Samsung’s replacement Galaxy Note 7s will be in stores tomorrow
More than 500,000 replacement Galaxy Note 7 phones have landed in the United States and been shipped to stores across the country, meaning anyone in need of a non-explosive device can get one tomorrow, September 21st, just as Samsung planned. Samsung is also rolling out a software update to all affected Galaxy Note 7s prompting users to turn off and exchange their devices every time they’re charged or powered on. An update released today additionally limits these phones to a 60 percent charge.
Early this month, Samsung recalled every Galaxy Note 7 sold around the world over a manufacturing malfunction that causes some devices to overheat, catch fire and even explode. The recall affects 2.5 million phones globally, and Samsung has received at least 92 reports of batteries overheating in the US alone. The Consumer Product Safety Commission officially recalled the Galaxy Note 7 on September 15th. The Federal Aviation Administration and New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority have also warned against traveling with the phones.
Twenty-five percent of all potentially flammable phones in the US have already been exchanged, Samsung tells The Verge. Anyone with a Galaxy Note 7 will be able to tell if their device is safe via a green battery icon that shows up in the status bar, always-on display mode or power-off screen.
Transit’s app now tells you when to hurry for the bus
Sure, your existing phone apps can tell you when to catch the bus and when to hop off, but public transportation fans know that’s only half the story. What if the driver is quicker than you expected, or a delay ruins your subway connection? Transit might just save the day. It’s updating its Android and iOS apps with a Go routing feature that could take some of the uncertainty out of commuting. You’ll get on-screen and voice notifications when it’s time to head out or disembark, but it gets truly interesting when things go haywire. Transit will tell you to hurry up if your departure time suddenly skips ahead, create a new itinerary if you miss a ride and warn you if a bus takes a surprise detour.
The upgrade also answers a longstanding request for real-time position data while you’re planning a trip. You should know which routes will actually get you to your destination on time, not just the ones that work in theory. The updates are still too new to see how well they work in practice. However, this could be the ticket if you’re tired of double- or triple-checking your phone on a long journey across town.
Source: App Store, Google Play, Transit (Medium)
Dark Sky’s hyperlocal weather app is now available on the web
Four-year-old mobile weather app Dark Sky is mostly known for two things: its beautifully rendered radar maps and startlingly accurate hyperlocal weather predictions. The latter was Dark Sky’s killer feature by far, and used your smartphone’s GPS to let you know exactly when and how long you’d get rained on. With notifications like “Heavy rain starting in 12 min.” it can be a lifesaver in rainy regions or places prone to sudden thunderstorms. Now those same features, along with a suite of new maps and visualizations, are available on your desktop via DarkSky.net.
Dark Sky’s co-Founder Adam Grossman admits to Wired that the new site is a bit of a promotional effort for Dark Sky’s mobile app, which will set you back $4 on iOS or $3 per year on Android. But the web version adds some powerful new extra features you won’t find in the mobile app, like an optimized layout and the ability to zoom in and explore Dark Sky’s trademark map and globe visualizations in even finer detail. An experimental new feature even allows users to explore microclimate effects so you can check the weather at altitude in the Himalayas or the temperature different at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Naturally, everything is embeddable and there’s an API for third-party developers to play around with.
Because the site itself is supported by app sales, it is also blissfully free of advertisements and sensational WEATHER-MAGEDDON headlines. A trip to the homepage presents you with all the current weather data front and center, plus an eight-day forecast that drills down into hour-by-hour temperature and precipitation data.
Finally, the web launch follows an updated version of the Dark Sky app for iOS 10, which brings even richer notifications, a lock screen widget and new Apple Watch improvements.
Via: Wired
Source: DarkSky.net
WhatsApp adds user mentions so you can’t ignore group chats
Anyone who has been included in a group chat knows how annoying they can be. You end up muting the thread to keep the notifications from driving you crazy. Sometimes you do need to see a message and WhatsApp is adding a new tool that will make it a little more difficult to ignore group chats. The app now has user mentions so you can make sure whoever you need to see a message gets a notification about it.
Like Twitter, Instagram and other social apps, using the “@” symbol to tag someone will alert them. And yes, it will do so even if they’ve muted a conversation. While the change will make it more difficult to ignore the group chats you want no part of, it does seem useful. When you take into account that WhatsApp allows 256 users in a group, it can be difficult to keep up or making sure the right person sees your note. You can tag multiple users at once, too.
The new feature is available in Android and iOS versions of the app, but you won’t be able to use it on the web. WhatsApp has been keen on regularly adding new features for group chats. Back in June, a new tool debuted that allows users to quote the exact message they’re responding to in a group thread.
