LG might announce an upgraded V30 at MWC instead of the G7

A report claims LG will unveil another version of the V30 at MWC 2018 with new AI tech.

Just a few weeks ago, we were expecting to get our very first look at the LG G7 during Mobile World Congress this coming February. However, following LG’s CEO’s decision to scrap current development of the phone and start over from scratch, this is no longer the case.

The LG V30

This decision left us wondering if the company would have anything to show off at this year’s MWC, and according to a new report from The Korea Herald, LG may announce an upgraded version of the V30 in place of the G7’s absence.

The phone is supposedly being referred to as the “V30+a”, and the main focus of the new model would be improved artificial intelligence features. It’s believed that these new features could be based on the Google Assistant, but I find it a bit odd that Google would use a phone outside of its Pixel brand to debut new Assistant goodies.

It’s also possible that LG will show off its own AI tech like HTC did with Sense Companion on the U Ultra, but seeing as how that went nowhere, I don’t envision this being LG’s saving grace either.

If this AI-centric V30 does turn out to be legit, what new features would you like to see?

The U.S. smartphone industry has an LG problem

LG V30

• LG V30 review: The no-BS flagship
• Top LG V30 camera features
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

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Top 5 VR180 videos you can watch on YouTube with Daydream

The best of YouTube VR180

From live performances to pre-recorded films, you have plenty of options for the types of videos available in virtual reality. Although most common, 360° videos aren’t the only viewing option for VR. You can experience almost the same amount of fun with a 180° video! Yeah, you might not be able to turn all the way around to see the scenery behind you but that’s okay! It’s just as fun to still be able to move your head around to focus on all the things in your sights.

Travel to Bangkok and experience the Buddha Temple

YouTube channel Oprod has filmed their entire trip to Thailand for you to experience in VR180. My personal favorite of this playlist has to be the experience from inside the Buddha temple. It’s absolutely mesmerizing to see the sun shining in on the structure, creating an ambiance of serenity and beauty. Outside of the visuals, it’s exciting to experience the excitement of traveling without having to leave your living room.

JamJam’ live session at Tower Records

If you are as much of a music head as I am there is nothing you love more than experiencing a concert up close and personal. Well, there is one thing better and that’s a live jam session where they’ve mashed some of the best musicians together to perform for you. Jammcard brought exactly this to the table by uploading a VR180 video of a performance at Tower Records. Better watch this video standing up, as this jazzy sound is sure to get your feet moving.

I’m Poppy.

I’m Poppy. I am Poppy. I am Poppy?

Poppy is definitely in a love or hate relationship with all of her viewers. Regardless of whether you love or hate her, she has responded to the viewer’s interest in virtual reality by releasing this… interesting video. There is always a sort of uncomfortable entertainment when I watch her videos where I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry, but for some reason, I’m addicted. Just a warning, if you jump into the world of virtual reality with her you might not leave!

First We Feast interview with Sean Evans from Hot Ones

If you haven’t heard of First We Feast, I recommend checking them out. Their host Sean interviews your favorite celebrities while both of them eat wings that increase in heat as they go further. Not only do they cover hot topics, but they also cover hot sauces. If you’re a fan of watching interviews in your spare time, these are definitely some to give a look. While watching through the VR180 experience it’s almost as if your sitting right at the table with them. So order yourself some hot wings to include yourself in the party and click the link above!

Teen Choice Awards

There is always this general opinion that the Teen Choice Awards are only for teenagers to enjoy, and that’s not true. I know plenty of adults who spend their time on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon and not because the kids in their house are forcing them to. When you find yourself so invested in these young stars you want to see what the face being your favorite character can achieve in their life! Do just that with the Teen Choice Awards, and one-up your viewing experience by visualizing yourself standing right in front of your favorite actors with the VR180 experience.

Thoughts?

What did you think of the videos above? What do you think will be your favorite genre of videos to watch in virtual reality? Tell us in the comments below!

