The Galaxy Note 8 Alcantara case is like a soft blanket for your phone

Remember Snuggie? This is not that. This is a case.

I’ve been meaning to put my thoughts on the Note 8 down for a few weeks now, but they’re basically the same as Andrew’s: it’s a great, huge phone that has many redeeming qualities, including a beautiful screen, admirable performance, and an S Pen that I love and want to use, but don’t. Oh, and battery life is fine. Not sure what everyone’s on about in that regard.

BUT I do have something nice and effusive to say about the shag carpet Alcantara case, which I picked up alongside my blue Note 8 at launch. Samsung’s first-party accessories tend to be hit-or-miss, and while I initially scoffed at the idea of putting a soft, suede-like cover on my phone, I have no regrets: this is one of the best I’ve ever used.

This is a first-party accessory that’s worth the higher cost.

Let’s start with the fit and finish. When a company makes its own accessories, they tend to fit better than those of third parties — not universally true, but there’s a correlation. (You’d also hope for high quality if it costs $49.) This thing fits like a glove and finds the right balance between protection and bulk. The Note 8 is already an oversized phone, especially vertically, so I was concerned about using any case with it.

The Alcantara case hugs the sides and top while leaving the bottom area exposed, which, while not entirely protected, makes the most amount of sense from a usability perspective, especially when it comes to applying and removing it. Ideally, you want to easily access the S Pen, speaker, headphone jack, and charging port — the bottom is always busy on a Note device — so going with a full-perimeter case would have been too restrictive. And, selfishly, it lets me see just a little bit of that blue metal that, only available in Canada, I love so much. 🇨🇦

The case also does well to add a bit of a lip to the front of the phone, which is ideal when it comes to drop protection. Obviously, this isn’t going to be considered a heavy duty case in any way, so if you drop the phone while it’s in the Alcantara case expect some damage, but any lip is better than none. On the other side, there’s a nice little groove in which the camera(s) module sits, also protecting against scratches against that rear glass.

Holding the Note 8 while in the Alcantara case is a revelation. I noted above that the glass back is fairly grippy and I rarely left nervous about clutching it naked (the phone was naked, not me — probably) but there really is something to this material.

Alcantara is fairly new to the tech industry — we’ve seen it pop up in a few cases, as well as Microsoft’s beautiful Surface Laptop and Surface Pro Type Cover — but it’s been used in cars and home furniture since the 1970s. In fact, it’s a brand; Alcantara is the name of the company that creates the material.

That material is basically a mixture of polyester and polyurethane — in other words, mostly plastic — which gives it its tensile strength. In the manufacturing process, however, the fibers are woven similarly to other threaded textiles to form the suede-like outer portion that makes it so pleasant to hold. But unlike suede and other leathers, Alcantara doesn’t tarnish quite as easily — sure, it can discolor over time, but if treated well, and occasionally washed with soapy water, it should hold up nicely.

Having only pawed the Note 8’s Alcantara case for a few days, I can’t say whether it will hold up as well as a typical plastic case, but so far, so good.

Interested? You can pick up an Alcantara case for the Note 8 in one of four colors — black, green, pink, and dark gray (shown here) — for $49.

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AT&T’s rural wireless internet is now available in 18 states

If you’ve been waiting for AT&T’s rural wireless internet to show up in your state, there’s now a good chance you can sign up. The telecom has launched the service in nine more states, or twice as many as it had just a few months ago. And this includes some of the most populous states in the country — California and Texas are included along with Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. AT&T says about 160,000 locations are covered (more than double what it could manage in June), and it’s reportedly still on track to serve 400,000 locations before 2017 is over.

As always, you’re not going to be blown away by the performance. You’re paying $60 per month for 10Mbps downloads and 1Mbps uploads, which doesn’t meet the FCC’s definition of broadband. However, it’s still better than the slow speeds of dial-up and entry DSL, and it’s likely to be more affordable than satellite. This is about getting reasonably fast internet in places that carriers normally won’t touch due to the relatively steep cost of wiring customers’ homes.

Source: AT&T Newsroom

LIFX Debuts New HomeKit-Enabled ‘Tile’ Modular Wall Lights

LIFX just recently introduced HomeKit support for its existing Wi-Fi connected smart bulbs, and today, the company is launching a new product with HomeKit compatibility, the LIFX Tile.

The LIFX Tile is similar to the Nanoleaf Aurora, offering a series of five 7.87-inch square plastic panels that are meant to be attached to a wall using 3M adhesive. Tile panels can be arranged in any configuration, but unlike Aurora, only five panels can be connected to a single controller.

