Monthly Archives: October 2015

Logi Circle Review – WiFi camera with a hit of hyperlapse

Logitech said it wanted its Logi brand to be more friendly than traditional computer peripherals, and the Circle home camera certainly fits the bill. A cutesy robot’s eyeball of a WiFi-connected webcam, it aims to one-up Nest Camera courtesy of an onboard battery, with a secret weapon in the shape of instantly-curated hyperlapse clips for speedy consumption. Has Logi hit a home-run in the first inning with its baseball-like Circle?

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/logi-circle-review-wifi-camera-with-a-hit-of-hyperlapse-14409518/

Swatch’s new non-smart watch does mobile payments in China

Traditional watch makers have not been so eager to jump head on into the smartwatch buzz but the advancement of mobile payment might be giving them second thoughts. Swatch, however, while still mulling over a proper smartwatch product, does have a stopgap solution to that. It has just announced a non-smart, some call it dumb, regular watch in China and while it doesn’t do all the fancy things smartwatches can do, it does do at least one thing they can: make payments without the need for cash or credit cards.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/swatchs-new-non-smart-watch-does-mobile-payments-in-china-14409600/

Samsung Galaxy S7 tipped to sport Synaptics ClearForce screen

If there were any doubt that Apple started yet another trend with its 3D Touchfeature on the iPhone 6s, next year’s Samsung Galaxy S7 might banish all that away. Rumor has it that the Korean manufacturer often accused of copying Apple’s designs and features, have struck a partnership with device interface experts Synaptics. Given recent news, that partnership is most likely to revolve around Synaptics’ new ClearForce technology, which, as you might have guessed by now, puts pressure awareness on non-Apple smartphones. Like Samsung’s Android smartphones.

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https://www.slashgear.com/samsung-galaxy-s7-tipped-to-sport-synaptics-clearforce-screen-14409579/

BMW M2 Coupe unveiled: the latest M family powerhouse

BMW was hit with a leak ahead of its M2 Coupe debut, with details about the model surfacing online. Following that, the auto maker has officially unveiled the model and fleshed out all the details, as well as showing it off in all its shiny, slim glory.

 

The BMW M2 Coupe brings with it the M family design flavors and couples them with “dynamic attributes”, says the auto maker. That M family foundation is likewise reflected with the interior design, with, among other things, M embossing and an M gearshift.

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https://www.slashgear.com/bmw-m2-coupe-unveiled-the-latest-m-family-powerhouse-13409551/

Microsoft to push Windows 10 Mobile updates direct to users

Unlike desktop OS updates, software updates for mobile devices can be a bit tricky, even convoluted, depending on how many cooks are in the kitchen. If you add platform maker, device maker, and carrier together, you could be looking at updates that take months to land on users’ devices. While not a problem for small feature updates, it could be a death sentence as far as critical security fixes are concerned. Fortunately for Windows 10 phone users,Microsoft might be putting its foot down and will push updates directly.

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https://www.slashgear.com/

Apple loses patent battle over A7, A8 CPU chips

As the source of many patent lawsuits, Apple is no stranger to also being the target of some. This latest one, however, strikes at the almost literal heart of its devices. Early last year, the University of Wisconsin’s Alumni Research Foundation, or WARF, sued Apple for infringing on its patents that are used in Apple’s custom A7, A8, and A8X chips. More than a year later, a US jury found Apple guilty of the charges, which could see the company pay up to $682 million in damages.

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https://www.slashgear.com/apple-loses-patent-battle-over-a7-a8-cpu-chips-14409581/

DxOMark takes the iPhone 6s for a spin, lands in 10th spot

Externally, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus do not look that different from their immediate predecessors, save for a bit of added bulk for the sake of added strength. Inside, however, Apple’s new gen iPhones have seen a slight evolution, especially when it came to the camera. For the first time since the iPhone 4s in 2011, Apple upgrade the iSight camera, from 8 megapixels to 12, allowing for native 4K video recording. But how better does the iPhone 6s’ camera fare against the competition or even against the iPhone 6s. As DxOMark found out, not that much.

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https://www.slashgear.com/dxomark-takes-the-iphone-6s-for-a-spin-lands-in-10th-spot-13409572/

Blocks Modular Smartwatch blasts Kickstarter goal with wacky wearable

The team behind Blocks have taken the idea behind a modular smartphone and applied to a smartwatch. Launching today on Kickstarter, the customizable wearable starts with circular watch face core, and then expands with a wristband where each link is a module offering a variety of features.

