Hoverboard problem smolders on as more recall notices are issued

If you thought the saga of exploding hoverboards was long gone then think again. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Tuesday urged owners of the LayZ hoverboard to stop using it after the device caused a house fire in Pennsylvania in October. It also issued a batch of recall notices on seven other models.

The CPSC first raised the alarm about the LayZ board in May following a house fire, also in Pennsylvania, which took the lives of two young children.

The LayZ hoverboard was manufactured in Shenzhen, China, and more than 3,000 units were imported into the U.S., the CPSC said. It added that it shouldn’t be confused with a similar model called the Lazyboard.

The consensus is that faulty batteries shipped with the board caused the fires, and as a consequence the safety body warned owners to “stop charging and stop using” the potentially dangerous device.

“Consumers who choose to dispose of their hoverboards should take them to a local recycling center for safe handling of the lithium-ion battery,” the CPSC said in a notice posted on its website on Tuesday.

It also issued recall notices on hoverboards made by seven other firms, namely Dollar Mania (Sonic Smart Wheels boards), Tech Drift, Digital Products iLive, iHoverspeed, Four Star Imports (Go Wheels board), Drone Nerds, and Salvage World (Smart Balance Wheel boards). Check out the CPSC’s tweet for direct links to each of the recall notices.

In all cases, the boards risk overheating and could, in a worst-case scenario, catch fire and even explode.

Yes, we’ve been here before

This latest news about dodgy hoverboards is likely to sound very familiar to many of you.

The boards, which in reality don’t hover but instead use wheels to trundle along the ground, were the big hit of the 2015 holiday season. Their sudden popularity prompted lots of overseas manufacturers to flood the market with their own versions, but their rush to do so resulted in many sub-standard units shipping with unstable lithium-ion batteries. Before long, there were reports of the boards — also known as personal transporters — going up in flames, sometimes taking a whole house with it.

Airlines banned them, Amazon stopped selling them, shippers refused to carry them, and more than half a million boards were recalled in the U.S. alone.

In January 2016, the CPSC even advised hoverboard owners to keep a fire extinguisher in their house in case the device exploded.

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Flipkart’s awkwardly-named Billion Capture+ is now up for sale in India

Flipkart’s first phone offers unlimited cloud storage and dual rear cameras for just ₹10,999.

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart has made its foray into the smartphone segment with its first self-branded phone, the Billion Capture+. Weird naming issues aside, the phone has a lot going for it: you get a 5.5-inch 1080p panel protected by Dragontrail glass, 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of storage, microSD slot, dual rear cameras, and a 3500mAh battery with USB-C and Quick Charge. The variant with 3GB of RAM costs just ₹10,999 ($170), with the 4GB version retailing for ₹12,999 ($200).

The Billion Capture+ is powered by the Snapdragon 625, a favorite in this segment. The phone features dual 13MP imaging sensors at the back, with an RGB sensor mated to a monochrome module. On the software front, the Billion Capture+ is running stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat, and the phone is guaranteed to receive the Oreo update (which is more than what you can say for most phones in this segment).

The phone itself is made by Smartron, a local OEM that’s heavily investing in its tronX IoT platform. The company says that a forthcoming update will enable the tronX platform on the Billion Capture+, bringing “highly intelligent, localized and personalized experiences and services” to the device. From Smartron founder and chairman Mahesh Lingareddy:

As India’s first global technology OEM and IoT brand, Smartron is committed to building a robust product ecosystem for connected devices in India through “Powered by tronX” program. The tronX intelligent software platform is going to be instrumental in this endeavor.

We are excited to be the Design and Manufacturing partner for Flipkart in bringing smartphones to Indians under Billion brand and are confident that this partnership will prove to be the first big step towards our vision of an enhanced indigenous ecosystem of connected devices and intelligent experiences which will be at par with global innovation standards.

The Billion Capture+ has all the ingredients to be a hit for Flipkart, and it’ll be interesting to see how the device fares in the country. What are your thoughts on the phone? Let us know in the comments below.

