HTC is one of the developers, alongside Valve, that created the Vive virtual reality headset. It included a lot of features such as the Viveport online app store. Now, HTC has decided to release a mobile version of their VR storefront called Viveport M.

HTC made the announcement at the joint Developer Forum of Alibaba Cloud’s annual Computing Conference. At this point, the Viveport M is only available as a beta client for Android users in China, with the full consumer version slated for a global release in the next year.

Android users who are fortunate enough to get access to HTC’s Viveport M, will be able to enjoy a wide variety of high-quality VR mobile apps and a slew of 360 degree videos. Currently, the beta client is only available to download for registered Vive developers through the backend Viveport system. The available apps are compatible with both dedicated VR equipment and mobile devices equipped with gyroscopes. This feature allows for a wide range of new users and it gives more freedom to developers.

HTC has also announced a VR platform called Viveport Arcade, for content management and sales designed for offline experience centers. The new platform will function as an offline counterpart to the standard version of Viveport. The arcade version of the software will allow game center operators to legally acquire the newest and most compelling HTC VR content available. The system will allow both developers and operators to share the revenue provided by the users.

Viveport Arcade is essential in making HTC VR a vital part of location-based entertainment. The company hopes that in the future that their HTC VR technology will be used in game centers and other entertainment locales across the world. HTC has already deployed several pilot programs for Viveport Arcade. In the coming months, the technology will be present in hundreds of locations around the world.

According to Alvin Graylin, HTC Vive China’s Regional President, the company has decided to release the Viveport M for mobile and offline channels in order to expand both the user base and the revenue opportunities of VR developers. Additionally, VR technology still requires a lot more content for it to be appealing to mainstream consumers.

Image source: Flickr

AT&T as a provider as well as its customer service isn’t very well liked. However, their newly announced project might change some people’s minds. Especially so, if you find yourself with a broken screen on your phone but do not want to wait a few days to get it repaired.

Even when people have insurance for their phone in case the screen is damaged, it is a frustrating process. It involves filing a claim, the money in your assurance account are used for the cost of the replacement, and you even have to wait a few days to get your phone back. If you don’t have insurance then you need to find a repair shop and hope it can replace your screen, at quite a considerable cost.

The previously showcased situation may be completely avoided in the coming months. AT&T has recently announced a new broken screen repair service for their customers. The service involves purchasing one of the following insurance plans: Mobile Insurance, Mobile Protection Pack Standard or Business, and Multi-Device Protection Pack. All of the programs are offered thanks to AT&T partnership with Asurion.

The new broken screen repair service will become available on November 15. As soon as it’s launched, anyone who has a broken screen on one of the few selected devices supported by the service only needs to pay $89, which is deductible. As the transaction is over, as soon as a technician is available in your area, they will come and repair the screen on the spot. AT&T has stated that although same day repairs aren’t guaranteed as it depends on the demand, most people will get their one-day repairs. AT&T will also offer a 12-month guarantee on all repairs.

The new program although cheaper than other services which take longer and cost around $150 to $225, only includes high-end smartphones like iPhone 6 and above, Galaxy Note 4, S5 and S6. The newest models require more expensive parts and won’t be included in the launch offer.

Additionally, the broken screen service repair will only be available in 14 cities when it first launches. Another 24 areas will be included until the start of December.

Did you ever have brake your smartphone’s screen?

Image source: Pixabay

Despite the numerous leaks regarding the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 smartphone in the previous months, somehow the company managed to keep its release date under wraps. However, that all changed when Xiaomi has finally confirmed that their flagship device will launch on October 25^th.

Many people were expecting that the phone will launch in the first financial quarter of 2016. Seeing as that was not the case, any speculation about its release date ceased when the company officially announced it to be almost one week away. The official announcement was made by a popular actor in Hong Kong, Tony Leung. He was Xiaomi’s official spokesperson for the release date reveal on Weibo, a Chinese social media website.

He confirmed the previously mentioned date and the fact that the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will feature a curved display. Xiaomi has planned a launch event for the smartphone in Beijing, at the Peking University Gymnasium, on the date of its release.

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is considered to be a phablet thanks to its 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 curved AMOLED display. The smartphone will be powered by Snapdragon 821 64-bit Quad-core processor, as the ones installed on the Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus. The device will come with different storage capacity variants from 64GB, 128GB to 256 GB. All of them will have a standard 6GB of RAM.

