LG Q8 is a smaller, waterproof V20

Major features of last year’s handset packaged into 5.2-inch chassis for new Q series device.

LG is building out its new mid-tier Q series of phones with a more pocketable take on last year’s flagship V20. The LG Q8 includes basically all the main features of the V20, only now in with a 5.2-inch Quad HD screen, and with the added bonus of IP67 water resistance, and a fixed internal battery. (Sorry, removable battery fans.)

From the wide angle camera to the Quad DAC and ticker display, almost all of the V20’s standout features are alive and well in the Q8.

The LG Q8 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD. And around the back is a similar combination of 16-megapixel, f/1.8 main camera with OIS, along with 8-megapixel f/2.4 wide-angle shooter. The V20’s ticker display makes a return too, with a 160×1040 screen resolution — a curious addition, since it’s looking like the upcoming V30 will do away with this longstanding V-series feature. On the inside, a 3,000mAh fixed battery should provide enough juice for a full day’s use, considering the smaller display size. And the V20’s 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC rounds off the feature list.

On the software side, it appears we’re mostly dealing with the V20’s software, transposed down onto a smaller display. It’s based on Android 7.0 Nougat and LG UX 5.0. The display being a standard 16:9 panel, the software doesn’t seem to include the 2:1 display optimizations of the software from the LG G6 and Q6.

LG’s Italian promo site lists the Q8 as being available in July, though there’s no clear indication as to which other markets, if any, the phone will be arriving in.

LG V20

• LG V20 review: Built for power users
• LG V20 specs
• All LG V20 news
• LG V20 vs. Galaxy Note 7
• Discuss the V20 in the forums!

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‘Stargate’ revival will launch a new MGM streaming service

At Comic-Con MGM celebrated the 20th anniversary of Stargate by announcing a new TV show in the series: Stargate Origins. Other than a teaser trailer and news that it will serve as a prequel there isn’t much info about the show, but we know that to watch it, fans will be asked to subscribe to a new streaming service.

Today at #SDCC, @mgm announced Stargate Origins! Check it out on Stargate Command! https://t.co/MDlD2hBq0y https://t.co/W8oGJSqlN3

— Stargate Command (@stargatecommand) July 21, 2017

Dubbed Stargate Command, it’s launching this fall as “the official destination for all things Stargate.” It appears we can expect a platform for pretty much all of the franchise’s related content and fan community. There are apparently more than 380 episodes of Stargate TV shows, so there should be plenty to watch there. Still, even as CBS tries to use the Star Trek franchise to push its CBS All Access service it will be interesting to see how willing fans are to shell out for another subscription just to watch one new show.

Source: Stargate Command

Pokémon Go is getting Legendary monsters for its birthday

Niantic is going all out for Pokémon Go’s first anniversary. In addition to holding the Pokémon Go Fest in Chicago and tie-in events all over the globe, it’s also finally introducing Legendaries into the mobile game. You’ll be able to find Legendary eggs at gyms, but since the Pokémon type is incredibly rare and powerful, you likely won’t find one at every turn. Niantic is also using Legendaries as raid bosses, and if you and your team defeat one, you’ll get the chance to catch one of your own. You can’t use them to defend gyms, but hey, you’ll need to catch them if you want to catch ’em all.

The first Legendary might make an appearance at the Pokémon Go Fest at Grant Park on July 22nd. If the attendees and participants elsewhere catch enough monsters, Niantic will unleash the first Legendary Raid Boss. And if the attendees in Chicago can beat it, the boss will start popping up in Raid Battles all over the world after the festival.

Source: Pokémon Go

Report Claims LG Will Be Sole Supplier of Batteries for Next Year’s ‘iPhone 9’

LG Chemical will be the sole supplier of batteries for Apple’s “iPhone 9” next year, according to The Korea Economic Daily. If the report is accurate, the South Korean firm has scored a big win, since Apple usually takes a multi-vendor approach when it comes to sourcing batteries for its iPhones.

Citing industry insiders, the newspaper said LG has made a sizable investment to bolster the capability of its facilities and that production of the batteries would begin in 2018.

“LG has invested hundred of billions of Korean won for related facilities and plans to start mass production from early next year,” the Korean-language report quoted a source in the chemical industry as saying.

