Catch a new Pokémon wallpaper this Wednesday
Don’t let your home screen fall into a rut — switch out your wallpaper!
You don’t have to pull out a complex new theme like Spider-Man to bring a breath of fresh air to your home screen. A new wallpaper can do wonders, and launchers like Action Launcher can re-theme your entire home screen around a good wallpaper. In our effort to help brighten your device — and maybe your day — we’re compiling some wallpapers for you to try out. And since everyone’s been killing their battery turning their phone into a Pokédex, we thought we’d share some wallpapers to help bring that Pokémon feel to your home screen.
If you’ve got a wallpaper you use everywhere, share it in the comments below! We’re always looking for something new. Now get your wallpaper picker ready and see what’s in store this week.
Wild Pokémon Living in the City by Ninja-Jamal
There are Pokémon living all around us…
Okay, maybe they aren’t quite this plentiful in the city, and maybe we only have 140 Pokémon from Kanto right now, but it’d be nice to image all these Pokémon are sitting in an alley, waiting for us right now. Especially that Snorlax in the back. Or that poor Jigglypuff that just needs a hug… Don’t cry, Jigglypuff! I’ll sing with you!
Wild Pokémon Living in the City by Ninja-Jamal
Team Mystic
There are 3 teams that players choose from once they reach Level 5 and are eligible to fight in the gyms. Team Mystic, aka Blue Team, has picked up some Game of Thrones style lore, which has spread like Articuno’s Blizzard across reddit and the rest of internet. They know no team but the Bird in the North, whose name is Articuno!
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Moltres by Tharalin (Team Valor)
Team Valor can be a bit intense. It’s the team that focuses on strength, and defines itself by it. Their emblem and their bird is Moltres, their ‘Lord of Light’. If you see a circle of Pokémon GO trainers who shout “Fire and blood!”, that would be Valor. It’s an intense team, but maybe you’ve got what it takes…
Moltres by Tharalin (Team Valor)
Zapdos by MrRedButcher (Team Instinct)
There is no shelter from the storm
Yeah, Instinct may not be quite as popular as Valor or Mystic, but can we all agree that the Zapdos above is freaking terrifying? And a legendary bird that commands lightning is not the kind of bird you want to mess with, because unlike the water-hating Moltres or the temperature-challenged Articuno, Zapdos could be anywhere just waiting to short out your phone when you finally corner that Pikachu.
Zapdos by MrRedButcher (Team Instinct)
Entei Flat Design by ibeagra
While we’re stuck with Kanto right now, I have faith that we’ll get a more expanded Pokemon world soon. And when it comes, I will climb a volcano to find myself an Entei.
Entei Flat Design by ibeagra
Galaxy Note 5, S6 edge+ receiving July 1 security patches from Verizon and T-Mobile
Verizon and T-Mobile are currently pushing the July 1 security patch out to both the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+. Beyond updating to the most up to date Android security patch, the two carriers just cite general performance enhancements in each build.
Additional details of the Galaxy Note 5 update from Verizon can be found here (T-Mobile here), and information for the Galaxy S6 edge+ from Verizon are here (and T-Mobile here). If you happen to own either of these, you can head into your Settings, then About device and finally check for the update if you haven’t already received a notification for the update.
Discuss the update in the forums
Thanks for the tip, Erik!
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
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These awesome wooden Android figures will be available later this year
Dead Zebra, the company known for its unique Android figures, has teamed up with a woodworker in NYC to create a small batch of figurines that will be made of solid wood. A small number will be available at Comic-Con, with another release coming later this year. The company also recently announced plans for a limited edition release of a Bear collectible in the coming months.
From Dead Zebra’s announcement:
Over four years ago we got together with Queens NYC-based woodworker and toy maker NoliNoli (aka Ken Como) to discuss bringing a the Android character to life in a variety of natural woods. Over the years we produced two small batches, most of which ended up in the hands of friends at Google, but never made their way into the world at large.
I’m happy to finally get some of these guys out into the hands of fans and collectors, starting with a few that will be available at Comic Con (Dumbrella, Booth #1335!) This edition is made from a combination of regionally sourced FSC certified white oak and maple woods, finished with a natural shellac and bees wax for a nice soft sheen.
If you will be attending Comic-Con in California, you’ll be able to stop by the Dumbrella booth to try and get one, but if not you’ll have to hope to secure one in the release later this year. In the meantime, be sure to check out the rest of the awesome Dead Zebra Android collectibles.
