Samsung To Offer An Oculus-Powered Gear VR For Galaxy S6 And S6 Edge

Samsung continues investing in the future of mobile virtual reality, with a brand new version of Gear VR designed specifically to work with the new Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones. The Gear VR still carries the ‘Innovator Edition’ tag that means it’s aimed primarily at bleeding edge tech enthusiasts and developers than the general public, and it continues to use Oculus technology to power the software and VR mechanics, but it’s designed to work specifically with the Galaxy S6’s new ultra-high resolution 577 ppi 5.1-inch Quad HD display.

The denser display means users will get reduced pixelation on this iteration of Gear VR, Samsung says, and longer usage time thanks to battery improvements. It’s also much smaller than the Gear VR set designed for the Note 4, with an overall 15 percent reduction (196mm x 107.9 mm x 82.9 mm to be exact) for the newest headset. Samsung’s new 14nm Exynos Octacore also offers better computing capabilities for powering VR experiences, and it now supports power in via its USB port ofor longer use sessions.

Prior to this launch, we speculated about whether Samsung would do something to make the existing Gear VR compatible with its new flagship, or whether they’d do something dedicated, and it looks like we have our answer. It’s still not a genuine, general use consumer VR headset, but it’s another step along that path, and one that should power a lot more interesting feedback, given the larger likely user pool of Galaxy S6 buyers, vs. Note 4 purchasers.

from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/cGT2A76tSHo/

via IFTTT

Samsung Pay Takes On Apple Pay This Summer With LoopPay’s MST Tech

Samsung has a new mobile payment solution it announced today, though it will require a few more months before it arrives on the new Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones this summer. It’s called Samsung Pay, and it uses the magnetic secure transmission (MST) tech that Samsung acquired via its purchase of LoopPay last month, which means the vast majority of U.S. retailers should be able to accept it without any change to their existing hardware or infrastructure.

The Samsung Pay service will also use NFC, meaning it should work with the kinds of terminals required by retailers to offer Apple Pay, but the MST tech means that it can talk even to old-school credit card swipe readers, via tech developed by the Kickstarted Boston-based startup LoopPay, which Samsung acquired in total after a partnership begun near the debut of their crowdfunding campaign.

Samsung also has deals in place with MasterCard and Visa on the payment provider side, and is working on arrangements with American Express, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank and others. Based on its ability to work with existing magstripe terminals, Samsung estimates that it could reach up to 30 million merchants worldwide, so long as the payment providers all come on board.

In practice, it’ll work by being integrated into Samsung devices at the system level, letting users add their own existing cards, and then working via a swipe up from the bezel, which launches the Samsung Pay app and lets them choose their payment card option. Then they use the new finger print sensor to authenticate the transaction (which, thanks to the new touch-based fingerprint reader on the GS6, seems clearly borrowed from Apple Pay) and then tap the merchant terminal to complete. It requires a few more steps than Apple Pay, which automatically launches payment and chooses your default card when you’re in proximity of an active terminal, meaning the fingerprint authentication is the only step required by a user.

Samsung Pay’s ability to work with legacy infrastructure should help it maximize its potential reach, however, which means it could have an easier time convincing merchants, leaving it to focus its attention on educating and motivating users about adopting the behavior.

On the security side, Samsung is using KNOX and ARM’s TrustZone data isolation tech for processors to keep payment card information safe, and Samsung Pay uses tokenization to add an additional layer of security on top of standard magnetic card swipes. It’s aiming for a summer launch, with U.S. and Korea pegged as the launch countries, with expansion to Europe and China planned after that.

from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/6Hy8y6ej7qU/

via IFTTT

PiJuice Adds Power To Your Pirojects

If you’ve ever used a Raspberry Pi you’ll notice that it’s great until you need to unplug it. While you can add a battery (the PiPhone had one), it’s not quite as easy as all that. Now, however, you can simply plug in the PiJuice and power your Pi on the fly.

The PiJuice is a “hat” that fits on top of the Raspberry Pi and includes a 1400 mAh battery, integrated real time clock, and an onboard on/off switch. You can even sleep and wake and the Pi based on events. If you don’t know why this doesn’t sound amazing you probably have never wanted to build a portable wireless cat-food dispenser controller or a mobile Raspberry-Pi-powered rocket launching rig.

The PiJuice can be had for about $30 on Kickstarter and should ship in May. For those of you working on a robotic bird feeder/treadmill the PiJuice also comes in a solar version with a panel built right in to charge the battery.

Created by Pi-fans Aaron Shaw and Harry Gee the project essentially takes the Pi off of your desk and into the real world. It even fits inside most Raspberry Pi cases, a real treat for hobbyists who don’t want to buy another plastic enclosure. I, for one, am looking forward to building a Pi-based mobile robotic crab with solar-powered legs that can carry my pack over the desiccated dystopian landscape after the coming global apocalypse.

from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/R_gnX81Aow0/

via IFTTT

WebOS Shambles Back From The Grave In LG’s Latest Smartwatch

LG has officially announced the Watch Urbane and the Watch Urbane LTE, two handsome wearables that they had previously announced at the end of February. Why should you care? Well, primarily because the Urbane LTE are bucking Google and instead are running webOS and is a fully-featured phone with NFC and a bigger battery.

