ASUS Introduces Three New, Affordable Giant ZenFone 3 Phones, One With a 6.8-Inch Display

Computex is currently in full swing this week and ASUS has done their typical big production for the event. That, of course, means lots of new products in all of their categories, but it also means new ZenFone models. Today, we have the ZenFone 3 family, which includes three phones with massive screens and what I would consider to be rock-bottom prices. 

First up, we have the ZenFone 3 Deluxe (ZS570KL), the "world's first full-metal smartphone with invisible antenna design." Seriously, that's the headline for this phone – the fact that it doesn't have the antenna lines that the Apple and HTC and Huawei and every other metal phone maker include. I didn't know that that was a selling point, but let's continue!

The phone features a 5.7-inch FHD (1080p) Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 820 processor, 6GB RAM, rear 23MP Sony IMX318 camera sensor (f/2.0), front 8MP wide-angle camera (f/2.0), fingerprint reader (rear-mounted), 3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 and USB Type-C, and 5-magnet speaker with high-res audio. ASUS says that you can get "up to" 256GB UFS 2.0 internal storage as well.

ASUS is really pushing the camera here, which is version 3.0 of their PixelMaster tech. It has a "world's best" 0.03 second TriTech autofous and 4 axis OIS, 3 axis EIS, and color correction sensor. That's a lot of stuff, so before we get to excited, we'll have to say what we always say, which is "We'll wait until we get one in hand to see if it lives up to all that marketing jargon."

The ZenFone 3 Deluxe will set you back $499 when it goes on sale (we don't know when that will be).

ZenFone 3 Deluxe — World's First Full-Metal Smartphone with Invisible Antenna Design

ZenFone 3 Deluxe is the flagship model of the ZenFone 3 family and the ultimate expression of ASUS smartphone design. It is constructed with a strong and light aluminum alloy unibody, and has a rear surface free of unsightly antenna lines and an ultra-thin 4.2mm edge.

ZenFone 3 Deluxe features a 5.7-inch Full HD (1920 by 1080) Super AMOLED display with a gamut of over 100% NTSC color space for rich, vibrant colors, even in harsh, outdoor lighting. An ultra-thin bezel gives ZenFone 3 Deluxe a 79% screen-to-body ratio for a maximized display in a compact package. Inside, ZenFone 3 Deluxe has a powerful Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 Series processor, Adreno™ 530 GPU, and integrated X12 LTE modem, as well as up to 6GB RAM to deliver the best performance and fast connectivity for demanding apps, games, and media.

ZenFone 3 Deluxe raises the bar for mobile photography with its incredible 23MP camera featuring the latest Sony IMX318 image sensor, a large f/2.0 aperture lens, and 4-axis optical image stabilization for high-resolution, blur-free, and low-noise photos in almost any lighting condition. It also features 3-axis electronic image stabilization for steady 4K UHD videos. Coupled with an ASUS TriTech autofocus system that automatically selects 2nd generation laser, phase detection, or continuous autofocus to provide accurate and nearly instant 0.03-second focusing and subject tracking, as well as exclusive PixelMaster 3.0 technology, ZenFone 3 Deluxe captures truly stunning photos and videos.

ZenFone 3 Deluxe has a built-in fingerprint sensor that's perfectly positioned on the rear of the phone to sit underneath the user's finger and unlocks the phone in just a fraction of a second. Quick Charge 3.0 technology reduces battery recharge times and a reversible USB 3.0 Type-C port that makes connecting charging and accessory cables effortless.

ZenFone 3 Deluxe also excels at audio with its powerful five-magnet speaker and NXP smart amplifier that provides clear, defined sound and also protects the speakers from damage. When listening over certified headphones, users can enjoy Hi-Res Audio (HRA) that provides up four-times-better sound quality than CDs.

Up next, we have the regular ZenFone 3 (ZE552KL), a phone that has decent specs as well, but an even better price. With its 5.5-inch FHD (1080p) LCD display, 16MP rear camera (OIS, f/2.0), 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 3000mAh battery, USB Type-C port, fingerprint reader, and Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor, the ZenFone 3 will set you back just $249.

It also sports a high-end PixelMaster 3.0 camera with that same fast autofocus from the Deluxe, only at a 16MP resolution, high-res audio, and a glass and metal design. It's very much the budget version of the Deluxe.

ZenFone 3 — Agility, Beauty, and Clarity

Winner of a Computex 2016 d&i Award, ZenFone 3 is a feature-packed smartphone that brings premium design and empowering performance to everyone. Built around a gorgeous 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 by 1080) Super IPS+ display with up to 500cd/m2 brightness, ZenFone 3 delivers an incredible visual experience that makes apps, videos, and games look their best. With a narrow bezel, ZenFone 3 provides a 77.3% screen-to-body ratio for a maximized viewing area in a slim and compact body. The front and rear of the phone are encased with scratch-resistant 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass that gently curves to make the edge of the phone completely smooth.

ZenFone 3 is equipped with a 16MP camera with ASUS TriTech autofocus that automatically selects 2nd generation laser, phase detection and continuous auto focus to achieve precise focus in just 0.03 seconds, resulting in sharp images in any condition.

ZenFone 3 is the first smartphone worldwide to be powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa‑core processor — the first Snapdragon 600 Series processor with 14nm FinFET process technology, an integrated X9 LTE modem, and 802.11ac MU-MIMO Wi-Fi connectivity — PC-grade graphics and up to 4GB RAM that together deliver outstanding mobile performance with improved efficiency and battery life. ZenFone 3 has a built-in fingerprint sensor that's perfectly positioned on the rear of the phone to sit underneath the user's finger and unlocks the phone in just a fraction of a second.

If all that wasn't enough, we also have the ZenFone 3 Ultra, a phone so big, it actually should be sold as a tablet with cellular connectivity. The Ultra sports a whopping 6.8-inch FHD (1080p) LCD IPS display, and no, that isn't a typo. Along with that massive display and body, you will find a Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, same 23MP rear camera from the Deluxe, 8MP front camera, USB Type C port (with HDMI display built in), front fingerprint reader, 5-magnet speaker with high-res audio, and 4600mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 and the ability to reverse charge another device.

Like the other two phones, you should see a top-tier camera performance with the high-res audio and metal body without antenna lines. ASUS also says that this phone, with its enormous display, has a 4K TV processor embedded (the phone only has a 1080p display, by the way).

Unfortunately, the CPU isn't close to top tier, nor is the GPU, so if you wanted this to be the ultimate gaming machine, it may not quite fulfill all of your needs. You would be better off with the Deluxe.

The ZenFone 4 Ultra can be had for $479 when it launches.

ZenFone 3 Ultra — Unleashed, Unlimited, and Unrivaled

Winner of a Computex 2016 Best Choice Golden Award, ZenFone 3 Ultra is a smartphone designed for multimedia lovers, featuring a 6.8-inch Full HD (1920 by 1080) display with a 95% NTSC color gamut for rich, vibrant images even outdoors in harsh lighting. It is the world's first smartphone to have ASUS-exclusive Tru2Life+ Video technology, which harnesses a high-end 4K UHD TV-grade image processor to optimize every pixel in each frame before it is displayed, resulting in superior contrast and clarity. ZenFone 3 Ultra also excels at audio with its two new powerful five-magnet stereo speakers and a NXP smart amplifier that provides clear, defined sound and protects the speakers from damage. When listening over certified headphones, users can enjoy Hi-Res Audio (HRA) that provides up to four-times-better sound quality than CDs and the world's first smartphone with virtual 7.1-channel surround sound with DTS Headphone:X.

Like ZenFone 3 Deluxe, ZenFone 3 Ultra has an incredibly slim and elegant full-metal unibody chassis — the world's first to have no antenna lines. An ultra slim bezel gives ZenFone 3 Ultra a 79% screen-to-body ratio, maximizing the viewing area while minimizing its overall size and weight. ZenFone 3 Ultra is equipped with the same high-resolution 23MP camera with ASUS TriTech autofocus system as ZenFone 3 Deluxe. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor, Adreno 510 graphics, and up to 4GB of RAM, ZenFone 3 Ultra delivers outstanding mobile performance. A built-in fingerprint sensor is perfectly positioned on the front of the phone beneath the user's finger and unlocks the phone in just a fraction of a second.

