HTC’s One A9 arriving with Marshmallow’s sweetness on October 20th
As the world is busy welcoming the new Nexus 6P and the Nexus 5X, HTC has decided to make a weak attempt at stealing Google’s thunder by sending out invites for the launch of the HTC One A9.
HTC’s Senior Global Online Communications Manager Jeff Gordon casually mentioned in one of his tweets today that HTC was going to launch the next Aero (or Hero) device on October 20th.
“Meanwhile, if you want an ALL NEW smartphone running Marshmallow out of the box, see what we have on Oct. 20 at http://t.co/JicQSdENvd!” – Jeff Gordon
The link redirects us to HTC’s website where you can find an invite to the phone’s virtual launch. You can watch the livestream at 12:00 noon ET time (New York City), 5:00 pm BST (London), 9:30 pm IST (New Delhi) and 12:00 pm CST (Taipei) on October 20th.
While the invite doesn’t say much, it can be confirmed that the HTC A9 will be the first non-Nexus smartphone to run Android Marshmallow. If previous leaks are anything to go by, the handset will feature a Quad HD (1440 x 2560 pixels) display, a first of its kind deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor backed with 4GB of RAM and an improved rear-facing camera with support for RAW photography.
Source: HTC
Come comment on this article: HTC’s One A9 arriving with Marshmallow’s sweetness on October 20th
Google finally has a Surface competitor in the Pixel C
Say hello to the first-ever Android tablet built by Google. It’s the Pixel C, and just like how the Chromebook Pixel was the creme de la creme of Chromebooks, the Pixel C looks to be Google’s attempt at making the best-ever 2-in-1 Android tablet it could possibly make. And yes, it appears to be Google’s answer to the Microsoft Surface as well. My initial impression? It’s gorgeous. Crafted out of anodized aluminum, the Pixel C is superslim, smooth to the touch, light as a feather and is quite simply one of the most elegant tablets — nay, gadgets period — that I’ve ever held in my hands.Slideshow-323987
Indeed, the Pixel C essentially looks like the little brother to the Chromebook Pixel. Its aluminum shell has that same look and feel and it has a USB Type-C port (which is new to this year’s line of Chromebook Pixels) and a gorgeous display. Specifically, it has a 10.2-inch display with a 2,560 x 1,800 resolution (308 ppi), 500 nits of brightness and a reportedly wide coverage of the sRGB color gamut. All of which comes together in a beautiful and stunning-looking screen that really showcases Android’s new Marshmallow operating system.
And while that 10.2-inch size might seem a little odd, it was specifically designed that way to mimic the size of standard A4 paper. It’s really thin at only 7mm — I almost felt like it would slip out of my fingers due to how skinny it was (the smooth surface didn’t help either). It also feels light for its size — about a pound according to a Google spokesperson. A nice little addition is a light-up bar that, well, lights up to tell you how much charge the tablet has. Simply tap the tablet’s rear twice to see it. On the back is an 8-megapixel camera while a 2-megapixel camera will greet your smiling face on the front. As for the internals, we’re told it has an NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor and 3GB of memory.
The C in Pixel C stands for “convertible,” and it’s called that because of an optional keyboard. The genius here is that instead of attaching via a cumbersome dock, the tablet connects to the keyboard via magnets. There’s a special flip-up backstop on the keyboard that automatically self-aligns to the tablet’s rear, at which point you can position the tablet as a display. Unlike a lot of other tablet keyboards that have only one or two positions, the keyboard on the Pixel C has variable positions — from flat all the way to a very steep angle (although not quite 90 degrees).
Held with magnets, the keyboard’s hold on the tablet is actually very strong — I was able to turn the whole thing upside-down and shake it vigorously without it falling off. In order to separate the keyboard and the tablet, I was encouraged to “snap” the two apart like you would a breadstick or a Kit Kat bar; that’s how strong the hold was.
The keyboard itself is designated as a “full keyboard” and it certainly feels that way. But in reality it’s about 99 percent of a full keyboard because the sides have been chopped off a tad. A spokesperson tells us that a normal keyboard has 19mm pitch, but the Pixel C’s add-on comes in at 18.85mm. Using it for a short period, I really liked the travel of the keys. It reminds me a lot of the Chromebook Pixel — the chiclet keys are separated and tactile enough for me to touch type. I did make a few typographical errors here and there, but it could just be me not being used to the layout. I really like that the keyboard has a nice padded palm rest too, which is not what you can say for a lot of tablet keyboards out there.
