Late last week, ex-NBA player Rex Chapman was picked up by Scottsdale, Arizona police on felony charges of theft and tracking in stolen property. According to the police, that’s because Chapman made off from the local Apple Store with over $14,000…
There have been a lot of news covering how the larger iPhone 6 Plus has the unfortunate ability to bend while in the pocket of its user. Thankfully Apple will be replacing the bent devices as it is covered under the warranty. Now we’re sure many are wondering – what about the 4.7-inch iPhone 6? Does that bend too?
The unfortunate answer is that yes, albeit not as drastic as the iPhone 6 Plus. This is thanks to a video put together by Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy in which he tries to bend the iPhone 6 along with a bunch of other devices (like the HTC One M8, and Moto X, just to name a few). However as you can see in the video above, the smaller iPhone 6 has turned out to be less malleable compared to the iPhone 6 Plus.
Try as he might, there was not much damage done to the iPhone 6 during Hilsenteger’s test aside from a small dent, versus the more pronounced bend in the iPhone 6 Plus, leading him to conclude that the smaller iPhone is “far more durable”. It should also be noted that we doubt many users will encounter the same force Hilsenteger applied to the phone in their pocket, so the conclusion is that the smaller iPhone 6 will most likely escape the same fate.
If you’re still trying to decide if you should go for the iPhone 6 or the 6 Plus, perhaps this video will convince you that maybe bigger does not equal better. We’re not sure if Apple will do something about the production process to help strengthen the larger iPhone 6, but if you can do without the Full HD resolution and optical image stabilization and larger battery, then maybe the iPhone 6 is worth considering.
4.7-inch iPhone 6 Does Not Bend As Easily As The iPhone 6 Plus
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In an earlier post, we covered how Apple had advanced their camera technology over the years in the different iPhone versions, leading to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus which seemed to have the best camera yet. Or does it? According to the folks at Tom’s Guide (the sister site to Tom’s Hardware), it turns out that there are some slight issues.
One of the issues has to do with an odd purple/magenta tinge that has been added to the photos once it has been taken, which they speculate could be due to auto white balancing issues. As you can see in the image above, the iPhone 6’s photo on the left has a slight tinge to it, versus the photo on the right taken by the Samsung Galaxy S5.
They also noticed that photos had more obvious chromatic aberration compared to competing devices. We should note that chromatic aberration does manifest itself even on professional grade cameras and lenses, although better quality hardware helps keep it to a minimum where it won’t drastically impact the final result.
Now before you’re put off by the new iPhone 6 handsets completely, Tom’s Guide found that this was a software issue rather than a hardware one. They tested photos using the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s models running on both iOS 7.1.2 and iOs 8 and found that the issues were less pronounced with iOS 7.1.2, thus suggesting that maybe this could be a software problem that Apple could potentially fix with an update.
Tom’s Guide has since shared their findings with Apple who is now currently investigating the issue. It is unclear if and when Apple will release a fix to help correct their auto white balance algorithm or camera software in general, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more info. In the meantime has anyone else noticed these issues in their iPhone 6 units?
iPhone 6′s Camera Issues Could Be Attributed To iOS 8
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Google’s brand of Nexus handsets do stand out from the majority of the other Android-powered devices out there in the market because they do have the tendency of being developer-friendly. If you would want to unlock the bootloader, it is more or less as easy as plugging in a USB cable, before one enables USB debugging, before issuing a command on your PC via the Android SDK or at least fastboot. Word has it that the first batch of Android One smartphones are equally developer friendly, as a member from the xda-developers forum has already ported ClockworkMod recovery in order to have it run on the first wave of Android One handsets.
Does this mean that the upcoming second wave of Android One smartphones too, will be as easy to handle in terms of having its bootloader unlocked and running a custom recovery ROM? Chances are pretty good that it will be the same, this I am rather confident.
After all, with Android One being Google’s intent of offering highly affordable Android smartphones to emerging markets, at the same time providing a reliable software experience, making it as accessible as possible to everyone is a good idea. Who knows, out of the potential millions (or maybe billion) people who use an Android One handset, he or she might find new way to program a mod which Google might find revolutionary, an opportunity which might not have been chanced upon if the entry price point was way out of reach in the first place?
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Drone deliveries – this very idea is worth toying over, but there are plenty of red tape and regulations to take into consideration, so much so that it is not viable to roll out just yet over in the US. However, this has not stopped some zany attempts which were ultimately botched, such as this failed drone delivery effort at a prison. DHL has tested out the possibility of using a drone delivery system, and it seems that the company will eventually roll out drone delivery for its customers. Unfortunately, before you pop the champagne, you might want to take note that this will be a limited launch, with the eligible recipients being residents of Juist, a German island located in the North Sea.