Amazon to raise cost of monthly Prime membership by $2 in February

A bad deal gets worse.

If you’re paying monthly instead of annually for your Amazon Prime membership, it’s going to cost you a bit more each month. Amazon will be raising the price by $2 per month starting on February 18, and the change applies to both new and existing customers. This will bring the monthly fee from $10.99 up to $12.99, meaning that you’ll be paying just under $156 for a year of Prime membership. Those who pay the annual $99 fee will not see a price increase from these changes, nor will any of the awesome benefits of Prime be changing.

From GeekWire’s report:

Amazon said the price increase does not affect the annual membership option, which will remain at $99. With the price increase, the monthly option will now equal slightly less than $156 for a year. Amazon has been investing heavily in Prime, bringing it to new markets and creating additional benefits and original content. Those moves, plus regular increases in fees from shipping partners, are among the factors contributing to the price increase.

Amazon says it has no preference on the annual versus monthly option. However, offering a monthly service with no contract or guarantee carries with it a cost to manage and volatility that isn’t present with the more dependable annual option.

The cost for students will be increasing to $6.49 a month and the standalone Prime Video subscription will be $8.99. The best deal continues to be the $99 annual subscription, and this price increase just makes it even more valuable.

LG publishes patents for two foldable phone concepts

The slow march to a foldable smartphone future continues.

The mobile industry has been dreaming about folding smartphones for years at this point, but in 2018, we’re closer to this becoming a reality than ever before. New details recently emerged about Samsung’s “Galaxy X” foldable phone, and following this, new patents have been discovered for two folding phone concepts that LG has in the works.

Looking at LG’s first concept, the device is made out of two individual bodies that house a single screen. You get a full, tablet-like display when the phone is open, but when you close it, you end up with a very narrow candy-bar shape. A second screen on the front shows information like the time and weather when it’s closed, and on the back is a camera module.

The second version is mostly the same, but a back panel moves to the side to reveal a small transparent section of the main display that’s used for notifications, time, date, etc.

LG’s patents certainly look interesting and are likely the way of the future, but it’s unclear if/when these will ever come to market. The patents were first filed back in July of 2017 before being published this month, and while that could be a sign that LG is ready to move forward with them, only time will tell if this turns out to be true.

If you had to choose between one of these two concepts as LG’s foldable phone design, which do you prefer and why?

LG might announce an upgraded V30 at MWC instead of the G7

Apple brings its redesigned App Store to the web

If you thought Apple’s iOS 11 App Store redesign was overdue, the tech giant is now finally getting round to updating its web interface. The overhaul borrows from the iOS 11 revamp, offering a clean look, with larger images arranged in card-like bubbles, and a focus on discovery and reviews. When you select an app, you’ll see “this app is only available on the App Store for iOS devices” at the top of the page, below which are its description, version history, and more info such as its size and a price list of the in-app purchases it offers (for freemium apps). With the redesign, Apple is showcasing screenshots from the iPhone X for apps optimized for the flagship, according to 9to5Mac.

The web interface overhaul follows Apple’s decision to ditch the iOS App Store from the desktop with the arrival of version 12.7. Other changes included the shuffling of iTunes U content to the Podcast section and Internet Radio stations to the music library.

Via: 9to5Mac

David Chang’s Netflix series ‘Ugly Delicious’ debuts February 23rd

David Chang, the chef and restaurateur behind the ever-growing Momofuku family of restaurants, has a new show in the works — a Netflix series called Ugly Delicious. In the series, he’ll travel the world eating at notable restaurants with writers, entertainers and other chefs and they’ll explore topics like culture, authenticity and identity and how they relate to food. Chang told Eater that in more recent years, he had really begun to embrace the Korean food he grew up with but chose not to cook as a young chef. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve embraced all the things that I truly love eating,” he said. “I’m not embarrassed about it anymore. Now I’m just like, I don’t give a fuck.”