And of course, you can simply turn it the other way round to make the whole thing a smooth portable slab. Even with the attachment, the tablet is still nice and lightweight as the keyboard is only about two or so mm thicker. On the whole I’m pretty impressed with what I got to see here. It’s obviously top-notch hardware with a beautiful design and I can’t wait to see how it performs in the real world. If you want to try it for yourself, you’ll have to wait until the holidays to get it. The 32GB version will cost you $499 while the 64GB is $599. And if you want that keyboard, it’ll cost you $149 extra.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Google Photos just got smarter
Google Photos, without a doubt, has made every Android owner’s life simpler. Whether you lose your smartphone or run out of device storage, Google’s cloud-based photo storing app makes sure that you never lose an important memory. By the end of this year, the free app will have more sharing and storing features.
Speaking at the Nexus launch event, Google Photos Lead Product Manager Anil Sabharwal revealed a new app feature, Shared Albums. It means that an entire group of friends or family that attended an event together can add pictures or videos to a shared album and tag people. They can even send invites to their friends to join the album and view it, so that no one feels left out. Invited guests will get alerts if a new picture is uploaded to the shared album.
The new update will let Google Photos organize the images in various categories using artificial intelligence. For example, the app will group pictures taken at a particular event and roll the album accordingly. Also, you can attach names or nicknames to people in your album as per your wish, which makes searching for images even easier.
Google assures that new sorting and sharing features won’t compromise users’ privacy at the cost of ease, and the experience will continue to be “100% private.” There is also going to be a Chromecast integration feature for Google Photos that will not just mirror the app on your TV or monitor, it will also come with a host of options for your images, videos and gifs.
Come comment on this article: Google Photos just got smarter
Nexus 2015 event: you can replay it here
Today Google brought us two new Nexus phones, two new Chromecast devices, and a brand new tablet under the Pixel brand. It was certainly an exciting event, and the first time Google has made this big of a deal out of a Nexus launch in a long time.
Missed the press event? Thankfully you can now check out a recording of the entire show. Of course, if you’d rather save yourself some time, here’s links to some of the biggest and best announcements related to today’s event:
- Nexus 5X officially announced
- Nexus 6P officially announced
- Chromecast (next-gen) and Chromecast Audio announced
- Google Pixel C tablet announced
- Google Photos adds Chromecast support
- Google announces Play Music family plan
- Android Marshmallow launches next week
What did you think of Google’s latest announcement? For those that watched (or are watching the recording now) – what was your favorite moment of the press event? Let us know in the comments!
The Nexus 6P vs. the competition: More than just big screens
Google might not have a new 6-inch handset this year, but fans of larger phones will still be pleased with the 5.7-inch Nexus 6P. It’s got a 12.3-megapixel camera, laser-assisted autofocus and, as always, a stock version of the latest Android. But with manufacturers increasingly putting lighter, less intrusive Android skins on their own devices, what does the latest large-screen Nexus do to stand apart? We’ve matched up the Nexus 6P up against some of its biggest rivals to find out.
| Nexus 6P | iPhone 6s Plus | Samsung Galaxy Note 5 | Moto X Pure Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $499, $549, $649 | $299, $399, $499 (on contract); $749, $849, $949 (off-contract) | varies by carrier, starts at $249 on AT&T | $399, $449, $499 |
| Known Dimensions | 159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3mm (6.27 x 3.06 x 0.29 inches) | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches) | 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6mm (6.03 x 3 x 0.01 inches) | 153.9 x 76.2 x 6.1 mm (6.06 x 3 x 0.24 inches) |
| Weight | 178g (6.28 ounces) | 192g (6.77 ounces) | 171g (6.03 ounces) | 179g (6.31 ounces) |
| Screen size | 5.7 inches (144.78mm) | 5.5 inches (139.7mm) | 5.7 inches (144.78mm) | 5.7 inches (144.78mm) |
| Screen resolution | 2,560 x 1,440 (518 ppi) | 1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,440 (518 ppi) | 2,560 x 1,440 (520 ppi) |
| Screen type | WQHD AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 4 | IPS LCD, Retina HD | Super AMOLED Quad HD | IPS TFT LCD |
| Battery | 3,450mAh | 2,750mAh | 3,000mAh | 3,000mAh |
| Internal storage | 32 / 64 / 128GB | 16 / 64 / 128GB | 32 / 64GB | 16 / 32/ 64 GB |
| External storage | None | None | None | microSD (up to 128GB) |
| Rear camera | 12.3MP, f/2.0, 1.55µm pixel size | 12MP iSight, f/2.2, 1.22µm pixel size | 16MP, f/1.9, LED flash | 21MP, f/2.0, phase-detect auto-focus, HDR |
| Front-facing cam | 8MP, f/2.4, 1.4µm pixel size | 5MP FaceTime HD, f/2.2 | 5.0MP, f/1.9 | 5MP, f/2.0, 1.4µm pixel size |
| Video capture | 4K | 4K at 30fps | 4K at 30fps | 4K at 30fps |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | v4.2 | v4.2 | v4.2 LE | v4.1 LE |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 | Apple A9 | Samsung Exynos 7420 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 |
| CPU | 2GHz octa-core | 1.8GHz dual-core | 2.1GHz, 1.5GHz octa-core | 1.8GHz hexa-core |
| GPU | Adreno 430 | NA | ARM Mali-T760 MP8 | Qualcomm Adreno 418 |
| RAM | 3GB | 2GB | 4GB | 3GB |
| WiFi | Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual-band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | Dual-band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Operating system | Android 6.0 | iOS 9 | Android 5.1 | Android 5.1 |
| Standout features | Nexus Imprint, USB Type-C | 3D Touch, 2nd-gen Touch ID, Retina flash | S-Pen, fast wireless charging, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, fingerprint sensor | Water-repellent nano-coating, TurboPower charging |
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
The After Math: Google Nexus 2015 press event
Google held a press conference in San Francisco this morning to announce a slew of new and updated devices. We saw two powerful new mobile phones, the Nexus 5x and 6P, as well as a new iteration of the Chromecast (and its new audio-only cousin). Google also unveiled its take on the Microsoft Surface with its Pixel C convertablet. Here’s how all these new products stack up, by the numbers.
