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Thứ Ba, 29 tháng 3, 2016

With its air purifiers, water purifiers, security sensors and other home appliances on the Chinese market, it’s no secret that Xiaomi has an ambition to not only own the smartphone space, but to also litter its brand around our living space. A bit like Ikea and Muji, for the latter part: Cheap, but with good design and quality. Hence the launch of the Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker today, because what better way than to enter every Chinese household with an affordable yet high performance rice cooker, let alone one that works with an app? Priced at just 999 yuan or about $150, this rice cooker is scarily cheap — about four to five times cheaper than its Japanese rivals like Zojirushi, Toshiba and Tiger.

In general, pressure cooking has the advantage of preserving the foods’ vitamins due to the trapped steam, as well as speeding up the cooking process with a higher temperature. In Xiaomi’s case, its smart pressure rice cooker uses 1.2 atm to push the temperature up to 105 degrees Celsius or 221 degrees Fahrenheit. Then there’s the companion app that lets you scan the barcode on the rice packaging, and the device will know how to cook it just right, according to the rice type, brand, origin and your preferred softness. There’s no word on how many types of rice have been categorized by Xiaomi, but it did mention a portfolio of over 200 brands along with 2,450 combinations of cooking methods for this rice cooker.

Despite the price tag, Xiaomi claims that it didn’t cut any corners here: The rice cooker comes with a grey cast iron inner pot which apparently doesn’t come cheap, in order to achieve optimal regenerative heating and also to ensure the rice is evenly cooked. The pot’s non-stickiness is courtesy of Daikin’s Neoflon powder coating as opposed to similar chemicals from no-namers, so that’s also one less feature to worry about. The Chinese company went as far as hiring Naito Takeshi, a former Sanyo engineer and co-inventor of the IH pressure rice cooker, to lead the development of this project. At today’s launch event, Naito is quoted as saying that he wants to “make a better rice cooker, and then sell it back to Japan.”

The other news here is that this rice cooker is actually the first of the many products to come out of Xiaomi’s new sub-brand, Mi Ecosystem (aka “Mijia” in China, which literally means “rice home”). But as with many Xiaomi products, we have a feeling that this device won’t be leaving China any time soon, but you can try hitting up a local friend when it becomes available on April 6th.

Xiaomi announces Mi Ecosystem

Thứ Hai, 28 tháng 3, 2016

Phones and tablets are getting boring. And the excitement around smartwatches was, to put it kindly, short-lived. And then there was virtual reality. What used to seem like a science fiction pipe dream has, in the span of a few years, become the next potentially groundbreaking technology platform. So saying that the Oculus Rift has a lot to prove is an understatement. If it fails, it could destroy the virtual reality market before it even gets started. No big deal.

But after spending a week with the Oculus Rift, I have no doubt that its approach to virtual reality is indeed the real deal. It’s well built and easy to set up, and there are already a few games and apps that’ll make VR believers out of the most ardent naysayer. The only problem: It’s $600 and requires a powerful gaming PC. Just as with every new technological milestone, it has the potential to change the world. But at this early stage, only a few can afford it.

Pros

It’s capable of fully immersing you in virtual worlds

The headset is light and comfortable

Offers a solid ecosystem of VR apps and games

Cons

It’s too expensive for most, and it requires a powerful gaming PC

Glasses wearers will have to deal with some slight discomfort

No motion controller at launch

Might lead to motion sickness

Summary

As a first-generation VR product, the Oculus Rift delivers an impressive amount of immersion. The big downside is its price, as well as the fact that it requires a PC gaming rig. For most people, it might be wiser to wait until the price drops for high-end VR.

Hardware

The Oculus Rift is basically a head-mounted box holding two OLED displays (one for each eye) running 1,200 by 1,080 pixels at 90Hz. There’s an integrated gyroscope and accelerometer, and the headset also works together with the included IR sensor for 360-degree head tracking. Oculus has even added built-in headphones, and there’s a microphone embedded as well. But perhaps more important than all of that technology: The Rift is also light (around 0.8 pounds) and easily adjustable.

Indeed, after living with the second Oculus development kit for over a year, the consumer Rift feels like a major step forward. It even feels lighter than a Gear VR with a phone attached (no surprise, since the Rift doesn’t need much hardware on the headset.) There’s only one main cable leading from the headset, and it splits into USB 3.0 and HDMI cables. It’s far less cumbersome than the Vive Pre, which is heavier and has four long cables coming out of its headset.

You can adjust the Rift with three velcro straps: two on the side and one on the top. The headphones can also be maneuvered in a variety of ways to suit your ears, and you can take them out entirely if you’d rather use your own headphones. (As I explain below, that’s not really necessary.) There’s removable padding around the sides of the headset (Oculus also includes a replacement face pad), as well as soft cloth lining surrounding the actual displays. A sensor inside the headset turns on the displays when it’s covered (which avoids burning them out), and there’s also a small switch on the bottom to adjust the lenses to your pupillary distance.

Inside the (impeccably designed) box, you also get the aforementioned sensor with a desk stand (it can also be mounted on a tripod), a small Oculus remote and an Xbox One controller and wireless adapter. No, there aren’t any motion controllers yet. We’ve seen (and felt) them over the past few months, but Oculus still hasn’t announced when they’re coming or how much they’ll cost.

There’s not much to report about the Xbox One controller: It’s exactly the same as what comes with Microsoft’s console, and you’ll be relying on it as your main gaming controller. I’ve also been using Microsoft’s wireless controller adapter since it came out last year, and it goes a long way toward making PC gaming feel like just playing on a console. You use the Oculus remote to navigate apps while wearing the display, and it also lets you control the headphone volume.

Setup

Before you can do anything with the Rift, you need a Windows PC that can actually handle it. At the minimum, you’ll need to have an Intel Core i5 4590 (or equivalent) processor, 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD Radeon 290 video card. Those aren’t excessive specs — you’d find the same sort of hardware in a midrange gaming PC — but if you’ve got an older desktop, or you’re starting from scratch, it might cost you a bit to upgrade. To make things easier for newcomers, there are also “Oculus ready” PCs from the likes of Alienware, ASUS and Dell starting at around $1,000 with the purchase of a Rift. And of course, you’ll have to add at least another $200 for a monitor.

I spent most of my time with the Oculus on my home-built desktop PC, which is powered by an Intel Core i7 4790k CPU running at 4GHz, 16GB of 2400MHz DDR3 RAM and an R9 Fury X GPU on loan from AMD. (I chose most of those parts last year, aside from the video card, with the express purpose of being ready for the rise of VR. For once, I wasn’t burned by planning ahead.) I also received, from Oculus, an ASUS ROG G20 gaming PC powered by an NVIDIA GTX 970 for testing, which gave me a sense of how a slightly slower machine handled VR.

Once you’ve got a capable rig, it doesn’t take much to get the Oculus Rift up and running. Just plug the headset into a USB 3.0 port and HDMI port on your video card, then insert the sensor’s cable into another USB 3.0 port and place it somewhere on your desk. From there, the Oculus Windows app leads you through the process of configuring and customizing the Rift. You might be prompted to install some video card updates before you get started (I had to download some freshly baked Radeon beta drivers myself).

