U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Samsung’s $548 Million Settlement Appeal October 11
In March, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Samsung’s appeal of a lower court decision that ordered the Korean-based company to pay $548 million to Apple. The Supreme Court’s website was updated with its October 2016 term today, noting that the appeal hearing will take place on October 11, 2016. The hearing will be the first of the day.
Samsung plans to appeal what it believes are “excessive penalties” for allegedly “copying the patented designs of the iPhone.” Specifically, Samsung’s petition asks the court to hear two questions: the scope of a design patent and whether patent infringement damages should be based on profits for infringing components or total profits.
The Korean electronics maker has already paid Apple the $548 million settlement, but Samsung can get reimbursed should the Supreme Court reverse or modify the original judgment. Apple had urged the Supreme Court to deny the appeal as it felt Samsung was raising issues that did not “deserve review” in an effort to prolong proceedings.
Tags: Samsung, patent trials
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Xiaomi Mi Band 2 review
Buy now from Amazon
Xiaomi is all over the place in the technology world. The Chinese company first came to the scene with its MIUI firmware back in 2010, and has since moved on to creating its own Android smartphones, televisions, tablets, and so much more.
One of the most interesting products the company has in its lineup is the Mi Band. Announced in August 2014, Xiaomi’s first Mi Band wearable aimed to bring basic activity tracking to the masses thanks to its seriously low $13 price point. Now Xiaomi is back with a new, more expensive fitness tracker – the Mi Band 2.
With an OLED display and a new design, does the Mi Band 2 have what it takes to make its way to your wrist? Let’s find out.
Here is our full Xiaomi Mi Band 2 review.
Review notes: I’ve been using the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 as my main fitness tracker for 20 days. The HTC 10 has been my smartphone companion of choice for the duration of this review.
Design
Aside from the strap, the Mi Band 2 doesn’t really look anything like the original Mi Band. It still comes in the form of a dongle that fits snugly into a silicone strap, and it’s thin and light enough that you’ll forget you’re wearing it most of the day. One of my biggest problems with the first Mi Band is that it feels cheap. I mean, I know it is cheap at only $13, but the silicone strap was too plasticky for my liking. The Mi Band 2’s strap is much more rubbery and soft this time around, which I really like.
The OLED display is nice… indoors
I won’t talk too much about price just yet, but you should know that the Mi Band 2 is a bit pricier than its predecessor. It retails for around $40-$50 here in the US. Why the bump up in price? Xiaomi decided to include an OLED display this time around, which I must say is very nice most of the time. Indoor visibility is just great, but it’s pretty tough to read outdoors in the sun. In fact, trying to check the time on a run just isn’t possible at times, but I suppose having a display is better than not having one.
Xiaomi says the .42-inch display is also UV coated, scratch resistant and anti-fingerprint. I haven’t gotten any scratches on mine, but fingerprints do show up quite a bit. The display can get very smudgy and greasy.
Underneath the display sits a snazzy capacitive button that lets you filter through the current time, steps, distance, calories heart rate and battery. You can also check the time by simply lifting your wrist, though I’ve found this feature to be more laggy than what other fitness bands offer. Sometimes the time delays for about 2 seconds before showing up. This definitely won’t make or break your experience with the device, but it’s still something worth noting.
Xiaomi also says there will be more colorful band options available at a later date, but as of writing this review we’re not sure when the bands will launch.
The Mi Band 2 also comes with an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. This means you can wash your hands without taking it off, but you shouldn’t go swimming with it.
Features and performance
The Mi Band 2 does everything you’d expect from an entry-level fitness tracker. It tracks your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and your sleep. And for the most part, it’s very good at tracking all four of those metrics.
I’ve taken the Mi Band 2 out on a few runs with the Fitbit Charge HR and Garmin vívosmart HR, and all three devices have given me similar results. In terms of step tracking, the Mi Band 2 recorded 7,055 steps taken on a run, while the Charge HR recorded 7,058. During a second workout, the Mi Band 2 recorded 5,022 steps, while the vívosmart HR recorded 5,018. Basically, if you care about step tracking and you’re looking for an inexpensive alternative to other fitness bands, the Mi Band 2 will definitely do the trick.
