Sony’s super-high-end Xperia XZ Premium goes on sale in the U.S. June 12 for $799

Sony just keeps doing its thing, launching high-end phones with ultra-high prices.

Coming in pretty close to initial leaks, Sony has announced that its ultra-high-end flagship Xperia XZ Premium will launch in the U.S. unlocked on June 12 with an unsurprisingly high price of $799. There will be one week of pre-orders from Amazon and Best Buy before it fully launches on June 19.

Even though it’s been over three months since Sony announced the new flagship — and therefore flagships from Samsung, LG, HTC and more have since launched — it still has an impressive spec sheet. If you’re willing to drop the cash, the Xperia XZ Premium is offering a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage (plus SD card), a 3230mAh battery, IP68 waterproofing and of course that ridiculously dense 5.5-inch 4K display. The XZ Premium also has a new 19MP camera with 960 fps slow-motion video.

More: Complete Sony Xperia XZ Premium specs

Big money gets you a whole lot of specs, but still not a fingerprint sensor.

Despite its high-end price, the frustration of not having a fingerprint sensor in the U.S. version of Sony phones continues with the XZ Premium. It’s pretty much inexcusable at this point, but as previously discussed this is likely a contractual issue that Sony is stuck with for the time being. Considering that the near-identical phone is on sale in the UK and Europe with a fingerprint sensor, we’re likely looking at the same sort of situation as previous Xperia phones where the fingerprint hardware is there and Sony is disabling it in software.

For all of the quirks of Sony’s U.S. phone strategy, it has managed to figure out distribution properly. The Xperia XZ Premium will be available from all of the big electronics retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s and more starting on June 12.

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Press release:

SONY ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY FOR FLAGSHIP XPERIA™ XZ PREMIUM AND INTERACTIVE XPERIA™ TOUCH FOR THE UNITED STATES

Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) is pleased to announce that Xperia XZ Premium will be available for pre-order on Amazon and Best Buy beginning June 12, 2017 and can be purchased unlocked starting June 19, 2017 in the United States through Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s and other participating retailers for a suggested retail price of $799.99.

In addition, Sony Mobile’s mid-tier Xperia XA1 Ultra pre-sales will start June 12, 2017 and will be available online on June 21 and in-stores on July 2. The long-awaited Xperia Touch will also be exclusively available at the Sony Square display room at 25 Madison Ave in New York City for a suggested retail price of $1,699.99. Pre-sales for Xperia Touch will begin on June 16.

As Sony’s newest flagship smartphone, Xperia XZ Premium builds on decades of Sony’s camera innovation and draws on the heritage of the Sony Cyber-shot® range of cameras. Xperia XZ Premium features the new memory-stacked Motion Eye™ image sensor bringing several new technical features to users looking for the ultimate camera experience. Featuring a 19MP main camera and 13MP front-facing camera, Xperia XZ Premium captures the world in stunning quality.

Xperia XZ Premium’s camera provides the world’s first super slow motion camera in a smartphone recording at 960 frames per second with playback 4X slower than other smartphones, making the ordinary look extraordinary.[i] Furthermore, Motion Eye™ brings better low-light performance and higher optical clarity for sharper images and less noise. The Sony Exmor RS™ lens captures every little detail in stunning clarity by automatically adjusting the light levels internally and giving you a vibrant picture whether you’re shooting in a full light setting or at night.

Xperia XZ Premium also features the world’s first 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR) screen in a smartphone which gives expanded light and colors, gives more depth to photos with the added pixels and shares a wider range of colors and tones than standard dynamic range content.[ii] Paired with 5.5″ 4K HDR TRILUMINOUS™ display technology, it gives users a sense of reality like never before. Xperia XZ Premium is packed with the newest Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 processor allowing for great connectivity and excellent entertainment whether creating super slow motion videos, watching 4K HDR videos, or playing the latest PlayStation® games on PS4™ Remote Play.