Learning how to put on the Rift, and customizing it to be comfortable for long periods, takes a bit longer. It’s extra difficult for me, since I need my glasses to fit comfortably under the headset. If you’re wearing contacts, or have good vision, the whole process will probably be a bit easier. I only had to adjust the side velcro straps once, but the top strap is something I’ve ended up readjusting every time I wear the Rift. After a couple of days, I figured out how to put on the headset pretty easily, though it still takes my glasses off whenever I remove it. Every. Single. Time.

The built-in headphones were surprisingly one of my favorite parts of the Oculus Rift. They swing up so they’re out the way when you’re putting on the headset, and they can articulate in many directions to fit a wide variety of ears. They also sound pretty great, with a decent amount of clarity and bass oomph. That’s not something you see very often with over-ear headphones. You can always remove them if you’d rather use your own, but I’ve always found it difficult to juggle a VR headset with extra audio gear. I wouldn’t be surprised if most Rift users just stick with them.

Software

You’ll have to rely on the Oculus app for just about everything, and thankfully, it’s pretty easy to use. It’s clean and well designed, with an overall layer of polish that’s surprising for a first-gen product. It highlights some games and apps from the Oculus store, but it’s also fairly simple to browse through categories or search through titles.

Taking a cue from every other app store out there, each entry includes screenshots and a description and also lists the VR comfort level. “Comfortable” describes games with little movement, “moderate” steps that up a bit, and “intense” is reserved for experiences where you may be running, jumping or turning your head quickly. The app store also lets you know if a gaming controller is required.

Naturally, the Oculus app also houses your entire library of content, and lets you configure settings for your headset. Grabbing content from the store is fairly straightforward, though you sometimes have to click through an extra dialog to finish installing an app (due to Windows permissions limitations).

Just a year ago, I was relying on ugly software with complicated settings every time I wanted to do something with the Oculus DK2. Just getting a game to launch properly in that headset was a chore. Now you just have to launch the Oculus desktop app, put on the headset, and pick your virtual poison. It’s that sort of ease of use that Oculus — or any VR company, really — must offer to appeal to consumers.

Putting on the Oculus Rift automatically launches a slightly more interactive version of the Oculus desktop app within the headset. You’ll be able to do everything you can with the desktop program, but you have the added advantage of easily jumping into games. You also return to the core Oculus application whenever you hit the home button on the remote, or the Xbox One remote. (Yes, it’s a bit weird that hitting the giant Xbox logo brings you into a Facebook-owned app.)

In use

Two words you’ll hear a lot when it comes to VR are “immersion and presence.” In this context, they refer to creating experiences that fully make you feel like you’re a part of a virtual world. Long before the Oculus was a glimmer in founder Palmer Luckey’s eye, VR researchers were focusing on these concepts. It’s worth remembering that the schlocky gear we saw in 1992’s The Lawnmower Man doesn’t look much different from what we’re seeing today.

So how does the final Oculus Rift hardware fare when it comes to the concepts of immersion and presence? Surprisingly well, it turns out. Over the past week, I’ve been a space pilot dogfighting in distant galaxies in Eve: Valkryie. I’ve been a part of a live-action Adventure Time story. And I’ve seen aliens up close up on their home planets with Oculus’ own Farlands. Of course, the quality of VR experiences varies, but it’s heartening to see some quality content so early in the game.

You do have to look beyond some limitations of the Oculus Rift to fully immerse yourself, though. Sometimes the resolution of the OLED displays can make things look noticeably pixelated (this is one area where 4K mobile displays are going to be a big help). The nature of the Oculus’ optics often makes the imagery shown on the sides of the displays blurrier than what’s in the center. You still have to deal with a long cable coming out of the headset. And of course, most of the time you’re still just sitting in a chair with an Xbox One controller. I haven’t yet tested out the final, consumer-ready version of the HTC Vive, but the Vive Pre developer kit ended up delivering even greater presence in some games with its motion controllers.

I didn’t run into any performance issues with my home PC, but most games are also smart enough to choose the best settings without stressing your system. I cranked the visual performance all the way up to “Ultra” in Eve: Valkryie and felt nothing but pride. I also had no complaints with the ASUS ROG G20 desktop, even though it was running a slightly slower video card.

One question I keep getting asked about VR: Will it make me sick? Fortunately for me, I’m not very susceptible to motion sickness, but I’ve talked to some people who feel woozy after even brief VR demos. If you’re the sort who needs to pack Dramamine when you travel, be sure to pay close attention to Oculus’ comfort levels. Oculus has also implemented a new feature called Time Warp that should help avoid some graphic issues that lead to motion sickness.

I was able to wear the Oculus Rift for about an hour typically without needing a break. Eventually, my face would get a bit sweaty and my eyes would start to feel dry. It might just be my sensitivity to light, but wearing any VR headset eventually makes me feel like I’m sitting throughClockwork Orange–esque torture. And, needless to say, I also learned that it’s not smart to spend time in VR ahead of bedtime. If blue light from our phones and computers can interfere with sleep, just imagine what a bright OLED screen right in front of your eyeballs does.

Games and apps

I basically had a smorgasbord of VR content at my fingertips while testing the Oculus Rift, but mostly I ended up returning to Eve: Valkyrie andLucky’s Tale, both of which are bundled with the Rift. In fact, they’re impressive enough that I’d dare call them the first VR killer apps.

Gallery: Oculus Rift Games | 14 Photos

If you were a fan of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, or just always wanted a believable spaceship shooter, Eve: Valkyrie will make you a believer in VR. It’s the most graphically impressive VR title I’ve seen, with richly detailed space environments. I often simply flew around just to take in the scenery.

When the action gets hot and heavy, though, Eve also shows how VR lets you do things that would be impossible on a normal screen. To target enemies with your missiles, for example, you have to physically look in their direction with your headset. That leads to some truly head-turning maneuvers if they’re flying above or right beside you. I was also able to target enemies around me while also hammering away at the pour soul in front of me with my front guns.

Lucky’s Tale is far less violent; it’s more reminiscent of 3D Mario games (with a lead character who looks suspiciously like Tales from Sonic). You get a third-person camera view with the VR headset, and you control the main character as he hops around and fights enemies, just like a typical platformer. That may sound disappointing, but the game’s real beauty is in letting you simply look around.

Peering right usually shows you all of the obstacles ahead in a stage, and you can also look back on everything you’ve conquered. You can peer over ledges and, surprisingly, even lean down to get a closer look at character models and environments. (I particularly enjoyed getting a close look at small things, like butterflies floating around, or dandelion spores that get blown into the air.) Lucky even gets a bit cheeky when you try to get down close to him. It also helps that the game itself is genuinely fun to play, with a charming soundtrack and colorful environments.