According to previous leaks, the Xiaomi Note 2 will include a Gorilla Glass panel on both sides. It will either feature a 21 MP camera or two 12 MP rear cameras. It has been confirmed that the camera will have a LED flash.

Android 6.01 Marshmallow will be pre-installed on the device but Xiaomi will reskin it using their MIUI 8 OS.  The exact price of the device won’t be available until the phone will be released but some reports claim it will be priced starting with $600 for the version with the least storage capacity.

Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, has stated that Mi Note 2 will feature a surprise when it will be officially launched on October 25^th. Overall, the smartphone features a comparable offering to that of Samsung’s Note 7. Hopefully, it won’t meet with the same fate.

Are you interested in trying out the new Mi Note 2?

Image source: Wikipedia

According to a new report from Search Engine Land, Google is working to create a new search index for mobile users. The smartphone search index will be separate from the desktop one which won’t be as up-to-date as the mobile search index. The index will be ready in the following months.

Google initially revealed that they’re working on a new mobile search index at the SMX East event last year. Although there are no specific details about the new search index, the report does state what its purpose is going to be. By having a separate mobile search index, Google is able to provide specific mobile content rather than extracting the data from desktop content to create mobile rankings.

According to the new report, Google’s Gary Illyes has confirmed that the new mobile index will be released in a few months. He also previously discussed the index at Pubcon but never gave an exact timeline at that time.

A separate, more frequently updated mobile search index than a desktop one, is seen by many experts a natural move for Google. The company’s overall objective is to create a better mobile search experience. Their mobile-first initiative has been prevalent since 2015. This new split in the search index means that Google will be among the first to adapt to the fact that there are more mobile searches than desktop searches.

Google’s decision to prioritize mobile searches has implications for site owners and SEO alike. Currently, you need more than just to have a responsive site or a mobile version of it. The loading speed of your site has become one of the most major determinants of its success. According to a survey by Google, 53 percent of users will leave a site if it hasn’t loaded in up to three seconds.

The best way to create an optimized mobile site is publishing content through Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) technology. It addresses the problem of slow-loading sites by selectively loading the relevant information for the user. This makes the process almost instantaneous. Google says it takes less than a second for AMP page to load at it reduces up to ten times the data the site usually uses to load.

What do you think about Google’s new initiative?

A new Samsung Chromebook Pro Convertible laptop has just been leaked. The new information shows the design of the laptop, its features, price tag, and even the release date.

During the summer there were rumors of a new Samsung Chromebook internally called ‘Kevin’. Thanks to ChromeUnboxed we finally got our first look at this new convertible laptop. The device was spotted on the pages of retailers B&H and Adorama. ChromeUnboxed managed to get as much information as they could before the pages were taken down.

According to them, the Samsung Chromebook will be released on October 24^th at the price of $499. In regards to its technical specs, the leak shows that it will feature a 12.3-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 2400 x 1600. Being a convertible laptop it will include a 360-degree hinge so that it can easily be used a tablet when plied back.

The Samsung Chromebook will have 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage capacity, an unspecified hexacore ARMv8 CPU. Most likely it will be the Rockchip RK3399 processor. Other features include the 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a webcam.

One of the most unusual features for a Chromebook is Samsung’s decision to equip its device with a digital pen input. It will allow users to draw, paint and easily take notes. Another interesting aspect is the decision to use Chrome OS instead of Android, which runs on almost of all Samsung’s devices. Nonetheless, Android apps will be compatible with the Samsung Chromebook.

In regards to the design of the convertible laptop, it features a full silver colored metal exterior, with an edge-to-edge 3:2 aspect ratio display. The laptop is more compact than you’d expect, as it measures 11”x8.7”x0.55” and only weighs 2.38 pounds.

According to the leaked information, Samsung advertises that the laptop’s battery will last up to 10 hours per charge. Despite the fact that you can’t remove the battery, the Battery life Extender feature will allow i to maintain a decent autonomy of seven hours even after three years.

The last features of the Samsung Chromebook is that it will include various promotional software. As of yet, there is no mention if and how easily you can uninstall them if they’re not to your liking. However, the buyers will also get a one-year subscription to AirDroid, to facilitate the interaction with an Android device.

Image source: ChromeUnboxed

Verizon has announced a new unlimited data plan for limited sessions. This is a very different business plan for unlimited data compared to its competitors. Interested customers will have to pay $2 for 30 minutes or $3 for one hour.

