‘Pokémon Go’ will add catch bonuses to make the grind worthwhile
As Niantic Labs keeps tweaking things to hold onto its Pokémon Go player base, it has revealed another new feature coming to the augmented reality game. Currently, player activities like catching Pokémon can level them up towards earning medals that toss off points, but not much else. Soon, there will be a catch bonus for earned medals that level up based on the type of Pokémon caught.
It seems like a way to make low-level grinding (perhaps with that $35 Pokémon Go Plus dongle) pay off visibly and as the post title puts it, increase the odds of catching rare Pokémon. The only problem? At least judging by the responses, players are really looking for ways to improve other parts of the game, like tracking monsters, or battling and training in gyms. Niantic previously said it would “rebalance” training battles, but that is apparently also still in the works.
Source: Pokémon Go
Replacement Note 7 starts smoking on Southwest flight (updated)
A Southwest flight was evacuated in Lousiville, Kentucky when a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 overheated and began smoking on board. Lousiville Metro Arson investigators confirmed to WAVE News 3 that a Samsung device was the cause of the incident. All passengers and crew members exited the plane safely via the main cabin door and no injuries were reported. To make matters worse, the device was a replacement following the company’s global recall of the handset over the last few weeks.
The Verge spoke to Brian Green, the owner of the Note 7, who confirmed that the phone was a replacement unit that he received at an AT&T store on September 21st. There’s a black square icon on the back of the box and Green said the device had a green battery indicator, both of which are signs Samsung said would let customers know a handset was safe to use. Green told The Verge he had powered down the device at the request of the crew and put it in his pocket when it began smoking. One of Green’s colleagues said the phone had burned through the plane’s carpet when they went back on the place to grab carry-on items.
The recent global recall of the Note 7 was bad enough for Samsung, but if there are still safety risks with the replacement devices, the whole ordeal could get a lot worse. The company has released battery-limiting updates outside of the US to prevent the phones from exploding.
Update: A Samsung spokesperson sent the following statement to Engadget:
“Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note 7. We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause. Once we have examined the device we will have more information to share.”
Source: WAVE News 3
Kohl’s is the latest retailer to roll out its own mobile payments
If you like to shop at Kohl’s and need an alternative to Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay, you’re in luck. The retailer announced today that its own mobile payments platform, Kohl’s Pay, is now available to all customers nationwide. The company revealed last month that its take on payments would complement its existing mobile wallet app that gave customers a way to store payment info, organize rewards and collect promotions in the same spot.
Unlike retail mobile payment platforms from Walmart and CVS, Kohl’s Pay doesn’t allow customers to add their credit and debit cards to the app for use in stores. Instead, you’ll have to sign up for one of the company’s own Kohl’s Charge cards. While that might seem like an odd choice, TechCrunch reports that the retailer has 25 million customers actively using its credit cards with 60 percent of in-store purchases being paid for with Kohl’s Charge. That’s a substantial number of people you could bring to the mobile platform even if they can’t add any payment method they want.
The payments system is available inside the store’s existing mobile apps for Android and iOS. The Kohl’s app also doesn’t support NFC or tap-to-pay like Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. Instead, it displays a QR code that’s scanned by the cashier at checkout. That code is used to not only handle payment, but to apply any savings a customer has stored in the app, too. When you combine the ability to pay to for items, organize discounts/promotions and track returns, exchanges and regular purchases, Kohl’s is giving its customers a handy shopping companion. And that’s on top of using the app to browse items, save gift cards to the mobile wallet and scan barcodes will looking around in stores.
Kohl’s still supports Apple Pay, including the ability to earn loyalty points when using that payment method on an iPhone or Apple Watch. It was the first retailer to do so and it was also the first store to allow customers to use its own credit cards with Apple’s payment platform.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Kohl’s
Here’s what you missed at the ‘Made by Google’ event
It may be time to bid a sad adieu (sadieu?) to the beloved Nexus line and hello to Google’s new Pixel phones, but we’ve still got a whole slew of fresh hardware to look forward to. In addition to the higher-end handsets, Google also unveiled the Daydream View VR headset, the Chromecast Ultra, a WiFi router, as well as the official price and availability of its Home smart speaker. Tying all of the gadgets together is the company’s AI Assistant, which you can use on the Pixels and Home, and Google promises to make it available on more platforms in future. Our senior editors Nicole Lee and Chris Velazco break down what all this new stuff means for you, and share their impressions of the new products.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Google’s fall event.