Lucky’s Tale is a great example of how even third-person camera angles can benefit from VR. It’s not just about getting a first-person view; simply being able to look around and appreciate the scope of environments can add to a game’s presence. I also noticed something similar with the Adventure TimeVR game, which isn’t as detailed as Lucky’s Tale but really makes you feel like a part of its cartoon world.

We’ve already written impressions about some of the 30 titles launching with the Oculus Rift, but I also dabbled in just about everything I could find. Chronos is a solid attempt at creating a Zelda-like adventure game, with a tad of Dark Souls in there for good measure. It also uses a third-person camera, but it’s in a fixed perspective, similar to the early Resident Evil games. Some of those angles were creative, but I would have preferred a free-floating camera like in Lucky’s Tale.

For a change of pace, there’s Into the Dead, an infinite running game that has you zipping through a field of zombies. It’s fairly simple: move left or right, acquire weapons, and try to avoid getting eaten by zombies. The gameplay is a bit limiting, but it still manages to make you feel like you’re surrounded by countless zombies. I also had fun with Radial-G, a futuristic racing game similar to Wipeout, as well as Project Cars, an elaborate racing simulation.

On the entertainment front, I sat through plenty of 360-degree videos in the Oculus Video app and JauntVR, as well as Oculus’ original VR series Henry and Lost. For the most part, they were all things I had already seen on the Gear VR and other demos, so they weren’t as exciting as fresh new games. It’ll be interesting to see if more companies start producing higher-quality 360-degree experiences, though. Right now, many of the VR videos are surprisingly low-res.

Since you have access to all of the same videos on the $100 Gear VR, watching any sort of media on the Oculus Rift almost feels like a waste. I’d rather be diving into virtual games that take full advantage of my computer’s hardware. VR videos are also far more suited to viewing on a completely wireless device like the Gear VR, rather than a complicated headset tethered by a cable.

Ultimately, the Oculus Rift proves that virtual reality is a viable way to experience games and new types of media. I’ve played games projected on a 100-inch screen, and that’s still not nearly as immersive as what the Rift provides.

The competition

Do I really have to spell this out? Over the next few months, it’ll be the Oculus Rift and HTC’s Vive, which is powered by Valve’s SteamVR platform, battling for VR dominance. At $800, the Vive is a bigger investment up front, but it also includes two motion controllers, sensors for room-scale VR and slightly better VR imaging technology. You’ll be paying more for the Oculus motion controllers later this year (and we still don’t know by how much). The Vive doesn’t come with an Xbox One controller, but that’s something most PC gamers probably already have lying around the house. The two platforms also share the same minimum specifications.

Really, your choice between the Oculus Rift and Vive comes down to games. The Rift comes bundled with Eve: Valkryie and Lucky’s Tale, while the Vive comes with Fantastic Contraption, Google’s Tilt Brush and Job Simulator. It wouldn’t be a platform war without exclusives, either. Right now, Lucky’s Tale will be exclusive to the Rift and, naturally, anything developed by Valve will stick with the SteamVR-powered Vive.

And of course, the PlayStation VR is coming this October for $400 to $500, depending on which bundle you get. That may be the easiest option for most gamers, since it requires just a PlayStation 4. But given that that console makes use of aging components, you won’t be reaching nearly the same level of graphical quality as you would with the Rift or Vive on a gaming PC.

Wrap-up

Even after spending the better part of a week with the Oculus Rift, it’s still hard to fathom that virtual reality is something I can just jump into at home. It’s almost as easy as flipping on a game console or turning on the radio. It’s even harder to believe that we have a first-generation technology product that mostly lives up to all of the hype, and decades of geek fantasies.

But as with any first-gen product, there are a few flaws with the Oculus Rift. The imaging technology still isn’t perfect, and it requires a significant amount of powerful gaming hardware. The price is understandable, given that it’s leading us into an entirely new form of computing. But it’s also hard to champion the Rift completely when few people can afford it. It’s the very definition of elite technology.

Hopefully in a few years, when the hardware gets cheaper, VR will have something for everyone. Right now, though, the important thing is that it actually exists.

Oculus Rift review (engadget)

Virtual reality has never really convinced me it’s worth the hassle. The roughly developed attempts so far never seem to justify the awkward hardware or the stomach queasiness. Even after strapping on one of Oculus’ early development headsets and seeing something really cool, I was out of there within twenty minutes and wondering more about lunch than when the future would arrive in my living room.

So imagine my surprise when, after pulling off the final version of the Oculus Rift during a recent session, I realized I had been playing for more than an hour. It was dark out, and all my coworkers had gone home. I’d been lost in the moment, trying to collect all 25 hidden red coins in a level of Lucky’s Tale, one of the 30 games launching alongside the Oculus today.

I’m no longer a hardcore gamer, but I’ve had my fair share of caffeine-fueled gaming all-nighters, so I’m familiar with the dazed feeling of coming to after losing myself to an illusion. I looked at my watch. It was just after seven. Do I have anywhere to be? Nope. I rubbed my eyes, pulled the headset down over my face, and went back for more.

This has been the promise of Oculus all along: a truly immersive virtual reality experience. From the beginning, when Oculus was first introduced as a Kickstarter, the nerds were already on board—legions of gamers and early adopters were ready to buy into virtual reality before they even saw it themselves. For the rest of us, VR has remained an elusive and tedious source of hype. It’s all talk about the future and the possibilities that lie ahead, but for the most part, it’s been a future we can’t see. And when virtual reality doesn’t fill a need, the way a smartphone does by putting the internet in your pocket, the technology is hard to get excited about.

Even if you’ve had a glimpse of VR’s “promise”—with Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, or an early Oculus development kit—and were wowed in the moment, it was probably more excitement about what it could become, rather than what it was.

Because the best content on the best VR viewers until now has sucked. Oculus’ first two headsets were uncomfortable and cumbersome; the image quality has never been realistic enough to transport you to another world entirely; and worst of all, the screens inside the headsets can’t keep up with head movement fast enough to keep people from getting sick.

But now we have the Rift—the final version. A finished consumer product that delivers a polished experience that can be appreciated not just by the nerds.

Preparing to go virtual

The moment you pull the Rift’s retail package from its brown shipping carton, you can tell it’s a different device this time around. A white glossy sleeve encloses a dramatic black box that flips open like a flight case. Everything is nestled into a molded spot, and a sticker on the inside-top flap invites you to a setup website, from which you’re guided step by step through the installation.

Oculus has gone to pains to mimic the experience of famously simple consumer products (ahem, Apple) right from the start. It’s a valiant effort for a lumbering headset you’ll eventually have to strap to your face, and make no mistake—this process is hardly simple. There’s a lot of stuff in this box:

The headset with its tether cable that connects to your computer

The Oculus sensor and stand, which track the position of the Rift on your head.

The compact Oculus remote, which allows you to navigate menus and adjust the volume while you’re wearing the headset.

An Xbox One controller for playing games, and the USB adapter that wirelessly connects the controller to your computer. (At launch, Oculus’ motion tracking Touch controllers won’t be available. According to the company, they’ll be out later this year.)

