Wileyfox Spark hands-on: What an £89 Android phone looks like
British startup Wileyfox expands its product line into the budget space, once again tapping CyanogenOS on the software side — but as you might expect, there are a few compromises to deal with in phones priced between £89 and £130.
Wileyfox was part of the broad trend in 2015 towards decent phones that don’t cost a whole lot of money. Partnering with Cyanogen for its software experience allowed the British firm to deliver a solid software experience and decent performance for well below £200. Recently, the more popular of Wiley’s 2015 phones, the Swift, was been discounted to under £100, making it a great buy.
So as the manufacturer kicks off its 2016 product portfolio, the focus is on bringing this kind of smartphone experience to even more people — and that means cheaper phones. The base model of its new “Spark” family costs just £89.99 unlocked, and includes 4G LTE connectivity, a 5-inch 720p display and a quad-core CPU, alongside the latest CyanogenOS 13 software, based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
The Wileyfox Spark, Spark X and Spark+.
The fundamentals of the phone are strong. Like last year’s Swift and Storm, the Spark series is mostly furnished in coarse matte plastic, not unlike OnePlus’s trademark “sandstone” finish. It feels more premium than the glossy plastic used by entry-level rivals, while also providing a decent amount of grip. Also around the back is Wileyfox’s trademark fox logo, embossed into the back panel, adding a touch of class to what would otherwise be a rather generic black slab.
A base model with 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM is a tough sell, even at £89.
The display, too, looks decent, although you’ll have to forego any kind of oleophobic coating, meaning fingerprinty residue will gradually gunk up the phone as it’s used. At least there’s a factory-fitted screen protector to shield the display from scratches.
The other main trade-off is one that affects the base model Spark, but not the higher-spec’d Spark+ and the plus-sized Spark X. The £89 model ships with just 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, of which a mere 3.6GB is available for your own stuff. That’s not much of anything in 2016, and so in the long run you’ll need to invest in an SD card and use Marshmallow’s Adoptable Storage feature.
On the inside, all the Spark models run an octa-core MediaTek processor, and the phones seemed to handle CyanogenOS 13 with relative ease on that 720p display, though we’ll bring you longterm performance impressions in our full review soon. But for the moment, no complaints.
MORE: Wileyfox Spark, Spark+ and Spark X specs
The Wileyfox Spark X.
If you’ve got a bit more cash to splash, the Wileyfox Spark+ adds 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a more capable 13-megapixel rear camera (versus 8 in the regular Spark) for £114.99. We’d recommend splurging for the RAM and storage bump alone — two hugely important hardware areas for longterm performance and usability. Both 5-inch Spark models sport 2,200mAh removable batteries, which considering the relatively lightweight hardware inside should be enough to get you through a day. Again, more to come there in our full review.
A little extra money should go a long way toward a better Spark experience.
There are a few external differences to note between the two 5-inchers — the Spark+ has a slightly different finish on the Wileyfox logo around the back, and a more striking silver trim around the display. Besides that, the two are more or less identical.
Stepping up to the most expensive Spark X, at £129.99, gets you a larger 5.5-inch screen (at the same 720p resolution, unfortunately), along with a beefier 3,000mAh battery. Other specs mirror the Spark+ line for line — 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a 13-megapixel camera. As you’d expect, the Spark X represents the same form factor blown up to a larger size, and feels much the same in the hand when compared to its smaller siblings, right down to its sandstone-esque matte plastic finish.
As for the cameras themselves — 13MP on the Spark X and Spark+, 8MP on the vanilla Spark — all models are relatively capable in terms of launch times, focus speeds and daylight performance. Given the price point, we wouldn’t expect miracles here, particularly in low light. But at least you’re not going to be shooting with a total potato.
The Wileyfox Spark+.
Wileyfox has lofty goals of selling 2 million phones in the next 12 months.
On the software side, you’re looking at CyanogenOS 13, based on Marshmallow, with a default theme bringing orange hues and Wileyfox’s unique logo into the foreground. As ever, Cyanogen’s strength stems from its performance — as mentioned, we’ve had no issues with lag thus far — and the sheer number of features offered — from smart caller ID to security settings like a randomized keypad for entering your PIN. Many of these will be familiar to users of the open-source CyanogenMod. Others, light the tight integration with Microsoft’s Bing search engine, may come as a surprise. CyanogenOS is also infinitely themeable, so if you don’t fancy the Foxy preloaded skin, there are plenty of alternatives
The real question is what differentiates the Spark series — especually the precariously priced Spark+ — from the readily discounted Wileyfox Swift, a phone which boasts oleophobic coating, 2GB of RAM as standard and the same Cyanogen-powered software experience.
