Nokia parent company HMD Global now owns the PureView trademark

One of the mobile industry’s best camera brands could make a return.

HMD Global, the company responsible for the return of Nokia and BlackBerry phones, recently acquired a trademark that used to be synonymous with the best smartphone camera experiences around — PureView.

First spotted by Nokiamob, the PureView trademark was officially transferred from Microsoft to HMD Global on August 23, 2018. If you visit HMD’s page for the European Union’s Intelectual Property Office, the PureView brand is sitting there front and center.

Nokia first introduced the world to the PureView brand back in 2013 with the Nokia 808 PureView. Following that, we saw Nokia attach its PureView branding to a number of Windows Phones such as the Lumia 1520, 1020, and 920.

Cameras on Nokia’s Android phones have been good, yet nothing to write home about. It’s possible the company is getting ready to double-down on its mobile photography game now that it holds the PureView name, but then again, it could just have gotten the trademark for the sake of owning it and nothing more.

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Top 7 things you need to know about Fortnite for Android

Read this before you play Fortnite on Android

Fortnite is a massively popular game that’s wildly popular across basically every platform you can game on. But there are some specific quirks for the Android release that you need to know before you play.

It’s nowhere to be found in the Google Play Store

Epic Games decided not to release Fortnite through the Google Play Store which means all the traditional advice about only downloading apps from the Play Store kind of goes out the window. You can’t even search for Fortnite in the Google Play Store, as Google just gives you a little message stating “Fortnite Battle Royale by Epic Games, Inc is not available on Google Play”. Salty.

For parents with kids demanding to play Fortnite on their phone or tablet, you need to know that the game is still in beta and is only available on non-Samsung devices via an invitation from Epic Games. You can go to Fortnite’s Android portal and register your email and device to get an invitation but at this point, it’s all a matter of applying and waiting for your download link to the installer.

Meanwhile, if you’ve got a Samsung Galaxy S7 or better you can pop into Samsung’s Galaxy App store and download the Fortnite Installer app and dive into the game.

There’s no cross-play between mobile and PC or console

You might be wondering if you’ll be able to play against your friend who plays on PC or Xbox One on your phone. Alternatively, it might seem like the dude who just sniped you from across the map is playing on a PC setup.

As it stands, Fortnite players on Android will only ever play against other Android players, and there’s no indication from Epic Games or reason to believe that there will ever be true crossplay. Instead, you’re able to log into your Fortnite account across all available platforms and play when and where you want. This is a good thing because as it stands it is very hard to play Fortnite on mobile for most new players.

And that’s because…

There’s no support for Bluetooth controllers or USB accessories

Perhaps the worst part of waiting so long for an Android version of Fortnite is the fact that there was nothing done to address one of the biggest complaints with the game — the lack of control options beyond the default touchscreen controls.

Support for Bluetooth controllers is coming… eventually.

You can go in and completely customize the layout of the on-screen controls which is good, but if you’ve played Fortnite on console or PC you’re going to have a bad time playing Fortnite on your phone because it controls just awfully. The fact that you also have to switch over to build mode in the heat of a battle just makes it all the more frustrating with any little slip up potentially costing you the match. Even the somewhat glitchy gameplay issues people have been experiencing could be somewhat alleviated with a controller in hand.

With phones like the Moto Z series and ASUS RoG offering gaming accessories for adding controller mods to your phone, and Samsung and others developing docking technology for connecting a keyboard and mouse for a desktop experience, there’s a ton of potential even beyond Bluetooth accessories that may never be fully implemented into Fortnite. It’s a damn shame.

Turn down the graphics if you’re having frame rate issues

Choppy frame rate and game freezes are among the biggest complaints gamers have had playing Fortnite for Android. The game is still in beta and receives regular updates with bug fixes designed to improve the experience overall, but the game still gets sluggish if there’s too much going on — not ideal when you’re in a frantic firefight and getting around five frames per second.

The latest update fixed an issue regarding the graphics settings, so you’re finally able to reliably turn down the graphics to get faster gameplay — this will be extra important if you’re playing on a phone with 4GB as Epic Games has acknowledged performance issues and worked to address them. The downside is turning down the render level can create a new host of problems, where sniping becomes sketchy and the game just looks all blocky and weird.