And that’s not really all of it, unless you already have a sick gaming computer. Along with our review unit, Oculus sent us one of its Oculus-ready PCs: a $950 Asus tower with a Nvidia Geforce GTX 970 graphics card, which costs more than $300 on its own, and a chassis bedazzled with customizable glowing LEDs that make the thing look like some mysteriously powerful chunk of alien spaceship.

After about an hour of unboxing and plugging in a gazillion cables, you’re ready to actually start setting up the software, which takes another 20 minutes to download. From there, the step-by-step installation is a breeze, and requires zero technical know-how. It’s hardly as easy as plugging in a new MacBook, but having had the displeasure of assembling and installing Oculus development kits, I can tell you that this new process is nothing short of revelatory.

The new Oculus headset looks like an all-black pair of ski goggles with sturdy straps to affix it to your head. Holding it in both hands, it feels like about the weight of a pound of ground coffee. Inside are two modestly adjustable lenses, which are your portholes to the OLED display. The headset has integrated on-ear speakers, which rest comfortably on your head and remove the need for additional cords latching you to your PC. There’s only one bundle of cords snaking out from the headset, and with the exception of that pesky primary tether, which every so often catches a snag and pulls you out of your virtually transported state, Oculus has succeeded in making something that looks and feels like a premium consumer electronic device.

This ain’t your dad’s VR

I’ve never understood Oculus’ insistence that you need to be standing to use the Rift. Until more movement-oriented experiences exist—and the Touch motion controllers are available—sitting in a swivel chair allows more than a sufficient range of movement. Although it’s weird to see how far you’ve rolled away from a desk when you emerge from the void beyond.

Once you’ve put the thing on your head, you’re presented with a simple UI, called Oculus Home, which allows you to browse apps in your library and the Oculus store, where you can download more. Many of the apps are huge, and on crowded broadband, I was more likely to leave them downloading overnight then sit at the computer twiddling my thumbs.

In virtual reality, moving your head changes the perspective of the image you’re viewing, as if it was actually in front of you. You interact with the virtual world using a manual input device, like an Xbox One controller or the Oculus remote. To navigate the UI, you simply point your head at what you want to interact with, and click on it with your controller. The movement is smooth, and pointing your head at something inside the Rift is basically identical to turning your head in real life. Just make sure you know where the controller is when you put the headset on, or you’ll have an unpleasant moment blindly fumbling around for it.

The available apps hint at the potential for the Rift beyond gaming, but they’re not ready for prime time. Oculus Video, for example, allows you to view 360 and 2D content through the headset. (It includes a mandatory subcategory for 360 videos on Facebook, which now owns Oculus.) When watching movies in “lean back” mode, I find myself much more aware of the headset then when I’m playing games. It’s really no better than watching a movie in a darkened room. There are other experimental apps, like a VR tour of the human body, but they’re not that interesting. It’s all more future than now.

All fun and games

The Rift was really designed as a gaming device, and this is where it shines. After sampling a few titles, it’s clear that the simpler the controls for a game, the more enjoyable and immersive I found the experience. I had the most fun playing the whimsical and childishly simple Lucky’s Tale,in which you play a cartoon fox hopping along in the world, racking up points, evading enemies, and completing challenges.

People in the office who had less gaming experience found Lucky’s Taleimmediately intuitive too, and it shows how a VR headset can actually simplify gaming and make it more accessible. Most traditional 360 games (think Call of Duty or other first-person shooters) require two kinds of directional inputs (joystick or arrows on a controller)—one of them controls “the camera” or the way you’re facing, and the other controls your directional movement. Combining them seamlessly requires a fair amount of coordination, but a VR headset takes care of the camera view, which makes it a lot easier. Gunjack, the arcade shooter, is easy to master because you point your head in the direction of vessels you need to shoot out of the sky. It’s fun and super satisfying, without a huge learning curve.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Eve: Valkyrie, a space simulator spin off of Eve Online, which is probably the type of title hardcore gamers are looking for. Since I’m not one of these gamers, the controls for piloting the spaceship were tough for me. I found myself getting sick after about five minutes, and the missions were so stressful and intense that I threw off my headset. It’s not surprising that making a realistic and enjoyable spaceship simulator would be difficult, and I did get better over the week. But I’m still not hurting to play the game.

The failings of the future

I’m not saying it would be impossible for me to adjust to Eve: Valkyrieeventually, but a period of adjustment is exactly what Oculus is trying to eliminate. The company has worked for four years to make a product accessible enough for anybody. This title, and others like it, are going to fall painfully short of the mainstream accessibility Oculus wants to achieve in the long run—no matter how much the technology improves.

While we’re on flaws, I’ll add a few more. There are still moments when you see hints of “screen-door effect”—wherein the space between pixels is visible, because the OLED displays are almost on top of of your eyeballs. The effect is akin to seeing the world through a screened-in porch. Plus the image is occasionally blurry, and the sweet spot for the lenses feels elusive and small. At times, it’s like you’re staring through a tunnel at the image, insofar as the edges of your field-of-view look artificially cut off.

Then there’s the price. The Rift package alone costs $600. Add the $950 PC we used, and you’re looking at a total of $1550. It’s a shitload of money, and probably enough to mean Oculus will remain mostly niche. In other words, even if Oculus made a device that’s accessible to all, it’s still pretty much only for gamers. If you’re one of those people who is ready to drop that kind of coin, you should wait for next week’s reviews of the HTC Vive, which has a headset with similar specifications to the Rift.

What Oculus has accomplished is remarkable. There’s plenty that even the completely uninitiated user can enjoy. More importantly, the Rift is truly immersive in most cases. The image quality is mostly excellent, and the head-tracking is nearly flawless. Indeed, perhaps what’s most significant is that there are moments when I can say unreservedly and without caveats that I am enjoying the Rift right in the moment—not as a device indicative of some desirable future, but as a device to own right now. I still can’t afford the future of virtual reality, but for the first time, I actually want to.

Pros

Oculus Rift is fun. Seriously, man, playing games is fun.

The Rift is miraculously easy to install and use.

The experience is wholly immersive, and doesn’t make you want to vomit (most of the time).

More complex and disorienting games will still turn your stomach.

The Rift is mostly good for games right now—everything else is bogus.

Oculus Rift review

When it comes to smart new features, car drivers get most of the fun. But a new concept from Samsung and Yamaha promises a simple smart windshield for motorcyclists which could help them stay safe on the roads.

It’s not the first smart display to be proposed for a motorcycle, but this collaboration between Samsung and Yamaha feels like a concept that could actually come to fruition. It’s really rather simple: It just uses a small projector beneath the windshield which pairs with a smartphone to provide some brains. That allows the rider to send automated responses to important calls or messages, as well as checking in on things like navigation details. Other than that, though, there’s little else to it: Its just large text about a few important things on the windshield. And that simplicity makes it both useful and safe—which seems like a pretty great idea.

