Senin, 29 April 2019

Samsung imagines a wraparound smartphone display - Engadget

Sponsored Links

WIPO/Samsung

If that whole folding smartphone thing doesn't work out, Samsung has lot of other ideas cooking. It recently received patent approval for a continuous display that covers the front, while folding around the top and part of the rear of the phone, as spotted by Let's Go Digital. That would make for some interesting applications, like letting subjects see how they look before you take a photo or showing live language translations on the rear display.

You could activate which part of the continuous display (front or back) to use by hovering your hand or a stylus S Pen over it. Rather than being stuck with a basic camera, you'd use the superior rear camera for selfies thanks to the rear display. The language translation part is a particularly interesting idea, as it would let each party speak while the other sees the translation -- all without the need to flip the screen around.

Samsung continuous screen patent

Because it folds around the device, there could also be a display on the top that shows notifications, messages and so on. That way, it could function like a glorified pager, letting you see messages without even removing the phone from your pocket. If you wanted to reply, you could simply pull out the phone drag the message from the top to the front display.

Samsung is actually a bit late to this party, as the recently released Vivo NEX Dual Display phone already has a rear screen, although it uses two separate displays, not a continuous one. Vivo has even advanced the posing feature pretty far, introducing a Pose Director that can give your subject pose suggestions from an image library.

However, the translation app is an interesting idea, and a phone like this might look pretty cool thanks to the seamless display that wraps around the top. There's a chance we might see something like this, but don't bet any money on it -- patents often turn out to be duds.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/29/samsung-smartphone-wraparound-display/

2019-04-29 10:18:01Z
CAIiENGinb7ZVbCqfjMDfoRRL70qGAgEKg8IACoHCAowwOjjAjDp3xswicOyAw

Minggu, 28 April 2019

Epic pulled the Siphon from 'Fortnite' after it frustrated most players - Engadget

Sponsored Links

Epic Games

Epic has to walk a fine line between courting the Fortnite esports crowd and satisfying the bulk of its audience, and that's particularly apparent today. The developer has explained that it pulled the Siphon (a feature that gave health and shields after kills) from core modes when "players at large" were quickly turned off by it. It was meant to keep Pop-Up Cup tournaments exciting by rewarding aggressive play, but it also left all but the top 10 percent of players feeling disenfranchised. The 90 percent of less proficient players became "more frustrated and played less," Epic said.

Siphon is still around in the Arena mode.

The company also explained other choices, such as its decision against including a field-of-view slider. A wide field of view could give some players an unfair advantage, Epic said. It also acknowledged that the weekly online tournament pacing meant that it couldn't stabilize gameplay for every online qualifying match ahead of the Fortnite World Cup Finals, but that it had fixed a number of bugs high-skill players were likely to encounter. You shouldn't deal with "ghost shots," for example.

This might not bring you back if you felt burnt by Epic's choices. It at least offers a rationale, though, and suggests that the developer might be more careful about gameplay tweaks that might favor competitive players over the just-for-fun audience. Not that Epic has much choice. When Fortnite has over 250 million players, a significant imbalance risks alienating millions of people.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/28/epic-explains-fortnite-competitive-changes/

2019-04-28 21:31:57Z
52780277724618

Apple poached Intel's 5G leader weeks ahead of Qualcomm truce - Engadget

Sponsored Links

Evan Rodgers/Engadget

Intel's decision to bail on 5G modems may have gone hand-in-hand with Apple's truce with Qualcomm, but it's now clear there were hints of a shift weeks earlier. The Telegraph has learned that Apple poached Intel's 5G phone modem leader, Umashankar Thyagarajan, in February. While the departure itself wasn't a complete secret (Thyagarajan's LinkedIn profile confirms the switch), the news outlet claims to have email showing that the ex-director was the project engineer for the XMM 8160 chip at the heart of Intel's plans. He also "played a key role" creating the Intel modems used in the iPhone XS and XR.

Neither Apple nor Intel has commented on the report. It's also not clear exactly what Thyagarajan is doing in his new role (he describes it solely as "Architecture" in his LinkedIn bio), although wireless chipset design is the most likely explanation given his background.

