ASUS Announces ZenFone AR and ZenFone 3 Zoom at CES 2017

Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, Nevada. January 4th, 2017 at 11:30PM PST:

At their Zennovation press event at CES 2017, ASUS unveiled two new smartphones — the ZenFone AR and the ZenFone 3 Zoom.

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ASUS ZenFone AR

The ZenFone AR was the highlight of Zennovation this year as it is the world's first smartphone that is compatible with both Google Tango and Google Daydream. The ZenFone AR prides itself on its capability to be the perfect companion for both your AR and VR needs, eliminating the need to carry two different devices for these purposes. ASUS has worked closely with Google to ensure that the phone meets the requirements of both Google Tango and Google Daydream.

The ZenFone AR is not only unique in its capabilities, but it also bears a distinct look compared to other current smartphones. The back of the device is home to the rear camera and other sensors needed for Google Tango functionality. The front of the device features a 5.7″ Super AMOLED WQHD (1440×2560) display which plays a crucial role in the device's VR functionality. The front also comes with a physical home button, which is likely housing the fingerprint sensor.

Internally, the ZenFone AR packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC and 6GBs of RAM. While the Snapdragon 821 is seemingly already "outdated" thanks to the release of the Snapdragon 835, it is still very much a capable SoC able to power a flagship device such as this. For those worried about heat generation while using the device for AR or VR purposes, thankfully ASUS has employed a vapor cooling system to prevent overheating.

Cameras play an integral role for augmented reality, so ASUS packed a top tier camera module in the ZenFone AR. The main rear camera is a 23MP Sony IMX318 sensor along with a TriTech+ Autofocus system (dual-PDAF, Second-gen Laser Focus and Continuous-focus). The camera setup is capable of 4-axis OIS photo and 3-axis EIS video stabilization along with 4K video recording. In terms of software processing, the ZenFone AR features a Super Resolution Mode that creates 92MP photos by combining four 23MP images, a Low Light Mode, and other preset modes and filters. All the camera prowess would be incomplete without a manual mode, so the ZenFone AR allows changing settings such as white balance, EV, ISO, shutter speed, and focus.

As for the rest of the functionality necessary for Google Tango, the ZenFone AR also features sensors and software that allow for motion tracking, depth perception, and area learning — allowing it to perceive spatial awareness, one of the key pillars of AR.Furthermore, The VR and AR experience on the ZenFone AR will be complemented by an audio system that supports Hi-Res Audio and DTS virtual surround sound. The ZenFone AR also claims boosted external audio experience with a new ultra-loud 5-magnet speaker. ASUS and Google are also partnering with well-known brands to bring the Tango AR experience to customers.

ASUS's press release unfortunately reveals little detail on other internal features of the device such as the storage, battery capacity, and software. But seeing that the device is top tier by 2016 standards, we can expect the other internals to be on par with other flagships.

The ASUS ZenFone AR will be available in Q2 2017. Pricing and configuration of the device will be announced closer to availability. But given the specifications revealed at this time, the device is likely to be priced among the upper echelon of premium flagship devices.

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ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom

The ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom, as its name would imply, is a smartphone focused on photography. But ASUS is also pitching the ZenFone 3 Zoom as one of the thinnest and lightest smartphones available with a beefy 5,000 mAh battery.

The ZenFone 3 Zoom features an aluminum-alloy body which is only 0.31″ thick (7.9 mm) and weighs merely 0.37 lbs (170 g). These figures are impressive when you consider that the phone packs a battery that has a rating of 5,000 mAh. The phone can double up as a power bank to charge other devices as well.

Externally, the phone comes with a 5.5″ FHD AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 5. Under the hood, you get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC. ASUS's press release is again rather scant on details, but previous leaks point suggest the device will ship with several different RAM configurations of 2GB/3GB/4GB and storage configurations of 16GB/32GB/64GB.

The highlight of the phone is the dual-camera on the device. On the rear, you get a 12MP Sony IMX362 sensor with 25mm wide-angle lens and f/1.7 aperture along with a dedicated 12MP, 56mm lens for 2.3x optical zoom. The main camera captures pixels which are 1.4µm wide, which combined with the larger aperture, allows the camera to perform better in low light conditions. You also get the Tritech+ Autofocus system which is also present in the ZenFone AR. The front facing camera is a 13MP shooter, with a "screen flash" mode to aid in low light selfies.