See at Flipkart

Safety commission recalls more hoverboards after another fire

It seems Hoverboards just won’t stop exploding. After the US government declared all self-balancing scooters unsafe, eight more hoverboard brands are being recalled. The latest fire, caused by the LayZ Board, destroyed one home and damaged four others last month, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission‏ (CPSC). It follows a fatal house fire at the hands of the same brand of hoverboard in March.

Today we’re issuing a LayZ Board hoverboard warning and 7 hoverboard recalls. 1/9

— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) November 14, 2017

Along with the LayZ Board, the CPSC is also recalling products by the following brands: Dollar Mania Sonic Smart Wheels, Tech Drift, Digital Products iLive, iHoverspeed, Four Star Imports Go Wheels, Drone Nerds, and Salvage World. If you’re in possession of one of the faulty hoverboards, you can get a full refund, store credit, or a replacement unit, depending on the brand.

The problem lies with the lithium-ion battery packs that power the self-balancing scooters. In the frenzy to capitalize on the hoverboard trend, it seems some manufacturers cut corners at the cost of public safety. As a result, the batteries have a tendency to overheat and catch fire or explode. Overall, the CPSC claims there have been more than 250 incidents caused by hoverboard fires since 2015, resulting in 13 burn injuries, three smoke inhalation injuries, and more than $4 million in property damage. By June of 2016, 501,000 self-balancing scooters had been recalled.

But, the market has improved since the Feds’ sweeping declaration last year. You can peep the safe hoverboards before you buy via Underwriters Laboratories’ online certifications directory.

Source: US CPSC

Tesla: Racial harassment lawsuit is a ‘hotbed of misinformation’

Tonight Tesla responded to a report of another lawsuit where a former worker, Marcus Vaughn, said he suffered from racial harassment at the company’s Fremont, CA assembly line. In a blog post titled “Hotbed of Misinformation,” Tesla calls its response (firing three people who worked on or near his team) a “fair and just response to the facts that we learned.” It also disputed Vaughn’s account on several points, including whether he complained to Elon Musk about the harassment, and claiming he wasn’t fired, but that his contract with a temp agency was not renewed.

Tesla also posted the full content of an email cited in the lawsuit, which it says “is dedicated to ensuring that Tesla employees always try to do the right thing, that being a jerk is not allowed, that everyone should be contributing to an atmosphere where people look forward to coming to work in the morning and that no one should feel excluded, uncomfortable, or unfairly treated.” It also says that “we” feel an apology for an offensive or hurtful statement should be accepted, to avoid what Tesla describes as the counterpoint — ruining someone’s life.

This is the language that Vaughn’s lawyer Larry Organ cited in a comment to Bloomberg, where he said that “The law doesn’t require you to have a thick skin…Tesla is not doing enough.” Whether or not Organ can convince the court Vaughn’s concerns do cover more than 100 employees (Tesla says they don’t), it appears he will have an opportunity to argue that point — its blog post made clear that Tesla “would rather pay ten times the settlement demand in legal fees and fight to the ends of the Earth than give in to extortion and allow this abuse of the legal system”

Source: Tesla Blog

MekaMon is an anime-styled battle bot you pilot with your phone

Between the success of shows like BattleBots and the amount of interest in last month’s MegaBots debacle, it’s pretty obvious that people really want to watch robots fight. But while watching two mechanical titans grapple can be satisfying, few things have captured the feel of the robot battles in video games and anime. Reach Robotics’ $300 MekaMon, which launches today in the Apple Store, might be the closest we’ve seen to capturing that cyber-future ambience. Its bots can run and climb around the physical world while also using AR to add virtual weaponry for the full Japanese mech experience.

Each MekaMon is a 2.2-pound spider-like device with a round torso that can fit in your hand. The plastic shells have a futuristic military style, reminiscent of Ghost in the Shell’s Tachikoma. But while those anime bots roll and hop around the streets of Tokyo, the MekaMon have four long legs that allow them to stroll around and traverse small steps. Leave one idle long enough and it’ll even do a set of pushups to keep itself occupied.

