Новости за 11.09.2017

Qualcomm today published a somewhat self-congratulatory blog post that lauds the company and its Android partners for achieving a series of industry firsts that include wireless charging, dual-camera systems, OLED smartphone screens, edge-to-edge displays, and more.

Apple seems to be making it easier to trade in iPhones through the iPhone Upgrade Program with a new mail-in kit option, as spotted by John Angarano over at the MacRumors forums.

In the event that you happen to be in the market for an offensive piece of living room electronics, Microsoft has teamed up with DJ duo The Chainsmokers to design a one-of-a-kind Xbox One S console that turns sound into an “ever-changing dynamic light show.” In the true spirit of edgier-than-thou game industry accessorizing, the device is tackier than the most egregious light-up Razer peripheral.

The first instant film camera in years to bear the famous Kodak name and branding was announced today. The Kodak Printomatic is a pocketable digital camera that combines a 10-megapixel sensor with the ability to instantly print 2 x 3-inch sticker photos on non-ink Zink paper.

China plans to shut down domestic Bitcoin exchanges, anonymous sources told The Wall Street Journal today. The sources said that regulators weren’t giving a clear message on when the shutdown would occur. One regulator told an exchange that the decision had already been made, while another said the decision might take a few months. In response to the news, the Bitcoin prices have dipped to a low of $4,108, according to CoinDesk.

The enormous Volkswagen Group is going to make everything electric in some shape or form by 2030, and that involves a lot of cars.

Patty Jenkins has officially signed on to direct the Wonder Woman sequel, Variety reports.

Japanese company COTODAMA recently made its visual lyric speaker available in the US, and the device features translucent screens that display a song’s lyrics as it plays. Cotodama says it’s “the first lyrical listening speaker available to the public.”

Alongside the Mi Mix 2 and Mi Notebook Pro, Xiaomi also announced the Mi Note 3 in Beijing today. But while it sounds like part of an entirely separate line, the Mi Note 3 is extremely similar to the Mi 6 announced earlier this year — it just has a bigger screen.

Hurricane Harvey has been called an “unprecedented” storm, and in its wake companies have been stepping up to offer relief in a myriad of ways. Now, Google and phone repair company uBreakiFix have joined up to help as well.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is making its way out into the world, and iFixit has done its customary teardown to answer two key questions: what’s actually inside the Note 8, and how repairable is Samsung’s newest flagship? Unsurprisingly, the answers to those questions are “lots of techy stuff” and “almost impossible,” respectively. (That’s pretty much the case with any modern smartphone.)

After 13 years of zooming around Saturn and its many moons, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has less than four days left at the planetary system before the probe is lost forever. Early Friday morning, Cassini will dive into Saturn’s atmosphere, eventually melting and breaking apart. The death plunge will put an end to the spacecraft’s mission, one that has taught us more about Saturn and its moons than we ever thought possible.

Amazon is planning to release two new Fire TV models later this year, according to a report from AFTVNews. The first will be a mid-tier dongle that will plug directly into an HDMI port like the Fire TV streaming stick, and the second will be a new flagship device with built-in Alexa functionality.

Tesla has set up nearly 1,000 fast-charging Supercharger stations around North America, but people who own its cars in big cities are still hard-pressed for convenient charging solutions. That’s hopefully about to change. Tesla announced today that it’s developed a smaller Supercharger that’s more suited for cramped city life, and it will start rolling them out soon in Chicago and Boston.

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The first teaser trailer for Fifty Shades Freed, the final installment in Universal’s wildly profitable adaptation of E.L. James’ pulp romance series, is here. Thank goodness! The film was shot at the same time as last year’s Fifty Shades Darker (which The Verge’s scientific analysis found was actually 94 shades darker). These two films were directed by James Foley, following Sam Taylor-Johnson’s resignation from the franchise after the first installment.

Information from the huge leak in the iOS 11 Golden Master build continues to trickle in, and developer Steve Troughton-Smith has just revealed detailed specs about the upcoming Apple TV, via AppleInsider.

I need to get this out there before the new iPhones and, especially, the new Google Pixels shake my confidence: the HTC U11 is my phone of the year. The red U11, in particular. I‘ve been using that device for over a month now, and having relied on it to get through the rigors of the IFA tech exhibition in Berlin, I can confirm my initial feelings about it. The U11 is the phone with the most good things about it.

Irma has passed over Florida causing at least four deaths, and leaving 5.8 million people — or more than half those in the state — without electricity. On Monday, the Category 5 hurricane, which broke several records, was downgraded to Category 1 and is now a tropical storm after spending the weekend blowing over Florida. It hit the Florida Keys early Sunday morning with winds of 130 minds per hour. Two hours later, it made landfall at Cudjoe Key, an island in the Lower Keys.

The biggest and most obvious trend in smartphones right now is the effort to eliminate the bezel, or frame, that surrounds a phone’s display. The goal is to create a feeling that you’re only holding a screen in your hand, and there’s nothing else to distract you from what’s being displayed on that screen. Established players (Samsung and LG) and newcomers (Essential) alike are all trying to reach that goal. Even Apple is expected to announce new iPhone that largely eliminates the border around the screen this week. Читать дальше...

Xiaomi wasn’t shy about calling out Apple when announcing the new Mi Notebook Pro here in Beijing today, and on paper the company has a point. Xiaomi’s 15.6-inch laptop has a similar design, allegedly superior performance, and a more practical array of ports — two USB-A, two USB-C, full-size HDMI, and an SD card slot. Most impressively, it comes in at well under half the price for a comparably specced model.

Microsoft is launching a special Office 365 toolbar for macOS, providing quick ways to access documents, calendar items, and more. My Workspace is the result of Microsoft’s Garage program that encourages employees to create apps in their spare time. The latest macOS app is designed to sit in the toolbar area and includes a quick overview of calendar items to let you join Skype meetings or RSVP to events.

Drones delivering hamburgers, beer, and Amazon products might be right around the corner, but don’t get your hopes up if you want your weed sent to you via robot. That’s because California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control has recently unveiled new regulatory rules that will ban drones from delivering marijuana, as spotted by Ars Technica. The Bureau is currently developing regulation surrounding weed use and sales under the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) after... Читать дальше...

Microsoft is rolling out add-in support to Outlook for Android this week, more than six months after first debuting mobile add-ins on iOS. The first set of Outlook for Android add-ins includes Evernote, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Translator, Nimble, OnePlaceMail, Outlook Customer Manager, Smartsheet and Trello.

As statements of intent in phone design go, it’s hard to think of a stronger one than the original Mi Mix. Calling it a “concept phone” and drawing on the talents of legendary designer Philippe Starck, Xiaomi built a minimalist slab dominated by a huge screen with tiny bezels that foreshadowed the biggest trend in 2017's smartphones.