The ZenFone 3 Zoom also shares more features with the ZenFone AR, such as four-axis OIS photo and three-axis EIS video, Super Resolution Mode, Low Light mode and more. You also get full manual controls, 4K video recording with continuous Auto-focus, and a promise of RAW file support (with the Android 7.0 update).

The ZenFone 3 Zoom will be available in February 2017. Pricing of the device will be announced later on.

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ASUS has certainly caught our attention with the newest additions to the ZenFone family. The ZenFone AR is a unique piece of technology which is currently unrivaled, while the ZenFone 3 Zoom focuses on the current camera trends but also considers our need for battery life. Now all that is left to unveil is the pricing of these devices to decide their commercial success.

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TCL Previews the New BlackBerry at CES 2017

With CES 2017 fully underway, TCL used this opportunity to preview the fruits of their licensing deal with BlackBerry – an as of now unnamed Android smartphone with a physical keyboard.

Curiously, TCL has not revealed much information at all about this phone – no specifications or even a name were given. The company is opting to instead wait until Mobile World Congress to unveil further details about the phone. Today, all we've been given is a teaser press release video of the new device, which at least gives us an idea of what the phone will look like.

Previous leaks have uncovered that the device is code named Mercury, although again TCL has yet to reveal the official name. In the video, the device looks fairly unconventional, what with its sleek metallic body, the soft touch dimpled back, and most importantly the physical keyboard plastered the front.

Yes, a device in 2017 will have a physical keyboard. And unlike previous iterations of physical keyboards on smart devices, this unnamed BlackBerry device will not feature a slide-in form factor – providing a sleeker design at the cost of some screen real estate. The BlackBerry device will also have a fingerprint scanner which is cleverly hidden as the spacebar key. You also retain the navigational swipe gestures on the physical keyboard interestingly enough. The phone, like most flagship smartphones these days, utilizes a USB Type-C port for data transfer and charging. BlackBerry has also shied away from removing the headphone jack like some competitors, thankfully.

Along with the physical keyboard, the main draw of the unnamed BlackBerry phone would be its security suite. This would include apps that form part of BlackBerry's Android experience like BlackBerry Hub. TCL would naturally be pitching the secure Android experience as an alternative to Samsung's KNOX and other competitors, hoping to fill the needs of a corporate environment.

We haven't seen a physical keyboard on a flagship smartphone in quite a bit of time thanks to the proliferation of touchscreen keyboards. However, if there's one brand that can revive the physical keyboard – it's definitely BlackBerry. We'll be waiting for Mobile World Congress 2017 to learn more about the specifications and pricing for the device.

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Samsung Partner Company Says the Note 8 will Sport a 2160p Display

With CES happening this week, there's been a lot of talk about what Samsung will do with their upcoming smartphones. At the end of November, it was reported that Samsung would officially announce what actually caused the battery issue of the Galaxy Note 7. We were told they would announce what went wrong by the end of the year, but we're already in 2017 and that information has yet to be revealed.

A new report from Business Korea this week has said that we'll be told what happened by the end of the month. The report does mention that it wasn't caused by a "simple battery problem" though. Instead, the information they were given (which is not cited in the article) says it was actually an "electronic hardware design problem." Some speculation about the issue in the past said it was caused by the curved glass on the front and back of the device. Saying the design didn't give the battery the amount of space it needed.

So we'll have to wait and see what Samsung's official response to the battery issue ends up being later this month. The article from Business Korea also mentions the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8 as well. They were in touch with an "official from a Samsung Electronics' partner company" and believe they have some information about Samsung's upcoming high-end smartphones. If true, we're told that the Galaxy S8 will not have a 2160p display like some rumors suggested, and will instead continue with a 1440p display instead.

However, this partner company also has reason to believe that Samsung will bump up the resolution of the Galaxy Note 8 to 2160p. This will be the first smartphone from Samsung to use a display in a smartphone with a resolution that high. They're under the impression that Samsung will do this so the Note 8 will offer "improved virtual reality functions."