The base price of the regular Spark also seems a tough ask by comparison, with its reduced RAM and storage space.
Regardless, Wileyfox CEO Nick Muir describes the phones’ price as “competitive,” and it’s hard to argue with the balance of hardware and software when you consider the base model Spark costs less than many accessories for rival handsets. Going forward, the firm clearly has big plans — Muir told us the company has shipped 250,000 units of its existing Swift and Storm models, and is aiming at the 2 million mark in the next 12 months. That includes not just the Spark devices, but future, higher-end offerings. Spark is “not indicative of Wileyfox’s pricing direction,” Muir told us, adding that higher-end models would follow in the next few months.
For the moment, Wileyfox finds itself with an augmented, product portfolio, but one still laser-focused on affordability.
The Wileyfox Spark.
Wileyfox Spark preview: Cheap but not cheerful
British company Wileyfox has announced three new smartphones: the Spark, Spark+ and Spark X.
The three devices all aim at the budget end of the smartphone market, priced between £90 and £130, making them all cheaper than both the new generation of Moto G, as well as the recently announced Vodafone Ultra. But what do they actually offer and can these phone be both cheap and cheerful?
Wileyfox Spark: Design
The three WileyFox Spark smartphones all share very similar designs. The cheapest is the Spark, which we are focusing on in this preview, while the most expensive is the Spark X, as you’ll see in the gallery in the white and rose gold colours.
On the rear, you’ll find the Wileyfox logo finished in black, distinguishing this device like the Moto “M” does for the Moto G. The fox head sits almost centralised on top of the tactile sandstone finish, while the company name stands out in orange positioned at the bottom of the removable rear. A speaker sits below the WileyFox name, while the camera lens sits slightly off centre at the top.
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The Spark looks the cheapest in terms of design compared to the other two devices, despite looking almost identical. The Spark X and Spark+ both have more premium-finished logos, including rose gold, along with different coloured accents on the edges, helping them look a little more up-market.
The curved rear of the Spark makes it a pleasure to hold and the display has a nice 2.5D edges that help it seamlessly blend into the side of the phone. It is super light though, weighing just 134.5g with the battery in place. This is in the same ballpark as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Apple iPhone 6, but the Spark feels too light, perhaps because of the lack of metal to give it that premium feel.
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The front of the Spark is plain. There is nothing distinguishing about it, or special, except for the small speaker at the top of the display, with an orange accent grille. The power button sits on the right-hand side, while the volume rocker is on the left. You’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top left, while the Micro-USB charging port is annoying off centre to the right at the bottom.
Overall, the Wileyfox Spark is nice to hold but it looks as cheap as it is. The more expensive devices – the Spark+ and Spark X have better logos to give the design a lift, but in the case of the £90 Spark, the sandstone finish picks up fingerprints like they are going out of fashion and it doesn’t really have anything in the design to get excited about.
Wileyfox Spark: Display
The Wileyfox Spark has a 5-inch display, like the Spark X, while the Spark+ gets a 5.5-inch display, putting it more in line with the latest Moto G4.
All three devices have an HD display, meaning a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels for a pixel density of 294ppi on the Spark and Spark X, and 267ppi on the Spark+. Unfortunately, this is a simple case of you get what you pay for.
There are some who will not find the fuzziness or washed out colours a problem. There are others who will. We sit in the latter camp and although we understand the need to keep costs down, we would rather pay a little more for a Full HD display and a crisper, sharper experience. There are some display tuning options in the UI, as well as options to change the colour temperature for day or night, but it overall lacks vibrancy and clarity.
The Wileyfox Spark has some tough competition in this field and while its display will be ample for some, we want the vibrancy and the crispness that’s lacking here.
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Wileyfox Spark: Camera
The WileyFox Spark has an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera, coupled with an 8-megapixel front camera. The latter is a higher resolution than most would expect for a budget smartphone so it gains a few points here, even if we don’t know how it will perform in the real world yet.
The Spark X and the Spark+ both have 13-megapixel rear snappers, again with 8-megapixel front snappers. None of the three handsets have front facing flashes.
All three are capable of 1080p video recording from their rear cameras. There’s nothing really ground breaking in terms of specs here, but it isn’t just about the numbers, it’s about the performance, which is something we will test out properly when we have more time with the devices.