See at Dead Zebra
ZTE Axon 7 goes up for pre-order in Canada for $529
ZTE has announced that the Axon 7, its follow-up to the Axon and Axon Pro, will be released in Canada on July 27th for $529.99. Distribution will begin exclusively with Newegg, the well-known computer hardware outlet, but may expand beyond it at some point in the future.
ZTE calls itself the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer in North America behind Apple, Samsung, and LG (though Alcatel also likes to make that claim), and is attempting to grow its business in the high-end phone market. The Axon 7, with its metal body, close-to-stock software and powerful specs, is a worthy showcase of that ambition.
More: ZTE Axon 7 Hands-on
ZTE also notes that the Axon 7 will be one of the first phones to support Google’s Daydream VR platform, as well as boast high-fidelity sound, a 20MP dual-stabilized rear camera, a QHD AMOLED display, and dual SIM slots. It will go up against the OnePlus 3, which sells for $519 CAD. While the OnePlus 3 boasts 6GB of RAM to the Axon 7’s 4GB, they’re pretty evenly matched in other areas; the Axon 7 has a larger 3,250mAh battery, a higher-resolution OLED display, and what appears to be a superior audiovisual experience.
The phone is available for pre-order starting July 13 at Newegg.
See at Newegg
Facebook Messenger offer 3D Touch previews on your iPhone 6s
Add one more to the list of Facebook apps belatedly making use of recent iPhone features. Facebook has introduced 3D Touch support to Messenger on iOS, making your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus that much more useful when you’re chatting up a storm. The update adds pressure-sensitive previews to seemingly everything — you can peek at chats, contacts, locations, media, web links and even stickers. If you want to find out whether or not that conversation or photo is worth viewing, you’ll want to get the new version right away.
Source: App Store
European Commission to Reach Decision in Apple Tax Probe by October
A decision in the European Commission probe of Apple’s alleged “sweetheart tax deal” in Ireland is expected to be reached by September or October, according to Ireland’s finance minister Michael Noonan (via Reuters).
“Commissioner Vestager indicated to me that there wouldn’t be a decision in July but there would probably be a decision early in the autumn. My expectation is September or early October,” Michael Noonan told a news conference after meeting antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager on Tuesday.
Apple is accused of sheltering tens of billions of dollars in Ireland in exchange for creating jobs in the country, a deal that could be considered illegal state aid. The company operates multiple subsidiaries in Ireland to pay significantly less tax outside of the U.S., where it earns up to two-thirds of its revenue.
Apple’s $64.1 billion in profits generated from 2004 to 2012 could be subject to a higher 12.5% tax rate, compared to the less than 2% that it pays, in which case it could owe more than $8 billion in back taxes. Apple insists that it is the largest taxpayer in the world and pays every cent of tax it owes under current laws.
A decision in the tax probe was originally expected in late 2015, but the European Commission’s request for additional information pushed the investigation into 2016. Apple is one of several multinational corporations to be scrutinized for corporate tax avoidance in Europe recently, alongside Google, McDonald’s, IKEA, and others.
Tags: corporate tax, European Commission, Europe, Ireland
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The ‘world’s smallest 4K camera’ has big ambitions
If your sole guidance on an industry was the share price of the market leader, then you’d definitely consider it a tough 12 months for action cameras. That said, newcomer So Special Labs isn’t put off. In fact, it thinks its Mokacam GoPro rival might just be the tonic the product category needs. The 4K action camera packs a dual punch of being small and reasonably priced. At $270, it’s more than $200 cheaper than GoPro’s flagship 4K camera, and it deliberately tries to improve on its rival pain points. With all of that going for it, is the diminutive Mokacam able to compete with the biggest name in this space?
Going by the marketing, you’d think the Mokacam’s key selling point was its size. On its hugely successful Indiegogo site, the company claims three separate times that the device is the “world’s smallest 4K camera,” and that’s before you even get to the details of the product. The main website also repeats this claim throughout and boasts, “The only risk you run is not being able to find it in your bag.” Spoiler: I can confirm that it’s quite easy to find in most bags, though it is indeed on the smaller side.
The problem with the size claim is that at 45mm x 45mm x 30mm, the device isn’t that much smaller than an unadorned GoPro Hero4 (41mm x 59mm x 30mm). And depending how you measure it (if you just measure the body and ignore the lens), my ruler suggests the Mokacam might not be smaller at all. The GoPro Hero4 Session is definitely more compact than the Mokacam, but then again, it doesn’t shoot in 4K. Last, once you add the waterproof case to the Mokacam (required if it’s going to get wet), it’s actually bigger than any housed GoPro Hero4 — so I’m not sure why the company placed so much emphasis on the footprint.
