Japan’s delayed ‘Pokemon Go’ launch will feature sponsored ‘gyms’
Server problems, earnestly waiting for the start of Japan’s school holidays, or perhaps signing the dotted line on a sweet, sweet fast-food sponsorship deal? Whatever the true reason for the pause, Japan appears to finally be getting in on the Pokemon Go boom. A leaked internal email across Japanese forums has delayed the launch until tomorrow, at the same time confirming TechCrunch’s report of McDonald’s-sponsored gyms and in-game locations. Apparently, the leak first scuppered a July 20th morning launch in Japan, pushing it back later in the day.
According to TechCrunch sources, the companies (Niantic, McDonald’s and The Pokemon Company) have decided to cancel the launch until tomorrow, citing that the hype generated could overload the game. No offense, everyone, but that’s still happening everywhere else in world. Nikkei also reported that the game would launch tomorrow, although it’s recently corrected its article to suggest later in the week. In short, no-one knows.
McDonalds’s Japan has recently seen sales soar following its recent Pokemon-themed Happy Meals, while Nintendo saw its share price double. Which is even crazier, given that it didn’t even make the Pokemon smartphone game. The leak detailed some issues that the companies need to tackle — including Pokemon / McDonald’s gyms with poor connectivity, and pesky customers taking up space without buying more burgers or matcha flavored McFlurries. If the game does actually arrive tomorrow, I’ll buy myself McDonald’s, in the name of Pokemon Go journalism.
Source: 2ch (Japanese), TechCrunch
Google’s Art and Culture app turns your phone into a museum
Art is a big subject. It embodies the values of humanity, preserves our culture and serves as a record of our very history. Jumping into it can be daunting and scary, but Google just made it a little easier: the company’s new Art and Culture app puts the works of over 1,000 museums in the palm of your hand. The app is more than just an online gallery, however, it’s a suite of tools that allows users to dive deep into each museum’s collection and beyond — borrowing the best of Google Photos, Streetview and 360-degree videos to bring history to life.
Looking for art featuring horses? No problem: the app’s search bar works a lot like the feature in Google Photos — handily pulling out exhibits to match your query. Curious to explore a historic Cathedral? Take a 360-degree tour of St. Paul’s with Google Street View, or pop your phone into Google Cardboard for a first-person experience. The app features daily news, themed lists and curated exhibits from partner museums, links to a new YouTube channel and even has a “Art Recognizer” mode that will identify paintings in select museums.
The app may be no substitute for going to your museum, but if you can’t make it out to say, the Louvre, it’s an incredible, easy way to experience humanity’s artistic past.
Via: FastCo Design
Source: Google, Google Play
‘Mr. Robot’ gets a nationwide VR experience for Comic-Con
That online season premiere isn’t the only elusive Mr. Robot video that you can watch this month. USA Network and Within are partnering on a Mr. Robot Virtual Reality Experinece that will be simulcast across the US on July 21st at 1:45PM Eastern, the same day that San Diego Comic-Con gets underway. Neither company is spoiling the surprise for the 12-minute short, but Within teases that you’ll get an “important flashback” from Elliot’s past. And no, this isn’t throwaway material. Series creator Sam Esmail wrote and directed this, so it should maintain Mr. Robot’s signature off-kilter style.
The simulcast is a one-time-only affair, although there will be opportunities to watch afterwards. Uber is even providing the VR experience on-demand in San Diego through July 24th. You won’t have to be picky about how you watch, at any rate. It’ll work through the Within apps on Android (including Gear VR), iOS, the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift. The simulcast is undoubtedly something of a gimmick. At the same time, it’ll also represent a rare, nationally-shared VR experiment — there will be thousands upon thousands of viewers to talk to when it’s all said and done.
Source: Within (Medium), USA Network
Kia brings Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to older cars
For many, the biggest problem with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay is getting it in the first place. Unless you buy a very recent car, you’re likely stuck buying an aftermarket head unit to drag your vehicle into the smartphone era. Kia thinks it can do better, though. It’s promising free updates to both Android Auto and CarPlay for a slew of vehicles that have either the UVO3 infotainment system or a compatible navigation system.