Apple hasn't been shy about its intentions to make its own cellular chipsets. The company has been recruiting relevant talent for a while, and went so far as to expand its presence in San Diego in a move interpreted as an attempt to recruit Qualcomm staff. However, Thyagarajan's hire is a particularly huge coup for Apple -- it shows the company is determined to snap up top-level talent as it starts on cellular hardware, including people from its erstwhile partners.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/28/apple-poached-intel-5g-leader/

2019-04-28 19:58:06Z
52780278998363

Apple poached Intel's 5G leader weeks ahead of Qualcomm truce - Engadget

Sponsored Links

Evan Rodgers/Engadget

Intel's decision to bail on 5G modems may have gone hand-in-hand with Apple's truce with Qualcomm, but it's now clear there were hints of a shift weeks earlier. The Telegraph has learned that Apple poached Intel's 5G phone modem leader, Umashankar Thyagarajan, in February. While the departure itself wasn't a complete secret (Thyagarajan's LinkedIn profile confirms the switch), the news outlet claims to have email showing that the ex-director was the project engineer for the XMM 8160 chip at the heart of Intel's plans. He also "played a key role" creating the Intel modems used in the iPhone XS and XR.

Neither Apple nor Intel has commented on the report. It's also not clear exactly what Thyagarajan is doing in his new role (he describes it solely as "Architecture" in his LinkedIn bio), although wireless chipset design is the most likely explanation given his background.

Apple hasn't been shy about its intentions to make its own cellular chipsets. The company has been recruiting relevant talent for a while, and went so far as to expand its presence in San Diego in a move interpreted as an attempt to recruit Qualcomm staff. However, Thyagarajan's hire is a particularly huge coup for Apple -- it shows the company is determined to snap up top-level talent as it starts on cellular hardware, including people from its erstwhile partners.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/28/apple-poached-intel-5g-leader/

2019-04-28 19:58:02Z
52780278998363

Apple hired away Intel's 5G modem lead just prior to Qualcomm settlement - AppleInsider

  Intel's departure from the 5G modem business may have been dictated not just by Apple's settlement with Qualcomm, but its reported poaching of Intel's lead 5G modem developer earlier in 2019.


Apple recruited Umashankar Thyagarajan in February, no more than two months before the Qualcomm settlement, The Telegraph said on Sunday, citing a leaked email involving Intel executives Messay Amerga and Abhay Joshi. Thyagarajan is said to have been essential to the development of Intel's 4G modem for 2018 iPhones, and a project engineer for the 5G-capable XMM 8160.

With him gone, Intel was allegedly forced to "reshuffle" 5G development. The chipmaker announced its departure from 5G modems the same day as the Apple v. Qualcomm deal.

It's widely believed that Apple was unhappy with the pace of Intel's 5G work. Some 5G-ready smartphones are already on the market, yet analysts noted that Apple was rapidly approaching a deadline for picking a 5G supplier for 2020 iPhones, never mind 2019 models.

That may have been a key or even overriding factor in the movement towards a settlement. Recently however evidence from the Apple v. Qualcomm trial was made public, revealing that Apple had a years-long goal of reducing its royalty payments. To achieve that Apple intended to "hurt Qualcomm financially," "put Qualcomm's licensing model at risk," and even deliberately license low-cost patents to make Qualcomm's demands look excessive.

Apple is thought to be designing its own 5G modem under senior hardware VP Johny Srouji. That likely won't reach shipping iPhones until 2021 at the earliest.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/04/28/apple-hired-away-intels-5g-modem-lead-just-prior-to-qualcomm-settlement

2019-04-28 19:19:07Z
52780278998363

After Math: No Spoilers! - Engadget

Sponsored Links

FEDERICO PARRA via Getty Images

As the moviegoing public anxiously awaited this weekend's release of Avengers: Endgame, the rest of the tech world moved ahead as if nobody had been snapped. Here are some of the week's top headlines you may have missed while scouring Fandango for open Endgame seats.