ZenFone 3 Ultra also has a high-capacity 4600mAh battery for long-lasting performance and Quick Charge 3.0 technology for rapid recharge times. ZenFone 3 Ultra even works as a power bank with 1.5A output for quickly charging other mobile devices.

Lots of stuff to digest there. I think the bottom line is that ASUS just announced three ZenFone 3 devices, all of which are extremely affordable, yet don't really compromise on specs. Once they are available, assuming you love large phones, I think the Deluxe is a device you should all consider in the unlocked game.

Anyone interested?

Via: ASUS
Source: ASUS Introduces Three New, Affordable Giant ZenFone 3 Phones, One With a 6.8-Inch Display

Asus unveils first home robot, new mobile products

Asus chairman Jonney Shih unveiled the company's first home robot and new mobile products at the Zenvolution press event at Computex 2016. Available at USD 599, Zenbo was presented as a companion that helps seniors enjoy a connected digital life and safeguard their health and well-being, a fun an educational playmate for children, and a household helper. Zenbo can connect to and control many smart home and traditional devices, including lights, TVs, air conditioners, and more.

The company also launched 'Zenbo Developer Program,' an ecosystem aimed at developers that covers various domains, namely education, entertainment, healthcare, convenient living and smart home. Zenbo supports a growing number of custom apps that expand his capabilities and bring new features to users. The free programme provides members access to the Zenbo SDK and a library of information they need to bring their creative ideas to life. In addition, Zenbo partners can work with Asus to help build a rich, robotic ecosystem that will enhance Zenbo and enrich users' lives.

The line-up of mobile devices includes the all-new ZenFone 3 family, featuring ZenFone 3 Deluxe, the new flagship Asus smartphone with advanced camera technology that takes mobile photography to the next level; ZenFone 3, a feature-packed smartphone that brings premium design and empowering performance to users; and ZenFone 3 Ultra, a smartphone with a 6.8-inch Full HD display that excels at entertainment. Also announced were ZenBook 3, a lightweight notebook with a premium aluminum design, along with Asus Transformer 3 and Asus Transformer 3 Pro PCs.

Source: Asus unveils first home robot, new mobile products

Asus Announces Three New Zenfone Devices

Today Asus took the stage at Computex 2016 and announced quite a few new products. One set of products adds to the Zenfone family — the Zenfone 3, Zenfone Deluxe, and the Zenfone Ultra. Each phone is unique in their own way, and Asus has given us a quick glance at each phone and the key differences.

ZenFone 3, a feature-packed smartphone that brings premium design and empowering performance to users; ZenFone 3 Deluxe, the new flagship ASUS smartphone with advanced camera technology that takes mobile photography to the next level;  and ZenFone 3 Ultra, an incredibly powerful smartphone with a 6.8-inch Full HD display that excels at entertainment.

Zenfone 3

As Asus explained, the Zenfone 3 does bring premium design and an empowering performance to users who plan on getting the device. The screen comes in at 5.5 inches with a Full HD (1920×1080) Super IPS+ display, so you know you'll be getting great quality when it comes to games, videos, and applications. Asus states that the Zenfone 3 has a 77.3% screen to body ratio for giving you the best viewing angles thanks to a narrow bezel. Combining with the 77.3% screen to body ratio, the handsets front and back are covered with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass to make the edges of the phone smooth.

On the inside of the phone, Asus is using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa core SoC, and is the first 600 series processor with 14nm FinFET process technology. There's also an X9 LTE modem and  802.11ac MU-MIMO Wi-Fi connectivity so you'll be able to get the fastest data speeds possible. In addition, 4GB of RAM will go with the processor and the GPU is PC graded, so you'll definitely have no issues with the phone slowing down during gaming or daily tasks. There's a built in fingerprint scanner on the back of the device and can unlock in a fraction of a second, and as for the camera, 16MP sits on the rear and comes with Asus's TriTech auto focus to provide precise focus in just 0.03 seconds.

Zenfone Deluxe

The Zenfone Deluxe will be the flagship device for the Zenfone 3 family and there's a good explanation as to why. The phone was given a strong and light aluminum alloy unibody and doesn't come with antenna lines like the iPhone does or HTC devices — plus the phone is thin with the edges being a mere 4.2mm thick. Of course there's more that make this devices the flagship, but the all metal body and zero antenna lines are the what take the cake. The screen size on the Zenfone Deluxe is  5.7 inches with a Full HD  (1920×1080) Super AMOLED display with a gamut of over 100% NTSC color space for rich, vibrant colors, even in harsh, outdoor lighting. The bezel for this Zenfone comes in at a 79% screen to body ratio.

Inside you'll get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, an Adreno 530 GPU, 6GB of RAM, and an X12 LTE modem. Asus is definitely not holding back on the amount of RAM to give you the best experience possible when it comes to running heavy games or tasks. The phone comes with Quick Charge 3.0 tech and has a USB Type C charging port, a built in fingerprint scanner on the rear of the phone (just like the Zenfone 3), and provides outstanding audio thanks to a powerful five-magnet speaker and NXP smart amplifier. The sound will be clear and Asus says it won't damage the speaker if played at max volume. If you have certified headphones you can get Hi-Res Audio that'll give you better sound quality up to four times than CDs.

Last but not least is the camera. On the back is a 23MP camera with the Sony's latest IMX318 sensor, a f/2.0 aperture lens, and 4-axis optical image stabilization for high-resolution, blur-free, and low-noise photos in almost any lighting condition. There's also a 3-axis electronic image stabilization for those 4K UHD videos you'll be taking. Asus's TriTech auto focus is also on board along with PixelMaster 3.0 tech to capture stunning photos and videos.

Zenfone Ultra

If you're tired of your 5.0-6.0 inch display and want to go even larger, then the Zenfone Ultra is so for you. The screen size is a whopping 6.8 inches with a  Full HD (1920×1080) display with a 95% NTSC color gamut for rich, vibrant images even outdoors in harsh lighting. Basically, this phone is for those who do nothing but media, such as TV or videos. The Zenfone Ultra will be the first smartphone to have Asus exclusive Tru2Life+ Video technology which will give a 4K UHD TV grade image processor. Audio-wise, the Zenfone Ultra will have the same tech the Zenfone Deluxe has, but there will be also be two powerful five magnet stereo speakers, plus this will also be the first smartphone to feature virtual 7.1 channel surround sound with DTS headphones.

The unibody is also metal just like the Zenfone Deluxe and will also have zero antenna lines. The bezel boasts a 97% screen to body ratio. The Snapdragon 625 SoC is inside with 4GB of RAM, Adreno 510 GPU, a 4600mAh battery, a built in fingerprint scanner, Quick Charge 3.0, and will work as a power bank for charging other devices. The camera is 23MP and will be the same as the Deluxe version.

Pricing and availability was not mentioned on these phones, but they should be coming out some time this year. With three new powerful devices out on the market from Asus, what are your thoughts about them? Do you plan on purchasing one? Let us know by leaving your comments down below, or on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.

  Source: Asus
Source: Asus Announces Three New Zenfone Devices

Olloclip partners with OtterBox to expand mobile universe

Olloclip has partnered with OtterBox to offer Olloclip´s 4-in-1 Lens as a module compatible with the new OtterBox uniVERSE Case System, the company said.

This variation of Olloclip´s 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6s & iPhone 6/6s Plus was built exclusively for and attaches seamlessly over the top of the OtterBox uniVERSE Case System. It features four advanced optic quick-change lenses (fisheye, wide-angle, macro 10x & 15x) that weigh in at less than an ounce.

The uniVERSE Case System outfits iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 6 Plus/6s Plus with a slim, protective OtterBox case that offers virtually endless possibilities.2 The uniVERSE Case System combines trusted OtterBox protection with the ability to expand iPhone´s features with swappable modules from a variety of leading accessory makers.

Starting in 1998 with a line of dry boxes, OtterBox® has evolved into the No. 1-selling case for smartphones in the US and a global leader in mobile device protection. The company is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colo., with offices in San Diego; Cork, Ireland; and Hong Kong.

Olloclip products allow amateur and professional photographers alike to capture and share life experiences, more easily, spontaneously and artistically than ever before. A person´s mobile phone becomes a window to the world–and mobile photography and videography enter a whole new realm of possibility.