Having been in development for some time now, the Blocks watch is now looking to raise $250,000, with a plan to start shipping by May. With 37 days left at the time of writing, the campaign has already surpassed its goal by $25,000.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/blocks-modular-smartwatch-blasts-kickstarter-goal-with-wacky-wearable-13409476/

2016 Chevrolet Volt first drive

Not all electric cars are created equal and, as Chevrolet proved with the first-generation Volt, there’s more than one way to wean drivers off gasoline. Fans of electric vehicles can debate pure-EV, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and any other combination all they like; at the end of the day I’m a pragmatist, and so for me it’s the Volt’s ability to boost fuel-efficiency without introducing range anxiety – and without being too pious in the process – that makes the second-gen 2016 car so appealing.

Read full post here:
https://www.engadget.com/2015/10/02/2016-chevrolet-volt-first-drive/

Galaxy Note 5 gets a Mophie Juice Pack for massive battery time

Just in case users of the already large Samsung Galaxy Note 5 were looking for a larger battery, it’s Mophie to the rescue. Creating another of their battery packs by the name of Juice Pack, Mophie is delivering the Galaxy Note 5 a substantial 60% more life from start to finish. This newest battery pack is also a high-impact protection system with its own brand name: Impact-Isolation System – with rubberized support pads around the entire interior of the case.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/galaxy-note-5-gets-a-mophie-juice-pack-for-massive-battery-time-13409472/

Jabra Steel to bring wireless calls to tradespeople

A Bluetooth headset by the name of Jabra Steel has been introduced this week to bring ruggedness to the market. This headset fits in your ear and is aimed at staying there. This device is made to survive dust, shock, and water, conforming to US military standards in all three key areas of hardcore device survival. This Jabra Steel device works with a 5-year warrantee as well, so even if you do happen to find a way to accidentally bust it, you’re covered.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/jabra-steel-to-bring-wireless-calls-to-tradespeople-13409503/

Ferrari’s monster F12 TdF squeezes 769HP from super-coupe

If your idea of heaven is a super-limited-edition of a car already out of reach for most, then the Ferrari F12 TdF will make you squeal. Actually, the car’s specs alone are probably capable of squeezing a giddy reaction from all but the most restrained of drivers, since Ferraritook the already speedy F12 Berlinetta and then ran it back through the engineering gauntlet.

That added up to a 39 horsepower bump – to a heady 769 HP – and an 11 lb-ft. torque bump – to 520 – from the 6.3-liter V12. Ferrari says it should be super-usable power, too, since you get 80-percent of the torque from just 2,500 rpm.

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Of course, that doesn’t mean the F12 TdF – short for Tour de France, an endurance road race that Ferrari was near-unstoppable in back in the 50s and 60s – has been capped. In fact, it’ll still rev all the way up to a howling 8,500 rpm.

It’s paired with a tweaked version of Ferrari’s F1 DCT transmission, which boasts 6-percent shorter gear ratios, 30-percent faster upshifts, and 40-percent faster downshifts.

Together, they’re good for a 0-62 mph run in 2.9 seconds, while 124 mph arrives in just 7.9 seconds. Ferrari isn’t giving a specific top speed, saying only that the F12 TdF will manage “in excess” of 211 mph.

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Bringing that to a halt are the Italian marque’s single-piece brake calipers, which Ferrari says can take the F12 TdF from 62 mph to a stop in 30.5m, or from 124 mph in 121m.

Most controversial, mind, are likely to be the looks. Ferrari has given the F12 Berlinetta an aero-minded revamp, almost doubling the special edition’s slipperiness through the air while also boosting downforce. Weighs is down around 240 pounds overall.

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Think plenty of carbon fiber, inside and out, and a trimming away of anything that could add unwanted heft for this “racer for the road”. In short, don’t expect a glove compartment, trim for the single-piece carbon fiber doors, or floor mats.

If your wallet is tingling with an incipient purchase, be fast (and well-heeled): Ferrari will only make 799 of the F12 TdF. Pricing is yet to be confirmed.

(slashgear.com)

Moto G (3rd Gen) comes to Republic Wireless to tackle low-end

Republic Wireless is aiming to take on the big guns with the 3rd-generation Moto G, one of the most modest phones on the market. Today they’ve announced that they’re bringing on the device Motorola revealed earlier this year, the device that in our full review made us “nothing but more confident in [Motorola’s] ability to create the best low-cost smartphone line around.” Republic Wireless are also releasing the Moto G 3rd-gen combined with their refund plans, allowing users to get cash for unused cellular data.