1065837100

Google bans developer with half a billion app downloads from Play Store

DO Global was a big name in Android app development before this week. Now the company is the poster child of what happens when you get caught gaming the system. Google discovered that the company was committing ad fraud and has already removed half of the developer's hundred-plus apps from the Play Store.

asdf

Amazon Prime shipping could shrink to just one-day

Amazon is 6-minute abs-ing itself. The online retail behemoth announced during this week's Q1 earning call that it will be cutting its 2-day delivery times for Prime members in half. The news has already sent Target and Walmart stocks skidding.

E3 EXPO 2018

Sony says its new PlayStation is more than a year away

If you were hoping to catch a glimpse of the upcoming PS 5 at the 2019 E3 convention, I've got some bad news. Not only is the next-gen console at least 12 months away from being ready, Sony's not even showing up to this year's premiere gaming trade show.

asdf

Sinemia's theater subscription shuts down in the US

You won't have to worry about your friends spoiling Endgame by using the movie subscription service Sinema to sneak into the opening night premieres -- namely because Sinema is kaput. It cancelled its North American operations earlier this week.

asdf

Imogen Heap's musical gloves are finally available to everyone

Um, hooray?

asdf

There's a Thanos-themed Easter egg hiding in Google Search

This is about as much of a spoiler you'll get out of us before next Monday. Google got in on the Avengers hype this week with a bejewelled gauntlet of an easter egg in its search results. Finding it should be a snap.

asdf

Cryptocurrency exchange accused of covering up $850 million loss

Cryptocurrency? More like Crypt-uh-oh-currency. Thanks I'll be here all week, be sure to tip your waiter.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/28/after-math-no-spoilers/

2019-04-28 16:19:32Z
CAIiELJb6g3QOFi05ylkDaX758IqFwgEKg8IACoHCAowwOjjAjDp3xsw9bAl

After Math: No Spoilers! - Engadget

Sponsored Links

FEDERICO PARRA via Getty Images

As the moviegoing public anxiously awaited this weekend's release of Avengers: Endgame, the rest of the tech world moved ahead as if nobody had been snapped. Here are some of the week's top headlines you may have missed while scouring Fandango for open Endgame seats.

1065837100

Google bans developer with half a billion app downloads from Play Store

DO Global was a big name in Android app development before this week. Now the company is the poster child of what happens when you get caught gaming the system. Google discovered that the company was committing ad fraud and has already removed half of the developer's hundred-plus apps from the Play Store.

asdf

Amazon Prime shipping could shrink to just one-day

Amazon is 6-minute abs-ing itself. The online retail behemoth announced during this week's Q1 earning call that it will be cutting its 2-day delivery times for Prime members in half. The news has already sent Target and Walmart stocks skidding.

E3 EXPO 2018

Sony says its new PlayStation is more than a year away

If you were hoping to catch a glimpse of the upcoming PS 5 at the 2019 E3 convention, I've got some bad news. Not only is the next-gen console at least 12 months away from being ready, Sony's not even showing up to this year's premiere gaming trade show.

asdf

Sinemia's theater subscription shuts down in the US

You won't have to worry about your friends spoiling Endgame by using the movie subscription service Sinema to sneak into the opening night premieres -- namely because Sinema is kaput. It cancelled its North American operations earlier this week.

asdf

Imogen Heap's musical gloves are finally available to everyone

Um, hooray?

asdf

There's a Thanos-themed Easter egg hiding in Google Search

This is about as much of a spoiler you'll get out of us before next Monday. Google got in on the Avengers hype this week with a bejewelled gauntlet of an easter egg in its search results. Finding it should be a snap.

asdf

Cryptocurrency exchange accused of covering up $850 million loss

Cryptocurrency? More like Crypt-uh-oh-currency. Thanks I'll be here all week, be sure to tip your waiter.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/28/after-math-no-spoilers/

2019-04-28 15:58:57Z
CAIiELJb6g3QOFi05ylkDaX758IqFwgEKg8IACoHCAowwOjjAjDp3xsw9bAl