See also: Fitbit Charge HR vs Garmin vívosmart HR8
The device will automatically record your workouts in the Mi Fit app, which is quite convenient. It can sometimes take a minute or two to recognize when you’ve started exercising, but it still should be accurate enough for most people.
Sleep tracking is one of this device’s strongest features
There’s much more to an activity tracker than step tracking, though. The Mi Band 2 will also record your light and deep sleep, and it does a pretty good job at both. It will automatically detect when you go to sleep, so there’s no need to open the app and press a sleep now button. Once you wake up, you can check all your sleep stats in the Mi Fit app. You’ll be able to see how much light and deep sleep you experienced, how many minutes you were awake, as well as the exact times you fell asleep and woke up.
The Mi Band 2 also supports silent alarms, so you can wake up with a subtle vibration if you aren’t a fan of noisy alarm clocks.
The optical heart rate monitor is one of the Mi Band 2’s most problematic features
One of the Mi Band 2’s headlining features is its optical heart rate monitor. This is one of the most problematic features on the device – not only because readings can be far off at times, but also because it often fails to record my heart rate when I’d like it to.
To test heart rate accuracy, I’ve been comparing the Mi Band 2 with the Wahoo TICKR X heart rate monitor. Most of the time the Mi Band 2’s heart rate readings are spot on with the TICKR X, though I have noticed the Xiaomi device will sometimes be off by 15bpm or so.
You should stay away from this device if you need to keep tabs on your heart rate during a workout. The heart rate monitor isn’t continuous, and you have to stay really still in order for the device to take its readings. You can always stop running to check your heart rate, but that’s not the most convenient method for many athletes out there.
Don’t buy the Mi Band 2 if you need a reliable heart rate monitor
I need to emphasize something here. The Mi Band 2 needs to be very still if you want to check your heart rate. Like, the device struggles to take readings even when I’m sitting still at my desk. I’ve never experienced a fitness tracker that fails so often at this. On the plus side, though, its display allows you to fire up the heart rate monitor much quicker than you could with the Mi Band Pulse.
One of my favorite things about the Mi Band 2 is the Idle Alert feature. The device will give you a short vibration if you’re inactive for one hour, and you can customize what times of day this feature is turned on. I sit at a desk all day, so anything that reminds me to get up and move every once in awhile is definitely a plus.
One other neat trick it offers is notification support. Well, you won’t get full notification support here, but the device will buzz your wrist when you have an incoming text or phone call. It works most of the time, but not always. I’m not sure if this is due to a spotty Bluetooth connection or if it’s just a bug that needs fixing, but either way you shouldn’t rely on the Mi Band 2 to alert you of notifications every time.
Don’t miss: Samsung Gear Fit 2 review10
Xiaomi says the Mi Band 2 can last up to 20 days on a single charge, and that’s exactly what I’ve been able to achieve. Throughout the review period, I’ve gone on walks and runs about 4 times per week, checking my heart rate and scrolling through my daily stats multiple times per day.
It’s pretty easy to charge the Mi Band 2, as well. Just remove the dongle from the band, plug it into the proprietary charger, then hook it up to a computer.
| Display | .42-inch OLED display |
| Heart rate monitor | Yes, optical heart rate sensor |
| Sleep tracking | Yes |
| Water resistance | IP67 |
| GPS | No |
| Battery life | Up to 20 days 70mAh, lithium polymer |
| Compatibility | Android, iOS |
| Weight | 7g |
Software
Xiaomi’s Mi Fit companion app is sort of a mixed bag. I like some parts of it, while I can’t stand others.
Let’s start with the positives. Mi Fit is a beautiful app that displays your daily activity, sleep, weight loss, heart rate and goals on the main screen. Tapping on any one of these sections gives you more detailed information about that particular metric.
From here you’ll be able to access daily, weekly and monthly graphs showing your progress overtime. You can do this with your daily activity and sleep metrics, but for some reason the heart rate section only shows a list of readings in reverse chronological order. It doesn’t really make sense to look at your heart rate readings this way. Most people measure their heart rate to see how they’ve improved over time, but you just can’t do that with the Mi Fit app.
One other positive: Mi Fit can connect with Google Fit, WeChat and even Sina Weibo, so you’ll be able to access your results in your favorite apps if need be.