The Moto G 3rd gen takes high-end specifications from a few years ago and places them in a so-called “low-end” device today. This machine has a 720p display across 5-inches of real-estate, works with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, and rolls with a 13-megapixel camera.

While the first Moto G worked with a 5-megapixel camera, this 3rd-generation Moto G has come so far that it has a 5-megapixel camera up front – just for taking selfies. You’ll be able to take 720p slo-motion video with the back-facing camera as well as 1080p 30fps video, and there’s a dual-LED (dual tone) flash. Have a peek at our full review in the link beside this paragraph to see how spectacular the photos on this device can be.

Below you’ll see Republic Wireless’ plans with Republic Refund working with this Moto G 3rd-gen release.

Screen Shot 2015-10-13 at 9.40.10 AM

The Moto G 3rd gen will be available from Republic Wireless starting on October 27th for a cool $199 USD. That’s for the 8GB internal storage size version, while the 16GB internal storage size version will cost you $229 USD.

(slashgear.com)

Acer’s Predator X34 gaming monitor is coming to the US

Acer’s impressively-curved Predator X34 gaming monitor is coming to the US, offering 34-inches of QHD resolution along with NVIDIA’s graphics boost. The curved display – the first, Acer points out, to use NVIDIA G-SYNC – has a native 60Hz refresh rate but, unusually, can be overclocked to 100Hz if your system and graphics card support it.

Acer Predator X34 Back View

Meanwhile there’s a 4ms response time, and 14W of built-in amplification with DTS Sound for the stereo speakers tucked under the front edge of the display.

In addition to curving its 21:9 aspect panel around you, the Predator X34 comes on a tilt/height adjustable stand. That can be tweaked for height across a 5-inch range, and tilted from -5 to +35 degrees.

Alternatively, there’s a VESA option for wall-mounting.

Acer Predator X34 Straight On Left Game

Still, it’s really all about the 3440 x 1440 resolution and 300 cd/m2 brightness, though Acer also throws in a four-port USB 3.0 hub alongside the HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 inputs.

Gamers will probably want to make sure they have a G-SYNC-compatible graphics card before they cough up the $1,299.99 Acer is asking, mind.

(slashgear.com)

Toyota shows off tech inside new 2016 Prius

Toyota has many of its hopes pined to the 2016 Prius. Sales of the hybrid could use a boost as stiffer competition from other hybrid and electric cars and standard cars with better fuel economy have started taking sales away from the Prius. Toyota has already unveiled the car and has come back to show off some of the tech inside the 2016 Prius.

Toyota says that the 1.8L VVT-I engine achieves 40% thermal efficiency. One big system that enables such efficiency is the large-volume exhaust gas recirculation system and combustion efficiency improvement. Toyota has redesigned both the transaxle and motor to reduce the combined weight of the components. The motor is more compact giving it an improved power-to-weight ratio.

Toyota shows off tech inside new 2016 Prius

The system has a 20% reduction in mechanical losses through friction compared to the previous model. Toyota also moved to a loss-reduction device in the power control unit that reduces loss by about 20% with a more compact design. Toyota will offer the Prius with Lithium-Ion or Nickel-metal hydride batteries and is able to cram more power into a smaller space to reduce weight and improve cargo space.

prius-2016_2

Toyota also improved torsional rigidity making the car handle better. Prius buyers now get standard bi-LED headlamps that use a single lens for high and low beam operation. Inside the car buyers get a 4.2-inch display screen that shows fuel level and other data on the right side and the left side shows content the driver chooses using a switch on the steering wheel.

(slashgear.com)

Apple debuts 21.5-inch Retina iMac, new Magic Mouse, Trackpad, Keyboard

As has been expected for the last few weeks, Apple today announced the addition of a 21.5-inch Retina iMac to its desktop lineup, offering a 4K display and a starting price of $1,499. Along with this new model, the 27-inch lineup of iMac now all feature 5K Retina displays. As for the new 21.5-inch model, the desktop offers a resolution that is 4.5 times that of Full HD, and the same pixel density as the 5K model.

On the inside, the new 21.5-inch Retina iMac is powered by Intel’s fifth-generation Core processor, and includes an Intel Iris Pro graphics system. The desktop now has two Thunderbolt 2 ports, a 25% wider range of colors thanks to a P3-based color gamut, and the option to upgrade to a hybrid Fusion Drive for $100 more.

