GoPro faces uncertain future as holiday sales disappoint

The holidays were not kind to GoPro. The action camera company had already issued an earnings warning in January, dropping its projected Q4 revenues from $470 million to $340 million, that’s a 37 percent year-over-year decline. The holidays were so dreadful, in fact, that GoPro has since decided to abandon its drone pursuits and a fifth of its workforce, roughly 300 positions. That said, the company did earn $1.18 billion in 2017, flat year-over-year, and the staff reductions did help drop GoPro’s operating expenses by 30 percent, which left the company with $247 million in cash and marketable securities at the end of the year. That’s $50 million more than it had on hand at the end of Q3.

Neither the oft troubled Karma drone nor the existing Hero5 flagship camera managed to ignite the public’s passions during the holidays. As a result, the company was forced to offer these products at a discount, further eroding its profit margins during the critical sales season.

And as GoPro had difficulty penetrating a highly competitive drone market, the camera market is no less crowded. The company is getting it from all sides — from classic camera companies like Nikon, Olympus, and Canon to titans of the electronics industry like Sony, Samsung and Panasonic, everybody seems to have skin in the action camera game these days.

As such, GoPro’s investment outlooks are not great. Analysts have become increasingly reticent to invest in the company, causing its Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 to swing from a 4-cent earning to a 50-cent loss (per share) in just the last month. That said, GoPro is still a large presence in the action camera market. It still dominates the US with 80 percent of the market by unit volume and 44 percent of Europe. It saw its business grow in China by 28 percent in 2017 and posted a 96 percent year-over-year growth in Japan.

Still, while the company claims that its balance sheets are strengthening, GoPro did post a net loss for the year of approximately $183 million, or $1.32 per share, down from a net loss in 2016 of $419 million. Is it any wonder that GoPro now finds itself looking for buyers?

Via: Yahoo! Finance

Source: GoPro

Alphabet picks up momentum with Google’s cloud and hardware

You probably don’t need to be reminded that Google makes the vast majority of its money from ads scattered across every corner of the internet. Other products are more recognizably Google-y, however, and Alphabet’s new earnings release shows off some impressive growth in areas beyond just ad money. Alphabet raked in $32.3 billion in revenue in its fourth quarter, and just about $4.7 billion came from what Alphabet refers to as Google’s “other revenues.”

For those keeping track, that’s the most money Alphabet has pulled in from its “other revenues” segment, which is where you and I probably spend most of our money. “Other revenues” encompasses cash earned from the Play Store, subscription services like YouTube Red and Google’s cloud offerings, not to mention Google’s own hardware. We’re still waiting for more details in Alphabet’s customary post-earnings conference call, but if nothing else, Google itself is bullish about the headway its Made By Google products has made.

“Our device shipments in the fourth quarter have more than doubled year-over-year,” Google CEO Sundai Pichai added on the call.

In particular, Pichai seemed pleased by the performance of Google’s smart speakers. According to a statement made in early January, Google sold more than one Home speaker every second since the launch of the Google Home Mini on October 19th. Some quick math suggests Google sold some 6.4 million speakers over that stretch of time, and we wouldn’t be surprised if a decent number of Pixel 2s were also sold over those three months. Here’s hoping we get some more insight in the Q&A — for now, all Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat would say is that the 38 percent growth in this category was fueled by “hardware, cloud and Play.”

Meanwhile, Alphabet’s “other bets” category — which encompasses out-there divisions like Verily, Calico, Waymo and more — is slowly stemming its losses. As of the end of December, revenue for those other bets stood at $409 million, up from only $262 million during the same period in 2016. Granted, this entire category is operating at a loss, but the hole isn’t quite as large as it once was.

This time last year, Alphabet reported a $1.09 billion loss — now it’s only $916 million. Progress is progress, but it still seems clear that Alphabet will essentially eat money for years to come as it pursues these moonshots. Oh well: if Alphabet can keep offsetting those losses by improving Google’s hardware and cloud businesses, those self-driving cars and glucose-sensing contact lenses will show up eventually.

