LG 34UC89G review

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LG 34UC89G

LG has long produced monitors fit for gaming without slapping any of that obnoxious style on them. High refresh rates, adaptive refresh tech, and quick response times are par for the course in LG’s screens, rather than features reserved for displays with gaming slapped in front of them. It’s a path that has worked well for the brand in the past, but as our LG 34UC89G review demonstrates, making that final step into gaming is risky.

That’s because the LG 34UC89G stretches a 2,560 x 1,080 resolution to its very limit to fit onto a 34-inch ultrawide panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio. It compensates with Nvidia G-Sync for adaptive refresh, 144Hz maximum refresh rate, with up to 166Hz on overclock, and just a five-millisecond response time.

The decidedly gamer-focused model is available for $900, a high price point for a 1080p screen, even one tricked out with a modern feature set.

Black and red and hardcore all over

The LG 34UC89G’s design draws heavily from its home and office counterparts, except for a new coat of paint. Where most LG displays reach for a greyish-silver color, this screen is decked out in a combination of matte and high-gloss black, with touches of red. This change of pace feels about four years too late, as the gaming community has largely grown tired of the now-cliché red and black color scheme.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The other problem is that this new color palette leaves more plastic than metal exposed, and this includes the stand. Though it does its job well enough, we did notice a lot of twist in the neck of the stand when the monitor was directly bumped or jostle. It won’t break break, but we do think it’s disappointing to see on a $900 monitor.

At least the stand offers ergonomic options. It can adjust for height and tilt, which puts it on par with other high-end ultrawide monitors. VESA mounting is supported, too, so you can replace the stand with another option if you’d like.

More ports, please

Ultrawide displays have no shortage of real estate for ports, which makes the LG 34UC89G’s somewhat limited selection a bit of a disappointment. The inputs include just one DisplayPort, one HDMI input, 3.5mm audio out, and a 2-port USB 3.0 hub. Most other ultrawide screen packs in more ports, including LG’s own competing 3,440 x 1,440 screen, which has Type-C. Even a bump to four ports on the USB hub would’ve made the screen more competitive.

Even the menus are red and black

The on-screen controls are managed through a nub directly under the center of the screen, which moves in four directions and clicks in, like a button. It’s a common control scheme, particularly for ultrawide screens. LG’s implementation is responsive, where touch sensitive buttons with poor reaction times have become the norm.

The stand can adjust for height and tilt, which puts it on par with other high-end ultrawide monitors.

Fitting with the gaming theme, the menus have been painted with the familiar red-and-black gamer brush, with some extra jagged edges and glitch patterns to really drive home the point. The main menu features a row of large status indicators with information about the current input, resolution, and refresh rate at a glance.

Dig deeper into the menus, and you’ll find a wider selection of options and preset modes for the screen. There are game modes for FPS and RTS titles, which affect a variety of options from response time to gamma. Under the game adjust menu, you’ll find overclocking, which can push the refresh rate from 144Hz to 166Hz. There’s also an on-screen crosshair feature, so you can cheat in games that don’t offer it by default.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

For more typical screen options, the picture adjustment sub-menu has sliders for brightness and contrast, gamma, and color temperature, although only in terms of “warm” or “cool” rather than by Kelvin. There are also individual RGB sliders for fine-tuning the color palette. Finally, a general tab catches settings like language, power LED behavior, standby times, and quick charge settings.

All in all, the menus are solid for a gaming display. LG provides more options than we’re used to seeing, and navigating between them wasn’t a chore.

How does it look?

In addition to our subjective impressions from our time with the screen, we used Datacolor’s Spyder5Elite to measure the screen’s objective qualities. It gives us a chance to evaluate the screen on a level playing field, with other screens that aren’t in the office anymore.

On paper, the LG 34UC89G scored some important wins. Its 920:1 contrast ratio is a strong score for the category, and only falls short of the Acer Z35, a screen in a very similar position to the LG. We also measured a 330-nits maximum brightness, where we generally consider anything over 300 to be a strong enough score for a desktop display. The LG scored a 2.3 for gamma, which is just slightly higher than the ideal 2.2, so images may appear a little on the dark side out of the box.

The LG’s color gamut was a similar story, covering 100 percent of the sRGB spectrum and 80 percent of the AdobeRGB spectrum. Most high-end panels fall right in the same range, particularly ultrawide screens, as there are only a limited number of manufactures building curved 21:9 panels – and LG is one of them.