Wileyfox Spark: Hardware
The Wileyfox Spark has a quad-core 2.3GHz MediaTek processor under its hood, supported by 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory, which ends up being about 2GB of useable memory once all the built-in apps have updated. Ouch. The Spark X and Spark+ both have the same processor but up the RAM to 2GB and the storage capacity to 16GB.
All three offer microSD storage expansion, which is compatible with Android Marshmallow’s adoptable storage feature, allowing the SD card to be used as internal memory, but the maximum card supported is 32GB. That’s enough memory to tide most people over, but it of course means that £90, turns into £100 once you add the cost of the SD card to the mix.
We found the Wileyfox a little slow to react, with everything running a little sluggishly, but this could be down to the software. As with the fuzziness in the display, there are some who may not notice, but others will, so it depends on the compromises you’re willing to make to save some cash. Of course, we can look more closely at the performance as we spend more time with this handset.
In terms of battery capacity, the Spark and Spark+ have 2200mAh batteries, while the Spark X ups this to 3000mAh, the latter of which is a good capacity and found on most of the current flagships.
There are some key elements missing from the latest Wileyfox devices however, one of which is no NFC, which means none of the models will support Android Pay. They also have no 5GHz Wi-FI, no fingerprint scanners and no fast charging capabilities. Some of this is accounted for in the price, although you don’t need to pay much more money to find these features in some phones.
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Wileyfox Spark: Software
The Wileyfox Spark, Spark+ and Spark X devices all run on Cyanogen 13 based on Android 6.0. It’s basically an experience close to stock Android but with more customisation.
You’ll find the usual Google suite of apps, such as Google Play, Chrome and Gmail, but there are also extras, such as another browser and a different gallery.
Other changes from standard Android include the apps tray being alphabetised and Themes, which offers lots of customisation by allowing you to change various things around the launcher, change the icons, or the navigation icons, as well as download extras.
We’ve not had the time to fully explore the complete set of functions that the Spark offers, and we’ll bring you more once we’ve spent more time with the phone.
First Impressions
The Wileyfox Spark is cheap but it isn’t all that cheerful. On the surface it looks ok and it has a couple of charming aspects, especially in the more expensive models, like the logo.
Dive a little deeper though and you are left with a device that will probably leave even the non-power user hungry for more.
Granted, £100 is a good price for a smartphone but spend £30 more than the more appealing Spark X and you could bag yourself the Moto G that offers plenty more physical customisation with Moto Maker, NFC for Android Pay and a better display.
Wileyfox has got it right in the past, but we fear in the case of the Spark, it went that little bit too cheap and took a step backwards.
Microsoft’s hand-tracking magic may lead to gamepad-free VR
The next Xbox One S console doesn’t even have a Kinect port, showing that even Microsoft doesn’t care about the depth sensor for gaming. However, it may yet make a comeback in VR. Microsoft researchers have made hand- and finger-tracking much more accurate using the Kinect, which may eventually make it a more attractive option than a controller for VR games. “We’re getting to the point that the accuracy is such that the user can start to feel like the avatar hand is their real hand,” says Microsoft UK researcher Jamie Shotton.
Finger tracking currently works on the Kinect (using Kinect Studio and other apps), but its accuracy is very poor. The problem, says Microsoft, is that your hand is relatively small and complex, so when you rotate it or make a fist, your fingers disappear from view and fool the software.
To solve the problem, Microsoft creates a smooth surface model of the hand from the data points tracked by the Kinect. It then uses an algorithm that was developed way back in the 1940s to calculate where the tracking points should go next in order to conserve the most energy. The system also uses a “reinitializer” to quickly reset a hand pose in case of tracking errors.
The smoother surface model does require more computations, but the software can resolve hand positions more quickly, within four iterations. In addition, it requires fewer tracking points than other solutions. As a result, it “can track hands smoothly, quickly and accurately –- in real time –- but can run on a regular consumer gadget,” says the team.
With the app, users can smoothly interact with objects nearly in real time, something that could be highly beneficial for gaming, design and other VR applications. “The system lets you see what your hands are doing, fixing a common and befuddling disconnect that happens when people are interacting with virtual reality but can’t see their own hands,” according to the blog.
What’s more, with proper interface design, users aren’t thrown off by the lack of haptics, or simulated touch. “Thin” virtual controls make you touch your own fingers together for a fake sense of feel, for instance. And with a realistic-looking interface that works in real time and includes sound, users can be convinced they’re actually touching something.