V-Bucks are non-transferrable between platforms, but the stuff you buy is

If you bought V-Bucks, the in-app currency in Fortnite, on your PC and are confused when you see an empty balance playing on your phone, that’s because the in-app currency you buy on one platform stays on that platform.

However, if you spend your PC V-Bucks on a new outfit, you’ll be able to access that outfit across all platforms. The issue here is if you’ve got some spare V-Bucks on mobile and some on PC or console you’re unable to pool them together.

In-app purchase refunds are available —but you only get three

Speaking of in-app purchases, it’s important to understand the in-app purchasing policies given this game is not regulated by Google’s app store. This game has proven to be a micro-transaction juggernaut for Epic Games with so many cool outfits, emotes, and other cosmetic upgrades to buy.

If you accidentally make a purchase, your kid makes an unauthorized purchase, or you simply have buyers remorse for that new skin you just blew $15 bucks on, you’ll be happy to know that Epic Games has a refund request system built right into the game itself. Fortnite’s refund policy allows you to request a refund three times per account. The refunds can’t be applied to items like the Battle Pass or Battle Pass tiers, only items such as emotes, outfits, pickaxes and such. It’s a fairly reasonable approach that gives the benefit of doubt to players.

It’s worth noting that these refunds are only available for items purchased with your V-Bucks, and not for V-Buck purchases.

That installer vulnerability has been patched

It was recently discovered that Epic’s Fortnite installer for Android contained a vulnerability that would allow malicious apps to be installed. The good news is that there were no reported infections with malware before Epic patched the installer, but the situation is sure to extend the cool relationship between Google and Epic.

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Lenovo’s Smart Display single-handedly sold MrMobile on Google Home

I didn’t get the name “MrMobile” by covering a lot of home tech, folks – but when Lenovo revealed back at CES that it was working with Google to graft a display onto a Google Home, I decided that was something worth crossing categories for. Now, after a week of using the Lenovo Smart Display both at work and home, I’m here to tell you that my hunch was correct: this thing has almost single-handedly reinvigorated my enthusiasm for the category (Sorry, Jibo.)

Not that the Lenovo Smart Display is flawless; as an early product just hitting store shelves today, there are a few holes in its functionality. Most notably, you can’t cast to it from your phone yet; there’s no Netflix integration; and the lack of an onboard battery means that moving it from room to room requires a reboot unless you connect it to the mother of all extension cords. But two of those problems are fixable with future updates – and it’s already proven more useful to me in one week than any of my lesser Google Homes (Googles Home?) have in the past year.

Come see why! Join me for the MrMobile Lenovo Smart Display review, and then hit up the rest of the in-depth coverage right here on AC.

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UK Deal: Save big on smartphones from Motorola, Nokia, Huawei and more

Prices start from just £59 in this limited time offer

Amazon UK is offering a number of smartphones with up to 35% off, meaning some big savings for those in the market for a new handset. The deal includes phones from Motorola, Nokia, Honor, Huawei and more with over £100 off selected models.

Whether you want the cutting edge camera tech of the Huawei P20 Pro, the balance of price and specs in the Nokia 7 Plus, or the super affordable £59 Spark X from UK brand Wileyfox, there’s something for everyone in this promotion.

Highlights:

• Motorola G6 £199.99 (was £239)
• Nokia 7 Plus £299 (was £349.99)
• Honor View 10 £329.99 (was £449.99)
• Huawei P20 Pro £669 (was £799.99)
• Wileyfox Swift 2 £79.95 (was £109.99)

There are many more smartphones included in the promotion, so be sure to check out the full range. Not a part of the promotion, but still an exception saving, is the Samsung Galaxy S9 at £619. It’s back down to a its record low price with £120 off its usual going rate.

For more UK deals coverage, be sure to keep an eye on Thrifter UK, sign up for the UK newsletter and follow the team on Twitter.

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LG V40 appears in more renders and design video

This is LG’s most powerful phone of 2018.

Last year saw a big shift for LG’s V series. Unlike the V10 and V20 that experimented with metal designs, removable batteries, and secondary ticker displays, the V30 introduced a slick glass back, incredibly slim bezels, and a pOLED screen made by LG itself.

We’re anticipating the V40 to share a lot of similarities to its predecessor and this year’s recently announced LG V35, and as new information trickles in, we’ll be regularly updating this guide to help keep you up-date on everything that’s going on.