These aren’t limited to the youngest vehicles, either. Most of the updates (for the Optima, Optima Hybrid, Sedona and Soul EV) support 2015 model year cars, and you can upgrade standard Souls dating as far back as the 2014 model year. While some patches are limited to 2016 (Sorento) or 2017 (Forte, Sportage) models, Kia is still covering a pretty wide swath.
You’ll have to register at Kia’s MyUVO site to get a notification about the update, but you should hear about it before the end of July. And importantly, you can download it yourself when available — you won’t have to go to the dealership or otherwise wait to install it. Should Kia pull this off without a hitch, you won’t have to worry quite so much about buying an older ride.
Via: AppleInsider
Source: Kia
The LG Action Cam LTE is available to South Korea today
The LG G5 has a lot of expensive “Friends.” The Korean manufacturer’s series of accessories meant to be used with the phone have included to date a VR headset, camera grip, 360 camera and Hi-Fi audio module. The latest to join the fold is the LG Action Cam LTE.
The camera is meant for rugged exploration, with IP67 water-proofing (as well as dust and sand) that means you can leave it under water up to one meter for 30 minutes and still use it afterward. With a Snapdragon 650 processor, 2GB RAM, 4GB of storage, and a 1/2.3-inch 123 MP wide angle camera, it’s as powerful as it is good for taking on the go.
If you’re the type to share the video you capture while out doing water stunts or rock climbing or something equally physical, the camera supports LTE and 3G so you can stream using YouTube Live or other streaming services. This way you can skip the whole uploading step and broadcast live, whatever it is that you’re doing.
The camera is coming out today in South Korea, but according to LG a release in other market will be announced in the “weeks to come.”
Via: 9To5Google
ICYMI: Reinvented wheel and drones that can evade
Today on In Case You Missed It: Stanford is teaching drones how to avoid either existing obstacles or ones that come in the form of an attacking human. It all works in real-time, which is why the video of the technology in action shows a fencer sparring with the drone. German students have created a wheel that works like a robotic bicycle chain, morphing its shape from round to triangular — whatever is needed to get over obstacles in its path.
Please watch the video from YouTuber Useless Duck Company for a Nintendo laugh. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
BBC+ puts all the BBC’s best content in one personalised app
Between news, TV, radio programming and more, the BBC is constantly producing a vast array of content. There’s far too much for any one person to consume, and on top of that it’s all distributed across various websites, iPlayer and the like. As a public service broadcaster, the BBC is required to accommodate a broad range of interests, and BBC+ — a new iOS and Android app launching today — is all about highlighting what’s relevant to you, the licence fee payer that funds it all.
Load up the app and you’ll be greeted by the “At a glance” homepage, which offers you a quick look at the weather and a couple of big stories that are capturing the public’s attention. Beyond this, though, it’s a fully personalised experienced based on topics that interest you. You can add any of a long list of editorial themes to the simple horizontal carousel: From local and regional news, specific sports, science, gaming, music, business, politics, health, food, faith, and many, many more.
The idea isn’t just to surface news stories, though — the personalised section of the BBC News app does that already — but all kinds of content related to that topic. You might be interested in a specific sport, for example, but would never turn to Radio 5 Live on your morning commute. If, however, there was a particularly good interview or debate on said sport on the previous morning’s breakfast show, it’ll pop up in BBC+. It could be a news story, of course, or it could just as easily be a clip from a TV broadcast you may never have seen otherwise.
The concept (and look) will undoubtedly be familiar to regular visitors of the BBC homepage, since BBC+ does more or less the same thing, but in app format. In fact, the app requires you to sign in with a BBC iD, and if you’ve personalised your BBC homepage using an existing account, BBC+ will auto-populate with what it already knows to be your interests.
The BBC tells us there are other benefits to understanding the individual, signed-in user, too. The data generated tells the BBC what content formats are the most popular (and what aren’t), what’s trending, what themes people are engaging with, and so on. This isn’t simply being fed into algorithms, however, since BBC+ is also heavily curated by human hands.
