Thursday, February 14, 2019

Most Eccentric Wireless Speakers You Didn’t Know About


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Apple's Beats by Dre Brand Unveils New NBA Collection

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Apple's Beats by Dre brand today unveiled a new NBA collection, with Beats Studio 3 Wireless Headphones available in six colorways representing the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, and Boston Celtics.

Each pair of headphones is a different color with subtle same-color logo branding for each NBA team.

Get closer to your music and show love for the team you rep with the Beats NBA Collection. These Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones, worn by some of your favorite players, feature your team's authentic colors and iconic logos. The final result is a collection designed just for the fans, honoring the spirit and emotion that makes up each of the six available team options.
The NBA Collection Studio 3 Wireless Headphones are priced at $349 and offer the same features as all other Beats Studio 3 Wireless headphones such as a W1 chip for pairing, 22 hours of battery life, Pure Adaptive Noise Canceling, and more.

Apple announced a Beats by Dre partnership with the NBA back in September, which makes Beats by Dre the official headphone, wireless speaker, and audio partner of the NBA and sister associations WNBA, NBA G League, and USA Basketball.


In addition to offering NBA-themed headphones for fans, Beats will also provide headphones for players and advertise during major events like the NBA All-Star, NBA Draft, international games, WNBA games, and more.


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Twitter Could Get Option for 'Clarifying' Tweets

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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey today commented on the possibility of an edit button for tweets, suggesting Twitter is considering a feature that might let people go back and add clarifications or annotations to older tweets.

As shared by Recode, Dorsey said that right now, there's "no credible way" for people to "go back and clarify" their older tweets, a problem that Twitter wants to solve.
"How do we enable people to quickly go back or to any tweet, whether it be years back or today, and show that original tweet -- kind of like a quote retweet, a retweet with comment -- and to add some context and some color on what they might have tweeted or what they might have meant. By doing so you might imagine that the original tweet then would not have the sort of engagement around it. Like you wouldn't be able to retweet the original tweet, for instance. You would just show the clarification, you would be able to retweet the clarification, so it always carries around with it that context. That's one approach. Not saying that we are going to launch that but those are the sorts of questions we are going to ask."
Dorsey has been talking about adding some kind of edit feature to Twitter, something that most users on Twitter want, for months now, but no editing feature has materialized.

The clarification feature mentioned here isn't the type of editing option for typos and errors that people are hoping for, but it could let users add clarifications to tweets that will be seen by everyone, unlike a quoted tweet.

In a statement, a Twitter spokesperson said that if the feature is created -- and it's not guaranteed -- that it would be tested with journalists and newsmakers, giving them a way to clear things up if something inaccurate or incomplete is tweeted.

Tag: Twitter

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Battery Case Showdown: Apple's Smart Case vs. Mophie's Juice Pack Access

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Right around the time that Apple debuted new Smart Battery cases designed for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, Mophie, a popular accessory maker, also introduced its Juice Pack Access battery cases for the new iPhones.

In our latest YouTube video, we went hands-on with the Juice Pack Access to compare it to Apple's Smart Battery Case to see if it's a better option for those looking to extend their iPhone batteries.

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The cases are similar in weight and thickness, and both cases have a hump design with an area where the battery inside the case protrudes. The Juice Pack Access is also made from a smooth plastic while the Smart Battery Case is silicone, so those who don't like silicone may prefer the plastic.

Like the Smart Battery Case, the Juice Pack Access allows Lightning accessories to be used because it leaves the Lightning port unobstructed. Prior cases used the Lightning port to supply power to the iPhone, but the new model uses Qi wireless charging exclusively.

The Juice Pack Access charges the iPhone at the 5W wireless charging speed, which is a bit slow. Apple's solution, meanwhile, builds an extra Lightning port into the Smart Battery Case because Apple has access to tighter integrations.

The benefit there is Lightning support with faster charging, though with a battery case, charging speed isn't a huge factor since it's meant to be used throughout the day, but it can be important if you're putting the battery case on in a situation where your battery is already nearly drained.

You can charge the Juice Pack Access wirelessly on a Qi charger or through an included USB-C port, though those who don't already have USB-C devices and cables may find that cumbersome. Apple's Smart Battery Case charges either wirelessly or through the Lightning port, which is more convenient.

There's a 2,200mAh battery in the Juice Pack Access for iPhone XS Max and a 2,000mAh battery in the cases for the XR and XS, while Apple's Smart Battery Case offers more power thanks to two 1,369mAh batteries in the device.

For example, Mophie says the iPhone XS Max paired with the Juice Pack offers 31 hours of talk time, 16 hours of internet use, and 18 hours of video playback.

The iPhone XS Max with the Smart Battery Case offers a total of 37 hours of talk time, 20 hours of internet use, and 25 hours of video playback.

In our testing, the Smart Battery Case lasted for a longer period of time than the Juice Pack, which is not surprising given that it offers a bit more power.

