Beast Sensor is a real-time wearable that monitors your weight-lifting

Most fitness sensors only really excel at running and cardiovascular tracking, but what if you want to get swole by lifting weights? Most trackers are useless when it comes to tracking your pursuit of jakked-dom.

Cue the Beast sensor: a new fitness tracking wearable that’ll let you know when you’re losing form while it also measures the efficacy of your lifts.
This pro-pumping iron wearable measures your lifting in real-time and has support for a wider variety of exercises than the current crop of fitness trackers. Like pretty much every other product in its category on the market today, this bad boy will sync up with your smartphone to present your data.
The Beast sensor operates a little differently, however. It’s magnetic, so you’ll attach it to your wrist, or vest for body exercises, or even the barbells and dumbbells you’re using. It makes for a much more versatile tool that can track how quickly or slowly you’re putting up the weight or performing your exercises. Let’s say you want to work on being more explosive for a particular activity? The Beast Sensor will measure and track that data for you.

It certainly looks like one of the more impressive fitness trackers that have been conjured up recently, as not everyone is into running marathons and would like metrics on their weight-lifting or cross-fits exploits. The best thing about the Beast Sensor is that it can also run metrics on your runs, if you felt like throwing in some cardio into your muscle-building routine.
It’s currently priced at $249 on the device’s IndieGoGo page, which is the device’s discounted price. If you’re into picking one up, you’ll have to wait until November to get it.
Any weightlifters out there interested in picking this piece of tech up?

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Compact smartphone battle: Galaxy S5 Mini vs HTC One Mini 2, Sony Xperia Z1 Compact and LG G2 mini

This week’s poll is a compact smartphone battle redux, but this time we have a new contestant – the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini. And it’s only fitting to let you decide if its better than its rivals in the trio of duels we have prepared for you.

It’s not too hard to figure out which compact smartphones we have in mind without reading the title. The high-end spectrum of mini smartphones includes the HTC One Mini 2, Sony Xperia Z1 Compact and the LG G2 mini, all of which will be keen to take on Samsung’s latest offering.
The original Galaxy S4 mini sold in the millions, and Samsung executive J.K. Shin is definitely aiming higher with the phone’s successor. To get there, it needs to handle the competition first. We can’t think of a better way to see if it’ll manage to do so (before reviewing it, that is) than to ask your for opinion.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini vs HTC One Mini 2

First we’re pitting the Galaxy S5 Mini against is the HTC One Mini 2. The metal clad compact smartphone from Taiwan carries the fancy design of its bigger brother and is one of the most beautiful compact smartphones around.
In terms of hardware specifications, the two are strikingly similar: quad-core CPUs, 4.5″ displays, 2,100mAh batteries and both pack high resolution cameras. The Galaxy S5 Mini has the upper hand in contrast with its Super AMOLED display, but the One Mini 2′s design is certainly more eye-catching.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini vs Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

Next up is the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, which is a truly high-end compact, both inside and out. The Snapdragon 800 chipset with a fast quad-core CPU makes it blazing fast and the steel frame gives you a nice feel while it does so. Its 4.3″ display makes it a bit more compact than the Galaxy S5 Mini, which is another plus.
To make things better for Sony, the Z1 Compact sports a higher resolution camera and a larger battery. The only edge the Galaxy S5 Mini has is the price, as the high-end specs Sony has chosen reflect on the price tag of its product.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini vs LG G2 mini

Finally, we have a classic derby from South Korea. The G2 mini is LG’s attempt at a 2014 compact Android smartphone and in our review we concluded it has done remarkably well. The G2 mini sports the largest screen of all compact smartphones listed here, but it has one major flaw – its low resolution. At 720p, the Galaxy S5 Mini’s 4.5″ display is sharper, but no one can beat LG G2 mini’s screen to body ratio.
Even with a 4.7″ display, the G2 mini is shorter than the Galaxy S5 Mini, albeit slightly wider and thicker. There are no physical buttons or capacitive keys in the front, as all controls have been moved at the back, as per LG’s latest design trends which pioneered on the LG G2.
Make sure you cast your votes by Friday next week, when we’ll publish the scores. Happy voting!

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Samsung Gear Fit now just $99.99, 50% cheaper than before

If you wanted to buy a Samsung Gear Fit wristband but so far have been put off by its asking price, perhaps now’s the time to reconsider. The device can currently be had for only $99.99.

That’s half off the Gear Fit’s normal price of $199.99. The offer comes courtesy of Amazon, and it’s unclear how long it will last.
Needless to say then, if you think this deal is a good one, you should probably take advantage of it as soon as possible. And if you’re unsure whether this particular wearable is a good fit for you, our review of the Samsung Gear Fit may help you decide.
The smartband is water and dust resistant (adhering to the IP67 standard), and it has a 1.84-inch curved Super AMOLED touchscreen. A myriad of sensors are built-in as you’d expect, yet it’s good to know that this device will only pair up with Samsung smartphones.