Beyond camera and video capabilities, Xperia XZ Premium features Qnovo Adaptive Charging to support long-lasting battery life, along with a loop surface design leveraging Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 on the front and back for added durability and water-resistant IP rating 65/68. The Xperia XZ Premium will be available in three colors: Luminous Chrome, Deepsea Black, and Bronze Pink, and will support GSM networks.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sonymobile.com/us/products/phones/

XPERIA XZ PREMIUM KEY FEATURES:

• World’s first memory-stacked Motion Eye image sensor with 960 FPS Super slow motion video and Predictive Capture capability, Predictive Hybrid Autofocus, anti-distortion shutter, 1/2.3″ Exmor RS for mobile memory stacked sensor.
• 19MP main camera with triple image sensing technology, ISO 12800 / 4000 (video), 25mm wide award-winning G Lens F2.0, larger pixel size for lowlight, BIONZ for mobile image-processing engine, SteadyShot 5-axis video stabilization, and 4K recording.
• 13MP front camera with Sony Exmor RS for mobile image sensor, ISO 6400 / 1600 (Video), SteadyShot, and 22mm wide-angle lens F2.0.
• 5.5″ 4K HDR display with TRILUMINOS display for mobile, X-Reality for mobile, and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer.
• Qualcomm® Snapdragon 835 processor. Supported by 4×4 MIMO with LTE Cat16. 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage (with up to 256GB expandable memory and dual sim compatibility). 3230mAh battery with Smart Stamina, STAMINA mode, Qnovo Adaptive Charging, Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, USB 3.1. Comes with USB Type C charger, and supports exclusive PlayStation 4 Remote Play.
• Stylish loop design provides a comfortable hand fit with premium and durable materials, including Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back. Water-resistant IP 65/68. Available in three colors: Luminous Chrome, Deepsea Black, and Bronze Pink.
• Xperia XZ Premium is operating on the latest Android N (7.1) software system.

XPERIA XA1 ULTRA KEY FEATURES:

• Borderless 6″ edge-to-edge Full HD display (1080p) with curved 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass and Image Enhancement Technology.
• 23MP main camera with 1/2.3″ Exmor RS for mobile image sensor, Hybrid Autofocus, Quick Launch and Capture, Low-light photo: ISO 6400, 24mm wide-angle F2.0 lens, 5x Clear Image Zoom, and SteadyShot.
• 16MP front-facing camera with 23mm wide-angle lens F2.0, 1/2.6″ Exmor R for mobile image sensor, Low-light photo: up to ISO 6400, OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer), and Smart Selfie Flash.
• MediaTek Helio P20 Octa-core processor. 4GB RAM. 32GB / 64GB eMMC internal memory. microSDXC support (up to 256GB). LTE (4G) Cat4/Cat6 support. SmartAmp audio technology for more immersive sound.
• 2700 mAh battery capacity, STAMINA mode, Qnovo Adaptive Charging, and Quick Charging (MediaTek Pump Express Plus 2.0).

XPERIA TOUCH KEY FEATURES:

• Xperia Touch is operating on Android Nougat (7.0) software system.
• Functioning with various sensors including: e-Compass, GPS, Ambient Light, Barometer, Temperature, Humidity, and Human Detection.
• 13MP Exmor RS for mobile camera, two-way stereo speaker.
• Connect with Xperia Touch via Bluethooth 4.2, USB Type-C, NFC, HDMI Type-D and Wi-Fi (SISO): 11 a/b/g/n/ac.
• 1 hour battery usage time (based on continuous video playback at half brightness); Embedded Lithium.
• Weighs in at 932 grams; 69 x 134 x 143 mm in size.
• Available in one color: gold.

Amazon’s 1-day networking and storage sale is full of big price drops

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with some great deals on popular networking and storage brands!

Amazon Gold Box Deals of the Day is offering up to 40% off top network and storage brands like NETGEAR, TP-Link, ASUS, and more. Whether you are in need of a new router to replace your aging one, or a network extender to get a better signal in areas of your house, you won’t want to miss out on this deal. You probably have a bunch of random flash drives laying around your house, but likely none of them can store 128GB and are the size of your fingernail. Pick up SanDIsk’s super popular Ultra Fit USB 3.0 Flash Drive in today’s sale for only $25.

Here are some of the best deals from the sale:

• SanDisk Ultra Fit 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive – $25 (Reg. $40)
• TP-Link AC750 WiFi Range Extender – $19 (Reg. $25)
• NETGEAR ReadyNAS 212 2-Bay Network Attached Storage – $200 (Reg. $300)
• Netgear CM600 Cable Modem – $88 (Reg. $130)

This one-day offer is valid on May 31, 2017, or while supplies last.

See at Amazon

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Nest Cam IQ is a $300 security camera with a hexa-core CPU

Nest Cam IQ is aimed at delivering the ‘best in-class security.’

