Google Hardware quits the tablet business, again - Ars Technica

• The new Google Pixel Slate.

  Valentina Palladino

• New UI additions make the Slate and other Chrome OS tablets easier to use without physical keyboards.

  Valentina Palladino

• The 8MP rear camera.

  Valentina Palladino

• The back of the Slate holds onto fingerprints too much.

  Valentina Palladino

• One of the two USB-C ports for charging and connecting peripherals.

  Valentina Palladino

• The settings and notification menus.

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• The updated launcher with all installed apps, a search bar, and predictive app suggestions.

  Valentina Palladino

• Google's keyboard case for the Pixel Slate, featuring round "hush" keys.

  Valentina Palladino

• Surprisingly, the round keys aren't horrible to type on—but they don't have as much surface area as regular square keys.

  Valentina Palladino

• The trackpad is decently sized and responsive to gestures.

  Valentina Palladino

• The magnetic pins attach to the Slate to keep it in place in laptop mode.

  Valentina Palladino

• The $99 Pixelbook Pen just got a new coat of paint.

  Valentina Palladino

• The launcher homescreen for the tablet UI in Chrome OS.

  Valentina Palladino

• Split Screen in Chrome OS makes multitasking easier—for the apps that support this feature.

  Valentina Palladino

• The new floating keyboard makes typing while in tablet mode easier.

  Valentina Palladino

• The expanded Google Assistant window lets you speak or type requests.

  Valentina Palladino

• Some answers appear in the window itself, while others will open Chrome to show more info.

  Valentina Palladino

Google and tablets just don't mix. The company tried over and over again to make Android tablets work, peaking with the 2013 Nexus 7 and ending with the Pixel C in 2015.

After a three-year hiatus from the market, Google took a second swing at tablets with Chrome OS and the Pixel Slate. Four months later, we heard Google Hardware's laptop and tablet division was in trouble. Seven months later—in other words, right now—Google's Chrome OS tablets are dead.

Following a report from Computerworld claiming Google cancelled two tablets and was quitting the tablet business, Google Hardware SVP Rick Osterloh confirmed the news on Twitter:

Hey, it's true...Google's HARDWARE team will be solely focused on building laptops moving forward, but make no mistake, Android & Chrome OS teams are 100% committed for the long-run on working with our partners on tablets for all segments of the market (consumer, enterprise, edu)

— Rick Osterloh (@rosterloh) June 20, 2019

Osterloh later clarified that only tablets would be canceled and that Google is "committed to our many other hardware categories."

The Pixel Slate was not well received for a number of reasons. First, the device was too expensive and too slow. The entry-level Intel Celeron-equipped model, priced at $599 (with 4GB of RAM) and $699 (with 8GB), was a complete disaster. It was so slow and so thoroughly panned in reviews that it was never made readily available by Google, and it was eventually cancelled altogether. That made the first readily-available Pixel Slate the $799 Intel Core M3 model, which was already the price of an iPad Pro but without the iPad Pro's high-end performance. From there, the Pixel Slate price rocketed up to $999 and $1599 for the faster, more iPad-competitive models.

The second big problem was Chrome OS, which, while it had been around on laptops forever, was just getting off the ground as a reworked tablet OS. It was not really ready for the Pixel Slate launch, with a buggy split-screen implementation, poor performance, and a weird UI that used a full-screen mode in tablet form but allowed normal window operation in laptop mode. There were a host of other quirks and issues, but the bottom line was that Google was charging a premium price for hardware and software that felt more "beta" than "premium."

The Computerworld report that triggered Osterloh's statement says Google cancelled two products, both lacking a keyboard and having a smaller body than the 12.3-inch Pixel Slate.

Osterloh promises Google is still focused on the software part of tablet support, even if it isn't investing in hardware. (Just ask Android tablet users how Google tablet support has worked out for them over the years, though.) Saying the team is "focused on building laptops" should mean a new Pixelbook is on the way—the last version released in 2017. That's potentially exciting news assuming you're still willing to invest in a Google product at this point.

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https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/06/google-hardware-quits-the-tablet-business-again/

2019-06-21 10:45:00Z
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Huawei phones were super hot in Europe. Not anymore - CNN

The Chinese tech giant has seen phone sales slide in its most lucrative international market after being placed on a US blacklist that makes it tough for Huawei to do business with American companies.