LG’s menus have more options than we’re used to seeing, and navigating between them wasn’t a chore.

The LG also did well in color accuracy, although it didn’t beat competitors by a wide margin. Its score fell at 1.94, while the Acer Z35 and Samsung CF791 sitting closer to 2.5. A lower score is better for color accuracy, and anything under one is generally considered undetectable by the human eye, an honor only the LG’s higher-resolution 34UC98 can claim in this category.

Subjectively, the deep contrast and sharp color reproduction are definitely strong suits for the screen. That means games and movies look full and life-like.

There is a problem, however. The resolution. Stretching 2,560 x 1,080 across 34 inches, the LG 34UC89G crams just 82 pixels into each inch, a good deal behind the 110 PPI offered on the 3,440 x 1,440 options of the same size. As with the Acer Z35 – another big-screen, low-resolution display – sharpness can be a concern. Games that rely on many fine elements (like online role-playing games) can appear lackluster, as the resolution results in chunky text and interface art.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

To be fair, the LG 34UC89G’s resolution is intended. This monitor is built around its very high refresh rate. That means your computer needs to be putting out frames quickly – preferably, at 144 frames per second – to see the full benefit. Very few PCs can do that at 3,440 x 1,440 resolution, so 2,560 x 1,080 is a necessary compromise.

Here’s the thing, though. We’re not convinced a high refresh rate is better than a sharp picture. Samsung’s CF791 refreshes at a less impressive 100Hz, but it looks incredible. Ideally, we’d like to have both the refresh rate and image quality but, forced to choose, we have to pick the latter. Not everyone will agree with that, though, and we know that. The LG 34UC89G will look attractive if you prefer the opposite.

Fine tuning

The Spyder5Elite doesn’t just read the screen’s potential performance, it can also help knock it into shape. In this case, calibration was able to push the already solid gamma and color accuracy readings closer to perfection. Gamma settled into an ideal 2.2 score, from 2.3 before calibration. Color accuracy dropped from 1.94 to 1.28, as well, which is a fairly sizable improvement.

LG 34UC89G Compared To

Dell Ultrasharp U3818DW

Acer Predator XB272 Gaming Monitor

BenQ EX3200R Gaming Monitor

Dell S2418H

LG 27MD5KA‑B Ultrafine 5K

Samsung CF791

Dell U3417W

Samsung CFG70

LG 38UC99

Dell s2417DG

Dell S2716DG

HP Dreamcolor Z32x

BenQ BL3201PH

Samsung U32D970Q

LG 34UM95

Warranty information

LG covers the 34UC89G for one year of manufacturer defects, a paltry offering compared to other high-end screens, almost all of which feature three year warranties. This continues to be a thorn in LG’s side, and we’d like to see the company respond by improving its warranty terms.

Our Take

LG’s ambitious 34UC89G is certainly a step in the right direction for ultrawide monitors. High refresh rate screens are just starting to make their way to the aspect ratio, and this initial effort by LG shows how much smooth gameplay can facilitate immersion. At $900, however, it competes with some of the best ultrawide monitors around, including LG’s own offerings.

Is there a better alternative?

$900 is a lot to spend on a monitor, and there are lots of competing options. Samsung’s CF791 is a solid alternative for $50 less that’s sporting a 100Hz refresh rate, 3,440 x 1,440 resolution, and AMD FreeSync, for those on team Radeon. It even features quantum dots, which allows for a wide color gamut.

How long will it last?

We see buying a monitor as an investment, and the right screen can stick with you for years, across several systems. The LG’s refresh rate is high, but its resolution is low in a world of increasingly high-resolution media. More streaming services and games are supporting 1440p and 4K resolution, and spending $900 on a monitor that’s only 1080p is a tough call in 2017.

Should you buy it?

No. While LG’s gaming-oriented 34UC89G checks off a lot of boxes for solid contrast, brightness, and color accuracy, the screen’s comparatively low resolution is a real turn-off. By bringing 144Hz and higher refresh rates to the ultrawide platform, the LG 34UC89G should excite us, but there are just too many problems to ignore. The resolution is far too low for the size, the connectivity and warranty are limited, and at $850, the Samsung CF791 offers a much better value.

Tumblr adds three useful ways to post from your mobile device

Tumblr keeps improving its mobile apps, adding to already useful features like photo filters, instant messaging, stickers and GIF posts to keep your interactions fresh and interesting. The microblogging service just announced three new ways to post from the mobile apps, including images in reblog posts, fun new text styles for text posts, and the ability to drag and drop paragraphs and images within blog posts.

