2017 October | AIVAnet

4

Oct

The Razergon VR headset lets you enjoy wireless mobile VR, no phone needed

Why it matters to you

The wireless Razergon VR headset removes the need to own a particular phone to enjoy a decent mobile VR experience.

The Samsung Gear VR and the Google Daydream headset need a phone inside to work. The HTC Vive and Oculus Rift need to be connected to a computer to work. All provide great VR experiences, but where is the in-between? What is the VR solution for someone who doesn’t have the requisite phone, or a high-powered computer? Newcomer Oqtagon hopes it has the answer with its Razergon VR headset, a wireless standalone VR system launched on Kickstarter.

Oqtagon’s quest with the Razergon headset is to make a affordable headset that’s easy to use, provides a great VR experience, and doesn’t require specific hardware to work. The result is a headset that operates like a Gear VR or Daydream VR, but with the phone, or brains, permanently fixed inside. In front of your eyes are lenses providing a 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution image, which is the same provided by a Samsung Galaxy S8 or Pixel XL, only here it’s LCD rather than OLED. The field of view is listed as 90 degrees, slightly lower than Samsung’s Gear VR.

The device is made from ABS plastic to keep the weight down, and covered in a metallic paint finish. An unnamed quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM power the Razergon VR — remember, the chip isn’t doing anything else other than running the headset, so power shouldn’t be a problem — and it has a Mali 764 graphics processor alongside. The headset has 6GB of internal storage, a MicroSD card slot, a headphone jack, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, an HDMI-out, and its own battery charged with a Micro USB cable. The specification list could easily be taken from a smartphone.

Software and controls

A custom version of Android operates the Razergon VR headset, with access to Google Play, and a separate controller is used to navigate the operating system, and to play games. It has buttons, a trigger, and motion sensors, similar to the Google Daydream controller. Like Gear VR, there is a capacitive touchpad on the side of the headset itself. The internal battery is expected to last for four hours before needing a recharge. The headset can be tethered to your phone, but as yet there are no apps taking advantage of that feature, while the Bluetooth connection will link headphones, keyboards, and mice to the headset.

That covers the technical side of the headset, but the success of any VR headset comes down to the software, apps, and experiences available for it. Digital Trends asked Oqtagon co-founder Galen Law-Kun what we could expect to play and watch on the headset. He told us, “The headset is compatible with Cardboard VR Apps, we’re still working on integrating Daydream applications. The whole operating system will take some time to mature and we’re slowly adding new features as we get user feedback.”

The cheapest Razergon VR headset is $220 if you’re quick to back the Kickstarter campaign. The limited software support is a concern, but the headset isn’t expected to ship until February next year, so there is time for it to be improved before then. It needs Daydream VR support at a minimum, in our opinion, but the LCD screen inside the headset may cause problems with this, as Daydream’s minimum phone specification requires OLED. Razergon VR’s headset is available to pre-order through Kickstarter now.

4

Oct

Quantum encryption used Chinese satellite to protect international video call

Why it matters to you

Encryption in the future could be effectively impossible to breach, if this experiment is any indication.

A combined effort between Austrian and Chinese scientists has managed to conduct the first quantum encrypted video call, making it “at least a million times safer” than conventional encryption. The experiment that proved its viability utilized a Chinese satellite specifically launched for conducting quantum physics experiments.

Encryption became a major talking point in the wake of the 2013 Edward Snowden revelations and has continued through this day as people search for ever greater security for their personal communications. Services like WhatsApp utilize end-to-end encryption, but as secure as that is, quantum encryption is far, far more complicated and effectively impossible to crack.

Due to the nature of quantum mechanics, if the quantum key that is generated to obfuscate a message — in this case a video call — were viewed by an outside party, its content would change, thereby rendering it useless. That would, in turn, inform those who sent and received the message that it was potentially intercepted, too.

To generate such a key, researchers at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, sent “photons” from the Chinese Micius satellite to ground stations on the Earth.

