Amazon AR View takes the hassle out of shopping for your home

Google’s ARCore powers the experience.

On February 23, Google officially released ARCore to the masses so more people than ever can experience high quality augmented reality on their phone. Shortly after this launch, Amazon’s begun rolling out a new AR View feature to its Android app.

To get started with AR View, just open the Amazon app, tap on the camera icon, swipe up, and select the icon labeled as “AR View.” Once you do this, you’ll be able to browse through different products and virtually place them in your home to get an idea of how they’ll look in real life.

Once you select a product, you can use one finger to move it to a different spot in your home and two fingers to rotate it. Just like any other AR experience, you can walk around the product and look at it from any angle to get the perfect idea of how it’ll fit into your place.

Amazon says that AR View currently works with “thousands of products” over its “most popular categories” and new items are added to support AR View every single week.

Download: Amazon Shopping (free)

ZTE Tempo Go costs $80 and is one of the first Android Go phones

During MWC 2018, we’re getting a look at some of the first devices launching under Google’s Android Go initiative.

For customers in the United States, the first Android Go phone they’ll be able to buy is the ZTE Tempo Go.

Looking at the Tempo Go’s specs, there’s nothing here that’s all that impressive. The screen measures in at 5-inches with a resolution of 480 x 854 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 210 and 1GB of RAM power the show. There’s 8GB of onboard storage (expandable up to 32GB), 5MP rear camera, 2MP selfie camera, and a 2,200 mAh battery.

Other tidbits for the Tempo Go include a 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB port, 4G LTE connectivity, and Bluetooth 4.2.

Before you shrug this off as just another cheap Android phone, there are a couple important things to take note of. First, the ZTE Tempo Go costs just $80. Second, since it’s an Android Go phone, it’s running a lightweight, stock version of Android Oreo and is promised to receive software updates in a timely manner – something you don’t often see with Android handsets in this price bracket.

The ZTE Tempo Go is available for purchase on ZTE’s website now, but at the time of publishing this article, it’s currently listed as “sold out.”

See at ZTE

Download all of the Galaxy S9’s wallpapers right here

Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy S9 and S9+ on Sunday, February 25, and as expected, they’re iterative upgrades compared to last year’s Galaxy S8 and S8+. The star of the show for the S9 is its camera package, with features like a physically changing aperture and 960 FPS ultra-slow-mo video being the two highlights.

There’s a lot to like about the Galaxy S9, but it’s starting price of $720 and $840 for the S9+ make them pretty expensive handsets. If you’re not in the market to buy a new phone but want to steal some of the S9’s design, you can now download all of its official wallpapers.

The folks at SamMobile have already extracted all of the pre-installed wallpapers for the S9 and S9+, and there are 19 in total to check out. Many of them feature geometric patterns in various colors, but there’s also a dandelion one, a few styles featuring the “9” branding, and some simple ones with faded color streaks.

If you want to check out all of the wallpapers for yourself, click/tap the link below.

Download all of the Galaxy S9 wallpapers here

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. iPhone X: Metal and glass sandwiches
• Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

New alliance wants to improve terrible in-flight internet

The frustrations of internet access aboard commercial aircraft may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the Seamless Air Alliance. Formed by Airbus, Delta, OneWeb, Sprint and Airtel, the group aims to improve the connectivity experience for passengers aboard aircraft by allowing mobile operators to provide internet access directly via satellite tech.

The group aims to reduce the costs and headaches associated with the installation and operation of the infrastructure required to provide connectivity on aircraft. The end goal is to work together to cut costs and provide passengers with fast, reliable internet onboard aircraft. It would combine higher speeds with a better user experience because passengers wouldn’t have to pay separately for internet access once on board.

Anyone who’s regularly used an airplane internet connection knows how dismal the experience can be, so this is a positive step forward. It’s too early to say when this alliance will start having tangible effects, and it’s important that more airline industry companies sign on to make it a reality, but anything that improves in-flight internet is a win in our book.

