventually explain in more detail how smarter bus tech leads to better mobility and cities, but obviously, the main point is that it wants to “solve urgent problems of congestion and infrastructure.” It also wants to turn a profit. Speaking to Wired, Citymapper CEO Azmut Yusuf said: “This makes money. So we think if we can do this well, it will pay for itself.”

In other words, with this trial, Citymapper may be taking the first steps toward becoming a public transportation company.

Narrate your own commute with Waze Voice Recorder

You think you’re better at giving directions than John Cleese and Arnold Schwarzenegger? Well now’s your chance to prove it with the “Waze Voice Recorder”. Waze debuted the new feature on Monday, though it’s currently only available on Android and there’s no word on when it will be ported to iOS.

To put your vocal likeness in control of the directions, you’ll first have to open the app settings, tap on “Sound and Voice” then select the option to record a new voice. You’ll have to record a bunch of generic phrases first like numbers, “Turn Left” and “In 100 feet” first but after that, you’re free to customize the instructions as you see fit. While the potential uses for localization (and pranks) is nearly limitless, the feature is currently can’t be shared. So if you want to show off your fancy navigation voice, you’re going to need to go for a drive.

Source: Lifehacker

This video takes nature time lapses to a whole new realm — outer space

Why it matters to you

Most of us will probably never see thunderstorms from space — but this time lapse offers a glimpse from that vantage point.

Lightning storms and the Northern Lights are popular inspirations for time lapses, but capturing that same phenomenon from outer space puts the popular technique on an entirely new level. SmugMug Films recently compiled images from the International Space Station into several incredible time lapses that are designed to commemorate Nikon and its 100th anniversary by highlighting the brand’s presence aboard every manned NASA flight since 1971.

Using about 30 photos per second of footage, the time lapse highlights some of the incredible views from the space station’s cupola, the only spot from where astronauts can see the entire earth at once. From city lights at night to lightning flashes above the clouds, the time lapse offers a glimpse while speeding up Earth’s rotation to just a few seconds. The ISS only needs about 90 minutes to make a complete trip around the world.

Anton Lorimer, a SmugMug FIlms videographer, said the time lapse took about a week to compile, including gathering the photos and organizing the images. Finding the shots was one of his biggest challenges, since time lapses need to be shot from the same position over a period of time. With some help from NASA, Lorimer was able to locate enough photos for several time lapses from different perspectives, which he compiled into a single video.

Adjusting the images to get the best quality was also a challenge, said Lorimer, who was inspired to create the time lapses by an earlier film about astronaut and photographer Don Petit. “There were some time lapses already created in the NASA archives, but the quality of most were not up to par in terms of the image quality,” he said. “So, I decided to create my own time lapses using the original photos.”

The first Nikon entered outer space aboard Apollo 15 in 1971 — prior to that, NASA used large-format (70mm) film cameras, but found that something more portable was needed. That’s when the astronauts took up the Nikon Photomic FTN, chosen based on the company’s reputation for durability. Nikon says its cameras have been on every manned mission since, with the latest missions using the D4.

Those space cameras are the same models consumers can buy for themselves, Steve Heiner, Nikon’s senior technical manager, says, except the cameras mounted on the outside of the ISS are modified to withstand the extreme temperatures and zero-gravity conditions.

Nikon uses SmugMug for photo storage, a partnership that inspired the time lapse.

Parrot’s Bebop and Disco drones are reimagined with thermal, 3D capabilities

Why it matters to you

Parrot’s Disco and Bebop drones have added packages designed for 3D mapping, thermal imaging, and agricultural inspections, with a lower price for small businesses.

Parrot’s popular consumer drones, the Bebop and Disco, are getting a sleek upgrade with features like thermal imaging and 3D cameras. The company announced Monday, April 8, the launch of several new options, upgrading existing consumer drones for commercial use in agriculture, real estate and several other industries.