“The single photons with their various polarizations were […] transmitted as a sequence of ones and zeros to the ground station near the Austrian city of Graz,” explained researchers. “There, the polarization states were measured and compared randomly with the sequence sent by the satellite.”

The same procedure was then repeated on the ground, effectively creating two quantum keys. These were stored on the satellite, combined during orbit and then retransmitted to Earth. With a copy of the combined key at both ends of the eventual call, the researchers were able to verify the communication was legitimate.

When the video call between Vienna and Beijing took place, the researchers had no problem encrypting and decrypting the information both ways. If any changes had been noted in the data sent by the transmitter or receiver, the researchers would know that the call’s data had been intercepted. Although the data would still be unreadable, knowing someone has attempted to view it provides invaluable data when it comes to secure communications.

As effective as this encryption is, however, its unique hardware requirements mean it’s still a long way from being a mainstream obfuscation technology. Those concerned with privacy should still take note that researchers are working on future-proofing your security in a manner that should be near impossible to break, unlike current standards.

4

Oct

Astell & Kern AK70 Mk II hands-on review

Research Center:
Astell & Kern AK70 Mk II

Two is always better than one, right? When you’re Astell & Kern it certainly is, as demonstrated by the the new AK70 Mk II music player, which has dual Cirrus Logic CS4398 digital-to-analog-converter (DAC) chips inside, instead of the single one used in the previous model. Not that you’d know just from looking at the player, as the same eye-catching, hewn-from-a-solid-metal-block look has been retained. In our AK70 Mk II hands-on review, we find out if doubling the DAC chipsets means the player delivers double the audio pleasure.

The look

Let’s talk about design and feel first. Smartphones, which have become the go-to music player for most, have increasingly grown in size over the past few years. The Astell & Kern AK70 Mk II is much more compact, and easily fits in the palm of your hand, or slips in your pocket. It’s not a tiny sliver of a thing that’ll fall out of your hand like the last generation Apple iPod, Sony’s NW-ZX300, or even Astell & Kern’s own AK Jr, though. There’s genuine heft and thickness from the anodized duralumin body, which weighs 150 grams; but instead of being off-putting, it feels high quality, expensive, and reassuringly well made.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

A 3.3-inch AMOLED screen shows the custom, Google Android-based operating system. It’ll be familiar to anyone coming from a phone, with swipes, taps, and gestures controlling the main functions. However, the OS lacks the responsiveness one expects from a modern Android phone, and some of the buttons are tiny on the small screen, which means there is potential for it to be frustrating to use on the move. It looks wonderful though, with the deep blacks and high contrast colors we expect from an AMOLED display shining through.

The oversize volume control on the side looks great, adding visual punch to the player, and while it requires lots of twists to dramatically increase the volume, this is by design: Unlike phones that present broad changes between volume levels, Astell & Kern’s players offer a higher level of control so you can dial in the sound just right. That said, it’s easier – and faster — to swipe up and down on the touchscreen for volume control.

Astell & Kern AK70 Mk II Compared To

Samsung Galaxy Muse

Apple iPod Nano Review (Sixth…

Microsoft Zune HD 16GB

Apple iPod Shuffle 3G

Cowon O2 8GB

Apple iPod Touch 2G 16GB

Apple iPod Nano 8GB (4G)

Samsung P2 4GB

Apple iPod Classic (80GB)

SanDisk Sansa Connect (4GB)

Apple iPod Video 30GB

Apple iPod nano 4GB

Archos Gmini 400

Philips KEY003

Samsung Yepp YP-55V

Otherwise, the buttons are all easy to reach, and it’s obvious what they do. We’re less likely to constantly interact with the AK70 Mk II than we are a phone, so the minor interface sluggishness will be just that — minor.

Vocal superiority

We only had a small selection of demo tracks to try after plugging in our headphones — for our demo, we used our trusty pair of B&O Play H2 on-ears — but there was enough variety to give us a strong impression. It’s instantly obvious just how much the AK70 Mk II loves to sing. Vocal tracks soar and beguile, demonstrating the AK70 Mk II’s rich tuning. Rebecca Pidgeon’s Spanish Harlem was utterly involving, and wonderfully intimate.

