Month: February 2019

Nubia Releasing a Smartphone You Can Wear As a Watch

by David Ruiz, posted in New, Under Development

Chinese phone manufacturer Nubia has begun teasing a new phone concept where the smartphone is also a hybrid smartwatch as well.

Renders of the Nubia Alpha. Photo credits: Digit

The hybrid phone was originally demoed at IFA in Berlin 2018 as a prototype but Nubia is now going to fully unveil the Alpha on February 25 at MWC in Barcelona.

So far not much is known about the Alpha in terms of display resolution, battery, or performance specifications. The phone is meant to replace a regular smartphone since it is able to call and even take pictures. It has a flexible OLED screen and sits in a metal watch strap with a plastic case around the phone as per the prototype.

The Verge even says that it will be priced around the same price as a regular smartphone when their writer asked the Nubia representative at IFA.

  • Nubia Alpha prototype images. Photo credits: The Verge

The unique design from the Nubia smartphone leaves me astonished. This risky design from Nubia will potentially inspire other electronic manufacturers to build a product based off of this layout, which will in turn bring even more interesting and unique products down the road.

I am not too confident that this watch-phone will break into the market like other smartphones. It has a very long screen, which means that mobile-app developers will have to plan to accommodate for the unique screen aspect ratio. By knowing software developers, many of them will not put in the time and money to work on adopting support for the elongated screen unless there is an overwhelming demand for it. Aside from that, I am confident that this device will revolutionize the future of how we will imagine our electronic products.

Nubia Alpha. Photo credits: Nubia

Apple Is Finally Refreshing The iPad Mini

by David Ruiz, posted in New, Under Development

Exciting rumors have been spread stating that Apple may be releasing a new iPad mini relatively soon.

iPad Mini 4th generation. Photo credits: TheVerge

This refresh for the iPad Mini lineup is long overdue to say the least. The iPad Mini 4 was released far back in September 2015, which means that Apple has been selling this same exact product for over 4 years now.

Even then, Apple has been selling this now-ancient iPad Mini 4 for $399, which is $70 more than their newer 9.7 inch iPad, with prices starting at $329. This is ridiculous since the 9.7 inch iPad has both a 1.8 inch larger screen and an Apple A10 processor, which outperforms the iPad Mini’s outdated A8 processor by miles. But, somehow the iPad Mini is still deemed more expensive than the newer iPad by Apple’s pricing standards.

Current 9.7 inch iPad. Photo credits: Pocket-Lint

Now back to the rumored details of the iPad Mini 5. The iPad Mini 5 will potentially support the Apple Pencil, still keep the headphone jack and fingerprint scanner, but is surprisingly going to also keep the lightning connection port rather than moving to a USB-C port, which is strange because USB-C had now become the standard for all the new iPads. It will also utilize the Apple A10 chip and keep the same 7.9 inch screen dimension.

Now after hearing all these speculations, I am very curious to how this revised product will sell compared to the other iPads. I personally feel like many will prefer to go up to the larger-screened iPads as opposed to the smaller Mini. That is unless the Mini shows a significant price difference compared to the larger models. Only time will tell about these sales and I am excited to see that Apple is finally starting to refresh their old designs now like the Mac Mini and the MacBook Air, which were both refreshed last fall.

Left: iPad mini. Middle: iPad Pro. Right: iPad. Photo credits: iMore

Raspberry Pi Has Opened Its First Physical Store

by David Ruiz, posted in New

On Friday, the Raspberry Pi brand has opened the very first Raspberry Pi Store, where they plan to sell Raspberry Pi merchandise and accessories.

Image taken inside the Raspberry Pi Store. Photo Credit: Raspberry Pi.

For those who are unsure of what a Raspberry Pi is and think it is probably a delicious pie, sorry to get your hopes up but it is not. The Raspberry Pi is a neat device that fits all the components of a computer, plus some more, within a space the size of a credit card. Very impressive to see:

Image of a Raspberry Pi 3 on top of a MacBook. Photo Credits: Naoki Shibuya

The store is found in Cambridge, England, which is the home country of the Raspberry Pi. Using this store allows guests to get their Raspberry Pi in their hands immediately instead of having to buy it from a third-party vendor, which is the only way to get a Raspberry Pi, and waiting for it to ship and get delivered. An interesting quirk about the store is that it is cashless, meaning that they only accept credit and debit cards.

Outside of the Raspberry Pi Store. Photo Credits: Raspberry Pi.