Alphabet-owned Nest had a forgettable 2016, but the company is making a comeback with the Nest Cam IQ, a high-end security camera that is powered by a hexa-core Qualcomm processor. The camera offers an 8MP imaging sensor that can record in 4K (output is limited to 1080p), 12x digital zoom, HDR mode, as well as two powerful 940nm infrared LEDs that are invisible to the human eye but still allow the camera to illuminate scenes at night.

The three-microphone array has noise and echo suppression, with Nest claiming that the speakers are seven times more powerful than the original Nest Cam. The Nest Cam IQ’s highlight is its ability to distinguish between a person and a cat, all without the need of a Nest Aware subscription.

When you open the app, you’ll see a picture-in-picture mode with a 130-degree field of view of the room, along with a close-up tracking view of anyone in the room. You’ll be able to configure the Nest Cam IQ to automatically deliver an alert when it detects a person, and you can set custom alerts by paying for a Nest Aware subscription.

The Nest Cam IQ encrypts your video on the device with 128-bit AES before transmitting it to a server, and there’s two-factor verification as well as the ability to automatically download updates.

The Nest Cam IQ is on pre-order right now in the U.S. for $299 (with a two-pack retailing for $498), and will be available by the end of June. The security camera will go up for pre-order in the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Republic of Ireland shortly, and those living in Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain will be able to pre-order starting June 13.

See at Nest

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: What’s the difference?

Nest has announced a new smart home security camera to its line-up in the form of the Nest Cam IQ. The new device brings several advancements over the Nest Cam Indoor, though it also adds a few pounds to the price tag, which could make the decision between the two a little tricky.

Here is how the Nest Cam IQ compares to the Nest Cam Indoor to help you work out which could be the better fit for your home.

• Nest Cam IQ preview
• Nest Cam Indoor review

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Design

• Nest Cam IQ offers more appeasing design
• Cables more hidden on Nest Cam IQ
• Both have 3M long cables

The Nest Cam IQ features a similar design to the Nest Cam Outdoor with a white polycarbonate body. It measures 125mm tall, 73.7mm wide and 73.7mm deep, with a hinge connecting the main body to a stem hiding the cables and a base with a USB Type-C connector for power.

The Nest Cam IQ weighs 357g and it has a total cable length of three metres. A speaker can be found at the back of the main body, the camera sensor at the front and three microphones are also present, with two at the front and one underneath.

The Nest Cam Indoor has a less streamlined design to its successor. It too sits on a base but the hinge isn’t as flexible, the power cable goes into the main camera body rather than the base and that main camera body isn’t as refined as the Nest Cam IQ to look at, with a fussier design overall.

The 2015 model measures 71.1mm wide at its base and 114.3mm tall, with the main camera body measuring 58.4mm from the front and 45.7mm from the back. It is powered via Micro-USB, there is one microphone on board rather than three and like the Nest Cam IQ, the power cable is three-metres long.

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Hardware and specs

• 4K, 8MP sensor with 12x digital zoom and HDR on Nest Cam IQ
• 3MP sensor with 8x digital zoom on Nest Cam Indoor
• Both offer 1080p recording and 130-degree field of view

The Nest Cam IQ has a 1/2.5-inch, 8-megapixel 4K colour sensor with 12x digital zoom and enhance, as well as HDR. It offers a 130-degree field of view and it will record video up to 1080p at 30fps. 

As we mentioned, there are three microphones on board, as well as a speaker that is claimed to be seven times more powerful than the one in the Nest Cam Indoor. The Nest Cam IQ also features an LED light ring around the outer edge of the main camera element, as well as an LED status light, and there are two 940nm infrared LEDs for Night Vision.

The Nest Cam Indoor has a 1/3-inch, 3-megapixel sensor offering 8x digital zoom. Like the new model, there is a 130-degree field of view and it will record up to 1080p at 30fps, but there is no enhancement or close up tracking like the Nest Cam IQ.

An RGB LED is present to show status, though no LED light ring, and there is one microphone and a speaker on board too, as we mentioned above. In terms of night vision, the Nest Cam Indoor has 850nm infrared LEDs.  

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Features

• Both offer 24/7 live video with motion and sound alerts 
• Nest Cam IQ has person alerts and close up tracking view without subscription
• With subscription, Nest Cam IQ will offer familiar faces alerts

Both the Nest Cam IQ and the Nest Cam Indoor will offer 24/7 live video streaming, motion and sound alerts, talk and listen, and 1080p video. The Nest Cam IQ should offer a clearer picture and clearer audio than the Nest Cam Indoor though.