The report added that the battery LG will produce for the so-called “iPhone 9” is L-shaped, a design that’s also previously been tipped for this year’s OLED “iPhone 8” and should allow for better battery life.

The L-shape, which is bent at the bottom, represents an increase in size over current rectangular iPhone batteries and depends on the PCB mainboard being more compact to make space for it. Today’s report also claims the altered shape is expected to result in faster charging speeds.

A report in May claimed the iPhone 9 will launch in two 5.28-inch and 6.46-inch OLED variants, with Samsung expected to be the supplier for the OLED displays.

(Via CNBC.)

Tags: LG, iPhone 9
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Starting August 5th, all MLS games will have video review

After a few years of planning and testing, Major League Soccer is ready to roll out video review in all of its games. For each game, including the playoffs and MLS cup, there will be a fifth referee on the crew with access to all available broadcast replays. That person’s job is to alert the head referee to “clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents” in four specific situations: Goals, penalty kicks, red cards and mistaken identity. Embarrassing referee gaffes have hit some high profile games over the years, and everyone hopes that video review will help, which is why the MLS and FIFA are expanding its usage.

Source: MLS

Amazon keeps popular items stocked by buying from other retailers

Tens of thousands of Amazon sellers might have just sold a whole bunch of their items in one go…to the e-commerce titan itself. According to CNBC, the Fulfilled by Amazon team has emailed thousands of sellers in the US, offering to buy their goods at full retail price so it can have them in store in its warehouses. The Fulfilled by Amazon program already keeps and ships paying customers’ items for them. This particular project was conjured up as a way to reach out to sellers that aren’t part of a program — Amazon is even foregoing additional fees

A spokesperson for the company confirmed the email’s authenticity, telling the publication that Amazon is indeed snapping up items to boost its own catalogue. Even if Amazon can’t make a lot of money from the deal — it’s buying goods at full retail price, after all — it will at least be able to quickly deliver high-in-demand items to people in other locations across the globe.

This isn’t the first time the “Fulfilled by” team has reached out to sellers — the program apparently rolled out in Europe first. Based on the offers the company has sent out thus far, Amazon uses the program to buy stock from third-party resellers when the manufacturer refuses to sell on the website. That’s one of the reasons it’s not a good deal for some people. For instance, Birkenstock doesn’t list items on Amazon, and though it allows some partners to sell on the portal, it doesn’t allow its authorized retailers to sell to resellers either. The retailers will then violate their agreement if they take Amazon’s offer.

Regardless of whether it’s a good deal for sellers or not, it sounds like the company plans to expand the program further:

“When items are unavailable in a particular geography, we provide customers with selection from another marketplace. This offers customers a wider selection of great brands and helps sellers increase sales.

Source: CNBC

GE’s $99 ‘Talking Laundry’ box was built for the blind

Doing laundry might be dead simple for most people, but the visually impaired don’t have it so easy. To make that easier, GE Appliance’s skunkworks division FirstBuild — along with the help of a 14 year-old — has designed a system called Talking Laundry. With a name like that, the invention is pretty self-explanatory: it’s a metal box (below) that audibly tells you how much time is left in a given wash cycle, and simplifies controls to one knob each for a washer and dryer.

Using a board computer and FirstBuild’s Green Bean tools that convert code to machine language, teenage Jack DuPlessis (his dad works for GE and gave him the task) put a prototype together in the span of a weekend. Talking Laundry can even be retrofitted onto existing laundry machines; its sales page states that the module will connect to “most” current and all future laundry units.

Maybe best of all, these are available to buy right now and they won’t break the bank. One unit will control both a washer and a dryer and will only set you back $99 — a far cry from that $16,000 voice-controlled laundry folder.

Source: BusinessWire, GE Appliance

Google Duo adds video chats to your regular call history

Google’s standalone video chat app, Duo, came out last August. Since then, the company has added some nifty features, like voice-only calling to help avoid awkward bedhead conversations. Google has just added a call-log feature to Duo, making it possible to keep and search your call history in your regular calling app.