Source: Olloclip partners with OtterBox to expand mobile universe

Google will become prey, not the predator

Google Inc chief executive officer Sundar Pichai: Google's move to create Android was actually a response to its fear of Microsoft's dominance in mobile. Photo: David Paul Morris

Although monopolies get a bad rap, they're not always a bad thing. In the short term, modern monopolies are often a boon to consumers. They bring valuable new inventions to market, and, in the case of platforms, they build new communities and markets that would not exist otherwise.

The downside comes much later, as the monopolist ages and starts to crowd out potential new competitors without delivering new value. As legal expert and author Tim Wu said, monopolies "tend to be good-to-great in the short term and bad-to-terrible in the long term."

Unlike the monopolies of old, however, platforms today are highly competitive. This difference results from the different mechanics of platform markets compared with traditional ones. Platforms compete based not on their assets but rather their networks of users. Users today can migrate much quicker than productive capacity could in the 19th and 20th centuries, as they are locked in by the value the platform delivers, not the assets it owns.

As a result, a platform that dominates one industry is still vulnerable to attack from platforms that have similar user bases. This process of platforms competing across industries is surprisingly common. For example, Amazon effectively created the e-book industry in the US. Yet after Amazon proved out the market, both Google and Apple have moved from adjacent industries and become competitors. And Alibaba used its rapidly growing product marketplace to attack Baidu's dominance in product search.

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Additionally, the speed of technological change today means that, absent government enforcement, modern monopolies aren't likely to last nearly as long as their predecessors. Barriers to entry in most industries are far lower than they were a century ago, while the boundaries between industries also are much more fluid than they have been in the past.

Although networks today do create the strongest and most defensible moats, they don't create the same barriers to entry as past monopolies that required vast investment in physical infrastructure in order to succeed. AT&T's domination of the US telephone industry lasted from the beginning of the 20th century until its 1984 breakup. Not surprisingly, in its later years, the company delayed or killed many important innovations in an effort to keep new entrants out of the market.

Yet no platform today is likely to dominate an industry for anywhere near that long. Start-up costs are at an all-time low (thanks, it should be said, in no small part to the effects of many platform businesses). And new businesses today are able to grow faster than ever before.

These changes mean that even if an industry is consolidated around a single dominant platform at any given time, there is always a looming threat of entry by a new firm or displacement by another successful platform. Because of the low cost of entry, this threat is constant and credible in a way it was not a hundred years ago.

This competition between established platforms and new entrants is exactly what befell Microsoft. For much of the past two decades, there was more worry about Microsoft as a monopoly than there is about Google today. In the early 2000s, most industry experts expected a major competition between Microsoft and Nokia over who would own the dominant smartphone operating system. Google's move to create Android was actually a response to its fear of Microsoft's dominance in mobile.

Today Microsoft is still the dominant platform in PC operating systems. However, it turned out that the kingdom it built was much smaller than everyone thought it would be. The dynamism of platform competition accomplished what the US government's antitrust case in the late 1990s could not. Less than a decade later, Microsoft became a bit player in the mobile phone market. Apple and Google eclipsed its dominance as new technologies evolved and expanded the market in unexpected ways.

More recently, Google has attracted increasing scrutiny from antitrust regulators due to its dominance in web search, especially in Europe. But in just a few years' time, Google's dominance in search may seem much less important than it does today. There are signs that this shift is already happening. Although Google has long dominated digital advertising, it's increasingly competing with platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for advertisers' money.

This competitive danger is especially strong on mobile, since the vast majority of Google's revenue comes from desktop search. Google's creation of Android as a mobile operating system was designed primarily as a defensive move to protect its search business, but the company still hasn't figured out a great business model for the mobile web, where search doesn't monetise as well as it does on the desktop. Many analysts attribute the slowing growth of Google's search-advertising revenue to this shift from desktop to mobile.

Clicks on smartphones just aren't as profitable as those on personal computers. Additionally, new entrants from China who are building on top of open-source Android could threaten Google's dominance of Android in the near future. Meanwhile, Facebook has built an enormous presence on mobile, and Google is in danger of being eclipsed by the next round of dominant platforms. If it isn't able to expand its revenue engine to mobile – where the potential advertising market ultimately will be much larger than desktop search is – it too could be relegated to secondary status within a decade.

Google could always try to buy out new competitors, as Facebook did with Instagram and WhatsApp. But repeated, large acquisitions will only incentivise the creation of even more startups that will become future competitors. Google's market position may seem insurmountable today, but this very well could change as the mobile internet expands and mobile ad revenue eclipses that of the desktop web.

How should governments react to the rising dominance of platform monopolies? Historical perspective is important here. Enduring monopolies like Standard Oil and AT&T are what gave the term its negative reputation. However, absent government protection, no business is likely to enjoy such a prolonged period of dominance today. As we saw with Microsoft in the 2000s and may potentially see with Google in the next decade, a modern monopoly's dominance in any one industry belies the competitive threat it faces from adjacent competitors and a constant onslaught of new entrants.

Governments should worry about the long term later. As John Maynard Keynes said, "In the long run we're all dead." The right answer usually is to let consumers reap the windfall of social and economic gains that new platforms are creating today. Most of these modern monopolies won't be dominant for long enough for the downside to materialise.

This article is excerpted from Modern Monopolies: What It Takes to Dominate the 21st-Century Economy, to be published on Tuesday by St Martin's Press.

Alex Moazed is chief executive officer of Applico and Nicholas Johnson is head of platform at Applico, a platform technology and mobile app company based in New York.

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Source: Google will become prey, not the predator

Olloclip partners with OtterBox to expand mobile universe

Olloclip has partnered with OtterBox to offer Olloclip´s 4-in-1 Lens as a module compatible with the new OtterBox uniVERSE Case System, the company said.

This variation of Olloclip´s 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6s & iPhone 6/6s Plus was built exclusively for and attaches seamlessly over the top of the OtterBox uniVERSE Case System. It features four advanced optic quick-change lenses (fisheye, wide-angle, macro 10x & 15x) that weigh in at less than an ounce.

The uniVERSE Case System outfits iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 6 Plus/6s Plus with a slim, protective OtterBox case that offers virtually endless possibilities.2 The uniVERSE Case System combines trusted OtterBox protection with the ability to expand iPhone´s features with swappable modules from a variety of leading accessory makers.

Starting in 1998 with a line of dry boxes, OtterBox® has evolved into the No. 1-selling case for smartphones in the US and a global leader in mobile device protection. The company is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colo., with offices in San Diego; Cork, Ireland; and Hong Kong.

Olloclip products allow amateur and professional photographers alike to capture and share life experiences, more easily, spontaneously and artistically than ever before. A person´s mobile phone becomes a window to the world–and mobile photography and videography enter a whole new realm of possibility.

Source: Olloclip partners with OtterBox to expand mobile universe

Tastemade rivals BuzzFeed for mobile food video views

Tastemade co-founders: Larry Fitzgibbon, Steven Kydd and Joe Perez. Portrait outside of the company's studios in Santa Monica, Calif.(Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USAT)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The three partners who dreamed up Tastemade cooked up one winning meal for Millennials — food shows for mobile viewing.

"There's a whole new generation of young people," who were just as interested in food as their parents when they watched it on TV, says Joe Perez. He founded Tastemade in 2012 with partners Steven Kydd and Larry Fitzgibbon. "They wanted to see it with people of their age, as opposed to having older stars doing it."

What the Food Network is for cable, Tastemade is trying to be for the mobile-friendly social networks and streaming services — Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, Spotify and Apple TV, among others. The venture-backed start-up sells advertising and sponsorships for videos its team of 70 makes in a former TV production studio here.

Tastemade videos average 1.5 billion views monthly, with 100 million monthly active viewers. It competes with the more heavily financed BuzzFeed, whose Tasty channel on Facebook and YouTube averages 2 billion videos monthly, according to market research firm Tubular.

Tastemade's video views are far more than some food shows manage to garner both on and off cable networks.

The Food Network, owned by one of Tastemade's investors, Scripps Networks, is one of several food properties also rushing to create content for social networks. It averages just under 500,000 daily viewers on TV. Food's most popular video on YouTube, a clip from the Chopped Junior TV show, received 300,000 views; Tastemade's most viewed video on YouTube, about a killer chocolate milkshake, has some 2.5 billion total views.