Samsung Smart Motorcycle Windshield

Thứ Bảy, 26 tháng 3, 2016

LG is facing a gigantic challenge in 2016. It’s launching directly against the Samsung Galaxy S7, a phone that improves on an already excellent platform to become an incredibly accomplished smartphone. To combat Samsung and the omnipresent iPhone, LG has decided to innovate and rethink how we use smartphones.

The G5 is really different. It’s a phone that has a bottom and battery that detach, allowing you to clip in new modules that give the G5 special abilities, like a better camera or higher-quality sound. It’s a small change, but damn exciting because of what it represents and what it could mean for the future.

But is the world ready for camera-enhancing modules or clip-in high-performance audio DACs?

For the G5 to be a success, people need to see the potential of the modules, but they also have to love the phone. Outshining Samsung and Apple is a gargantuan task, and LG’s out of left field. Does the G5 have what it takes to make people buy it and dive into the world of modular smartphones?

Editor’s Note: We tested a pre-production model for several days to see how the G5 performs alone, and with the CamPlus module attached. We will update this review when we receive final versions of the phone and modules.

The magic’s in the slot

LG will tell you the G5’s appeal lies inside the ‘magic slot,’ the unofficial name for the phone’s modular port. It’s located at the base of the device, and always houses the battery, which attaches to the module of your choice. On the phone’s right-hand side is a small, flush-mounted button that requires a firm press to activate. It pops the lower section of the phone out, disconnects the battery, and allows the entire module to be removed.

LG G5 Review

LG G5 Review

The battery unclips with a firm, sideways tug, and is reattached to the new module, which is slid back into the phone. It’s neat, well designed, and sensibly made. It doesn’t just unclip and let everything clatter to the floor either. You need to make the effort to pull the module free. You need a firm hand to remove the battery the mounting points, and replacing the module requires a solid final push to secure it back in place. None of these steps will be completed by accident, so the G5 won’t disassemble if you happen to look at it strangely.

However, it all feels very alien. We’re used to treating our phones like delicate little flowers, and the G5 needs some rough treatment to swap the modules. The first few times you do it, you’re going to wonder if it’s about to break. Will it? No, certainly not if you follow the instructions. Unless you drop the phone, you’ll be fine.

The amount of work, thought, effort, and commitment that has gone into creating the G5 is astonishing.

The first time we swapped modules, we were so afraid we would break the phone, that we asked another colleague, who’d had practice to do it. It took a couple rounds of swapping modules to get comfortable with the harsh tugging and pulling, and even then, it felt decidedly wrong. We can’t really imagine your average Joe swapping modules, but tech geeks will love it.

We also wish there were an easier way to swap modules, or that it each module came with its own battery, so we didn’t have to yank the battery out every time. Alternatively, keeping the battery tucked away in the back would be nice, so that swapping modules doesn’t involve any battery swapping at all. Of course, that would annoy those who want a removable battery pack.

An amazing camera that steals the show

The LG G4 and the LG V10 are two of the very best camera phones ever made, and LG hasn’t sacrificed any of that photographic prowess on the G5. The G5’s camera is absolutely fantastic, and we can’t stop taking pictures with it. The sensor is almost identical to the V10, with 16-megapixels and an f/1.8 aperture, plus laser autofocus and optical image stabilization. It also copies the V10’s dual-lens selfie cam trick, but here, the two sensors are on the back.

The first camera provides a regular view of the world, while the second gives an expanded 135-degree wide-angle view, providing ample opportunity for creativity. They’re used independently of each other, unless you activate a special pop-out mode, where the two viewpoints are meshed together to create weird hybrids. It’s a feature that won’t be used that often, but can produce fun collages, if you’re patient.

Using the wide-angle lens is addictive. It changes the camera view completely, and changes the way you think about framing, composition, and focal points. Get it right, and the results looks superb, especially when taking pictures of vistas and wide-open spaces. There is a slight fish-eye effect to the G5’s wide-angle pictures, but again, provided you put some thought into the final image, it’s not distracting.

LG has included its incredibly easy-to-use manual mode for the G5, where ISO, shutter speed, focus, and white balance can be adjusted. It’s the most user-friendly manual mode we’ve used, and it never feels like you’re going to make a terrible mess of things when fiddling around with the settings. You’ll find yourself using it to tweak pictures rather than setting it to auto, due to its simplicity.

Low light performance is superb. Even using auto mode, it slowed the shutter speed down to a point where a tripod was needed to steady the shot and eliminate blur. Switching to manual mode compensated for the circumstances, but the picture wasn’t as good as it could have been. The software wasn’t final on the G5 we used, so we’ll update this review when we’ve used the complete version.

Zooming in on subjects is handled differently on the G5, utilizing both lenses for a fluid, more detail orientated digital zoom feature. It’s still no match for an optical zoom, and although it has a greater range than other digital zooms, the results are hardly worth the effort.

The 8-megapixel selfie camera also has a wider angle than other phones, such as the iPhone 6S Plus, and comes with an effective beauty mode for smoothing out skin tones. There’s also a fun multi-angle mode where the three lenses take a picture, which is then shown in a three-panel collage — great for showing a reaction selfie without spoiling the actual picture.The G5’s camera is a complete pleasure to use; it’s a huge selling point for the phone. It’s fun and easy to learn, and because the results are usually beautiful, you’ll want to use it more often. The wide-angle lens differentiates the phone from the competition — and is an improvement over the G4 and V10 — even if the overall picture quality and general usage is essentially the same. It’d be harsh to say it’s not a worthy upgrade from either of those two phones, given the G5’s other features.

USING THE CAMPLUS MODULE

Given how well the G5’s camera performs, you’d almost wonder why you even need the CamPlus module. However, after using an early version of the CamPlus, we can honestly say that it enhances the G5’s camera, creating even more high-quality images. The main area in which the CamPlus shines is with its zoom feature.

LG G5 Review

The module isn’t very big, even though it holds an extra battery pack to keep your phone charged while you’re off being a shutterbug. There’s a dedicated photo button, a button for recording video, and a zoom wheel. When we zoomed in on a street sign from a full, long block away in NYC with the CamPlus, we could easily read the tiny street number on the sign and other details that were impossible to see with the human eye. We did the same thing with the standard zoom on the Galaxy S7 Edge and iPhone 6S Plus, and the results with both phones were more grainy and the street sign’s letters were almost indistinguishable.

The CamPlus module sees things that other smartphone cameras can’t, and it’s truly impressive.

The CamPlus module sees things that other smartphone cameras can’t, and it’s truly impressive. If you took the G5 and the CamPlus on vacation, you wouldn’t need to pack any other camera to take great photos. The addition of the camera button and zoom wheel will also be useful when you’re taking pictures with gloves on in the winter. It eliminates the need to touch your phone’s screen to get the best picture possible, which makes your G5 feel more like a real camera.

We felt some occasional software hiccups when the zoom wheel just wouldn’t work, or the camera had a hard time focusing, but LG reminded us that it’s an early prototype of the CamPlus and that refinements will be made before launch.