Review: Here’s a Look at the $99 Colgate Smart Toothbrush You Can Get From the Apple Store

One of the surprises of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show was a smart toothbrush from Colgate, which, as it turns out, was designed to be an Apple Store exclusive.

The new $100 Colgate Smart Electronic Toothbrush is both Colgate’s first smart iPhone-connected brush and the first personal hygiene product you can get right from an Apple Store.

Toothbrushes that connect to your iPhone have become a thing over the course of the last couple of years, and you can now get smart brushes from most of the major brands, including Philips and Oral-B. I’m no stranger to smart toothbrushes — I’ve previously reviewed the Oral-B SmartSeries, the Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected, and the Sonicare DiamondClean Smart, and for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been testing the Colgate Smart Electronic Toothbrush.

Colgate’s Smart Toothbrush is the simplest smart toothbrush that I’ve tested so far, but as you’ll see in my review below, there are some shortcomings to be aware of if you’re considering this brush.

Design and Features

Colgate partnered with Kolibree for the Smart Electronic Toothbrush, and the brush itself appears to be a Kolibree design because it’s almost identical to the $129 Kolibree Ara. This Kolibree mirror is the first higher-end toothbrush that Colgate’s come out with, so it’s different from all other Colgate brushes on the market, which are typically not priced over $10.

Design wise, the brush is made from a lightweight white plastic material, and it consists of two pieces: a removable and replaceable brush head and the vibrating base that the brush head fits on. The brush head pops onto the base of the toothbrush and then twists to lock in place.

There’s single button on the base of the Colgate Smart that turns it on or turns it off, and that’s the extent of the functionality, too. It’s on or it’s off. There are no modes or sensitivity levels to switch between, so you can’t alter brushing length (it goes for two minutes), brushing intensity, or any other parameter.

That’s fine if you just want a simple brushing experience, but if you want a softer brushing experience, a longer brushing experience, pressure detection, or special modes like gum care or whitening, the Colgate Smart can’t deliver.

There are also no brush head options. The Colgate Smart has a single brush head, and all replacement brush heads are the same style. Design wise, it’s smaller and wider than my Sonicare brush heads, and it’s a bit longer than Oral-B brush heads.

It’s a stiff brush, but these kinds of electric toothbrushes are often better for your teeth and gums than manual brushing because there’s no need to apply pressure or scrub to get your teeth clean. The Colgate Smart is leagues better than a standard manual brush, but compared to my Philips Sonicare, I didn’t feel like it worked as well.

For comparison’s sake, the Kolibree brush that the Colgate Smart is modeled after vibrates 15,000 times per minute, while the Sonicare DiamondClean brush vibrates 62,000 times per minute and the Oral-B SmartSeries vibrates 48,000 times per minute. I don’t know how much this matters, but I can feel a difference in brushing experience and the cleanliness of my teeth when using the Colgate Smart vs. the Sonicare.

If you’re using a manual brush, the Colgate Smart is going to get your teeth cleaner, but if you’re already using a higher-end electric toothbrush from Sonicare or Oral-B, the Colgate Smart is going to be something of a downgrade with less vibration, fewer options, and no choice when it comes to brush head.

Some people will prefer having less choice and fewer options to have to worry about. With just an on/off button and a single kind of brush head, the Colgate Smart has a certain appealing simplicity to it.

The Colgate Smart is much lighter than my other toothbrushes and it doesn’t feel as well made, which is to be expected because my DiamondClean is priced over $200 and the Oral-B model I have on hand cost $140. It’s still stylish, easy to clean, and ergonomic in the hand, though.

Inside of the Colgate Smart, there’s an accelerometer that’s able to detect the position of the brush in your mouth, which allows it to determine whether or not you’re thoroughly brushing your teeth.

