Keep track of your blood pressure at home with the $55 Omron Series 10 Bluetooth monitor

We haven’t seen a deal on this monitor in months!

The Omron Series 10 wireless Bluetooth blood pressure monitor is down to $54.99 when you clip the $10 off on-page coupon on the Amazon product page. That brings the price down to the lowest we’ve seen since September. The Omron 10 has been selling for $65 or higher since that time.

Bluetooth definitely makes the whole setup a lot easier, but if you don’t need that and want to save a few dollars, you can get the non-Bluetooth version of the Omron Series 10 on sale for $50.82 by clicking the 20% off on-page coupon right now.

This blood pressure monitor allows two different users to review up to 100 readings and receive those readings by smartphone using the Omron app. The integrated Bluetooth makes the whole process very simple. On the screen it automatically displays the last three readings taken within 10 minutes and compares them to normal blood pressure levels.

It includes four AA batteries, but if you need more you should get an 8-pack of AA rechargeable batteries for $14 so you don’t have to worry about replacing them for a while.

See at Amazon

Want one a little more high-tech? the Omron Evolv — which Modern Dad took a look at last year — is also on sale for $69, down from $99. This one hooks into your phone and works alongside an Android or iOS app.

See at Amazon

Spotify vs. Google Play Music: Which should you subscribe to?

Which music service is right for you?

Music subscriptions can help set the tone for your life, as the music you listen to day in and day out can help keep your energy up, your mood stable and bright, and your fingers tapping out a rhythm. As someone who never, ever leaves home without headphones, I’ve taken a deep look at Google Play Music and Spotify so as to help you figure out which service is more deserving of you and your jam sessions.

Here are the perks and pitfalls for Spotify and Google Play Music, by category.

Look and Layout

• Spotify’s dark theme beats Play Music’s retina-searing white. Spotify’s dark theme gives the app a cleaner, crisper look, and makes the app far easier on the eyes during late night jam sessions or nightly drives.
• The tabs at the bottom of the Spotify app make it easier to jump between sections of the app than Google Play Music.
• Google Play Music’s playback screen features zoomed in album art, which looks awkward and obscures some of the playback controls for albums with busier artwork. Spotify’s playback screen shrinks the artwork a bit, but slivers of other album art give hints at the next and previous songs.
• Play Music’s Now Playing Queue is standard and straightforward, and you can see ahead several songs on radio stations, and you can swipe away songs you don’t like. Spotify doesn’t show you what’s coming up on a radio station outside that sliver of album art we just mentioned, and the only way to get them out of the radio station is to Thumbs Down them.

Sound Quality and Device Limitations

• Spotify offers audio streaming qualities up to 320 kbps when Spotify Premium users set their quality up to “Extreme quality”, and audio quality up to 256 kbps while playing on Chromecast. Google Play Music offers audio streaming qualities up to 320kbps on both the streaming library and uploaded music, though the quality of uploaded music is dependent on the quality of tracks uploaded.
• Google Play Music offers to option to stream at a lower quality while on mobile data to conserve data; Spotify has the same audio setting for streaming on both Wi-Fi and data. Google Play Music also features a Stream only on Wi-Fi to help further preserve your precious mobile data.
• Spotify lets you stream Spotify on as many devices as you like but you can only download music for offline playback on three devices, and only up to 3,333 songs. Meanwhile, Google Play Music has a 10-device limit and a four-device de-authorization limit per year.
• Google Play Music has an app for Android TV, both Play Music and Spotify have apps for Android Wear, and both support Google Cast. Spotify uses Spotify Connect to connect to a wider variety of speakers and devices than just Google Cast, including Sonos and car systems.

Library and Features

• Both Google Play Music and Spotify have over 30 million songs available to their users to stream. Google Play Music offers links to music videos for millions of songs on YouTube. Spotify offers a handful of Spotify Original Video Series, which highlight local music, exclusive performances, and more. Both services have also expanded their podcast offerings in recent years, and Spotify can even help you find upcoming concerts in your area.
• Spotify only lets you rate music while listening to radio stations, not when listening to playlists or albums, so you cannot rate your library. Google Play Music lets you thumbs up and down music in every playlist, radio station, or in your library. Both services keep an automatic playlist of ‘Thumbs Up’ songs.
• Spotify doesn’t let you upload your own music library, but you can 10,000 songs from the streaming catalog to Your Library. Google Play Music lets you upload 50,000 songs to your Play Music library and stream them wherever for free, and you can add as many subscription songs to your library. If you are a paid subscriber, Google Play Music lets you mix and match uploaded content and subscription songs.
• Spotify’s automatic stations and suggested songs seem to be slightly more accurate in their predictions than Google Play Music’s. Spotify also offers up Discover Weekly playlists to help you keep your music fresh.