The CamPlus’ $70 price tag may give you pause, but if you like to take photos and find yourself wishing for a better zoom on your phone, the CamPlus is for you. We do hope, however, that carriers and LG will offer deals on these modules to make them more accessible to the average user. We’ve yet to try the high-res audio module or the battery back module, but we’ll update as soon as we get them in.

SPECS AND LOSING THE APP DRAWER IN ANDROID 6.0

Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow is under more of a disguise on the G5 than previous LG smartphones, primarily because of the controversial decision to get rid of the app tray. It’ll split opinion, mainly among Android enthusiasts who have been with the OS from the start. Its similarity to Apple’s iOS will also annoy some, but the real question is, did we miss the app drawer? Not really, no. Actually, not at all.

All your apps are still there, but instead of tapping another button to find them, they’re spread across multiple home screens. Yes, I missed relegating only the most often used apps to the app drawer to place more emphasis on the wallpaper, but with careful sorting folders, it’s still possible to individualize the G5.

LG’s list of pre-installed apps isn’t that long, and includes the usual apps for email, contacts, and the weather, plus tools like a voice recorder, calculator, task manager, and handily, an FM radio. A selection of battery, storage, and memory saver tools are also onboard. None can be uninstalled. There’s also the LG Friends app, which helps you connect the modules properly. That process is remarkably easy: Once the module is in, the phone detects it, and you tap on its name to connect in the app. Done!

The G5 is a fireball with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM onboard, and we’re pleased to say it isn’t literally too hot to handle. Qualcomm’s new chip has banished the overheating woes that plagued the Snapdragon 810, and while the G5 gets warm to the touch when put under pressure, it’s never hot. Because the software on our review device isn’t final, we’ll hold off benchmarks for now, but playing Danmaku Unlimited in HD, on the insanely busy difficult mode didn’t result in any slowdown.

BATTERY LIFE NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

If the G5’s processor makes it an absolute beast, what about the battery? We’ll start with the positives. It’s completely replaceable, so if you carry a spare, it takes seconds to swap it out for a freshly charged one. Try that in any other major flagship phone in 2016. In fact, try it in any metal phone at all. It can’t be done, and it’s only possible on the G5 because of LG’s radical modular design.

It’s not incredibly long lasting, but it’s not really that different from the Galaxy S7 or iPhone 6S Plus.

Recharging will have to happen every other day, and potentially part way through it. If you hit the GPS for about two hours, take some photos, and generally use the phone for email, messages, and apps; the battery will give up at the end of the day. It’s not incredibly long lasting, but it’s not really that different from the Galaxy S7 or iPhone 6S Plus in that regard. At least with the G5, if you’ve got that second battery, it’s not the disaster the situation it may have been on another phone.

It also has QuickCharge 3.0, which is a step ahead of the Galaxy S7’s QuickCharge 2.0 standard. It juiced up quickly when we needed it to regain power fast. The absence of wireless charging will no doubt disappoint some of you, but that’s one of the things about metal – It doesn’t let signals penetrate so well.

DEMURE DESIGN

Finally, we come to the G5’s understated design. It can’t stand up to the beauty of the iPhone or Galaxy S7 Edge. At first glance it looks boring, but it isn’t ugly. In time, we began to like its subtle design details.

There are curves in unexpected places — the top of the screen slopes back towards the chassis, for example — and there are no nasty sharp edges to make it awkward to hold. The metal is smooth and seamless. It doesn’t have any unsightly antenna bands, either, which is a true feat of engineering that not even Apple has accomplished.

If anything, the G5 is too understated, and doesn’t make much of an early impression. Live with it for a while, and you’ll be thankful for its well thought out design and shape.

LG should also be congratulated for making the modular system almost invisible on the G5. When you first look at the phone, you would never know the base slides out. There are no over-sized buttons, no silly arrows painted on the body, and no ugly breaks in the chassis. It’s all handled with maturity and style.

Although it’s not much smaller than the LG G4, the G5’s sleek shape makes it very compact. It’s barely bigger than the Galaxy S7 and weighs 159 grams. The display is 5.3 inches diagonal, smaller than the G4 and slightly bigger than the Galaxy S7, but it has the same 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution seen on LG’s top phones over the last few years. It performed without fault, as did the fingerprint sensor on the rear, although we really missed having the volume controls on the back of the G5. They’ve been moved to the side of the phone.

WE NEED MORE UPDATES

LG usually updates its phones at least once, but its record isn’t much better than that of Samsung or any other Android phone maker. It’s a shame, and we’d like to see phone makers take more initiative in getting Android updates out to users sooner. Because Android phones don’t get regular updates, they are vulnerable to hacking attacks, viruses, and generally less secure than the iPhone. And they don’t often get new software features. LG, and others, should work harder to fix this epic problem.

WARRANTY AND DURABILITY

LG placed a one-year parts and labor warranty on the G5, so if there’s a problem, you’ll have to send it back to the company for repair.

It’s unknown how durable the modules will prove, or if swapping them over and over again will cause and problems. That’s something that will be determined over time. The G5 isn’t water resistant, either, which is one mark against it in the durability column when compared to the Galaxy S7. However, when it comes to drops and falls, metal trumps glass every time, so the G5 will likely win the drop tests.

CONCLUSION

The amount of work, thought, effort, and commitment that has gone into creating the G5 is astonishing. While other brands are accused of coasting along with endless rehashes of previously successful handsets, LG has come out with something that drives the smartphone game full speed ahead. It’s brave, exciting, and full of glorious potential.

However, at the moment, the potential of the modular phone isn’t fully realized. Without a packed playground full of modular pals to play with, the G5’s magic slot is a bit lonely. The only two modules that are out so far – the CamPlus and the high-res audio one — aren’t hugely exciting, and only photography nuts and high-res audio fans will take the plunge and buy one at a $70 price.

So, should you buy the G5 as it stands right now? We think so. It is undoubtedly one of the finest flagship phones of 2016 to date, and you won’t be disappointed by it whether you buy into the modules or not. But if you’re deciding between G5 and Galaxy S7 Edge, right now, we’d opt for the Edge, especially because it supports the best smartphone accessory available to buy today — the Gear VR headset.

The LG G5 is a great buy, but isn’t our favorite Android phone yet.

LG G5 Review

Our Surface team is incredibly passionate about helping people be more productive. We live and breathe this mission every day.

One thing that we believe very, very deeply is that the best work is done by teams. People who get together, challenge each other, and work together can accomplish so much more than people working individually. And yet there wasn’t a device designed for teams to use together.

So we set out to change that. We set out to build technology to unlock the power of teams much better. And we got customers, partners, our software team, and our hardware team together to build a first-of-its-kind new solution, Surface Hub.

We have built Surface Hub as a group. We have been building our Surface products with Surface Hub. Even more importantly, we have seen how innovative businesses and partners have embraced this opportunity to pioneer new ways for groups to work together. They have been our inspiration.

I can tell you confidently, our Surface team works together better because we have Surface Hub. Our early Surface Hub business partners can tell you confidently that they work together better with Surface Hub. This is why we built Surface Hub. And this is why we are so proud to announce that Surface Hub has begun shipping to business customers. We are excited to see how Surface Hub will bring people together to work, create and learn in new ways.

