Fewer Points of Failure [#acpodcast]

In this episode, Daniel Bader, Andrew Martonik, Alex Dobie, and Russell Holly wax philosophical about the Snapdragon 845 SoC and why the Pixel’s AR stickers are the most fun you can have with a camera. They also talk about the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition phone and a few spoiler-free thoughts on ‘The Last Jedi’.

The crew also delves into Synaptics’ new in-display fingerprint sensor and the Vivo phone it is launching on. Oreo is coming to the Galaxy S8 and renders have been leaked of the Galaxy S9. Finally, net neutrality has been killed by the FCC. What happens next?

Show Notes and Links:

• Snapdragon 845: Top 5 reasons to get excited

• The Pixel’s AR stickers are the most fun you can have with a camera

• OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition review

• Synaptics announces world’s first in-display fingerprint sensor, launching with a ‘top 5’ smartphone OEM

• In-display fingerprint sensor launching first on a Vivo phone

• Samsung Galaxy S8 Oreo update: Top features + what’s new!

• This is the Samsung Galaxy S9

• Net neutrality is dead – What happens next?

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Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/androidcentral365.mp3

Best 4K streamers of 2017

It’s easier than ever to watch 4K content. It’s also more confusing than ever. This will point you in the right direction.

It’s all about 4K, right? Ask anyone about streaming video, and they’ll all try to push you toward the future, which is Ultra High-Definition, or UHD. We’re talking about resolution, or the number of pixels pushed to a display. More is better — it means crisper, sharper pictures.

Maybe.

The problem is that there are a whole lot of variables at work. You need a display that can do a native 4K resolution. Sure, 1080p is good, but it’s not 4K. And it can’t do 4K. Then you’ll need a streaming solution that does 4K resolution. That’s pretty easy to come by. And then you have to deal with the fact that you can’t do a thing about the source feed itself — what’s being fed to your streaming provider.

And things get a even more muddied when you consider things like HDR — both the display and the box need to support the same standards, whether it’s the open-source HDR10, or the proprietary Dolby Vision. Same goes for audio with Dolby Atmos. It can’t be just one or the other — both the display and the box have to support the standard.

So, yeah. It’s kind of a mess. Here’s a high-level look at streaming boxes to get you started.

• Apple TV
• NVIDIA Shield TV
• Chromecast Ultra
• Amazon Fire TV
• Roku Ultra
• Xbox One X
• PlayStation 4 Pro

Apple TV 4K

The Apple TV 4K ($179 at Amazon).

What it is: Apple’s top-end streaming box. It starts at $179 for a 32GB model and ticks nearly every box on the specs sheet, including HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Plus it has an ethernet port for better connections to your network. It also serves as an Apple HomeKit hub.

Who it’s for: Pretty much everybody, but especially if you’ve got an iPhone, iPad or Mac, because you’re able to “AirPlay” over pretty much anything you can see on those devices on to your big-screen display. Also, this is the only device that can play content from Apple’s iTunes.

What it’s lacking: Not a whole lot. … You can even play back content you’ve bought Google Play Movies & TV. The biggest miss here is support for the Dolby Atmos audio standard. … It’s also lacking a good remote control. We’d recommend one of these instead.

See at Amazon   See at Apple

NVIDIA Shield TV

What it is: It’s the best Android TV box you can buy, period. It retails for about $179. Like the Apple TV it ticks off nearly every box for specs. Plus it’s one of the smattering of Android TV boxes that has access to Amazon Video. It’s also one hell of a gaming rig. And it has voice-activated access to Google Assistant. It’s got Ethernet, HDR10 and Dolby Atmos support. Plus expandable storage.

Who it’s for: This one’s also for pretty much everybody. And while Android folks will certainly have the most seamless experience, remember that Chromecast (Google’s version of AirPlay) also extends to a whole bunch of iOS apps. And there are a whole bunch of quality games (and some not-so-quality) available for purchase, or by subscription via NVIDIA’s GeForce Now $7.99-a-month subscription service.

What it’s lacking: There’s no Dolby Vision on board, and no access to iTunes content. (Which Apple doesn’t give to anyone else anyway.) The remote control is small and prone to be lost.

See at Amazon

Chromecast Ultra

Chromecast Ultra ($79 at Amazon).