Playlists and Sharing

• Google Play Music’s playlists are private by default; Spotify’s playlists are public by default. Spotify also offers collaborative playlists, letting multiple users contribute to a playlist.
• Every song you add to a playlist in Spotify, everyone can hear. Google Play Music only shares subscription songs in public playlists, not uploaded songs.
• Spotify doesn’t allow users on Android (or web) to reorder songs within a playlist without deleting them and re-adding them in the order desired. Spotify doesn’t even allow web users to rename playlists, either. Google Play Music allows you to edit, reorder, and rename playlists on all platforms.
• Playlist sharing on Spotify lets users listen to the playlist directly on some websites and social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit. Google Play Music’s playlist sharing is just a normal hyperlink.
• If you have friends on Spotify that you follow, you can see what they’re listening to and what playlists they’re building. If you want to listen to something on the down-low, you can start a Private Session and what you’re listening to won’t be shared.

Plans and Pricing

• Spotify Premium for Family and Google Play Music family plan are both $14.99 a month and give up to 6 users their own premium subscription account. You can’t change addresses on a Spotify Premium for Family Plan; if you move, you have either go to individual plans or delete your accounts and start over.
• Google Play Music’s family plan does not require everyone to live under the same roof, which Spotify Premium for Family not only requires, but enforces.
• Google Play Music comes with YouTube Red in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, eliminating ads on YouTube and allowing you to save YouTube videos for offline playback.
• Spotify offers a student discount (and Hulu access) for college kids for $5 a month; Google Play Music does not offer any student discounting.

Where Spotify is better

Spotify is for shufflers and sharers that don’t buy music and just want Spotify to serve up what’s popular or stations based on their genres and artists of choice. It’s great for users who just want a bit of music to fill their lives and tech fiends that switch devices too frequently for Google Play Music’s device limit policy. The app’s dark theme and easy layout are easier for casual listeners to browse. It’s also good for students who need a cheap solo plan.

Sign up for Spotify

Where Google Play Music is better

Google Play Music is good for families, users with well-established music libraries, and those with particular playlist tastes that they can satisfy between purchased, subscription, and uploaded music. Google Play Music’s family plan doesn’t have nearly the strings that Spotify’s does, and is a better bargain.

Even if your family isn’t big on Google Play Music, everyone can ditch the ads on YouTube, which is almost worth the subscription price by itself.

Sign up for Google Play Music

What’s your choice?

Which streaming service do you prefer?

More: Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium vs. Spotify Premium for Family

Razer Phone gets a limited gold edition in honor of Spring Festival

I mean, at least the box looks cool.

The Razer Phone is not a perfect smartphone, but for Razer’s first attempt at entering this market, it could have been a lot worse. The 120Hz display and ridiculously good front-facing speakers are the Razer Phone’s two highlights, but when you turn the device over, you end up with a pretty bland design. However, in honor of the Spring Festival / Chinese New Year, Razer is launching a limited gold edition of the phone.

As exciting as they may sound at first, this new version of the Razer Phone is mostly unchanged from the original. The Razer logo on the back now features a gold paint job as opposed to gray, but aside from that, everything else about the phone is the same.

Razer is also including a red and gold box that’s awfully eye-catching, and it’s unfortunate a similar paint job didn’t make its way to the Razer Phone itself. Along with this, Razer’s also throwing in a few gold stickers with the company’s logo if you’re into that sort of thing.

On the plus side, the limited gold edition costs the same $699 as the regular version. That’s still a pretty penny to spend, but I’m at least thankful Razer didn’t increase the price just for the tweaked paint job.

The limited gold edition of the Razer Phone will be sold at retail stores for wireless carrier 3 in Hong Kong, in addition to the Razer Store for both Hong Kong and the United States.

See at Razer

20 minute games for under $20 on PlayStation VR

Sometimes your VR time is limited, so here are some games you can play in those 20 minutes gaps.