Unfortunately the list of negatives outweighs the positives here. This might not be a huge concern to most people, but I found the layout of the app just horrible. The interface is separated into three main sections: Status, Play and Profile. Status is basically your home screen, where you’ll find your daily activity. The oddly-named Play screen is where you’ll change notification options, set alarms and Idle Alerts, and also connect to third-party apps. In the profile section, you can change your activity and weight goal, connect with friends, and also access a settings menu (which pretty much only lets you change units and submit feedback).
I don’t know if it’s the Play section’s name that throws me off, or if it’s the lack of settings in the settings menu, but I still find myself, after 20 days of using this dang app, getting lost and scouring through to try and find what I’m looking for.
One of the things I like most about Fitbit’s companion app is that it makes it really easy to connect with friends and check out their progress. This isn’t the case with Mi Fit. You actually have to scan a QR code to become someone’s friend on Mi Fit. I really don’t think people are going to use this feature.
Oh, one last thing – the Mi Fit app force closes just about every other time I use it. I’ve used it on both my HTC 10 and Nexus 6P, and I couldn’t get it to stay open on either device.
Gallery
Should you buy it?
Buy now from Amazon
The Xiaomi Mi Band 2 is one of the better entry-level fitness trackers in the sub-$50 price range. It’s only $40, and it can track your daily activity and sleep without a hitch. It also looks really nice and has great battery life.
The problem is, most of the other features Xiaomi included in this tracker just don’t work very well. The heart rate monitor only works when you’re completely still, the display is hard to read outside, and the Mi Fit app needs a lot of work.
You shouldn’t buy the Mi Band 2 if you’re a serious athlete or if you need something with an accurate heart rate monitor. But if you only have $40 or $50 to spend and want something that can keep tabs on your daily activity, this device might be the perfect thing for you.
Related reviews:
- Fitbit Charge HR review
- Fitbit Alta review
- Withings Go hands-on
This Pokémon NO Chrome extension will catch ’em all (and kill them)
Pokémon is everywhere. Here’s how to put a stop to it.
So all the cool kids are playing this Pokémon Go thing. It’s likely the most successful launch of any mobile game in the history of mankind, and it’s infected lovingly found it’s way into a bazillion websites on the internet. I get it. Popular is popular, and the people enjoying the game like to read about it and discuss everything. That’s what the internet was made for. After porn.
But some of us need to take a break from Pokémon. It’s not the little monsters’ fault, it’s us. We just need some time apart. That’s where the Pokémon NO Chrome extension comes in.
Install it on your Chromebook or in the Chrome browser on any other computer. Click OK. Say goodbye to Pokémon. Thanks, developer.
Download: Pokémon NO (Chrome only)
NBC lays out its streaming plans for Rio 2016
NBC dropped a few more details on its streaming plans for the Summer Olympics, but it’s important to first note what won’t be streaming live: the Opening Ceremony. The broadcaster revealed that both TV and online will be on one hour broadcast delay (more on the west coast), and justified the decision by saying it wouldn’t need to cut any countries out of the intro to fit commercials. As far as the actual sports, they will all be ready for viewing live, on TV or online. If you don’t have cable TV you can expect 30 minutes of streaming access on your first visit before being prompted to login, and after that five minutes without logging in (maybe try clearing those cookies).
Every second of sports is supposed to be streamed, either as it’s broadcast on any of NBC’s channels (including the NBC one and, for the first time, the primetime recap show.) With the streams, viewers can tune into any of the gymnastics apparatus, track & field events, or tennis courts. All streaming with commentary will be closed captioned, another first, and all the event streams will have data overlays for desktops, phones and tablets. Of course, there will also be video on-demand and highlights (no word on any delay before they’re available) available online.
There are also some shows made just for streaming, including the NFL Red Zone Channel-like Gold Zone stream that jumps around to show the most exciting live action as it happens, wherever it happens. There’s a digital news desk that will update with highlights, the Daily Dismount that recaps gymnastics action and Ever Wonder focusing on non-sports related curiosities of the Games.
2016 is also the first Games NBC will stream to connected TV platforms, including Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, and Win10, with more to be announced later. Beyond the NBC Sports app with all the streaming, there’s a new NBC Olympics: Rio News & Results app for iOS and Android. Constantly updated with scores, highlights and info it’s intended as a second-screen app for viewers. We don’t have any new info about the VR or Ultra HD broadcast plans for Rio 2016 just yet, but keep an eye out, we’ll probably have more info to share as the Games draw closed.