What it is: Google’s $79 (or less, depending on sales) 4K streaming HDMI dongle. It’s not a full Android experience — instead it “casts” content from apps that support the Chromecast protocol. Because it’s a dongle it means it’s one fewer box to try to hide. It does HDR10 and Dolby Vision. You’ll use your phone (or Chrome browser) to control any and all content being fed to the Chromecast. There’s an Ethernet port built in to the power brick.

Who it’s for: Someone who wants a less-expensive option than the NVIDIA Shield TV, or who doesn’t want a full-fledged Android TV experience.

What it’s lacking: There’s a bit more manual labor involved in this one — no home screen or anything. So you’ll be casting from individual apps. But if you’re comfortable with that, it’ll serve you well. There’s no official Dolby Atmos support on board.

See at Amazon   See at Google

Amazon Fire TV

What it is: Amazon’s $70 (or less, on sale) HDMI dongle. It comes with a remote control, supports HDR10 and Dolby Atmos. It’s got access to pretty much everything except Apple content, though I’ve found apps on the FireOS to be slower than on Android TV or Apple TV.

Who it’s for: Someone who wants a less-expensive way to stream 4K and have super-easy access to everything Amazon puts forth, including Amazon Music and Amazon Photos.

What it’s lacking: There’s no Ethernet port, so you’re going to need a good wireless connection to maintain the 4K resolution. There’s also no Dolby Vision support.

See at Amazon

Roku Ultra

What it is: Roku’s top-shelf box — it retails for $99 or less — with Ethernet and USB. It supports HDR10 and has apps for pretty much every service out there. The included remote has large buttons and is easy to use, and allows for private listening.

Who it’s for: Someone who wants an easy-to-use streaming solution without locking in to the Apple or Android ecosystems.

What it’s lacking: No Dolby Atmos or Dolby Vision support, and it’s generally a much slower experience than Android TV or Apple TV. If you use HDHomerun for over-the-air content (and you should), you’re out of luck here — it’s not compatible.

See at Amazon

Xbox One X

What it is: It’s the best damned Xbox ever. That’s what. It’s also one hell of a 4K streamer at about $500. It does HDR10 and Dolby Atmos, has Ethernet and cable passthrough (via HDMI). Plus it plays the occasional game or two.

Who it’s for: If you’re a gamer — and specifically an Xbox gamer — then you’ve got to consider this for 4K streaming content. Or at least remember that it can do it all.

What it’s lacking: There’s no Dolby Vision support. The Xbox also is lacking streaming apps like PlayStation Vue (for obvious reasons), Google Play Movies and iTunes content.

See at Amazon

PlayStation 4 Pro

PlayStation 4 ($300 on Amazon).

What it is: Sony’s top-rated gaming box for about $350. It’s also a great streamer since it’s (obviously) a fan of PlayStation Vue. It’s got HDR10 and Ethernet.

Who it’s for: If you’re a PS4 person who wants to watch TV through the console as well. And there’s no reason why you shouldn’t.

What it’s lacking: No support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. And like the Xbox, it’s missing some competing apps — no Sling, for instance.

See at Amazon

Deezer’s ‘SongCatcher’ borrows Shazam’s song ID trick

As Tidal has showed us lately, streaming is a tough business, but underdog French company Deezer is trying to keep up with its giant rivals Spotify and Apple Music. The site is launching a new feature called SongCatcher that can identify any song, much like Apple’s new acquisition, Shazam. It works in much the same way; you launch the app, and it will identify any music playing from its 44 million song database. Once it’s found the tune, you can then add it to your favorites or playlist and play all the recognized tunes directly from SoundCatcher.

Deezer has around nine million paid subscribers compared to 60 million for Spotify (as of July 2017) and 30 million for Apple Music (October 2017). Apple isn’t the only company that is acquiring its way to better streaming, as Spotify recently purchased Mighty TV to improve content recommendations.

While companies like Spotify pay too much in royalties to actually make any profits, artists still say they’re not being paid enough for music streaming. In part, that’s because a large chunk of the royalties go to labels and distributors, not the musician. To avoid that trap, Deezer has dispatched editors around the world to attract local listeners in non-English-speaking markets. “I strongly believe in the localisation of content,” Deezer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht told Reuters recently.

The app is currently available in beta only, but will roll out to Premium+ subscribers over the coming months. It will be available on Android to start with and come to iOS next year.