Chang has appeared on a number of shows over the years. He hosted the first season of the Anthony Bourdain-produced Mind of a Chef — a PBS show at the time though its sixth and most recent season was picked up by Facebook Watch — and also appeared in the second season of Netflix’s hit series Chef’s Table. You’ve probably also spotted him in other programs like Top Chef, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, The Layover and even an episode of Billions last year. Next month, Chang will also cover Korean food and culture for NBC as a 2018 winter Olympics correspondent.

This dish is underrated among all the outstanding meat offerings @parksbbq 은대구 조림 (spicy braised cod & radish). Growing up my mom would make this dish all the time, sometimes substituting cod with canned mackerel. Jenny’s version at parks is outstanding. Gnarly but so tasty with a bowl of rice #uglydelicious

A post shared by Dave Chang (@davidchang) on Nov 22, 2017 at 6:56am PST

Ugly Delicious, a title that comes from a hashtag he often uses on Instagram, will premiere on Netflix on February 23rd. Check out a clip below wherein Chang and comedian Ali Wong discuss what really makes a Vietnamese restaurant good.

Via: Eater

OnePlus says up to 40,000 customers affected in credit card breach

After learning that fraudulent charges were appearing on its customers’ credit cards, smartphone maker OnePlus disabled support for credit card payments and launched an on-going investigation. The preliminary results are in, however, and they’re definitely concerning. In a statement released today, OnePlus said credit card information belonging to up to 40,000 customers was captured by a malicious (and currently unknown) actor between November 2017 and mid-January 2018.

OnePlus hasn’t confirmed the number of customers whose captured payment information has been used for fraudulent purchases, noting instead that the number of affected users represented a “small portion” of its customer base. While it’s true that millions of OnePlus smartphones have been sold since the Oppo spin-off set up shop in 2014, that’s likely little consolation for the people directly involved. As a result of the breach, OnePlus says it’s continuing to work with law enforcement, and will offer a year of free credit monitoring to all affected users.

But how did all this happen in the first place? According to a company spokesperson, a malicious actor gained access to one of its servers and injected a script that captured people’s credit card information as it was typed into the site’s payment form. While some originally suspected OnePlus’ payment processor was to blame for the issue, it appears that the credit card payment process worked exactly as it was supposed to. Once entered, the payment data was subsequently encrypted and transmitted to the company’s payment processor as usual — the script seized on a window of opportunity and captured the information before it could be encrypted in the first place.

That means customers who paid via PayPal aren’t affected by the breach, and people who paid with previously saved credit card details should not be impacted because they didn’t manually input the information.

While OnePlus’ statement sheds much-needed light on the situation, some of the most crucial details either haven’t been unearthed or have not yet been revealed. An investigation into potential culprits is still ongoing, and while a spokesperson insists only one server was affected, he was unable to confirm whether the vulnerability existed in other company-owned servers as well. That same spokesperson said the company is trying to be “as transparent as possible” with its customers, but would not say if the full results of the investigation would be released once the process has been concluded.

OnePlus has said in the past that its strategy for growth in a highly competitive market is simply to build great products. While it’s true we — and quite a few others — have been fond of OnePlus hardware, multiple gaffes in the past year have given the company’s fans reason to be concerned. This past November, an app called EngineerMode allowed root-level access to anyone who had physical access to your OnePlus phone, and the month before that, concerns about OnePlus devices phoning home with usage data made the rounds. Throw in a bug that forced some OnePlus 5s to reboot while on emergency calls from this past summer and it seems that the company is suffering from a serious — and troubling — lack of attention to detail.

WhatsApp builds a customer service app for businesses

WhatsApp’s push to get more businesses to use its platform, so it can finally rake in cash from its 1.3 billion users, now includes a full-fledged business app. It’s appropriately dubbed WhatsApp Business and is available on Android in select markets including the US, UK, Indonesia, Italy, and Mexico, ahead of a worldwide rollout.