According to 9to5Google, the new version of Duo (14) integrates with your Android phone’s standard call log and will keep track of your Duo video calls once you give the app permission to do so. You’ll see your Duo calls in your call log history, right next to the rest of the ones you make with your phone app. The video calls will have a cute little video camera icon under the number you called with Duo to help differentiate them from regular calls. The update is available from the Google Play Store as well as from APKMirror, a third-party mirror for updates like this. We’ve reached out to Google to find out if the feature will include voice calls, or will come to iOS, and will update this post when we hear back.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Google

Tech Group Representing Samsung, Google, Microsoft and More Supports Apple in Qualcomm Fight

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a lobbying group that represents Google, eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Netflix, Intel, Samsung, and other tech companies today asked the United States International Trade Commission to reject Qualcomm’s request for an import ban on select iPhone and iPad models.

According to the CCIA, preventing Apple from importing iPhones made abroad would result in harm to consumers by enabling Qualcomm’s anti-competitive behavior. CCIA President & CEO Ed Black gave the following statement on the issue:

“Qualcomm is already using its dominant position to pressure competitors and tax competing products. If the ITC were to grant this exclusion order, it would help Qualcomm use its monopoly power for further leverage against Apple, and allow them to drive up prices on consumer devices.

“What’s at stake here is certainly the availability of iPhones and other smartphones at better prices. But even more critical is the principle of open competition that has been historically important to US economic success. The ITC has a choice whether to further reward anti-competitive behavior – or to reject this anti-free market, anti-consumer request.”

In its ongoing legal battle with Apple, Qualcomm in early July asked the U.S. ITC to block imports of select iPhone and iPad models that use Intel modem chips instead of Qualcomm chips.

Qualcomm requested the partial ban as part of a patent lawsuit that claims Apple devices infringe on six Qualcomm patents related to carrier aggregation and technologies designed to allow iPhones to save battery life while charging.

The lawsuit and import ban request were both filed in retaliation for an ongoing royalty dispute between the two companies, which saw Apple sue Qualcomm back in January for charging unfair royalties and refusing to pay quarterly rebates. Since that date, the legal fight between the two companies has continued to escalate.

Tag: Qualcomm
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MIT engineers create Doctor Octopus’ robotic limbs for real-life uses

Why it matters to you

Additional robot arms could be used for manufacturing, assisting people with limited mobility or, well, anything else you can imagine.

If you are a Marvel comic book geek (or, heck, if you watched Sam Raimi’s excellent 2004 movie Spider-Man 2), you are probably familiar with Doctor Octopus: The scheming scientist character who benefits from the assistance of four highly advanced mechanical arms. In a case of life imitating art, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed technology bringing similar robotic limbs into the real world.

“The Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRL) are a wearable robot that augments its human user by providing her or him with additional robotic limbs,” researcher Federico Parietti told Digital Trends. “These robotic limbs can move independently from the natural arms and legs of the user, and therefore can enable the execution of entirely new, complex tasks that would be impossible with only the four natural limbs. The SRL can also coordinate with the user in order to improve the performance or the safety of normal tasks.”

The control method described in the study involved training wearers to use muscles in their torsos that are not part of our normal movement range. Users who were tested with this control system found that they were able to quickly learn how to control the robotic limbs, independently from their regular limbs.

In terms of what the robot limbs can be used for… well, the sky is the limit. A few particularly beneficial scenarios jump out, though. One is in manufacturing, particularly when it comes to heavy industry. “For example, [in the the aircraft industry], human workers are essential because the tasks are extremely complicated and cannot yet be performed by autonomous robots,” Parietti continued. “However, these tasks are fatiguing and require people to work in uncomfortable positions or to lift heavy tools. The extra limbs can help with all of that, by supporting the body of the user or lifting the tools. They can also secure the user to a scaffold, preventing falls.”

Another possible use involves assisting elderly or rehabilitating patients who experience small locomotion problems. “[In some cases, people] don’t really need to be confined to a wheelchair,” Parietti said. “They would simply benefit from wearing some ‘autonomous crutches’ that can sync with their gait and help them when needed, providing support and avoiding falls. The extra limbs can do just that — and they leave the upper part of the body free to move, meaning that your arms are not busy operating crutches.”

While this isn’t the only high-tech example we have seen of either additional limbs or assistive robot technology, it is definitely captured our imagination. “New exciting research directions include adding more movement possibilities to the robotic limbs, and experimenting our control technique with complex manufacturing tasks,” Parietti noted.

A paper on the work was recently presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).