You're busy, we get that. The fact that you carved it onto a wall of granite using nothing but an eye dropper and time seems like a direct contradiction to that statement, but whatever. We're not gonna judge. If that's what you really need to be doing, we don't want to interrupt.
So you don't have time to sit down and listen to an hour of in-depth tech advice and news? It's all good. How about ten minutes to read over an out-depth summary of that same tech advice and news? Well, here you go. For the week ending February 27th, 2017, this is the Calling All Platforms Tech podcast summary.
There is also mounting evidence that a new Overwatch character will be announced soon, based on in-universe activity on the Overwatch official social media channels, but whether that character will be a Terry Crews-voiced Doomfist remains to be seen. But seriously, Blizzard, PLEASE!
Lastly, the Apple Spaceship Campus we've been worried was going to blow up the White House all Independence Day style, turns out to not be a spaceship after all! Whew! The new campus, scheduled to open in April, will be named Apple Park, and the main theater on the campus will be called the Steve Jobs Theater, which we agree is darn appropriate.
Now, onto the mobile news! We started with Sony, because alphabetically they uh... come last? And Alphabet is the parent company of Google? Whatever, we started with Sony because we wanted to, okay? Gosh.
Sony is also displaying an Xperia branded projector that turns the surface it's projected on into a touch screen. Yes, you read that right. We figure it's probably got something to do with lasers.
Lenovo also announced some new tablets, but since we don't much like Android tablets or Lenovo around here, we uh... we kinda skipped them. But they exist. You can google them if you want.
Moving on to another announcement that felt a bit like a throwback, Blackberry announced a new phone called the KeyOne, because their development code name of Mercury apparently wasn't dumb enough. It's got a 3-by-2 ratio screen, which is weird until you realize they're still including that same old physical keyboard below the screen and they needed to make room for it. It is an Android phone and comes with the BlackBerry Hub, which is really great if you want some quality security on your Android device. So there's definitely a market, because of the security features, and if you also want apps, hey, it's still Android.
Samsung kinda stole their own show at their media event. They announced a couple of new tablets, and a new stylus that's kinda like an Apple Pencil meets that old Dixon-Ticonderoga you used in third grade. But they also announced that they'll be announcing the new Galaxy S8 at an event in New York on March 29th, and everybody pretty much forgot whatever else they were talking about.
Glad you asked! Yes, yes we would!
So you don't have time to sit down and listen to an hour of in-depth tech advice and news? It's all good. How about ten minutes to read over an out-depth summary of that same tech advice and news? Well, here you go. For the week ending February 27th, 2017, this is the Calling All Platforms Tech podcast summary.
Microsoft
Most of the news this week came from the opening days of the international Mobile World Congress in Spain, but first we're going to smash through the rest of the news in much the same way the Hulk might attend Mobile World Congress (yes, I'm rolling with that metaphor)....working toward Hololens 3 in a few years. After which we'll see the Hololens 720, followed by the Hololens One.In Microsoft news, Wes updated us on the long term plans for Hololens, which, mainly due to an apparent lack of competition, is evidently going to skip its 2017 release in favor of a more refined product in 2019. The 2017 version, which internally was called Hololens 2, will be passed over in favor of working toward Hololens 3 in a few years. After which we'll see the Hololens 720, followed by the Hololens One. Speaking of which...
Gaming
I am doubling down on Project Scorpio being called the Xbox 10, while simultaneously holding out hope that they'll just call it the Scorpio.A trailer landed for Middle Earth: Shadow of War, which is the sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor Lord of the Rings game that dropped a few years back.In other gaming news, a trailer landed for Middle Earth: Shadow of War, which is the sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor Lord of the Rings game that dropped a few years back. Details are sparse at this point, but the game has been given a release date later this year, and will be a Play Anywhere title for Microsoft at release. We spent some time talking about how Play Anywhere is going to work when games coming out this year will likely need to support both the Xbox One and the new Xbox 10, but suffice it to say, we agree that Microsoft has probably already thought about this.
There is also mounting evidence that a new Overwatch character will be announced soon, based on in-universe activity on the Overwatch official social media channels, but whether that character will be a Terry Crews-voiced Doomfist remains to be seen. But seriously, Blizzard, PLEASE!
Apple
In the Apple world, the latest versions of all the beta releases for Apple's various ecosystem OS's dropped a few days ago, and it's looking like we're close to a final release of all of those. Not that exciting. You can also now get Airpods in 58 different colors from ColorMark, if $150 for a pair of wireless earbuds wasn't rich enough for you already.If you have an iPhone 6 or 6s and you've been experiencing random shutdowns for no apparent reason that require you to plug your phone into power to turn it back on, make sure you update to the latest version of iOS.Maybe most importantly from Apple, if you have an iPhone 6 or 6s and you've been experiencing random shutdowns for no apparent reason that require you to plug your phone into power to turn it back on, make sure you update to the latest version of iOS. According to Apple, your problems are the result of slightly older batteries producing an uneven power delivery to the phone, sending it into a panic mode and shutting it down. iOS 10.2.1 includes a rework of the power management system that should reduce those shutdowns by 80%, and make it so you can turn the phone back on without plugging into a wall afterwards. So update, and keep using that phone as long as you need.
Lastly, the Apple Spaceship Campus we've been worried was going to blow up the White House all Independence Day style, turns out to not be a spaceship after all! Whew! The new campus, scheduled to open in April, will be named Apple Park, and the main theater on the campus will be called the Steve Jobs Theater, which we agree is darn appropriate.