The company conceded as much this week. Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said that overseas smartphone sales dropped by 40% since the middle of last month.

Huawei has won a 90-day reprieve from the US sanctions. But the blacklist could limit the company's access to Google (GOOGL) apps such as Gmail and YouTube. For most Europeans, such smartphone features are essential.

"European consumers need Google services," said Ben Stanton, senior analyst at research firm Canalys. "In Europe, [the ban] is catastrophic."

Europe's importance

Huawei's smartphone business had been a bright spot for the company as it faced enormous pressure from the United States, which claims its products pose a risk to national security (Huawei denies this).

Global sales soared 30% last year, positioning the company to ultimately overtake Samsung as the world's top smartphone brand.

Europe played a huge part in this success. Huawei sold about 26.3 million smartphones in Western Europe in 2018, up more than 60% on the previous year, according to market research firm IHS Markit.

"It's pretty much the one market where they're able to sell their high-end phones, and [they] have been doing so successfully," said Gerrit Schneemann, a mobile analyst at IHS Markit.

To build recognition, Huawei went on a marketing blitz, partnering with celebrities and emphasizing its high quality cameras.

Huge billboards advertising its new P30 smartphone have been plastered across the region, appearing near canals in Italy and on skyscrapers in Madrid. Travelers arriving at Terminal 5 of London's Heathrow Airport are greeted by pictures of the phone and encouraged to "rewrite the rules of photography."

These campaigns, as well as retail partnerships with top carriers such as Britain's Vodafone (VOD) and EE that guaranteed shelf space in stores, gave Huawei real muscle, according to Schneemann.

"All the major carriers have Huawei handsets in their inventory," he said. Vodafone and EE had also planned to include Huawei phones in their 5G launch plans.

That momentum has been largely blunted by the US ban on exporting software and components to Huawei. While second quarter sales figures have yet to be tallied, it's clear that consumers are reluctant to buy Huawei phones in the current environment.

"Consumers are justifiably saying to themselves, should I spend $1,000 on a device when I have some uncertainty about whether it will continue to be supported?" said Peter Richardson, research director at tech consultancy Counterpoint Research.

Assessing the damage

The US ban could still be shelved as part of a trade deal with China. All eyes will be on the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit next week.

Political consultancy Eurasia Group says there's a 40% chance that Trump and Xi will strike a truce. That would mean that both sides agree to continue trade talks and find a solution on Huawei.

Uncertainty is keeping customers away in the interim.

Prospective customers have been hesitant to sign contracts, according to salespeople at London stores of mobile carriers O2 and Vodafone. Some people even tried to return their Huawei phones after the ban was announced.

One salesperson said that when shoppers ask if they should buy a Huawei phone, they steer them toward a Google Pixel instead.

The employees asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to discuss sales information.

This poses a big problem for European carriers, which had been stocking up on Huawei devices. Vodafone and EE pulled Huawei's Mate 20 X from their 5G launches last month.

Schneemann said that if the issue isn't resolved soon, carriers will likely start to offer the phones at a huge discount to get rid of their inventory.

"Anything that hasn't left China yet will probably stay there," he said, adding that if the situation holds through the summer, it could do long-term damage to Huawei's carrier relationships.

Huawei isn't giving up just yet. The company says it will continue to support devices already on the market, and that customers will be able to get their money back if their phones don't work as promised.

The company's budget brand, Honor, is also launching sales of its flagship Honor 20 phone in Europe. It will be available in France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Friday, and in Italy and the Netherlands next week.

Richardson expects Huawei to lean into its Honor line internationally as the US-China fight continues. The reason? Most people don't know it's a Huawei brand.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/21/tech/huawei-europe-smartphones/index.html

2019-06-21 08:26:00Z
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Mobile Game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Arrives Early On iPhone, Android Out Now - GameSpot

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has finally arrived--and it's launched sooner than expected. The much-anticipated free-to-play game received an early launch, as mobile games often do, in the Australia and New Zealand markets earlier this year, but it's arrived ahead of schedule in the United States and United Kingdom. It had been scheduled for release in these markets tomorrow, June 21, but it's officially out now on Android (through Google Play) and iOS devices (App Store). The mobile game was developed by Pokemon Go maker Niantic and revolves around a similar style of augmented reality-based gameplay. As such, it requires an internet connection, and some players have reported intermittent issues throughout the day; if you can't get in, keep trying.

