Yesterday Google disclosed that it had inadvertently exposed Google+ users’ personal data and that up to 500,000 accounts might have been affected. But the issue, which was discovered in March, was kept under wraps — a decision Google said was made…
Fox 29 analyst Garry Cobb, a former player, may have ruffled a few feathers with his suggestion for the struggling team.
Google has announced its Google Pixel 3 smartphone in an NYC event just this morning. The Google Pixel 3 builds on fundamental strengths that are hallmarks of the Pixel series: leading camera performance, pure Android OS, and neat industrial design. However, Google has pushed the envelope in new areas to improve the experience of the majority, while advancing its own strategic position.
The Pixel Camera is at the top of the list of interests to potential Google Pixel users, and once again, Google is turning to software and AI to provide an edge to its single rear camera hardware. This is in stark contrast with handsets like the LG V40 (5 cameras) and the Huawei P20 Pro (4 cameras).
During the launch, these Pixel 3 features caught our attention: Top Shot and Night Sight. Top Shot essentially captures a series of photos before the shutter action happens, just in case someone closes their eyes, sneezes, etc. Pixel will suggest a better photo since it is smart enough to pick a photo where everyone is smiling and looking at the camera.
Top Shot proves that Google’s camera software is powerful enough to capture clean images in burst mode. This is not an easy thing to do, especially when lighting conditions are even slightly challenging.
Night Sight uses AI to brighten a scene to what seems to be extraordinary levels. We will have to see how it actually performs during our review, but this potentially goes way beyond regular low light photography, perhaps into a more “artsy” low-light photo experience. The science behind the feature is sound: we know it is possible to use machine learning to enhance this type of images, and “how much” you do it is the question.
Google is typically more advanced than the rest of the image processing industry, thanks to its enormous amount of data, clever scientists and computing power, so we expect great things from these two features. Night Sight is coming “next month” to Pixel 3, and to older Pixel phones as well!
Super-Res Zoom is a feature that replaces a dedicated zoom lens with algorithms. It works by capturing a burst of photos and merging multiple images along with using image processing algorithms to create a better zoom image (when compared to simple magnification). It will be interesting to see how it compares to an optical 3X zoom.
This kind of algorithm was initially born from Space research and military applications such as satellites, spy planes or drones. Phones are now powerful enough to execute these processes on-device, in real-time, especially since Google has a custom Pixel Visual Core chip, unique to the Pixel Phones.
Official Pixel 3 selfie sample
This year Pixel 3 gets a dual-front camera setup which covers all the selfie use cases. Typically, OEMs must choose between wide selfie lenses or portrait-like lenses depending on the user they target. The truth is that both use cases are essential, and it makes a lot of sense to provide two different focal lengths to make any shot, the best possible shot.
It’s true that phones aren’t typically useful during charging, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When connected to the Pixel Stand for charging, Pixel 3 switches to being a Visual Google Assistant and listens for commands, ready to help.
That’s a great idea, and it fits perfectly in Google’s overall visual assistant push, expanding the experience significantly beyond the customer base of dedicated Google Home Hub. If and when users want a better experience, they can get a large-screen assistant.
Google’s Pixel 3 comes in two identical configurations for the 5.5” and the 6.3” display. It’s great because users won’t have to pick the larger one because it is slightly more performant.
From a hardware standpoint, Google has gone with many of the best options available right now: Snapdragon 845 SoC, dual-pixel camera sensor in the rear with OIS and EIS image stabilization. I expected a larger aperture than the current f/1.8, but we’ll see if algorithms can make up for this when it goes head to head with f/1.5 cameras.
| Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL | |
|---|---|
| OS | Latest Android 9 Pie |
| Display | 5.5” display or 6.3″ display |
| Rear Camera | 12.2 MP dual-pixel f/1.8, 1.4μm, dual pixel phase detection. Optical + electronic image stabilization. 4K @ 30fps, 720p @ 240fps, 1080p @ 120fps |
| Selfie Camera | 8MP wide-angle and normal FoV cameras. Wide-angle: f/2.2 aperture, 97° FoV. Normal: f/1.8 aperture, 75° FoV |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 + Pixel Visual Core |
| Memory + Storage | 4GB RAM, 64GB or 128GB storage |
| Size and Weight | Pixel 3: 145.6×68.2×7.9mm, 148g. Pixel 3 XL: 158×76.7×7.9mm, 184g |
Pre-orders are open, with prices of $799 (5.5”) and $899 (6.3”), the new Google Pixel 3 phones offer an excellent alternative to other high-end phones, some of which are much more expensive. If you compare it with the iPhone XR, we expect it to bring significantly better value for the price, and perhaps, this is Google’s primary target here.
