Anker's Echo Dot Alternative Is Just $30 Right Now, Plus Three Months of Amazon Music http://ift.tt/2vkyCp8
Launched under Anker’s home brand, Eufy, the Genie starts at $35- the lowest price so far on Amazon’s analog, the Dot, but today the barrier to entry to the Alexa ecosystem gets even lower at just 30 bucks. Even better, new subscribers to Amazon Music Unlimited get three months free with their Genie purchase. Read all about the Genie here: Gadget News via Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com August 28, 2017 at 09:30AM
0 Comments
Apple said to unveil 'iPhone 8,' 'iPhone 7s' and more at Sept. 12 event http://ift.tt/2vx1Vk0 Apple's highly anticipated product unveiling is reportedly set to take place in just a few weeks -- on Tuesday, Sept. 12 -- where the company is expected to introduce the all-new "iPhone 8," as well as other products. Gadget News via AppleInsider - Frontpage News http://appleinsider.com August 28, 2017 at 09:11AM
http://ift.tt/2xqLhUN
Apple reportedly holding iPhone event on September 12th http://ift.tt/2giq4Iz Apple is reportedly holding an event on September 12th to launch the next iPhone, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The company is expected to release three new devices — a new flagship device (possibly called the iPhone 8), with a new edge-to-edge OLED display and 3D face scanning technology, along with updated versions of the current iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that are rumored to add an updated glass back design and wireless charging. Apple has yet to send out invitations to any September event, but given that August is rapidly ending, it’s likely only a matter of time at this point. Gadget News via The Verge http://ift.tt/1jLudMg August 28, 2017 at 09:10AM
http://img.youtube.com/vi/GrOmKKSRu8c/0.jpg
Insta360 One is a 4K 360 camera with smart tricks http://ift.tt/2xqQoEn For those who haven't been following, earlier Insta360 released a montage of cool sample clips to tease its upcoming camera's bullet-time video capability. What baffled me at the time was how those slow-motion shots orbited around a person with his upright arm seemingly holding onto something, except there was no visible string nor selfie stick to suggest that the camera was being swung around. Well, as it turns out, I was wrong, but there's no need to be disappointed -- it actually takes a lot more than just a piece of string to achieve this bullet-time effect. The camera, which has just been unveiled as the Insta360 One, is the latest 360 camera designed to deceive naive folks like myself. This is the company's second 4K-capable compact device following the aptly-named Insta360 4K but at about half the price -- just $299.90. Unlike the older model, the One lacks WiFi connectivity for remote view, but it does come with an 8GB microSD card to get you started. The One shoots video at either 3,840 x 1,920 at 30 fps or 2,560 x 1,280 at 60 fps (both with LOG format option), and it can take 24-megapixel stills (6,912 x 3,456) with RAW format option -- apparently a first for a consumer-grade 360 camera -- followed by HDR capture later. Much like the 3K-only Nano, the One can be used as a standalone 360 camera (using the power button or via Bluetooth) or as an iPhone dongle using its retractable Lightning plug (an Android version is due to arrive by the end of the year). It's also gained a couple of new use methods. For one, the kit comes with a short plastic tube that houses the device on the deeper end to protect its two lenses, while the shallower end lets you mount the device so that the tube can be used as a stand. Alternatively, you can also mount the camera on any standard tripod, monopod, selfie stick or even the bundled string attachment using its 1/4"-20 screw thread. Needless to say, one of the main selling points of the One is the aforementioned bullet time mode. This trick is a combination of the device's six-axis image stabilization, powerful 120 fps capture at 720p (which can be boosted to 240 fps via interpolation using the companion app), some video magic to erase evidence of tethering plus a little bit of manual work using one arm. Once the power button's triple-tap toggle has been mapped to bullet time capture (via settings in the app), simply mount the One on the bundled string attachment or an optional selfie stick, turn it on, tap its power button three times and then start swinging it above your head at a modest pace (with the risk of getting funny looks from folks nearby). When done, simply hit the power button once to stop recording, and then you can plug the camera into your iPhone for playback, editing and exporting. Perhaps an even more useful feature coming from the One is its app's FreeCapture tool -- a "shoot first, point later" concept that's clearly going after the upcoming GoPro Fusion's OverCapture feature. This one's super easy: just load up a 360 clip in FreeCapture mode, treat your phone as if it's a conventional video camera at the time of capture (this relies on the phone's gyroscope), then simply pan around and zoom in or out -- all the way to the cute "tiny planet" view, if you want -- as you desire for your new "director's cut" in 1080p. Similarly, there's a SmartTrack editing tool that can automatically output a 1080p clip based on the subject that you want to be tracked in a 360 clip. For existing Insta360 users who already have a library of fun 360 clips, a company rep pointed out that you can actually side-load any 360 clip from older cameras to the One's microSD card, in order to tinker with it using FreeCapture. That said, there are currently no plans to update the other cameras' apps with FreeCapture, which is all the more reason for existing Insta360 users to upgrade to the One. Source: Insta360 Gadget News via Engadget http://www.engadget.com August 28, 2017 at 09:09AM