The best Engadget stories of 2017

This year gave us an innovative new console from Nintendo, an iPhone without a home button, EVs and self-driving cars from almost all the major automakers, and fresh headaches for Twitter and Facebook alike. As busy as we were reviewing a new flagship phone seemingly every other week, Engadget’s writers and editors looked beyond that never-ending gadget cycle to deliver impactful, thoughtful features. In fact, some of our favorite stories from this year were weeks, sometimes months, in the making. Here’s a selection of our best pieces, chosen by the team. Enjoy, and here’s to even more long-form in 2018.

Aaron Souppouris
Features Editor

Inside LeEco’s spectacular fall from grace

You can usually look at an article and make an educated guess at how long it took to come together. A simple news post? Maybe a couple of hours. A review of a new phone? Perhaps a week. But Cherlynn Low’s investigation took months of planning and digging.

This one started life, as so many stories do, as a vague thought and a few hand-scrawled notes. But before long, Cherlynn had mapped out a five-year timeline, trawled through court documents and talked to multiple sources. With support from the Engadget features team and Engadget Chinese editor-in-chief Richard Lai, she managed to piece together a complete story about how things went so wrong at LeEco. Seeing it mature from idea to finished article was a privilege.

How the internet embraced a ‘Simpsons’-‘Akira’ mashup

Bartkira was one of those things that I was aware of but completely uneducated about. Through his feature, Nick Summers traced its origins so neatly, exposing the tension between the creator and the gatekeeper of the project (who, it turns out, aren’t the same person), and also highlighted stories from individual artists. To be fair, you could probably just give me a pageful of Bartkira imagery and I’d be happy, but this was so much more than that.

Dana Wollman
Executive Editor

How an AI took down four world-class poker pros

I’ll be honest: I was surprised when senior mobile editor Chris Velazco volunteered to cover a poker competition in Pittsburgh. I wasn’t aware that our resident phone reviewer enjoyed or even understood the nuances of the game. (No offense, Chris.) As it turned out, his trip to Carnegie Mellon University to watch an AI player trounce four world champions resulted in a compelling profile of both machinery and humanity. (Be sure to set aside time for the video too.) Just as important, Chris’s narrative doesn’t merely end with the AI Libratus’ nearly $1.8 million victory. At the heart of this story is a more far-reaching question: If artificial intelligence can be used to defeat human poker experts, how else might we harness its power?

Nick Summers
Associate Editor, Engadget UK

Reprogramming the piano

My musical knowledge is limited. I spent a few years plucking away at a bass guitar once, but my technique was dreadful and I needed half an hour to read a piece of sheet music. So when I watch a musician onstage, flicking switches and tapping guitar pedals, I’m in awe. Playing is hard enough; the technology part takes it to another level. What do all those buttons and dials do? For me, it might as well be witchcraft.

I’ve always wanted to learn more, which is why Chris Ip’s piece on Dan Tepfer astonished me. The jazz pianist has developed an algorithm that “listens” to the notes he plays and creates a musical response. So when Tepfer sits down to play a song, it’s as if a ghost partner is there with him, pressing different keys to expand and evolve the song. I found the concept fascinating — a beautiful balance of human expression and digital creativity.

The hidden depth of mobile puzzle game ‘Where Cards Fall’

Jessica Conditt’s video game coverage is phenomenal. I could easily pick 10 pieces that should feature on this list — how ESRB rules are killing boxed indie games, how Deck Nine picked up the Life Is Strange franchise, or Sony’s worrying disinterest in indie games.

Engadget

Since I had to pick just one for this round-up, I went with Where Cards Fall, an upcoming mobile game by Snowman and the Game Band. The former is known for Alto’s Adventure, a simple but addictive snowboarding title, while the latter is a young studio from Los Angeles. Together they’re building a game about adolescence and the hurdles associated with college and adulthood. You help the characters from a lofty position, building card-based houses to open up new paths. It’s a gorgeous, whimsical project, and Jess’ piece perfectly encapsulates it all.

Cherlynn Low
Reviews Editor

How to get fired in the tech industry

There are so, so many pieces that I’ve ready this year by my amazing colleagues, but we rarely do straight-up satire. In this piece, Jess Conditt took a controversial topic (that controversial memo from a Google employee about women in the workplace) and gave it a biting, instruction-manual treatment that made it stand out from more cookie-cutter hot-take reaction pieces. This story explained why the memo was terrible in such a way that it convinced even a self-proclaimed contrarian like me, who initially thought the Googler had a point.