Apple says this new 21.5-inch Retina iMac is available starting today, but two non-Retina models are still available at their previous prices of $1,099 and $1,299.

Apple debuts 21.5-inch Retina iMac, new Magic Mouse, Trackpad, Keyboard

Today’s announcement also includes a range of new Magic accessories, namely the Magic Trackpad 2, Magic Mouse 2, and a Magic Keyboard. While all three may look the same on the outside, the internals are very different. The biggest change is that the trio now have rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, with charging handled via a USB Lightning cable.

The Magic Trackpad 2 ($129), the first update to the accessory in five years, now features the Force Touch feature that debuted on the 12-inch Retina MacBook. In addition, the trackpad is now 29% larger than before.

The wireless Magic Keyboard ($99) has been updated with a slimmer profile, which Apple says is 13% smaller, and the new scissor mechanism for its keys, which was also used on the 12-inch MacBook. The Magic Mouse ($79) maintains its original shape, but is lighter and has a much smoother glide across surfaces.

The new keyboard and mouse will be included with new iMacs from today, while all three accessories can also be purchased individually from the Apple Store starting now.

(slashgear.com)

Snapchat shutters its original content channel

Snapchat’s Snap Channel, a feature for showcasing the messaging platform’s original content, including videos, stories, and even shows, is being shut down roughly five months after its debut. This news comes from Deadline, which adds that the company has laid off the staff that handled creation and curation of original content, along with the departure of Marcus Wiley, Fox’s former co-head of comedy development, which was hired by Snapchat to lead its own program development.

Snapchat shutters its original content channel

Snap Channel was originally located on the app’s Discover tab, which hosts other ad-supported content. The feature was removed from the app just a few weeks ago, with the impression being that it was to return soon, however Snapchat has confirmed Deadline‘s report.

Snapchat indicated that the necessary changes to Snap Chanel, not to mention the cost of the original scripted “shows,” were too expensive to justify. The Discover tab will remain, however, showcasing content from partners like BuzzFeed, Vice, ESPN, Yahoo, and Comedy Central.

The first show to accompany the rollout of Snap Channel in January wasLiterally Can’t Even, which was written by and starred Sasha Spielberg and Emily Goldwyn, detailing the daily life of two 20-somethings. Unsurprisingly, it was widely panned by critics and Snapchat users.

(slashgear.com)

Magellan eXplorist TRX7 is made for off-road adventurers

Most personal navigation device or PNDs focus on safely getting you from point A to point B via the quickest normal route available. Magellan’s new device, on the other hand, lets you take the route of the most fun. Targeted at the 4×4 and Powersports market, the eXplorist TRX7 does just what its name says. It gives drivers who love off-road treks the tools to map out their path, using the latest available map data. It even lets them save those trails, add pictures, and, yes, share on social media.

Of course, the eXplorist TRX7 would have regular highway maps too, but its core focus is on the adventurous driver ready to blaze a trail of his or her own. But that requires planning, and planning requires data. That is way the device comes preloaded with over 44,000 trails, high resolution 3D terrain maps, 2D topographical base maps with elevation contour lines, utility stations, and crowd-sourced, 3rd party trail guides. You can filter out the information you need, depending on the level of your spirit of adventure and safety boundaries, ranging from difficulty, duration, and awesomeness. Yes, that last one is an actual criteria.

The device itself tries to match the tough and rugged nature of the beasts that contain it, with a weather proof 7-inch LCD screen and IP67 rating. That said, it isn’t as tough on the internals, driven by a dual-core Cortex-A9 processor with 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of expandable storage and an old Android 4.2 OS. It comes with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Interestingly, Magellan is also selling the idea of using the device for spreading the word about off-road adventures. From crowd-sourced additions to its maps and data to sharing trails and experiences through social networks, the eXplorist TRX7 is being presented not simply as a navigation device but also as a gateway to a community of like-minded drivers.

The Magellan eXplorist TRK7 goes on sale this month for $599.99.

(slashgear.com)

BMW 7 Welcome Light Carpet shows you where your car is

If trying to walk through a poorly lit parking lot weren’t exasperating enough, struggling to find where your car and its door is could very well be.

Imagine if you could, at the push of a button on the key fob, shine a light on the problem. That’s exactly what BMW did with its BMW 7 Series and its new “Welcome Light Carpet” feature that illumines the ground on both sides of the car, guiding owners to the safety and comfort of their high-tech, luxurious car.