WhatsApp laid out its customer service strategy over a year ago, describing a place where you could contact banks about fraudulent transactions and airlines about delayed flights (like Twitter and Messenger before it). Sure enough, updates including verified accounts and yellow message bubbles for businesses followed in beta.

Those customer-facing tools remain, and are now joined by business profiles that display basic contact info such as a bio, email, address, and phone number (in the vein of Instagram’s tools for companies). Plus, there’s smart replies for FAQs and greetings, messaging metrics, desktop synchronization with WhatsApp Web, and the promise of more confirmed accounts. On the flip side, if you want to get in touch with a company, you needn’t download anything — just message them through the regular WhatsApp. You’ll also retain the ability to block numbers and report spam.

For now, the app is aimed at small businesses, with WhatsApp claiming that 80 percent of small firms in the launch regions already use WhatsApp to communicate with customers.

Source: WhatsApp

Nintendo Labo kits are available to pre-order

On the heels of the Nintendo Labo unveiling, the DIY cardboard accessories and associated software for the Switch are now available to pre-order on Amazon. You can grab three (overpriced) sets, two of which pack the cardboard sheets and software that you can craft into a quirky gameplay experience. The other includes stickers and colored tape for added customization (currently UK only), which at £8.99 sees Nintendo going to YouTube influencer-like lengths to squeeze cash from parents.

The centrepiece is the $80 (£70) robot kit (dubbed Toy-Con 2), glimpsed in the Nintendo Labo announcement vid, that’ll transform you into a rampaging battle-bot, complete with materials to make a cardboard backpack and headset (which holds the Joy-Con controllers) and some makeshift bolts.

For 70 bucks (£60), you can grab the Toy-Con 1: Variety Kit, which includes materials to make the Toy-Con RC Car, Toy-Con Fishing Rod, Toy-Con House, Toy-Con Motorbike, and Toy-Con Piano. Everything is set to ship April 20th in the US and a week later in the UK.

Source: Amazon.com, (2), (3)

‘Feel’ your drone with MotionPilot’s haptic joystick

Flying a drone isn’t as easy as it looks, as any beginner who has ever purchased one of the pricey things and then immediately crashed it can attest. A startup called MotionPilot wants to help beginners and pros alike with a joystick that makes it more intuitive and tactile at the same time. The device, still in a prototype stage, has motion sensors that let you maneuver a drone just by rotating and tilting your hand, while haptics let you feel it turn and accelerate.

MotionPilot, founded by four grad students from France’s École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EFPL), says the joystick’s hand gesture control are so intuitive that beginning pilots can learn to fly “in a few seconds.” To maneuver, you just lean the device forward or sideways, while using a trigger to change altitude.

The joystick has beginner, intermediate and advanced modes, selected by a smartphone app, depending on your level and the type of flying you want to do. The beginner mode controls the trajectory automatically so you can’t get into trouble, while the other modes allow for greater operator freedom.

“It’s so simple that even beginners can start having fun right away,” campus drone pilot Julien Perroud told EFPL. He also tested the intermediate mode for aerobatics, adding that “switching from the old control to the joystick was a snap … you forget you’re piloting a drone.”

At the same time, a haptic feedback mechanism incorporated into the handle makes the experience more sensory, letting you feel the acceleration experienced by the drone. That extra input could add a jolt of fun and better flying feel, especially for first-person video maneuvers.

Motion sensor drones aren’t exactly new, as DJI’s Spark works with hand gestures, for instance, and other companies have built simple drones you can maneuver with handheld devices. However, the haptic part appears novel and could add a fun element to drone flying.

MotionPilot has created a prototype, and plans to launch it to market complete with a drone, joystick and FPV goggles by the end of 2018 (initially without the haptic feedback). The company is still looking for a drone supplier, however, so that timetable sounds a bit aggressive.

Source: EFPL (PDF)