Via: Wired UK
Source: iTunes, Google Play
Vodafone now blocks unwanted calls before they reach you
Nuisance callers are having a tough time of it already this year, with Ofcom banning them from withholding numbers and helping to create a simple, text registration option for the UK’s leave-me-alone database. But Vodafone’s decided to go even further, today announcing that it has begun blocking unwanted calls at the network level, so they don’t even reach your phone in the first place.
Vodafone already had a system in place to save customers from the missed call scam, stopping them from returning a dropped call from a premium rate number that would charge silly amounts of money. This new barring technology can block these outright, as well as other types of fraudulent and nuisance calls like the dreaded PPI claim offer.
Said to be the first network-wide system of its kind in the UK, Vodafone admits the technology isn’t 100 percent effective. During testing, though, the carrier boasts it was able to block over 425,000 unwanted calls in just one day, apparently seeing a drop in the number of attempts over the course of a week as cold callers began to cotton on.
As to how the technology works exactly, Vodafone is keeping tight-lipped. According to the carrier, human curators of the system use a mixture of personal expertise and computer analysis to identify the calls that need blocking. Vodafone didn’t want to say any more than that, though, fearing that revealing the ins and outs could give those holding the phones enough info to develop workarounds.
Source: Vodafone
SanDisk outs the ‘world’s first’ 1TB SD card
If you handle a lot of 4K video, you’ll know that most available SD cards will struggle to handle all of your high-quality footage. The two-year old SanDisk 512GB SD card might take the edge off somewhat, but that isn’t all that Western Digital, owner of the SanDisk brand, has got to offer. Today, the storage giant unveiled what it calls the “world’s first” 1TB SD card. It’s only a prototype, but already the company is touting the card’s ability to adequately handle 4K, 8K, VR and 360-degree video when it officially becomes available.
Western Digital hasn’t shared read or write speeds, probably because they’re not going to be amazing on such a high capacity card, especially when it’s in the prototype stage. Pricing is likely to be pretty high, though, given that the 512GB option will set you back more than $300/£300. However, videographers may be willing to swallow that cost because they, as the company says, don’t want “the interruption of changing cards.” Or, you know, you could just buy one to back up every device you own.
Sixteen years ago, SanDisk unveiled its first 64 megabyte SD card. Soon we’ll be able to store 1 terabyte. The card itself is pretty small, but somehow memory card makers are managing to cram even more storage into the familiar form factor.
Source: Sandisk
Land that Tinder match with your favorite Spotify track
If you, single person, often find yourself nostalgic for the bygone days of MySpace profile songs*, Tinder and Spotify would like to get you back in the mood with their latest collaboration. Starting today, anyone can add a Tinder “Anthem” to their profile page, show off their top artists on Spotify and quickly swipe through potential mates based on their music tastes.
The gist is simple: connecting your Spotify account to your Tinder profile will now display a list of your most-played songs. You’ll also be able to see which artists you have in common with that alluring person in the profile pic as you’re swiping through the lineup. While competing dating app Bumble has had a similar feature for over a year now, Tinder’s offering goes a few steps further with the addition of Anthems — which allows users to pick that #1 jam they’re totally feeling right now. Your thoughtfully selected Tinder Anthem will show up on the profile page right below your undoubtedly witty bio and can be played in the app with or without a Spotify account.
Finally, the two companies have also teamed up to create some exclusive “Tinder Music” playlists that come in five mood-setting flavors like “Pre-Swipe,” “Discovery,” “Match,” “Love at First Swipe” and “Date Night.” The new features are available now in all 59 markets where Spotify is available.
(*Or missed that generation entirely.)
Comcast will launch its own wireless service next year
Rumors have suggested a WiFi-powered wireless service from Comcast for years, and today at a Goldman Sachs event its CEO confirmed the move. Brian Roberts said that in mid-2017 Comcast will launch a wireless offering that combines access to hotspots with Verizon service, which is apparently based on access included in a 2011 spectrum deal.
Although he said it was too early to give much detail, the revelation came just after Roberts demonstrated Netflix on a Comcast X1 set-top box for the first time, so apparently, it’s just that kind of day. In New York City Cablevision launched a WiFi-powered wireless service last year, although we haven’t heard much about Freewheel since.
Source: Comcast webcast
This might be the last Microsoft Nokia phone
Microsoft’s association with the Nokia brand has been especially turbulent, but it appears the company has one last hurrah for its feature phone business. Today, it announced the Nokia 216, a Series 30+ handset that can browse the web and lasts up to a month on standby. It’s as basic as Nokia feature phones get, but it’s notable in that it’s probably the very last Nokia-branded handset Microsoft will ever produce.
You see, when Microsoft acquired Nokia in 2014, it bought both the feature phone business and Lumia brand. This gave the Redmond company access to Nokia’s manufacturing plants, patents and feature phone brand for 10 years. Microsoft quickly dropped the “Nokia” from Lumia smartphones and hoped that interest in the Finnish company’s budget handsets would “on-ramp” users to Windows Phone.