Though only five panels can be connected, there are 64 individually addressable zones in each Tile for creating unique light patterns with multiple colors on each of the squares.

Across five panels, Tile offers 2100 lumens of light and can be set to turn any color just like LIFX bulbs. There’s also a dimming feature to control the light output.

According to LIFX, Tile is compatible with HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. Tile connects to a home setup over Wi-Fi, with no hub required to control the lights.

LIFX is charging $250 for its Tile Kit, which includes five tiles and a power pack. Pre-orders are available starting today from the LIFX website, with the product set to ship out in November.

Tag: HomeKit
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UVify’s Draco drone is fast, furious fun for wannabe racers

I’m flying high above the San Francisco Bay, maybe 150 feet in the air. I look down and start gliding toward a dilapidated skate park below. Once I’m near the ground I pull my nose up and look level with the horizon. Spotting two trees, I race toward them, pass between them, then turn on a dime, skirting some shipping containers on my left. It’s like every dream I’ve ever had about flying, but faster.

It’s also not a dream. I take off a pair of video goggles, and I see the shipping containers come into focus, this time directly in front of me, as my eyes adjust to the sunlight. This is my third “First Person View” flight with the Draco drone, and it’s more exciting every time.

I’ve been espousing the virtues of FPV drone flying to anyone who will listen for about two years now. There’s something addictive about the virtual sense of flying. It’s not just the live video feed from the drone into your eyes — it’s the connection between your hands on the controller and the maneuvers you make. It’s not unlike the difference between being a passenger or driver of a car. Many consumer drones, like DJI’s Phantom or Mavic, work with FPV goggles but you don’t really know FPV until you’ve flown something going 70 miles an hour. The Draco is the hot rod to DJI’s family sedan.

The first time I saw the Draco was at CES earlier this year. At its simplest, the proposition is a ready-to-fly racing drone, with a crystal-clear digital video feed. To understand why that matters you have to know two things. One, racing drones are typically hand-built requiring electronics skills (and time). Two, most FPV systems (transmitter/receiver and video goggles) use analog radio. Analog works fine, but the image quality isn’t great. Draco is ready to fly out of the box and uses a digital system to beam video through to your goggles (though it can work with analog if you want).

Originally, UVify was going to release two separate drones — depending on which video system you wanted — but in the end decided to make the Draco modular. This means if you buy the analog version today (Draco SD), you can upgrade it to digital at a later date. But ready-to-fly racing doesn’t come cheap. The SD model is already $699; going digital costs an extra $200 (though the HD version is currently on sale for $799).

This is not throwaway money, but flying the Draco is just so much fun that it’s hard to explain in words alone. The first time I took it out for a spin, I was surprised at how quickly I picked it up — which is rare for a relative newbie and a racing drone. Broadly speaking, a DJI Phantom is like driving an automatic: take your hands off the sticks, and it stays right where it is. Racing quads are more like Formula 1 cars, incredibly sensitive, and if you let go of the controls, well, it’ll just fall out of the sky. The Draco has something resembling a “beginner” mode, but it still handles like a wild animal compared to a drone you might buy at Target.

That said, even on my first outing, I was able to exhaust two batteries without crashing it. I flew cautiously, but after a few minutes, I had the basics down. But it wasn’t long before an on-screen alert in my goggles was nagging me to land. That’s a universal downside of racing drones: the pitiful battery life. The Draco’s last about seven minutes at a modest pace, but that can drop to half as much if you go full throttle the whole time (and if you do, you’ve obviously done this before).

UVify isn’t the first to offer a plug-and-play entry into racing drones. The Falcore by Connex has been around for a while and, on the surface of it, offers a similar experience. Except, I’ve flown the Falcore, and though it’s also a good introduction to racing-style drones, it’s simply not as nimble or elegant as Draco. Falcore glides through the air like it’s on ice; the Draco feels tight, agile and more race-ready.

You might not see too many Dracos on the starting line at race events just yet, though. Generally speaking, being able to build your own allows for a custom ride that suits your needs and style. Plus, drone racing generally hasn’t yet made the switch to digital. That said, UVify is already taking podium positions, with team pilot Trevor Christianson (The Viking) bagging 1st in “freestyle” at the Fat Shark Frenzie in Canada. The team has also been invited to Austria for Red Bull’s Dr.one event this weekend.

There is one advantage with the Falcore: Its maker Connex is the same company that pretty much sells the de facto digital FPV kit for drones. Even UVify needs a Connex receiver for the Draco, which is another $250. Falcore costs $699 and comes with everything but the goggles.