Food stylist Hayley Christopher and camera operator Peter Lau (background) work on a video shoot in the Tastemade studios in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USAT)

Tastemade "has managed to do something fairly unique and rare in today's world," says Nick Bell, vice-president of content for Snapchat, "which is create a digital brand with a really strong voice. Too many digital publications are about driving the audience with click bait. Tastemade's approach is very fresh."

All three founders of Tastemade met at Demand Media, the once high-flying company best known for creating content that fed search engine queries on Google. Demand Media saw its stock price dramatically fall, and major executive changes took place  when Google changed its algorithm and Demand content got dramatically downgraded. The company, once valued at $2 billion, has lost 95% of its value, according to Bloomberg.

The risk for Tastemade is having partners pull a Google and watch their monthly views plummet.

But this time around, Tastemade has more than one outlet, notes investor Geoff Yang, a partner with Redpoint, one of Tastemade's investors. From the Demand experience, the founders learned to diversify.

Snapchat's Nick Bell with Tastemade's Steven Kydd at Tastemade's studios in Santa Monica. (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

For Tastemade, job one has to be to continue creating good content, notes Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG.

"The only reason Facebook or Snapchat cares about them is because they're making great content," he says. "If they fail that, they'll be in trouble."

The video editing room at Tastemade studios in Santa Monica, Calif. where Tastemade produces food and travel content for internet and social media sites like Apple TV, Snapchat, FaceBook and Instagram. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USAT)

Tastemade has yet to start turning a profit, but the company brings in revenue, with big advertisers such as General Mills, Stella Artois beer, Grey Goose vodka and Hyundai.  Profits will come as the company gets bigger, Kydd notes. Tastemade declined to offer revenue details, saying it is a private company.

CROWDED TABLE

The partners founded the company after a dinner talking about their love of food, and went from there, starting with videos that were at first primarily shown on YouTube. From there, they expanded to travel and lifestyle, using young folks as hosts who had built social followings.

"We saw that the world was more social than it had ever been before," Perez says. With travel, "video can take you to a place, so much more emotional than just a photo."

Tastemade has raised $80 million since its founding in 2012. Other investors include Redpoint, Comcast Ventures and Liberty Media, the John Malone-controlled company that has many cable TV investments in channels such as Discovery, QVC and Starz.

Peter Csathy, CEO of Manatt Digital Media, which advises and invests in tech startups, puts Tastemade in the category of mobile production firms such as Maker Studios, bought by Disney for $500 million in  2014, and Fullscreen, acquired by Disney AT&T and the Chernin Group for a reported $200 million to $300 million that year.

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Facebook food videos are the new porn

It's "inevitable" that Tastemade will be bought and acquired, he says. "They will be another digital first success story."

The top candidates include the investors — Comcast, Liberty and Scripps — Csathy said. Kydd had no comment, nor have the three investors.

Besides Tastemade and Tasty, the online food video space includes Pop Sugar and legacy magazines such as Epicurious and Bon Appetit.

BUFFY'S STUDIO

The Tastemade mobile factory here is a lab for food and travel porn-delectable dishes that make your mouth water and take you to faraway places for your Millennial bucket list.

Content is created in a cavernous old studio that was once home to TV series such as Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.

As producers churn out food recipe and tasting videos in a studio, , editors work in another room making different versions — in square format for Facebook and Instagram, vertical for Snapchat and full-frame 4K for Apple TV and YouTube.

Kydd says this type of approach — carving up content  for multiple partners, "is a different type of storytelling, but a unique opportunity. If you focus on the consumer, and how they're using your product, that leads you to a very different place."

Fidji Simo, Director of Product for Facebook, says Tastemade has succeeded because it understands how to create for social media.

Director of photography Sharra Romany works on a video shoot in the Tastemade studios in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USAT)

Tastemade's videos "are perfectly designed to pop in News Feed," she says. "In addition to using compelling food imagery, Tastemade's videos work well with auto-play by grabbing the viewer's attention from the beginning and overlaying text so that the videos are interesting even without sound."

The company was chosen by Facebook to showcase its new Facebook Live mobile video feature by producing 100 live shows monthly. The company got a leg up by purchasing a cafe near their studio, which serves as a live lab.

Tastemade and the Food Network are featured Snapchat's Discover platform, where media companies showcase short-form video content for millennials, alongside others like Mashable, Comedy Central and CNN.

While both entice with mouth-watering recipe videos, Tastemade is more personality driven.

Vertical monitors on the wall of Tastemade's Santa Monica headquarters show clips the way Snapchat viewers see them. (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

What's next for Tastemade?

Go public? Get swallowed up by an Apple or Google?

"I don't know," Yang says. "Too early to tell. But this category is going to get really big. You're going to see a lot of next generation media companies."

A vertical kitchen was built at Tastemade Studios in Santa Monica to produce video in the landscape format for Snapchat (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

Follow USA TODAY tech columnist and #TalkingTech host Jefferson Graham on Twitter, @jeffersongraham. 

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1VkLO2t

Source: Tastemade rivals BuzzFeed for mobile food video views

Tastemade rivals Buzzfeed for mobile food video views

Tastemade co-founders: Larry Fitzgibbon, Steven Kydd and Joe Perez. Portrait outside of the company's studios in Santa Monica, Calif.(Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USAT)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The three partners who dreamed up Tastemade cooked up one winning meal for Millennials — food shows for mobile viewing.

"There's a whole new generation of young people," who were just as interested in food as their parents when they watched it on TV, says Joe Perez. He founded Tastemade in 2012 with partners Steven Kydd and Larry Fitzgibbon. "They wanted to see it with people of their age, as opposed to having older stars doing it."

What the Food Network is for cable, Tastemade is trying to be for the mobile-friendly social networks and streaming services — Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, Spotify and Apple TV, among others. The venture-backed start-up sells advertising and sponsorships for videos its team of 70 makes in a former TV production studio here.

Tastemade videos average 1.5 billion views monthly, with 100 million monthly active viewers. It competes with the more heavily financed BuzzFeed, whose Tasty channel on Facebook and YouTube averages 2 billion videos monthly, according to market research firm Tubular.

Tastemade's video views are far more than some food shows manage to garner both on and off cable networks.

The Food Network, owned by one of Tastemade's investors, Scripps Networks, is one of several food properties also rushing to create content for social networks. It averages just under 500,000 daily viewers on TV. Food's most popular video on YouTube, a clip from the Chopped Junior TV show, received 300,000 views; Tastemade's most viewed video on YouTube, about a killer chocolate milkshake, has some 2.5 billion total views.

Food stylist Hayley Christopher and camera operator Peter Lau (background) work on a video shoot in the Tastemade studios in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USAT)

Tastemade "has managed to do something fairly unique and rare in today's world," says Nick Bell, vice-president of content for Snapchat, "which is create a digital brand with a really strong voice. Too many digital publications are about driving the audience with click bait. Tastemade's approach is very fresh."

All three founders of Tastemade met at Demand Media, the once high-flying company best known for creating content that fed search engine queries on Google. Demand Media saw its stock price dramatically fall, and major executive changes took place  when Google changed its algorithm and Demand content got dramatically downgraded. The company, once valued at $2 billion, has lost 95% of its value, according to Bloomberg.

The risk for Tastemade is having partners pull a Google and watch their monthly views plummet.

But this time around, Tastemade has more than one outlet, notes investor Geoff Yang, a partner with Redpoint, one of Tastemade's investors. From the Demand experience, the founders learned to diversify.

Snapchat's Nick Bell with Tastemade's Steven Kydd at Tastemade's studios in Santa Monica. (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

For Tastemade, job one has to be to continue creating good content, notes Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG.

"The only reason Facebook or Snapchat cares about them is because they're making great content," he says. "If they fail that, they'll be in trouble."

The video editing room at Tastemade studios in Santa Monica, Calif. where Tastemade produces food and travel content for internet and social media sites like Apple TV, Snapchat, FaceBook and Instagram. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USAT)

Tastemade has yet to start turning a profit, but the company brings in revenue, with big advertisers such as General Mills, Stella Artois beer, Grey Goose vodka and Hyundai.  Profits will come as the company gets bigger, Kydd notes. Tastemade declined to offer revenue details, saying it is a private company.