The Smart Battery Case has the edge over Mophie's version when it comes to checking battery level. Because of the tight iOS integration, you can see your Smart Battery Case battery level on the Lock screen and in the Notification Center, with Apple offering exact charge numbers.

There are four LEDs to indicate charge on the Juice Pack, but it's not nearly as granular. You also don't need to turn the Smart Battery Case on - it just works and is constantly supplying power to the iPhone when it's on the iPhone. You will need to make sure turn on the Juice Pack Access, which could be a benefit or a hassle depending on your perspective.

Apple sells its Smart Battery Cases for the 2018 iPhones for $129 in Apple retail stores, third-party stores, and online. Mophie's Juice Pack Access, available from the Mophie website, is more affordable at $99, but it loses out on some bells and whistles you get with Apple's case.

What do you think of the Juice Pack Access? Is the $29 savings worth it over Apple's Smart Battery Case? Let us know in the comments.


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Apple Buys DataTiger, a UK Digital Marketing Startup

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Apple recently purchased Data Tiger, a UK startup focused on digital marketing, reports Bloomberg. The acquisition, says Bloomberg, could improve Apple's digital marketing and make it "more relevant to customers."

DataTiger's website is blank, but a LinkedIn page for the company says that it offers a set of tools that enable customers to build marketing software that "puts data to work."

Using DataTiger is the fastest and easiest way to increase retention & monetisation. With our platform you can individually optimize the marketing flows for your customers in real-time across all channels.

DataTiger can be used as an online tool, importing your data and set up user flows in minutes, with all of your data living in the cloud - or it can be fully customized in-house, building your own marketing solution via our APIs + open-source front-end components.
Specifically, the site more accurately takes advantage of customer data to send relevant materials and advertisements to them.

Apple appears to have made the purchase in December, and based on a regulatory filing discovered by Bloomberg, now controls Operatedata, DataTiger's legal name. A spokesperson has yet to confirm the acquisition, however.


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Apple to Announce TV Service at March 25 Event, But Launch is Months Off

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While Apple is planning to preview its rumored streaming TV service at an event that's set to be held on March 25, a launch may not happen for several months.

According to sources that spoke to Variety, Apple will announce the service in March, but it may not be available to customers until the summer, or as late as fall.

Sources familiar with the plans say Apple's video service will be targeted for a launch in summer or fall rather than the April timing that has been the subject of media speculation. Apple has vowed to its high-caliber producing partners to mount marketing blitzes on behalf of the shows in addition to the service itself.
Apple has more than two dozen original television shows in the works, many of which have already been cast. It's not clear if filming has started, but holding the launch of the service until at least some of the shows are available would make sense.

Apple has not yet announced its March 25 event, but multiple rumors from well-respected sites have indicated that's the date when it will be held.

The March 25 event will be focused on services, and Apple is not expected to debut new hardware even though there are multiple rumors of products getting a spring refresh.

We could instead see devices like the AirPower, iPad mini 5, new AirPods, a seventh-generation iPad, and a seventh-generation iPod touch announced via press release given that these are all minor updates.

Major stars that include Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell, all of whom have roles in Apple shows, have been invited to attend the March event, which will also include an announcement of a new Apple News service.

Variety's sources caution that specific plans for the event and how the video service will be introduced may be "in flux until the minutes Cook steps on the stage."

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

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Google's Planning a Cheaper Smartphone to Rival iPhone XR

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Google is planning to unveil a cheaper smartphone as part of an aggressive effort to draw more users into the Google ecosystem and to better compete with Apple, according to a recent report from Nikkei.

Google is said to be planning to exploit Apple's current pricing issues. Apple suffered poorer iPhone sales than expected during the holiday quarter, and one major factor was the high cost of iPhones around the world.

Google's alleged low-cost smartphone, via Andro News

Google's upcoming smartphone will be priced similarly to Apple's iPhone XR, which costs $749 for the entry-level model in the United States. Google is targeting customers looking for a more affordable smartphone option and customers in emerging markets where higher-priced smartphones don't sell well.

Prior Google smartphones, such as the latest Pixel, have started at higher prices. The 2018 Pixel 3 released in October was priced starting at $799.

Along with a new lower-cost smartphone, Google is planning on hardware that includes new smart speakers, wearables, and web cameras. Google has been planning its hardware push for years and has scooped up hundreds of hardware engineers and supply chain specialists from Apple.

Google wants to use Google-branded hardware to push various Google services, a tactic that has been successful for Apple.

Alleged photos of Google's lower-cost Pixel smartphone surfaced earlier this year, depicting a device that looks a lot like the Pixel 3 but with a plastic shell.

Rumors have suggested the smartphone will feature 1 5.56-inch 2,220 x 1,080 LCD display instead of an OLED panel, along with a Snapdragon 670 processor, 32GB of storage, a headphone jack, 4GB of RAM, the same high-quality 12-megapixel camera that's in the Pixel 3, and a 2,915mAh battery.

It's not entirely clear when Google will debut the new lower cost smartphone, but one solid guess is Google I/O, which will take place in May.

Tag: Google

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