It’s almost as if WebOS, like the old man in the wagon, is calling out “I feel fine. I think I’ll go for a walk!”

While Android Wear is a primarily a notification carrier, the LTE version runs WebOS so that it can support calling, messaging, and richer applications. This means the watch can connect to the web directly and pinpoint your location or translate text. It can also make calls, albeit via a Bluetooth headset or the watch’s tinny speaker.

What’s more interesting, however, is the decision to use WebOS at all. Android watches have existed almost as long as Android has been around and the decision to resurrect a non-standard mobile OS for a watch project sounds more science fair than market survey. The watch is Korea-only for the moment and I doubt it will roll Stateside any time soon. Alternatives to established mobile software is ostensibly welcome by the vociferous minority but I doubt seriously this thing will put a dent in even Android Wear uptake.

It is nice of LG to dust WebOS off this week. I’m sure the die-hards will be happy to see one of the better mobile OSes of the previous decade finally get a bit of post-mortem attention. I doubt, however, one watch will save it from the charnel pit.

from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/O1lNK3PgdMg/

via IFTTT

ZTE launches Grand S3 with 5.5″ 1080p display and Eyeprint ID biometric security

ZTE has today lifted the lid on its latest flagship handset to hit the market, and this time around it comes with an upgraded screen and better camera capabilities.

Key specs of the device include a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 5.5-inch full HD display, 16-megapixel rear-facing camera and an 8-megapixel front facing snapper for selfies and video calling. There’s also 3GB RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, plus support for microSD cards up to 64GB.

At 9.8mm thick, it’s not the slimmest device on the market but then not many other devices offer Eyeprint ID, allowing you to unlock your phone by scanning your eyes while on the lock screen.

While the device is already for sale in China – and has been since the middle of January – the company said it will now be offered more widely outside of the country. Exactly where and how much it costs are still yet to be revealed though – in China it costs 2999 RMB, which would make it around $480.

from The Next Web http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNextWeb/~3/HOF6Qh7z0ng/

via IFTTT

The Huawei Watch Brings Serious Style To Android Wear

A somewhat unlikely suspect might just have revealed the best-looking Android Wear-powered device: The Huawei Watch, from the gadget-maker of the same name, made its official debut on stage today at Mobile World Congress, and it’s easily one of the best looking devices ever to sport Google’s wearable software platform.

The Huawei watch has a 286 PPI 1.4-inch AMOLED display, with a 42mm round face that is actually on the smaller side compared to most of the gargantuan Android Wear device out there. It’ll come in gold, silver and black finishes for its stainless steel body, and will also offer a built-in heart rate monitor, 4GB of onboard storage, 512MB of RAM, the standard loadout of motion sensors for activity and health tracking, and Bluetooth LE for device pairing.

1. 
   

   huawei-watch-images-leak7_1020.0

   
   


2. 
   

   huawei-watch-images-leak18_1020.0

   
   


3. 
   

   3adf659f6e819a298d500ee2715fdc50

   
   


4. 
   

   huawei-watch-images-leak19_1020.0

   
   


5. 
   

   huawei-watch-images-leak2_1020.0

   
   


6. 
   

   huawei-watch-images-leak22_1020.0

   
   


7. 
   

   huawei-android-wear

   
   

Huawei’s wearable looks to combine the best aspects of the Android Wear crowd’s reigning champs, offering a perfectly circular display, with a bezel size that won’t necessarily invalidate those with smaller wrists from wearing one. The company plans to launch the device in 20 countries worldwide, and it should go on sale in June of this year, though the company isn’t talking price yet.

The decided factor in the Android Wear category continues to be design, and this looks frankly a lot nicer than either existing options or other new ones, including the forthcoming LG Watch Urbane.

from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/kqmvRGuR7Qo/

via IFTTT

Two New Lumia 640 Models Discovered After Microsoft Leak

A few pieces of data point to two new Lumia models, the 640 and 640 XL, a pair of low-end phones that should be announced tomorrow morning. The device specs were posted on NokiaPowerUser and point to a 5-inch 640 device as well something called the 640 XL which should be slightly bigger and follow the Lumia 1320.

Both will have front and rear-facing cameras and the usual candy-colored replaceable cases. The devices will run a Snapdragon 400 processor and include 8GB of storage. These low-end devices should ship for $275 in the US and a dual-SIM option could launch in India and Asia.

Microsoft will make its official announcements tomorrow morning in Barcelona at 2:30am Eastern.

Look for more coverage from MWC 2015 here.

from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/BILJTZxmvW8/

via IFTTT