The robots are controlled via the iOS or Android app, which is loaded with lots of options for piloting your MekaMon. It doesn’t just let you control the robot’s direction with a joystick. You can also choose the kind of gait the robot walks with, from a scuttle to a lumber. You can also have your MekaMon hunker down low to hide behind objects. There are even a few programmed actions thrown in for fun, like lifting its leg as if it’s peeing on a hydrant and playing dead with a dramatic flair that puts Aibo to shame.

But MekaMon is more than just another robotic pet to play with. They were built for battle, and the app has two combat modes. For the single player, there’s an AR function that creates virtual opponents for you to fight. You place your Mekamon on the specially-marked mat and the app will render enemy robots to destroy and towers to defend. They may only exist in the confines of your screen, but your robot will treat them as tangible things it has to avoid. So you can’t ram into the simulated enemies or climb over the building you’re supposed to be defending.

While duking it out in an AR version of Asteroids has its charms, where MekaMon really shines is when you pit two of the robots in a head-to-head battle in the real world. One player sets up a battle on their device that the other player joins, with the system keeping track of both robot’s damage levels and other stats. You can set up a battle arena with obstacles that the robots have to climb over or barriers they can hide behind. In my testing the robots really excelled at making it over various piles of books and squatting to fit behind a wooden box.

Instead of relying on brute force, MekaMon robots use virtual projectiles represented by plastic guns you snap onto its torso. These become attacks you can access in the app, with their mechanics heavily inspired by those of collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering or Pokémon. Over time you can assemble a collection of different packages of attacks and defenses, choosing which “deck” you want to equip at the start of each battle.

You can fire virtual missiles or send out EMPs. However, you can’t just spam the button for a never-ending stream of fire; the robot can “overheat” and shut down for a short period of time, leaving it vulnerable.

The attacks are detected via infrared sensors, like the Laser Tag matches of your youth. And just like your childhood friends, the MekaMon dials up the drama, recoiling when hit and collapsing in defeat when its energy is depleted. These reactions make each battle feel a little more visceral, which is important when there’s no actual physical contact involved.

Even though they’re designed to avoid actually hitting each other, each MekaMon can take quite a beating. The body is made of durable plastic, and should survive some abuse at the hands of children or jealous pets. I even accidentally steered one off a table, but it landed on its feet and continued on its way with no problems. If parts came off they could have easily be popped back on or replaced completely: Each MekaMon is intended to be modded for that extra-personal touch.

The MekaMon might have been designed for battle, but its insect-esque legs and programming tics also have the effect of making it feel more organic and familiar. Other robots like the Cozmo use an expressive face or cute voice to generate empathy, but all the spider-like MekaMon needs is a crab-like shuffle and some hilariously over-dramatic death poses.

Reach Robotics’ ‘MekaMon’ AR Gaming Robot Available at Apple Stores for $299

Augmented reality gaming company Reach Robotics today announced that its MekaMon gaming robot is coming to Apple Stores throughout the US and UK starting on November 16.

Priced at $299.99, MekaMon is a real-life robot that melds real-world gameplay with augmented reality. MekaMon, a four-legged spider-shaped robot that measures in at 11.8in x 11.8in x 5.9in, is designed to let players battle their robots in both the physical and virtual worlds using iOS devices.

MekaMon is compatible with newer iOS devices and adopts the iPhone’s camera and infrared sensors for what Reach Robotics calls “precision gameplay.” MekaMon robots connect to one another using infrared signals as players’ iPhones connect over Bluetooth, letting friends battle against each other or participate in arcade and cooperative gameplay.

With the built-in augmented reality support, gamers can choose to play with their MekaMon robots either in the real world or using augmented reality. Once a battle is engaged, MekaMon is able to move and use objects in the room like tables, chairs, and more to block attackers.