A matching plastic base comes with the Colgate Smart and is used to charge it. Though so light that it barely feels like a battery is inside, the brush can last for two weeks before needing to be recharged.

iPhone Connectivity and App

The Colgate Smart app also appears to be a mirror of the app that the Kolibree smart brushes use. Pairing the toothbrush to the iPhone was a quick and simple process, and while I did see a Bluetooth disconnection or two during my time testing the Colgate Smart, it was always quick to reconnect and I had no glaring connection problems.

There are a few different modes in the Colgate app that are designed to walk you through a thorough brushing experience or encourage you to brush longer. Coach+, for example, displays a 3D model of a set of teeth and it lights up with each area that you need to clean. It has you brush 16 different zones, spending approximately eight seconds on each section.

The brush itself, as previously mentioned, has an accelerometer so it can tell where you’re brushing. Using the accelerometer to detect my brushing was a hit or miss on the left side of my mouth. Despite brushing properly on that side, the app didn’t feel like I was holding the brush in the right position, so half of the time, it would tell me that I was in the wrong zone and it wouldn’t count it as adequate brushing.

Almost every time I brushed, I had to adjust my grip on and reposition the brush to get it to register, and by the time I did that, it had moved on to a new section. That resulted in a frustrating experience where the app was telling me I hadn’t brushed well enough, while also not giving me extra brushing time to make it up at the end. If it’s going to tell me I missed a spot, it should add extra brushing time so I can properly cover all of the sections of my mouth.

Though the brush uses an accelerometer to determine where it is in your mouth, there is no pressure sensitivity, so it’s not going to know when you’re pressing too hard. In fact, it doesn’t even know when it’s touching a tooth since it relies entirely on brush position. It’s a system that works well for the most part, but has flaws.

Along with the Coach+ brushing mode, there’s also a “Coach” mode that’s supposed to be personalized, but over the course of testing the brush, this mode never updated and was the same as the standard brushing mode for me. There are also two games, which are focused on getting you to brush for a full two minutes rather than monitoring where you’re brushing, so that’s a good alternative for a more relaxed brushing experience or for children.

You don’t have to have the Colgate app open when you brush if you don’t want to. Even when the app is closed, the brush will track where in your mouth you brushed and for how long, and it will log it the next time your iPhone is nearby.

If you brush offline, the brush will pause four times for each quadrant of your mouth (top left, top right, bottom left, and bottom right) so you’re not spending too much time in one area.

The main page of the app has a weekly average featuring the length of your average brushing session, your brushing frequency, and your overall surface coverage, and it will show how much coverage you achieved when you last brushed your teeth. If you swipe to the right, you can also see how you did during past brushing sessions.

You can also tap the “Duration,” “Frequency,” and “Surface” readings to see more detailed graphs of your brushing habits over the past week, month, and year.

Other app features include a battery reading, a help section, and access to the Colgate shop where you can purchase additional brush heads. Brush heads need to be replaced every three months and cost $19 for a pack of three.

Bottom Line

The Colgate Smart Electronic Toothbrush is going to improve your brushing habits over a manual toothbrush with its timed brushing to motivate you to spend more time on your teeth and its ability to detect problem areas that aren’t getting enough attention, but I didn’t find that the brushing experience was as robust as I get with other comparable brushes from Sonicare and Oral-B.

If you already use an electric toothbrush from a company like Sonicare and Oral-B and have good brushing habits, there’s no reason to switch to the Colgate Smart Electronic Toothbrush. If you have a manual brush and like the simplicity of it but want to add smart features, that’s something the Colgate Smart can deliver.

Colgate’s partnership and rebranding of the Kolibree toothbrush is the company’s first foray into the higher-end toothbrush market, and there’s still some work to be done. Detection of brush position could use some improvement as it was inaccurate for me at times, and the app itself could use a brushing mode with an option to make up any missed areas to achieve better brushing. On the plus side, the in-app games may encourage better brushing in children.