Now you can add your own images when you reblog another Tumblr users post, which should help when you want to make a visual comment. If text posts are more your thing, you’ll be able to style your post with headers, lists and use serif, fancy cursive and typewriter fonts to get your point across. Instead of cutting and pasting your various elements, now you can just tap and drag them around in the mobile app.

Source: Tumblr

The first water-resistant BlackBerry will ditch the keyboard

TCL, the Chinese conglomerate that produces phones under the BlackBerry name, is going to broaden its appeal to more than just keyboard devotees. The company has revealed to Engadget that it will launch a full touchscreen device under the BlackBerry name at some point in October. It may not be a Z10, or even a Storm (or Thunder), but if you were looking to get your mitts on a keyboard-free BlackBerry, it’s coming.

Granted, TCL’s DTEK 50 and 60 phones were also all-screen, but this is different. Details are, perhaps obviously, fairly scarce about the as-yet unannounced device, but we managed to glean tidbits from TCL’s François Mahieu. Mahieu explains that TCL will respect BlackBerry’s reputation for building hard-wearing devices for clumsy international travelers who will be working in all weathers. The main feature, beyond the full-touchscreen, is the (planned) IP67 water and dust-proofing, as well as a battery rated to last for more than 26 hours of mixed use. Mahieu believes that durability and longevity will be two of the biggest selling points, a long-lasting phone that’ll keep going long after your iPhone has conked out.

Mahieu feels bold enough to claim that he expects a number of iPhone and Galaxy users to “make the switch” to BlackBerry come October. Of course, these handsets now run Android, which means that it’s far harder to make it stand out from the crowd. Mahieu continues to believe that BlackBerry’s security know-how will enable TCL to deliver the “most secure Android phone in the world.” Although given the failure of so many ultra-secure Android devices to sell, his confidence seems — at least right now — misplaced.

But TCL is used to combating cynicism with people looking down their nose at BlackBerry in its new after-life as a white label brand. Mahieu said that users shouldn’t write off BlackBerry just because it doesn’t stand toe-to-toe against Apple and Samsung. “We are there to play,” he explained, “we’re just playing with different cards,” mostly by pushing its strengths of battery life, security and durability. As for pricing, it’s likely that the device will cost less than other flagships.

Of course, we’ve already seen a BlackBerry device with a large display unencumbered by a physical keyboard. The Priv hid its physical input device in its slider, and so could actually work as a phone for touchscreen devotees. And given how well that device sold — prompting BlackBerry to abandon producing hardware altogether — it’s going to be interesting to see how TCL can avoid history repeating.

TCL is banking on certified water and dust-resistance as a draw, and it’s not clear how many people were waiting for that as a reason to make the switch. But Mahieu is hinting that the company is “marching towards millions” of device sales, although it’s not clear how many models it needs to shift before it can be considered a success.

Follow all the latest news from IFA 2017 here!

Uber may face federal investigation over foreign bribery

Uber’s new CEO might have a lot of trouble on his plate. The Wall Street Journal has learned that the US Department of Justice is taking preliminary steps to determine whether or not Uber managers broke American laws barring foreign bribery. Reportedly, there are claims the ridesharing firm paid foreign officials to either get or maintain business. These are just tentative steps and may not lead to anything, but there could be a full-on investigation if the DOJ finds enough evidence.

The WSJ’s sources haven’t said whether this is focused on bribery in one country, or is part of a broader look into Uber’s foreign operations.

The DOJ has declined to say whether or not there’s an investigation underway “as a matter of policy.” However, Uber says it’s cooperating with the preliminary investigation. Clearly, the cat’s out of the bag.

If this leads to a full investigation, it could be one of the biggest problems yet for a company that’s no stranger to crises. Uber has faced plenty of past accusations of lawbreaking, but this would be particularly grave — the DOJ would be accusing Uber of nothing less than systematic corruption. Even if Uber has already cleaned up its act by booting key executives, it would still have to deal with the legal fallout and prove that any questionable dealings are a thing of the past.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Cummins unveils an electric big rig weeks before Tesla

Sorry, Tesla, but someone just stole the thunder from the electric big rig you were planning to unveil this fall. The engine giant Cummins has unveiled a concept semi truck, the AEOS, that runs entirely on the power of an electric motor and a 140kWh battery pack. It’s roughly as powerful as a 12-liter fossil fuel engine and could haul 44,000 pounds of cargo, just without the emissions or rampant fuel costs of a conventional truck. There’s speedy 1-hour charging, and Cummins is even looking at solar panels on the trailer to extend range. It’s a promising offering, although Elon Musk and crew might not lose too much sleep knowing the limitations.