http://img.youtube.com/vi/lrqD-NNBMWk/0.jpg
Insta360 One early preview: fantastic, when it works http://ift.tt/2xr9dr6 This could be an amazing 360-degree camera once the software is finished. The folks at Insta360 have been doing some cool things when it comes to inexpensive 360-cameras that connect directly to your phone, but the next big thing from this company is a high quality Bluetooth-controlled camera that also connects directly to the iPhone when you need it. It's called the Insta360 One, and while I've been using the camera for about a week now the very early version of the hardware and software I have access to leaves me unable to offer up a full review just yet. Instead, here's a look at the experiences I've had so far. Thin, sleek designUnlike the Insta360 Air, this new camera has its own battery and is designed to be used without your phone. This works in two key ways, in your hand or with the remote app on your phone. Instead of designing the camera body to stand up on its own, the Insta360 One uses a separate stand to dock the camera into. This dock helps make the camera sturdy, and doubles as the case and in-hand grip for the camera. As nice as it may be to have a standalone camera that stands up without an accessory, it's never a great idea to be very far from a case for your 360-degree camera to keep the protruding lenses protected. At the base of the camera you'll find a standard camera screw, so the camera can be attached to standard tripods. The lens placement on this camera is a little unusual. Instead of being right next to one another, the lenses are staggered slightly on the shaft of the camera. This design decision means the cameras aren't separated by quite as much plastic, like we see on the Samsung Gear 360, but it also means the sphere is off-center which could cause stitching issues. This camera has a single button on it, but you do a lot with it. Tapping once powers the camera on and controls the shutter. Tapping twice activated Video, and tapping three times activates a special mode that can be programmed from within the app. There's no display on the camera, so you have to learn a series of blinking green, blue, and red lights to figure out what is happening. It's not too complicated, but you will need to spend the first couple of days with the manual close by. Perhaps the most important feature of the hardware is the way you can dock into the bottom of the iPhone when you want to. This lets you take photos straight from the phone, but also allows for much faster data transfer when editing a bunch of photos or video. It's an amazingly convenient feature to have, but doesn't allow you to charge the camera with this connector. If you want to charge the camera, you'll need to use the included microUSB cable. While this new camera isn't the most pocketable thing in the world, Insta360 scores lots of points for portability and functionality. The body is lightweight and feels sturdy, and the included case keeps the lenses safer than most other included cases. There's even a special tether in the box for a new feature Insta360 calls "bullet time" mode, which is nice. It's a complete thought, something Insta360 clearly thought about when assembling for its users. Barely functional software and firmwareA 360-degree camera is only as good as its software, and in that area this particular camera still has a lot to prove. What I've been using for the last week has been pre-production software, and getting things set up was a challenge. Most of the written text was in Chinese until an update a couple of days ago, and on several occasions features that seemed clearly labeled didn't work as advertising. For example, I never once got the HDR photo option to work in the earlier version of the app. The option isn't even there in the most recent version. The stitching pattern for a lot of the photos and videos captures have a slight line that can be clearly seen, but in many shots the stitch is slightly off center. The software has an option for stitch correction, which helps quite a bit, but it's an odd option to have to select instead of having enabled by default when images don't line up just right. But the most egregious issues came with the most exciting feature the camera uses to set itself apart from the crowd. Insta360 calls it bullet time, and the promo to show you what it is capable of looks cool as hell. After five failed attempts to get the video to correctly record this special mode, the last software update finally included the editing tools to make it work. When it did finally work, this is what I got. All of this can be chalked up to unfinished software that really shouldn't have been sent out to people being asked to test the camera. There are plenty of things this camera does well in the user interface. This is the only camera I've used that makes streaming to more than just Facebook something you can simply do with a button press. You can stream to any RTMP server, and if you know how to set one of those up it's a nice feature to have. Streaming to Facebook is also dead simple, which is unsurprising given how well the previous cameras from Insta360 offer the same feature with ease. Insta360 also includes an incredibly capable editor in the app for photos and video. Where most competing apps limit you to simple filters, Insta360's