Doubling the DAC chipsets means double the audio pleasure.

The strummed bass line never overpowered the singer’s sweet voice, and it made us smile all the way through — which ultimately, is what quality sound should do. It’s very easy to fall for the AK70 Mk II when it facilitates these emotions. This isn’t to say non-vocal tracks suffer. Duke Ellington’s In A Mellow Tone was detailed and lively, while the stereo separation at the start of David Bowie’s Starman was precise and fun.

Listening to music on a device dedicated to doing so is an eye-opening experience. Smartphones can sound great — the LG G6 and LG V30 spring to mind — but can’t deliver the same power, versatility, or musical energy as the AK70 Mk II. It plays most major file types, from MP3 to FLAC, and in 24bit/192KHz resolution, while DSD files will be converted to PCM. The player offers 64GB of storage, with 256GB more available via an SD slot. Upgraded circuitry means improved signal-to-noise ratio, crosstalk, and reduced jitter over the AK70 Mk 1. Onboard Wi-Fi lets you connect to streaming music services, and the good news is the player has AptX HD support through the Bluetooth connection.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The AK70 Mk II also has a larger battery than the original, though Astell & Kern tells us this mostly gets eaten up by the second DAC chipset, making the upgrade a wash. Battery playback is estimated between 6-8 hours per charge. In addition to the regular 3.5mm headphone jack, a more powerful 2.5mm balanced output — almost doubling the Mk I player’s 2.3Vrms output to 4.0Vrms — is alongside it, ready to drive more capable, demanding headphones. We didn’t get the chance to try this out in our quick demo. Finally, we like the way the AK70 Mk II can be plugged into your computer to act as a dedicated headphone DAC, letting you enjoy improved sound quality at home too.

Doubling the technology hasn’t given Astell & Kern reason to double the price. The AK70 Mk II is $700, up $100 from the AK70 Mk 1, which although pricey when your smartphone will play at least some of the music files with moderate results, is excellent value when you consider this is the first A&K music player to include dual-DACs below the $1,000 price point.

Whether it’s worth that level of financial investment will come down to your love of music and depth of wallet. However, as storage space and battery life on smartphones becomes more of a concern, and availability of high quality music becomes greater, owning a dedicated music player is making more sense every day. We’d recommend testing the versatile, great sounding, and eye-catchingly styled Astell & Kern AK70 Mk II if this predicament sounds familiar.

4

Oct

Bridge that communication gap with the WT2 earphone translator

Why it matters to you

Not a polyglot? Not a problem, as long as you have the WT2 earphone translator handy.

Breaking down those communication barriers may be a much quicker process than previously anticipated if Timekettle’s WT2 prove to be everything we hope they are. These earpieces aren’t meant for delivering your favorite songs or podcasts, but rather for communicating with foreign language speakers. Because not being a polyglot shouldn’t stop you from having a conversation with just about anyone in the world.

Rather than talking past one another in your respective languages, the WT2 claims to actually allow for real-time translation. That means that you can speak face-to-face with your fellow human, and immediately decipher his or her message without the need for a mediator. Promising natural, hands-free communication, the WT2 seeks to enable conversations in two different languages via two earphone translators and one app. Simply don one of the earphones, speak in your language, and your interlocutor will hear in theirs.

Using the WT2 looks to be pretty simple. Simply pull them out of their charging case when you’re meeting with someone who doesn’t speak the same language, and give one to your new friend. The earbuds will automatically pair with an iOS app, and begin listening for your communication. If you’re speaking in Spanish to an English speaker, your friend will hear your Spanish words in their native tongue after a short delay. And when your friend replies in English, you’ll hear said response in Spanish.

This simple and straightforward approach to real-time translation allows for more natural interactions. You’ll still be able to maintain eye contact, gesture, and use other non-verbal cues, all while understanding one another in your respective languages.

