Virtual Reality headsets have just started getting good, and we love all the VR headsets currently available in the market. The only thing that bothers us is the amount of hardware requires for setting them up. From Oculus Rift, HTC Vive to PlayStation VR they all require cables, and adapters to actually get them working. VR is supposed to provide a flexible experience, it should allow you to move in the environment without thinking about tripping on your own setup, but if you have invested in the HTC Vive then we have a good news for you.
HTC Vive is the first VR headset that is planning to go fully wireless. HTC partnered up with the company called TPCAST to develop an add-on kit that turns the Vive into a completely wireless headset. The add-on unit has an inbuilt battery that powers the headset. HTC said the VR upgrade kit is almost ready but we don't know yet how powerful it is and what is the output resolution or the frame rates.
The VR upgrade kit is currently showcased on the HTC Vive's Chinese website, it will cost you $220. The pre-orders are starting today and HTC will start shipping these add-on units from the first quarter of 2017.
A few months ago Google unveiled its new VR headset named Daydream View. Google also showed us the onstage demo and gave us the idea of what should we expect from this new device. The Daydream View is now officially available in few countries. You can either buy it online from the Google Store or get it from the official retailers.
Following is the list of countries that are currently selling the Daydream VR,
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Germany
Australia
Unlike the other VR headset the Daydream View doesn't look like a chunky piece of plastic, Google said when they were designing the Daydream View they didn't want to make a piece of gadget they wanted to build the product that the people will like to wear, they took inspiration from fabric and the clothes we wear in our day to day life.Which is something that first time someone has ever done.
The Daydream View comes up with a corresponding controller which will allow the users to interact with objects in the virtual reality. Google showed a demo of the new Fantastic Beasts and where to find them a game where the operator is using the controller as a wand. Google said the new controller is so accurate and sensitive that you can write with it. The Daydream View also features a loop container for the new remote so when you are not using it you can just put the controller on the headset.
The Daydream View only works with the Google Pixel smartphones presently, with support to more eligible android devices coming soon in the near future.
What makes the Google Pixel smartphones different and superior to other Android phones is not just the better hardware but also the integration of Google assistant into the core of the operating system. It is clear that AI is the future of smartphones and it looks like Samsung is also realising this fact.
Last month Samsung acquired the Viv labs, the company that created Siri. Viv labs have confirmed that their new digital assistant 'Viv' will be integrated into the upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone. According to some reports Samsung is also planning to expand the services by integrating it with smart home appliances and other IoT devices.
Samsung already manufactures a number of home appliances so it makes sense to integrate services like this. Viv labs digital assistant already impressed us all and it looks really promising, capable enough to give the tough competition to Apple, Google and Amazon.Samsung needs something special after the huge failure of Galaxy Note 7.
Today at Microsoft Windows 10 event the company had tons of announcement with some being already leaked and some came as a real surprise. Previously we thought the event is going to be all about software because of the name Windows 10 event but, Microsoft also unveiled number of upcoming windows 10 hardware products and some of them are really promising. Following is the quick round up of the Windows 10 event,
Windows 10
Microsoft announced the new Windows 10 update dedicated to creators, The Windows 10 Creators update will be available for free to all Windows 10 users and you will be able to download the new update this spring. One of the biggest Windows 10 features is called 3D for everyone. With this new technology, Microsoft is bringing 3D to Windows 10.
Microsoft is bringing a whole new range of 3D tools to support 3D contents and Microsoft is calling it 2D to 3D journey. What that mean is, you can able to scan the physical objects in 3D using your Windows 10 Mobile or any W10 device and then you can edit those 3D renders directly into the new Microsoft 3D paint application. Microsoft showed the live demo of how you can simply achieve this using the new Paint app and the touch controls.
Microsoft Edge will be the first browser to support the 3D natively that will allow you to see the web content in 3D if you own a HoloLense or any of the new Microsoft VR headsets, The Paint and Powerpoint applications are now updated to support 3D.
New Microsoft VR Headsets
Microsoft announced they will be teaming up with the number of PC manufacturers starting with Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer and Asus to bring the new Microsoft VR Headset to interested Windows 10 consumers. Microsoft said there is no point in creating and providing the 3D content to users if they don't have anything to truly experience it, The Microsoft VR Headset starts at $299. There are no words about the hardware specifications of the device.