The size brag seems even less necessary once you look at the spec sheet. The Mokacam has a pretty robust feature set that includes a 16-megapixel sensor (the GoPro Hero4 Black has 12); 4K video shooting at 25fps; a decent Sony sensor; and hot-swappable, magnetic batteries, plus software stabilization and motion detection. Some of these features address major pain points found in all action cameras, but a few feel specifically targeted at GoPro (battery life and the lack of image stabilization come up again and again in GoPro forums).
Mokacam wouldn’t be the first action camera that relied on unique features to stand out. Garmin’s VIRB series trades on the company’s GPS heritage, and TomTom added auto-editing, while others bet on price. The Mokacam, for its part, tries to solve genuine problems rather than create gimmicks. I already mentioned the hot-swappable magnetic 1,100 mAh batteries, for instance.
This is a genius idea that theoretically lets you record forever (at least until your memory card fills up). The magnetic back also means you can mount the Mokacam on metal surfaces directly, no accessories needed. In a similarly practical vein, the attachable LCD screen has its own battery and thus doesn’t drain the one inside the camera.
It’s not just the hardware design that’s thoughtful. The software — on both the camera and the app — also has clever features. First up is software stabilization, which I found wasn’t as smooth as the OIS found in the iPhone 6s Plus. Still, it’s better than nothing. Then there’s the motion detection. With this, you could use the Mokacam as a security camera or capture wildlife shots. Other cameras have similar features, but their inclusion here shows Mokacam’s makers are eager to please at both the hardware and software level.
Smart hardware and clever code are only as good as their delivery, though, and this is where things go a little off track for the Mokacam. Those hot-swappable batteries? A great idea and fun to snap on, but they can be knocked off during an activity (unless you’re using the case, that is). And the LCD screen? It works well enough, but the menu system isn’t intuitive. Many key features, including motion detection, are hard to find. The menu screens on the LCD are generic and look like they’d be more at home on an off-brand MP3 player from 2009. Neither of these accessories works with the optional stabilizer accessory (itself a good product, and was used in the sample video in this article).
I’d like to say that the Mokacam was also designed for ease of use. It probably was, but the reality isn’t so straightforward. It’s nice that there’s an app and an LCD screen to control the camera, but there’s barely any feedback on the camera itself. One single, tiny LED on top of the camera tells you whether the device is on, recording or taking a picture — and it’s barely visible in the waterproof case. To switch between video and photo mode, you tap a button on the side; an equally small LED provides feedback here. It’s easy to press this button by accident without realizing it. It’s also the same button that you use to activate WiFi, with a long press. Doing so dims that top LED enough so that it looks like the camera is switched off (it isn’t).
By the way, you’ll want to enable WiFi so you can use the companion app. You might wish you hadn’t bothered, though, as the software needs work. On Android, I could barely get it to run at all. I successfully connected to my phone precisely one time. The iOS version works much better but still lacks many of the menu options the LCD display provides, and it’s pretty ugly too. Other oddities include the option for 20-megapixel mode, even though the camera’s sensor has 16 megapixels, and the 4K video mode isn’t accessible here either. So unless you have the LCD (which is technically $50 extra), you’ll have to wait until the app gets updated before you can use it. Thankfully, an update is indeed in the works, the company tells me.
This is a first-generation, crowdfunded product. So I’m willing to cut it some slack if the image quality is on point. The slider below contains two versions of the same shot, one from the GoPro Hero4 Black (right) and one from the Mokacam (left). The two had near-identical settings (mostly auto). You’ll see that the Mokacam’s higher resolution results in sharper detail on the trees and other busy objects. You’ll also notice that the color is much more vivid. This may initially make the image more pleasing to the eye, but the GoPro’s color reproduction is actually much more authentic. That is to say, the Mokacam is boosting the saturation on the camera.
As for video, the results are pleasing. The general image quality is good, and there’s no screen door effect either. Colors don’t seem as amped as they do in photo mode, but there might be other factors at play. Bright backgrounds can blow out the image a touch — the cheery blue Spanish sky in the sample below seemed to come out white — and at times there’s what appears to be lens distortion. There is an option to remove that on the camera, which is a real time saver, but it’s not always practical out in the field. Overall, though, the Mokacam is good enough that, combined with price, it makes a strong case to those not willing to spend more than $300 on a camera they may only use occasionally.
Ultimately, could the Mokacam be my go-to for outdoor activities? Not right now. I love the creative thinking behind the batteries, the self-powered LCD and the ability to mount it magnetically. The camera delivers decent photos and video too. The issue for me is the usability. Simplicity is good, but visual feedback and functionality are better. Still, at $270 for a fully loaded bundle (with extra battery, LCD, waterproof case, remote and carry pouch), you might consider a few lost or accidental videos worth it.