The device is actually said to work quite well. While there is a latency issue (which could make for some awkward staring), it seems as though the actual translation portion is functional. Be warned, however, that you’ll need a strong Wi-Fi connection for the WT2 to work. So if you’re out in the middle of a desert and need to communicate with your camel handler, you might be out of luck.

Currently, the WT2 supports six languages: Mandarin Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish; but more are said to be on the way. You can pre-order a WT2 now for $149, and expect shipment in January 2018.

4

Oct

Bridge that communication gap with the WT2 earphone translator

Why it matters to you

Not a polyglot? Not a problem, as long as you have the WT2 earphone translator handy.

Breaking down those communication barriers may be a much quicker process than previously anticipated if Timekettle’s WT2 prove to be everything we hope they are. These earpieces aren’t meant for delivering your favorite songs or podcasts, but rather for communicating with foreign language speakers. Because not being a polyglot shouldn’t stop you from having a conversation with just about anyone in the world.

Rather than talking past one another in your respective languages, the WT2 claims to actually allow for real-time translation. That means that you can speak face-to-face with your fellow human, and immediately decipher his or her message without the need for a mediator. Promising natural, hands-free communication, the WT2 seeks to enable conversations in two different languages via two earphone translators and one app. Simply don one of the earphones, speak in your language, and your interlocutor will hear in theirs.

Using the WT2 looks to be pretty simple. Simply pull them out of their charging case when you’re meeting with someone who doesn’t speak the same language, and give one to your new friend. The earbuds will automatically pair with an iOS app, and begin listening for your communication. If you’re speaking in Spanish to an English speaker, your friend will hear your Spanish words in their native tongue after a short delay. And when your friend replies in English, you’ll hear said response in Spanish.

This simple and straightforward approach to real-time translation allows for more natural interactions. You’ll still be able to maintain eye contact, gesture, and use other non-verbal cues, all while understanding one another in your respective languages.

The device is actually said to work quite well. While there is a latency issue (which could make for some awkward staring), it seems as though the actual translation portion is functional. Be warned, however, that you’ll need a strong Wi-Fi connection for the WT2 to work. So if you’re out in the middle of a desert and need to communicate with your camel handler, you might be out of luck.

Currently, the WT2 supports six languages: Mandarin Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish; but more are said to be on the way. You can pre-order a WT2 now for $149, and expect shipment in January 2018.

4

Oct

8 Infamous tech flops that were way ahead of their time

Why it matters to you

These ideas may have flopped on first release, but in retrospect they turned out to be right on the money. Despite losing a bunch of it at the time.

Not every tech product can be a winner in the marketplace, but some failures don’t deserve to be thought of as disasters. Whether it’s a good idea executed badly, a great product that was too expensive, or simply a futuristic idea which was way ahead of its time; here are eight tech flops which were later revisited more successfully.

Noble failures of tech, we salute you!

Apple’s Newton MessagePad (1993)

A line of personal data assistants (PDAs), the portable Newton MessagePad was supposed to be Apple’s next big hit after the Macintosh. Arriving in 1993, the $699 first-gen device offered handwriting recognition able to recognize 10,000 words right out of the box, some impressive AI abilities for scheduling meetings, infrared technology for “beaming” data to other devices, and a whole lot more.

Unfortunately, it never really caught on. Despite Apple launching a number of new models which got progressively better, a combination of early negative press and lack of easy internet connectivity meant the MessagePad is considered one of the biggest flops in Apple history.

After all, a pricey mobile device built by Apple? What kind of a nut would think that could be a hit?

LaserDisc (1978)

Anyone who thinks that DVD was the first digital home video format in which movies were stored on disc needs to think again! Launched all the way back in 1978, LaserDiscs offered far superior image and sound quality to VHS tapes, and pioneered the kind of movie “extras” which later became a key part of DVD and BluRay presentations.

Unfortunately, the discs themselves were easy to damage, the expensive LaserDisc players could be excessively loud, and there was no way to record TV shows with them. They eventually sputtered out in the 1990s.