We are not just releasing a powerful device. We are releasing a team-empowering solution that will make meetings more productive, modernize workflows, and let people engage with data much better. We designed Surface Hub from the ground up for ink and touch, and harnessed the best collaboration and security features of Windows 10, Skype for Business, Office, OneNote and Universal Windows apps. We’ve seen how businesses and disciplines like healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, consulting, defense, finance, education, and design can bring Surface Hub into workspaces to bring a new level of innovation and efficiency to their teams. They can reduce costs and improve effectiveness, compared to legacy AV and presentation technology.

In short, we’ve seen the future of group productivity as we have built this with our partners and customers. We couldn’t be more excited about the future with this new category of product. We also can’t thank our customers and partners enough for their inspiration and contributions in making this product with us.

Surface Hub will help transform businesses and teams

Companies like AstraZeneca, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and SHoP Architects have seen that Surface Hub will improve how people work together and engage customers. We’ve watched the magic that happens as Surface Hub fundamentally transforms not only conference rooms and huddle-spaces, but also factory floors, lecture halls, hospitals, and executive offices and boardrooms.

For example, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will be using a Qwaltec developed application on Surface Hub as a command-and-control center for doctors and medical staff, to manage scheduling and replace outdated whiteboards. The hospital is calling it a “game changer,” not only because it will help the hospital save time and money, but also because Surface Hub helps connect the entire care team to their patients with up-to-date information.

Read more about how other organizations are using Microsoft Surface Hub, including Barlit Beck, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University, European School of Management and Technology, and SHoP Architects.

Surface Hub will save companies money

In a recent Total Economic Impact study commissioned by Microsoft, Forrester Consulting* worked with five Surface Hub early adopter customers to outline the costs, benefits and risks for implementing Surface Hub in a business environment. This resulted in benefits of more than $850,000 (3 year NPV**) based on savings in device deployment and management costs, avoided printing and device purchase costs, and improved sales.

Companies that conduct meetings in rooms and collaboration spaces with a Surface Hub installed experienced a 75% improvement in remote attendee setup and post-meeting productivity, saving about 15-20 minutes per hour-long meeting spent on setting up video or screen-sharing services and completing meeting notes. Organizations saw decreased printing costs of up to $9,000 in the first year, using Surface Hub with pen and touch-enabled screen to make changes and take group notes instead of paper copies. Companies that conducted sales meetings using Surface Hub as a platform for presentations and collaboration with clients estimate a 20% sales improvement with those clients.

Surface Hub fits into many businesses

We know all companies have different needs and workplaces. To customize their experience, Surface Hub customers can easily visit the Windows Store for Business and download a variety of commercial-grade Windows 10 apps to help the business like viewing 3D modeling and CAD files, analyzing videos, facilitating brainstorm and voting sessions, and more. Some examples of applications that can be used on Surface Hub include: Buzz Radar; FluidMath;Mediator by Interknowlogy; MURAL; Power BI; Sensavis The 3D Classroom; Portal Mindmap by HeadCandy; Stormboard for Surface Hub; TechSmith Loop;SharpCloud; tuServ by Black Marble; Virbeya; and XOS ThunderCloud. And, as a Windows 10 device, the Surface Hub benefits from Windows Update for Business, which provides flexibility in managing when and how updates are deployed.

Microsoft Surface Hub has begun shipping to business customers

Beginning today Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa can control Nest thermostats. If you’re home is too warm or too cold, just shout at the voice-activated helper and it’ll adjust the temperature. It’s going to be incredibly helpful on those summer days when it’s too hot to move.

Amazon announced that Nest thermostats would support Alexa voice controls when it launched the Amazon Dot and Tap earlier his month. Like the Echo, the new devices will also control the Nest.

Amazon has been working with multiple companies to make its Alexa platform a central part of the home. Nest has also been reaching out to other companies with Works with Nest system. So hopefully most of your connected home will work together in the near future.

Amazon Alexa controls Nest thermostats

Thứ Sáu, 25 tháng 3, 2016

When Amazon introduced the Echo speaker last November, I was both intrigued and a little creeped out. I liked the idea of a wireless speaker that did more than just play music, but Amazon’s promotional video was unsettlingly weird. There was something about the faux family’s interaction with the speaker – as if it was a family member itself – that came off like forced futurism. I know others felt the same, if only because they didn’t like the idea that the speaker would always be on, constantly listening. With the NSA constantly making headlines for overstepping its bounds and invading privacy, it’s hard not to imagine the Echo as some sort of eavesdropping device.

The Echo speaker is Amazon’s most interesting experiment yet.

Of course, the Amazon Echo wouldn’t be the first device we’ve invited into our homes that could spy on us. Our laptops, tablets and smart phones are all outfitted with microphones and Internet connections — that’s all it takes, really. Think Siri isn’t paying attention? Think again.

In the end, my curiosity got the better of me and I submitted my request for an invitation. Oh, you hadn’t heard? You can’t just go to Amazon and buy the Echo. First you have to request an invitation to buy it. Then, Amazon will review your request and only if you’re deemed worthy will you be sent said invitation. That invite is only good for 7 days, mind you, so don’t miss your ordering window, or you’re slap out of luck.

Why all the cloak and dagger? It’s a wireless speaker for crying out loud! We’re guessing it’s simply beta testing for Amazon to learn more about what Echo does well, what it does poorly, which features users take advantage of most, and what kind of features users wish they had. And enthusiast Prime members get to play guinea pigs before the masses rip it apart.

I’m here to save us all some trouble and just spell it right out. Here’s what life with the Echo (er … Alexa) is all about, and what I hope it will be like in the future.

Out of the box

As I’ve noted in my Fire TV and Fire TV stick reviews, I think Amazon is really getting the packaging thing down. The Echo comes in a well-appointed box with a bright orange interior, just like all the Fire products Amazon sells.

The accessories, including a voice-capable remote control, AC adapter, and batteries, all come individually wrapped for protection, and Amazon throws in a handy set-up guide along with a glossary of questions and commands Alexa understands.

I was encouraged by how heavy the Echo felt as I removed it from the box. Considering there aren’t any rechargeable batteries inside, I take this to be a sign of solid build quality. At the top of the speaker are just two buttons, a little pinhole for the microphone, and a thin ring running the circumference of the speaker can be twisted for volume. Just above the volume ring is an LED ring which the speaker employs as a feedback tool for its user. For instance, the ring glows orange when it is ready for setup, and blue when Alexa is listening.

The Echo is otherwise unremarkable looking. I did notice that its matte black finish was quick to collect oil from fingers – just another reason to go hands free and use the voice interaction feature.

Setup

Setting up the Echo is about as easy as anyone could ask for. When plugged in, the speaker instantly launches into readiness mode, acting as a Wi-Fi access point. Using a smartphone or tablet, you must temporarily connect to the Echo via Wi-Fi. The speaker will tell you when the connection is successful, and direct you to use the Echo app (which should be installed ahead of time) to finish the process. From there, all you have to do tell the Echo which Wi-FI router to connect to and feed it the password. That’s it. The Echo app will prompt you to watch an orientation video, but if you want to skip ahead, just scrub to the end and the app will let you move on.