Source: Philly.com, NBC Sports
Ancient Windows printer flaw exposes you to malware
Security holes don’t always originate in relatively recent bugs… sometimes, they can stem from code written in an entirely different era. Researchers at Vectra Networks have discovered a roughly 20-year-old flaw in Windows Print Spooler (which oversees the printing process) that lets attackers slip malware on to a PC. As the spooler doesn’t verify that a printer’s drivers are legitimate when you plug the hardware in, it’s possible for attackers to install maliciously-coded drivers thorough either the internet or the printer itself. The exploit can not only infect numerous computers if it’s shared on a network, but keep infecting as computers discover the peripheral.
Microsoft already has a patch ready, so you’re safe if you’re using Windows Vista or later. However, the exploit also works on Windows XP and earlier, which Microsoft stopped supporting (outside of special contracts) years ago. That theoretically leaves millions of old PCs permanently vulnerable to this attack. The main saving grace: the attacker needs to attach the device to your PC or the local network. As such, the threat is mainly limited to public hotspots, loosely guarded office networks and other situations where someone could theoretically attach a rogue printer without drawing your attention.
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Vectra, Microsoft Security TechCenter
Apple TV’s Universal Search Gains Support for Comedy Central, MTV and VH1
Apple last week added three new apps to the universal search function on the fourth-generation Apple TV, introducing support for Comedy Central, MTV, and VH1, three popular networks.
For those unfamiliar with universal search, it is a feature that lets users conduct Siri voice searches or text-based searches to find TV and movie content across a wide range of apps. At launch, universal search supported only a few apps, but Apple has been adding new apps on a regular basis.
With the addition of support for Comedy Central, MTV, and VH1, searching for shows available on those networks will now bring up options to watch content within the respective apps.
Apple maintains a dedicated support document that offers Apple TV owners a full list of content that can be found via Siri through universal search. Apple’s universal search feature is largely limited to the United States. In most other countries, universal search only displays iTunes content, while Netflix is also supported in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK.
Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)
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Tesla no longer wants to guarantee its electric cars’ resale value
A new decision at Tesla has suggested the electric car market is doing well.
The automaker told The Verge it discontinued its Resale Value Guarantee program – which launched three years ago as a way of reassuring early customers there would me a market for their Model S electric cars should they decide to resell them at a later date. People tend to upgrade to newer-model cars every few years, so guaranteeing something like a resale value is an interesting tactic for luring the weary.
Keep in mind a lot has changed for Tesla in the past three years. It is all the rage after scoring 325,000 reservations for the upcoming Model 3 just one week after its release. After witnessing Tesla’s recent growth, several other automakers, including Volkswagen, Nissan, BMW, Daimler, etc, have of course started heavily investing in both the development and production of electric vehicles.
Although there are plenty of drivers who have yet to acknowledge not only the power but also possibilities with EVs, the budding market is steadily growing and is widely considered healthy, and so the need to guarantee such vehicles is of less importance. Tesla’s program, which was “backed personally” by Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, according to a Tesla blog post, will no longer be active for new cars bought after 1 July.
However, you’re still covered if you bought a car under the guarantee. The decision will apparently also reduce Tesla’s interest rates “as low as possible” and make leases and loans more compelling.
Here’s how much tech Amazon sold on Prime Day – its ‘biggest day ever’
Amazon’s second Prime Day is done and dusted.
The sale promotion proved to be a big hit for the retail giant. In fact, it called the day its “biggest day ever”, marking a strategic win for Amazon, which likely landed more Prime members by offering customers deals they couldn’t resist. It also probably made existing Prime members feel better about forking over cash for subscriptions, as they got access to deals regulars customers couldn’t get.
“Prime itself is the best deal in the history of shopping, and Prime Day was created as a special benefit exclusively for our Prime members,” said Greg Greeley, vice president of Amazon Prime, in a statement. “We want to thank our tens of millions of members around the world for making this the biggest day in the history of Amazon. We hope you had as much fun as we did. After yesterday’s results, we’ll definitely be doing this again.”