We all know that the greatest fun to be had in the PlayStation VR is from those epic AAA titles that stretch out infinitely ahead of us, vast games like Skyrim and Star Trek that takes hours to complete, but they are not the only fun to be had. Many times I find myself with fifteen to twenty minutes of free time and all I need is some VR fun to fill the time.

I’ve compiled a list of games that while not necessarily beatable in 20 minutes, can certainly be enjoyed for 20 minutes stints. Mindless fun, short levels and lots of replay value are whats on offer here.

Eagle Flight

Eagle Flight is one of the more unique games to come to PSVR. You take on the persona of a young Eagle chick, or Eaglet to use the proper name, living in post-apocalyptic Paris, and learning to fly for the first time. the world around you has been reclaimed by Mother Nature and it looks like the animals that lived in the zoo, elephants, zebra, giraffes, and wolves, have flourished in a world without people.

Graphically this game is breathtaking. Flying around with a literal birds-eye view of a city destroyed by neglect is a visual treat, while the assorted trials and challenges the game throws your way only heightens the splendor around you. If like me, you are lucky enough to have spent some time in Paris it’s really enjoyable to be able to pick out spots and places you have seen in real life.

What makes Eagle Flight a twenty minute game is the nature of the challenges. Each one is its own little chapter so its very easy to do one or two then walk away. The alternative is even better, just fly! You can enter free fly mode and for twenty minutes you can just soar around Paris and soak in the sights. Go chase vultures, or follow the elephant march, it’s up to you, and the relaxing atmosphere is perfect after a long day.

Buy Eagle Flight on Amazon

Dick Wilde

From the majestic Eagle Flight, we take a sharp turn to the rather ludicrous. Dick Wilde is essentially a First Person tower defence game, waves of enemies doing their best to eat you up while you fend them off with assorted weapons. Dick Wilde is a silly, frivolous, fun little game that is engaging from the start.

You star as the eponymous Dick Wilde, a hunter out in the southern wilderness, taming the crazy animals that come your way with a large range of homemade weapons. From nailguns to sniper rifles, your choice of weapons is one of the better parts of this game, and you can even use the AIM controller too! The AIM controller is one of the best accessories for any VR. The addition of it makes playing any first-person game so much more immersive and if you don’t own one I really do recommend picking one up.

Because of the tower defense style of Dick Wilde playing for just 20 minutes is super easy, just pick it up, choose a weapon, a keep playing against the waves. I promise, lasting more than 20 minutes is a real challenge so it should be a perfect little time waster. One interesting thing Dick Wilde does have is a “party mode”, you can swap the headset with friends and try to beat each others score, an idea so gross no one should ever do it. You should always clean your PSVR before sharing. But the party mode is somewhat unique so deserve a special mention.

Buy Dick Wilde on Playstation Buy the AIM Controller at Best Buy

Dead Hungry

Dead Hungry is very similar to Dick Wilde, in that it is a frantic, wave-based game where the enemies are relentlessly attacking you and all you can do is react to survive. Of course Dead Hungry has the most absurd premise of any game ever, but that’s why we love it. Zombies have taken over and the only way to save everyone is to feed them from your burger truck! Yeah, I know it’s dumb but it’s still super fun!

Using the motion controllers you have to pick up the ingredients of the burgers and cook, then assemble them into burgers to throw at the zombies, thus curing them of them zombieism, and proving that zombies are simply a metaphor for western civilizations greed and hunger for material things. Sorry I got a little deep there. Dead hungry Hungry has some really fun mechanics, like using soda to slow the zombies down and deep frying shrimp for a short fix to hold them at bay, that breaks the action up, and lets you get creative.

Like the previous game, Dead Hungry is great for short game times as it a huge story arc or have huge challenges. It takes about fifteen minutes to get through each wave set which is pretty much perfect for a quick game while waiting for something else to happen.

Buy Dead Hungry on Playstation

Rec Room

Rec Room is the game on this list that is cheapest, it’s free, and has the most potential for longevity. Based on the recreation centers of our youth, Rec Room lets you play multiple games with multiple people in VR. It’s one of our favorite games here as we can play with the team in so many different scenarios the gameplay is always new, funny and exciting.

The controls vary from activity to activity but always use the motion controllers. Some games require nothing more than batting a racket around or dodging balls, others require mimicking drawing a shooting a bow or drawing art in the air with a paint gun. Rec Room really does offer a huge variety of activities to do.