collection of tools is remarkably verbose. Right down to being able to edit slow motion phases in video or the ability to add a watermark in photos and videos, it's an impressive collection of tools. The only part that feels limiting is an inability to edit RAW photos when you choose to take them. Instead of an editor, you're provided with an error box inviting you to edit the photo on your computer instead. While it's clearly unfinished software, this camera and its app show a lot of promise. Expect this section to be updated heavily if the app continues to get its act together. Wait a bit before picking one of these upInsta360 is planning to start shipping these cameras on September 5, and if everything about the software was fully baked it might be easy to say this $299 camera is one of the best you can buy today. After all, shooting video in 4K and grabbing sharp 24MP photos is awesome, but it's just not ready to use in its current form. Based on the previous examples with Insta360 cameras suggests this is going to quickly change, but for right now this camera is difficult to recommend. If that changes, expect this recommendation to change. Gadget News via iMore - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog https://www.imore.com/ August 28, 2017 at 09:08AM
http://ift.tt/2vCWSOr
This $20 UPS can keep your home network connected when the power goes out http://ift.tt/2wbcKen Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with a great deal on APC's home network UPS! There's nothing worse than losing power in the middle of an important project and losing all of your data along with it. Having your devices connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a smart choice, and one you'll thank yourself for making. Right now you can pick up APC's Back-UPS Connected battery backup for just $19.66, a savings of around $10 from its regular price. This option is perfect for hooking up your Wi-Fi router, modem, and even devices like your VoIP phone system, Echo Dot and more. It can provide up to 3 hours of additional power to these devices if you do happen to lose power, and it also helps prevent against damages from power surges.
This is the lowest price we've seen on this UPS, so be sure to grab one now if you are interested. More from Thrifter:For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now! Gadget News via iMore - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog https://www.imore.com/ August 28, 2017 at 09:08AM
https://www.youtube.com/embed/CD44d5JpoJA?rel=0&
Insta360 One is a 360-degree camera with a really clever trick up its sleeve http://ift.tt/2wbF5kN Shenzen-based Insta360 has been making 360-degree cameras for a few years now, but — like most consumer 360-degree cameras — none of them have been anything terribly special. The resolution is usually spotty, the image stitching is noticeable, and they don’t help solve the problem of when, where, and how we should use 360 cameras. That changes today with new $299 Insta360 One. The shape of a Beats Pill speaker, but the size of small sausage link, the new camera won’t blow you away with high quality imagery. (It uses two cameras to shoot, in total, 4K at 30 frames per second, and captures 24-megapixel stills — all about par for the course for current consumer 360 cameras.) But it does offer something that makers of 360-degree cameras have seemed to be heading towards for a little while now: the ability to pluck a photo or a 1080p frame of video from the 360-degree photos and videos that you shoot. With the Insta360 One, you shoot 360-degree videos and photos like you normally would. You can set the camera up on a tripod, or hold it steady in an outstretched hand (it has, surprisingly, fantastic gyroscopic stabilization for a tiny little camera) and capture the world around you. Those photos and videos look fine. The breathtaking difference is that afterwards capture. Insta360 calls it “FreeCapture,” saying you can “shoot first, point later.” Here’s the way it works: when you’re playing back a 360-degree photo on your phone, you spin and pinch and zoom the image until you’ve framed up a 16:9, 4:3, or even 1:1 composition that you like. Then just one tap of the button saves a full-resolution still of that newly-composed 2D image to your phone. The same goes for video, though the process is a little different. With video, you shoot in 360 degrees, and then during playback, you can actually pan around the sphere of imagery by moving your phone like you would when you’re shooting a video. It’s as if you have stepped back into that part of the world where you and your camera originally were and were given the opportunity to shoot it all over again. It honestly feels like magic. That ability completely changed how I typically use 360-degree cameras. Over the weekend, I was walking my dog with the camera in my hand, and we ran into another dog that she plays with. As they started wrestling on the sidewalk, I just tapped the camera’s shutter button twice to start a video. I didn’t hold the camera up and out away from me, and I didn’t have to pull my iPhone out of my pocket and risk dropping it or distracting the dogs. I just kept the Insta360 One by my side with my arm hanging down, knowing full well that half the 360-degree sphere was being blocked by my body. And yet, later, I was able to pull all the action out of the 360-degree frame and save it as one normal video. The video looks better than anything else I could have shot in that situation. It’s like there was a third person standing right next to me filming the dogs on their own