Via: The Wall Street Journal

Source: PR Newswire

Bipartisan bill calls for study on economic impact of broadband access

Two Democratic and two Republican Representatives have introduced a bill that, if enacted, would require the Department of Commerce to research how access to broadband impacts a variety of economic factors like employment, income and population growth, Wired reports. The proposed legislation, called Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act of 2017, was introduced by Representatives Ro Khanna, Brian Fitzpatrick, Anna Eshoo and Ryan Costello and is a companion bill to a bipartisan Senate proposal led by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Shelley Moore Capito.

“The internet is the most vital tool of the 21st century economy, yet millions of Americans are being left behind because they lack a broadband connection,” Eshoo said in a statement. “Despite its importance, the federal government does not currently measure the specific economic impact on those who have broadband, versus those who do not. This legislation is a good first step in empowering lawmakers to come up with solutions to connect underserved communities and keep America competitive in a digital world.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has sent very mixed messages as to how important he thinks nationwide access to broadband internet is. While he recently proposed an order that would apply $500 million to closing the broadband gap, he has also proposed changes to the low-income Lifeline broadband subsidy program that would force a large chunk of Lifeline enrollees out of their current ISPs and potentially offline altogether. And while Donald Trump said in the past that his infrastructure proposal would include provisions to expand rural broadband internet access, his administration has yet to put any additional funds behind the effort.

The new House of Representatives bill proposes that the Secretary of Commerce “shall consider matters relating to employment, including job creation, business headcount, online commerce, income, education and distance learning, telehealth, telework, agriculture, population growth, population density, broadband speed and geography.” It also says that after the bill is enacted, the Secretary should submit the study’s findings to a handful of Congressional committees within one year.

Via: Wired

Source: Representative Ro Khanna (1), (2)

Huawei’s P20 smartphone may sport an iPhone-style notch

Whether or not you think iPhone X- and Essential-style screen notches are clever design flourishes or just abominations, it looks like they’re here for the long haul. Well-known leaker Evan Blass has obtained a photo of what looks like the P20, Huawei’s next mid-size flagship phone, and it appears the device will have a tall screen with a cutout for the camera system at the top. The company wouldn’t shove the fingerprint reader to the back (or eliminate it entirely) like so many of its peers, though. Apparently, Huawei would keep the P10’s front-mounted fingerprint reader in a tiny chin at the bottom — the P20 may be taller than other phones as a result, but you wouldn’t have to unlearn existing phone habits.

The prototypes don’t give away too many other features, but you can spot a few. Dual Leica-branded rear cameras (here disguised as “Bydca”) would make their expected return, and the phone would naturally run a flavor of Android Oreo. And whether your like it or not, the headphone jack would go away. It’s safe to presume the P20 will one of Huawei’s higher-end Kirin processors and the latest flavor of its EMUI interface.

Provided this is what the P20 is like, you won’t have to wait long to get the full scoop. Huawei is holding a P20 launch event on March 27th, and it’s promising that the new smartphone will pack “revolutionary photography” and help you “see mooore [sic] with AI.” This probably won’t be a modest update to the P10 — the question is whether or not it’s truly worth the hype.

Source: Evan Blass (Twitter)

Water could be extracted all over the Moon, not just at its poles

If we’re ever going to colonize another world, we can’t rely solely on the supplies we bring with us. We’ll have to make use of the resources available at our destination, with water being one of the most important. Not only can we drink it, but add a bit of science and voilà! You’ve got oxygen to breathe or rocket fuel to fly. Figuring out what resources are where is extremely important, and we’ve been honing this craft by looking at our celestial ally, the Moon. A study published last year suggested that water may exist in high quantities in the lunar interior, and now researchers have found evidence of water being distributed across the entire satellite, which is at odds with the widely held theory it’s concentrated in the colder spots at the Moon’s poles.