Almost all the activities are between 10-12 minutes long with the possible exception of the quests. The quests require a party of at least 3 people to stand a chance of completing so if you are looking to spend 20 minutes in something mindless you are better off sticking to disc golf or paintball.

Download Rec Room From Playstation

PlayStation 4

• PS4 vs. PS4 Slim vs. PS4 Pro: Which should you buy?
• PlayStation VR Review
• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

Amazon

Acer Chromebook 11 vs. Samsung Chromebook Plus: Which should you buy?

There are many Chromebooks to choose from, but in 2018 I think it’s going to come down to these two for many people.

If you’re in the market for a Chromebook, whether it’s your first or time to upgrade, 2018 is going to be another year with plenty of great choices to make. Add the late-2017 models that are still rock-solid and a great choice into the mix, and it can be tough to choose the best model.

We think the Samsung Chromebook Plus is the best Chromebook you can buy. It offers all the performance you would ever want or need, without the price tag of some other more “premium” models. It’s just the best all-around Chromebook,

The Best Chromebook

Acer has several new models coming that might change things. We really like what we see from the upcoming Acer Chromebook 11, and think the choice for most people will be between these two, so we’re putting the Acer Chromebook 11 against the Samsung Chromebook Plus. There’s just so much to love here!

The Chromebook 11 lines up tough and ready

Acer knows how to build a great 11-inch Chromebook, and you’ll find plenty of people who just love the R11 from late-2016, myself included. With good reason, too: it’s dependable, light and easy to carry, runs Android apps, and does everything you expect a Chromebook to do without a huge price tag. It was one of the best sellers throughout 2017 because of all this. The Chromebook 11 looks like it will build on everything Acer did right with the R11 and add a couple new features that put it right at the top of our list of Chromebooks to watch for — a ruggedized MIL-SPEC build and LTE support.

Acer has been making some of the best Chromebooks since 2013’s C720.

The Chromebook 11’s IP41 rating means that it’s protected from objects larger than 1mm entering the body as well as protected against splashed liquid ingress. That means is you won’t have to buy another Chromebook if you spill a glass of water on the table beside it or if you get caught out in a downpour with it in your laptop bag or carry-on. In fact, the keyboard has Acer’s “spillproof” design and liquid will pour through the keyboard housing and drain from specially designed drainage holes.

Rugged phone ratings: Everything you need to know

Also important for a lot of folks, the MIL-STD 810G approved build was drop tested from 48-inches and was able to withstand 132-pounds of force sitting on the top cover. We don’t recommend dropping your Chromebook or piling over 100-pounds on top of it, but it’s nice knowing the Chromebook 11 can take it. Especially if you’ve ever seen baggage handlers at a busy airport or a cab driver in a rush and how your bags can get manhandled.

An LTE connection on a new Chromebook is a welcome sight!

Another welcome surprise is seeing LTE support listed for models in some markets. Chromebooks are mobile devices; they’re thin, light, and come with a full-day of battery life. The one thing missing on most models is cellular support. Tethering from your phone is an option for many people, but there is nothing like having an always-connected laptop ready for anything as soon as you open the lid.

We’re seeing these features because the Chromebook 11 is coming in both a “regular” model priced at $249 and a commercial model with a rugged build and LTE support that will start at just $279. Seeing a Chromebook built for the enterprise with a price under $300 is unheard of, and makes it the perfect choice for a consumer, too. Following in the steps of the Thinkpad and bringing a tough laptop built for a road warrior at a price anyone can afford is a good look, Acer.

The Samsung Chromebook Plus has a screen to die for

Samsung’s Chromebook Plus is a great all-around Chromebook as mentioned, but there is one thing that catches your eye and makes you say “wow!” as soon as you see it — the amazing 12.3-inch 2400×1600 display.

Samsung’s display panels are always excellent and the Chromebook Plus has a gorgeous screen.

This is no hype; the display on the Samsung Chromebook Plus is one of the best laptop displays available, and it stands tall beside products like Google’s Pixelbook and Apple’s MacBook that are a lot more expensive. We were surprised at how great it looks, though we quickly remembered that it’s a Samsung product and amazing displays are synonymous with the name. The screen is something you will always be using, and it’s nice to have the best available here.

The Chromebook Plus has more to love than a great display. Android apps are there, of course, and the Chromebook Plus was the first Chromebook to come with a stylus and OS support for it. This makes it perfect for taking notes, digital artistry of any sort and annotating documents or presentations.