Each MekaMon robot can be customized by adding weapons or shields to make the robot more aggressive, defensive, or technically inclined, and the MekaMon robots are compatible with Swift Playgrounds, so users can control their robots using Swift code.

MekaMon can be used as a code learning tool with users able to implement “fundamental coding concepts” to control MekaMon’s movements, reactions, and startup and shutdown features.

“We’ve created an entirely new video gaming platform,” said Silas Adekunle, CEO of Reach Robotics. “MekaMon straddles both the real and virtual worlds while taking the gaming experience beyond a player’s screen and turning their sitting room into a limitless robotic battle zone. MekaMon represents a quantum leap forward in the leveraging of augmented reality. Players can whip out their smartphone to battle their multi-functional, connected battlebots in the physical and virtual worlds at the same time.”

MekaMon can be purchased from Apple.com or MekaMon.com for $299 starting today. It will be in Apple retail stores tomorrow.

Tag: Apple retail
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Private Tutors is the Way to Go for People with Tight Schedules

Private tutoring is quite old, dating back to a time in history when Socrates, a great Greek philosopher, made Plato an exemplary student. Even in the contemporary society, this practice is quite popular, especially for parents who don’t spend adequate time with their children.

A site such as preply.com/en/Skype/math-tutors might help your kids catch up in maths, Chemistry or just fostering interest in languages, by, say, enlisting a French tutor. It usually gives the kids a special challenge away from the school environment, ending up with improved results.

Some families might prefer face-to-face lessons, either at their own or the tutor’s home. This depends on the level of trust built between the parents, kids and the service provider. However, most recent trends show that most people currently prefer online tuition, using no-frills audios and webcam chat.

According to Louise Harrison, a retired school teacher, parents don’t have to worry about the lack of a personal touch in online tuition. This is because it has worked for her students, with some scoring A’s and A*’s in the subjects she offers. According to her, the current generation does not find studying through the screen as hard as most parents may want to imagine it is.

Ms. Harrison believes that online lesson structures are almost the same for audio and webcam approaches, although she says that the initial is less distracting. For her, each virtual meeting involves working on similar resources on the screens, with the keen exploration of all arising problems or questions.

Studying is better when done in an interactive environment, as compared to one that is totally quiet. Good communication helps the student and tutor to get under the topic’s skin by the end of the sessions, which usually take 1 hour.

The anonymity of online communication helps the reticent and shyer students to shine, as compared to face to face encounters. These students might not gather a lot in school, but end up absorbing everything they learn over the internet.

Coaxing your child into harboring love for certain subjects might not be easy, and requires quite some time. Most parents today have limited time to spend with their kids, especially during weekdays. This is due to the current economic circumstances, which force one to take up more than one job. Therefore, most of these parents prefer hiring private tutors to do the job on their behalf.

For instance, a typical modern family man might have two jobs during the day, and an extra one at night. Coupled with family responsibilities and following their kids’ performance at school, it would be right to say that such a man’s plate is already full.

Now, let us assume that he wants to go back to school and sharpen or refresh his skills. Apparently, there won’t be any time available to go and sit in a class. Good news is that he can still learn if he hires a private tutor online. Together with the tutor, they can come up with a workable timetable.

Flexibility is one of the greatest advantages of private tuition. This is because it allows people with very tight schedules to learn at their own pace and at times when they are available.

UC Browser gets temporarily delisted on the Play Store for ‘misleading’ users

UC Browser has over 500 million downloads, and is a popular alternative to Chrome in India.

Alibaba-owned UC Browser is no longer available for download from the Play Store. The app is particularly popular in India, where it briefly overtook Chrome to become the most-used mobile web browser in the country earlier this year. The browser has a userbase of 420 million globally — racking up 500 million downloads on the Play Store last month — with over 100 million coming from India.

There’s no statement as to why the app was taken down, but the prevailing theory on Reddit is that the malicious redirect ads served up by UC Web’s affiliates to inflate installs prompted Google to take action and delist the browser.