And that’s another thing. There are FPV video goggles out there in every price bracket, but to get the 720p HD experience I enjoyed, you’ll need something with HDMI input. Fat Shark is the go-to brand, and it makes many pairs with HDMI, but the forthcoming Base HD model is made specifically for digital video. With its superior display technology, it’ll cost you another $350 if you don’t already have a set lying around.

I would definitely recommend that you do go with something like the Base HD for your goggles. Half of the magic with the Draco is the quality of the image. I spent an afternoon with friends flying a number of analog drones (including the Teal), and the difference in quality is considerable.

With the Draco, San Francisco’s sky was beamed into my eyes in the rich, bright blue it deserved, while individual blades of grass disappeared beneath the drone in glorious HD as if I were flying over a turfed treadmill. When I then switched to the Teal’s analog video feed, things looked grainy and washed out.

If you want a ready-to-go racing drone with an (analog) FPV camera, you can pick up something like the Vortex 250 for about $350 — almost half the price of the SD Draco. The Vortex batteries will also cost you around $30. The Draco’s cost more than twice that at $149 a pair. That’s quite a price difference, and some might argue something like the Vortex is closer to what most racing pilots use.

All in all, the Draco will cost you north of $1,300 if you want the same HD experience I had, including all the connections and the Base HD goggles. That’s a chunk of change, so what’s the real benefit? For one, it’s truly ready-to-fly (even the Vortex can need a little wrangling to get up in the air). It’s also somewhat easy to repair if a motor goes. UVify sells spare arms that you just snap in/out ($110 for two). Lastly, the digital video feed just magnifies the FPV experience, and that makes it so much more thrilling to use.

If you’re already into racing drones, the Draco might be a harder sell. But if you’re curious, and want minimal fuss to get up in the air, Draco makes a lot of sense — as long as your budget allows. For my part, as a casual flyer who really just wants the thrills and spills of high-speed FPV, Draco is a high-grade solution to getting that fix, but gosh what a fun one it is.

Source: UVify

Microsoft Surface Pro with LTE could arrive on December 1st

At one of its Ignite sessions yesterday, a Microsoft spokesman disclosed that the LTE Surface Pro would be available for purchase starting December 1st, according to Neowin. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for confirmation and will update this post with any additional details they provide.

Back in May, the company announced the Surface Pro at an event in Shanghai. They promised that an LTE Advanced Radio would be available later this year. Neowin suspects that the LTE model will be officially announced next month in London, at the Future Decoded event.

Last week, a retailer in the UK began offering preorders for the device; Twitter user @RevellC first saw the listing. According to the retailer, as well as Neowin, consumers will only be able to purchase the device with a Core i5 processor. There will also reportedly be two options, a 4 GB RAM/128 GB storage and 8GB RAM/256 GB storage. Hopefully, we’ll see if these rumors are accurate soon enough.

Source: Neowin (1), Misco, Neowin (2)

Google Slides add-ons pull in content from around the web

Google Slides is about to make it easier if you want to whip together a polished presentation in a hurry. The productivity tool now supports add-ons that let you quickly drop in content without having to hunt for it in a separate website. You can add stock photos from Adobe, Shutterstock or Unsplash, for example. And if you want to customize things, there’s now an Apps Script that lets you automatically fetch data and otherwise spare you from repetitive tasks.

Not that you’ll necessarily have to implement a script. You now have the option of linking slides in different presentations to keep information synchronized between them. If a colleague has your company’s latest customer stats in their slides, it’ll automatically show up in your own work.

Other upgrades? There’s now integration between Keep and Slides, so you can drag your rough ideas into your deck to make them a reality. You can also insert diagrams, choose a grid view to see your slides as thumbnails and skip slides in a presentation without deleting them. All told, you may produce slicker-looking presentations with considerably less work.

Amazon is holding a surprise Alexa-focused event today at 1:30PM ET

Amazon hasn’t said anything about it publicly, but today at 1:30PM ET the company is expected to unveil a variety of new products to expand the Echo and Alexa family. The timing makes sense — with the holidays coming up, having fresh hardware to offer customers is a logical move. And there have been a number of rumors swirling about what we might see lately. Chief among those is new Fire TV hardware that doubles as an Alexa-enabled speaker. Basically, it sounds like a combo of the Fire TV and Echo Dot, which would provide a way to refresh your streaming video box while also adding Alexa functionality to your living room.

A second, more modest Fire TV would be more akin to Google’s Chromecast Ultra. It looks like a dongle you hang off of your HDMI port to stream video in 4K resolution. It’ll certainly be more affordable, as well. Amazon already has a small dongle-like piece of hardware in the existing Fire TV Stick, but it doesn’t support 4K playback.