Lightseekers brings your video game into the real world
Action figures can look a little staid next to video games where your character can walk, talk and fire all manner of weaponry. But there’s still something special about the tactile experience of holding a cool character in your hand, which is why we’ve seen game developers embrace the world of toys with products like Skylanders, Amiibo and LEGO Dimensions. But, while placing a figure on a base can unlock characters or entire worlds, the interaction between game and toy tends to end there. Lightseekers, launching today on Kickstarter, changes that dynamic by making its action figures a living (and almost breathing) part of its games.
Lightseekers, in some ways, is almost reminiscent of the film Small Soldiers. Except the toys don’t actually move and they definitely don’t try to kill anyone (we hope). They’re fully articulated and will light up and talk in response to the game. Instead of using NFC like many other toys-to-life titles, the figures communicate with the Lightseekers game via low-power Bluetooth, essentially creating an ongoing dialogue between the two.
The program will detect the presence of a figure and allow you to “claim” it in-game, so you can control the character in an action RPG that has you exploring the magical world of Tantos, collecting items and battling against the evil Umbron. Characters level up as you play, with the data stored on the figurine. There’s also a special “lending” feature that will let your friends borrow the character for a while, but ultimately the figure and all its associated in-game data belongs to you.
Though it’s being crowdfunded, Lightseekers is actually a collaboration by game developer PlayFusion and toy manufacturer Tomy. PlayFusion is a relatively new company, but several employees, including CEO Mark Gerhard, worked on the long-running MMORPG RuneScape. Instead of limiting their expertise to just PC and Mac, the Lightseekers game will also be available for iOS and Android — a departure from many other toy-to-life games, which are typically designed for consoles like Xbox, PlayStation and Wii U (Skylanders is available for iOS). It means more people will be able to play the game, since most families own a mobile device of some sort.
The game mechanics are specifically designed toward being touch-friendly and accessible for all ages. There are no tight turns or small platforms that would require the use of a more precise directional pad or physical joystick, and the characters can act independently so beginners and younger players needn’t worry about being fast enough. Special attacks and items can be used, however, so more experienced players still have opportunities to employ some strategy.
While the game works just fine on its own, the figures are the only way to unlock its full potential. If you place a toy weapon in the hand of your action figure, that weapon will immediately appear in the game with a bit of fanfare. A few in-game items will be exclusive to the action figures, such as a jetpack that lets your character hover around. This backpack isn’t just there for decoration: It unlocks a mini-game where you race an NPC in the air while collecting coins. Thanks to a built-in accelerometer, the action figure is the controller — you have to “fly” it in your hand, waving and rocking the toy in the direction you want your avatar to go.
The figures are designed to interact with the real world as much as possible. In addition to detecting when your phone or tablet is nearby, they know when other figures are around and react to those too. If Toy Story 2 broke your heart with Jesse’s story of neglect and abandonment by her original owner, Lightseekers addresses that kind of treatment directly: The figures activate when you pick them up, and comment if it’s been a while. It’s all in jest but, let’s face it, you’re going to feel a little bad. I’m glad that none of my Animal Crossing Amiibo can do this, because it’s been years since I last played and I don’t want to be reminded of all the unwatered flowers and unpicked weeds that are waiting in my village.
Like Animal Crossing, Lightseekers also makes use of special cards to add content to the game. Instead of the old-school barcode cards from the GameCube era or the current NFC Amiibo cards on the 3DS, Lightseekers uses augmented reality. Just place the card on the table and point your phone or tablet’s camera at it and the character or item will pop out and join your game.
When you’re done playing video games, the cards are part of a collectable card game that’s fully playable on its own without the mobile app or the action figures. The Lightseekers universe will also expand into other media, including an animated TV program. The current plan is to have the figures react to key scenes in it. PlayFusion is currently working on its own software that can identify TV shows and movies by their audio patterns faster and with fewer problems than existing apps like Shazam. The current demo features a dinner scene from the Hobbit. When Ori says, “I don’t like green food,” one of the Lightseeker figures lights up — even with people talking loudly in the room.
Before Lightseekers can take over your kid’s playroom or your office, they have a Kickstarter to conquer first. Fifty bucks will snag you a Mari or Tyrax figure, a weapon and a handful of AR cards, along with a slew of in-game perks. One hundred and fifty dollars nets both figures plus extra weapons, while players who are champing at the bit to enter the world of Tantos might opt for the $300 tier, which gets you into the physical beta. Of course, if all of these are too rich for your blood, the game will be free to play on Android and iOS starting early next year.