It takes more than the best display to earn our Best Chromebook rating, though. The Chromebook Plus offers the right mix of performance versus price to meet the needs of almost everybody. Great battery life, the stability and security of Chrome OS, and a beautiful magnesium-alloy shell that’s thin and light made the Chromebook Plus stand above the rest.

See Samsung Chromebook Plus at Amazon

Which should you buy?

It’s important to remember that nobody has used the Chromebook 11 for more than a few minutes at a booth just yet. But that doesn’t mean we can’t tell a few things about it based on other Chromebooks using the same hardware and a good feel for Acer’s previous products. The Samsung Chromebook Plus, on the other hand, has been a favorite since its launch.

• The Acer Chromebook 11 is rugged and has an LTE model coming. First, the obvious. If you want or need a Chromebook that is built rugged or has any level of water resistance, the new Chromebook 11 is probably your best bet. I’ve used an Acer Chromebook with these very same specs with 2017’s Spin 11 and did the dropping and the splashing and everything else myself and there was no damage of any type. The same goes for those who want a Chromebook with its own LTE connection. The Chromebook Plus doesn’t have one and USB LTE modems are finicky.
• The processors are different but not enough to matter. The 8th generation Intel CPU in the Chromebook 11 will probably outperform the ARM Rockchip CPU inside the Chromebook Plus, but we found the Plus’ processor and RAM more than enough so the extra horsepower might be a bit of overkill. When it comes to using it, ARM chips tend to do better with Android apps. We can’t say one processor is better than the other here.
• Samsung makes the best display panels, hands down. The Samsung Chromebook Plus has a better display in every way. The 2400×1600 resolution will make the 1366 x 768 screen of the Chromebook 11 seem dated and sub-par. Even if the display on the Chromebook 11 is high quality with beautiful color, and based on other Acer panels of the same design and specs we think it will be, it’s not going to compare to the Samsung panel.
• Price is always one of the most important factors. It’s always nice to feel that you get your money’s worth, and we think both of these Chromebooks deliver on that. The Chromebook 11 will start at $249, but you should probably look at the rugged and LTE models that start at $279. After you’ve picked a model with a touchscreen and a bit of extra storage space, chances are you’ll be looking at a price somewhere around $350. The Chromebook Plus pricing varies between $350 and $400, with deep discount sales sometimes dipping towards $325. Discounts and sales aside, $400 is still a really good price for a Chromebook built as nice as the Samsung Chromebook Plus, and the display is well worth a difference of $50 or so in price.

Our preliminary verdict here is to buy the Samsung unless you need ruggedness or LTE option. That’s probably not going to change unless we see something very unexpected (good or bad) from the Chromebook 11.

There are two noticeable differences here: the display and the rugged or LTE option.

The reason why is simple: the display. Recent Chromebooks from Acer have had very good panels with nice color, great viewing angles and everything else you would want from a laptop screen. None of that changes the fact that the Chromebook 11 will have the same 1366 x 768 resolution we’ve seen in utility laptops for 10 years. It’s perfectly usable, so those that go for the rugged or LTE options won’t be missing out on any content or not be able to perform the same tasks. But Samsung’s big win is that what you see on the screen is going to look better because the screen is better.

We’ll revisit this and have plenty to say once the Chromebook 11 lands in March, because as Chromebook fans it’s on our radar as the next purchase, too. It’s great to see choices like this from names we all know and trust when it comes to a Chromebook.

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Google Play is coming to Chromebooks
• Acer Chromebook 14 review
• Join our Chromebook forums

Peel for the Pixel 2 is a case for people who hate cases

If you’re looking for a simple case that truly doesn’t take away from the phone’s design, this is it.

Admission: I’m not a case guy. That partially comes with having used too many phones over the years. But it also has to do with the fact that phones are so damn big these days, and most cases just make them bigger.

Most cases. That’s not Peel, though.

No. This is the sort of case you put on a phone if you want to protect the finish but not worry so much about breakage. It’s a plastic case, just 0.35mm thick. While it’ll vary a little by phone (they have cases for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S8, along with the Pixel 2 and original Pixel line), I’ve found that extra little bit of thickness actually can make the phone feel a little bit better in the hand. Sort of like how some phones feel too thin naked by fit just right with clothes. (Stick with me here.) That was true of my original Pixel, and it’s true of my Pixel 2 XL.