Part of the reason BBC+ was created is to do with our constantly evolving consumption habits. While the app will host long-form content, there will be a ton of bitesized features also. It’s no secret that the vast majority of smartphone users dip in and out of apps for a few minutes during the day. A cursory scan of Instagram on the train to work, a couple of Facebook videos at lunchtime, a few brief glances at Twitter in between. And perhaps, on the walk home later today, a quick flick through the BBC+ app as well.
Source: BBC
Try a near-final version of Android Nougat right now
Android Nougat is almost here. A post on the Android Developers blog has the operating system’s final developer preview build listed for download, which means that a bulk of the bugs and kinks we saw during our demo period should be mostly worked out. However, because it’s still technically a preview, there aren’t any guarantees of stability. The build includes system images for devices eligible for the beta program — even those outside the Nexus purview.
There still isn’t a firm release date for the consumer version, just a “later this summer” window. But! If you download this release candidate and have any questions, the Android team will be hosting an Ask Me Anything (more commonly known as AMA) on Reddit tomorrow afternoon from 3 to 5 Eastern.
Feline fans might be excited about this Android build for an altogether different reason. Following tradition, Google has stuffed an Easter egg into this version of its mobile OS. And it’s the team’s take on the cat-collecting game Neko Atsume. The folks over at Phandroid have the step-by-step instructions for how to access it. It probably won’t help your Pokémon Go withdrawals, but at least there’s something to play on Nougat.
Source: Android Developers blog, Phandroid
‘Pokémon Go’ helps Nintendo break major stock market record
Nintendo continues to make headlines, all thanks to Pokémon Go. Now the video game giant had the biggest daily turnover of any company on the Tokyo stock market this past Friday, July 15th.
Nintendo traded 476 billion yen in one day ( $4.5 billion), according to Bloomberg, breaking the record previously held by energy company Tokyo Electric.
While this wasn’t the largest volume of Nintendo stock traded on the market (which happened on July 11th, a day after Pokémon Go’s first weekend), it was the highest value. Also, at $33 Nintendo’s stock price is still below the $70 high it hit in 2007 during its Wii days.
Pokémon Go has already added billions to Nintendo’s market value since its release. Though with all the success the game has been enjoying, there have been a few problems. Developer Niantic had to delay its international launch due to server issues caused by unexpected high demand. There have been a few security concerns as well involving Google accounts, and a Holocaust Museum in Washington DC wants to see the craze come to an end.
Source: Bloomberg
ZTE Zmax Pro comes with a fingerprint sensor for just $99
Even though it has a higher-end series with the Axon line, ZTE continues to focus on the budget phone market with its ZMax brand. Available for pre-orders today on MetroPCS for just $99 (after an instant rebate), the ZMax Pro is a 6-inch phablet with a fingerprint sensor that ZTE says is unique for this price range. We snagged some quick hands-on time with the ZMax Pro, which promises some compelling features for the price.
For that jaw-dropping price, you’ll get a sturdy body with a nice soft-touch rear, octa-core Snapdragon 617 CPU with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The camera and fingerprint sensor on the rear have pretty copper accents on the otherwise blue back cover, which is a uniquely pleasant aesthetic.
I really like the color combination and finish on the phone’s back, as well as its vibrant display. The quick pic I snapped with the 13-megapixel rear camera wasn’t the most brightly colored or sharpest, but my subject and environment were also not the most exciting. The 5-MP front camera also looked par for the course.
The Zmax Pro also offers dual-SIM card slots, one of which doubles as a microSD holder for those with just one SIM card. It also packs a generous 3400 mAh battery that supports Quick Charge, a USB Type-C charing port and will run Android Marshmallow.
That price trumps Huawei’s Honor 5X, which also bundles a solid metal body, good camera and fingerprint sensor for just $199. Moto’s G4 also starts at $200 But the Honor and Moto’s screens are a smaller 5.5 inches, and have less-capacious batteries.
“Affordability is part of our DNA,” said ZTE’s CEO Lixin Cheng. He said the high-end phone market is shrinking, and that making more affordable devices is the company’s mission.
The company says it has more than 30 million active users of ZTE devices, and sold 15 million handsets in 2015. As one of the few affordable phablets in the market, the Zmax Pro stands a good chance of owning this niche segment of the smartphone market.
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