If you have dreams of recording your own aerial footage of a baseball game using a drone, you’ll want to put them on ice. The FAA has issued a warning to all pilots that they’ll be fined or imprisoned if they fly remote-controlled aircraft too close to large sports venues (specifically, within 3 miles and under 3,000 feet) during events. The heads-up is ultimately an extension of an existing no-fly notice, but it represents the first time that the FAA has explicitly outlined criminal penalties for flying drones in restricted airspace — it’s not just promising tougher rules. You probably won’t object to these particular guidelines if you like your sports distraction-free, but the notice suggests that other crackdowns might be coming soon.
[Image credit: Leon Halip/Getty Images]
At a briefing earlier today, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata explained that the company was now developing a device to monitor sleep and levels of fatigue. However, it didn’t sound like it would be a wearable device — even though it’s the done thing. According to a Reuters report, the device would track you from your bedside and is currently being co-developed with Resmed. The US-based company typically makes products for people with sleep disorders. It will form part of its new healthcare division inside the gamesmaker, marking a return to wellness hardware: something it has already touched on, way back, with the Wii Fit board.
Xiaomi, the smartphone of choice in China, just had a really good few months selling phones. According to Strategy Analytics, it reckon the new phone maker is now the third largest smartphone maker in the world, trailing only Samsung and Apple. Its shipments have tripled in the space of a year, now up to 18 million in Q3 2014, while its share of the smartphone has also more than doubled, shifting from 2.1 to 5.6 percent. Those sales also make it the 5th largest phone manufacturer (including cheaper feature phones). While Samsung (24.7 percent) and Apple (12.3 percent) still dominate, LG’s recent good run, selling a record number of phones, has also moved it to fourth. Barring making it big in India, we’re looking to see what Xiaomi’s going to do next.
Lenovo seems to be coming full circle. After knocking our socks off with the original Yoga, a 13-inch Ultrabook whose screen could fold all the way back, the company followed up with a spinoff product called the Yoga Tablet. Today, the lineup includes both Android and Windows tablets, mostly in the 8- and 10-inch range. Now, though, Lenovo is blurring the lines: Its new 13-inch Yoga Tablet 2 is the same size as its ultraportable laptops, except it has a kickstand that folds out of the back, and the optional keyboard doesn’t attach to the device.
Read the Full Story 0 Comments Share
It looks like the curtains have been raised early on Microsoft’s attempt to join the wearable game. Windows Central points out that sync apps have appeared in the Mac and Android app stores (update: and Microsoft’s), set to personalize and track data for your “Microsoft Band.” Rumors had pointed to a fitness tracker more than a watch that could debut within weeks, and judging by the apps that’s just what we’ll get. According to the Google Play, Windows Phone Store and iTunes listings, the device itself has more in common with Nike’s FuelBand than the what we’ve seen from Apple and Google so far. That includes tracking steps, heartbeat, calories burned and sleep quality. 9to5Mac linked a privacy agreement that goes into even deeper detail about what else it can do, namely display notifications from your mobile device or take notes and set reminders with Cortana.
Update: Microsoft confirmed that the Band will go on sale for $199 Thursday in its online and physical stores, to US customers only, in “limited quantities.” Designed by Quentin Morris (who also developed the Xbox One controller), it carries ten sensors onboard to measure things from heart rate to UV exposure to stress levels, and can last as much as 48 hours on a single charge. As indicated by the apps, it’s ready to work with whatever mobile platform you bring to the table, but with its built-in GPS, you can go running without a phone and still track your workout.
Read the Full Story 0 Comments Share
Confirming its own estimates from earlier this month, Samsung announced tonight that it accumulated an operating profit of $3.9 billion in Q3. That’s not a bad haul for most companies in the July to September period, but last year Samsung proudly celebrated a record profit of $9.6 billion and now it’s down to less than half that. Now the company is breaking down the reasons behind the drop, and everything starts with the flagship Galaxy S smartphones. Reuters notes that phones drove its growth over the last couple of years, but profits in that area dropped from 6.7 trillion Korean won last year, to 1.75 trillion in the same period this year.
That drop came as a result of price cuts for older phones and “declined shipments” of high-end models. Even slightly higher sales of midrange smartphones apparently weren’t enough to right the ship, and the Galaxy Note 4 hasn’t been on sale long enough to contribute. Worse, the phone sales have an effect across the company for its display, memory and CPU businesses. It expects to sell more Ultra HD and curved TVs to close out 2014, but investors will likely be more interested in how it responds to cheaper Chinese phone manufacturers.
Itching to know more about the large-screened Nexus 6? We have you covered. What about HP’s new Sprout all-in-one and “Multi Fusion Jet” 3D printer? You bet! Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours, including the Oppo N3, Google Nexus Player and more.
YouTube promised that you’d see many videos playing at a brisk 60 frames per second this year, and it looks like the streaming site has made good on its word. While there were a few 60FPS test clips in the spring, you can now see regular uploads with silky smooth motion. There are some fairly strict conditions you’ll need to meet before you see these high-quality videos, mind you. You’ll have to watch in Chrome at HD resolution, and the content providers naturally have to upload 60FPS content in the first place. Provided all the stars align, though, you’re in for a good time — it’s not often that you can watch video game replays at the same quality that you’d get from a console in your living room.
[Image credit: MK8 Records, YouTube]
Read the Full Story 0 Comments Share
The swipe left or right method of match making has helped Tinder rise in popularity since its debut two years ago. In a report from The New York Times, we get a glimpse at just how folks are using the app. In the aforementioned time frame, the mobile software is said to be approaching 50 million users as it sorts over a billion swipe-based likes/dislikes every day. As far as average user stats go, a typical user logs in 11 times a day, spending an hour and a half perusing. Women tend to browse a smidge longer than men per session though — staying 8.5 minutes versus 7.2 for the fellas. In terms of “likes,” male users swipe right on 46 percent of the snapshots they view, which is almost three times more often than female Tinder enthusiasts. With premium features on the way for scouting other locales, it’ll be interesting to see how the outfit maintains its growing audience.
If your 4K project will be beamed onto millions of TVs or movie screens, “close enough” color accuracy won’t cut it. LG wants to help with the 31MU97 Display Cinema 4K monitor, a 31-inch, 4,096 x 2,160, 19 x 10 ratio display with 10-bit color that can cover 99.5 percent of the AdobeRGB spectrum. That’ll work well for photographers, but it’ll also suit moviemakers thanks to the Dual Color Space mode. When switched, it’ll reproduce 97 percent of the “DCI-P3″ color space used by filmmakers to grade digital cinema camera footage. It will also work on a PC or Mac, thanks to Thunderbolt support. Such displays can run breathtaking sums, but the 31MU97 looks more reasonable — it’s listed on LG’s Australian site at $2,499 Australian dollars ($2,195 or so). It’ll hit stores this week in the US, Germany, the UK and Australia, followed by other parts of the world in November.
This article is automatically posted by WP-AutoPost : WordPress AutoBlog plugin
Add Custom Links, WP-AutoPost
Engadget | Technology News, Advice and Features
No comments:
Post a Comment