The matte finish also means things aren’t quite as slippery as they might otherwise be. And the case is semi-transparent, so you can still see the G of the Google Logo poking through. (Pro tip: Don’t bother trying to go all “panda” here. It just doesn’t work. If you’ve got a black Pixel, get a black case. White on white.)

The cutouts are all in the right places, of course. And even just this little bit of extra thickness means the phone doesn’t rock anymore (the Pixel 2 XL doesn’t do this nearly as bad as, say, the iPhone X, but it’s still a thing) when it’s laying flat on a table.

And it doesn’t really change the overall look and feel of the phone. The Pixel 2 XL is still the Pixel 2 XL, just as the designers intended. It doesn’t take away from what few curves this phone has.

That’s the good stuff. The bad? You’re definitely going to get dust and crumbs and stuff up under the edges. While the case isn’t going anywhere, it’s also not exactly hermetically sealed. You’ll want to remove the phone every now and then and hose things off.

That’s a small price to pay, though. Really, it’s just simple. Simple design, simple protection.

See at Peel

YouTube promises better communication and stronger policies in 2018

Last year was a rough one for YouTube, and it plans on fixing a lot in 2018.

Whether you’re a creator or just an occasional viewer, you probably heard a thing or two about YouTube having a rough 2017. Between multiple Ad-apocalypses, the whole Logan Paul debacle, and stricter partnership requirements for smaller channels, there was no shortage of events and controversial decisions that made last year one of YouTube’s roughest.

CEO Susan Wojcicki recently took to the YouTube Creator Blog to share her top five priorities for the site for 2018, and while it remains to be seen how these words will be turned into actions, it sounds like YouTube is on the right path.

Starting first with the elephant in the room, it’s said that YouTube is working on new policies to better handle bad behavior from the site’s biggest names.

Wojcicki says:

We’re also currently developing policies that would lead to consequences if a creator does something egregious that causes significant harm to our community as a whole. While these instances are rare, they can damage the reputation and revenue of your fellow creators, so we want to make sure we have policies in place that allow us to respond appropriately.

On a similar note, Wojcicki also reiterates the fact that YouTube will be increasing its number of human employees to 10,000 for manually reviewing content, in addition to further improving its machine learning system that’s had a tendency to demonize videos and entire channels that weren’t actually deserving of it.

More humans for (hopefully) less unnecessary demonitizations.

Improvements here are important and need to happen, but in an effort to help creators continue to make money even without advertisements, YouTube Red will expand to additional markets alongside “a revamped YouTube Music experience.”

Communication has also been a weak point for YouTube, but changes are coming here, too. YouTube will supposedly start making better use of its @YTCreators and @TeamYouTube Twitter accounts to be more engaged and active with community questions/concerns, and emails will be sent out for any major news or updates.

Lastly, YouTube will also use 2018 as a year to invest more in its educational content. More specifically –

That includes working with our educational creators to bring more of their content to the platform as well as expert organizations like Goodwill to provide and feature even more high-quality job skills videos on YouTube.

No matter if you’re a creator or viewer, what are your thoughts on this update? Do you think these changes are enough, or is there more you think that needs to be addressed? Sound off in the comments below.

Some YouTube ads forced users’ computers to mine cryptocurrency

What if Android P is designed for Chromebooks?

Android P could be another Honeycomb, but in a good way.

Sometimes playing “what if?” can be fun, especially when there’s a reasoning to whatever thing you’ve put together inside your head. I’ve had this half-crazy idea that Android P could be a release designed for big screen devices like convertibles, tablets, and Chromebooks. And as off-the-wall as that sounds, it wouldn’t be the first time.

Android doesn’t need a redesign, it needs tobe fixed for tablets and other big-screen devices.

Android Nougat saw a sizable change in features and design, but it’s become obvious that Google is happy with the behavior and layout of Android’s core interface. It’s a good base layer, too. Companies like Samsung are free to alter the interface (within limits) and still have access to Google’s services and cloud platform as a native Android device, but the design still works if an OEM decides not to change things up. That changes when you put Android on something with a bigger display.

The Pixelbook makes it clear that Chromebooks are now a mobile device akin to a tablet, Android will be a significant part of the interface and app platform going forward, and that Google saw they needed to provide the halo device for developers big and small to use if things are to get better on a big screen. Google as a services company only wants you on the internet and your eyeballs on their products, but Google as a mobile company has their own vision of how the future will be when it comes to the devices we use and how we will use them.