Verizon is calling its new service, PopData. It basically is just a pay-as-you-go option that will allow consumers greater flexibility than standard plans, where you have to pay for an entire month of unlimited data, even though you only use it occasionally.

Verizon’s unlimited data plan was created with this exact purpose in mind, to allow users to only pay when they really know they will need unlimited internet access. Most common scenarios involve downloading large files, streaming high-quality videos and whatever else you may want to.

At this point, is isn’t entirely clear if PopData is indeed more beneficial to users than regular unlimited data plans. Your bill will be determined by how many times you’ll want to have unrestricted access to the internet. If you only use it a few times per month, then PopData is for you. However, heavy users of unlimited data would be better off by buying a standard plan.

The PopData service is currently in the beta but it’s available to anyone interested. It works by issuing a link in the My Verizon mobile app which prompts users to choose between the two options of unlimited data based on the time they need it for.

Before you can enjoy your data, the My Verizon app has to check if there is enough space on the network. The availability of the network depends on a lot on your location and how many other users are currently on the network.  The link and password provided by the Verizon app can only be used on your phone. However, tethering different devices to the hotspot you created using the PopData service is allowed.

For the My Verizon app to issue the link and password, users must enable the location services on their device. However, it can be turned off immediately after you receive them and while enjoying your data.

Are you a Verizon customer? If so, are you going the try out the new unlimited data plan?

Image source: Wikipedia

HTC Bolt has just been leaked with details about its specs and features. One of the most noteworthy things about it is that it won’t include a headphone jack, just as Apple’s iPhone 7.

The HTC bolt has rumored to be in development for a time now. The leaked images show the physical device in the wild and not as a rendered image. The HTC Bolt has a similar design to the HTC 10 phone, which is the company flagship device. It has a metal design that makes it look great, more solid and safe while appearing like a premium device although according to its specs it is a midrange phone.

The HTC Bolt leak reveals that the company is trying to emulate Apple by not including a headphone jack. Many iPhone users were not pleased with the decision but it remains to be seen if HTC can convince their fans that the phone is worth it. The leaked images and details come from VentureBeat’s Evan Blass. Besides the design of the phone, he has also revealed some of its specs.

The HTC Bolt features a 5.5-inch FHD display, which is larger than the HTC 10. It comes with 3 GB of RAM, 64GB of standard storage capacity which can also be expanded thanks to its microSD card slot. HTC Bolt’s main camera has 18 MP which is superior to HTC 10’s 12 MP.

A previous leak showed that the HTC Bolt will have Android 7.0 Nougat installed right out of the box. As with all HTC devices, the phone will have HTC Sense on top of the basic Android OS. This information has been reinforced by the new leak as well. Many see the HTC Bolt as successor to the 2011 Thunderbolt which was released as a Verizon exclusive. Thus, there are expectations it will continue the trend of being exclusive, although this time to Sprint.

The phone will also be launched in all global markets, as HTC is trying to recover some of the market shares it lost. Samsung’s failure is HTC’s opportunity and the Bolt is capable enough to fill in the gap. However, its success depends on how customers will react to the controversial decision to remove the jack.

What do you think about the HTC Bolt?

Image source: Pixabay

After the Audi R8 e-tron was launched last year in Geneva, the company decided to cancel the production of this vehicle, but the reason is not known yet.

Rumour has it that the Audi doesn’t have the technology yet to face its powerful competitors from top brands such as Tesla and Mercedes. According to one of Audi spokespeople, around 100 cars have been sold since last year.

The one-million-dollar car was slower than Tesla’s Model S P90D although it had rear-mounter electric motors which delivered 456 horsepower and 679 lb-ft of torque. It is worth mentioning that no unit was sold to the United States, but only in Europe.

Audi had been planning to launch the R8 model since 2009 and began with a prototype capable of reaching 100km/h in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 200km/h for a longer battery life.

However, Tesla Model S was already in showrooms by the time the first R8 concept was revealed. In addition, the Model S had the same quality, but it was much more affordable. In 2013, the company decided to give up on the Audi R8 e-tron, but soon Audi officials understood that electric cars are the future.

Even if the engineers improved the range and pace, Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive and Tesla Model S updates were much better than what the latest Audi R8 e-tron promised to bring on the market.

The second-generation e-tron guaranteed that there would much to like about the latest vehicle but despite the fact that R8 was the only rear-wheel-drive model among all Audi cars, it was still not enough to make it a hit.

