Having already worked on 1,600 kilometers worth of real human hair, Dyson obviously wasn’t going to stop at its Supersonic hair dryer. In fact, the engineers have found a new purpose for the Supersonic’s V9 digital motor. Announced in New York today,…
With its latest consumer hardware products, Google’s prices are undercutting Apple, Samsung and Amazon. The search giant just unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, tablet and smart home device, all available at prices well below their direct competitors. Where Apple and Samsung are pushing prices of its latest products even higher, Google is seemingly happy to keep prices low, and this is creating a distinct advantage for the company’s products.
Google, like Amazon and nearly Apple, is a services company that happens to sell hardware. It needs to acquire users through multiple verticals, including hardware. Somewhere, deep in the Googleplex, a team of number-crunchers decided it made more sense to make its hardware prices dramatically lower than competitors. If Google is taking a loss on the hardware, it is likely making it back through services.
Amazon does this with Kindle devices. Microsoft and Sony do it with game consoles. This is a proven strategy to increase market share where the revenue generated on the back end recovers the revenue lost on selling hardware with slim or negative margins.
Look at the Pixel 3. The base 64GB model is available for $799, while the base 64GB iPhone XS is $999. Want a bigger screen? The 64GB Pixel 3 XL is $899, and the 64GB iPhone XS Max is $1,099. Regarding the specs, both phones offer OLED displays and amazing cameras. There are likely pros and cons regarding the speed of the SoC, amount of RAM and wireless capabilities. Will consumers care that the screen and camera are so similar? Probably not.
Google also announced the Home Hub today. Like the Echo Show, it’s designed to be the central part of a smart home. It puts Google Assistant on a fixed screen where users can ask it questions and control a smart home. It’s $149. That’s $80 less than the Echo Show, though the Google version lacks video conferencing and a dedicated smart home hub — the Google Home Hub requires extra hardware for some smart home objects. Still, even with fewer features, the Home Hub is compelling because of its drastically lower price. For just a few dollars more than an Echo Show, a buyer could get a Home Hub and two Home Minis.
The Google Pixel Slate is Google’s answer to the iPad Pro. From everything we’ve seen, it appears to lack a lot of the processing power found in Apple’s top tablet. It doesn’t seem as refined or capable of specific tasks. But for view media, creating content and playing games, it feels just fine. It even has a Pixelbook Pen and a great keyboard that shows Google is positioning this against the iPad Pro. And the 12.3-inch Pixel Slate is available for $599, where the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is $799.
The upfront price is just part of the equation. When considering the resale value of these devices, a different conclusion can be reached. Apple products consistently resale for more money than Google products. On Gazelle.com, a company that buys used smartphones, a used iPhone X is worth $425, whereas a used Pixel 2 is $195. A used iPhone 8, a phone that sold for a price closer to the Pixel 2, is worth $240.
In the end, Google likely doesn’t expect to make money off the hardware it sells. It needs users to buy into its services. The best way to do that is to make the ecosystem competitive though perhaps not investing the capital to make it the best. It needs to be just good enough, and that’s how I would describe these devices. Good enough to be competitive on a spec-to-spec basis while available for much less.
If you are in the market for a Bluetooth speaker that not only looks good, but sounds great as well, then the folks over at Marshall have just the thing for you. In fact, their latest range of speakers comprise of a trio of models: the Acton II Bluetooth, the Stanmore II Bluetooth and the Woburn II Bluetooth. Each of these speakers will merge advanced components including class D amplifiers, a bass reflex cabinet system as well as custom-tuned drivers that have been specially engineered to deliver a balanced and dynamic audio response.
Regardless of which particular model you choose, all of them will arrive equipped with an upgraded DSP, in addition to an improved dynamic range compression. As a result, you will end up with optimal performance regardless of the volume level that you are accustomed to. Feel free to play back your favorite tunes as loud as you want to, without having to compromise on the acoustic characteristics.