For one thing, range is a sore point. You’re looking at a modest 100-mile range with that 140kWh pack. That’s fine for inter-city deliveries, but it won’t cut the mustard for longer trips. And while there’s talk of extending that distance to 300 miles with extra packs, that would only make it competitive with Tesla’s anticipated 200- to 300-mile range.

And more importantly, this is a concept, not a production vehicle ready to roll off the manufacturing line. There should be a production model in a couple of years, according to CNET, but that gives Tesla plenty of time to get its own EV semi on the road. Not that we’re going to complain about both companies having a fighting chance — more electric big rigs means more competition and fewer polluting trucks.

Via: IndyStar, CNET

Source: Cummins (1), (2)

Apple Shares New Augmented Reality Resources for Developers

Apple today updated its developer site with new sample code for ARKit, providing developers with additional details on what can be done with the upcoming feature.

According to Apple, the new code is available alongside new ARKit “best practices” published in the Human Interface Guidelines. Apple also asks developers working on an “amazing” ARKit experience to share it with the company.

Design intuitive augmented reality experiences for iOS using the best practices now available in the Human Interface Guidelines, and explore new sample code for ARKit. We can’t wait for your apps to be available to hundreds of millions of people with the launch of iOS 11 this fall. If you’re working on creating an amazing experience with ARKit and would like to share it with us, let us know.

The new demos cover interactive content in ARKit and audio in ARKit, while the Human Interface Guidelines cover ideal app design like using the entire display, creating convincing illusions, being mindful of user safety, interacting with virtual objects, positioning virtual objects, and more.

Along with new ARKit info, Apple today also informed developers that starting in the fall, apps will need to support App Store transactions of promoted in-app purchases for in-app purchases to be properly displayed on the App Store.

iOS 11 includes new functionality that will let users browse in-app purchases from the App Store app and purchase them before downloading an app, and developers will need to implement support when the GM version of the Xcode 9 is released.

With iOS 11, users can browse in-app purchases directly on the App Store and start a purchase even before downloading your app. During the iOS 11 beta period, promoted in-app purchases are displayed on the App Store without the ability to buy. Starting this fall, your app must handle App Store transactions of promoted in-app purchases in order for your in-app purchases to be displayed on the App Store. Once the GM version of Xcode 9 is released, simply implement the new delegate method within SKPaymentTransactionObserver, rebuild your app, and submit for review. You can also customize which promoted in-app purchases a user sees on a specific device with the SKProductStorePromotionController API.

Apple is expected to release iOS 11 in September alongside new iPhones, and that’s when the first ARKit apps will become available for download.

Tag: ARKit
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Apple Wins 2017 Technical/Engineering Emmy for Siri Integration on Apple TV

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences today announced the recipients of the 69th annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards, with Apple winning an award in the “Contextual Voice Navigation for Discovering and Interacting with TV Content” category.

Apple received the award for the Siri voice integration built into the fourth-generation Apple TV, which allows users to search for content using voice-based commands. Other winners in the same category include Comcast, Universal Electronics (UEI), and Nuance Dragon TV.

Siri has been available on Apple TV since 2015, which is when the fourth-generation set-top box with tvOS became available for purchase. Siri has a range of functions on the device, ranging from TV show/movie/actor/topic search capabilities to features like a vocal rewind option that allows users to do things like ask “What did she say?” to jump back 15 seconds and temporarily turn on subtitles.

Siri can open apps and games, respond to typical commands for information about sports scores, movie times, weather, and more, and Siri can answer questions about movies and TV shows. “Who directed this movie?” and “Who stars in this movie?” are just a couple of examples of the kinds of queries Siri can respond to. Siri can even answer complex topic-based requests, like “Find comedies from the 80s starring Chevy Chase” or “Find movies for kids from the 90s.”

