Apple Delays AirPods

Apple Delays AirPods, October Launch No Longer Happening

When Apple debuted its AirPods in September, the company said the wireless earbuds would launch in late October. Now that it's late October, people have been wondering if a release is imminent, but as it turns out, the AirPods are delayed.

Huawei Honor Pad 2 tablet

Huawei Honor Pad 2 tablet

Huawei Honor Pad 2 tablet

Huawei may already have a lot of devices beyond smartphones, but its sub-brand honor hasn’t ventured outside as much. That changes today as the company launches two new devices that aren’t phones. The Honor Pad 2, as the number implies, follows up on Honor’s previous slate, while the Honor Watch S1 dives head first into full smartwatch territory. And, in typical Honor fashion, these devices will be offered with dirt cheap prices, though which markets outside of China will get it remains an open question.

Amazon's full on-demand streaming music

Amazon's full on-demand streaming music service launches today

Amazon’s long-rumored on-demand music streaming service is now available. The company is launching its new service as Amazon Music Unlimited, a on-demand competitor to the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music. Amazon has done a number of things to differentiate Music Unlimited from its competitors, but the most notable one is its price: the service will be available to Amazon Prime members for $7.99 per month or $79 per year, which is cheaper than the premium options from Spotify or Apple Music. In addition, owners of one of Amazon’s voice-controlled Echo devices will be able to get the service for just $3.99 per month.

At its core, Amazon Music Unlimited is very similar to the other services you could subscribe to. It has a catalog of "tens of millions" of songs (Amazon’s Steve Boom tells me it has deals with all three major labels, in addition to "hundreds" of indies); a recommendations engine to surface new music; both algorithmic and hand-made playlists; and apps for Android, iOS, Sonos, and desktop (plus Amazon’s Fire tablets and set top boxes). Amazon’s new Music apps have been completely redesigned with fresh typography, revised navigation, and a focus on artist imagery and album art. They feature some clever perks, such as the ability to automatically download music Amazon thinks you’d like while in the background, so you’ll always have something to listen to while offline, as well as lyrics integration.

But while Spotify relies on its intelligent music recommendation and discovery as a draw and Apple pushes people toward its service with major album exclusives, Amazon is touting Music Unlimited’s tight integration with its Echo devices and Alexa voice assistant as the real differentiator here. Not only do Echo owners have access to a discounted version of the service (though it’s only available on one Echo device at a time), they can request songs from Music Unlimited in a variety of ways just using their voices. In addition to fielding specific song, artist, album, or playlist requests, Alexa can pull up the "latest song" from an artist, play music based on a requested mood or time period, or even find songs from snippets of lyrics. Requests can be strung together — one of the examples Amazon demoed to me was "play U2 songs from the '80s" and the Echo started playing the only listenable songs from Bono and crew. Amazon says that the more people use the service, the better its responses and suggestions will get. (For example, if you ask the Echo to "play workout music" and have a history of listening to metal, it won’t start bumping EDM.)

In addition, Amazon Music Unlimited has a new feature called Side-by-Side, which pairs artist commentary with selected tracks from the their catalog. The company says it is launching with a few dozen Side-by-Side features, including from artists such as The Chainsmokers, Jason Aldean, Lindsey Stirling, Sting, Norah Jones, One Republic, and Kongos, with more to come in the future. Readers of a certain generation might liken this feature to an updated take on MTV’s Unplugged or VH1’s Storytellers.

Amazon isn’t launching the new service with any major artist or album exclusives, but vice president of Amazon Music Steve Boom says the company "doesn’t have a firm stance on full-on exclusives" and it is still evaluating whether or not to pursue them. For now, Boom points to the service’s ease of use, voice integration, and recommendations technology as the main differentiators for it.