DHL has been working hard to test out its PaketKopter system since last year, and working alongside the German government, the logistics company has managed to establish a flight path for its UAVs in order to fly and deliver a package 12km away from a harbor in Norddeich, all the way at the island of Juist. The drone will maintain an altitude of approximately 50m (164 feet) and will travel at speeds of up to 18 m/s (that would be around 40mph). This does not mean normal delivery services will use drones anytime soon though, so do not get your hopes up just yet. [Press Release]
DHL Could Launch Drone Delivery In Juist, Germany
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Most of the time, we would think of robots as being extremely tough hunks of metal, bringing upon destruction on the world (if it has been programmed to do so). Soft robots? That is not the normal train of thought, actually. Well, researchers over at Purdue University are currently working on a new kind of robotic fabric which will allow it to function in “soft” robots that are made out of foam as well as different kinds of lightweight materials. This particular team has managed to embed the fabric within alongside a flexible polymer which enables it to change shape as well as rigidity when heated.
This in turn will allow it to be contracted or relaxed at will. All that you need to do is to wrap a specifically assigned swatch of a cloth around a piece of foam, where it can then bend, wriggle or even move in different ways. Rebecca Kramer of Purdue University said, “We will be able to design reboots on the fly. Anything can be a robot because all of the robotic technology is in the fabric or skin.”
As for practical applications of this advancement in the field of robotics, such material can be used in space missions, and it functions as an alternative mode of constructing exploration robots without having to use expensive and heavy material, paving the way for lower transportation costs since the material will be lightweight in nature. [Press Release]
Robot Fabric Could Result In “Soft” Robots That Will Be Far More Flexible
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When it comes to the relatively successful Raspberry Pi, this small and inexpensive computer is tiny enough to slide into any pocket, but it is far from being mobile enough for everyday portability. After all, this $35 computer does not come with its keyboard, display or battery, as you will need to provide those yourself. Fret not, why not print out all of the relevant parts? This is what the Pi-Top is all about, being a 3D-printable kit which would allow one to transform a Raspberry Pi Model B+ into a laptop, now how about that?
This particular kit will let you order a complete laptop kit which will hold a Raspberry Pi computer within, not to mention giving you the freedom of actually printing out (using a 3D printer, of course) several of the parts on your own.
The Pi-top kit will sport a 13.3” display at 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, where it is accompanied by a keyboard, a Wi-Fi antenna, as well as a battery which is capable of running anywhere from 6 all the way to 8 hours, depending on what you do with it. However, if you would like to be more unique, then you can always opt to customize the case as well as other components by placing an order for pre-made parts, or perhaps even obtain relevant designs to 3D print on your own.
Pi-Top A 3D Printable Raspberry Pi Laptop
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The iPhone 6 as well as iPhone 6 Plus were never meant to arrive with a sapphire display as we reported last week, but it is a very different proposition for the yet-to-be-released Apple Watch. In fact, there is still plenty that we do not know about concerning the Apple Watch, especially concerning its battery life, but that is another issue to debate about on a different day. According to NPD DisplaySearch, they have come up with a guesstimate of the Apple Watch as featuring a sapphire display that will cost $27.41.
One ought to take note that there will be two different sizes – one with a 42mm height that will arrive with a 1.5” display, while the other is a smaller one at 38mm that carries a 1.3” display, albeit both of them packing in a resolution count of 240 x 320 pixels, sporting a pixel density of 261ppi and 299ppi, respectively.
It seems that the entire Apple Watch display, panel, sapphire, part, labor and miscellaneous costs will amount to $27.41 for the larger sized 42mm version. All in all is, these are just guesstimates at best, so it is not going to be the final bill of materials so to speak, hence taking it with a pinch of salt is highly recommended. I guess we will all know better when the Apple Watch rolls out for good early next year with a starting price point of $349.
Estimate: Apple Watch’s Sapphire Display Costs $27 To Manufacture
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The shinkansen, or bullet train as it is commonly known, is one of the unique characteristics of Japan when it comes to traveling across the country in comfort and speed. There has been tests to deliver faster and faster trains, and the Central Japan Railway Co (JR Tokai) successfully conducted the maiden public test of its new ultra-high speed magnetic levitation (maglev) train over in Tsuru, Yamanashi Prefecture, managing to hit a top speed of 500kph during its journey across the 42.8-kilometer test track.
Maglev trains are different from regular trains, as it will make use of a high-tech propulsion system that is known as the “L-Zero” system. First of all, the train itself will build up speed to that of 160 km/hour, and upon hitting that figure, it will kick start the maglev system before it accelerates slowly to 500 km/hour.
Right now, the fastest shinkansen in Japan happens to be the Hayabusa, where it is capable of zipping around at a hair raising 320kph. It is like sitting in an extremely long Ferrari while going around at top speed. JR Tokai intends to offer official test-rides to the broader public later this coming November.
It is touted that the maglev train which runs between Tokyo and Nagoya will be operational by the time 2027 rolls around, which means it would have missed the Olympics by then. It would be interesting to see how the tickets will be priced once it is up and running in order to make it profitable.
Maglev Train Tested, Hits 500kph In Japan
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A report from the Wall Street Journal claims that teens in China are being forced to work long and hard hours in factories assembling gadgets for well-known companies. This is in violation of Chinese regulations, but sadly not the first time such issues have arisen. The teenagers are students reportedly being forced to work under the threat of not being … Continue reading
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