When it comes to other Android phones, things are incredibly competitive because Android handsets prices fall relatively quickly. Google’s pure Android platform and tight integration with the rest of Google remains an edge that few OEMs can genuinely match, with timely and frequent updates, and a longer support lifespan.
Keep an eye for our Google Pixel 3 data-driven review, as we’re excited to see how it measures up to the iPhone XR, and other Android phones.
Google Pixel 3 : The Essential Things To Know , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Anti-racist protesters, not so much.
The Nintendo Wii has been modded countless times, but this particular build is an especially wee Wii. This isn’t some kind of Raspberry Pi emulator. What you’re looking at is a fully functional Wii gaming system crammed into an Altoids tin, dubbed the “Kill Mii.” I doubt if anyone can go much smaller than this.
So how exactly did Shank Mods manage this? Well, much like the Atari 2600, you can cut off the majority of the Wii’s motherboard and still have a functioning system. Sure you are ditching things like the GameCube controller ports and SD card slot, but who needs those anyway? After that, you just need to install a new firmware that tells it to ignore things like a lack of disc drive and load games as ISOs from an attached USB flash drive.
The system has a battery that can run the device for about 10 minutes per charge, which is longer than you would want to play on this thing given its wonky controller setup. Still, it’s an impressive build and wasn’t designed to provide a great user experience. Like many other mods, it was simply done because it could be done. So what’s next? Who wants to build an even wee-er Wii? No doubt someone will eventually take up the challenge.
Two-factor authentication is a simple and crucial step toward preventing someone from hacking into your account, and Instagram just updated this key security feature for all users.
We weren’t too thrilled with the first attempt at putting Chrome OS on a tablet, with Acer’s Chromebook Tab 10 getting slammed for its bad cameras and poor performance — and the fact that Chrome OS hadn’t really been optimized for the form fact…
The Google Pixel Slate is confusing. On the one hand, it’s an iPad Pro competitor, and priced to suit. From that perspective, the slender metal construction, sizable display, and detachable keyboard make a lot of sense for a Chrome OS alternative to Apple’s pro-tablet. On the other hand, though, it’s a competitor to Microsoft’s recent Surface launches, the Surface Go … Continue reading
The war for the countertop has begun. Google, Amazon and Facebook all revealed their new smart displays this month. Each hopes to become the center of your Internet of Things-equipped home and a window to your loved ones. The $149 Google Home Hub is a cheap and privacy-safe smart home controller. The $229 Amazon Echo Show 2 gives Alexa a visual complement. And the $199 Facebook Portal and $349 Portal+ offer a Smart Lens that automatically zooms in and out to keep you in frame while you video chat.
For consumers, the biggest questions to consider are how much you care about privacy, whether you really video chat, which smart home ecosystem you’re building around and how much you want to spend.
If you want to go off-brand, there’s also the Lenovo Smart Display, with stylish hardware in a $249 10-inch 1080p version and a $199 8-inch 720p version. And for the audiophile, there’s the $199 JBL Link View. While those hit the market earlier than the platform-owned versions we’re reviewing here, they’re not likely to benefit from the constant iteration Google, Amazon and Facebook are working on for their tabletop screens.
Here’s a comparison of the top smart displays, including their hardware specs, unique software, killer features and pros and cons:
For many years now, it has become more or less expected that every few years, console makers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will release new hardware. There are some who believe that maybe game streaming could be the future and would be less reliant on hardware, and while that might be true, it seems that Sony could be putting out new hardware anyway.
During an interview with the Financial Times (paywall; via GamesIndustry.biz), Sony’s CEO Kenichiro Yoshida confirmed that the company has plans to release new hardware, which more or less confirms the PlayStation 5 even if Yoshida did not explicitly call it by name. The CEO was quoted as saying, “At this point, what I can say is it’s necessary to have a next-generation hardware.”
Sony has sort of confirmed the PS5 in the past, where a report from earlier this year saw Sony suggest that the next-gen hardware is about 3 years away. This basically refutes some earlier reports from analysts who believe that the PS5 could be launched in 2019 or 2020. That being said, Sony and Microsoft have done things a little different with the current-gen consoles compared to the past.
For example Sony has released PlayStation Pro while Microsoft released the Xbox One X which allowed gamer to play games in 4K resolution, all the while keeping games compatible with the PS4 and Xbox One. Some have expressed their belief that consoles could go the way of the dinosaur, but we suppose as long as people are buying, companies will keep producing.
Sony Effectively Confirms That There Will Be A PS5 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
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