CROWDED TABLE

The partners founded the company after a dinner talking about their love of food, and went from there, starting with videos that were at first primarily shown on YouTube. From there, they expanded to travel and lifestyle, using young folks as hosts who had built social followings.

"We saw that the world was more social than it had ever been before," Perez says. With travel, "video can take you to a place, so much more emotional than just a photo."

Tastemade has raised $80 million since its founding in 2012. Other investors include Redpoint, Comcast Ventures and Liberty Media, the John Malone-controlled company that has many cable TV investments in channels such as Discovery, QVC and Starz.

Peter Csathy, CEO of Manatt Digital Media, which advises and invests in tech startups, puts Tastemade in the category of mobile production firms such as Maker Studios, bought by Disney for $500 million in  2014, and Fullscreen, acquired by Disney AT&T and the Chernin Group for a reported $200 million to $300 million that year.

USA TODAY

Facebook food videos are the new porn

It's "inevitable" that Tastemade will be bought and acquired, he says. "They will be another digital first success story."

The top candidates include the investors — Comcast, Liberty and Scripps — Csathy said. Kydd had no comment, nor have the three investors.

Besides Tastemade and Tasty, the online food video space includes Pop Sugar and legacy magazines such as Epicurious and Bon Appetit.

BUFFY'S STUDIO

The Tastemade mobile factory here is a lab for food and travel porn-delectable dishes that make your mouth water and take you to faraway places for your Millennial bucket list.

Content is created in a cavernous old studio that was once home to TV series such as Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.

As producers churn out food recipe and tasting videos in a studio, , editors work in another room making different versions — in square format for Facebook and Instagram, vertical for Snapchat and full-frame 4K for Apple TV and YouTube.

Kydd says this type of approach — carving up content  for multiple partners, "is a different type of storytelling, but a unique opportunity. If you focus on the consumer, and how they're using your product, that leads you to a very different place."

Fidji Simo, Director of Product for Facebook, says Tastemade has succeeded because it understands how to create for social media.

Director of photography Sharra Romany works on a video shoot in the Tastemade studios in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USAT)

Tastemade's videos "are perfectly designed to pop in News Feed," she says. "In addition to using compelling food imagery, Tastemade's videos work well with auto-play by grabbing the viewer's attention from the beginning and overlaying text so that the videos are interesting even without sound."

The company was chosen by Facebook to showcase its new Facebook Live mobile video feature by producing 100 live shows monthly. The company got a leg up by purchasing a cafe near their studio, which serves as a live lab.

Tastemade and the Food Network are featured Snapchat's Discover platform, where media companies showcase short-form video content for millennials, alongside others like Mashable, Comedy Central and CNN.

While both entice with mouth-watering recipe videos, Tastemade is more personality driven.

Vertical monitors on the wall of Tastemade's Santa Monica headquarters show clips the way Snapchat viewers see them. (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

What's next for Tastemade?

Go public? Get swallowed up by an Apple or Google?

"I don't know," Yang says. "Too early to tell. But this category is going to get really big. You're going to see a lot of next generation media companies."

A vertical kitchen was built at Tastemade Studios in Santa Monica to produce video in the landscape format for Snapchat (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

Follow USA TODAY tech columnist and #TalkingTech host Jefferson Graham on Twitter, @jeffersongraham. 

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1VkLO2t

Source: Tastemade rivals Buzzfeed for mobile food video views

More Users Hit By Surprise Windows 10 Upgrade

Microsoft criticised over 'deceitful' Windows 10 upgrade

The change highlighted by the MSPowerUser.com report involves a move by Microsoft to up the permissible maximum screen size from Windows 10 Mobile devices to under nine inches.

How? Here is how Microsoft is using all the dirty tricks available, to make you download Windows 10 even if you would not like it. Where there is smoke there is fire so something is happening however, getting to the bottom of it will can be challenging.

Microsoft has quietly revised its Windows 10 upgrade timetable, with the OS slated to receive two feature upgrades annually instead of the three that was previously advertised. In the meantime, there are free tools like Never 10 that can permanently block the Windows 10 upgrade.

Mobile photography enthusiasts will be happy to know that the company now asks manufacturers to embed auto-flash on gadgets that support Windows 10 Mobile.

Comments and feedback will be able to be upvoted if they are considered worthy and strike a chord with other users.

So for those holdouts, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: Microsoft promises that it'll stop nagging you about Windows 10 after the free upgrade offer expires. In essence, Windows does provide you the option to cancel or change the schedule update. If you're truly anxious about it, laptops and desktops can easily be upgraded to 2GB of RAM with a few twists of a screwdriver. This will ensure that users use the more advanced and secure Edge browser for regular work and that they'll use IE 11 only in specific circumstances.

Microsoft has implemented several updates to the Windows Store in the last few months, and the company is very likely to continue refining the experience. After that, Microsoft will start charging users who are interested in upgrading to the latest OS. In any case more details can be found on Microsoft's support page, so if you have clicked the "X" recently and you don't want to upgrade to Windows 10, you better check out the scheduler to make sure.

Source: More Users Hit By Surprise Windows 10 Upgrade

Windows 10 'tricking Microsoft users into upgrades'

The first conclusion is that Microsoft actually cares about Windows 7 users, and it wants to make installing updates easier for them.

You should then be able to cancel or reschedule the swap to Windows 10. Previously, the company had told customers to expect three major upgrades per year. But so far, the company hasn't really had its way, which means there are far more programs that can run on Windows 10 than on Windows 10 Mobile.

Dating back to the days of Vista, the system requirements recommended 1 GB of RAM for 32 bit machines but that is finally changing with the next update to Windows 10. Unfortunately, users trained to click the X to close annoying pop-up windows may overlook this small line of text.

Windows users instinctively click the red "X" button in the top-right of windows to close applications. Microsoft said at the time that the upgrade would be as a recommended update for Windows 8.1 and seven users, even though one Microsoft spokesperson said that most of the Windows update settings are set in a way that they accept all "Recommended Updates".

The modification has been dubbed a "nasty" and "deceitful new update" by Brad Chacos, PC World website senior editor. His wife, though, is now shopping for a Mac.

Mobile photography enthusiasts will be happy to know that the company now asks manufacturers to embed auto-flash on gadgets that support Windows 10 Mobile. This is particularly helpful for users who have configured more than just one account in the Mail app, so jumping from one inbox to another is no longer necessary as they can easily get all messages in just one place.

"We understand you care deeply about what happens with your device".

You can also download a third-party utility to sort our Microsoft's mess for you.

Microsoft is in trouble yet again for its heavy-handed approach when "encouraging" people to move to Windows 10.

Torrex Pro is preparing for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update by releasing a cross-compatibility update of its own.

Microsoft announced earlier this month that 300 million devices are running Windows 10 - a faster adoption rate than either of the two previous Windows versions. More recently, the company provided us with more details about the new update pack, digging further into reasons why it chose to release it.

Source: Windows 10 'tricking Microsoft users into upgrades'

Unfade - Portable Photo Album Scanner

Connecting to the iTunes Store....

We are unable to find iTunes on your computer.

If you don't have iTunes, download it for free. If you have iTunes and it doesn't open automatically, try opening it from your dock or Windows task bar.

Source: Unfade - Portable Photo Album Scanner

Microsoft's Upgrade Deceptions Are Undermining Windows 10 — Upgradegate

In other news, it was revealed that Microsoft changed its mobile strategy nearly a year ago to focus on budget, flagships and business phones.

Users can go back to their previous version of Windows within 31 days of upgrade, but it's proving increasingly hard to stop it upgrading in the first place, presumably on the basis that "Once you go cack, you'll never go back", or something.

Mobile photography enthusiasts will be happy to know that the company now asks manufacturers to embed auto-flash on gadgets that support Windows 10 Mobile.

By the end of 2015, Microsoft's Windows Phones only managed to claim 1.1% market share, while Blackberry trailed behind with a very insignificant 0.2% market share. Exclusively available on Windows 10, Microsoft Edge is our modern browser for helping you get things done.

These statistics actually make sense, and the main reason is the declining performance of Windows Phone, but also the growing adoption of Windows 10 on PCs.

Comparing the quarters, Android regained share over iOS and Windows to grab a commanding 84 per cent of the market.