Engadget

Olivia Kristiansen
Director of Video Production

RealDoll’s first sex robot took me to the uncanny valley

The Engadget original series Computer Love is a cinema verité take on editor-in-chief Christopher Trout’s experiences with the technology and people who are changing the way we do it. Your curiosity about artificial intelligence, especially as it becomes more ubiquitous and eventually makes its way into our bedrooms, is proven in numbers. Trout’s coverage of RealDoll’s sex robot was Engadget’s second-most-watched video, and one of our most-read stories of 2017. Don’t miss Computer Love’s second season in 2018.

Jessica Conditt
Senior Reporter

Michigan’s manufacturing past is fueling its tech future

Engadget has reporters scattered across the globe, but much of our coverage is constrained to a few major, tech-centric cities: San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo. However, there are fascinating stories unfolding in small towns and metropolises far beyond the Bay Area. Timothy Seppala is a Michigan native who saw a tech-centric movement unfolding in his hometown of Grand Rapids as well as throughout the larger Detroit area, and he dove in.

Over the course of several months, Timothy pieced together the tapestry of Michigan’s new manufacturing future, emphasizing the humans at the center of this evolving industry. It’s a brilliant piece of journalism and a story most technology sites might have skipped, or failed to notice. This kind of deep dive requires someone with intimate knowledge of the region and the instinct to spot the people at the heart of it all. He spoke with influential politicians and business leaders, game developers and entrepreneurs, to cover the breadth of Michigan’s attempt at recovery after years of economic despair.

This story isn’t just about Michigan — it mirrors efforts taking place around the country to reinvigorate or repurpose languishing industrial plants. The people of Detroit and Grand Rapids are reshaping their cities, and Timothy gives us a glance at the soul of a state fighting past the turmoil.

Nathan Ingraham
Deputy Managing Editor

GameChanger brings virtual worlds to the kids who need it most

There are a number of charities that use video games to lift the spirits of sick children. One, called GameChanger, came to a New York City hospital earlier this summer. Mallory Locklear got a behind-the-scenes look at how much the group’s efforts can affect the kids and families it works with. For many of those children, having a day purely devoted to games and fun offered some relief from constant thoughts about their disease or recovery.

For a lucky few, GameChanger also provides financial support in the form of a scholarship; the hospital staff are tasked with picking someone they feel is deserving. At the New York event, the scholarship recipient told Jim Carol (who participates in the charity and is the father of GameChanger founder Taylor Carol) that all the money would help her mom pay the bills. Jim found out how much the family needed to get out of their financial hole and cut them a check by the end of the day. The Carols and GameChanger might not be able to do that for everyone, but Mallory’s story showed me that getting a break by spending a few hours playing games, like normal kids, is just as valuable. For a little while, one social worker told Mallory, “it’s kind of like being home.”

Matthew Lyons

Timothy J. Seppala
Associate Editor

Nuclear warfare and the technology of peace

It takes just 15 minutes to launch a nuclear warhead from a submarine and trigger mutually assured destruction. Jess Conditt’s story on the past, present and future of peace in the nuclear age is full of arresting facts like that. It’s a comprehensive, sobering look at what’s keeping the world from nuclear annihilation. But it isn’t preachy, nor is it political, although politicians are definitely part of the equation. Instead, what I came away with was a sense of cautious hope. That, regardless of who sits in the White House, “little wars” will preclude and, hopefully, prevent big ones. In 2017, that’s a tough pill to swallow, but at least it’s coated in optimism.

Inside Grado Labs: A legacy of hand-built headphones

Growing up working at a small, family-owned body shop with my dad, I’m an easy mark for stuff like Billy Steele’s piece on Grado Labs. It has pretty much everything you could ask for: a David and Goliath story, the return of a prodigal son, and gorgeous photography throughout. What’s most inspiring, though, is the company’s devotion to quality, both in terms of sound and building materials. A majority of Grado’s headphones, headphone amps and turntable cartridges are built and assembled in the Brooklyn building the family has owned since 1950. Perhaps more impressive is that Grado hasn’t had to advertize since 1964. Rather than pump out new products every year like some of its bigger rivals, Grado keeps its lineup small, releasing a new model only when it needs to. Sometimes that takes 10 years. In our disposable society, it’s nice to know that, like music, what you listen to it on can last forever too.