Like the aforementioned AR game Pokemon Go--which it bears numerous similarities to--Wizards Unite is free to download and features optional microtransactions. You can spend money to purchase Gold, which can then be used to buy in-game items such as potions, Dark Detectors (which reveal special items), Runestones (which are required for Wizarding Challenges), and more.

The story of Wizards Unite revolves around an event known as the Calamity, which has caused Foundables--people, creatures, and artifacts from the Wizarding World--to appear in the Muggle World, thereby risking their discovery. Moreover, these Foundables are sealed by Confoundable magic. As a member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, it is your mission to break these Counfoundable spells and retrieve the Foundables. You'll interact with Harry Potter and other familiar faces.

We recently went hands-on with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite thought it felt very much like a Harry Potter version of Pokemon Go, albeit with more content from the outset. Right from the start, the game offers a variety of quest objectives to complete, and you can add other players to your friends list (a feature that didn't come to Pokemon Go until years after its launch). The game also features an RPG-style Profession system that allows you to unlock abilities in skill trees. If you're diving into the game and are familiar with Niantic's previous work, check out our Wizards Unite guide for Pokemon Go players.

Wizards Unite launched in beta form in Australia and New Zealand last month. If you're interested in getting a closer look at the game, you can watch nearly 15 minutes of gameplay footage of the beta version in the video above.

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https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-go-devs-harry-potter-game-wizards-unite-is/1100-6467923/

2019-06-21 02:56:00Z
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[Update: Buttons aren't dead] The Galaxy Note 10 won't have a headphone jack or physical volume and power keys (rumor) - Android Police

Speaking to a source familiar with the company's plans, Android Police has learned that Samsung will likely begin its wind-down of the headphone jack - and even physical keys for functions like volume and power - with the Galaxy Note 10. The Note 10 will have no 3.5mm connector, and exterior buttons (power, volume, Bixby) will be replaced by capacitive or pressure-sensitive areas, likely highlighted by some kind of raised 'bump' and/or texture along the edge (i.e., a faux button). We don't know if it's Samsung's intent to carry over both of these changes to the Galaxy S11 in 2020.

Both changes had been previously rumored, but we can now provide stronger confirmation.

The Note line has always been fertile ground for Samsung's more forward-looking changes to its smartphones' industrial design and general philosophy, as it's a phone that's long been adored by some of Samsung's most ardent fans - the sort of people who tend to be early adopters of new technology.

Removing the headphone jack would almost certainly result in excoriation from some of those fans, who have long held that Samsung's steadfast adherence to the 3.5mm jack is one of their big reasons for sticking with the brand. But in 2019, Samsung virtually stands alone in the high-end phone space in this regard. Google, OnePlus, Huawei, and Apple have all abandoned the headphone jack on their premium devices. Even many budget phonemakers have started to purge it: Xiaomi's Mi 9, Honor's 20 Pro, and Oppo's Reno all lack the familiar connector. It really does appear to be fully on the way out, and I imagine it's just a matter of time before this trickles down even to budget phones.

Samsung is likely to argue that removing the jack creates precious volume for more battery capacity, though there are also benefits in terms of reducing design complexity and increasing ingress resistance from dust and liquids (Samsung's latest offering, the Galaxy S10, still gets an IP68 rating even with a headphone jack). The same argument likely applies to the buttons, which are another potential failure point that could theoretically be eliminated. One of the lesser-known upsides to removing those keys is removing their cutouts, which tend to be the weakest points in the unibody aluminum frames most premium phones are constructed from. This could possibly allow Samsung to create a thinner, lighter phone design without compromising on structural rigidity.

Our source confirms existing rumors about multiple models of the phone, with two sizes anticipated to be available - one larger, one smaller (though "small" is only by Note standards).

If history is any indicator, we can expect Samsung to announce this phone mid-summer, likely in August.