Slideshow-323786
The new Chromecast vs. the competition: Which will you watch?
The original Chromecast stood out for how it offered a cheap, easy way to get content on your TV in a super small form factor. Its successor adds even more features like Fast Play, an integrated HDMI cable and even a redesigned app. However, the digital set-top player arena has gotten a lot more crowded since 2013, with heavyweights like Roku and Amazon offering their own streaming sticks to compete. With so much shared content and affordable prices across the board, we took a look at what each player has to offer in terms of specs and features to see if it’s more than just the Chromecast’s new shape that makes it stand out.
| Chromecast (2015) | Roku Streaming Stick (2014) | Fire TV Stick (2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $35 | $50 | $40 |
| Dimensions | 2.04 x 2.04 x 0.53 inches (51.9 x 51.9 x 13.49mm) | 3.5 x 3.5 x 1 inches (88.9 x 88.9 x 25.4mm) | 3.3 x 1.0 x 1.5 inches (84.5 x 25 x 11.5mm) |
| Weight | 1.38 ounces (39.1g) | 5 ounces (141.75g) | 0.9 ounces (25.1g) |
| Output resolution | 1080p | 720p, 1080p | 720p, 1080p |
| RAM | NA | 512MB | 1GB |
| Internal storage | NA | 256MB | 8GB |
| WiFi | Dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | Dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n | Dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | NA | None | v3.0 |
| Ports | HDMI, Micro-USB | HDMI | HDMI 1.4 |
| Remote | No | Yes | Yes (voice control option available) |
| Video codecs | casts from device; limited by what your phone or browser supports | H.264 1080p, H.264 720 x 480, MPEG-4 | H.264 |
| Audio codecs | casts from device | AAC-LC (CBR), AC3 (passthrough) |
AAC-LC, AC3, eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MP3, PCM/WAV, Vorbis |
| Photo formats | casts from device | JPEG, PNG | JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP |
| Available content | Google Play, Netflix, YouTube, Pandora and more | Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Pandora, HBO Go, Hulu, ESPN, NFL Now, CBS, Showtime, Sling TV and more | Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Pandora, HBO Go, HBO Now, Hulu, ESPN, NFL Now, MLB, Sling TV and more |
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Microsoft VR Kit is a more colorful Cardboard for Windows Phones
If Google Cardboard is just a little too cheap looking for your tastes, you’re in luck: Microsoft is making its own foldable VR headset. And it’s purple. The Microsoft VR Kit, as it’s called, was announced as part of Microsoft-hosted virtual reality hackathon happening in Russia next month — developers will presumably use the headset to prototype VR content on Lumia devices.
What’s that? You’re not going to be in Russia next month? Then you’ll have to sit tight — Microsoft hasn’t said anything about the device outside of the hackathon’s event page, but there’s a chance the VR Kit could show up at the company’s Windows 10 event on October 6th. Will it be part of a push to get developers working on hololens content? The prototype for a Windows-based Gear VR competitor? Just a nice freebie for folks who attend? We’ll be there, and we’ll let you know.