The Nest Cam IQ also offers a feature called Supersight, which uses the 4K HDR sensor to offer a close up tracking view of the person or persons seen by the camera in the app. It will also provide person alerts without a subscription thanks to its ability to tell the difference between a person and a thing.

With the Nest Aware subscription, the Nest Cam Indoor will provide person alerts, while the Nest Cam IQ will offer familiar faces and unfamiliar faces alerts. The subscription also means users will be able to see 10-days of video or 30-days of video, rather than the three hours offered without a subscription, as well as Activity Zones for personalised alerts. 

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Price

• Nest Cam IQ more expensive
• Nest Aware subscription price the same for both

The Nest Cam IQ is currently available for pre-order, with shipping expected at the end of June. It costs £299 or $299.

The Nest Cam Indoor remains available and it costs £159 or $199.

The Nest Aware subscription costs £8 a month or £80 a year in the UK.

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Conclusion

The Nest Cam IQ offers a number of improvements over the Nest Cam Indoor, even without a subscription. You’ll get better video recordings and audio, person alerts and the ability to see a close-up tracking view of someone if they are in your home in the camera’s field of view.

Pay for the subscription and you’ll also get familiar faces alerts with the new camera, which in turn allows you to grant access to particular family members.

The new Nest Cam IQ is quite a bit pricer than the original Nest Cam Indoor though so the decision between these two devices will come down to whether you’re buying a smart home camera just to keep an eye on your dog, or whether you want it for security purposes.

Asus ZenPad 3S 10 review: Android’s savviest iPad contender?

People aren’t buying tablets at the same rate they were a few years ago. Because of that, manufacturers have responded by simply releasing less product.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t new and exciting options. For iOS users, there’s the latest iteration of the iPad. For Android fans, the most direct competitor in features and price is the Asus ZenPad 3S 10 – an attractive and slender metal tablet with enough about to keep most buyers content, without costing a fortune.

With a drought in Android tablets of late, is Asus the company to offer the only sensible iPad alternative?

Asus ZenPad 3S 10 review: Design

• 240.5 x 163.7 x 7.2mm; 430g
• Fingerprint scanner to front
• Metal body design

The Asus tablet is slimmer and lighter than its Apple-branded competition. It also happens to be a few millimeters narrower. All this is easily noticeable when you hold them side-by-side. By comparison, the ZenPad is easier to hold for longer periods.

Pocket-lint

The look of the ZenPad 3S, at least from the front, is a fairly standard affair. Its 9.7-inch display is framed by the bezel which looks similar in size to the standard iPad’s. There is, however, a big difference in design: on the bottom bezel, there’s a rectangular home button – which is where the fingerprint scanner lives – flanked by capacitive back and recent apps buttons.

That fingerprint scanner is up to current standards, able to register up to five fingerprints and responsive in unlocking the tablet when applying a registered finger. It makes using the tablet far quicker than needing to mess about with PIN or pattern.

Surrounding this bezel is a metal frame which is polished and forms the edge of the rear panel, a design which is mirrored on the underside of the tablet. That means there’s visual contrast, separating these slim and curved edges from the front and back. Three of four of them are finished in the same bead-blasted, soft, anodised texture as the metal back panel. The only exception is the top edge, which has a plastic panel designed to mimic the look of the other metal edges.

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The ZenPad 3S 10 features a microSD card near the top of the left edge, while the volume rocker and power/sleep key on the right. The USB Type-C port is joined by speaker grilles on the bottom edge.

Asus ZenPad 3S 10 review: Display

• 9.7-inch IPS LCD screen
• 1536 x 2048 resolution (264ppi)

Taking another leaf from the iPad’s book, Asus has opted for a 1536 x 2048 resolution display, spread over a panel that measures 9.7-inches diagonally. That gives it a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch, which may not seem like much compared to the 400ppi and up that we see on modern smartphones, but is actually fairly standard in the tablet industry. And it looks just fine.

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As screens go, the LCD IPS panel on the ZenPad 3S 10 is decent. Colours are vibrant enough to make gaming and watching movies enjoyable, while wide viewing angles mean you don’t have to sit with it facing directly at you to get a good experience. Being an LCD panel, you naturally won’t get the intense contrast levels and high saturation of an AMOLED screens, but it’s still pleasant enough.