Because the Colgate Smart is a straightforward electronic toothbrush designed to be as simple as possible, there are no different modes to choose from and there are no brush head options. That’s great if you want something easy, but it’s not as full-featured or as powerful as similar smart brushes from Philips and Oral-B, and in my opinion, it doesn’t quite measure up to brushes that have more to offer.

How to Buy

You can purchase the Colgate Smart Electronic Toothbrush from the online Apple Store for $99.95.

Note: Colgate provided MacRumors with a Colgate Smart Electronich Toothbrush for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
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Apple Reports Record Results for 1Q 2018: $20B Profit on $88B Revenue, 77.3M iPhones

Apple today announced financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2018, which corresponds to the fourth calendar quarter of 2017.

For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $88.3 billion and net quarterly profit of $20.1 billion, or $3.89 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $78.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $17.9 billion, or $3.36 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. The revenue and earnings per share numbers were company records for any quarter in the company’s history.

Gross margin for the quarter was 38.4 percent, compared to 38.5 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 65 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an upcoming dividend payment of $0.63 per share, payable February 15 to shareholders of record as of February 12.

For the quarter, Apple sold 77.3 million iPhones, compared to 78.3 million in the year-ago quarter. iPad sales were up slightly to 13.2 million, up from 13.1 million a year ago, and Mac sales slipped to 5.1 million from 5.4 million.

“We’re thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple’s history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup. iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve also achieved a significant milestone with our active installed base of devices reaching 1.3 billion in January. That’s an increase of 30 percent in just two years, which is a testament to the popularity of our products and the loyalty and satisfaction of our customers.”

Apple’s guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 includes expected revenue of $60-62 billion and gross margin between 38 and 38.5 percent.

Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q1 2018 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.

Conference call starts at 2:00 PM Pacific – No need to refresh

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Get your next home with the best apartment-finder apps

Moving to a new city and need to find an apartment? Looking to upgrade to a better place in your current city? Whether you’re relocating across the country or searching for a home in your own town, an apartment-finder app can be a great way to find the perfect place to put down roots. Apps are a convenient way to apartment-hunt because you can browse listings from wherever you are, whether you’re waiting in line at the grocery store or sitting on the subway during your commute. Luckily, both Apple and Android users have plenty of options at their disposal. We’ve rounded up the best apartment-finder apps that just might be able to help you get your new home.

Zillow Rentals

This user-friendly app has information on more than 400,000 rental properties across the United States. You can easily customize your search based on the specific features you’re looking for, whether it’s the pet policy, or whether there’s on-site laundry or garage parking. You can also save searches so that you don’t have to re-enter all the criteria the next time you hop on the app. Another cool feature is that you can use your finger to draw a circle around the area in which you want to search for apartments. See a home you like? Give it a tap, and it’ll show up in your favorites. That way, you can easily call the top candidates one by one to set up a viewing.

Download now for:

iOS Android

Trulia Rentals

As far as apartment-finder sites go, Trulia is one that has been in the market since early on. This Zillow-owned company first started showing up in search engine results back in 2005. Since then, Trulia has established partnerships with CrimeReports.com, SpotCrime.com, and EveryBlock.com, allowing the site to give users specific information about crime rates, school districts, and even commute lengths. Users also like the one-click feature, which puts you right in contact with the property manager — no need to fill out any pesky inquiry forms or look for a phone number online.

Download now for:

iOS  Android

Apartments.com

Where Apartments.com really stands out is the real-time availability it provides users. This ensures you aren’t wasting your time looking at units that have long been rented out to someone else. The database is also very comprehensive, and users are given a wide range of filter options. This includes the usual ones, such as price range and housing type, but it also includes really specific filters that let you search for military housing and student housing, for example. Once you see an apartment you like, you can take a 3-D tour right then and there, before you’ve even set foot in the actual unit.