Without further delay, here’s everything we know about the LG V40!

The latest LG V40 news

August 27, 2018 — V40 leaks again in more high-res renders and 360° design video

Just a few short days after the below renders leaked for the LG V40, OnLeaks and SlashLeaks teamed up to dish out even more renders of the phone.

We once again see the V40’s front and back, but these images also showcase the phone from a couple different angles. Along with the still images, there’s also a design video that gives us an even clearer look at the device.

No new details are revealed with these renders, but even so, it’s still fun to get another glimpse at LG’s next big flagship for the year.

August 22, 2018 — First LG V40 render appears with triple rear cameras and a notched display

After months of waiting, we’ve finally got our first look at the LG V40 thanks to a leaked press render from MySmartPrice.

As you can see from the photos, the V40 retains a lot of the V30 and V35’s design language while making a few big updates. The glass back and metal frame are staples from the past two V handsets, as is the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. There’s a large display on the front that likely uses an OLED panel, and similar to the G7 before it, the V40 also features a notch at the top. Inside that notch, you’ll find two front-facing cameras and an earpiece for phone calls.

The V40 also appears to be the first LG phone to come equipped with three cameras on the back. We’ve seen other OEMs such as Huawei mess with triple camera setups before, so it’ll be interesting to see LG’s implementation of this.

The LG V40 has a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C port, and a third hardware button that’ll likely be used for opening up the Google Assistant.

A date of November 16 on the V40’s lock screen suggests that the phone’s just a couple months away, but this doesn’t line up with an earlier rumor claiming that the V40 would be released on October 5. As more details about this come out, we’ll let you know.

July 19, 2018 — LG to launch the V40 on October 5, reported to have a 90% screen-to-body ratio

A new report from ETNews recently broke, and if you weren’t already excited about the V40, this just may change your mind.

Following last month’s rumor of the V40 having a total of five cameras, ETNews says that three of these will be on the back of the phone and consist of 20MP primary, 16MP wide-angle, and 13MP telephoto sensors. The remaining two cameras will be on the front and allow for a 3D facial recognition system.

Speaking of the V40’s front, it’s said that we’ll be met with an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 90%. LG will apparently have a “different from the conventional” method for keeping bezels so small, suggesting that the company might have found an alternative solution to the notch.

Lastly, LG will reportedly announce the phone during IFA late next month and then begin sales on October 5.

June 26, 2018 — The V40 will reportedly have a total of five cameras, a notch in its display, and face unlock system

News dump alert! Our friends at Android Police recently spoke with a source that’s apparently familiar with the V40’s development, and as such, we’ve got some juicy new details about the phone.

First and foremost, it’s reported that the LG V40 will ship with a total of five cameras. We can’t say with 100% certainty how these will be positioned on the phone, but it’s likely we’ll get two on the front and three on the back. Speaking of cameras, LG’s working on a new face unlock system that could feature 3D mapping technology, not unlike the iPhone X’s Face ID.

Something else to take note of is the fact that the V40 is said to come with a notch in its display. LG will allow you to use software to hide the notch just like it does on the G7, but as expected, this is a trend you just can’t escape for the time being.

Other reported features are the Snapdragon 845, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and a dedicated Google Assistant button next to the volume rocker.

May 2, 2018 —It’ll probably use an OLED display

Shortly after the G7 ThinQ was announced, LG confirmed something rather interesting — it only uses OLED screens for phones in its V series.

In other words, that’s about as close of a confirmation as we’ll get that the V40 will come equipped with an OLED panel. We don’t know what the resolution will be or if it’ll have a notch, but OLED is pretty much a guarantee at this point.

April 19, 2018 — “Storm” is the codename for the V40

Evan Blass shared on Twitter that the V40’s codename is “Storm.” This doesn’t provide much insight into specifics regarding the phone, but it is suggestive that LG’s flagship will be big and powerful.

Since there’s not much else to say about this, here are a few storm emojis 🌩🌪☔️

What specs can we expect?

Talk about the V40’s specs is still relatively quiet, but even so, we can make a few guesses about what it’ll come equipped with.

At the heart of the V40 will likely be Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor. This has been the chipset of choice for most 2018 flagships, and as we’ve seen before, the 845 is a beast when it comes to performance, camera processing, battery life, and more.