But for many, Amazon Music Unlimited’s price will likely be its main draw. The yearly plan option for Prime members brings the price of the service down to about $6.58 per month, well below the cost of single-account plans from other services. (Non-prime members will be able to sign up for $9.99 per month, which is the same price as competing services.) Amazon says it will also introduce a six-account family plan for $14.99 per month or $149 per year before the end of the year, matching similar options from Spotify, Google, and Apple.



source: theverge

Top 3 Adapters That Let You Listen To Music And Charge Your iPhone 7 At The Same Time

Top 3 Adapters That Let You Listen To Music And Charge Your iPhone 7 At The Same Time

Customers aren't alone in mourning the loss of the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and that's a good thing because companies here and there have started to push out creative and effective ways to bring it back.
Of course, users can opt for the pair of Lightning EarPods or the Lightning to 3.5mm adapter included in the box, but since the two need the single port of the handset, they can't be used to listen to music and charge at the same time. Well, there's always the new wireless AirPods, but that's a different story.
Now that that's cleared up, here are three of the best adapters with the perfect kind and right number of ports to date.

Missing the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus? Don't fret, we've got three of the best adapters in the market that let you plug in your favorite listening device and charge your phone at the same time.  ( Stephen Lam | Getty Images )

iLDOCK

(Photo: ildockgear)

Los Angeles startup ildockgear is bringing the small-sized dongle that is the iLDOCK to the table.
Out of the bunch, it triumphs over the others in terms of price, as users can pledge just $10 at the company's Kickstarter campaign page to reserve one. Bump that up to $20, and they'll get the iLDOCK Plus, an upgraded version that hass microSD card and SD card slots along with USB ports.
They're expected to ship out this November, and they're available in gold, silver, rose gold and gray to suit the color options of the iPhone 7.

Fstop Labs Lightning To 3.5mm Power Audio Charge Headphone Jack Adapter Cable

Priced at $25.99, Fstop Labs' Lightning to 3.5mm Power Audio Charge Headphone Jack Adapter Cable — that's a bit of a mouthful — is one of the cheapest ways to make both the headphone jack and Lightning port available for use at the same time.
It's available for preorder via Amazon, and it's set to be in stock on Oct. 13.

Fuze Case

Last but not least, the Fuze Case doesn't only offer a solution to the current conundrum, but it also gets rid of another potential problem — unwieldy dongles and wires.
Going even further, it also provides protection and some extra juice to boot, not to mention that it won't be bulky because of its form factor. The case for the iPhone 7 packs an additional 2,400 mAh battery, while the version for the iPhone 7 Plus is loaded with a 3,600 mAh cell.
For those who are interested in the Fuze Case, it's already up for preorder at the accessory maker's Indiegogo page for $69, and it's expected to arrive to backers' doorsteps on Dec. 23.
There you have it — some of the best ways to listen to music and charge that iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus simultaneously. Needless to say, it's safe to assume that more similar products will soon begin hitting shelves here and there too, and they might be worth keeping an eye out for.




source: techtimes

Upcoming BlackBerry DTEK60 Android Smartphone

This Is The Upcoming BlackBerry DTEK60 Android Smartphone, According To Trusted Tipster

BlackBerry's third Android smartphone, the DTEK60, should make its debut soon and it now stars in a new leak. The latest image gives a good look at the front of the device, and it looks pretty sleek.  ( Evan Blass | Twitter )

BlackBerry's upcoming Android smartphone, the DTEK60, is the star of a new leak that gives a clearer look at its front design.
The latest image comes from trusted tipster Evan Blass, also known as @evleaks, who has offered accurate information about unreleased devices or plans in the tech world on countless occasions so far. That's no guarantee that the leak is 100 percent accurate, but it does make it more credible.
BlackBerry, for its part, was once at the top of the food chain, but after falling significantly behind rivals on the smartphone market, it eventually moved to Android in an effort to keep its head above the water.
The company released its very first Android smartphone late in 2015, when it introduced the BlackBerry Priv. BlackBerry launched its second Android smartphone back in July this year, with the DTEK50, and it's now expected to reveal a new DTEK60 Android-powered smartphone soon enough.
The company's Android smartphones bear little resemblance to the old BlackBerry look with an iconic QWERTY keyboard, but that's hardly a surprise anymore. Times are changing, and BlackBerry is just trying to keep up.