Chris Ip
Associate Features Editor

The law isn’t ready for the internet of sexual assault

Daniel Cooper’s deep dive into sexual assault in the internet of things was not just comprehensive, but prescient. The story points out how, in the tech world’s rush to connect even the most pedestrian of items to the web, hacking smart sex toys could lead to remote sexual assault or stealing data about people’s sex habits. But Dan also looks toward the future with a detailed analysis of the laws that will or will not protect humans from their compromised teledildonics. It’s a fundamental question in the tech world: Can the legal system — deliberative and thus slow to change, by nature as well as necessity — keep pace with the breakneck pace of technological change? This story brings that abstract question all the way to the most intimate and troubling places.

In the months after Daniel’s story, Pen Test, the security consultancy that hacked a connected vibrator, was also able to hijack Bluetooth butt plugs from a moving vehicle (they termed it “screwdriving”). Worryingly, the issues in this story may be relevant for a while yet.

Terrence O’Brien
Managing Editor

No, Kellyanne, microwaves cannot turn into cameras

This one is an obvious contender for the best headline ever to grace Engadget. (The subhead throws some delicious shade as well.)

“Cherlynn carefully and clearly explains how a camera and a microwave work.”

But the excellence doesn’t end there. Cherlynn Low carefully and clearly explains how a camera and a microwave work. She makes it painfully obvious to anyone with even a basic grasp of the English language (or an ounce of logic in their head) that, indeed, microwaves cannot turn into cameras. This story works both as an explainer for two common pieces of technology and as a merciless takedown of one of the more dubious public figures in 2017.

Christopher Trout
Editor in Chief

In the world of online media, it’s rare that we get the chance to step AFK and connect with you IRL. It’s rarer still that we get a massive chunk of cash to make it happen. That’s why my favorite story of 2017 isn’t a story at all — it’s an experience. Two years ago, Michael Gorman (our previous editor in chief) and I gave birth to a wildly unprecedented brain baby called the Engadget Experience, and this November, with help and a sweet pot of cash from our parent company, we got to share it with the world. Through the Alternate Realities grant program, we funded five truly out-there art projects that embraced new media like AR, VR and AI and introduced them to the world at a one-day event in downtown LA. For those of you who couldn’t experience it IRL, we produced profiles of each of the five projects that will hopefully make you look at the world just a little bit differently.

Check out all of Engadget’s year-in-review coverage right here.

Fake Version of Microsoft Exclusive Game ‘Cuphead’ Makes it Onto iOS App Store for $4.99 [Update: Removed]

After a fake app for MyEtherWallet.com rose to gain prominence on the iOS App Store last week, another scam has hit Apple’s App Store in the form of a fake version of the popular side-scrolling shooter Cuphead, which is an Xbox One and PC exclusive (via TouchArcade). The app is still on the App Store as of writing and sells for $4.99, listing what seems to be Cuphead’s actual developer — StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. — as the app’s seller, which is an incorrect description of the developer’s real name: StudioMDHR.

When news of the fake app spread online this morning, StudioMDHR took to Twitter to confirm that this is not a real version of Cuphead and it will be working to contact Apple and remove the app as soon as possible.

There is a Cuphead imposter app on the iOS store — this is a scam. We are working on removing the fraudulent app ASAP!

— Studio MDHR (@StudioMDHR) December 18, 2017

Cuphead launched on September 29 as an exclusive for Microsoft Windows PCs and the Xbox One console. StudioMDHR has hinted that it has “plans to support” other platforms in the future, but those plans appear to be focused on macOS and not iOS. For the fake app, the App Store listing appears to use real screenshots from the game, while a video shows off touch screen controls with a joystick and A and B buttons appearing as the inputs to control the main character.

Apple’s app review process tends to be very strict, so it’s again unclear how a fake app asking users for money made it past the company in the first place. For MyEtherWallet, that fraudulent app also charged people $4.99, making it as high as #3 on the App Store’s Finance charts and existing on the store for over one week. Apple eventually removed the app from the App Store, which it is expected to do for Cuphead as well.

Update 7:32 a.m. PST: Apple has removed Cuphead from the iOS App Store.

Tag: App Store
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Amazon Says Prime Video Had Most First-Week Downloads of Any Apple TV App Ever

Amazon’s long-awaited Prime Video app for Apple TV had the most first-week downloads of any app in the history of the tvOS App Store.

“Prime Video has been a hit with Apple TV customers around the world — it had the most first-week downloads of any app in the history of tvOS,” an Amazon spokesperson reportedly told BestAppleTV.com.