Download now for:

iOS  Android

Zumper

With more than one million apartment listings in its inventory, Zumper knows local rental markets pretty well. When you search the site, you’ll notice specific details about different properties, including city landmarks, local weather statistics, and neighborhood culture. You can also set the app to alert you instantly once a unit that fits your criteria becomes available. Here’s an insider tip: if a listing is pink, that means it just went live during the past 24 hours.

Download now for:

iOS Android

HotPads

If you’re moving to a major city, HotPads is one to check out. While the app does display rental listings all over the country, HotPads is best known for apartment listings in major metropolitan areas. To give you a better sense of what life is like in the neighborhood, the app also gives you details about nearby schools and the walkability of the area. Interested in seeing what other app users are excited about? The designated “hot” rentals are the ones generating a lot of activity on the app.

Download now for:

iOS Android

Rent.com

Moving costs can really add up without you even realizing it. Plus, a relocation to a different city also brings its fair share of new taxes, rent increases, and other expenses. Rent.com aims to save you money through a special feature called Moving Center. Simply enter the size and location of your home and the city where you’re headed, and Rent.com will provide free moving quotes to give you a sense of how much you’ll be spending. Want to take a peek at a potential rental before you visit in person? Many of the properties conveniently come with virtual 3-D tours.

Download now for:

iOS Android

Realtor.com rentals

Realtor.com is a great across-the-board app to get you started on your apartment hunt. The app interface is intuitive, and you can quickly personalize the search to prioritize special features and amenities. The app also provides a lot of details about the neighborhood where you’ll be moving, including price comparisons to other neighborhoods. You’ll also find a map (powered by Yelp) that will give you a sense of the kind of restaurants, grocery stores, and entertainment options that will be near you.

Download now for:

iOS Android

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Rev up your smartphones, Nintendo says Mario Kart is finally on its way

At last, Mario Kart is heading for smartphones.

While Nintendo’s early smartphone efforts like Miitomo pretty much passed people by, Mario Kart Tour is set to be a hit with mobile gamers when it lands in Android and iOS app stores.

But when, you ask, is it coming? Truth be told, Nintendo is a bit vague on that, saying in a somewhat drably worded announcement that it will be released “in the fiscal year ending in March 2019.”

Having crunched the numbers, checked the calendars, counted the days, and looked up the precise definition of “fiscal year,” we can tell you that it means Mario Kart Tour will land anytime between April 2018 and March of next year. A window of a whole year.

The checkered flag has been raised and the finish line is near. A new mobile application is now in development: Mario Kart Tour! #MarioKartTour Releasing in the fiscal year ending in March 2019. pic.twitter.com/8GIyR7ZM4z

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 1, 2018

Beyond its name, and a release date that suggests developers are still very much in development mode with the game, we know little else about it. But with Mario Kart having been available across multiple platforms and in various guises since 1992, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

In other Mario-related news announced on Wednesday, January 31, Nintendo confirmed recent rumors that it’s working with Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Minions) on a movie starring the mustachioed Italian plumber. Co-produced by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination boss Chris Meledandri, fans will be praying for something more watchable than the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. flick, which currently has a dismal — though many will say thoroughly deserved — 15-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Mario is the franchise that keeps on paying, as far as Nintendo is concerned, so it makes sense to expand its presence on smartphones to join Super Mario Run. The Kyoto, Japan-based company this week revealed Super Mario Odyssey as the best-selling Switch game, with more than 9 million units sold, followed by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which sold more than 7 million units. Work some tempting in-app purchases into Mario Kart Tour and it should have another healthy revenue generator on its hands.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Uber is getting into the bike-sharing game

Sniffing another opportunity, Uber is taking its first tentative step into the business of bike-sharing.

Curiously, it’s chosen one of the country’s hilliest cities — San Francisco — to launch the scheme, though the bikes do have small electric motors to assist you as you pedal up some of its famously steep inclines. “You’ll feel like a warrior charging up hills,” Uber says.