Something else the V40 will likely carry is an OLED display. In May, LG confirmed that it reserves its OLED panels for entries in the V series. Unless something has radically changed since then, this is a sure bet that the V40 will be graced with an OLED screen.

Lastly, the V40 will come with at least two cameras on the back. We don’t know what kind of sensors will be used or what the aperture rating will be like, but similar to past LG flagships, we should get a primary lens with a regular focal length and a secondary, wide angle one.

When will the LG V40 be released?

According to one source, the V40 is scheduled for a release in either the late summer or early fall of this year. If accurate, this will see it launched during a similar window compared to the September 21 release of the V30.

Along with this, another publication claims that the V40 will be announced during IFA (late August / early September) and then go on sale about a month later on October 5.

How much will it cost?

We have a pretty good idea as to when the V40 will be released, but what about its price?

Details on this are still few and far between, but to make an educated guess, let’s first look at past retail pricing for other entries in the V series.

• LG V10 — $600
• LG V20 — $830
• LG V30 — $800
• LG V30S — $930
• LG V35 — $900

LG’s been steadily increasing the price of its V phones with just about every release, and based on the most recent V30S and V35, I think it’s safe to say that the V40 will cost around $900 and possibly cross that $1000 threshold.

The V series has never been cheap and the V40 won’t be an exception to that rule.

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Bloomberg: Apple Watch Series 4 Models Compatible With Existing Bands, No New iPad Mini This Year

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Debby Wu today previewed details about Apple’s widely rumored trio of 2018 iPhones. Towards the end of the report, there are also a few details about the Apple Watch and iPad that we’ve highlighted below.

The first noteworthy tidbit is that Apple Watch Series 4 models will be compatible with existing bands, as they are said to have a similar physical size as Series 3 models and earlier. Gurman already said as much earlier this year, but there were some lingering concerns from MacRumors readers in our discussion forums.

Apple Watch Series 4 models are still expected to have up to 15 percent larger displays, as a result of slimmer bezels around the screen. They’re also expected to have slightly longer battery life, along with new health and fitness features.

The second tidbit worth singling out is that the iPad mini won’t be updated this year, according to Gurman. That information corroborates DigiTimes, which recently reported that “Apple so far has no further plan for the iPad mini series,” which hasn’t been refreshed since the iPad mini 4 launched in September 2015.

Apple’s focus on the lower-cost 9.7-inch iPad may result in the iPad mini line being discontinued eventually, although Gurman hasn’t specified.

We’re likely just a few weeks away from Apple’s usual September event at Steve Jobs Theater, with invites to the media likely to be issued this week. In addition to the new iPhones and Apple Watch Series 4 models, Apple is expected to unveil two new iPad Pros with Face ID, new AirPods, and AirPower pricing and availability.

Related Roundups: iPad mini 4 (2015), Apple Watch, watchOS 4, watchOS 5Tag: Mark GurmanBuyer’s Guide: iPad Mini (Don’t Buy), Apple Watch (Caution)
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French Radio Station Says iPhone Event Will Be Held September 12 at Steve Jobs Theater

French radio station Europe 1, citing two unnamed sources, claims that Apple’s annual iPhone event will be held Wednesday, September 12 at Steve Jobs Theater, with the keynote beginning at 10:00 a.m. local time as usual.

September 12 would make a lot of sense, and has already been the most widely predicted event date, for at least six reasons:

• Apple has held an iPhone event in the first two weeks of September every year since 2012, between September 7 and September 12, so the date lines up from a historical perspective.
• Apple has never hosted an iPhone event on Monday, Thursday, or Friday in the month of September. Always on Tuesday or Wednesday. September 12 falls on a Wednesday this year.
• German carriers have reportedly indicated that pre-orders for the next iPhones will begin Friday, September 14, the usual two to three days later. Pre-orders will likely begin at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time as usual.
• If the event were to be held in the first week of September this year, Apple likely would have sent out invites to the media already. In previous years, invites have gone out later this week.
• Labor Day is Monday, September 3 this year. Apple likely wants to give the media time to travel to the event after the U.S. holiday weekend, likely ruling out September 4 and September 5.
• Tuesday, September 11 is presumably a less likely date for the event due to the significance of the day in history.

At the event, Apple is widely expected to introduce three new iPhones, Apple Watch Series 4 models, new AirPods, AirPower pricing and availability, and more. MacRumors will have up-to-the-minute coverage as it unfolds.