Amazon and Apple haven’t disclosed any actual download numbers, nor do we know the previous record or the app that achieved it. The tvOS App Store launched alongside the release of the fourth-generation Apple TV in October 2015, and thousands of apps are now available to download on the platform.

Amazon Prime Video launched on the tvOS App Store for the fourth-generation and fifth-generation Apple TV earlier this month, and it was also automatically made available on the non-tvOS third-generation Apple TV.

Similar to the Prime Video app on other platforms, the Apple TV version enables Amazon Prime subscribers to watch Amazon Prime exclusive TV series, and a collection of movies, including some titles in 4K HDR. Prime Video for tvOS supports both the Apple TV’s universal search functionality and Apple’s TV app.

Amazon achieved this accomplishment despite some criticism about the Prime Video app having a poorly designed interface. Apple reporters John Gruber and Rene Ritchie, for example, have both said Prime Video is the worst tvOS app they’ve ever seen, echoing a sentiment shared by some users on Twitter.

Nevertheless, given Prime Video is a popular service and was already available on so many other platforms, many Apple TV owners are likely happy that at least some kind of app is finally available on tvOS.

BestAppleTV.com is run by Brad Gibson, who has previously worked for Apple-related publications such as MacUser, MacFormat, MacNN, The Mac Observer, MacCentral, and Macworld, some of which have shut down. We haven’t confirmed the accuracy of Amazon’s statement with Apple or Amazon.

Related Roundup: Apple TVTags: Amazon, Amazon Prime VideoBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
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Apple Now Offering Next-Day iPhone X Delivery in United States and UK

iPhone X shipping estimates continue to improve, with the flagship smartphone now available with free next-day delivery from Apple’s online store if ordered by 3:00 p.m. local time today in the United States.

Apple quotes delivery by tomorrow for all iPhone X models except the silver SIM-free version with 64GB of storage, which is estimated for delivery within 2-4 days. This means every iPhone X is still a last-minute gift option.

Apple is also offering next-day delivery of all iPhone X models on its online store in the United Kingdom, and in some other countries, shipping estimates are short enough that delivery before Christmas may still be possible.

With next-day delivery now available, it would appear that Apple has achieved supply-demand balance of the iPhone X, at least for now.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said improved iPhone X shipping estimates are the result of better-than-expected production, rather than weak demand. He originally predicted the iPhone X would likely remain in short supply until 2018.

Just hours after iPhone X pre-orders began in late October, Apple issued a statement to MacRumors indicating that customer demand was “off the charts.”

We’ll have to wait until Apple releases its next quarterly earnings results to analyze just how well the iPhone X has sold, but Apple’s revenue guidance of $84-$87 billion suggests the smartphone’s sales will be very strong.

iPhone X shipping estimates were initially pushed back to 5-6 weeks, but gradually shortened to just a few days last week.

Apple always offers free next-day delivery of in-stock iPhone models, and it has extended the deal to all in-stock items ordered from its online store by 3 p.m. local time on Friday, December 22 in the United States.

Less-expensive gift ideas for an Apple fan available by Christmas include the Apple TV 4K, BeatsX, an official Apple-branded iPhone case, Apple Watch bands, or simply a physical or emailed Apple Store or Apple Music gift card.

Related Roundup: iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Amazon faces record fine from French fraud watchdog

French President Emmanuel Macron recently helped open a new Amazon distribution center in the north of France, but now the retail giant is in the government’s doghouse. Economic Minister Bruno Le Maire has filed a complaint against Amazon for abusing its suppliers with one-sided contract clauses, reports Le Parisien. It’s seeking a record €10 million fine, “a strong and unprecedented action,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The platform imposes an unbalanced relationship on its sellers … [that may] push them into bankruptcy,” said ministry chief of staff Loïc Tanguy. Specifically, Amazon sellers take responsibility for problems like damaged packages, delivery issues and unfulfilled deadline, and can be kicked off the site if they don’t comply. Amazon can also change seller contracts overnight (by demanding shorter delivery times, for instance), and suspend a dealer at any time.

France’s consumer affairs and fraud division investigated Amazon and other online sellers over the last two years, studying clauses and getting feedback from 10,000 sellers in the country. Amazon’s French seller forums are rife with stories about delays in account verification and threats to cancel over minor issues. One user said that a single customer complaint over a delay, which was not his fault, provoked a threatening letter. “They treat us like vulgar subordinates,” he wrote.