Source: Business Korea

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Best ROMs for the OnePlus 3T

In this video, Miles is going to show us the top three ROMs that are available for the OnePlus 3T. If you're looking to flash some ROMs on your device, this is a great place to start.

Tugapower

Tugapower features the substratum theme engine which is pretty unique for a ROM based on CM14.1. It's also preloaded with ViPER4android and everything runs very smooth. So if you're looking for a stable and unique ROM for the T3, check this one out.

Thread

Resurrection Remix

This is a ROM based on CM, SlimROM and OmniROM. This is just about the most highly customizable ROM that you can get for the OnePlus 3T right now. There a ton of features in this ROM taken from other ROMs, as well as a bunch of features that they've created themselves.

Thread

LineageOS

This is our first step into the LineageOS transition. CyanogenMod is dead, so this is where we go from here. Fans of CM will appreciate this ROM, or just anyone who's curious about where LineageOS is headed.

Thread

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Dish Officially Announces the AirTV Set-Top Box, Based on Android TV

Throughout the summer of 2015, people began to see product pages for a device called the AirTV on various retail websites such as Amazon. We then started to see Dish apply for trademarks on the AirTV name and this showed it was a collaboration between EchoStar's subsidiary Sling Media and Dish's Sling TV. Toward the end of December, a landing page on the Sling TV website went live that revealed the new set-top box the company was working on.

Just as we had come to expect, the product is called the AirTV, and it's being heavily promoted by Sling TV. The set-top box is based on Android TV (capable of 4K streaming), and integrates services like Netflix, Sling TV and YouTube into a single experience. A feature that sets the AirTV apart from other Android TV devices though, is its Over the Air (OTA) adapter that allows you watch free channels directly on the set-top box. It has been reported that more people are taking advantage of free OTA channels for sports and other local channels such as ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. This has become even more important as people are cutting the cord to their cable TV service because previously it has not been easy to watch sports games online. Neilsen says close to 14 million households in the United States are currently watching free OTA TV. This number has even grown by 24% compared to the year before so it's clear to see that there is a growing demand for it.

So not only are Netflix, Sling TV and YouTube pre-installed on the AirTV box, but it also has the Google Play Store for all your app needs. The base model costs $100 and comes with a Bluetooth voice remote with its base $100 offering, but you'll have to pay an additional $30 if you want the OTA adapter with it. Naturally, subscription plans to Sling TV and Netflix are required if you want to enjoy those services as well.

Source: Business Wire

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T-Mobile Announces Two Cellular Plans for IoT Devices

The Internet of Things is clearly going to be a big market in the future but at the moment it is still very premature. Companies looking to find the next big thing are wanting to connect everything from door locks to toothbrushes. For the most part, these products connect to a hub in your home which can then connect to your router so it can access the internet. This is fine for home products, but IoT products that don't stay in your home are obviously unable to function this way.

To allow IoT products to connect directly to the internet, it will need to be connected to your cellular plan. So this week, T-Mobile has announced what they're calling the IoT Access packs. They will come with both a data plan as well as the modules you may need for the product. If the product will only be using a limited quantity of data, the first data plan will give the device 5MB per month. This plan costs $20 per year and per device for the first year, and then $6 per year and per device after.

For products that need to use more data, the second plan offers unlimited data at speeds of 64kbps. This unlimited data plan will cost you $25 per year and per device, but T-Mobile has a promotion that will save you $5 off the first year for each device you sign up for. No matter which plan you go with, T-Mobile will be covering the cost of a Sequans Cat1 module.

The company has also announced they are working on "Category M" and "Narrowband IoT" (NB-IoT), which are the next evolution of modules that should help save customers money over time. For more information about T-Mobile IoT Access packs, head on over to their IoT landing page here.

Source: T-Mobile Newsroom

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Official Resurrection Remix For The OnePlus 3T Updated

The latest update to Ressurection Remix for the 3T brings the ROM up to date with the official RR sources and for now there are still some device specific bugs. As always be sure to follow the update instructions in the OP.

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