How it works

The Echo comes pre-registered to the account of whoever ordered it. As such, the moment it connects to Wi-Fi, it has access to Amazon’s Prime music service and any music stored in the user’s music account. This will include digital copies of any CDs the user may have ordered from Amazon in the past.

The Echo can also draw on iHeartRadio or TuneIn for content, but you’ll need to enter account information in the Echo app in order for those services to be available.

Amazon Echo app amazon echo review app 1 2

amazon-echo-review-app (4) amazon echo review app 4 2

Amazon Echo app amazon echo review app 5

To play music (or do anything else, really) you will have to start talking to Alexa – that’s your speaker’s name, like it or not. I hope you don’t have any daughters named Alexa, Alexis, Alex, or Lexie – or ever plan to – because you will be in for a frustrating time. Alexa’s voice recognition software is remarkably accurate, but she gets fooled by similar sounding names sometimes. You can change “her” name to “Amazon” instead, but that takes some of the personality out of the experience. I’d like to see some new names folded in by Amazon in the near future.

To play music (or anything else, really), you will have to start talking to Alexa – that’s your speaker’s name, like it or not.

Anyway, let’s say you want to listen to a playlist based on a certain artist; just say “Alexa” and ask her to play music by that artist. Chances are pretty good it will be available, and Alexa will confirm for you what she’s about to play. You can also be very specific about the song you want to hear, or you can ask for broad playlists based on different genres of music. If Alexa is ever uncertain, she’ll ask you for clarification.

While music is playing, you can ask Alexa to adjust volume (“Alexa, volume 6,” for instance) skip a track, repeat a track, pause, play, stop, etc. Any time you call out Alexa, the speaker will reduce the volume of the music playing so she can hear you better.

Outside of music, Alexa can answer a lot of questions. If it’s on Wikipedia, Alexa can reference it and read the first paragraph to you. We had a lot of fun asking it random fact-based questions like “how fast can a cheetah run,” “when was Starbucks founded,” and “how old are you?” Need measurement conversions? Alexa can knock that out, too. In fact, the Echo speaker ended up being a great kitchen companion, and my son swears by the Echo as a study companion.

Alexa can also tell you about the weather, what time it is, set an alarm for you, and add items to a shopping list or a to-do list. Plus, any answer Alexa gives or song she plays also shows up on the Echo app too, so you can dive deeper into that Wikipedia entry or manage your to-do list. That feature was far more convenient than I’d thought it would be, and, again, my son found homework a whole lot easier to do.

Alexa ain’t Siri

Alexa and Siri share many common traits, but there are certainly some stark differences. For instance, Alexa’s voice is far more natural than Siri’s and therefore, perhaps somewhat eerily, is more endearing. Alexa also seems to be a little more intuitive at times, as if she can connect little dots to more accurately respond to questions. On the other hand, Siri can take dictation and leverage more information sources to better serve the user. We prefer interaction with Alexa, though, perhaps because she gives better feedback. My family had only used the Echo speaker for about three days at the time of this writing, but I have to admit, we had somehow turned into that creepy family that had adopted Alexa like a family dog or cat. Maybe Amazon’s whacky commercial wasn’t so far off after all.

What Alexa can’t do now, but might in the near future

If I’m going to invite into my home a computer that’s always listening to me, trying to get me to shop at Amazon more often, then I should actually be able to shop at Amazon through the speaker. This isn’t a big ask, folks. It can access my cloud-storage account, so I believe one day the Echo may offer access to my shopping cart, or help me track existing orders.

I can’t think of any other $100 Bluetooth speaker that can do even half of the things the Echo can do.

I’d love to tell Alexa to order me a new water filter for my refrigerator, for instance, and let the speaker take care of the rest.

I’d also like to see the Echo integrate with Amazon’s Fire TV box and Fire TV Stick. It would be great to tell Alexa, “play Prison Break on my Fire TV” and be watching seconds later. The speaker can already send info to a Kindle Fire tablet, why not the Fire TV?

As long as I’m suggesting improvements, I wish there was some kind of security feature that keeps my 6-year-old daughter from placing orders for music without my permission. It was amazing how easily she figured out that saying yes to the right questions got her exactly what she wanted. Amazon does provide for a four-digit security PIN, but how hard is that to remember once you’ve heard it? I’d like to see a confirmation prompt through Amazon’s website or the Echo app.

Audio performance

I’m not going to dwell too long on the Echo’s sound quality, because I think that misses the point. I can’t think of any other $100 Bluetooth speaker that can do half of the things the Echo can do. Truly, this is as much a utility as it is a music playback device. With that said, I will say the Echo’s sound quality is “good enough.”

The Echo’s bass response isn’t as deep or prominent as, say, the $100 UE Mini Boom. The treble isn’t nearly as clean, either. Still, it provides a nice enough sound track for cooking or cleaning, and it can get plenty loud.

Conclusion

The Echo speaker is Amazon’s most interesting experiment yet. I poked fun at the marketing efforts around the Echo and its voice-driven assistant, Alexa. But once I had the speaker in my home, I couldn’t deny it was extremely fun to use. Time will tell whether the novelty will wear off and whether or not I’ll end up buying more music through Amazon as a result of the speaker’s convenience (which I think is one of Amazon’s chief goals here), but for now I can say that any Amazon user with even a mild interest in giving the Echo a try should go ahead and pull the trigger. At $99, the Echo more than earns its keep, and you can always sell it off if you lose interest – Amazon’s invitation game has sent eBay prices soaring well above $99. Just be sure to deregister the speaker from your Amazon account first.

Highs

Tons of fun

Intuitive, accurate and natural-sounding voice-assistant

Quick response times

Integration with Fire Tablets

Loads of potential

Lows

Limited Prime account integration

Very average sound quality

Wake word limited to ‘Alexa’ and ‘Amazon’

Security limited to four-digit PIN

Amazon Echo review

Thứ Ba, 29 tháng 3, 2016

Thứ Hai, 28 tháng 3, 2016

Pros

Cons

Summary

Hardware

Setup

Software

In use

Games and apps

Gallery: Oculus Rift Games | 14 Photos

The competition

Wrap-up

Preparing to go virtual

This ain’t your dad’s VR

All fun and games

The failings of the future

Pros

Thứ Bảy, 26 tháng 3, 2016

The magic’s in the slot

An amazing camera that steals the show

USING THE CAMPLUS MODULE

SPECS AND LOSING THE APP DRAWER IN ANDROID 6.0

BATTERY LIFE NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

DEMURE DESIGN

WE NEED MORE UPDATES

WARRANTY AND DURABILITY

CONCLUSION

Thứ Sáu, 25 tháng 3, 2016

Out of the box

Setup

How it works

Alexa ain’t Siri

What Alexa can’t do now, but might in the near future

Audio performance

Conclusion

Highs

Lows

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