As with most modern tablets, the size and aspect ratio of the display isn’t perfect for video. It’s meant to be a canvas suited for as many tasks as possible, such as reading the morning paper, and that means you will get letterboxing on all of your 16:9 or (roughly) 18:9 videos on YouTube and Netflix. Not the end of the world, but something to take note of if you’re buying one solely to watch the latest and greatest boxsets.

Asus ZenPad 3S 10 review: Software

• Android Marshmallow 6.0
• ZenUI skin with additional software/apps

At its base, the tablet’s software is Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but it’s running Asus’ heavy skin on top which – while still clearly Android – looks vastly different once you open up settings and menus.

If there’s any way to describe this custom software, the most positive way would be to say that Asus likes to offer lots of options and added features. Another way to describe that would be to call it bloatware.

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When using the ZenPad 3S, dropping into the quick settings shade reveals an all-white menu with big, brightly coloured round settings toggles. These are the usual collection of airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Do Not Disturb, among others. Notable inclusions are the Bluelight Filter, which cuts out blue light from the screen to relax your eyes in the evenings, and the AudioWizard, which lets you customise the equaliser of the headphone output to suit whatever you’re watching/listening to.

With most Android devices a long press on the homescreen wallpaper will deliver three to four simple customisation options, Asus provides eight, plus a “more” option. These including launcher themes, icon packs and wallpapers, as well as more detailed customisation options.

As an example, Preferences provides access to an endless number of options to change the way you interact with, and see, items on the home screen. You can change the grid size of the app icons, change the transparency of various UI layers, adjust the blur and scroll effects, plus much more. And that’s just in the Home Screen section of the Preferences menu.

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For parents, the most useful added option is Kids Mode. This lets you launch a completely different user interface, with only the apps you’ve chosen as safe for your kids. You can even add in a time limit, so the lil’uns can’t use the ZenPad for longer than you’ve decided is appropriate.2

Then there are pre-installed apps, which include the usual selection of Asus mobile programs. Apart from the usual calendar, clock, gallery and file manager there’s a PhotoCollage app that lets you make photo grids, 360-degree collages, magazines, your own stickers and add effects to photos. Similarly, the MiniMovie app lets you make videos from photos and footage from your gallery.

That’s not all. There are yet more apps. Asus has never been shy about loading up its Android devices with extra software. SuperNote, System update, Do it Later, ZenUI FAQ and ZenCircle are among the others. We think almost all of the apps should be optional, uninstallable extras, or just options within the settings menu, rather than pre-installed from the off.

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One element that may seem visually minor, but made a big impression on us, was how the notification shade drops down when you swipe positionally on the screen. So if you’re swiping down with your right hand near that side of the display, the drop down box appears nearer to the right edge. If you swipe in the center, it drops down in the centre, as relative.

Asus ZenPad 3S 10 review: Performance

• Octa-core MediaTek processor
• 4GB RAM
• 32/64GB storage

For the most part, the ZenPad 3S 10 handled pretty much everything we could throw at it without struggle. Not surprising, given Asus has opted for an octa-core MediaTek chipset, paired with 4GB RAM. In all the games we played, web pages we browsed and apps we opened, the tablet handled it all without so much as a whimper.

It may not be as zippy fast as an iPad, but it was reliable and consistent, with only minor stuttering on occasion, which is something we’ve experienced with most devices running a similar spec.

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One slight issue we had seemed to revolve around video streaming. Much of the time we watched video on any of the popular streaming services, the video seemed a little rough around the edges, and often wasn’t smooth. This is quite normal when you first begin a stream, but will usually catch up as it buffers to produce smooth HD-quality video. Except that initial buffering seemed to last longer than usual, and it wasn’t as pin-sharp as we’re accustomed.

Downloaded content worked better, in terms of sharpness, but we still experienced some minor glitches during video playback. Having tried YouTube, Google Play Movies, Netflix and iPlayer, it seemed iPlayer was the one with consistently decent quality.

Asus ZenPad 3S 10 review: Battery

• 5,900mAh battery
• Claimed 10 hours use
• Quick-charge 3.0 enabled (charger isn’t included)

Asus promises 10 hours use from the internal 5,900mAh battery, but actual usage in our testing came short of that.

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As with any device, the battery performance depends on how you use it. If you’re binge-watching video with the brightness set to 100 per cent, you’ll likely drain the battery flat within four hours. It’s a similar story with gaming: we played Lego Star Wars for around an hour and watched 20 per cent battery drop, meaning around four to five hours of use.