Statistics from Gartner show that in the first quarter of this year only 2.4 million Windows Phones were sold.

There's still plenty of time to upgrade to Windows 10 for free but, once the deadline passes, you'll either have to buy a licence or purchase a new PC with Windows 10 pre-installed. Windows will still install and run on machines with less than 2GB; it'll just run better on systems with more memory.

Nokia is finally ready to play the game with reigning smartphone giants as Microsoft sells off its feature phone business.

This isn't the first time Microsoft has been criticised over its Windows 10 opertaing system.

Dropbox 4.3 universal app can be found on the Windows Store. Previously updates have been published to both the Microsoft Download Center and the Microsoft Update Catalog, but in the next few months the Download Center will be depreciated. The categories and arrangement of the apps have been organised clearer with new individual app listings page design.

Cortana, the personal digital assistant in Windows 10, has helped answer over 6 billion questions since launch. However, the app is now available for download to all users - on the Insiders program or not.

Source: Microsoft's Upgrade Deceptions Are Undermining Windows 10 — Upgradegate

New concept video imagines assumed iPhone 7 Plus features based on the rumors

By Christian Zibreg, May 23, 2016

Apple's next smartphone refresh may or may not bring a major design overhaul to the iPhone that fans have been holding their breath for, but we still fully expect the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to be worthwhile upgrades in terms of both the looks and the features.

The rumor-mill does think, however, the device could have a cleaner look and feel due to the antenna lines being relocated to the very top and bottom.

The rear camera is said to protrude less from the housing and have a bevelled look and we might even get a pair of grilles at the bottom for stereo speakers. Taking it all in, Dutch 3D artist Jermaine Smit has imagined the iPhone 7 Plus in a concept video.

And here it is.

I'm liking his implementation of the Lock screen widgets!

If Apple's history of innovation is indicative of its future moves, the next iPhone should boost your mobile photography with improved low-light performance and better light sensitivity.

Check out another concept video from the same artist, this one from three months ago.

Apple bought Israeli imaging firm LinX which patented some curious photography solutions, based on dual cameras. Were Apple to implement LinX technology into the next iPhone, we might be treated to  RAW image capture, the ability to adjust focus after the photograph has been taken and other photography goodies.

What do you think of these concept videos and what iPhone 7 features are you looking forward to the most? I'm very much curious about those dual cameras.

Source: YouTube

Source: New concept video imagines assumed iPhone 7 Plus features based on the rumors

Flash Plus 2 smartphone enters the mid to high-end mobile market

We have no idea about the fate of the platform Flash but we know some websites and developers that are still using it. When it comes to smartphones, there's also the Flash series that is more known among mobile photography enthusiasts. Meet the Flash Plus 2 that looks like any premium mobile device with metal case targeted for the high-end market. Actually, the phone is more mid- to high-end.

The new Flash Plus 2 is available in two color options: Luna Silver and Venus Gold. It boasts of Hi-Fi sound effect, fast battery charging tech, and fingerprint scanner. If you're the type who's not easily impressed with the dozens to the hundreds of Android phones being released everyday, you'll find that this one is made with super quality in mind. Flash Plus 2 features a sand-blasted metal finish that looks pleasing to the eyes and even brings a convenient and safe group. Phone looks robust with the hard metal but still feels sleek with the ultralight rim diamond cutting.

Flash is known as an Internet smartphone brand. It's just an early startup but it began with a mission to continue Flash and "stay connected with the young Internet consumers who enjoy sharing and pursue quality". Flash 3C General Manager Albert Wong said that they will discover the needs of the users through continuous interaction. This way, they can make really quality products that are both fun and enjoyable by the young users especially.

Other features of the Flash Plus 2 phone include a fingerprint scanner that allows personalized fingerprints to open certain apps, fast charging tech, 3000mAh battery, 13MP rear camera, facial enhancement function, 84.40 ultra broad view, Picture-in-Picture mode, and Child Mode that is expected to help the parents in capturing photos of their kids. When it comes to audio, Flash Plus 2 delivers high quality acoustics and sound for everyone to enjoy.

Phone runs Android Marshmallow and comes equipped with the following: 5.5-inch FHD multiple point touchscreen, Miravision 2.0 FHD display, and a Helio P10 processor. Still no word on pricing and availability but it should be ready soon.

SOURCE: Flash 3C

Tags: Alcatel, Android, Android Marshmallow, smartphone

Source: Flash Plus 2 smartphone enters the mid to high-end mobile market

Google Nexus 6P Can Now Rival The Best In Mobile Photography!

Rooney Confident Of A Bright Manchester United FutureHe said: "Of course (I understand the boos), because I have also said that the expectation is very high, especially the fans".

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Lowry stars as Raptors beat Heat, move to Eastern finalsOnce the Raptors lead was unassailable, coach Dwane Casey emptied the bench, giving everyone but Luis Scola some run. In Game 7, the Raptors bounced back strong, courtesy of their big men, to win Game 7 and wrap up the series.

Oposición venezolana entrega "petitorio" a rector del Poder ElectoralEstá prohibido todo tipo de reproducción sin autorización escrita de la Agencia EFE S/A. Por otro lado, el presidente Maduro anunció la disminución del racionamiento eléctrico.

EgyptAir flight with Briton among 66 onboard 'crashed near Greek Med island'An EgyptAir flight from Paris, France to Cairo, Egypt has disappeared from the radar, the airline confirmed on social media. They said that helicopters were on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for potential rescue or recovery operations.

USA commander: Islamic State may be reverting to its 'roots'The Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the bombing campaign that has torn the Iraqi capital apart for weeks. He said IS has now lost 45 percent of territory it once controlled in Iraq, and between 16 and 20 percent in Syria.

Local professor explains Supreme Court decision on religious objections to ObamacareAt issue in Zubik is a regulation that requires non-profits to cover certain contraceptives in their health insurance plans. The Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious organizations will not be fined while the cases are under review.

Sophie Turner's X-Men training did wonders for mind and bodyBut I've had the challenge of growing up and having awful skin and all the things that make you feel uncomfortable as a teenager, and knowing that everyone can see it - because 50 percent of them point it out to you".

Ex 'tried to protect' Bataclan victim Nick AlexanderNick Alexander, 35, from Colchester, was in the theater when gunmen stormed the building during a rock concert, killing 89 people. After it ended, they continued to bump into each other as she ran a catering company based around the music business.

Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood react to Max Scherzer's 20-strikeout performanceThe Red Sox, winners of four straight, remained percentage points behind the Baltimore Orioles for the American League East lead. Scherzer and Johnson are the only two pitchers in major-league history with a no-hitter and a 20-strikeout game on their résumé.

Donald Trump resurrects accusations of rape against Bill Clinton on Fox NewsAs president, Bill Clinton, of course, was also famous for his long-winded, policy-rich speeches. She tweeted a repeat of the charge in January and added Hillary Clinton tried to silence her.

After one merger called off in energy sector, another arisesBernstein Ltd.in London, said in a note. "It is not a combination of same activities that is purely driven by cost synergies". The French company has lost a quarter of its value over the past year, while FMC has sunk more than 30 percent in NY .

Van Gaal Steadfast in Belief Over United PositionHe said: "Of course (I understand the boos), because I have also said that the expectation is very high, especially the fans". Despite beating Bournemouth on Tuesday, Louis van Gaal's side is out: of time, of the Champions League , of credibility.

2 claim share of Prince's estate through half brotherAnd because Duane Sr. and Victoria's father, Duane Nelson Jr. are dead, Duane Sr.'s potential share would pass to the two women. Williams, 39, asserts he was sired by Prince during a tryst his mother had with the singer in a Kansas City hotel room in 1976.

Hamilton and Rosberg explain Spanish Grand Prix crashRight after the start, Hamilton was able to get ahead of Rosberg but the German managed to snag back the lead by turn 3. And then to throw the steering wheel out of the vehicle . "It's so hard to really attribute percentages of blame".

Record Number of Passengers Will Fly This Summer, Trade Group SaysThis all comes as Chicago aldermen make a pitch to privatize security at the airports and get Washington to pay for it. Airlines predicted Wednesday a record 231 million passengers would be flying this summer, a 4% increase from 2015.

Tobacco firms lose United Kingdom court bid to stop standard packagingSimon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest, says the rules "treat adults like children and teenagers like idiots". Everyone knows the health risks of smoking and very few people start because of the packaging.