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New Samsung ads push Galaxy S III owners to buy the Galaxy S5

Two year contracts are the norm in the US, and Samsung knows that. The company also knows that many people who bought a Galaxy S III in 2012 are soon due to renew their service agreements, and it would like them to choose a Galaxy S5 this time around.




For the purpose of convincing Galaxy S III owners to upgrade to a Galaxy S5, Samsung has put up three video ads on its official YouTube channel. Each one focuses on a different area in which the new phone bests the old one.
That the Galaxy S5 would be better than the two-year old Galaxy S III in every regard is hardly surprising, however, for we do live in an incredibly fast-paced mobile world.
Samsung lays everything out, though. First, we get to see that the S5 has a higher-res camera than its ancestor, and apparently that means you’ll capture some amazing details in your pictures. HDR mode gets a shout-out too.
Next up, the screen. As you probably know by now, the S5 has a bigger and higher-res panel than the S III. It’s also water and dust resistant.
Finally, the Korean company is touting the improved performance of its newest flagship model. Oh, and the fact that its battery should last longer than that of the Galaxy S III.
It’s unclear whether these ads alone will persuade owners of the Galaxy S III to upgrade to the Galaxy S5 when their two-year contracts are up. But Samsung sure hopes so.

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iOS 7.1.2 has a bug in Calendar that shows wrong holidays in some regions

The latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system comes with a pretty odd bug. It turns out that for some regions, the Calendar app shows the wrong holidays.

What actually happens is that the holidays from other regions are shown instead of the ones adequate for what your location is set to.
This bug has been discovered by an iOS device owner in Lithuania. After applying the update to iOS 7.1.2, which started going out earlier this week, he noticed that he was seeing the holidays for Hong Kong, Canada, or Mexico. This despite the fact that he had set Lithuania as his region.
The situation is clearly depicted in the image above, which is part of the video embedded below – posted by the aforementioned user who noticed the bug. As you can see, the Calendar app shows the month name in Lithuanian, but the holidays for Hong Kong.
In certain other regions everything is working perfectly, as portrayed in the latter part of the video. Setting your location to the US, the UK, or Russia presents the adequate holidays in Calendar.
The person who stumbled upon this behavior emailed Apple about it, and the company responded by acknowledging that there is a problem with Calendar in iOS 7.1.2. Apple engineers are currently working on fixing it, and the bug should be gone in the next iOS update. Though when that will come out is still a mystery.

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Angry Birds Seasons ‘South HAMerica’ update review

South HAMerica is the latest update to Rovio’s Angry Birds Seasons game, which is updated every now and then for a festival or season specific level pack. The South HAMerica update is odd, in that it doesn’t directly relate to any season or festival, and other than some vague reference to the football matches being held in Brazil isn’t as topical as the previous updates.

As usual, you get a pack of couple dozen levels. We haven’t played the regular Angry Birds in a while so we decided to give this a try.

Gameplay

I honestly don’t remember the last time I played the classic Angry Birds game, with the bird flinging action having become thoroughly tiring after about the nine millionth game. Also, the whole over the top marketing with action figures, clothes, accessories, soft drinks and even theme parks with Angry Birds branding sort of made you want to hate the game and the company.

I didn’t come with huge expectations with this game and wasn’t disappointed. This is essentially still the same basic game as the last time I played it. All the birds are same as before and have the same abilities. There are different levels, as usual, 24 of them, with three special levels that are unlocked when you hit the golden egg in some of the other levels.

Maybe because I haven’t played this for a while but I had some fun while playing the South HAMerica update and I almost managed to go through all the new levels before stopping. The game still has the traditional Angry Bird caveats though: there is no indication as to what score you need to get all three stars, which is something of a bother if you want to get all three stars in every level.

The game is still fairly unplayable on smartphones, even ones with a 5-inch display. You can either zoom out completely so you can see the entire level and then squint because everything becomes tiny or you can zoom in and see half the level at any given point. It’s still best played on a tablet. I really wish they added a restart button on the main screen instead of putting it on the menu, considering how often you have to restart when you mess up a launch. Lastly, the red and pink birds are still fairly useless.

Graphics and Sound

Angry Birds Seasons looks and sounds identical to what you may remember from the last time you played the game. I kinda wish they updated the sounds for the birds or the pigs by now. The pigs especially sound annoying as they grunt away while you are tossing birds around. The sound effects for the rolling boulders and explosions are also starting to get old now.

One minor annoyance is that the game does not go fullscreen on KitKat devices and still shows the navigation controls on the side, as seen above. Rovio managed to do that in Angry Birds Epic so I’m not sure why they couldn’t fix it in this latest update.