New Surface Book
Although a lot of people are not expecting it considering the Surface Book is still the fairly new device, Microsoft also unveiled the updated version of the Surface Book. The new Surface Book comes up with the latest Intel i7 processor and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M GPU making it the most powerful Notebook Microsoft has ever created. The new Surface Book also comes up with the redesigned cooling system and on paper 16 hours of battery backup.
Microsoft Surface Studio
As we have already seen in the rumors, Microsoft also introduced the new standalone desktop computer named Microsoft Surface Studio. According to Microsoft, the Surface Studio features world's thinnest touch sensitive LCD display at 12.5mm. That display outputs 13.5 million pixels which is 63 percent more than the standard 4K televisions making it the best desktop display ever created by the company. The Surface Studio will be available from holidays and it starts at $2999 and goes up to $4199.
Hardware Specifications
28-inch 4500 x 3000 PixelSense (192ppi) LCD Display
8GB/ 16GB/ 32GB of RAM
Latest Intel Core i5 or Core i7 Processors
1TB / 2TB storage options
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB / GTX 980M 4GB
5MP front camera with Windows Hello support
Stereo 2.1 Dolby speakers
The Surface Dial
Microsoft also unveiled a cute little companion accessory that works with the new Surface Studio. The device can be placed near the desktop and it gives you control over the volume, screen brightness, or scrolling through the files and documents.
Xbox Live Streaming
The new Windows 10 Creator update brings live broadcasting integrated into the Xbox App, allowing users to directly stream Xbox games online. The Microsoft Arena platform is also getting an update allowing users to create their own custom tournaments.
Microsoft officially announced that the Windows 10 event is happening on Wednesday, October 26th, you can stream live the Windows 10 event here. Considering that Microsoft is calling it a Windows 10 event suggests that we will be seeing lots of software related stuff, so don't expect new Surface Book or a Surface Pro. Although some reports suggest we might get a new desktop machine from Microsoft.
Considering all the rumors and reports following are our expectations for tomorrow's event,
Windows 10 will get performance improvement updates and some new features
New 3D Paint app suggests we might get some new touch-friendly universal apps
Microsoft may unveil a new Alexa and Google Home competitor
Considering the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 are still new devices we might not see a Surface Book 2 or Surface Pro 5
Surface Desktop: Rumors suggests Microsoft is working on an iMac competitor, A new desktop machine completely designed and developed by Microsoft. ZDNet confirms that Microsoft is working on a new desktop code-named "Cardinal", that suggests we might see some hardware launches too.
Software updates for Xbox and HoloLense
Stay tuned for updates we will be posting live during the event.
A few weeks ago Google launched its first flagship smartphone entirely made by Google. The Pixel smartphones are truly the iPhones killers, they go toe to toe with the new iPhones and in some cases, they even beat the new iPhones. So everyone was excited about the Pixel smartphones and then Google announced that the Pixel will start at $649, everyone went mad about why a $649 smartphone is not waterproof or at least water-resistant.
To check that Jonathan from TLD decided to put the Pixel smartphone under the water for about an hour and it survived! with some minor problems in speaker grills which should also work well once the speaker is dried out. If you are interested you can check the full video below,
Hardware and Specifications
Both the Pixel and Pixel XL features the new Snapdragon 821 chipset, which performs 10% better than the 820. The Snapdragon 821 will be the first processor with the Daydream VR-ready capabilities and the Pixel and Pixel XL will be the first ever Daydream VR ready smartphones. Daydream is the virtual reality platform that Google announced at the Google I/O developer conference 2016, which means the virtual reality capabilities are now integrated into the core of the operating system but to fully use it you will require a Daydream ready smartphone.
Google Pixel:
Display
5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels (~441 ppi pixel density)
Last month on September 4th, Mukesh Ambani made headlines by launching the world's cheapest 4G internet service in India. Reliance Jio also offered "Jio Welcome Offer" or simply JWO benefits to new consumers. According to the JWO, consumers will get free voice calls and unlimited 4G data until the 31st of December 2016.
But wait there is a catch, according to recent reports if you didn't subscribe to any Jio services by December 3 then your free services will end on that day. However, the Jio JWO benefits will be available to subscribers until December 31st. After December 3 standard tariff charges and plan limits will be applicable to the subscribers.
Reliance Jio Data Plans
With the huge number of call drops and continuously varying internet speeds its hard to tell how many consumers will stay on the network. Tell us about your experience with the Reliance Jio and if you are planning to upgrade, down below in the comment section.