For average mixed use, however, using the ZenPad a few times a day, you shouldn’t have to plug it in more than twice in a week. Unless this is your family tablet and it’s used for constant streaming, in which case we’d suggest investing in a Quick Charge 3.0 power adapter for it because, although the ZenPad 3S 10 supports QC 3.0, the adapter included in the box doesn’t.

Asus ZenPad 3S 10 review: Camera

• 8MP rear camera
• 1080p video recording
• 5MP front camera

While camera isn’t the top priority in a tablet, it’s nice to have one that’s so feature rich in the ZenPad. As well as the usual Auto, Panorama and HDR modes, there’s time lapse, slow motion, and a night mode, among many other features.

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Image quality isn’t top notch, but it’s good enough for taking casual shots and sharing them on social media. Colours are natural enough and detailing is good when shooting in daylight conditions. We did find that it oversaturates greens a lot, however, and had a hard time balancing exposure levels.

There’s also a Depth of Field mode which adds generous background blurring to photos, similar to the Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus. It takes a photo, focusing on a close-up object, then takes a second photo focusing on the background, and uses that to add background blur, which you can increase or decrease. Probelm is, as with so many of these software-based solutions, it simply doesn’t work very well – or, at the very least, is fussy about the content of the image.

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Verdict

From a hardware perspective, there’s not a lot missing when you compare the ZenPad 3S 10 to the new 9.7-inch iPad. The Asus is actually thinner, which may be preferable.

The only blemish is the software. Not only is Android still behind iOS in the app games department, Asus has loaded the ZenPad with so many un-installable apps and extra functions, that it can almost be overwhelming. We had some stuttering playback issues too, while the Depth of Field mode in the camera doesn’t work very well.

On the whole, however, this is a solid £300 tablet without any major problems. We’d still recommend the new iPad as the safer option for purchasing, but if you don’t like Apple or don’t want to use iOS, then there aren’t many savvy options that offer the value for money that this Asus tablet does.

Alternatives to consider…

Pocket-lint

iPad 9.7

• £339

Apple’s latest iPad is the most direct competitor to the Asus tablet. It may not have all the extra features that the ZenPad 3S 10 has, but it makes up for it in reliability, battery life and all-round performance. It’s still the best tablet for most consumers in the 10-inch/£300 category. 

Read the full article: New Apple iPad 2017 review

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

• £599

Samsung’s latest Android tablet is virtually double the price of the Asus tablet, but is a big upgrade in performance and features. The AMOLED display is fantastic, and the S Pen addition is truly very useful. There’s no doubting that it’s more of a direct competitor to the iPad Pro series, but if you’re after one of the best Android tablets, money no object, the Tab S3 is certainly a good option. 

Read the full article: Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 review

Epson’s AR glasses give your drone a virtual playground

It’s fun learning how to fly a drone, but a company called EdgyBees recently launched an AR game that could make honing your piloting skills even more fun. Now, you can download that AR game onto Epson’s Moverio Drone Edition smart glasses, made specifically for DJI’s models, for a more immersive experience. Drone Prix superimposes a virtual obstacle course on top of a first-person video of the sky captured by the machine’s camera. It features over 30 different courses, a tracking guide to help you navigate them, a solo mode if you want to play alone and a competition mode if you want to play against other people around the world.

Epson America Product Manager Eric Mizufuka said in a statement: “Edgybees has created an amazing new innovation — AR drone gaming on smart glasses — that could only be possible on the Moverio platform. With the Moverio BT-300 Drone Edition, users can avoid having to look down at their smartphones or tablets in bright sunlight, providing convenience, comfort and safety as well as a one-of-a-kind gaming experience.”

Drone Prix is perhaps the perfect application to go with the glasses’ “Drone Edition,” which was created as a collaboration between Epson and DJI. However, you can still play the game even if you don’t have a pair of Moverios — it just won’t be as immersive.

The Morning After: Wednesday, May 31st 2017

It’s the end of May, and we’re still feeling the late Spring rush of tech news. Asia’s biggest PC show continues, this time centered around the likes of Intel, Qualcomm and Windows — and mobile computing’s next steps. The Father of Android, Andy Rubin, has finally reveals his new project: a gorgeous looking phone that has a lot going for it. So grab a cup of “covfefe” and join us for the rest of yesterday.