Another product that’s a much more of a longshot is a pair of Alexa-enabled “smart glasses” — like Google Glass, but without a screen and with a much more subtle, standard design that is said to resemble a normal pair of eyeglasses. There hasn’t been much of a consumer market for such a device, though many companies appeared to be scared away after Glass was such a notable flop.

Finally, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman expects to see an updated Echo speaker that sounds significantly better than the existing model. That would be key to compete with Apple’s HomePod, which sounds great but doesn’t have nearly the voice-activated ecosystem that the Echo and Alexa currently provide. With this new speaker, you’d theoretically not have to choice between the Echo’s proven voice smarts and the HomePod’s excellent audio quality. Gurman also believes that Amazon is working on a home security system to compete with Nest Secure, which was just announced last week.

Both the Fire TV streaming box and Echo speaker (in black only) are currently unavailable on Amazon. That might not mean anything, but it could also be a hint that these products are about to be replaced. Either way, we’ll have the news for you this afternoon — Amazon isn’t offering a livestream of the event, but we’ll be at the company’s headquarters to deliver all the details.

Japan has delayed the Fukushima nuclear plant cleanup again

There’s been another delay in the plan to clean up the Fukushima nuclear plant. The Japan Times reported today that the country’s government approved another revision to the cleanup schedule that will push removal of radioactive fuel rods from reactor Units 1 and 2 three years further down the road. This latest delay, which is due to newly uncovered damage in the storage pools, means that the cleanup is now six years behind schedule.

Along with developing a safe plan for removing radioactive fuel rods and melted fuel, even just getting a good look at the state of the reactor units has proven to be pretty difficult. In February, it took just two hours for extremely high radiation levels in the reactor’s Unit 2 to destroy a robot sent in to clear debris and locate melted fuel. A second robot sent in a few days later also failed, though it was unclear whether that was due to radiation or the debris. In July, another robot fared a little better, snapping pictures of some melted fuel below Unit 3.

While fuel rod removal in Units 1 and 2 is now scheduled for 2023, debris removal in those units is still planned to begin in 2021. Unit 3 rod removal is expected to take two years to complete and is still scheduled to begin in 2018, though Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings — the plant operator — then has another major issue to deal with. It still doesn’t know what it’s going to do with all of the radioactive waste that starts to come out of the plant next year during cleanup. Decommissioning is expected to take 30 to 40 years to complete.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: The Japan Times, Associated Press

DirecTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket refunds following player protests

Once you subscribe to DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package, usually you’re locked in. According to their support site, no cancellations are allowed once the regular football season starts. But in an unprecedented move, The Wall Street Journal reports the satellite broadcaster is offering refunds to fans — a $280 value — if the reason for cancellation is players choosing to kneel during the national anthem, protesting injustices against people of color in the US.

The policy here isn’t clear: The Wall Street Journal reported that the representatives they talked to had various interpretations of how the refunds actually work. It’s possible that it’s a full refund; it also could be prorated for the remainder of the season. The policy could also only apply to certain subscribers or plans. Yet more representatives said that there was no refund policy at all. We’ve reached out to DirecTV for clarification.

However, some subscribers have confirmed that they have received refunds for their subscriptions. Chris Baker, one such customer, told The Wall Street Journal that the representative he spoke to “insinuated there was a high volume of calls calling into cancel.”

On Friday, the president stated during a speech that players should be fired for kneeling during the National Anthem. The NFL has so far been supportive of players’ right to express their opinions, but it’s unclear whether they’ll maintain that position once it starts affecting the sport’s revenue.

Via: ESPN

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Delta adds free messaging to its WiFi-enabled flights

Delta announced today that starting October 1st, it will offer free WhatsApp messaging on all of its Gogo-enabled flights, making it the first airline to offer free access to the messaging service. Facebook Messenger and iMessage will also be supported and all three messaging services will be accessible in flight through the airline’s WiFi portal page.

Delta has been testing out a number of other services aimed at streamlining the flight experience and reducing hassle. These include kiosks that let you video chat with an airline rep, replacing boarding passes with fingerprints and using face scans to check baggage. Delta also began rolling out RFID tags for luggage tracking and a map that allows customers to see exactly where their baggage is and where it has been.

While some of those programs — like the biometric identification — might not be everyone’s cup of tea, pretty much anyone can get behind free in-flight messaging. There is a caveat, customers will only be able to send texts, not video or photos. Delta’s chief marketing officer, Tim Mapes, said in a statement, “Even the most seasoned travellers can find themselves mid-air and caught out by a last-minute cancellation or arrangement. Rather than having to count down the hours until landing, Delta customers can continue socialising or working with the tap of a smartphone and enjoy peace of mind at every stage of the flight.”