Industrial drones with cool cameras designed for things like thermal readings and 3D mapping aren’t new, but by modifying their consumer drones, Parrot is launching industrial-grade drones without the industrial-grade price or learning curve. The company is calling the solutions “end-to-end tools” that are reliable and affordable enough for small to midsized businesses.

The Bebop, a small but affordable consumer drone, is getting even more flexibility with two new package options. The first is the Bebop Pro Thermal which adds a thermal camera to the Bebop Pro, designed for inspection and construction trades as well as for fire departments. The kit adds a FLIR One Pro camera as well as a thermal app, which gives an aerial heat map view in real time.

The second variation on the Bebop adds the software to enable the drone to create 3D maps from the air. The Parrot Bebop Pro 3D Modeling includes the Bebop 2 drone as well as a one-year license of the Pix4DModel software that allows the drone to create interactive 3D models. The package is being targeted towards real estate professionals, architects, craftsmen and property insurance brokers.

The Parrot Disco

The Disco, Parrot’s glider-style drone, has also been reimagined, but for agriculture. The Parrot Disco Pro AG is designed with sensors and analytic software to map crops, quickly determining data on how well the crops are faring. The package includes the drone along with the Skycontroller 2, Pix4Dcapture app, a one-year license to Airinov First, three batteries and a backpack to put it all in.

The commercial modifications are the result of the company’s shifting focus to commercial drones, a move the company shared earlier this year along with cutting a third of it’s workforce but something that has been in the works since 2012 through a mix of acquisitions and investments, including the Airinov and Pix4D software used in the latest announcements.

Leave your life jacket on shore and swim safely with this inflatable collar

Why it matters to you

Ploota is neck-worn device that could save your life from drowning if you’re under water for more than 30 seconds.

When you drive a car, you put a seat belt on. When you go cycling, you wear a helmet. But unless you’re a kid young enough to swim with inflatable water wings, there is not really an equivalent when you go swimming.

That is what a new Kickstarter campaign for a product called the Ploota wants to change. Ploota is a neck-worn device that deploys airbags filled with CO2, designed to keep a person’s head upright, if they’re under water for more than 30 seconds. Just don’t forget about it and decide to challenge a buddy to a breath-holding contest!

“Back in 2014, two close family members of mine almost drowned in the ocean during a holiday in South Africa,” creator Rainer Fakesch told Digital Trends. “Only with luck and a huge effort did they manage to reach the shore after 30 minutes of struggling. The next year, I read in a German newspaper that during the first two summer weeks, nine people drowned in a lake. They were mostly good swimmers, but they didn’t make it back to the shore. That was the initial spark that made me start developing Ploota.”

According to the World Health Organization, 372,000 people per year die from drowning around the world. That is significantly more than the 265,000 casualties caused by fire and smoke. However, while billions of dollars and countless laws address the importance of making buildings safer in the event of fire, the budget for drowning prevention is virtually zero.

At the time of writing, Ploota is one-fifth of the way toward raising its 50,000 euros ($55,000) funding target, with 44 days remaining.

A single Ploota can be pre-ordered for around $70, although other price tiers are available. The inflating mechanism is achieved using a single-use CO2 cartridge, although these can be easily swapped out. The airbags can also easily be deflated and tucked back inside the casing.

Shipping is set to take place in October.

Have a PC? Play ‘Quake Champions’ during 10-day open tech test

Why it matters to you

PC gamers eager to get their hands on the multiplayer-only Quake Champions game can gain access for 10 days straight without the need for an invite code.

Quake Champions will be opened to all PC gamers from May 12 to 21, Bethesda said on Monday. The company is calling this event its Large Scale Tech Test, and an access code will not be required to play. The game will remain open to play 24/7 during the 10-day event.

Because the Large Scale Tech Test will be open to anyone, players of Quake Champions won’t be bound to a nondisclosure agreement. This will allow all players to stream, capture, and share anything regarding the upcoming shooter. Up until May 12, Bethesda is exclusively providing all information regarding Quake Champions.

