Play audio through your car stereo with this $13 Bluetooth FM Transmitter

Listening to the radio and its countless commercials regarding products you hardly ever care about can be such a waste of time. Ditch the controlled playlists and songs you don’t want to hear over and over for Otium’s Bluetooth FM Transmitter which is now available at Amazon for just $12.99 when you enter promo code Y2RJCO6I at checkout to save $5 off its regular price.

Plug Otium’s FM Transmitter into your cigarette lighter socket and tune it and your radio to the same station. After connecting it to your phone via Bluetooth, you can play audio from your device straight through your car’s speakers. The transmitter includes two built-in USB ports which can both be used to charge your phone, while one can read MP3 files off your device too.

• Special Design – Amazing 1.44” LED display can show current voltage of the storage battery of your car, also the name of songs playing from TF Cards or phone number when incoming call, and FM channel and volume
• Great Sound Quality – A2DP supports a stereo music lossless transfer to your car speaker. Built-in microphone feature offers you a hands free talking and wonderful music.
• Frequency Range – FM Transmitters range from 87.5Mhz to 108.0Mhz; Supports AUX output and input, also supports full frequency point to launch.
• Broad Compatibility – Work best with iPad (max speed), iPhone (max speed), iPod, HTC, Blackberry, MP3 Players, PDAs, Mobile Phones; Supports TF/SD Card & A2DP& USB input, only MP3/WMA format.

Complete your hands-free car setup with this $10 magnetic car mount by Anker. It clips into your air vent and uses a strong magnet to keep your phone in a safe place while you’re driving.

See at Amazon

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For more great deals on tech, gadgets, home goods and more, be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Apple watchOS 4 comes to your wrist September 19th

It won’t be too long before you can give watchOS 4 a spin — Apple has announced that the upgrade will arrive on September 19th for all Watch models. This isn’t as dramatic a release as last year’s (which added on-device apps and a revamped interface), but it has more than a few tangible improvements, particularly if you’re a health or fitness maven — including a few that weren’t known until now.

For one, it tracks your heart rate much more closely. You can see your heart rate through a complication on your watch face, and the heart rate app shows more details about your heart rate history. And you’ll be warned if there are problems, too. Your Watch will notify you if it detects an elevated heart rate when you’re inactive. Apple is even using heart rate data to analyze arrythmias as part of an FDA-sanctioned heart study whose results will be available later in 2017.

Also, version 4 not only makes quicker to start exercise, but tracks a lot more of it. In addition to supporting new activity types like high intensity interval training, you can switch activities on the fly. If you regularly hit the gym, there’s now support for syncing your Apple Watch with treadmills, bikes and other equipment. And expect to get more motivation — there are daily you’re-almost-there nudges and monthly challenges to keep you going.

The upgrade includes the obligatory round of new watch faces, including the psychedelic Kaleidoscope and a slew of Toy Story characters. However, the centerpiece of the bunch is a Siri face that displays timely info, such as reminders, meetings and news. There’s a Siri complication for other faces, too.

Other big improvements are more functional than anything. You can browse your apps in a list instead the signature honeycomb grid, and the multitasking menu is now vertical. There’s also a reworked music app that not only has a more visual interface, but automatically syncs most of Apple Music’s automatic playlists (the New Music Mix, Favorites Mix and Heavy Rotation) so that you have something to listen to if you leave your phone behind. Finally, if you owe someone for dinner (and live in the US), Apple Pay Cash can send money from your wrist.

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Apple Watch Series 3 gains LTE for $399

Just a year after the Apple Watch Series 2 was launched onto an unsuspecting public, Apple has updated its iconic timepiece once again. The Apple Watch Series 3 shares a similar case to its forebear, but most crucially, comes with a built-in LTE radio. That means that users can now make calls to their friends without the use of their smartphone, letting you finally live all of those Babylon 5 fantasies.

Built-in LTE connectivity is the headline feature, which enables both calls and the ability to stream music directly from Apple Music. In addition, the internals are now faster, thanks to a new dual-core chip and other refinements to the overall system. Plus, with “mixed use,” you’re still expected to wrangle the usual 18 hours of life from the device. Given that the company made the point that the battery life was unchanged, we can expect GPS performance to remain the same, too.

Apple has clearly doubled-down on the health and fitness tracking aspects of its latest timepiece, will Jeff Williams showing off improved heart-rate tracking. Now, the watch will surface your current heart-rate whenever you raise your wrist to check the time, and the device will also constantly calculate your base HR. In addition, the company will spend time looking to develop a way for the watch to detect the subtle, hard-to-diagnose symptoms of atrial fibrillation before they strike. Fitbit, a major rival in the wearables space, has promised to do similar to support a future update to its own new device.