Amazon said orders surpassed Prime Day 2015 by more than 60 per cent worldwide and 50 per cent in the US. Prime member orders on the Amazon app also surpassed Prime Day 2015 mobile app orders by more than 2 times – largely thanks to more than a million customers who used the Amazon app for the first time on Prime Day to shop and take advantage of the deals.
Amazon Echo owners even bought on average one Alexa-exclusive deal per second using their voice.
Here’s some other tech-related highlights
Amazon Fire TV devices: Amazon sold over 2.5 times more Amazon Fire TV devices compared to Prime Day 2015, with the Fire TV Stick landing the ‘best-selling Amazon device” title.
Toys: More than 2 million toys were purchased.
Televisions: More than 90,000 TVs were purchased.
Kindle ereaders: “Hundreds of thousands” of Kindle e-readers were purchased. Prime Members also saved over $1 million on Kindle Unlimited memberships.
Amazon Echo: In the US, Amazon devices were up over 3 times compared to Prime Day 2015. It was also the biggest day ever for Amazon Echo – up over 2.5 times compared to previous record day.
Dash buttons: In the US, the most popular Amazon Dash Button brands purchased were Cascade, Charmin, and Tide, though there was no mention of how many sold.
Headphones: In the US, more than 200,000 headphones were purchased. And in Canada, the top-selling headphones were the Sennheiser HD 598 Special-Edition Over-Ears.
Robot vacuums: In the US, more than 23,000 iRobot Roomba 614 vacuum cleaning robots were purchased.
Lenovo laptops: In the US, more than 14,000 Lenovo laptops were purchased.
Smart toothbrushes: In the UK, the Oral-B Pro 6000 CrossAction electric toothbrush with Bluetooth connectivity was a top-seller.
Memory sticks: In Spain, the SanDisk USB memory stick was a top-seller, whereas in Italy, the top-seller was the Lexar JumpDrive.
Prime TV and movies: The top three Prime Day deal titles purchased or rented were Deadpool, Kung Fu Panda 3, and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
Movies: In France and Belgium, the Game of Thrones DVD (season one through four) was a top-seller.
Want to know more?
Check out some of the best Prime Day deals were in Pocket-lint’s round-up:
- Best Amazon Prime Day deals 2016 UK
Starz brings its streaming video service to Roku players
Starz has made its cord cutter-friendly streaming service available on just about every major device imaginable, but what if you have a Roku player? Don’t worry, you’re covered. Roku devices in the US now have a Starz channel that offers all the access you’d expect to the service’s mix of original programming (such as Outlander or Power) and movies like Inside Out. As usual, what you pay depends on how attached you are to traditional TV — it’s “free” if you already subscribe to to a participating TV provider, or $9 per month if you prefer to watch online.
Source: Roku Stream Blog
Alcatel Idol 4 and Idol 4S specs
The Alcatel Idol 4 and Idol 4S follow up from last year’s surprise mid-range hits, the Idol 3 4.7 and 5.5. But as so many OEMs have done in 2016, metal has replaced plastic, with an emphasis on build quality and performance.
| Operating System | Android 6.0.1 | Android 6.0.1 |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6174x 1.7Ghz Cortex-A534x 1.2Ghz Cortex-A53 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 4x 1.8Ghz Cortex-A724x 1.4Ghz Cortex-A53 |
| RAM | 2GB/3GB | 3GB |
| Display | 5.2-inch 1080p LTPS IPS | 5.5-inch QHD LTPS IPS |
| Rear Camera | 13MP, f/2.0, PDAF | 16MP, f/2.0, PDAF |
| Front Camera | 8MP, front flash | 8MP, front flash |
| Storage | 16GB, microSD expandable | 32GB, microSD expandable |
| Qualcomm Quick Charge | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Battery | 2610 mAh | 3000 mAh |
| SIM | Dual nano-SIM | Dual nano-SIM |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Audio | Front-facing stereo speakers | Front-facing stereo speakers |
| Connectivity | Micro-USB v2.0 | Micro-USB v2.0 |
| FM Radio | Yes | Yes |
| IR Blaster | No | No |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions | 147 x 72.5 x 7.1 mm | 153.9 x 75.4 x 6.99 mm |
| Weight | 135g | 149g |
| Colors | Gold, Dark Gray, Rose Gold, Metal Silver | Gold, Dark Gray, Rose Gold, Metal Silver |