The problem with studying water on the Moon is that we’re largely relying on spectrometry. The way sunlight bounces of the lunar surface tells us about its chemical composition, but the Moon can also heat up enough to emit infrared light of its own, which is thought to mess with the readings. And so the Space Science Institute in Colorado went about combining two data sets — temperature readings from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and spectrometer measurements from India’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter — to try and mute the impact the Moon’s own light has on results.

The institute’s research, published in Nature Geoscience, disagrees with the accepted theory that water is concentrated at the poles, and that it travels before settling in these colder regions. The study of cleaned-up spectrometry data suggests water is present all over the Moon, but unfortunately, it doesn’t make a lunar base any more viable. The researchers believe the majority of what they’re seeing is probably hydroxyl (OH), not actual water molecules (H2O). In order to make use of the hydroxyl, you’d have to mine, extract and process it — not nearly as simple as stumbling across a big deposit of ice, then.

While the study may have given us a better understanding of our moon’s water reserves, the techniques used could also help us learn more about potential sources of water that exist in our wider solar system and beyond.

Via: NASA

Source: Nature Geoscience

Motorola’s low-cost E5 Plus may pack a big screen in a sleeker body

Motorola might not reserve large updates for its higher-end smartphone models this year. Leaker Evan Blass has posted an image of what should be the Moto E5 Plus, the bigger-screened device in the brand’s expected low-cost phone lineup, and it’s clearly not just a speed bump for the E4. For one, there’s a different camera array — there’s just one camera (despite the two cutouts), but this definitely isn’t a rehash of 2017. The picture also suggests a much sleeker-looking body that tucks the fingerprint reader at the back in return for smaller bezels (albeit large enough for a prominent “Motorola” at the bottom).

The image doesn’t give too much else away, although the headphone jack survives. It’s also reasonable to expect that the E5 Plus will run a lightly customized version of Android Oreo.

It’s not certain when the E5 Plus would ship, or what price it would have. The outgoing E4 Plus sold for $180 when new, though, and we wouldn’t expect its follow-up to cost too much more. If so, this could be quite the deal for those who only need modest performance, but still want a thoroughly modern design.

Source: Evan Blass (Twitter)

Michael B. Jordan burns all the books in ‘Fahrenheit 451’ trailer

Last year, HBO announced that it was adapting Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 into a movie and today we get its first trailer. In it, we see Captain Beatty, played by Michael Shannon, telling underling fireman Guy Montag (Michael B. Jordan) about the dangers of books and why they have to be burned. “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” he says. “News, facts, memoirs, internet of old — burn it.” We also see Jordan’s character spreading those ideas to school children, lighting room-fulls of books ablaze and saying with barely restrained fury, “I want to burn.”

Fahrenheit 451 will premiere on HBO in May. You can check out the trailer below.

Via: Entertainment Weekly

Source: HBO

Fiat Chrysler reportedly phasing out diesel passenger cars by 2022

Fiat Chrysler’s diesel plans are back in the spotlight again. The Italian-American car maker was hit with several lawsuits last December, each claiming that the company’s heavy-duty pickup trucks used devices aimed at cheating emissions tests. Last month, the EPA said that Chrysler had violated the Clean Air Act, alleging that the company had installed software in some diesel vehicles that increased emissions. Now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is apparently ditching diesel as a fuel source in its passenger cars by 2022, according to a report in the Financial Times.

According to the site’s sources, the carmaker has a four-year plan — set to reveal on June 1st — to phase out diesel in all its cars, including Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Fiat. FCA isn’t the first car company to deal with diesel emissions issues, of course. Volkswagen pled guilty to US charges of cheating on emissions tests, with a $4.3 billion penalty. Mercedes’ maker Daimler has been accused of installing software to fool testing machines as well. As noted by the Financial Times, Toyota and Porsche also have plans to dump diesel models from their respective lineups as costs climb for making diesel engines that pass emissions tests.

Via: The Verge

Source: Financial Times