All of them will also feature Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, enabling them to deliver a wireless range of up to 30 feet (10 metres). Apart from that, each speaker will also feature multi-host functionality, enabling the listener to hook up easily and switch between two Bluetooth devices without missing a beat. Marshall has also thrown in the Marshall Bluetooth app that lets the user customize one’s listening experience as well as control the music they’re listening to over a mobile device. The app itself can switch between EQ presets, set up stereo or ambient mode, and adjust the intensity of the LED lights that are located on the top panel, now how about that? Imagine waking up the speaker or sending it into standby mode in just a matter of seconds.
The Acton II, Stanmore II and Woburn II will arrive in black and white colorways, with an asking price of $249, $349 and $499, respectively for those who are interested.
Press Release
[ Marshall beefs up range of Bluetooth speakers copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Liam Neeson and Russell Crowe recently described emotional reunions with two “mystery brunettes” that are horses.
For those who enjoy RPGs, Obsidian Entertainment is a company that some of you might know. Some of their notable titles include Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and in recent years they have also successfully crowdfunded games in the form of the Pillars of Eternity series.
The studio has remained largely independent since its inception but if a report from Kotaku is to be believed, it seems that the company could soon be bought over by Microsoft. Kotaku’s sources have told them that Microsoft is apparently close to acquiring Obsidian. The deal has yet to be finalized and there is still a possibility that it could fall through, but apparently they are close to putting pen to paper.
Microsoft has since denied to comment on the report, while an Obsidian spokesperson said, “Unfortunately, we don’t comment on rumors or speculation other than to say that the Rumors album by Fleetwood Mac still holds up.” It will be interesting to see how Obsidian will operate should they be acquired by Microsoft, but no doubt having access to Microsoft’s resources should help ease any development woes related to funding, although it could also mean less freedom to do whatever they want.
Just last year the company announced that one of their upcoming titles will be skipping microtransactions, although should Microsoft acquire them we wonder what they might have to say about it, especially when microtransactions have proven to be a very effective and lucrative business model for many developers and publishers.
Microsoft Reportedly Close To Acquiring Obsidian Entertainment , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Some reports are “fabulous” and some “aren’t so good,” the president said.
The new female Doctor made her long-awaited debut this week, and if you’re enjoying Jodie Whitaker in the role of Time Lord, why not start collecting her toys? It didn’t take long for the powers that be to unveil the first ever Doctor Who Barbie doll.
Whitaker’s debut in the Doctor Who Season 11 episode “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” has given us the first female Doctor and today we have a Barbie doll in her likeness. If you don’t follow the show, you are forgiven if you thought this was some kind of gender-swapped Mork and Mindy reboot. I mean, that outfit. Yikes. It’s like this regeneration of the Doctor had her mom pick out her clothes in the dark. At a thrift store. During an earthquake. The Doctor is known for eccentric dressing, but even so, all past Doctor’s let out a collective “Ugh” when this outfit happened.
Now you can teach your little girl about questionable fashion too. The doll is available to pre-order right now and ships around December 3rd. Although I suspect more adult nerds will be playing with this than little girls.
It is with equal parts sadness and joy that I must report that the end of Fat Bear Week is upon us and the fattest bear of them all has been decided.
Google not only offered the Home Hub to connected households at its Pixel 3 event but also had a new version of the Home app for your phone. The revamped Android and iOS software promises both a much more organized approach to smart home control and…
When we last met with Salto the jumping robot it was bopping around like a crazed grasshopper. Now researchers have added targeting systems to the little creature, allowing it to maintain a constant hop while controlling exactly when and where Salto lands.
Called “deadbeat foot placement hopping control,” the Salto can now watch a surface for a target and essentially fly over to where it needs to land using built-in propellers.
Researchers Duncan Haldane, Justin Yim and Ronald Fearing created the Salto as part of the Army Research Office, and they will be exhibiting the little guy at the 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.
The team upgraded Salto’s controller to make it far more precise on landing, a feat that was almost impossible using the previous controller system, SLIP. “The robot behaves more or less like a spring-loaded inverted pendulum, a simplified dynamic model that shows up often enough in both biology and robotics that it has its own acronym: SLIP,” wrote Evan Ackerman at IEEE. “Way back in the 1980s, Marc Raibert developed a controller for SLIP-like robots, and people are still using it today, including Salto-1P up until just recently.”
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