A new challenger appears
Andy Rubin’s Essential Phone revealed

After a bit of teasing, we’re finally ready to see the first devices from Android creator Andy Rubin’s new venture, Essential Products. The Android-powered PH-1 phone has a Snapdragon 835 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but the most interesting parts of its hardware are the tough titanium frame, slick edge-to-edge display and a magnetic connector for accessories. The Home runs Essential’s open-source Ambient OS, with a slick circular design and enough smarts to lower the volume when you’re involved in a conversation. Both pieces of hardware connect to Essential’s AI assistant, but the Home will also support services from companies like Google and Amazon if they choose to support it. $700 reservations for the phone are open now, with shipments expected to begin within the next month.

We don’t know what it means either.Donald Trump’s confusing ‘covfefe’ tweet remains live for hours

By the time this email goes out, maybe someone from the White House will have explained what the President’s midnight tweet was about, or maybe not. Either way, it stayed up all night spawning memes and mimicry from all corners of the internet.

Not just VR
Microsoft reveals mixed reality headsets from ASUS and Dell

The charge for virtual and augmented reality continues, as Microsoft revealed two more “mixed reality” headsets at Computex 2017. The ASUS offering is all-new with a polygonal 3D covering, while Dell’s has a basic look but supposedly focuses on user comfort.

Now with facial recognition
$300 Nest Cam IQ is smart enough to know who’s who

The latest security camera from Nest improves on its intelligence, matching recent competition with a familiar face alert that can tell you who is in the house. It’s also capable of capturing video in 4K (to allow for digital zooming around the frame before it’s streamed in 1080p or lower). It’s a serious upgrade over previous Nest cameras, but you’ll only get some of the new features if you don’t pay for a Nest Aware account.

The company parts ways with the former Google engineer.
Uber fires self-driving lead and focus of Waymo lawsuit

Uber has taken a stand in the current legal wrangling around its vice president of technology, Anthony Levandowski. According to The New York Times, the ride-sharing company has fired the former Google employee who came to Uber’s own self-driving automobile division. Google sued Uber recently, claiming that Mr. Levandowski allegedly took some 14,000 documents containing research on LiDAR and other autonomous driving technology when he left Waymo. Uber has been unable to convince Levandowski to open up to the investigation — Levandowski asserted his fifth amendment rights to avoid self-incrimination.

Don’t worry, it’s not Windows RT all over again.Windows on Snapdragon is key to making PCs more connected

In keeping with the theme of bringing Windows everywhere, Microsoft is working with Qualcomm and Intel to deliver “Always Connected PCs” that are constantly online, have long-lasting batteries and portable designs. Gigabit LTE and better battery life on mobile devices. The dream! (If your dream involves Windows.)

Naturally, it depends on how you measure chip speed.
Intel reckons its 8th-gen chips will be 30 percent faster than 7th-gen

Intel’s upcoming eighth-generation processors could be more interesting than we initially thought. While the company previously said they would represent a modest 15 percent improvement over seventh-gen chips — a performance gain it’s been achieving steadily over the years — Intel revealed today at Computex that the new processors actually perform around 30 percent better. That’s the wonders of improvements to the chips’ tiny 14nm architecture. Intel: You can still go smaller, right?

How much?
Laundroid, the laundry-folding robot, will arrive with voice controls and style guidance

Edging ever closer to reality, and a little nudge away from vaporware, Laundroid has a price tag. It’ll cost you roughly $16,000 to get a robot to sort and fold your laundry, but when it does eventually arrive, it’ll come with voice controls and even a built-in fashion concierge to ensure your entire wardrobe gets put to use.

But wait, there’s more…

• Apple shipping delays hint that you should wait to buy a MacBook Pro
• ASUS ROG Zephyrus is the ‘world’s thinnest’ notebook with NVIDIA’s GTX 1080
• Sony has shipped its last ever PlayStation 3 in Japan
• Dell’s Inspiron 27 7000 all-in-one is ready for VR
• BlackBerry KEYone goes on sale today

Acer’s Nitro 5 is a flashy but forgettable gaming laptop

Acer’s Nitro 5 is the company’s attempt to reach out to those folks who don’t game often, but still want to have fun once in a while. The result is a laptop with a variety of middle-of-the-road configurations that you can take all the way up to a Core i7 CPU and NVIDIA’s GeForce 150Ti. In addition, you can throw in up to 32GB of RAM, with prices starting at $799 when it launches in July.

The Nitro 5 is packing a 15.6-inch 1080p display, as well as a single USB-C port alongside a trio of standard USB connectors (1 x 3.0, 2 x 2.0). But while Acer is pitching this at the mainstream, it’s undeniably a laptop that’s been designed for gamers. The brushed black and silver case with red accents screams “gaming laptop,” plus the keyboard is backlit with red LEDs.