In addition to the upcoming open beta, players new and old to Quake Champions will experience a new 4v4 team-based mode called “Sacrifice.” Bethesda doesn’t say much about this new mode other than that players will form teams and choose a Champion “to work together to dominate the Arenas.” It will join the current Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes.

Throughout the closed beta process that began on April 6, Bethesda sent out additional access codes to hopeful PC gamers each week. The Large Scale Tech Test will be the first time Bethesda throws open the Quake Champions doors to any willing PC gamer, so expect some initial delays.

Content-wise, there doesn’t appear to be anything new in regard to maps and Champions heading into the Large Scale Tech Test. The map list still consists of Blood Covenant, Ruins of Sarnath, and Burial Chamber.  The Champions roster includes Ranger, Galena, Scalebearer, Slash, Nyx, Clutch, and Anarki.

Bethesda’s Quake Champions is a multiplayer-only game for the PC that carries the torch passed on by Quake III Arena/Quake Live. It incorporates the multiplayer characters from Quake, Quake II, and Quake III Arena while introducing new “Champions” to the Quake mythos. The three maps introduced so far indicate that id Software will be heavy-handed in the Cthulhu-inspired gothic environmental design.

The first Quake hit the PC gaming scene in June 1996,and was one of the first titles to rely on polygons instead of traditional, flat sprites. Players take on the role of Ranger in “Operation Counterstrike” to take down an alien code-named Quake (aka, Shub-Niggurath). Its invasion is the result of humans tampering with teleportation technology.

Quake’s didn’t find huge success in the single-player campaign, but in its multiplayer capability. While players could battle each other in both multiplayer and campaign maps on a network, they could also play strangers online. Of course, the technology was in its infancy at the time partially due to the dependence on quirky dial-up modems, but Quake’s huge multiplayer success opened the doors to other games following down the online path, including Quake II and Quake III Arena.

Quake Champions is slated to arrive in 2017, and with the Large Scale Tech Test starting May 12, the game appears close to hitting retail. It will follow Quake 4, released in 2005, which was handled by Heretic/Hexen developer Raven Software.

MSI and SteelSeries partner to keep all of your gaming PC’s RBG lights in sync

Why it matters to you

PC ganers can now keep the RGB lighting on their SteelSeries keyboard and mouse in sync with their MSI motherboard.

If you’re building a gaming PC, then chances are you’ll want some color to go with all that power. Nothing adds color like LED lighting, and nothing makes that lighting more exciting than synchronizing effects across various system components.

A number of companies have technology that keeps lighting in sync between, say, a motherboard, GPU, and case. Now, there’s a partnership between two separate companies, MSI and SteelSeries, to get their RGB lighting technology in sync as well.

Specifically, MSI and SteelSeries are utilizing the latter’s SteelSeries Engine3 (SSE3) software to control the RGB lighting on MSI’s Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard. There’s no word in the companies’ announcement on whether any of MSI’s other motherboards will be plugged into SSE3.

The Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard offers RGB lighting across a number of components, including the I/O cover and heat sink. The LED lights offer up to 16.8 million colors and 17 effects, and can be controlled by MSI’s own Mystic Light app that runs on PCs, smartphones, and tablets. Some of the effects that can be enabled including breathing, wave, flashing, meteor, lighting, and rainbow.

Some of the functionality enabled by the partnership allows the SSE3 application to control the colors and effects of the MSI lights via macros and key/button bindings. Once the MSI motherboard is synced, it can work in parallel to the lighting provided on SteelSeries peripherals such as gaming keyboards and mice.

SSE3 provides a number of features, including PrismSync and GameSense. The latter feature allows users to use RGB lighting effects to indicate in-game situations such as health status and the amount of ammunition available. Some of the SteelSeries products that support SSE3 are the Rival 700 gaming mouse and the Apex M500 keyboard.

Using the SteelSeries integration doesn’t stop gamers from also making use of MSI’s own RGB lighting software. Rather, it’s just another way to allow gamers to customize their gaming rigs and gain access to new ways to keep up with their gaming status.