School bus, tanker truck crash near Toronto; 7 kids injuredPhotographs from the scene show the back of the school bus partially caved in and damage to the front end of the tanker truck. A tweet from Peel Region paramedics said all children were off the bus, and that "3 to 4" suffered "leg/back injuries".

Dilma Rousseff fue suspendida por 180 días y sometida a juicio políticoMientras Dilma Rousseff terminaba de hablar con sus simpatizantes en la puerta del Palacio de Planalto, Michel Temer asumía como presidente interino de Brasil.

World and regional powers set immediate, modest Syria goalsMr Lavrov insisted on Tuesday that Moscow is not wedded to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, but is backing his Army against ISIS. While Kerry claimed progress in the recent meeting, the parties have failed to set a date for the next round of peace talks.

Penguins overwhelm Lightning, take 2-1 series leadFourteen seconds after Pittsburgh's second goal, the Lightning finally answered with their signature line of The Triplets. This was the power play goal scored by Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist in the final minute of the second period.

Sales at United Kingdom supermarket Asda continue to slideIt is also in the middle of a programme to overhaul its product range, modernise its 95 largest stores, and reduce costs. Asda said sales at stores open over a year fell 5.7 percent in the 13 weeks to March 30, its fiscal first quarter.

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Missing EgyptAir flight crashed; 1 Canadian on boardThe Egyptian Aviation Ministry, however, later said it was too soon to declare a crash, and that the plane was officially missing. The statement added that Canadian officials in Cairo and Paris are working with local authorities to confirm this information.

Source: Google Nexus 6P Can Now Rival The Best In Mobile Photography!

A Theater Group’s Immense Photo Archive Captures the Spirit of Community Art

Wollaston Estate, Dudley, 1987. Throughout the '80s Jubilee created celebratory events with local community activists, whether one day or one week.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Jubilee Theatre and Community Arts Company began in 1974 with a group of local drama students inspired by the educational and cultural changes of the 1960s. Its mission: change the way art was made and experienced at a local level.

It started out with two grants of 75 pounds ($108), performing street theater in the British metropolitan borough of Sandwell, which had no theater, art center, or bookstore at the time. The group had the use of a disused library branch, a kitchen for a darkroom, an old ambulance, four kazoos, several boilersuits, and an outside toilet. It later acquired a double-decker bus, which became a mobile arts center. For more than two decades, until it was absorbed into a larger cultural entity, Jubilee became well-known in the region for its street and educational theater, festivals, and murals.

From the beginning, the group wanted to document its work, but without a photographer on the team or the resources to hire one, cameras were passed around to whomever was willing to take photos. Soon, however, organizers recognized the value of sharing control of representation, so Jubilee started making a point of enabling community members to photograph their own artistic and political endeavors. The work was shown locally in nongallery settings.

In 2011, Brendan Jackson was invited to curate an exhibition of images about the Black Country, of which Sandwell is a part, sourced from local photographic archives. He'd worked with Jubilee since the late 1980s, so he went in search of its photographic catalog in hopes of finding material for the exhibition. When he finally located it, in the basement of the West Bromwich Town Hall, he found a jumble of 20,000 images. He's since assembled some of the material online, along with Bev Harvey, in a wide-reaching and fascinating collection.

Oldbury, 1980. Operating from the Bus, Jubilee ran several photography projects with local children, encouraging them to document their lives and local environment.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Windmill Lane, Smethwick, 1980. Though starting as a street theater group, Jubilee developed mixed-media projects with young people to positively respond to and address their issues and concerns, using recording, film, and video.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Friar Park, 1980. The Bus was a mobile resource, which could park up on any piece of waste ground and generate excitement, offering a range of activities from photography to play, mural painting to silkscreen printing.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Left: Owen Street, Tipton, 1983. Self-portrait booth on the Bus as part of the project "The Illustrated Tipton Times." The Bus was used as a mobile photography studio, setting up popup exhibitions. Right: Play Day, Hateley Heath, 1980. Jubilee worked on creative holiday events with local community schools, engaging kids in drama and role-play.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Oldbury, 1974. Street theater with kids.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Play event, West Smethwick Estate, 1983.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

The photographs in the archive, which date between 1974 and 1994, show working-class people at play and protest, engaged as joyfully in labor strikes as DIY theater events. They also show the borough evolving, as immigrants shifted demographics in Sandwell and heralded even more diverse and vibrant communities.

"The images provide an antidote to stereotypical representations of local working-class people, whose roots were not only in Blackheath, West Bromwich, or Smethwick, but also of the Caribbean and the Punjab. Here we see local neighborhoods and activities recorded by local people," Jackson said. 

Brades Village, Oldbury, 1982. Alongside the play activities for younger kids, Jubilee encouraged older teenagers to get involved in a variety of ways. Here, using their go-kart, a group of lads became the documentation video crew for a processional event.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Games Day, Friar Park Festival, 1980.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Sandwell Valley, 1982. A group of lads from Friar Park making a photography project.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Left: Eddie, Friar Park, Wednesbury, 1980. Right: Horror Week, Tantany, 1981.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Mike Peckmore from Housing Aid solicits support for tenant action against rent rises, Wallace Road, Rowley, 1981.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Windmill Lane, Smethwick, 1983. The Bus was turned into a mobile film-making unit for the summer to create a series of short films with kids, in this instance involving pirates and treasure.

Courtesy of Jubilee Arts Archive

Source: A Theater Group's Immense Photo Archive Captures the Spirit of Community Art

Lenovo Vibe C to start shipping in Croatia by May 18

Sometimes, a person needs a back-up or secondary phone, or even a burner one, for one reason or another, which we will not ask because it may be none of our business. But in any case, if that's what you're looking for in a new device, the new smartphone from Lenovo called Vibe C might fit that bill. It will probably not win any awards for high specs or great design, but it is decent enough to be able to do basic functions that you would need.

The Lenovo Vibe C has a 5-inch 720x1280p display with IPS capacitive touchscreen. It is powered by a quad-core processor and has a 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory that can be expanded to 32GB using a microSD card. It will come with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out of the box and not the latest Marshmallow unfortunately.

It has a 5MP main camera with LED flash and a 2MP front-facing camera, so yes, this will probably not be an ideal device if you want to go into high-end mobile photography. It has a 2300mAh battery has support for 4G LTE connectivity, and has dual-SIM capability. It is 143.5 x 71.8 x 9 mm and is pretty light so you won't mind having another phone in your bag.

The Lenovo Vibe C will be selling for $105 so it is affordable enough to have as a secondary device. For now, it is only available in Croatia but it will probably expand to other territories as well.

VIA: The Verge

Tags: Android, Lenovo, Lenovo Vibe, smartphone

Source: Lenovo Vibe C to start shipping in Croatia by May 18

DxOMark puts Moto G Plus at #9 in photography lineup

In previous years, the only time you really get to hear about a smartphone's camera performance was in a review, sponsored or otherwise, days or weeks after the device goes to market. But with mobile photography taking on a more central role in smartphones today, you just can't get those reviews soon enough. That is why some OEMs like Lenovo have taken to DxOMark to provide that much needed "professional" verdict right on Day 1. And luckily for Lenovo and Motorola, the Moto G (or G4) Plus took away a rather glowing review that put it within the top 10 smartphones in DxOMark's list.

The Moto G Plus boasts of a 16 megapixel 1/2.4-inch sensor and f/2.0 lens aperture, assisted by Laser Focus and PDAF. In DxOMark's tests, those translated to a decent, though obviously not perfect, smartphone camera. Overall, the smartphone performed well in both stills and videos, though it scored lower in the latter, with good stabilization and preservation of details. Unsurprisingly, the camera had some trouble in low-light situations.

The Moto G Plus performed best when taking still photos. DxOMark regarded the smartphone as having good HDR results when the feature is activated, thought at times inconsistent. Exposure is actually decent when indoors with low-light though there is some visible luminance noise. But the camera does sometimes stumble even outdoors, with some loss of details in dark spots and a slight blue cast. In this sub-grade, the Moto G Plus gets an 85.