Source: Indiegogo
DJI and Hasselblad team up for a souped up photography drone
Back in 2015, DJI invested in a minority stake in the Swedish firm Hasselblad, which has resulted in the companies teaming up for a powerful new photography drone. The partnership has spawned the A5D-M600 bundle, featuring the best of what both companies have to offer.
The drone takes DJI’s M600 platform as a base and implements Hasselblad’s A5D aerial camera for an impressive device that can be used for some excellent imaging services. It comes packing an adapted 50mm f/3.5 lens preset at infinity focus that should make focusing while controlling the drone a breeze, making this type of drone a no-brainer for event coverage or whichever use you need it for when it comes to capturing footage from the sky.
The sensors, Hasselblad notes, are twice the size of those used in the best 35mm DSLR cameras on the market right now. If you’re looking for a collaboration of the best of both worlds, the A5D-M600 drone is probably going to be your best bet.
Via: TechRadar
Source: Hasselblad
Google defends its anti-piracy efforts
If you believe Trent Reznor and a good chunk of the music industry, Google (particularly YouTube) is a giant piracy machine — it’s allegedly doing little to block stolen content, and knowingly profits from it. Google isn’t having any of that talk, though. The search firm just published an updated report detailing its anti-piracy efforts, and it maintains that it’s doing a lot to fight bootleggers. It’s adamant that its Content ID system (which can automatically claim copyrighted material for licensing or takedowns) does wonders for the media business. The technology has paid over $2 billion to copyright owners since launch, and about 98 percent of copyright action uses it — just 2 percent comes down to formal copyright removal notices.
Google adds that its copyright notice system takes care of “millions” of web links every day (it downplays sites that get a large number of complaints), and that it has blacklisted over 91,000 pirate sites that used Google ads. The company also sees the very existence of its services as “legitimate alternatives” to piracy, much in the way that Spotify discourages pirates by letting you legally play millions of songs for free. YouTube has paid a total of over $3 billion to the music business, and notes that half of revenue comes from fan uploads. In other words, a lot of that cash might have been lost if viewers had simply turned to pirate sites instead.
It’s important to remember that this is Google’s take — it has a vested interest in portraying itself as tough on pirates and a boon to artists. In practice, it may be more complicated. While Google is catching a lot of pirate activity, how much of it is slipping between the cracks? Why only demote a site if there a lot of copyright complaints, rather than hide it completely? Also, there are concerns that YouTube doesn’t pay artists enough for free plays. Its Content ID licensing may beat making nothing from ripped tracks, but that doesn’t mean that the status quo makes artists happy. Although the media industry can be overly aggressive about cracking down on pirates (see: its frequent contempt for safe harbor protections), it’s not being completely irrational, either.
Source: Google Public Policy Blog, Google (PDF)
Twitch study shows how it helps boost game sales
Some people lose the desire to play the games they watch on Twitch. But according to research conducted by one of the company’s science team members, those who feel the opposite are plenty enough to boost sales and retention rates. The study, authored by Danny Hernandez, says Hearthstone’s success after it exploded on Twitch “raised the line of inquiry” he was only able to explore recently after getting the data he needed. Hernandez listed a few examples to illustrate his point, including Tom Clancy’s The Division. He believes the website was responsible for around 18 percent of its sales.
Hernandez determined that Steam-connected viewers are more likely to buy a game within 24 hours of watching a stream. In addition, the study found that current players of, say, games like DOTA are five percent more likely to show up in their second week of playing if they watched streams during their first week. “[M]oving retention even a single percent is crazy hard,” Hernandez wrote, so five percent is big news.
The paper lists a couple of advice for developers, as well. It says the best way to take advantage of Twitch is to build your community before launch and to think of novel ways to engage your audience. Indie sporting management sim Punch Club, for instance, garnered 1.2 million views from the developers’ pre-launch Let’s Play stream on the Twitch plays Punch Club channel. Its creators only released the game after the people in chat finished the whole thing. As a result, 2.8 percent of Steam-connected viewers snatched the title. The study also says that engaging mid-tier influencers — or those who average 33 to 3,333 viewers every broadcast — is the best way to reach buyers. They’re 13 times more effective than big streamers, and Hernandez credits them with 46 percent of Twitch-related sales.
We’re sure some of you would prefer reading a study by a non-biased, third party researcher instead, but this paper will still give you a glimpse of Twitch’s internal data. Read it here.
Source: Twitch