Also, compared to the 2010 prototype, this 2015 Audi R8 e-tron was able to reach 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. Plus, this car had a top speed of 155 mph, while the maximum speed for standard models was 130 mph.

This vehicle functioned on a 42.4 kWh lithium-ion battery powerful enough for long road trips. Although there is still a long way to go until electric cars become the main attraction of the vehicle market, Porsche is also working on a four-door electric sports car that promises to come out by the end of 2019.

An interesting fact is that Audi officials have announced that the company will continue to work on an electric-car concept better than the Audi R8 e-tron, an SUV which will be launched in 2018.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Baiji is a species of extinct dolphin which a few men claim they spotted in Yangtze River a week ago. According to amateur conservationist Song Qi, the dolphin was seen on October 4^th, during a seven-day expedition which aimed to find the mammal.

It is worth mentioning that the dolphin was not only spotted by Song, but also by several fishers who happened to be around when the large animal popped out of the water. However, experts and wildlife officials are still skeptical as for whether that was indeed the baiji Chinese dolphin.

If Song and his team turn out to be right, then this means great news for the wildlife community because an extinct dolphin would have chances to breed in specially designed facilities.

Back in 2006, a group of researchers conducted an extensive 6-week survey during which they weren’t able to spot the animal, so they declared it extinct. The baiji dolphin population suffered a staggering drop down in their population in the late 20^th century.

More precisely, since 1979 until 1990s only 13 specimens remained out of 400 specimens. There is a large array of causes that led to the extinction of this mammal such as excessive fishing, chemical plant pollution, dams, and boat collisions just to name a few.

In other words, human impact due to local fisheries and pollution had a devastating effect on the dolphin’s population. Despite several efforts to save this species, the last baiji dolphin was seen in 2002.

Since then, a 2007 false alarm caught the experts’ attention until they concluded the mysterious animal was just a finless porpoise. Based on the statistics, the baiji dolphin is the latest large aquatic mammal declared extinct since the 1950s when human excess led to the extinction of the Caribbean monk seal.

Song has confessed that he is no baiji expert but believes that what he witnessed might be the proof that the extinct dolphin would still live somewhere in the Chinese rivers. Unfortunately, neither he nor his friends were able to take a clear picture of the enigmatic mammal.

According to Samuel Turvey, a conservation biologist at the Zoological Society London, it is unlikely that Song witnessed a baiji dolphin. Samuel further adds that solid proof is needed in order to reconsider the fact that an extinct dolphin is still alive although it would cheer up the entire conservationist community.

Image Source: Facts About

HP heads for the top positions on the market with the latest improved Spectre x360 and the excellent Envy, two models that stand out thanks to their high-quality, price, efficiency, and features.

The Spectre x360 is one of the HP’s top notch convertible laptops, which comes with a 13.3-inch touch display, better than the previous version. Also, this model has the same aluminum curves and finish, but it is slimmer (13.8 mm) and weighs 1.29 kg (2.85 lb).

If we compare it with the previous version, the new Spectre x360 is 11 percent lighter and 13 percent slimmer. Although this new model weighs less, it is surprising that it comes with a larger 57.8 battery.

HP officials added that thanks to the Kaby Lake processors from Intel, this model gains a 15-hour additional battery life. What is entirely new about the latest x360 is the infrared camera designed to grant user access through the Windows 10 Hello facial login.

While the previous version had two speakers, the new Spectre has four speakers, whereas dual-array mics were updated to support the voice-control features of Cortana. Additional specifications include a USB-Type A 3.0 port, two USB-Type C ports backed by Thunderbolt 3 support, and a backlit keyboard.

This convertible laptop runs on i5 and i7 processors, while it also has 16 GB of RAM and a maximum internal storage of 1TB. The Spectre x360 has been launched today, October 12, from a starting price of $1,050.

The other HP hit is the ENVY laptop, a 13.3-inch device equipped with a metal finish but $200 more affordable than the Spectre. This model is 14mm thick, while Spectre was a bit slimmer. It is heavier as well because it weighs 3.15 lbs, but it provides a 14-hour additional battery life.

The ENVY has dual speakers, one USB Type-C port, two USB 3.0 ports, and a backlit keyboard. In addition, this laptop will come with i5 and i7 processors, 16GB of RAM, and an internal storage up to 1TB. The launch date is October 26^th, and the price will start from $850.

Regarding quality, both laptops are excellent but even if the Spectre x360 is a bit more expensive, it also comes with better features.

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