An email received by Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii from UC Union (UC Web’s affiliate network) reinforces this theory:

Dear Partner, We hereby emphasis again that UC Union prohibits any and all misleading/malicious advertising method(s) to procure new users when promoting UC Browser campaigns, such as by using slogan inconsistent with the Product functions,
or by using inductive slogan.

DO NOT use the Malicious Promotion method(s) or STOP such behavior immediately if you are acting so.

Upon discovery a Malicious Promotion, UC Union is entitled to

(i) STOP your payment settlement, or DEDUCT your corresponding payment made to you;

(ii) compensation in recovery of the loss suffered by UC Union, including but not limited to loss of UC Union’s good will, loss of users of UC Union Product(s), removal of UC Union Product(s) from Google Play or Apple Store, and any other loss as a result of your Malicious Promotion;

(iii) require you to CLARIFY the facts for elimination of the negative impact shed upon UC Union; and (iv) resort to any other legal measures if necessary.

UC Union is looking forward to cooperating and developing with you in a healthy UC Union ecosphere.

While there’s no official statement from UC Web or Google regarding the delisting, it looks like the ban will be temporary:

I work for UC Browser,I got mail today morning it said that UC Browser was temporarily removed from play store for 30 days because it used “Misleading” and “Unhealthy” methods of promotion to increase installs

— Mike Ross (@SKz_14) November 14, 2017

The browser gained momentum in India over the last few years for its speed and sheer number of features, which included a robust download manager, customizable add-ons, and integration with third-party services.

While India is the second-largest market for UC Browser, an article in the Times of India back in August suggested the Indian government was looking to ban the browser for sending user information back to China. Today’s delisting doesn’t seem to be related to the security vulnerabilities reported in that article, however.

Although UC Browser isn’t available for download, UC Browser Mini is still up on the Play Store.

Android Central is giving away a gold Honor 6X!

The Honor 6X is a great phone at an affordable price, and we have one to give away! Keep reading to enter!

Honor’s 6X brings high-end features like a dual-sensor rear camera at a highly affordable price point. Sporting a premium metal construction and a price that can be found as low as $250 unlocked, the 6X is an easy phone to consider. The display is a 5.5-inch Full HD 1080p IPS panel, surrounded by 2.5D curved glass and your choice of a gold, silver, or dark gray metal body. Huawei’s octa-core Kirin processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 32GB internal storage you can expand via microSD card, along with Android 6.0, make the Honor 6X a compelling buy.

Now on to the giveaway!

THE PRIZE: One Android Central reader will win a Gold Honor 6x, MSRP: $199.99.

TO ENTER

• Click HERE to go to the forums and post in the contest thread. This is mandatory and gains you one entry into the giveaway.
• Once you have posted in the giveaway thread, you can earn more entries by participating in the Honor forums. Ask and answer questions, join in the conversation, and have fun! Just don’t spam the forums with valueless comments because they won’t count and could end up getting you disqualified from the giveaway.

Due to sponsor restrictions, this giveaway is only available in the US. We will keep it open until November 30, 2017, and the winner will be announced right here after the closing date. Good luck!

Essential Phone gets an Oreo treat in beta form

Essential Phone users can now get Oreo in beta, but expect bugs.

If you’ve been following the trials and tribulations of the Essential Phone, you’ll know that it arrived to market with a few showstopping bugs and a camera that wouldn’t quit. Oh, wait — a camera that always Force Quit.

Anyway, months later, the Essential Phone is now $200 less — a cool $499 — and considerably more stable, with improved camera quality and speed. And, as promised during a tell-all AMA, the phone now has access to Android 8.0 Oreo in beta.

The installation process is a bit convoluted and involves using the command line to sideload a new ROM through ADB, so if that the preceding words made no sense to you, it’s probably best to wait until the release is public, and available through an over-the-air update.

If those words made you salivate, though, the instructions are fairly straightforward.

Essential Phone

• Essential Phone review
• Essential Phone specs
• The latest Essential Phone news
• Join our Essential Phone forums!

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