Truth be told, this isn’t the first nor the only such lighting solution employed by car makers today. Some install the lights on the exterior mirror. But when you open the door, the project light also moves away from the intended target. Some place the lights at the bottom of the door, much closer to the ground. However, the light actually doesn’t hit the ground until the door is already opened, rendering it practically useless.

Thanks to research from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena, BMW was able to place the light where it matters the most: on the underbody of the car. In essence, the system uses microoptic lenses to project light on the ground, covering four square meters, in a striped pattern that leads from the back of the car all the way up to the door and continues to illuminate the correct area even when the door has been opened. The light show is accomplished by utilizing extremely small projectors grouped together in a honeycomb pattern. The number of projectors only increases the intensity of the light but doesn’t increase thickness of the light array, allowing the engineers to fit them on underbody of the car.

And in case you think that putting a light array underneath the car would be a recipe for disaster, at least for the lights, the researchers have of course thought of that as well. The array faces away from the direction of the car’s travel, which protects it against stone and dust thrown up by the car’s movements. Although dirt might be a bit of a problem, it can only reduce the intensity of the light produced. Thanks to the multitude of projectors used, 150 in BMW’s implementation, the light can never be completely obscured.

Fraunhofer’s technology is now a part of every BMW 7 Series car, but that, of course, isn’t where it ends. IOF Microoptic Systems department head Dr. Andreas Bräuer envisions the array lighting technology to also be of benefit to other industries, like in safety, engineering, and medical applications.

(slashgear.com)

Android Wear ELE Watch’s price sounds too good to be true

While smartwatches have become a thing nowadays, they still aren’t the widely accepted consumer electronics product that smartphones are these days. Aside from the fact that smartwatches are still quite novel, one of the biggest hurdles to their adoption is budget. Android Wear smartwatches, for example, have long gone past the $200 mark. And let’s not even talk about an Apple Watch’s price tag. So when Chinese OEM Elephone promises an Android Wear powered ELE Watch with a $115 figure, consider our interest, and our wallet, piqued.

Android Wear ELE Watch’s price sounds too good to be true

Hardware-wise, the ELE Watch is your typical Android Wear smartwatch, with a 1.5-inch 320×320 circular watch face. Interestingly, retailer GearBest lists RAM and ROM as 4 GB and 32 GB, respectively, which is more likely a clerical error than a technological breakthrough. It will probably be around 512 MB and 4 GB instead. One interesting thing about the specs is the processor. Almost all Android Wear devices go with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 these days, just with a few cores disable to throttle down heat and battery use. The ELE Watch, on the other hand, will go with a MediaTek MTK2601. This is a 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor that was specifically designed for wearables. It will be interesting to see how the two will compare.

In terms of design, the ELE Watch isn’t exactly spectacular, but thankfully it isn’t lackluster either. The round metal body does give off a tinge of quality. The straps are said to be swappable, which gives hope that it could be used with normal watch straps as well. And when it comes to features, the smartwatch is as you would expect. Heart rate monitor, IP67 water resistance, a 400 mAh battery, and even Wi-Fi.

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But the real pull of the ELE Watch will be its price tag. At $115, it is half the price of the cheapest Android Wear smartwatch and just a little above the non-Android Wear Pebble. If this could start a trend in the market, it could make the smartwatch a more accessible, feasible, and practical device that anyone can get their hands, or wrists, on. Sadly, there is no news weather the ELE Watch will actually come to primary markets in the West, but there are retailers always ready to ship there for a price.

(slashgear.com)

Toshiba dynaPad 2-in-1 puts Wacom back in the spotlight

When Microsoft switched to N-Trig for the Surface Pro 3 and again for the new Surface Pro 4, it necessarily had to push Wacom to the background. While the higher profile maker of graphics tools might not have been affected dramatically, it became less the talk of the town when it came to stylus-enabled Windows tablets. But with Toshiba’s new dynaPad 2-in-1, Wacom is again front and center. Even Microsoft dubs it a digital notebook, putting emphasis on its writing and drawing talents, thanks to Wacom’s active digitizer.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/toshiba-dynapad-2-in-1-puts-wacom-back-in-the-spotlight-13409354/

Canon PowerShot G5 X, EOS M10 now official, G9 X included

Canon has finally given the official word on the its new digital cameras, one from the EOS M family and two from the high performance PowerShot line. Much of what we’ve seen last time meshes with the formal announcement, but you know what they say about details and devils. The EOS M10 puts a new interchangeable lens on a digital compact to appeal to what Canon calls the Social Media Generation, while the PowerShot G5 X and G9 X expand the choices that professional photographers have when taking shots on the go.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/canon-powershot-g5-x-eos-m10-now-official-g9-x-included-13409335/