The finger-tracking algorithms are purely research for now, and problems like collisions and tracking errors still need to be resolved. However, it holds a lot of promise for gaming, user interface design and other applications. Using an off-the-shelf Kinect, Microsoft showed off virtual gamepads, painting tools that let you “grab” a color with your fingers and a game where the player is a “god” that literally gives a helping hand to his characters.
Via: Popular Science
Source: Microsoft
VW agrees to $14.7 billion settlement over US diesel claims
After news of a settlement broke yesterday, Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal settlement will indeed hit $15 billion in the US. The official paperwork was filed with the Justice Department today, the automaker will shell out $14.7 billion in two separate settlements — one with the United States and the state of California and another with the Federal Trade Commission. Figures have continued to rise since the initial reports of $5,000 per vehicle in April rose to $10,000 each. That money, which totals just over $10 billion, will be used to buy back affected vehicles at their pre-cheating scandal price. The actual payouts will range from $5,100 to $10,000 plus the value of the car before news of the emissions test first broke.
For former owners who sold their cars after news of the scandal broke, VW will offer half the rate that it’s set to shell out to folks who still have one of its vehicles in their driveway. $2.7 billion will be dedicated to an EPA fund to projects that will offset the environmental impact that its faulty emissions testing caused. $2 billion will be used for the company’s own clean driving projects, including infrastructure and education. The automaker estimated back in April that the total cost of resolving the issue would hit $18.2 billion.
Volkswagen still faces settlements with 44 individual states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Reuters sources claim that the total from those cases could hit $600 million. Reuters notes that if owners opt to have their vehicles repaired rather than selling them back to the company, the actual amount VW stands to pay could be less than these reported figures. The EPA still has to approve Volkwagen’s repair plans, so owners who want to keep their cars will have to wait a while to get them fixed.
During a press conference announcing the settlement, the DOJ offered the reminder that this is just the beginning of resolving the wrong doing by Volkswagen. There are still pending civil and possible criminal charges the automaker faces as part of putting 500,000 model year 2009-2015 2.0 liter diesel vehicles that emitted NOx gas at 40 times the EPA-compliant levels. Today’s settlement also doesn’t include 3.0 liter cars that are also included in the scandal.
“While this announcement is an important step forward, let me be clear, it is by no means the last. We will continue to follow the facts wherever they go,” said Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates. If you thought this was the last you’d hear about the VW, there’s likely more news to come.
Via: Reuters
Source: Justice Department
Hacker claims to have 655,000 health care records for sale
Hackers are getting all too creative in their bids to hold health care data for ransom. An intruder is selling records for 655,000 patients from three US health care organizations (in Atlanta, the central US and Farmington, Missouri) on the Dark Web as part of a ransom attempt. Details of what happened aren’t clear, but the hacker claims to have exploited flaws in the Remote Desktop Protocol to perpetrate the heists. Also, this person maintains to DeepDotWeb that the companies had a chance to “make it go away” for a “small fee,” but didn’t — the sale is upping the ante.
The culprit is telling Motherboard that there are already prospective buyers for the authentic (if possibly outdated) info, which is selling for between $100,000 to $411,000 in bitcoins. Either way, the incident highlights the increasing dangers of lax security for health care records. In all three breaches, the organizations’ internal networks were not only accessible, but stored login details in plain text — these were entirely avoidable incidents. Until security is more of a priority, stunts like this could easily happen again.
Via: Motherboard, BBC
Source: DeepDotWeb
Ask Alexa to add new features to your Amazon Echo
Amazon opened up Alexa to developers a year ago, and there are now over 1,400 apps or “skills,” as the company calls them. To take the hassle out of installing those on your Echo product, it now lets you do it automatically just by asking Alexa. For instance, if you want to test your trivia skills, you say “Echo, enable Jeopardy” and it’ll add that third-party app. Up until today, you had to go to the Alexa app, find the skill and then add it manually, so the new feature will save you some time.
Amazon says that around 10,000 registered developers are working on Alexa projects, meaning you’ll soon have even more choice. It’s also invested in 16 startups to help them build wearables, smart home devices and other products via the Alexa Fund.
The company has also redesigned the skills section of the Alexa app, letting you browse by categories like “Lifestyle” and “Smart Home.” It revealed a pair of new skills from Lyft and Honeywell that will let you order a car and turn down the thermostat, I assume. Some of the most popular are Jeopardy, Daily Affirmation, Magic 8 Ball, Fitbit, and The Bartender, a skill we all can use in these trying times.