Amazon is controversial in France — the city of Paris recently complained that Amazon Prime Now could “destabilize” its economy by hurting restaurants and grocery stores, for instance. At the same time, it’s by far the most popular e-commerce site in the nation with 3.5 million daily users.

The Macron government is promoting France’s tech industry like no other before, but the investigation and potential fine shows that there are limits to what it will allow. In a statement, Amazon France told Engadget that “we don’t comment on judicial proceedings.”

Via: Reuters

Source: Le Parisien

‘Rainbrow’ is an iPhone X game you play with your eyebrows

If you were eagerly awaiting the day you’d get to control a smartphone game with your eyebrows, the time is now. At least, if you own Apple’s thousand-dollar iPhone X. “Rainbrow” (see what they did there) is the brainchild of Washington University computer science grad Nathan Gitter. The game harnesses the flagship’s TrueDepth camera and ARKit augmented reality platform to deliver a headache-inducing arcade trip. Think Frogger, but instead of a frog dodging freeway traffic, you control a smiley across what looks like a Pride flag, dodging other emoji in order to amass points.

Oh, and did we mention you play by raising your eyebrows to move up, frowning to move down, and staying expressionless to keep stationary. We’ve seen some big names updating their apps to account for the iPhone X’s notch, and plenty of ARKit apps to boot, but nothing quite like Rainbrow. It may seem a bit gimmicky at first, but you can expect more facially-controlled games like this in the future. Meanwhile, Gitter tells MacRumors that he plans to integrate Apple’s Game Center to add multiplayer gaming soon.

Security concerns have plagued the Apple’s iPhone X, and Rainbrow reportedly makes sure to point out that it only uses TrueDepth data for gameplay purposes. Reports have previously alleged that Apple is sharing Face ID data with developers, who could then sell it to third parties. Apple’s policies forbid this type of data-sharing, and the company claims that even it can’t access your info, which is securely stored in an encrypted enclave on the iPhone X.

Source: Rainbrow

Ofcom pressured to fix lingering mobile not-spots

Last week, Ofcom published its annual assessment of UK mobile and broadband coverage. It was generally positive: so-called “superfast” internet (classified as 30Mbit/s download speeds or higher) is now available in 91 percent of homes, up from 89 percent last year. Similarly, mobile coverage has risen across the UK. But in a scathing letter, Lord Andrew Adonis, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, has called on the regulator to draft an action plan “for radically improving mobile coverage in the short to medium term.” In short, he believes progress is too slow and carriers should be pressured to do more.

Ofcom says it’s now possible to make a call with all four major networks in 70 percent of the UK. That’s a seven percent rise from last year, though Adonis sees it differently: “Large parts of the country remain without reliable coverage, with almost a third of the UK’s geography unable to receive a signal from all four operators.” Both statements are true. Here’s another example: indoor 4G coverage has risen from 40 percent to 58 percent this year. But in rural areas, Adonis notes that “nearly four out of every five premises [are] unable to receive an indoor 4G service.”

Adonis argues that “higher mobile signal strengths” are desperately needed to fix mobile not-spots. Network operators have already promised to provide 90 percent of the UK with mobile coverage by the end of the year. These commitments should, the chairman argues, be a factor during the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction. If a carrier has failed to meet its prior obligations, it shouldn’t be allowed to buy extra bandwidth — that’s the idea, anyway. Ofcom says it will “assess formal compliance” in early 2018 and publish a consultation that details all of its proposals.

Adonis also wants the regulator to consider mandatory roaming; so if you’re stuck in a not-spot, but a rival network has signal, you can switch and take advantage temporarily. The idea has been discussed before, however. It was put forward by then culture secretary Sajid Javid in early 2014, and consulted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport later that year. Network operators rejected the idea, however, opting for a £5 billion care package of mobile infrastructure improvements instead.

Ofcom agrees that more should be done. In its report, the regulator admitted: “In too many areas coverage is still poor, broadband speeds are slow, and mobile services are unreliable or not available.” Steve Unger, an executive board member at Ofcom added: “We’re playing our part by enforcing rules for better coverage, and preparing to set new rules in operators’ licences. We’re also boosting the capacity of mobile networks by releasing new airwaves, and helping to improve coverage on trains.” The two organisations, then, are on the same page. The point of contention is what, if any, legal levers should be pulled to force industry change.

Via: BBC

Source: Ofcom, NIC