Verdict

If for some reason you are still Angry Birds fan, you will like this update. The game is free on Android so you can just give it a try if you want and don’t have much to lose. On iOS, it costs $1 and $3 respectively for iPhone and the iPad. You do get an insane number of levels for the money but that’s only a good thing if you’re still into Angry Birds. If you already purchased the game you’ll obviously get this for free but I wouldn’t recommend buying the game just for this update.
Rating: 6/10
Pros: More levels to play, great if you still enjoy the gameplay
Cons: Same old, same old
Download: Android (Free) • iPhone ($0.99) • iPad ($2.99)

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iPad Air 2 front panel photos surface, hint a thinner shell

A bunch of photos of the upcoming second-generation iPad Air have leaked straight from factory floors in China. The photos are obtained by Dutch website OneMoreThing and show the iPad’s glass front, which now has the LCD layer integrated into the glass itself – currently, that’s not the iPad Air’s case where the two layers are distinct from one another.

And here’s the front panel compared with a coin for measure. According to the report, it’s just 1.5mm thick, which could allow Apple to fit a larger battery.

The iPad Air 2 is expected to hit store shelves in the third quarter of the year and sport the TouchID fingerprint sensor introduced with the iPhone 5s. In addition, rumors have it the next generation Apple slate would pack an 64-bit A8 processor and an 8MP rear camera.
We’ll keep our eyes peeled for more information on the tablet.

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Samsung celebrates 45th anniversary by opening Innovation Museum in Korea

Yesterday Samsung celebrated its 45th anniversary by unveiling a museum dedicated to the history of innovation in Suwon, South Korea.

The museum is dedicated to showing off Samsung products and inventions, as well as those from some of its competitors. Notably absent, however, are Apple and crosstown rival LG.
Samsung CEO Kwon Oh-hyun, who unveiled the museum yesterday, had this to say:

“The museum gives visitors an opportunity to see where we’ve come from and also see where Samsung draws inspiration from to continue to create category defining products.”

The company has been pushing the innovation angle with increasing force lately, in an attempt to be the next company that leads the pack like Apple was credited with doing with the iPhone.
The museum itself is housed in a five-story building with three exhibition halls. The Age of Inventors is a nod to tech pioneers like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, followed by the Age of Industry Innovation showcases numerous Samsung (and rivals’) products on display, including semiconductors and other mobile and tech components. Finally, Samsung uses the Age of Creation hall to showcase its Smart Home system for home automation, that it plans on unveiling fully in the near future. There’s also a History Hall that goes into Samsung’s foundation and philosophy.
While it’s obvious that most of what’s displayed in the Innovation Museum has a markedly Samsung-ian take on things – there’s no mention of Apple as having anything to do with smartphone evolution, or anything tech related, for that matter – the company is hard at work winning over consumers with projects that are public to at least some degree, if not entirely accurate.

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Latest Galaxy S5 TVC shows off its water-resistant body

The water and dust resistant body of the Galaxy S5 has been one of its biggest assets since launch. In in the latest TV commercial, Samsung has decided to show off this ability to full effect.

The commercial shows kids spraying water on the phone, as kids are ought to do. One shot even shows the phone covered in flour. But thanks to the sealed design, neither of these are a problem as you can just wash or wipe the phone and it’ll be good as new.
You can watch the new commercial below.

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New tongue-in-cheek Apple ad urges other companies to copy at least some of their ideas

Here is a nice U-turn for you in the ad wars between mobile phone makers. It’s time for Apple to take a jab at other competitors.

Apple’s latest printed ad in various countries, part of the worldwide Apple environmental campaign devoted to Earth Day, says the Cupertino-based giant wants other companies to copy its ideas. And more specifically, the ones concerning environmental protection
It’s surely is a nice poke at the competition, especially when Apple is winning the patent lawsuits whatever the fans and the competition’s lawyers are hoping for. But is it this the right way to send such an important message? I’ll leave the judgments for you.

Here is the full text of the printed appeal:

“There’s one area where we actually encourage others to imitate us. Because when everyone makes the environment a priority, we all benefit. We’d be more than happy to see every data centre fueled by 100% renewable energy sources. And we eagerly await the day when every product is made without the harmful toxins we have removed from ours.
Of course, we know we can continue to do better. We’ve set some pretty ambitious goals for reducing our impact on climate change, making our products with greener materials and conserving our planet’s limited resources. So the next time we come across a great idea that can help leave the world better than we found it, we look forward to sharing it.”

Apple has already taken massive environmental initiatives across the globe. Hopefully, they won’t turn just expensive PR with little to none impact. And here is hoping Apple tries to improve the conditions of the Foxconn’s employees too, because they might not be working under Apple’s command, but they are surely the ones making all those iDevices.

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