Source: PlayFusion
Posh Optima LTE L530 review: A budget device with a premium feel
Posh Mobile is a relatively new player to the mobile phone scene. Posh released its first devices in 2013 and has grown its portfolio to include over 20 GSM unlocked Android-based phones and tablets. In a crowded market filled with hundreds if not thousands of budget friendly devices, Posh sets out to be different from the crowd with the mission “Elegance for all.”
I have spent the last two weeks using Posh’s Optima LTE L530 as my daily driver on the T-Mobile network. For a budget device, the unboxing experience was a good one. Included with the phone, Posh gives you a case, screen protector, headphones, charger and a sim tool. Posh Mobile was a relatively new name to me when I received the Optima L530. I was aware that the company had made the largest and smallest Android phones available on the market, but this was my first experience using one of its devices.
I know it is said a lot, but cheap phones are continuing to get better. The Posh Optima L530 is a GSM unlocked device that was released in April of 2016. Though I missed my 6P, I found myself missing it less than I would have predicted. The Optima is a very solid selection for those looking for a budget phone with a premium feel, great battery life, and a decent display. While Posh lists the MSRP for the Optima at $229.99, you can buy the phone on Amazon in both black and gold for $169.
Specs
- Display: 5.0″ 720p IPS LCD (~294 PPI)
-
Processing Package:
- CPU: Mediatek MT6753 Octa-Core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53
- GPU: Mali-400
- RAM: 2GB
- Battery: 3000 mAh Li-Po non-removable
- Storage: 16GB (Expandable 32GB)
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Connectivity: Dual Sim
- GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
- LTE Bands: 2 / 4 / 7 / 17
- WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
- Bluetooth: v4.0
- USB: microUSB v2.0
- Price: $229 $169 (on Amazon)
Build and Design
The Posh Mobile Optima LTE L530 has a very nice balance between metal, glass, and plastic. Glass is used to cover both the front of the device and the rear facing camera. This Glass gives the phone a premium feel while also providing increased durability. A plastic plate covers the back of the phone, but it does not detract from the phone’s premium feel. Joining the front sheet of glass and rear sheet of plastic together is a metal skeleton. In addition to feeling great in hand, the metal band provides a lot of rigidity to the device.
To get this premium feel out of a “budget material” like plastic, Posh used a glossy hard plastic that feels similar to glass. While I’m sure this plastic back allowed them to save a lot of money on production thus keeping the device cheaper for consumers, the back is slippery and scratches extremely easily. A few days of setting the phone on my desk and visible scratches appeared on the rear of the device. Despite the slippery feel and ease of scratching, I’m glad Posh used the materials they did. Between the 5.0″ screen and premium feel, the device is a joy to use and fits well in your hand.
Many budget phones don’t include added features like fingerprint scanners, but Posh decided to add one to the Optima. The fingerprint scanner, if implemented properly, could have been a nice touch for the device at its price point. Unfortunately, I found the fingerprint scanner to be more of a nuisance rather than a useful feature since I could only get the fingerprint scanner to recognize my finger about 50% of the time on the first try. One reason for this lack of functionality could be the fact that the Optima L530 is still running Android 5.1 Lollipop. To get its fingerprint scanner to work, Posh had to develop its software to integrate its fingerprint scanner into Android since Android did not officially support fingerprint sensors until Marshmallow.
Display
The Optima LTE L530 has a 5.0″ IPS LCD with a resolution of 720p. Following the example of many budget phones before it, the Optima uses a lower resolution LCD panel to presumably save money and get the most out of the battery. The display did not seem cheap in the slightest, though, and I enjoyed using it to watch videos and read. The Optima has wide viewing angles and PPI nearing 300 allowing text to be read clearly at nearly any angle.
A few Posh devices have had issues with the overall brightness of their displays being very low; this is not the case with the Optima L530. I found that I had to turn the auto-brightness feature off to prevent the device from cooking my eyeballs indoors. I leave the brightness at around 35% at almost all times both indoors and out. The only time I adjust the brightness is in bed at night when I’m reading. Even with the phone’s ability to deep fry your corneas, its lowest light setting is still shockingly low and allows for a good experience reading at night.
Software and Performance
The software experience across the Posh lineup varies significantly. Some devices like the Volt L540 come with a heavily skinned version of Android. The Optima L530 does not. Posh has added some “enhancements” to its version of Android, such as functionality for the fingerprint scanner, but I was excited that the phone still feels distinctly like stock Android Lollipop.