Via: USA Today, Windows Central
Source: Microsoft
Meet the Nexus 6P, Google and Huawei’s shockingly svelte flagship
After last year’s unwieldy attempt, Google had to think a little more carefully about how its nerd-friendly Nexus line should work and feel. Rather than just offer one new phone today, Google showed off two — the Nexus 5X and 6P — meant for different subsets of people. The former? It provides enough horsepower for the masses in a body that normal humans won’t have trouble carrying (and I’ll have a deeper dive ready shortly). The 6P, on the other hand, is the more sophisticated cousin, and more impressive than it might look at first glance. Slideshow-323971
First off, it’s just as sleek and light as you’d expect a modern Huawei phone to be — the designs might be different, but you can definitely feel some of the P8’s unibody metal DNA here. In fact, it’s just that devotion to metal that drew Google to Huawei in the first place. As an Android team staffer casually mentioned while showing me the phone, Huawei is one of only a few companies that can make these unibody metal chassis at scale, and that sturdier direction is what Google was gunning for this year.
Sturdier, in this case, doesn’t mean “heavier.” Like the fantastic-in-plastic 5X, the Nexus 6P feels almost impossibly light, belying the power of the revised Snapdragon 810 with 3GB of RAM thrumming away inside. Can we real talk for a moment? It feels great. It might seem a little tricky putting a chipset with that much power into a slim metal frame, but nothing we could do with it here at the venue could make the thing overheat. Yet another nail in the coffin of those persistent rumors about the 810’s heat-management problems. Anyway, that much power should ensure the 6P runs nice and snappy, which is exactly what I experienced while I was fiddling around with the phone and testing out some of Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s newer features. Throw in a nicely saturated, 5.7-inch WQHD display that showed off some sweet, deep blues and the 6P’s broad strokes are very encouraging ones.
One of the last big question marks leading up to today’s show was the big, black bar that swallowed up the 12.3-megapixel rear camera lens. Turns out, it’s actually hiding quite a lot. I’m told that next to the camera and two-tone LED flash is the near-invisible laser autofocus module and a whole host of coils and antennas to help with connectivity. That’s the problem with metal bodies, right? Too much metal could mean WiFi, cellular or NFC signals get snuffed out, so Google and Huawei shoehorned a bunch of them behind that black plastic bar. Aesthetically it’s still a little weird, but it’s a neat engineering solution that should get the job done — we’ll bring the full low-down once we get a review unit. Same goes for the ballyhooed camera that Google and Huawei dropped into this thing; the shots we got in this dim event space were better than I’d expected, but they require even more scrutiny.
Despite spending about a half hour with the phone, I’m still a little surprised it’s a Huawei. Yes, the company makes good, well-built devices. I simply didn’t expect Google to give it a public pat on the back like this. Being tapped to build a Nexus phone is no sure sign that a company will find huge success, but it is a very nice gesture toward a company that has made many great phones without a glut of admiration.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Chromecast Audio competes with Sonos for a tenth of the price
The Chromecast Audio is pretty smart. Here’s the elevator pitch: You plug the little hockey puck in the image above into a power outlet, and then connect it to your speakers using the provided 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cable, or a third-party 3.5mm-to-optical cable or the equivalent RCA converter. Then, Google says, you’ve got a smart speaker. I checked that claim out for myself at the company’s event, and it does what it says, but I still don’t know if it does it well.
You can cast music from a number of sources including Google Play Music and — at last — Spotify. The former also acts as a good casting option for those that like to keep their music files local rather than streaming. While the regular Chromecast got a new discovery app today, the new Audio version behaves more like the Chromecast of old, which is a lot like an open version of Apple’s AirPlay. It’ll support your phone, tablet or laptop — essentially anything that runs Chrome or Android — and over the coming months multi-room support will roll out.
So… Sound quality. “Okay” tells you everything I know at this point. Problem is, I listened to all three of the setups, but I listened to them in the middle of a vast hall filled with people who weren’t about to be quiet and let me work out how good the audio quality was. So, instead of an actual opinion, I can tell you that I’ve heard Tove Styrke’s “Borderline” seven times and there wasn’t a stutter, glitch or streaming issue at all. Also I am still somehow not tired of that song.
Using WiFi streaming is a much better option than Bluetooth, both in quality and range, but the parts inside the Chromecast Audio are going to make all the difference. I asked a Google spokesperson if they could give me any more details on sound quality, and they told me the Chromecast has a “world-class DAC” (Digital to Analog Converter), but refused to disclose what company makes the part. That makes me nervous. Video processing in the original Chromecast is pretty ropey. It won’t be long until someone pulls this apart and tells us how good the DAC is, but without that information, and without even a basic subjective listening test, we’ll have to wait for a verdict on the audio quality for now.
Sonos, which is probably the leading name in home audio streaming, sells almost the exact same product as the Chromecast Audio. It’s called the Sonos Connect, and it basically turns your regular speakers into Sonos speakers. It costs $350. The Chromecast Audio costs $35, and it lets you use the apps you want to use to control your music. If Google’s got the audio quality even at an adequate level, then it’s difficult to see this not catching on.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
AIVAnet 