Sony Glasstron (1996)

Costing $900 ($1,350 today), the Sony Glasstron was a head-mounted display which promised to replicate “the viewing experience of a 52-inch TV at 6.5 feet.” Inside were twin 0.55-inch LCD screens, each one boasting a resolution of 180,000 pixels.

Slap on a pair of stereo speaker earbuds, chow down on some popcorn, and — from your perspective — it was like you were sitting in a real movie theater. From else’s perspective, you looked like a bit of a dork. Oh, and it probably made you feel a bit nauseous, too.

Regardless, it’s the ancestor of today’s more successful generation of VR headsets.

Polaroid Polavision (1977)

Imagine being able to take the instant approach to photography pioneered by Polaroid, and apply it to moving pictures. That doesn’t sound too spectacular in an age in which entire movies have been shot on smartphones, but it certainly sounded pretty impressive back in 1977.

Polavision included a camera, film, and movie viewer that let you rapidly develop your motion picture and screen it. The problem was that the movies included no sound, ran just 2.5 minutes each, and required incredibly bright light to film, due to the slow film speed. Most people went with Super 8 cameras in the short term — even though this required sending your films off to be developed. Later on, both were replaced by VHS tapes and the arrival of the camcorder.

WebTV and MSN TV (1996)

From the nostalgic sounds of the dial-up tone to Usenet newsgroups to the fact that we ever thought looping MIDI themes were a good quality for a website to possess, there’s plenty about the early days of the internet that we look back on with rose-tinted glasses. Something that nobody remembers fondly? Attempts to use televisions as makeshift monitors for accessing the web.

While it sounded cool and high tech, clumsy controls interfaces and the generally horrible resolution of 1990s TV sets meant that this was more an exercise in frustration than anything else. The most notable attempt at a web-connected set-top box was WebTV, which offered TV-based e-mail and internet browsing via a wireless keyboards.

It was later rebranded as MSN TV by Microsoft, but failed to catch on under any name with customers. Today, of course, smart TVs are pretty much everywhere.

AT&T Picturephone (1970)

There was once a time when the idea of a videophone seemed every bit as futuristic and impossible as teleportation and flying cars. One of the companies that tried to change that? AT&T with its Picturephone service, launched commercially way back on June 30, 1970.

For the bargain price of just $160 a month (around $1,000 in today’s prices), plus 25 cents per minute after a “free” half hour, users could call one of the other hundred or Picturephones scattered around the U.S. It didn’t exactly take off, although services like Skype and FaceTime show that AT&T was definitely thinking along the right lines.

Sega Dreamcast (1998)

It still physically pains us that the Dreamcast is not only considered a commercial flop, but that it brought an end to the videogame glory days in which Sega was a maker of brilliant hardware, instead of a publisher churning out terrible Sonic the Hedgehog games.

The Dreamcast may have represented the end of an era in some ways, but it was incredibly forward-looking in other regards. The biggest one: including a modem in every console to allow gamers from around the world to play against each other, participate in leaderboards, chat, or download content. And all back in the heady days of 1998!

Power Glove (1989)

It seems unimaginable that a product called the “Power Glove” could have ever been a commercial failure, but somehow it was. Launched by Mattel as a NES accessory in 1989, it offered users a new way of interacting with Nintendo games by way of various gestures.

Although it became a cult hit, it failed to sell at the time — and, as with several of the technologies on this list, didn’t work quite as well as advertised. Nonetheless, it’s pretty clear that this is the same concept that would later be more successfully adopted for technologies like the Wiimote, the PS move, and motion controllers for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

4

Oct

8 Infamous tech flops that were way ahead of their time

Why it matters to you

These ideas may have flopped on first release, but in retrospect they turned out to be right on the money. Despite losing a bunch of it at the time.

Not every tech product can be a winner in the marketplace, but some failures don’t deserve to be thought of as disasters. Whether it’s a good idea executed badly, a great product that was too expensive, or simply a futuristic idea which was way ahead of its time; here are eight tech flops which were later revisited more successfully.

Noble failures of tech, we salute you!