When you get the device, you will need to do a bit of downloading. The phone comes with almost nothing installed. No bloatware, no extras, nothing except the mandatory Google apps and a handful of Posh apps like “Posh Apps” (Which doesn’t load), Inbox (Not to be confused with Googles Inbox), an FM radio tuner, and a basic sound recorder. This is a nice change from the bloatware riddled devices I am used to. I was able to choose what I wanted to install, and I didn’t have to navigate around other “mandated” software. This experience was a bit freeing for me. Despite all this freedom, though, I am still having issues changing my default messaging app. 
I now have two apps that receive texts and have those lovely notification flags. The messenger bug and fingerprint software aside, I have had no software issues with the phone that would prevent me from using the device in my day to day.
As with many budget friendly devices, Posh had to make sacrifices somewhere to lower the price of the Optima and the performance of the device saw some of the corner cutting. For the first week using the device, I used completely stock settings. While the Optima was usable, I did find it to be a bit slow, and it would stutter through animations occasionally. I decided to try and speed up the phone by enabling developer options and decreasing the animation scale by half. Not only did this speed up the transition between screens, I saw a huge reduction in the stutter between animations as well.
Battery
The battery in the Posh Optima LTE L530 is something to write home about. Posh managed to cram a 3000 mAh battery into the Optima L530. This combined with a power-efficient processor, and a smaller screen with a lower resolution allows the device to go for days at a time. I have come to expect 4 hours of screen on time on any given day from the Optima. Unfortunately, there is a small catch to the great battery life. Once you drain the big battery, you will be tied to the wall for 2+ hours to get back to 100%. To include a quick charge feature on the device, while nice, would have raised the price of the Optima. I think excluding it was a smart move on the part of Posh.
Camera
The Optima LTE L530 has two 13MP sensors with a 2.2 aperture. The rear of the device has a dual-tone LED flash, while the front only has a single tone LED flash. The Optima can record 1080p video at 30fps, has autofocus on both the front and rear sensors, and HDR capabilities. While these specs are far from the worst out there, they do not produce good pictures. Even with perfect lighting conditions and a steady hand, pictures will be blown out, foggy, and have a soft focus. You will not want to use this camera for more than picture messages, and social media.
Conclusion
One major criticism I have with the device is the decision to go with Android Lollipop over Android Marshmallow. The L530 was released six or more months after the announcement and release of Android 6.0, and yet it is still running Lollipop. I feel the inclusion of Marshmallow would have improved my experience on the Optima. The fingerprint scanner would have had built-in software support, the great battery life would have gotten even better with Doze, and general functionality of the phone would have improved and gotten smoother. I’m holding out hope that Posh will release a 6.0 update (or jump straight to 7.1), but regardless of what “could have been,” the Optima LTE L530 it is still a good device.
When Posh Mobile sent me the Optima LTE L530, I was expecting to get a “chunk” of plastic with a cell radio inside of it. Instead, I got the pleasure of using a well-designed phone. Posh has built a well-rounded device in the Optima L530. Many budget friendly devices make enormous sacrifices to make one feature on the phone excel, but Posh went a different route with the L530. The phone does well in many categories with a focus on the display, battery and build quality. This winning combination, combined with the $169 price tag on Amazon makes the Posh Mobile LTE L530 a phone well worth your money.
The first Project Tango phone goes on sale next month
Project Ara is no more, but that doesn’t mean Google’s weirder smartphone ambitions are all dead and buried. Project Tango — a push to put 3D mapping in a smartphone — is still alive and well, thanks to Lenovo. Speaking to CNET, Google’s Clay Bavor confirmed that the Phab2 Pro should be coming out next month. The phone promises to track your surroundings and then, augmented reality style, display content that looks like it’s right in front of you. With this, you could visualize new furniture in your home, or shoot aliens that appear to be coming out of the walls.
We’ve tinkered with Project Tango before. My colleague Chris Velazco, for instance, used one of Google’s developer tablets in Barcelona. Stepping inside the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, he could tap on points of interest and access additional information. A virtual path of breadcrumbs led him through the various exhibits, and a profile system meant he could pick out other visitors in the crowd — a useful feature for parents.
While intriguing, Project Tango has always felt like an R&D project, destined to fade away after a few modest prototypes. The Phab2 Pro could change that perception, however. It’s consumer hardware — not a weird, bulky tablet or accessory. The phone is large though, with a 6.4-inch display and a 4050 mAh battery buried inside. At $499, it’s also expensive. For the same money you could buy a phone that’s more elegant and powerful (the Phab2 Pro uses a Snapdragon 652). Still, it’s proof that Tango can be miniaturized without creating a truly horrific Frankenphone.
