Mozilla’s next logo will be shaped by its users

It’s time for Mozilla to get a new look and, true to its open-source roots, the Firefox developer is turning to the community for feedback on what its redesign should entail. The nonprofit has launched an Open Design process to “modernize [its] brand identity.”

Mozilla is kicking things off with a “Creative Strategy” phase, during which it’s inviting ideas for directions to “present itself anew to the world.” You can comment on themes the company posts to say what you like or don’t, or submit examples of designs done well.

“In this initial phase, we’re wide open to ideas from all corners,” the company said on its Open Design About page. After it collects and curates feedback, Mozilla will work with its brand identity agency to come up with some concepts, then invite designers and non-designers to share their thoughts.

A handful of first-round concepts will result from this stage, and they will go through testing and refinement to see which works best with Mozilla’s web properties, communities and external ad campaigns. Finally, the organization will select one new theme that it aims to introduce in November.

Mozilla’s chief marketing officer Jayscha Kaykas-Wolff tells Engadget that opening up the design process lets them look for the most contributions to get a wide variety of opinions from around the world. “That diversity of ideas I think will get us a better result,” he said.

While it may be looking to the public for feedback, Mozilla clarified that it is not crowdsourcing the redesign. It will invite comments and curate ideas, but only the agency and designers the company hires will actually work on the new identity. Unfortunately, that means the name Browsey McBrowserface is probably not going to happen, but we can all dream.

Via: FastCoDesign

Source: Mozilla Open Design

Engadget giveaway: Win a Robin ‘cloud phone’ courtesy of Nextbit!

In case you weren’t paying attention, the unique Nextbit Robin phone launched earlier in the year and this week, two lucky readers will get one of their own. The company’s founders and staff have a storied work history spanning Android, Cyanogen, Motorola and more, leading to the development of the Robin. It runs Nextbit OS, which is a subtly skinned version of Android 6.0, but its key strength is the cloud (OK, and the design). You get 32GB of onboard storage paired with 100GB in the cloud and the system tracks habits and offloads photos and unused apps according to your usage. There’s a fingerprint sensor conveniently located on the power button to save a step and it sports a 5.2-inch 1080p display with Gorilla Glass 4. This particular giveaway is a limited edition “mintnight” combo color, so as unique as the Robin is, two winners will get one that’s even more so. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this eye-pleasing device!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
• Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winners will be chosen randomly. Two (2) winners will each receive one (1) Nextbit Robin “cloud phone” (Mintnight special edition (in Midnight box), GSM: T-mobile/AT&T, 32GB built-in, 100GB online).
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
• This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Engadget and AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
• The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
• Entries can be submitted until June 22nd at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!

UE adds Google and Siri voice integration to its Boom speakers

Today, Ultimate Ears is pushing out a software enhancement that’s available for both the UE Boom 2 and Megaboom Bluetooth speakers. With an app refresh and OTA update, users will now be able to access Google Now or Siri by pushing a button on the speakers themselves, as long as they’re connected through the UE app on the host device. Since the Boom 2 and Megaboom are both IPX7 water resistant, this could be perfect for beach or pool time, letting you keep your phone or tablet out of harm’s way. Friends can also use this to find a song they want without hassling you for your phone or lock screen code.

This new feature also puts the speakers in competition with devices like the Amazon Tap, which also requires a button push to access Alexa, its on-board smart assistant. I had few hours for a quick preview of the update using both of the compatible UE speakers and an Android device, and while the service works, there’s certainly room for improvement.

For this test, I was using a Nexus 5X running Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 and the first step is making sure the speaker is connected through the respective UE Boom or Megaboom apps. These speakers are Bluetooth LE, so the phone should detect the speaker and allow you to remotely power up if needed. This doesn’t always work the first time out even if the speaker is already connected to the phone, so if you run into trouble, I’d recommend turning Bluetooth off and on again, which usually gets things sorted.

There aren’t currently any indications of this new feature in the UE app’s “how to” section or settings, but the next step should confirm that things are working properly. Just do a quick press of the small Bluetooth button on the top of the speaker and wait to hear the audible prompt, which is the same as when you say “OK Google” or press the microphone icon for voice control on your phone. Both the Bluetooth button and the power button will flash during this interaction. If you’re playing music while dropping into voice control functionality, it will pause and listen for your inquiry. You can ask to play a specific song or inquire if there are any restaurants nearby and the system will respond confirming the song play request or, in the second instance, provide details and offer a few next steps, listening for additional responses.

The UE Boom 2 was the first device I tried this new functionality with, and the experience wasn’t ideal. There’s a significant delay before the audible prompt plays, and when it did, the volume seemed very low — the music was at medium, but this tone was a whisper. When it did work, the beginning portions of responses were occiasionally clipped and seemed to pop-up into the proper volume after a hesitation. It’s hard to tell if any of this had to do with my phone’s processing power, but that said, when I switched over to the Megaboom, things went a good deal better. The speaker generally understood my speech without error (searching for Steel Pulse no longer resulted in Seal) and the volume levels of both the tone to begin speaking and its responses were more audible. I did still hear some clipped responses, though.

Using Google Now through the speaker did seem a bit different than direct interaction on a phone or tablet, but the experience will shift somewhat depending on the device, OS and apps, since UE isn’t crafting the experience itself. When asking about nearby restaurants, Google would list some options, offer me the best choice and tell me I could say: directions, call, details or next. Invariably, saying “directions” would loop back into “where do you want to go.” Saying “next” would resume playing music where I last left off, and so far, this is the only way music has resumed playing if I dropped into the voice assistant mode. I had hoped that if I used the voice assistant feature while playing tunes, it would resume the session once my interaction had been completed. So far, that’s not been the case.

All-in-all, this seems like a decent new — and free — addition to two already stellar Bluetooth speakers, at least when it works well. Like many new features, it could take a bit of familiarity with the quirks to navigate more successfully through the system. Of course, you don’t have to use the updated functionality, but when you’re lazing about in a pool and the craving for pizza strikes while your phone is 40 feet away, it may seem like the best thing ever.