Mobile World Congress
All right! Let's get into this! Landen started with news that wasn't actually from Mobile World Congress, just to confuse us. First, after we were badmouthing AT&T's unlimited data plan on last week's podcast, they updated the whole schebang to bring it more in line with the offerings from Verizon and T-Mobile. So you're welcome for that. If it's been a while since you reviewed your phone plan (like, a few weeks or so), it might be worth reviewing it again. Also, Google Assistant, which till now has been exclusive to the Pixel phones, will be rolling out to all Android phones running Android 6.0 or newer over the next few months. This will probably come as an update to the Google app. And you're welcome for that too (sure we had something to do with it, why would you think otherwise?).Now, onto the mobile news! We started with Sony, because alphabetically they uh... come last? And Alphabet is the parent company of Google? Whatever, we started with Sony because we wanted to, okay? Gosh.
No, the reason it seems a little stupid is because it'll shoot slow motion video at 960 frames-per-second.Sony has announced the upcoming releases of a few new Xperia phones, the XZ S and the XZ Premium. While the S is a fine mid-tier phone, the Premium is really the one that caught our attention. That's for two main reasons. It features a full 4k display (3800-ish pixels on the long side), and a camera that seems a little stupid. Not because it isn't nice. It's not the dual-lens setup that's all the rage since last years iPhone, but it's 19 pixels and it's got Sony's best sensor and lens, which is saying something considering that almost all premium smartphones are sporting Sony camera modules. No, the reason it seems a little stupid is because it'll shoot slow motion video at 960 frames-per-second. To put that in perspective, you can see a hummingbird's wings flapping pretty nicely at the 240 fps that the Google Pixel or iPhone 7 can capture. So that, except four times slower. It's colossal overkill, and frankly, we are all kinda impressed. If you want a nice camera, definitely keep your eye on this phone.
Sony is also displaying an Xperia branded projector that turns the surface it's projected on into a touch screen. Yes, you read that right. We figure it's probably got something to do with lasers.
...Including a gamepad mod that turns your Moto phone into a PlayStation Vita. Which is actually a pretty rad way to do mobile gamingMoving on to Motorola/Lenovo, the mid-tier Moto G series phones are getting an upgrade and compatibility with MotoMods. These are the little modules that magnetically attach to the back of the current Moto X phones and add functionality like an expanded battery, a nicer camera, or a projector for whatever reason. Motorola also announced that current mods and phones will be compatible with future mods and phones for at least the next two years, which is actually pretty nice. They announced some new mods as well, including a gamepad mod that turns your Moto phone into a PlayStation Vita. Which is actually a pretty rad way to do mobile gaming, so if you're in to that, definitely be looking at the new Motorola phones.
Lenovo also announced some new tablets, but since we don't much like Android tablets or Lenovo around here, we uh... we kinda skipped them. But they exist. You can google them if you want.
We were much more interested in the announcement of their followup to the most-memed phone in history.Next we talked about Nokia, who released some new mid-tier Android phones that look pretty nice, but we were much more interested in the announcement of their followup to the most-memed phone in history. The new Nokia 3310 is basically the exact same thing as that old indestructible brick that endeared us to the Nokia brand back in the day. So welcome back, little buddy. At less than $50, some of us might just buy you.
Moving on to another announcement that felt a bit like a throwback, Blackberry announced a new phone called the KeyOne, because their development code name of Mercury apparently wasn't dumb enough. It's got a 3-by-2 ratio screen, which is weird until you realize they're still including that same old physical keyboard below the screen and they needed to make room for it. It is an Android phone and comes with the BlackBerry Hub, which is really great if you want some quality security on your Android device. So there's definitely a market, because of the security features, and if you also want apps, hey, it's still Android.
The phones are nice, sure, but it's the color selections that really shine (pun absolutely intended)Huawei also made some waves, announcing some new Android Wear watches that should make good use of the improvements made to Android Wear 2, and the P10 and P10 Plus phones, which are pretty good upper-mid-tier phones, with dual lens cameras and HD screens, and a frankly ridiculous number of available colors. The phones are nice, sure, but it's the color selections that really shine (pun absolutely intended). Ever wanted a green phone? You can have a green phone. And it's actually not gross like the phrase "green phone" makes it sound. It looks pretty dang good. If you're wanting to stand out from the crowd in a visual sense, maybe take a look at these, because you'll probably be the only person with a green smartphone around (I really cannot get over that green phone).
Samsung kinda stole their own show at their media event. They announced a couple of new tablets, and a new stylus that's kinda like an Apple Pencil meets that old Dixon-Ticonderoga you used in third grade. But they also announced that they'll be announcing the new Galaxy S8 at an event in New York on March 29th, and everybody pretty much forgot whatever else they were talking about.
The main showpieces are a dual-lens camera, IP68 waterproofing, and an 18-by-9 ratio quad-HD display with rounded corners.Finally, the main show and coolest announcement of the event as far as we're concerned, was LG with the new G6. It looks pretty dope, which is good considering the anti-hype associated with last years G5. The main showpieces are a dual-lens camera, IP68 waterproofing, and an 18-by-9 ratio quad-HD display with rounded corners. That's it's most distinctive feature by far, and as we in the biz might say, it looks pretty dope. Beyond that LG has consistently made quality phones, and the specs of this look pretty comparable to the other flagships. Would we recommend the LG G6 to someone in the market for a new premium smartphone?
Glad you asked! Yes, yes we would!
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