It’s also, without being uncharitable, a little on the hefty side, with the angled design working overtime to mask how thick it is. At the same time however, it doesn’t feel that sturdy — certainly enough to fill you with confidence that it’ll survive the rigors of student life in a well-traveled rucksack. One of the reasons the Nitro 5 so thick is that it’s packing a pretty powerful thermal exhaust that does a decent job of keeping the device cool.

Keeping in mind that a demo unit will usually run well enough to impress the press, the model we used was certainly impressive when it came to processing speeds. A quick Overwatch session loaded in seconds and looked pretty decent, but that game is hardly the most demanding. Still, I won’t make any claims until the Nitro 5 has been reviewed more thoroughly. In addition, Acer’s representatives have conceded that the laptop isn’t ready for VR, reducing its allure for anyone who wants to adopt the tech.

It’s the non-gaming part of the Nitro 5 that may be harder to sell, however, since the keyboard really isn’t the sort you want to use on a regular basis. The keys are made of a squat, sticky rubber that feels like it was pulled from an industrial keyboard designed for wet weather. There’s a good amount of travel, but otherwise it’s not a keyboard that you’ll want to spend hours at a time during an essay crunch.

Then there’s the issue with Nitro 5’s place in history, since the laptop now feels agricultural compared to its flagship brethren. Its brother, the Triton 500, has benefited from NVIDIA’s Max-Q laptop shrinking program, is far skinnier and far more powerful. Side by side, it’s hard not to feel envious that the leaner laptop is capable of far more than its schlubbier sibling.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from Computex 2017!

The only thing stopping 4G on the Tube is finding someone to deliver it

Londoners’ dreams of using their phone on the Tube may soon become a reality after it emerged that Transport for London (TfL) is preparing to invite bids from companies to build a public underground 4G network. According to the Financial Times, the regulator — with backing from London Mayor Sadiq Khan — could hold an auction after next week’s general election, extending connectivity beyond Virgin Media’s station-centric WiFi network.

Financial Times sources indicate that a number of companies are already lining up their approach, with hardware specialists leading the charge. BT, which already provides mobile service to emergency services on the Tube via EE, is also thought to be interested in the auction.

A installation of a public 4G network would see London finally join other major cities in allowing commuters and tourists to use their phones while underground. New York, Paris and Berlin have offered mobile connectivity on their metro systems for a number of years. Plans for a London network have circulated for over a decade, but talks between TfL and mobile providers never got very far.

TfL wouldn’t confirm the report, but did say that it hopes to deliver mobile service on its network: “We are keen to offer full mobile phone coverage for our customers. The introduction of this would need to be commercially viable and would follow engagement with staff and customers.”

Source: Financial Times

Watch SpaceX carry NASA’s pulsar-observing instrument to the ISS

On June 1st, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry supplies and new instruments to the ISS, including one designed to observe some of the strangest objects in the universe: neutron stars or pulsars. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) will be installed outside the ISS, where it will look for and study the extremely dense objects. Neutron stars begin their lives as stars around seven to 20 times the mass of our sun. When they collapse and cause a supernova explosion, they turn into a sphere that’s only 12 miles across, with twice the mass of our sun squeezed inside. They’re also called “pulsars” when they rotate hundreds of times per second.

The only objects denser than neutron stars are black holes, and they typically happen when stars over 20 times the mass of our sun explode. NICER principal investigator Keith Gendreau likens its density to Mount Everest squeezed into something like a sugar cube. Project deputy Zaven Arzoumanian says the objects pretty much “represent a natural density limit for stable matter that you can’t exceed without becoming a black hole.”

Scientists still have no idea what happens to atoms in that density, and that’s what they’re hoping to find out with the help of the new instrument. NICER will use X-ray to look for hot spot emissions caused by a pulsar’s fast rotation and strong magnetism. Its observations will help scientists figure out a pulsar’s interior structure and to find out the mass threshold needed for a star to become a black hole instead of a pulsar.

You can watch SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lift off from Kennedy Space Center’s historic 39A launch pad on NASA TV. The agency will broadcast the pre-launch briefing at 4PM and the event itself starting at 5:15PM on June 1st. SpaceX will also try to land the rocket’s first stage at Cape Canaveral if the launch is a success, so keep an eye out for a video of the attempt, as well.

Source: NASA TV, NASA Live