Related Roundup: 2018 iPhonesTag: Steve Jobs Theater
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Updated Eve Room With New Aluminum Design, E-Ink Screen, and HomeKit Support Available for Pre-Order

The newly-branded Eve Systems today opened up pre-orders for the second generation of its Eve Room climate and air quality sensor, ahead of a launch on September 12. The new device was first revealed at CES in January and is compatible with Apple’s HomeKit platform, measuring air quality, temperature, and humidity in whatever room it’s placed.

The original Eve Room was a square white box that launched in 2015, also providing data about indoor air quality, temperature and humidity, which you had to view on a connected smartphone or through Siri inquiries. The second generation makes viewing all of this information at a glance much easier thanks to a high-contrast 1.54-inch E-ink display, surrounded by an anodized aluminum body.

Four different screen layouts are available to choose from, allowing users to pick “the most relevant room parameters” that can be viewed at a distance and changed via capacitive touch controls on the front panel. It also replaces AA batteries with a rechargeable internal battery that lasts for six weeks at a time. The unit includes an energy-saving mode that limits measurements until the next full charge when it’s low on battery, but users can opt to plug Eve Room 2 in permanently to a power supply as well.

“After the first, highly successful generation of Eve Room, this new version raises the bar even higher,” says Markus Fest, Managing Director of Eve Systems. “No other air quality sensor offers this level of accuracy, design quality, and energy efficiency.”

Of course, you can also still view readings on the company’s app or by asking Siri questions like, “How’s the air quality in the living room?” With HomeKit support, Eve Room 2 can talk to other HomeKit products, for example flashing Hue bulbs when the air quality drops below a certain threshold or adjusting an Ecobee thermostat if the indoor temperature rises above a certain level.

No bridge is required to operate Eve Room 2, and it connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth when you’re home. To operate it via remote access, you’ll need a HomeKit hub like HomePod or Apple TV to connect to the sensor while you’re away from home.

Eve Systems rebranded itself from Elgato in June, announcing it would shift its focus “exclusively” to HomeKit-compatible devices and making the Eve Room 2 one of the first products to debut from the restructured company. Eve Systems previously said a few product announcements would be coming out of IFA Berlin this week, joining existing HomeKit devices like Elgato Eve Degree Connected Weather Station, Light Switch, Wireless Motion Sensor, Room Sensor, Energy Smart Plug, Button, and more.

Those interested will be able to pre-order Eve Room 2 at the Eve Online Store and on Amazon for $99.95, ahead of a launch on September 12.

Tags: HomeKit, Eve
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Bloomberg: Apple Considered ‘iPhone Xs’ Names for 2018 OLED iPhones, Weighed Dropping ‘Plus’ Branding

A new report out today by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Debby Wu further confirms a bevy of rumors centering upon Apple’s three 2018 iPhones. Expected to be revealed at an event in just a few weeks, the iPhones will all look visually similar to last year’s iPhone X, but “boast a wider range of prices, features, and sizes to increase their appeal.”

According to people familiar with Apple’s launch plans, some inside of the company have referred to this year’s launch as an “S year,” designated for years when its smartphones keep the same design of a previous generation but bump up internals and add new features. “The company is planning more significant changes for next year,” the people said.

One of the tidbits from today’s report focuses on the naming scheme for this year’s iPhone models, which appears to have caused somewhat of a “naming conundrum” within Apple. The company reportedly considered going with “iPhone Xs” for the OLED models, akin to the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6s, etc., but has “altered the name multiple times,” so it’s unclear what Apple finally landed on. We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to know the official names of the 5.8-inch, 6.1-inch, and 6.5-inch iPhones.

The new iPhone lineup has presented Apple with a naming conundrum, according to a person familiar with the deliberations. The company will be selling three phones that look similar and all have Face ID. But the cheapest model will be larger than the mid-range version, potentially confusing consumers.

While planning the new devices, Apple has altered the names multiple times. It has at least considered branding the new premium phones the “iPhone Xs,” indicating that they’re an upgrade to last year’s iPhone X, the person said. The company has also weighed eschewing the “Plus” label for the larger model, which it has used since the iPhone 6 Plus launched with a larger screen in 2014. The final names could be different, the person noted.