We've received new information from a reliable source indicating Samsung has, in fact, halted plans to debut pressure-sensitive "faux" buttons on the Galaxy Note10. The phone will have traditional physical power and volume keys (but no Bixby key). While we're not sure why the company changed course—and we can confirm that was the case, Samsung did seriously plan to get rid of them—it seems for whatever reason that Samsung decided the world wasn't ready for its take on HTC's phony buttons.

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https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/06/20/rumor-galaxy-note-10-wont-have-headphone-jack-or-volume-and-power-keys/

2019-06-20 14:17:00Z
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Here's How the Galaxy Note 10 Will Fight iPhone 11 - Tom's Guide

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1. Here's How the Galaxy Note 10 Will Fight iPhone 11  Tom's Guide
2. The Less Known Samsung Galaxy Phone...  Unbox Therapy
3. The 11 best new tech gadgets of 2019 so far  Business Insider
4. Here Are My 5 Biggest Questions About the Galaxy Note 10  Gizmodo
5. 11 things you need to know in tech today  Android Authority
6. View full coverage on Google News

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/galaxy-note-10-tof-three-stage-aperture-camera,news-30404.html

2019-06-20 11:57:17Z
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A rogue Raspberry Pi helped hackers access NASA JPL systems - Engadget

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Andrei Stanescu via Getty Images

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) suffers from multiple cybersecurity weaknesses despite the advances it has achieved in space technology, according to the agency's Office of Inspector General (PDF). Investigators looked into the research center's network security controls after an April 2018 security breach, wherein a Raspberry Pi that was not authorized to be linked to the JPL network was targeted by hackers. The attackers were able to steal 500 megabytes of data from one of its major mission systems, and they also used that chance to find a gateway that allowed them to go deeper into JPL's network.

Diving deeper into the system gave the hackers access to several major missions, including NASA's Deep Space Network -- its network of spacecraft communication facilities. As a result, the security teams of some sensitive programs, such as the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and the International Space Station, have chosen to disconnect from the agency's network.

In addition to having reduced visibility to devices connected to its network and to not keeping different parts of its network separate, investigators have also found instances of security tickets not being resolved for extended periods of time. In some cases, the tickets sat unresolved for as long as 180 days. The investigators have also noted that JPL's incident management and response practices deviate from NASA's recommendations.

The OIG recommended a fix for all those issues, and NASA agreed to all of them except one: establishing a formal threat-hunting process to find flaws before they even cause issues. It will verify if JPL follows through before closing the investigation entirely.

Via: Threatpost

Source: NASA Office of Inspector General

In this article: gear, jpl, nasa, security

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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https://www.engadget.com/2019/06/20/nasa-jpl-cybersecurity-weaknesses/

2019-06-20 09:01:24Z
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Philips Hue company announces lights that can beam data at 250 Mbps - The Verge

Signify, the company formerly known as Philips Lighting that produces Hue-branded smart lights, has announced a new range of internet-transmitting Li-Fi lights called Truelifi. They’re capable of transmitting data to devices like laptops at speeds of up to 150 Mbps using light waves, rather than the radio signals used by 4G or Wi-Fi. The product range will consist of both new lights as well as transceivers that can be retrofitted into existing lighting. The technology can also be used to wirelessly connect two fixed points with data speeds of up to 250 Mbps.

Signify, a leading lighting provider, is initially targeting professional markets like office buildings and hospitals rather than homes, where it has the potential to reach a much wider audience.

Li-Fi technology has been around for years — we even tried a working prototype from Oledcomm back at CES 2018 — but so far it’s failed to take off. Most internet-connected devices like laptops and smartphones need an external adapter to receive data over Li-Fi, and even then the signal can be blocked when the receiver is in shadow. Signify says you’ll need to plug a USB access key into a laptop to receive a Li-Fi signal from its Truelifi products.

In the right circumstances, however, Li-Fi’s use of light rather than radio signals to transmit data has its advantages. For example, it can be used in areas where there might be a lot of radio frequency interference, or in places like hospitals where RF could interfere with sensitive machines. While Li-Fi signals can be easily blocked, this disadvantage can be a boon to security applications since you have a lot more control over where the network spreads.

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https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/20/18692656/signify-philips-hue-truelifi-li-fi-wi-fi-lighting-250-mbps

2019-06-20 10:43:24Z
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