The company better known for car trips than bike rides has partnered with ebike company Jump for the pilot service, which from next week will appear as an option in the Uber app. Jump secured a permit for San Francisco in January to operate a service using electric-powered bikes, and ran trials in the city in the second half of last year.

How it works

To grab one of its two-wheelers, you simply tap on the bike icon in the app’s menu at the top left of the home screen. A map will then appear showing available bicycles close to your location.

Use the provided PIN to unlock the bike and you’re off, with the ride costing $2 for up to 30 minutes. Once you reach your destination, you can lock the bike to the nearest public rack, also indicated on the map.

As the scheme is a trial for now, Uber and Jump are only offering 250 bikes. If you’re interested in taking part, you can put your name down now on Uber’s waitlist.

To make sure those bikes don’t end up in the wrong places and to maximize their availability, Jump’s own staff will oversee operations.

Looking beyond ride-hailing

The bike scheme is the latest example of Uber looking beyond its car-based, ride-hailing roots in a bid to seek out additional revenue streams. It’s already operating its UberEats meal-delivery service in multiple cities, and last year launched Uber Freight, matching truckers with companies that need goods moved across the country. It’s also investing heavily in autonomous car technology.

Competition between bike-sharing operators has been heating up in the U.S., with more and more companies entering the market. But it’s not always plain sailing for those getting involved. Chinese firm Bluegogo, for example, pulled its bikes from the streets of San Francisco in March 2017 after just a couple of months of operation following a dispute over permits. It’s since gone out of business. And last year in San Francisco there were reports of a backlash against such services by some locals who claim the big tech companies are ruining their neighborhoods by causing a housing crisis and increasing income inequality.

Uber will be watching carefully to see how its offering is received, though it insists it provides “a convenient, environmentally friendly ride even in dense cities where space is limited and roads can be congested.”

The company said that depending on how it goes in San Francisco, the scheme “may” eventually roll into other cities, too.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Uber vs. Lyft: This is the ultimate ridesharing app showdown
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The Land Rover Explore modular phone looks as tough as a real Land Rover

If you’re heading out into the sticks in your Land Rover, whether its a brand-new Discovery or a classic Defender, you’ll likely want a great phone in your pocket in case you get a bit lost. If you would prefer something more rugged than an iPhone X or a Pixel 2, how about a phone by Land Rover itself? That’s the Land Rover Explore, a tough phone that takes inspiration for its headline feature from the Motorola Moto Mods range, but with an outdoor twist.

The Land Rover Explore isn’t actually made by Land Rover. It’s made by Bullitt, a British phone maker known for its expertise in the area of both rugged phones and big-name licenses, because it also produces CAT, and JCB-branded devices, along with those for Kodak, too. The partnership between Land Rover and Bullitt was announced in early 2016, so the resulting phone has been a long time coming. Was it worth the wait?

It’s definitely intriguing. The idea, like Moto Mods, is to add modules to the basic phone and increase functionality. Initially, the Land Rover Explore will come with one module called the Adventure Pack, which works like a separate, more powerful GPS unit, complete with its own battery, and ViewRanger’s mapping app installed on the phone. ViewRanger will also add its Skyline augmented reality feature that works in conjunction with the phone’s camera to identify local geographical features. ViewRanger isn’t a stranger to partnerships like this either, having also worked with Casio on the Pro Trek Android Wear smartwatch.

Other modular packs are likely to be introduced, although no plans have been revealed by Bullitt or Land Rover yet. Modular phones live or die by the availability of these additional packs, and failure to launch more could see the Explore go the way of the LG G5. The phone’s main specification hasn’t been detailed either, although a body that reaches military standards of toughness, and an IP68 water resistance rating seem likely. Bullitt says it will deal with all temperatures, heavy drops, and even salt water.

In its design, you can spot references to the new Land Rover Discovery, including the look of the vehicle’s headlights and grille, along with the style of the instrument binnacle and dials. It doesn’t look like the most compact of smartphones with the Adventure Pack fitted, and we don’t know how it will integrate with the phone yet either. However, all will be made clear at Mobile World Congress at the end of February, when we will see the phone for real. Bullitt says the Land Rover Explore will be available to order in April and will cost 600 British pounds or 650 euros. That’s around $855, but no official U.S. price has been stated.

