After inhabiting our vocabulary and our devices for more than 30 years, “Microsoft Office” is retiring. That doesn’t mean apps like Word and Excel are going away, but rather that the company’s suite of tools is taking on a new, somewhat familiar name: Microsoft 365.
Earlier this summer, the US FDA greenlit the sale of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, and now we’re seeing some from one of the largest audio companies in the world. Sony has announced the availability of its first OTC hearing aids, the $1,000 CRE-C10 and $1,300 CRE-E10, built in partnership with WS Audiology.
The devices are built for daily use for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. They’re controlled via Sony’s “Hearing Control” app that guides users through setup and allows them to personalize settings like volume control. It also allows a “self-fit” that adjusts to appropriate pre-defined hearing profiles “based on thousands of actual, real-life audiogram results,” Sony said.
The CRE-C10 model (above) offers a battery life of up to 70 hours of continuous use. Sony says they’re one of the smallest OTC hearing aids on the market, offering a discreet design that’s “virtually invisible when worn” and “exceptional sound quality.” It goes on sale this month for $1,000 at Amazon, Best Buy, and select hearing-care professionals.
Meanwhile, the CRE-E10 (at top) has a more earbud-like design, powered by a rechargeable battery with up to 26 hours of life between charges. It’s Bluetooth compatible as well, so users can connect to devices and listen to streaming audio or music, though only on iOS, Sony says. Those will go on sale for $1,300 sometime this winter at Sony’s website.
Last year, Bose and Lexie unveiled their own OTC hearing aids with the SoundControl lineup, and launched the first B1 model for $900 a couple of days ago. Companies like Jabra have also leaped in. And last year, Sennheiser sold its consumer audio business to the hearing aid specialist Sonova. While the prices are still not what you’d call cheap, they’re far less than prescription hearing aids that can run $1,000-$4,000 per ear, according to Consumer Reports.
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Good luck on the minefield of social media today as the post-credits scene of DC’s Black Adam has leaked, over a week before the film’s October 21 release. As Warner Bros. gets to work scrubbing posts, we imagine the Rock is gearing up to take back his thunder.
The first two Project Kuiper satellites, prototypes for Amazon’s satellite broadband program, will head to Low Earth Orbit in the first quarter of 2023. Amazon previously announced that the prototypes will launch on top of an ABL Space Systems rocket by the end of this year. While the tech giant will retain its launches with ABL, Project Kuiper will debut with another provider entirely: Its first two satellites will fly on the maiden flight of United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Project Kuiper VP Rajeev Badyal, told The Washington Post that delays coupled with the opportunity to launch with ULA had compelled Amazon to change its plans. The Vulcan Centaur heavy-lift launch vehicle has been in development since 2014, but its first launch has been pushed back repeatedly due to reasons that include delays with the development of its BE-4 engine. BE-4 is a product of Blue Origin, another Jeff Bezos company.
ULA plans to make the Vulcan Centaur its main vehicle after its retires the Atlas V rocket, which relies on Russian-made engine, once it’s through with its 20 remaining launches. The rocket was supposed to have its maiden flight this year, but Astrobotic (its main payload customer for the mission) asked ULA to move the schedule to give it more time to finish its NASA-funded lunar lander.
Amazon says deploying the prototype satellites will help it gather real-world data to be able to finalize its design, deployment and operation plans for its commercial satellite system. Project Kuiper has the authority to launch 3,236 satellites to form a constellation meant to provide internet access even in far-flung locations, similar to SpaceX’s Starlink network. As The Post notes, Amazon will have to deploy half of that number by 2026 to meet its obligations with the FCC. Badyal said the company is on track to meet that even though it has yet to launch its first satellites.
In additional to ferrying Amazon’s Project Kuiper prototypes and the Peregrine lunar lander to outer space, the maiden Vulcan Centaur flight will also serve as the first of the two launches the vehicle must go through to prove that it’s ready for Space Force missions. The US Space Force plans to use the Vulcan Centaur to launch national security satellites, with the first one scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Sony has unveiled the ZV-1F, its third and most affordable vlogging camera, designed for creators as a “step up” from smartphones. Priced at just $500, it’s slotted below the $700 ZV-1 compact and $750 mirrorless ZV-E10 (with a kit lens), and has a Type-1 Exmor 20.1-megapixel sensor, 4K video, and features that help novice users get up to speed quickly.
While using a similar Type-1 sensor to the ZV-1, it trades that models 24-70mm zoom for a wide-angle, 20mm equivalent prime lens. That extra field of view, plus the fully-articulating display, could actually make it better for vlogging or selfies than the ZV-1 — allowing folks to better fit themselves into the frame.
However, it also makes it less versatile for shooting products, other people and so on, though you can do a digital zoom of 2x in 1080p and about 1.5x in 4K. It has no built-in stabilization, instead relying on electronic stabilization that imposes a 1.23x crop, making the 20mm lens about 25mm.
You can shoot 4K at up to 30 fps, the same as the ZV-1, and 1080p at up to an impressive 120fps (with 8-bit video in all modes). That’s done by the “slow and quick” setting, which also supports 60x hyperlapse capture in HD. However, unlike most other Sony models, the ZV-1F has contrast-detect only autofocus, rather than phase detect that’s generally faster and more accurate.
Like the other vlogging models, the ZV-1F has a “product showcase” feature that lets you place a product in front of the camera and quickly get focus. It also has the same bokeh switch that lets you defocus the background with the click of a button. A nod to TikTok or Snapchat creators is the Shot Mark feature that lets you grab a 15-, 30- or 60-second clip and send it to a smartphone through Sony’s app.
On the audio side, it has a directional microphone that offers good-quality sound, with forward bias that isolates your voice, even outdoors. It also includes a removable “deadcat” to reduce wind noise.
Other features include a single UHS-1 slot, an ISO range of 125 to 12,800, vertical shooting, and a front facing tally light that shows when you’re recording. Sony says it weighs just 256 grams, just a bit more than the 203 gram iPhone 14. It arrives on October 24th for $500.
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