I find this store to be very helpful for those who are into DIY and coding since they can walk in and walk out with a fully-working portable computer for around $35, ready to work on a project. I’ve had my Raspberry Pi 3 for some years now and I love experimenting with it since there are lots of project ideas to complete using it. I believe this store will catch some eyes of those window shopping in the mall and it will expose them to the wonderful world of coding.

Video tour of the Raspberry Pi Store

Google’s New Live Audio Transcriber

by David Ruiz, posted in Under Development

Google has slowly started rolling out a new app beta for select Android devices that allows a user to get a live transcription of someone speaking to them.

Concept render of the of Live Transcribe app. Photo Credits: Google

The Live Transcribe app is remarkably helpful for those who are hard of hearing or lack the ability to hear altogether. It uses the smartphone’s microphone to pick up audio and then uses cloud-based automatic speech recognition of over 70 different languages and dialects to translate spoken words into real-time captions that the user can follow along to.

The Live Transcribe app will completely reimagine the lives of those who are deaf since now they do not have to rely on others to “hear” or interpret what is going on. They can now rely on themselves, becoming independent of an interpreter. The app also allows a user to type what they want the app to say for them in the case that they don’t feel comfortable with speaking out loud.

I feel like this is a good move on Google’s part since it shows that they have every consumer in mind when adding accessibility features to their software. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050 there will be over 900 million people will have disabling hearing loss, meaning that every single person affected can now attain a higher quality of life with this new technology.

Video demoing the early beta and inspiration of the Live Transcribe app

Nintendo Rumored To Make A More Affordable Nintendo Switch

by David Ruiz, posted in Under Development

There have been speculations that Nintendo is working on developing another Nintendo Switch device according to Ars Technica.

Image of a docked Nintendo Switch. Photo Credits: CNET

When the Nintendo Switch came out to US markets in March 2017, it initially caught a lot of attention, even breaking some records with it being the fastest-selling console in US history. Now when it came out, pricing started at $299.99, which is out of the price range for a lot of consumers. Even at the time of writing this post it still MSRP’s at $299.99, after it being released for almost two whole years.

Nintendo Switch with released Joy Cons. Photo Credits: CNET

Keeping the price constant will cause demand to decrease since those who can afford the console have already bought one. So most consoles around this age range finally start to slope down in price to make it more available for those who were unable to purchase it at full price, ultimately driving up sales.

Nintendo has noticed that although they a good year for 2018, their Nintendo Switch sales was short of what they had initially projected. That leads to why there have been leaks that Nintendo is possibly developing a sequel to the Nintendo switch that ditches the device packaged with a TV dock included, which costs around $89.99 separately. Ars Technica has also speculated that this Switch may have some redesigns to make it cheaper as well:

“Aesthetically, we could expect a smaller screen size and reduced bezels”

Sam Machkovech – Ars Technica

I believe that doing this will benefit both Nintendo and its fans. Bringing the price down on the Nintendo Switch will allow many more families to afford the unique and fully portable console. In return, it will generate more revenue for the company. These rumors are excellent since I love playing on my Nintendo Switch and I feel that everyone should also get to feel the same joy while not hurting their wallets in doing so.

Photo Credits: Vox

iRobot’s New Robot Lawn Mower

by David Ruiz, posted in Under Development

iRobot, the creators of the revolutionary Roomba autonomous vacuum robot and Braava autonomous mopping robot, has just unveiled another robot to add to the family: the iRobot Terra Mower.

Photo Credits: iRobot

This new autonomous lawn mower will implement iRobot’s current Imprint Smart Mapping technology for the first time outdoors. Which means that now this robot will be able to mow the lawn without the need of having to install boundary wires (eliminating the chance of leaving damage to a perfect lawn) to keep the lawn mower from exploring your neighbor’s lawn.

With the Imprint Smart Mapping technology, the Terra Mower will be able to learn the layout of the lawn. It will know where it is at any given time and cut in straight, clean lines, leaving the lawn cut perfectly every cycle.

Imprint Smart Mapping Technology. Photo Credits: iRobot

So far the Terra Lawn Mower will only be available for sale to those who live in Germany. But no fear, there will be a beta program for select individuals in the US in 2019.

These robots will be very helpful for those unable to cut their lawn because of living a busy lifestyle or it will also come in handy for those who lack the ability to cut their lawn because of a physical disability. I believe this machine will inspire manufacturers to design other robots like this one which will re-imagine the way we live our lives because these robots can complete the tasks we previously had to do ourselves, for us.