That never materialized. Microsoft, with next to no interest in its phones, then decided to sell the feature phone business to Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile for $350 million and the naming rights to Finnish company HMD Global, which was founded by ex-Nokia employees with the purpose of creating Nokia-branded Android smartphones and tablets.
Confusing, right? Don’t forget that Nokia Oy, the company that sold its phone businesses to Microsoft in the first place, is still successful in its own right. It operates a multi-billion dollar cellular networking business, makes a $45,000 VR camera, bought wearable maker Withings and recently sold its mapping business to a group of German car makers for a tidy sum.
Microsoft’s feature phone deal is still undergoing regulatory scrutiny but both companies expect it to complete by the end of the year. With October almost upon us, it’s safe to assume that the Nokia 216, with its 0.3-megapixel camera and all-important headphone jack, will be the last new model out of the door before Microsoft can finally wash the unsuccessful Nokia venture out of its hair.
Via: The Verge
Source: Microsoft
HTC’s Desire 10 phones make mid-range power feel more premium
The last time we saw a new Desire phone, HTC had basically speckled it with paint in the name of fashion. We can’t blame them — the effect was pretty damned cool — but now the company is trying something a little different with the new Desire 10 Lifestyle and Pro. HTC’s midrange work is getting wrapped up in a classy new look, and (spoiler alert) it’s a pretty impressive change. The Lifestyle is set to hit certain markets this month, ahead of the more expensive Pro model in November, and we got to take a closer look at both of them just a little while ago.
As you’ve easily deduced, the Pro is the more powerful of the Desire 10 twins. That’s mostly thanks to the octa-core MediaTek Helio P10, assisted by either 3GB or 4GB of RAM; the former model comes with 32GB of storage, down from the latter’s 64GB. Plenty of power to render things on the 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD screen and keep it all moving at a respectable clip, too. It’s always a little tricky to get a sense of what a phone’s capable of pre-launch, but poking around in the lightly skinned build of Android 6.0 Marshmallow felt more than adequately snappy. Anyway, just above that screen is a 13-megapixel camera (with a software-powered wide-angle selfie trick to boot), while a 20-megapixel camera sits on the opposite side. And below that? A rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, a nice touch that doesn’t often wind up in mid-range devices.
All of that (plus a 3,000mAh battery) is packed into a really handsome frame, with a matte body that gets criss-crossed with gold-ish antenna bands. This change is a far cry from the youthful Desire 530 — the Desire 10 Pro isn’t as exuberant as it is elegant. The tight tolerances and sturdy feel definitely give the 10 Pro a more premium air, and HTC’s color choices don’t hurt either. (The phone will be available in black, white, navy blue and a light blue the company’s calling “Valentine Lux”.)
You’d be forgiven for thinking the Desire 10 Lifestyle is just another barely-touched variant. After all, that’s definitely the impression HTC is trying to give off — the Lifestyle looks basically identical to its more expensive sibling despite its more modest spec sheet. There are some tell-tale signs, though, like the lack of a fingerprint sensor and a smaller flash setup under its main 13-megapixel camera. Once the Desire 10 Lifestyle is on, the phone’s lower-end ambitions are confirmed by the 5.5-inch 720p Super LCD screen — it’s still decently bright and vivid, if not the crispest out there. The rest of the differences are under the hood: there’s a slightly pokier Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset clocked at 1.6GHz, either 2GB or 3GB of RAM, 2700mAh batteries, and 32 or 64GB of storage.
There is one other big deviation from the Pro, however: the Desire 10 Lifestyle packs support for 24-bit high-res audio like the full-blown 10. Sure, you’ll lose out on a crisper screen and biometric unlocking, but the lure of improved audio is still pretty tantalizing. That’s also the sort of feature that rarely pops up in lower-end smartphones, so here’s hoping that trend keeps up for a while. And beyond that, HTC’s build quality impresses even when it comes to less expensive hardware (think around £249 in the UK). From a distance, there aren’t any discernible, physical differences between the Pro and the Lifestyle.
As usual, HTC is leaving most of the pricing and availability details up to the carriers and retailers themselves, but if you’re in the US, you can just put your wallet away. It’ll be a least a little while before either version of the Desire 10 winds up around these parts, and probably longer still if the Desires turn out to be hits and supplies get constrained. After just a little bit of time spent with HTC’s new devices, it was pretty clear that the line that represents “good enough” smartphone performance has gotten pretty high. Then again, it’s not like the best phones are guaranteed successes: the 10 was the best device HTC had cooked up in ages, and even its tremendous quality and performance couldn’t drive huge demand for it.
AIVAnet 