Source: CNET
Watch the Made by Google launch event in 15 minutes
Google unveiled its plan for consumer hardware earlier today, showing off Pixel phones, the Google Home hub, Google WiFi router, Chromecast Ultra and Daydream VR headset, plus its Assistant AI ready to tie everything together. We liveblogged every second of the full presentation, but if you’re in a hurry you can catch a quick runthrough of all the announcements right here in just 15 minutes, or head straight to our hands-on impressions.
ComiXology Originals are precisely what they sound like
Taking an, ahem, page from Netflix and parent company Amazon, Comixology is working on its own line of original, exclusive comics, aptly named comiXology Originals. And they don’t seem priced too far out of line against offerings from Marvel and DC. When Adventure Time Marshall Lee Spectacular and the four-part Valiant High arrive they’ll run $3.99 each. Marley’s Ghost (a graphic novel take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol) will set you back $9.99, according to The New York Times.
“We want to make sure there is a comic for everyone,” co-founder and CEO of the service tells NYT. “If it’s super successful and becomes its own thing, hallelujah. But we’ll continue to experiment to attract new readers and hit the core [user].”
TechCrunch writes that you can pre-order these right now, with Adventure Time and Valiant High coming out next January and Marley’s Ghost next October 15th. Presumably, they’ll be available via the all-you-can-read Unlimited subscription.
Via: The Verge
Source: New York Times
With Assistant, Google is becoming a lot more like Apple
Google may have finally taken control of its hardware with the new Pixel phones, but the company’s still focusing on software. In particular: artificial intelligence. The AI-powered Assistant is an integral part of its new phones, Allo messaging app and smart speaker, making for a more uniform and useful experience across all of Google’s (and other brands’) devices. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Apple brought Siri to multiple platforms first.
Assistant brings voice control to the new Google Home smart speaker, in addition to the new Pixels, and lets you control your Chromecast playback with your voice. The goal, said the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai, is to make Assistant “universally available.” This means we can look forward to more integrations across other Google products, possibly including Chromebooks and Android wearables.
Imagine a not-unlikely future where you can use Assistant on your wrist to tell your Chromecast to pause Netflix when you go to the bathroom. You could even get rid of those Netflix socks altogether. Since Android Wear already offers built-in OK Google capability, it’s not a stretch to imagine that being supplanted by Assistant. Again, that’s similar to what Apple already allows for with Siri on Apple Watches and MacBooks. And just as Google is bringing its Android OS to televisions and (possibly) laptops, Apple has software that is the same (or very similar) across its TV, phone and tablet operating systems. It’s one platform for all devices.
The iPhone maker has long been criticized for its closed ecosystem, as Google has been hailed as a crusader for open platforms. But while Android remains an open OS, Assistant’s rollout is reminiscent of other Apple tools such as HealthKit and HomeKit, where developers get access to APIs a period of time after launch. Of course, Google doesn’t appear to have the intention of blocking access to Assistant’s code, and unlike with HealthKit and HomeKit you can build Assistant into your own hardware. But it’s worth noting that it’s implementing features in a way that’s more like its rival.
I’d be remiss if I overlooked the couple other players in the digital assistant space. Microsoft is making Cortana accessible and uniform across its phones and desktops, but it doesn’t have the breadth across product categories to take on Google and Apple. And although Amazon’s Alexa currently doesn’t exist in phones or laptops, it’s in a variety of speakers (Echo and Tap), the Fire TV and third party devices like this quirky smartwatch, and is catching up to Siri in what it can do and control.
Google’s method has one glowing difference that sets it apart: its approach to and expertise in artificial intelligence. The Assistant showcase comes after a slew of announcements about machine learning, including those around translations and image recognition, that evidence the tech giant’s commitment to AI. And while Microsoft and Amazon themselves have pretty advanced artificial intelligence, and are farther along there than Apple, Google’s history of being the world’s favorite search engine (and basically being in everyone’s business) provides a wealth of knowledge of user behavior and gives it quite the edge. It has more historical data to refer to and more information to train its machine-learning systems on, which should make it smarter, faster.
Pichai said the company intends to create a “personal Google” for everyone — a search engine-powered helper that knows exactly where all your pictures, receipts and emails are, as well as all of your upcoming events and their locations and how to get there. Although it may be later to the party than Apple was, the popularity and proliferation of Google’s services, as well as its AI prowess, could very well make Assistant the digital helper of choice.
AIVAnet 