The first images of the purported BlackBerry DTEK60 leaked last week, finally revealing what the smartphone should look like, but Blass now offers a clearer, less blurry look at the front of the device.
Based on this image, the DTEK60 will have slightly curved edges, on-screen navigation buttons and a sleek design overall. The leaked image also shows a few app icons such as the Google Play Store, BBM and others.
Blass makes no mention of specifications in this new leak, but the BlackBerry DTEK60 (codenamed "Argon") is expected to sport high-end internals and previous information from BlackBerry itself already painted a picture of what's in store.
The BlackBerry DTEK60 will come with a 5.5-inch QHD display (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) with a pixel density of 534 ppi and pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC under the hood, paired with Adreno 530 graphics and 4 GB of RAM.
Other specs of the DTEK60 include 32 GB of internal storage capacity, a 21-megapixel main camera on its rear, an 8-megapixel front shooter, a 3,000 mAh battery and a USB Type-C port.
The new BlackBerry DTEK60 may hit the market as a rebranded TCL 950, a smartphone that made its debut in China last week. For reference, the BlackBerry DTEK50 was a rebranded Alcatel Idol 4.
No information is available at this point as to when the BlackBerry DTEK60 will officially launch.




source: techtimes

Pixel phone by Google

Latest Pixel leaks give comprehensive look at the ‘phone by Google’

The published pages from Carphone Warehouse came with full specs, including familiar details (5-inch and 5.5-inch displays on the Pixel and Pixel XL respectively, Snapdragon 821 processors, and 4GB of RAM) as well as some that might just be placeholders (such as a microSD slot). Other listed specs include the choice of 32GB or 128GB of internal storage, a 2770mAh battery for the Pixel and a 3450mAh battery for the Pixel XL, and screen resolutions of 1080 x 1920 for the smaller device, and 1440 x 2560 for the larger.

THE TWO PHONES ARE IDENTICAL IN EVERYTHING BUT SIZE

As we've seen before, the phones are identical in looks. There's an offset camera on the front of the case, what looks like a circular fingerprint scanner on the rear, an antenna line on the bottom, and a split material design on the rear — with a shinier surface on the top third of the phone, and a matte finish on the bottom. We can see a USB Type-C port on the bottom, and a cut-out in the case suggests there's a headphone jack on the top of the devices. Previous rumors have said the handsets will be manufactured by HTC.

Pulled slides from Carphone Warehouse also showcased a number of Google software features, including free photo storage on Google Photos, and the Duo video chat app and Allo messaging app (complete with built-in Google Assistant). Also mentioned is a quick charge feature (15 minutes of charging for seven hours' battery life) and the return of Live Cases — customized phone cases that were introduced earlier this year for the Nexus 6, 5X, and 6P for $35 a pop. Let's just hope there are at least some new information left for Google to announce tomorrow.

Purported images of the Pixel (left) and Pixel XL (right), courtesy of the Canadian Bell leak. (via Android Central)

source: theverge

Honda's superhot Civic Type R

Honda's superhot Civic Type R looks absolutely insane

Honda Civic Type R

At a time when small car sales are generally suffering, Honda has found a hit in its newly redesigned Civic. Now, it plans to kick it up a notch.

The performance concept version of the Civic, the Type R, just made its debut last week at the Paris auto show, and will make its first appearance in the U.S. next month. It comes to showrooms next year.

It will mark the first time that Honda has offered the Type R in the U.S., and it's based on the Civic Hatchback, which was also introduced in Paris.

Note the twin tailpipes at the bacf end of the Honda Civic Type R Prototype  

For now, details are scant about just how hot of a performer the new car will be. The concept showed several performance details, most notably a long spoiler in back. Honda is saying, for now, "trust us."

"For the first time ever in America, Honda fans and enthusiasts will have access to the ultimate in Civic performance in the form of the new Type R," says Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda's U.S. car operation.

The Type R "H" badge is prominent on the grille and the car gets more of its sinister look comes from darkened lenses on its LED headlights. on the front grille at the nose of the car. There is a also new intake on the hood with an air scoop.

Honda Civic Type R Prototype from above 

source: usatoday