Editors’ Recommendations

• 2018 Land Rover Range Rover SVAutobiography is equal parts glitz and go
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Sharp’s new iPhone 5c copy is called the Android One S3, runs stock Android

The Android One program is slowly but surely growing, and the latest one is sure to appeal to those looking for a decent midrange phone that offers a stock Android experience. The device comes from Sharp, and is called the Android One S3.

Perhaps the most notable thing about the phone is its design, and, as per GSMArena, it’s got a pretty familiar look. Many will remember the iPhone 5c, a so-called “budget” iPhone that came in a range of different colors, and didn’t last all that long. The Android One S3 comes in four different colors, including green, black, white, and pink.

Under the hood, the phone features some pretty decent specs. The phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage — though you can get more storage through the MicroSD card slot. The display is a 5-inch display with a 1,080p resolution.

Around the back of the phone, you’ll find a 13-megapixel camera, along with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and under the hood you’ll find a 2,700mAh battery to power the whole thing.

There are some features missing though. You won’t get a fingerprint sensor, which is a little strange for a midrange phone these days. It does, however, offer MIL-SPEC water and dust resistance, so that’s perhaps why it costs a little extra than equivalent phones. And, of course, it offers Android One, which is a stock version of Android that only comes with Google apps pre-installed and should get timely updates.

So when and where can you get your hands on the phone? Unfortunately, it’s only available in Japan, where it costs 32,400 yen, or around $300. If you live in Japan, you can get it through the Y!mobile carrier.

For that price there are some other pretty great options, and some of them are even part of the Android One program. For example, we rated the HTC U11 Life as one of the best midrange phones out there, and while it doesn’t offer MIL-SPEC water resistance, it does at least boast an IP67 rating, which should be enough for most uses. Other phones, like the Lenovo Moto G5S Plus, are far better budget options, offering better processing power and more storage than the Sharp Android One S3. Still, the interesting design and stock Android software may be enough to push people into buying it.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Singapore is using a group of robot swans to monitor its water supply

Faced with the problem of how best to track pollution in the country’s reservoirs, engineers in Singapore have come up with a unique solution: robot swans. An acronym for Smart Water Assessment Network (although they really do look like swans as well), the robo-swans are designed to take constant measurements of Singapore’s water supply in a way that both saves on human labor and looks aesthetically pleasing in the process.

“​The robotic swans swim around lakes and reservoirs ​and measure water quality parameters,” Mandar Chitre, associate professor in the department of electrical & computer engineering at the National University of Singapore, told Digital Trends. “The data collected is available in real time over the cloud to experts from water management agencies, so that they can respond to any water quality related issues promptly. The swans can also be commanded over the cloud, so that they can be directed to monitor certain areas or bring back water samples to the shore for lab analysis.”

Water measurements which can be taken by the swans include water pH level, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and chlorophyll. Due to the cloud connection, which analyzes the water data in real time, authorities can be alerted immediately if there is some reason why the local H2O may not be safe to drink. This is particularly useful in areas where dry weather prompts greater growth of algae, thereby making it more important to closely monitor water quality.

The remote control swans themselves feature heavy duty construction, allowing them to survive minor collisions with kayaks or other boats. Chitre said that five of the swans are currently being used to monitor water quality in lakes and reservoirs around Singapore.​ He said that the team has also received interest from other countries looking to replicate the system to test their own major bodies of water. They aim to be able to offer this service in the years to come.

“​We hope to see a larger global adoption for the technology,” he said.​ “In parallel, we are working to add sensors and capabilities of the swans, and upgrade the control systems and data analytics. We also aim to have fleets of swans autonomously cooperate to adaptively monitor lakes and locate sources of pollutants.”

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