This is what Fuchsia OS looks like on the Pixelbook

There is no longer any doubt that Google plans to do something with a new mobile operating system. That doesn’t mean Android is going anywhere; Android isn’t really the operating system as much as it is the application layer. There are a lot of people, myself included, who think Google plans to replace the core system that runs Android as we know it with something new that’s easier to develop for and easier for hardware vendors to implement. Fuchsia isn’t going to replace Android or Chrome, nor is it going to unify them. It’s going to be the engine that powers them.

Say hello to my little blue friend

Set your wayback machines for 2011 and witness the, um, masterpiece that was Android Honeycomb on the Motorola Xoom.

OK, so Honeycomb was a mess and nobody ever wants to hear me say its name again. But what Honeycomb was is important here — a version of Android that was designed to help put the existing features onto a big screen in a better way. We may not have wanted a Honeycomb, but Android needed a Honeycomb. And now it needs another one.

That part of “Android” that may change with Fuchsia is the part that works the best, so there is plenty of work to do.

The low level “stuff”, whether that means Chrome for Chromebooks and convertibles or Android proper for tablets and televisions, just works. In fact, it just works so well that the next big thing we expect to see from Fuschia has some big shoes to fill here. It’s the interface and feature set that sucks on a big screen. We need some new APIs and tools that will let developers take advantage of all that real estate and some incentive for them to do it. Android P could be part of it, just like Android Honeycomb was.

It’s all not as crazy as it sounds, and now I really hope it plays out this way.

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Google Play is coming to Chromebooks
• Acer Chromebook 14 review
• Join our Chromebook forums

Sprint plans to raise prices and roll out 5G next year

It’s become a fairly close race to provide mobile 5G service, with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all announcing plans to roll out the faster network tech within the next couple of years. Sprint already has plans to launch its own 5G network in 2019, which it confirmed today during an earnings call, as reported by VentureBeat.

According to FierceWireless, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure noted during the call that his company is working with Qualcomm to launch the first “truly mobile” 5G network in the US by the first half of 2019. This moves Sprint’s original plans up a bit. In comparison, AT&T plans to launch 5G service in 12 cities this year, while Verizon has plans to do so in the second half of 2018. T-Mobile doesn’t plan to roll its own 5G service out until 2020. VentureBeat also reports that Sprint will have to increase prices to $70 or $80 for unlimited 5G data, which would bring it more in line with its competitors.

Via: VentureBeat

Source: Sprint

DJI Mavic Air review: Aerial photography’s next small thing

When DJI revealed the Mavic Pro in late 2016, it ended up being a turning point for the company. DJI was already the dominant name in consumer drones thanks to the Phantom series, but the Mavic Pro was cheaper, smaller and downright meaner looking. The combination of price, features and cool-factor made it an instant success. Then there was the Spark, which was smaller, but less powerful and lacked some of the basic features that a budding aerial photographer wants. Enter the Mavic Air, a quadcopter that slots between the Mavic Pro and Spark on DJI’s roster.

When I first saw the size of the Mavic Air, I assumed it would have less features than the Mavic Pro. And in some ways that’s true. The Air is rated for 21 minutes of battery life, while the standard Pro tops out at 27. Also, that smaller size means it’s probably more prone to being blown around by mother nature. But for the most part, some important parts, the Mavic Air matches or bests the Mavic Pro — and that’s a good thing (unless you just bought a Mavic Pro, I guess).

Unpacking the Mavic Air reinforces how small it is. The packaging for the Phantom 4, for example, is about the size of typical carry-on luggage. The Mavic Air’s box looks more like something premium headphones come in. DJI suggested the folded Mavic Air is about the size of a large phone (if you ignore its height). This isn’t a helpful comparison, although some dimensions do sorta match that of my Pixel 2 XL. The two-inch height means the Mavic Air is actually about the size of a bag of coffee (but that’s still pretty darn small).

Beyond its size, the next thing I noticed is how cool it looks. The Mavic line ushered in a much-needed facelift for DJI drones. The Phantom series always looked a little… “smurfy,” but the Mavic Pro looks modern and aggressive. The Mavic Air has softer lines like a sports car, and the two-tone color scheme gives it a contemporary aesthetic that shows DJI’s design chops are coming of age.