Reiterating on previous rumors, Bloomberg mentions that Apple will launch a 6.5-inch “high-end” iPhone this year with a glass back, stainless steel edges, dual cameras, and an iPad-like landscape view. This would introduce a feature similar to iPad and previous “Plus” iPhones, although Apple has been thinking about ditching the “Plus” label this year.

There’ll be a new high-end iPhone, internally dubbed D33, with a display that measures about 6.5-inch diagonally, according to the people familiar with the matter. That would make it the largest iPhone by far and one of the biggest mainstream phones on the market. It will continue to have a glass back with stainless steel edges and dual cameras on the back.

The big difference on the software side will be the ability to view content side-by-side in apps like Mail and Calendar. It will be Apple’s second phone with a crisper organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, screen.

For the upgrade to the 5.8-inch iPhone X, the “main changes” will be iterative updates to processing speed and the camera. Lastly, the low-cost 6.1-inch iPhone will also look visually similar to the iPhone X, but include multiple color options, include aluminum edges instead of stainless steel, and have a cheaper LCD screen. According to the sources, “the cheaper version’s aluminum edges won’t necessarily be the same color as the colored glass back,” similar to the way the White/Space Gray of the iPhone X’s back did not affect the color of the silver stainless steel edges last year.

Further confirming previous rumors, all three models will have Face ID, and the two larger iPhones will have dual-SIM card slots “in at least some regions.” Previously, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the 6.1-inch iPhone would come in two models, one that includes a single SIM and a second that offers dual-SIM card slots. Today Bloomberg suggests the 6.5-inch model will get this feature as well.

Today’s report also briefly mentions a “nearly edge-to-edge” Apple Watch, while confirming compatibility with existing Apple Watch bands. The next iPad Pros will measure around 11-inches and 12.9-inches with slimmer bezels and Face ID, although anyone awaiting an update to the iPad mini will again be disappointed this year as this model “won’t be upgraded.”

We’re getting very close to the launch of the 2018 iPhones, with German carriers suggesting that pre-orders for the iPhone will take place on Friday, September 14. That puts an announcement earlier in the week, perhaps on September 12, which would be in line with historic iPhone event dates. Following September 14 pre-orders, new 2018 iPhones are likely to see a launch on Friday, September 21.

Related Roundup: 2018 iPhonesTag: Bloomberg
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Say what!? A wind turbine in Japan got blown over by the wind

If you thought blustery conditions would be perfect for a wind turbine, then think again.

Strong gusts brought by Typhoon Cimaron on Friday caused a massive wind turbine in western Japan to topple over.

The 60-meter-tall turbine was located in a park on Awaji Island, 275 miles west of Tokyo, but was wrenched from its base in the early hours of Friday morning as the typhoon pummeled a large part of the Japanese archipelago.

Fortunately no one was under the wind turbine when it came down, or indeed on it.

Built in 2002, the turbine had been out of commission since May last year after being struck by lightning, according to the Japan Times. News footage showed how the turbine had been torn from its base by the strong winds, with its 20-meter-long blades badly damaged by the impact with the ground. It’s not yet clear if the base had been weakened in some way prior to the typhoon.

Typhoon Cimaron’s strong winds and torrential rain caused power outages and flooding in the region, and also disrupted train services for a number of hours. Three students were reported missing, having apparently been swept out to sea from a beach about 100 miles west of the capital. A further 30 people were injured as the typhoon passed over the country in the early hours of Friday.

Wind turbine failure

It’s extremely rare for wind turbine structures to fail, and even rarer for them to break at the base like the one in Japan.

You might imagine that wind turbines would be able to comfortably handle extreme conditions, but when winds reach a certain speed, turbines are shut down to prevent the blades suffering any damage. When wind speeds reach a critical level for a turbine, its blades can be twisted, or “feathered,” to reduce the chances of them being caught by the wind.

With so many typhoons battering Japan — Friday’s was the 20th this year — wind turbines are usually stopped until the weather system passes. The constant disruption prompted Japanese engineering firm Challenergy to create the world’s first typhoon-powered wind turbine.

Several years in development, Challenergy engineer Atsushi Shimizu has said he hopes the turbine, which features cylinders rather than blades and a more compact design to minimize the chances of structural failure, will one day have the chance to help the country power itself in a more efficient manner.

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