Source: Amazon
New 3D Touch Action in iOS 10 Lets You Prioritize App Downloads
After a few weeks of new iOS 10 features slowly being discovered by beta testers, one new 3D Touch-enabled shortcut was stumbled upon recently that will let users prioritize the bulk download of apps. When more than one app is installing, users on iOS 10 can 3D Touch to select “Prioritize Download” and temporarily pause the installation of other apps while the selected one gains favor.
On devices running iOS 9 and earlier, bulk downloads require users to run through every app downloading and tap to pause them, leaving only their favored app downloading. Apple’s streamlined process in iOS 10 should greatly alleviate the frustration in moments where multiple apps are waiting to be downloaded and installed onto an iPhone.
(Thanks, Eric!)
Related Roundup: iOS 10
Tag: 3D Touch
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Amazon Debuts Book-Skimming ‘Page Flip’ Feature for Kindle Devices and Apps
Amazon has announced that a new feature called “Page Flip” will be rolling out to its iOS and Android apps, Fire tablets, and Kindle e-readers as a free, over-the-air update beginning today. The feature gives users a digital approximation of skimming through a book, making “it easy to explore books while always saving your place.”
When activated, Page Flip pins the current page to the bottom left of the screen to remember your current reading spot, allowing you to skim through the rest of the book to find a specific passage, map, or simply peek ahead at what’s next. A new “bird’s eye view” feature truncates an entire book into a scrollable column of pages, making it easier to find highlighted passages from previous pages.
Page Flip is a reimagined Kindle navigation experience that makes it easy to explore books while always saving your place
At a glance, easily recognize specific pages as you jump around. Pictures, charts, your highlights, and the layout of each page are easy to see with Page Flip’s pixel-accurate thumbnails that automatically adjust as you change your font and margin settings.
At launch, Amazon says PageFlip is available “on millions of books,” with plans to continuously add new entries “every day.” Similar to Kindle’s X-Ray feature, supported books will be identified on their eBook store page with a “Page Flip: enabled” marker in the feature list.
The Amazon Kindle app is available from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Tags: Amazon, Kindle
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G2A attempts to appease game publishers with royalty payments
After coming under fire for how it handles sales of illegal video game keys, reselling website G2A has introduced a number of new policies that it hopes will appease developers affected by the practice. The company announced that it will let game makers apply for royalty payments for any titles that appear on its marketplace. It comes after SpeedRunners publisher TinyBuild accused G2A of failing to act on $450,000 in potential lost sales, after scammers used stolen credit cards to buy legitimate keys and auction them off for profit.
G2A says that when the Game Developer Support System goes live on July 29th, registered developers will receive up to 10 percent on third-party sales, allowing them to monetize third-party transactions, whether they’re legitimate or downright shady. The company has also committed to prioritizing developer-managed auctions, ensuring that publishers will be ranked above third-party resellers, and will offer free chargeback protection as well as access to its game key database to identify dodgy keys.
“As a leader in the digital gaming marketplace, we recognize our responsibility to serve the greater good for the entire gaming industry,” the company said in a statement. “Recent events have demonstrated that we need to move faster to introduce new benefits designed with developers in mind, and invite them to play an even bigger role in creating the marketplace of the future.”
While G2A profits from sales of stolen keys, which customers get for significantly lower prices than at retail, it is keen to repair its image with the game community. Before TinyBuild took up the issue, the reseller did take steps to suspend keys that it believed were obtained via illegal means. With the introduction of royalties and a clear route for developers to check the status of keys on the site, G2A’s willingness to increase its transparency may help it in its quest. However, a 10 percent share of sales might not appease the companies upset with the company’s business model.
Doppler smart earbuds blend music with the outside world
Doppler Labs raised eyebrows with its Here Active Listening earbuds, which could amplify or tune out frequencies depending on how much you wanted to hear the outside world. Well, it’s back with an upgrade, the Here One — and it offers even more control over your audio. The new earpieces introduce “layered listening” that promise to merge earbud sounds with those of the outside world. You can listen to music on a bike ride without missing car sounds, or get sports commentary while preserving that stadium atmosphere.
It’s more targeted, too. instead of blocking whole frequency ranges, you can apply adaptive filters that boost or eliminate specific sounds, such as conversation or crying babies. You also get a personal profile, so you won’t have to routinely tweak settings when you use the Here mobile app. Just be ready to pay more than you did for the last generation — Americans can pre-order the Here One for $299 (up $50 from the old model’s normal price) ahead of its November launch. International releases are “coming soon,” so don’t despair if you’re an eager listener outside of the US.
Source: Here