phone. Now, the Insta360 One’s app is still awfully buggy, and the camera — which you can shoot with hand-held, or with it plugged into the bottom of your iPhone while connected via lightning cable (an Android version is on the way) — isn’t the best-made thing in the world. (It doesn’t quite sit flush with the bottom of my iPhone 7, for example.) I also fear, like with most 360-degree cameras, that the dual lenses will get scratched because of how exposed they are. I haven’t had nearly enough time with it to say anything for sure about how durable it is, both on the outside and inside. You also still need to be really close (within five to 10 feet) to your subjects for any of this to work well — another video I shot at a baseball game, even from the front row, was less impressive. And, like I said before, the quality isn’t that great. You need plenty more resolution from spherical video (8K or higher, really) before the imagery looks as good as we all inherently expect video to look, and so pulling a 1080p video out of the Insta360 One’s 4K frame means you’re left with a cell-phone quality video at best. But you can do it. And it’s far more compelling a use case for a 360-degree camera than what’s been offered by anyone else who’s sold one to date. 360-degree cameras are an fascinating new technology in the photography world, but for the first time, I’m actually excited to keep using one. Gadget News via The Verge http://ift.tt/1jLudMg August 28, 2017 at 09:03AM
http://ift.tt/2xqJrDo
Hulu adds the CW to its live TV service http://ift.tt/2wbwNtf If you're using Hulu's new live TV service for your cord-cutting needs, you'll find a new network available soon. Hulu just announced that the CW (home to shows like Jane The Virgin, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash) will be available to stream live. That's the fifth major broadcast network to join Hulu, alongside Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC. Naturally, this means you'll be able to watch any of those aforementioned CW shows live when they air; additionally, Hulu will be adding the local station broadcasts so that you'll see the same programming that you'd see when watching over the air. It's not clear yet when Hulu subscribers will have access to this content, though. The company says it'll roll out "in the coming months," so you probably won't be able to just turn on Hulu today and see the CW live. The good news is that the current season of the network's shows will be available on-demand. CW's shows have been on and off Hulu over the years; it's a bummer not to get the full run, but you'll at least be able to stay current. This comes after a month that saw Hulu expand where you can watch its live TV service. Hulu recently added support for Mac, PC, the Xbox 360 and Amazon's Fire TV family -- that's in addition to devices like Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, the PS4 and Xbox One. But getting another major content source is probably the best improvement that Hulu could have made. The interface may still be a bit wonky and it's still missing some important content providers, but more options are never a bad thing. Gadget News via Engadget http://www.engadget.com August 28, 2017 at 09:03AM
http://ift.tt/2xxtFFW
Report: Apple to Unveil New iPhone and Apple Watch at Event on September 12 http://ift.tt/2wW1mnt Apple will hold a product event on September 12, according to CNBC and The Wall Street Journal sources. Apple Inc. has scheduled a product announcement event on Sept. 12, according to people briefed on its plans, reinforcing expectations that the technology giant will release new iPhones and a smartwatch well ahead of the holiday shopping season.More to follow…
Tag: September 2017 event
Discuss this article in our forums Gadget News via MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - Front Page http://ift.tt/1ZNziIk August 28, 2017 at 08:55AM
http://ift.tt/2vloqN7
Icons discovered in WatchOS 4 beta suggest Apple will support more workouts http://ift.tt/2xGeCK1 Apple's planning to release WatchOS 4 to Apple Watch wearers in the near future, and up until now, we haven't heard much about how workouts will change. Today, however, iHelp BR says it's discovered a host of new icons that it thinks indicate support for a wider variety of workouts. The icons depict the following activities: badminton, barre, baseball, step training, surfing, sailing, skating, snow sports, pilates, paddle sports, kickboxing, jump rope, lacrosse, stretching, functional strength training, golf, fishing, fencing, equestrian sports, downhill skiing, dance, curling, cross training, cricket, cross-country skiing, core training, bowling, boxing, and climbing. This is what some of the icons look like, but head over to iHelp BR if you want to see them all. Users can already select workouts from the watch's workout app, including outdoor walk, elliptical, and open water swim. They could also already define their own workout through the "other" tab by simply naming the activity they're doing, which lets them revisit it later. Some of these new icons are already included under other, like badminton and barre, although the watch doesn’t actually track those specific activities, it just saves the workouts that way. However, these new icons could suggest "official" support both in terms of tracking and through visual representation. Given that WatchOS 4 will ship with a new interface for workouts, we'll likely see these icons used there. Gadget News via The Verge http://ift.tt/1jLudMg August 28, 2017 at 08:49AM |
CategoriesArchives
October 2020
|