I’ve flown plenty of DJI drones, so I was confident enough to get the Mavic Air flying right away. One thing that hasn’t really changed is the first-time setup. Once your batteries and controller are charged, you need to download/install/sign up for DJI’s Go app. Then you need to squeeze your phone into the grip at the bottom of the controller (after installing the appropriate USB adapter) and go through a quick walkthrough of the app. Once you’re set, just unfold the Mavic Air’s arms and you’re good to go.

I launched the Mavic Air in our cavernous (and mostly empty) office; I was instantly bombarded with beeps coming from the controller. Thanks to the Mavic Air’s multiple sensors, it detects objects in front, behind and beneath it. Engadget’s office has several timber pillars, and the sensors immediately detected them (even though it was already keeping a safe distance from them). Straight away, I was reminded how tight DJI’s drones fly. Take your hands off the sticks, and the Mavic Air just stays where it is, without any drifting. Point it somewhere, apply the throttle and it effortlessly glides in that direction.

While DJI’s drones have enough sensors to make flying indoors safer, it’s the great outdoors where they shine. I took the Mavic Air up to a drone-friendly park on the East Bay overlooking San Francisco to put it through its paces in its natural environment.

When I used to fly a Phantom, there was always an amount of self-consciousness. This (relatively) big white thing that alerted the world to its existence with a shrill warning noise, and then sounded like a chainsaw when you started it up. There’s none of this with the Mavic Air. Just unfold, set it down and get it up. It’s much quieter in the air than DJI’s bigger drones and doesn’t draw too much attention to itself (though people did stop and admire it as they passed).

The range on the Mavic Air is advertised as 4km (about 2.4 miles) which is double that of the Spark, with the Mavic Pro coming in at 7km (about 4.3 miles). A few times I flew the Mavic Air as far away as I safely could (well within range) and experienced some glitches with the video feed. Only at first, though; it always seemed to clear up after that. There was also one occasion where the drone lost contact with the controller and started to fly home, but it soon connected again, putting me back in control. And even that happened only once.

Good flight performance is table stakes for DJI drones, but that’s all for naught if the camera doesn’t work well. I shot in several different settings (cloudy, well lit, indoors) and I have to say that the camera impresses. Videos look sharp across various resolutions (I mostly used 4K and FHD). Photos look equally good, with great dynamic range and bright popping colors (the right side of saturated).

For me, it’s the camera that’s possibly most important. After all, DJI has the drone part down to a tee at this point. The Spark’s HD camera is good, but it’s hampered by more basic stabilization technology and a smaller selection of resolution settings. But for the Mavic Air and Pro it’s almost neck and neck as far as features go. The Mavic Air has HDR, higher bitrates (100Mbps versus 60Mpbs) and more slo-mo options. But the Mavic Pro has a cinematic mode and, in my opinion, better color representation. DJI really does like to make decisions hard for us.

From what I’ve seen from both drones in the same environments, the Mavic Air might have more features, but the image quality on the Mavic Pro is slightly better. Regardless, the video and photos you get out of the Mavic Air are generally fantastic, and the smoothness of the gimbal is perfect, which is kinda crazy considering its small size.

I’ve talked a lot about DJI’s other drones so far, and there’s a good reason for that. Normally we expect the more expensive model to be the better one. No one told DJI, it seems. The problem (benefit?) seems to be that DJI develops new tech and software at a fast clip. It sometimes releases a souped-up version of an existing drone, but there’s obviously a point where it makes sense to make a new model.

With rear obstacle avoidance, 8GB of built-in storage and a more clever camera, the Mavic Air is that model. All the new sensors make for better 3D vision in the drone, and that requires more processing grunt — something even the older Mavic might not be capable of. The result is a smaller, cheaper drone that might best its higher-end stablemate on the features that matter to you.

Unusually, then, potential buyers of both the Spark and the Mavic Pro might be tempted by the Mavic Air. At around $400, the Spark is about half the price of the Mavic Air. But (and I think it’s a fair-sized but) the camera upgrade is significant, you get 33 percent longer flight times, more auto shot modes and more safety sensors. Plus the Mavic Air folds down, which arguably makes it more portable, too. That all adds up to a solid upgrade that might make the price hike more palatable.

If I were eyeing up a $999 Mavic Pro, on the other hand, the decision for me would be easier. The $200 saving comes with very few compromises for casual users who want a reliable, capable flying camera with superior obstacle avoidance and the convenience of built-in storage. There will be people for whom the superior image/filming modes will really matter. Or want something more robust. But I’ll come out and say it, that for a lot of you Mavic Air is everything you need.