Award recipients will be honored at the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards at the National Association of Broadcasters on Sunday, April 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Apple plans to introduce a new fifth-generation Apple TV at its September iPhone-centric event, believed to be taking place on the 12th of the month. The fifth-generation Apple TV will continue featuring Siri support, and could even introduce new Siri-related features.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Don’t Buy)
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Netflix engineers dream up a way to search your queue with Morse code

Netflix’s annual Hack Day event saw a host of funky projects this year, including a Redbox-style Netflix vending machine, a spooky new interface that makes eyes and heads of characters in thumbnails follow your cursor, an interface to track your binge watches and an audiobook mode that plays Audio Descriptions from movies so you can listen to your Netflix queue instead of watch it. The most interesting project, though, is called TeleFlix, which uses a Raspberry Pi and an old telegraph key to search Netflix with Morse code.

The TeleFlix project was created by Netflix employees Guy Cirino, Alex Wolfe, and Carenina Motion and Christiane Petite. When searching for a new hack to top previous Hack Day retro projects, Cirino was inspired by a chat with his father, who pointed out that telecommunications technology goes way back. He found a vintage AT&T brass telegraph key on eBay, convinced his partners to join and created the system. It works by sending the Morse code tapped out on the telegraph key to a Raspberry Pi, which then interprets the letters to fill out a Netflix search field. It’s slow, but impressive. Cirino has a full write-up of the hack and its production on his own blog.

Netflix has been running Hack Day for years now, with fun projects created by its internal developers. These ideas aren’t necessarily for the production version of the video streaming service, but are intriguing nonetheless, like bump-based video sharing, a virtual reality movie queue, a virtual video rental store, a “mind control” interface and even an NES version of the company’s popular House of Cards (also created by Cirino’s team).

Via: The Verge

Source: Netflix

Skype’s interview feature pairs video calls with a code editor

Skype recently launched a preview version of a new feature that could be appealing to people who conduct technical interviews online. Now, while on a video call, Skype users have the option to simultaneously use a real-time code editor through the platform’s new Interviews site.

There are some limitations. Your browser has to be set to English and the code editor only runs through Microsoft Edge or Chrome browsers. But the editor supports seven programming languages — C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python and Ruby — and has built-in syntax highlighting to help users spot errors as they work. Users can also be tested on multiple programming languages at once.

As TechCrunch points out, there are other options for real-time code editors, such as HackerRank, CodeVue and Codility. But incorporating the editor alongside the video call makes for a simpler process that doesn’t require users to jump between multiple apps.

The feature is currently just in preview and Skype is urging those that try it out to provide feedback. It hasn’t said when we can expect it to be fully launched or when it might be available through the Skype app.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Skype

Fish-inspired missiles and eel-like subs? U.K. Navy explores those possibilities

Why it matters to you

They may look like science fiction right now, but these submarine concepts could well be tomorrow’s reality.

Have you ever wondered what submarines might look like decades from now? Engineers from the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy have dedicated their considerable expertise to answering just such a question — and the results are pretty darn intriguing.

In keeping with the kind of nature-inspired biomimicry seen in fields like robotics, the U.K. Navy’s ideas include undersea vehicles shaped like manta rays, swarming fish-inspired missiles, and unmanned eel-like vehicles that are able to dissolve when required.

The research project also touches on innovative emerging technology concepts including 3D printing, brain-controlled interfaces, offensive shock wave emitters, hybrid “algae-electric” propulsion, underwater drones, and more. While some of the ideas are probably too far-fetched to ever become a reality, they are all based on current research and development projects taking place around the world.

“With more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface covered by w,ter, the oceans remain one of the world’s great mysteries and untapped resources,” said Commander Peter Pipkin, the Royal Navy’s fleet robotics officer. “It’s predicted that in 50 years’ time there will be more competition between nations to live and work at sea or under it. So it’s with this in mind that the Royal Navy is looking at its future role, and how it will be best equipped to protect Britain’s interests around the globe.”

The concepts were drawn up under the banner of a project called Nautilus 100, named after the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine. External groups that participated in the initiative included representatives from companies including, but not limited to, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, and Rolls-Royce.

“We want to encourage our engineers of the future to be bold, think radically and push boundaries,” said Rear Admiral Tim Hodgson, the Ministry of Defence’s director of submarine capability. “From Nelson’s tactics at the Battle of Trafalgar to Fisher’s revolutionary Dreadnought battleships, the Royal Navy’s success has always rested on a combination of technology and human skill. The pace of global innovation is only going to increase, so for the U.K. to be a leader in this race, it needs to maintain its leadership in skills and technology.”