ZTE launches “3D touch” AXON mini, Tencent OS AXON Watch

ZTE seems to have found a new sweet spot in the mobile industry apart from its older nubia brand. The new AXON line, which began as a pleasant surprise with the ZTE Axon last July, is now welcoming two new additions to its family. ZTE claims that the AXON mini smartphone is the first in the market to have the equivalent of Apple’s 3D Touch technology on the iPhone 6s. The AXON Watch, on the other hand, is one of the very few smartwatches running on Tencent OS.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/zte-launches-3d-touch-axon-mini-tencent-os-axon-watch-12409324/

A controversial tax loophole could cut $25k off Tesla’s Model X

Tesla probably prefers you to think of the Model X as more than just a humble truck, but that classification could save some owners thousands of dollars in tax breaks. The electric SUV, the first – very few – deliveries of which began late last month, is heavy enough to tip it into a lucrative and controversial tax bracket which some truck buyers have used to save considerably on luxury vehicles.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/a-controversial-tax-loophole-could-cut-25k-off-teslas-model-x-12409274/

Android Marshmallow update: every phone announced so far

Today we’re having a peek at the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update list – every smartphone whose maker has given the thumbs up so far. This includes phones from Samsung, HTC, and Sony, as well a Google’s own Nexus smartphones – and a few tablets, too. LG and Motorola are here as well. This bit of comprehensive Marshmallow update comes courtesy of our previous reports as well as updates released by manufacturers and/or wireless carriers (the former more than the latter) over the past week or two.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/android-marshmallow-update-every-phone-announced-so-far-12409267/

Three everyday challenges that make us worry for Surface Book

Microsoft’s Surface Book is under examination this month – rightly so – as it appears to be the company’s first real-deal notebook. Today we’re having a peek at five points that explore what this device will be like in real life. Will the device’s many features be as positive as they appeared during the company’s presentation, or will they fail the test of real-life usability? Today we start with the magnetic pen, then move on to the gap, and decide whether or not we’ll need to flip the screen while we’re standing up.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/three-everyday-challenges-that-make-us-worry-for-surface-book-12409188/

3 things to know about the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows

Windows gaming fans and Xbox gaming fans might argue about whose platform is better, but they generally agree on Microsoft’s controllers. Until now, though, if you’ve wanted to use an Xbox One gamepad with your Windows PC or tablet, you’ll have had to plug in a microUSB cable.

Sometimes that works out okay – it certainly does away with issues of charging the gamepad – but wireless can definitely be easier if your PC is in an unusual place or just too far away from where you want to game.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/3-things-to-know-about-the-xbox-wireless-adapter-for-windows-12409160/

Rinspeed Etos driverless concept car features a drone landing pad

It’s the season for major auto shows and new concept cars are debuting all around the world in the coming months. Rinspeed is waiting until January to show off its latest concept car and rather than doing it at a major auto show, Rinspeed has chosen to debut its car at CES 2016. CES is increasingly becoming a place for high-tech cars to be shown off and unveiled.

The Rinpseed concept is called the Etos and it is a driverless vehicle capable of taking you where you want to go with little input from a driver. When in autonomous mode, the steering wheel folds up and retracts into the dash.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/rinspeed-etos-driverless-concept-car-features-a-drone-landing-pad-12409145/

Cortana on Xbox One unlocked by special key combo

Microsoft has more or less dashed hopes that Cortana will be coming to theXbox One like an early Christmas gift this November, revealing that Microsoft’s AI helper won’t be fully activated until early next year. Of course, early testers will be able to get an appetizer before everyone else but, at least for now, even they are locked out of the experience. At least officially. Unofficially, there apparently is a way to force Cortana to appear on the New Xbox One Experience preview, thanks to a few presses of a controller button.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/cortana-on-xbox-one-unlocked-by-special-key-combo-12409127/

Early BlackBerry Priv hands on yield a mixed bag

After a string of near misses, it seems that BlackBerry has finally managed to drum up a lot of hype for an upcoming smartphone. Standing for Privacy and Privilege, the BlackBerry Priv is quite the talk of the town, partly because it seems to be BlackBerry’s admission of defeat, and partly because of the now rare slider form. But as they always say, looks can be deceiving and a couple of preliminary hands on experiences paint a picture of a Priv that has just as many warts as it has beauty points.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/early-blackberry-priv-hands-on-yield-a-mixed-bag-12409116/