Hasta La Gadget!

After a spate of accidents on its Tread+ treadmill, Peloton temporarily moved the basic running mode of Tread+ behind a paywall so non-authorized users couldn’t gain access. Now, all users will be able to use the “Just Run” feature without a subscription and still be able to lock it up with a pin code, the company told The Verge. 

Peloton recalled its Tread and Tread+ treadmills in the US and Canada after several reports of injuries and one death. The company subsequently released a software update that required a passcode to use the basic running mode, but the feature was only available to subscribers. To offset that cost, Peloton gave users the subscription for free for three months, with the promise that an update was coming. 

The Tread Lock feature locks the device if you haven’t used the treadmill in 45 seconds and aren’t in a class. You then need to input a four-digit code before it can be used again. The aim is to prevent it being accessed by inexperienced users — especially kids — following 29 reports of injuries to children, including second- and third-degree abrasions and broken bones.

While the update was inconvenient for non-subscribers who purchased the $4,000+ devices, Peloton did make it possible to do basic running without paying. As part of the recall, Tread+ owners can get a full refund if they decide to return their treadmills by November 6th, 2022, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

IMDb’s free, ad-supported streaming service finally standalone mobile apps for iPhones, iPads and Android in the US. The Amazon-owned subsidiary released IMDb TV apps for LG Smart TVs, PlayStation 4, NVIDIA Shield and TiVo Stream 4K in March, following its recent expansion to Roku. Up until now, though, you’d have to fire up the IMDb app to access the service’s offerings on mobile

The standalone apps’ release could give the service a bigger reach and put it on the radar of more potential viewers. Amazon may have big plans for IMDb TV in the future, after all. According to reports that came out last year, the company is looking to make the free service available internationally. Mexico and the UK may be the first regions to get access to the platform outside the US, and if all goes well, IMDb TV could expand into Latin America and other European countries. 

IMDb TV offers free access to popular shows and movies like Chicago Fire, All in the Family, Wolf of Wall Street and How to Train Your Dragon. It also gives you access to Amazon Originals made especially for the platform, including the crime drama Leverage: Redemption.

IMDb

Sony already hinted that it’s working on a new PlayStation VR headset, promising “dramatic leaps” in performance, higher resolution, a wider field of view, better tracking and a new controller. On Tuesday, Sony reportedly revealed more specifics about the headset at a developer’s summit, according to the YouTube channel PSVR Without Parole (below) and UploadVR, The Verge has reported.

The device is reportedly codenamed next-gen VR (NGVR) and features controllers with capacitive touch sensors that can detect when you’re holding the controller or touching the buttons, and even sense the distance to your fingers. Sony also reportedly told developer’s that it’s planning optional VR support for all AAA releases, so you could play them either in VR or on your TV — much like it did with Resident Evil 7 and No Man’s Sky on the PS4 and PS5. 

PSVR Without Parole also noted that the next-gen PSVR will offer a 110-degree field of view that’s 10 degrees wider than the PSVR. To make the most of those pixels, it will use flexible scaling resolution, along with foveated rendering that uses eye-tracking to improve resolution where you’re looking. UploadVR, meanwhile, said that the the headset will feature high-resolution 2,000 x 2,040 OLED displays (4K in total). 

We’ve already heard that the PSVR will connect to PlayStation consoles with a single cable, with no passthrough box required. It will also use inside-out tracking and offer adaptive triggers and haptic feedback on the controllers.

All told, the PSVR 2 (or whatever it’s called) should have features mostly on par with rival headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Pro 2. However, Sony itself said that the headset won’t launch until at least next year, and a Bloomberg report from June indicated it might not come until late in 2022. For now, though, all of that is still grist for the rumor mill until Sony announces something official, possibly later this year. 

It seems that the next trend in smartphones will be under-display (or under-screen) cameras or UDCs, at least as far as some manufacturers are concerned. Of course, ZTE fired the opening salvo last year with the Axon 20 5G and fired another round with the Axon 30 5G last month. Samsung is also rumored to be jumping on that bandwagon … Continue reading