If you’re a fan of subtle hardware tricks, you’ll be delighted to learn that Apple managed to keep the case the same size by building the antenna into the display. In addition, the company promises that its new W2 chip will ensure low-power WiFi and Bluetooth connections are handled seamlessly. The W2 name is likely to indicate a successor to the W1, the custom-designed wireless chip that was found inside Apple’s AirPods.

In terms of surprises, much of the Apple Watch launch was spoiled by a leak of iOS 11 that showed off many of Apple’s cards. A screenshot from the Watch companion app showed a device with a black case and red digital crown — a color feature available on the new bodies. More importantly, however, the face of the preview screen showed off icons denoting both cellular communication and navigation icons. Details of the latter feature weren’t touched on during the keynote, but it’s possible that the watch now offers standalone turn-by-turn guidance.

Since the launch of the first Apple Watch, the wearables industry has changed beyond all recognition, thanks to Apple. The nascent smartwatch world is now dominated by the humble squircle, with independent estimates claiming that Cupertino has sold anything up to 30 million devices. Tim Cook, in his opening remarks, said that the device had grown in sales by 50 percent year-on-year, and now Apple Watch is the world’s most popular watch — although it’s probably not the world’s biggest watchmaker.

The Apple Watch Series 3 will ship with an aluminum case in either Gold, Silver or Space Gray as well as premium ceramic options in White or Black. In addition, the company wanted to crow about its new Sport Loop band — a cloth, Nato-style smartwatch band that’ll handle the elements. The base model Series 3 will ship for $329, while the LTE variant will set you back $399, with size and case options running up into the thousands depending on your wallet.

Oh, and Apple is keeping the Series 1 model around as a super-low budget option, with pricing beginning at $249. The Series 3 units, meanwhile, will be available to pre-order from September 15th, with shipping expected to commence on September 22nd.

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Apple details new heart-tracking features for Watch

Apple is expanding the health-monitoring features of its Watch line with a focus on the heart. The Apple Watch is getting an improved heart-rate monitoring system that allows users to raise their wrists to see their heart rates and fresh metrics, among a raft of other new features. The Watch will also notify wearers if their heart rate jumps up when they’re not actually exercising, signaling a potential problem.

Apple wants the Watch to be able to detect common heart conditions such as atrial fibrilation, which affects tens of millions of people and often goes undiagnosed. To this end, Apple is partnering with clinicians at Stanford for a study to determine whether the Watch can accurately detect abnormal heart rhythms, or arrhythmias, in wearers.

The study uses data from the Apple Watch to analyze arrhythmias, and the company has been working closely with the FDA to organize this entire endeavor. The Apple Heart Study and new features will go live in the US App Store later this year.

Apple sees a clear role for the Watch in the health-monitoring market, launching services like HealthKit and ResearchKit that are designed to provide biometric feedback to patients and doctors alike. A recent study from Cardiogram and the UCSF Health lab demonstrated the Apple Watch’s ability to reliably detect paroxysmal atrial fibrillation when the system is paired with neural network algorithms. All of this work provides a solid foundation for the nationwide Apple Heart Study.

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Apple TV 4K lands on September 22nd for $179

The last Apple TV was everything we wanted from a set-top box — except for 4K support. That’s being fixed this year with the Apple TV 4K. It finally gives Apple fans a way to watch higher-resolution streaming video and, not surprisingly, it’ll also accompany the debut of 4K video on iTunes. Naturally, you’ll also be able to watch high-res content on Netflix and other services, as well as take advantage of high-dynamic range lighting with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The new set-top box puts Apple on a level playing field with competitors like Roku and Amazon, which have offered 4K and HDR support for a while.

Surprisingly, Apple isn’t planning to charge more for higher-resolution versions of iTunes films. Your existing HD iTunes purchases will be upgraded to 4K/HDR for free, and the company says new 4K releases will cost the same as existing films. That’s notable since services like Vudu charge a premium for higher-res releases. As you’d expect, Apple has also redone the TV’s interface in 4K. At the launch event today, the company played a short clip from Spider-Man: Homecoming in 4K, which started up without a hitch.

The Apple TV 4K is powered by the A10X Fusion chip — last seen in this year’s iPad Pro models — as well as 3GB of RAM, just like we expected. The company claims its CPU performance is twice as fast as the last Apple TV, and its graphics speed is four times as fast. With all of that power, it’ll be able to handle 4K video at up to 60 frames per second. While most video either runs at 24 or 30FPS, being able to handle 60FPS future proofs the Apple TV a bit.

Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk is the first 4K Blu-ray on the market supporting 60FPS, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more directors start experimenting with the higher frame rate. It’ll be particularly useful in nature documentaries, as it makes footage look much more fluid and realistic. There’s also plenty of 4K/60FPS content on YouTube to help you get a taste of the format.

As for content, Apple says it’s working on getting more local video services on the streaming box. It’ll be particularly important for regional sports, which typically requires a cable or satellite subscription. Naturally, the additional horsepower will also enable more immersive game experiences. Journey developer Jenova Chen showed off a new game called Sky, which you control by waving the Apple TV remote around.

You’ll be able to order the Apple TV 4K on September 15th for $179, and it’ll ship on September 22nd.

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Apple won’t charge extra for 4K movies, upgrades 1080p flicks for free

Now that there’s a 4K, HDR-ready Apple TV, the company is pushing content that takes advantage of those capabilities. Eddie Cue just announced on stage that not only will 4K movies cost the same amount as 1080p flicks on iTunes, the company is also upgrading existing HD purchases to 4K for free.

Developing…

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Apple Reveals New ‘Apple Watch Series 3’ With Cellular Built-In

Today at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, Apple revealed the newest version of its wearable device, which it’s calling the “Apple Watch Series 3.” The new Series 3 version of the device has cellular capabilities built right into the device, so you can leave your iPhone behind and still receive calls, messages, listen to Apple Music, and more. The Apple Watch’s number is the same as your iPhone’s, Apple confirmed.

You’ll be able to pre-order the Apple Watch Series 3 on September 15, and it’ll launch September 22. The new device will come in two versions: one with cellular and Wi-Fi from $399, and one with just Wi-Fi from $329.

In addition, watchOS 4 includes a Heart Rate complication, and the smart watch can measure new heart rate data like resting heart rate. The Apple Watch will also notify you when it detects an elevated heart rate, and can even detect irregular heart beat rhythm thanks to the new “Apple Heart Study.” watchOS 4 debuts September 19.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 3, watchOS 4
Tag: September 2017 event
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
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Apple Announces New Watch Bands and Finishes for Apple Watch Series 3

Apple announced new bands and finishes for the Apple Watch Series 3 during its special event at Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, Cupertino today.

Apple is now offering a new space gray finish for the case of the latest Watch, as well as a new sport loop woven band, and new Nike Plus models. There are also new Hermès editions available.

Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular connectivity will be available in 9 countries and 14 carriers from September 22.

More to follow…

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 3, watchOS 4
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
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Apple Announces ‘Apple TV 4K’ With 4K HDR Support, iTunes Movie Prices Same as HD Films

Apple today announced the “Apple TV 4K” during its keynote at Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. Eddy Cue introduced the device, explaining that the new set-top box has “4K HDR,” which will deliver high-quality video content for users to watch. This even includes advancements to the Apple TV’s user interface and text fonts.

The company played a clip from Spider-Man: Homecoming to show off the included A10X chip, the same chip that’s in the iPad Pro that has 4x faster graphics and 2x faster CPU performance. Cue said that the price of 4K HDR movies on iTunes will be the same price as HD movies, and if you’ve already purchased eligible HD movies you’ll get the 4K versions for no extra charge.

The Apple TV 4K will start at $179, and pre-orders open September 15. The device will launch September 22.

Tag: September 2017 event
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Jaguar plans a production EV racing series for 2018

To date, watching a full-fledged EV racing series has meant watching custom-built Formula E race cars. They’re great to watch, but not exactly reflective of what you can drive on the road. Jaguar aims to fix that. It’s launching the first production-based electric vehicle race series, the I-Pace eTrophy, as a support series for Formula E in late 2018. It’ll run on the same tracks as Formula E, but it’ll rely on (what else?) a track-optimized version of the upcoming I-Pace SUV. Up to 20 drivers will take part in each race in an “arrive and drive” package — they’ll need an international racing license, but Jaguar and the FIA will take care of vehicles and support.

It’s safe to say that the eTrophy is a promotional tool. It doesn’t have the manufacturer variety of GT-class racing, not to mention the sports cars and performance sedans that you tend to see in most conventional production-based races. Each race is just 30 minutes long, too, so you’re not going to see epic-length battles. Still, it’s a start. This not only widens the possibilities for electric motorsports, but might draw attention to the performance capabilities of road-going EVs. If you knew that many production EVs could smoke many gas-powered cars, you might be more likely to pick one up — if just for the bragging rights.

Source: Jaguar