It gets a slightly lower mark when it comes to videos, which is quite common in most smartphone cameras. Color, white balance, and autofocus are noted to be quite decent in all lighting conditions. Of course, it performed best in bright light, where it exhibited better stabilization and noise reduction. In low light, the usual loss of detail and noise are easily seen.

'With an overall score of 84, the Moto G Plus is tied with the iPhone 6s Plus and the Nexus 6P. Of course, the Moto G Plus would come at a fraction of that price. But, then again, the smartphone is a mid-range device, so it will perform less spectacularly in other aspects. But if you're in the market for an affordable Android smartphone with a camera worth boasting about, the Moto G Plus might just be the perfect one for you.

SOURCE: DxOMark

Source: DxOMark puts Moto G Plus at #9 in photography lineup

Best Sprint Smartphones 2016: Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5, HTC 10, iPhone 6s And More

With spring in full swing, there are enough brand new phone choices out in the market right now to make a smart purchase without feeling too left out when newer phones come out later in the year.

Sprint customers have quite the lengthy list to peruse, with a wide selection of high-end to midrange to budget-friendly phones.

For the time being, the focus is on flagships that have made it to Sprint's network, to help existing subscribers and new customers in choosing which brand new phone to get.

Most flagships have the same capabilities with just an extra trick or two up their sleeves to make them stand out. It's those unique qualities that will be discussed in the list below.

Note, however, that while Sprint does indeed sell phones off-contract, those units tend to be abnormally overpriced compared to other sources where unlocked smartphones can be bought for less.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

Topping the list of non-iPhone handsets is what is arguably still the best Android phone on the market right now, Samsung's Galaxy S7 and the beautiful Galaxy S7 edge.

With its latest flagships, Samsung has not only broken the mold of stale smartphone design with the handy and aesthetically pleasing curves of the S7 edge, but it's also learned from past mistakes to make an even better phone in 2016.

(Photo : Răzvan Băltărețu | Flickr)

In 2015, Samsung stripped out expandable storage and strapped in crappy battery life in its Galaxy S6 flagships. In terms of design, the S6 was nearly perfect, but had those two main issues slowing it down.

Now, the Galaxy S7 flagships have amended those shortcomings with expandable storage and massive batteries with quicker quick charging. Alongside beefier graphics, the S7's camera also sets the standard for both speed and quality in mobile photography.

To sweeten the deal, Sprint is also giving away $100 worth of Samsung Pay credits to those who buy a new Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

Yes, we know. Apple will be outing the next generation of iPhone in just a few months. However, Apple's current flagship can still match up with the best of the best in the Android space this far into 2016.

An overall fantastic choice for a capable, all-around smartphone, the iPhone 6 and 6s Plus have Apple's iconic design in both hardware and software. What makes the iPhone different from any other Android smartphone is that Apple's device is a match made in heaven between software and hardware.

(Photo : Kārlis Dambrāns | Flickr)

In fact, what makes this latest batch of iPhones different from previous versions is the addition of a new layer of software interaction in iOS using Apple's new 3D Touch hardware technology.

Using special sensors beneath the glass and Retina HD display of an iPhone, iOS can measure finger pressure on the screen and provide responsive feedback in the form of subtle taps that allows a new way of interacting with iPhones.

LG G5

LG's latest effort has more than just a trick or two up its sleeve.

Right now, because of its one of a kind modular design, the G5 actually has three: a bigger, swappable battery, a more functional camera grip and a fancy amp that outputs higher quality sound.

(Photo : Maurizio Pesce | Flickr)

Its standout feature is the "magic slot" that allows users to swap out the G5's stock battery with different components that offer more functions. Even if LG went out of its way to stand out in a crowded market, however, the rest of the G5 looks plainer than plain.

Besides the vanilla aesthetics, the G5's other goodies keep the flagship in the running. In fact, the G5's dual lens 16-megapixel camera gives Samsung's Galaxy S7 camera a run for its money.

HTC 10

In what may be HTC's last attempt at staying relevant in the smartphone industry, the HTC 10 actually plays it safe compared to the other models we've already mentioned here.

Playing within the bounds of current feature and design trends, the HTC 10 doesn't step on any toes, but it doesn't come off as too boring either. In fact, the HTC 10's physical design stays true to the original One's all-metal aluminum unibody, albeit without the dual front facing BoomSound speakers we all knew and loved.

(Photo : HTC )

The device, though, still offers higher than usual high-resolution 24-bit audio by using the front speaker/earpiece and a bottom speaker that provides stereo-ish sound.

What makes the HTC 10 stand apart from other flagship Androids isn't in its hardware - it's the software. HTC's Sense 8 skin just doesn't get in the way, nor is it as ugly as Samsung's TouchWiz or LG's skin, for example.

Better yet, Sprint has the HTC 10 on a special offer for $0 down on a $21 a month plan, too.

Special Mention: Nexus 6P

Google's own flagship can't be bought with a contract from Sprint. In fact, the Nexus 6P can't be bought from any carrier at all. Nonetheless, we'd be remiss if we didn't give the 6P some love for staying true to the Android operating system.

Even if the Nexus 6P has to be bought off contract, the device is comparatively cheap compared to our list of flagships above.

(Photo : Kārlis Dambrāns | Flickr)

A 5.7-inch QHD AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 810, 3,450 mAh battery, 12 MP camera, and slew of other features easily place it in the $600 and above market. However, Nexus 6P starts at just $499 on the Google Store.

For those interested in a stock version of Android that won't get bogged down by unnecessary extras and will keep its tip-top shape years later, the Nexus 6P is quite a deal.

Featured Image: Mike Mozart | Flickr

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Source: Best Sprint Smartphones 2016: Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5, HTC 10, iPhone 6s And More

Five Items for the Serious Mobile Photographer

While some of you tend to scoff at mobile photographers in the same fashion that film photographers used to scoff at digital, Like it or not, there are photographers out there that can do an incredible job with their camera phones–much better than some dedicated camera users can do. As it is, Mobile Photography is fun and with it you can also create awe-inspiring images that focus really on the art behind the image more than anything else.

To help you get those photos and add a bit more versatility to what you're capable of, here are five items we strongly recommend.

MeFOTO Sidekick 360

In our review, we state:

"The Sidekick 360 is a really cool and very fun way to expand your mobile photography, but we feel that it can be taken even more seriously. Hopefully, MeFOTO will develop an even higher end offering. But if you're looking to get more serious about your mobile photography, then the Sidekick 360 is a great starters gift."

Buy Now: Amazon

PhotoJoJo Iris Lenses

In our review, we state:

"Of all the lenses, my favorites are the wide angle and the fisheye. Both of them let you do really cool things. The macro is nice too, but it basically just makes everything at a certain distance in focus and blurs all else into a beautiful bokeh. You may as well put the phone in a set of camera bellows then.

For the best quality, I prefer to shoot with the Apple camera app then edit with RNI films and then upload to Instagram or EyeEm."

Buy Now: Amazon

Covr Photo Case

In our review, we state:

"Pop it on, and shoot better street photos with your iPhone to your heart's content. Just be sure to download the corresponding app first. Otherwise, you'll be composing images upside down–but you can always flip it later on. It's also important to note that the COVR app retains the camera's ability to make photos with the volume buttons. The case couldn't be simpler to use, and the sliding prism makes it easy to revert to the dedicated camera if you need to. The only sticking point is the process by which you have to take it off. With the mini-tutorial above, though, you should be okay."

Buy Now: Amazon

Moment Lenses

In our review, we state:

"If you're looking to step up the game of what your mobile phone can do, then the Moment lenses are seriously your best bet. Granted, you're going to be possibly uploading the images to VSCO or Instagram afterwards, but why not start out with the best image quality you can get to begin with?

Indeed, the quality that Moment offers is top notch."

Buy Now: Moment

Bitplay SNAP! Pro Case

In our review, we state:

"Shooting in landscape mode is when you'll find it easiest to use this case. That's where the shutter buttons and the thumb rest are most effective. But when it comes to vertical shooting it's tougher to do. You're essentially trying to use it in the same way that you would with a regular iPhone, but the ergonomics don't make the holding experience so simple.

SNAP! Pro has their own free app that they recommend using with the case, but I personally just didn't see the use. The Apple camera app is so much faster and I've become more familiar and comfortable with what Manual can offer."

Buy Now: Amazon

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Source: Five Items for the Serious Mobile Photographer