Sony PlayStation Neo Is Coming This Year, But Won't Shorten PS4 Life Span

The Sony PlayStation Neo is apparently coming this year after all, but it should not take any toll on the PS4's life cycle.

Things are heating up in the console gaming department, with both Sony and Microsoft working on their next-generation consoles with hefty improvements. In addition to powerful specifications, the new PlayStation Neo and Xbox Scorpio, respectively, are also expected to deliver full backward compatibility to further sweeten the deal.

With no announcement from Sony at the recent E3 2016, however, many wondered whether the PlayStation Neo is indeed ready to debut this year, especially since the PS4 is still riding the high tide. Would the PS Neo cut the PS4's success short if it launches this year?

In a new interview with Gameswelt, Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida assures that's not the case. The PlayStation Neo will hit the scene later this year, but it will not shorten the PS4's life span. It will come as an alternative, not a replacement.

"PS4 is PS4, you know the new high-end PS4 is still PS4, so you know the life cycle is not going to be shorter," says Toshida.

Simply put, having a newer, higher-end PlayStation console out and about should not affect PS4 owners, as the two consoles will coexist and complement each other.

Yoshida's comment came in response to a question about the life cycle of console generations, pondering whether a console's life span is now shorter if companies such as Sony and Microsoft unleash new hardware before the end of an existing device's life cycle.

Judging Yoshida's answer, PlayStation gamers will merely have another option. The PlayStation Neo will come at the high-end segment, offering superior hardware and performance at a higher price point, while the existing PS4 will continue to be available as a more affordable option, still powerful bot more toned-down compared to the new generation.

Consequently, PS4 owners can rest assured that their consoles are not reaching the end of their life cycle just yet. Those who decide to upgrade will do so because they want the latest and greatest, not because their existing console suddenly becomes worthless once the new generation comes out.

Lastly, Yoshida's comments regarding Microsoft's E3 announcements are also worthy of note. While Sony decided to keep its PlayStation Neo under wraps and focus on other things at E3, Microsoft announced the first official details regarding Project Scorpio at the conference.

"I was surprised," says Yoshida, referring to Microsoft's Project Scorpio announcement at E3. "I was not expecting them to talk about [it]. It's very very super interesting what they are doing."

It's interesting indeed, and we're looking forward to seeing the future of console gaming as Microsoft and Sony unleash their latest hardware. We'll keep you posted as soon as more details hit the surface, so stay tuned.

- See more at: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/166669/20160623/sony-playstation-neo-is-coming-this-year-but-wont-shorten-ps4-life-span.htm#sthash.qIpYg0Tc.dpuf

Plume Envisions Future With High-Quality Managed Wi-Fi In Every Home

A fast and reliable home Wi-Fi network is a necessity for many homeowners. But those of us who want to stay connected — in any corner of the home — are often hit with the cold hard truth.

Reliable internet access throughout the whole house is not always easy to achieve, and neither is it easy on the pocket.

Enter Plume, a startup that touts itself as a "rebel" in the home Wi-Fi business. The company's vision is to create a future of high-quality "managed" Wi-Fi at home.

Plume has created cloud-based "Pods" that are only the size of one's palm. This particular technology, along with its sleek form factor, makes it easy for homeowners to gain better net access in even the quietest corners of the home — where the signal might be weak if the more traditional router is used.

In short, Plume throws out the one "central" router system, whose signal may no longer reach the farthest ends of the house.

Goodbye, Old Wi-Fi Router?

"These unnecessarily expensive products," Plume CEO Fahri Diner says of old routers, "are based on decades-old technology."

Having only one main router to connect an entire house can also easily congest the system, given the increasing demands for fast and stable internet access in a variety of activities.

The old routers might not be able to handle "the complex variables and loads affecting a Wi-Fi network in a modern connected home," Diner adds.

A 'Rebel' In The Market? How Plume's Wi-Fi System Works

How exactly is Plume changing the game? For one, this brand relies on cloud technology and Bluetooth, and is deemed "self-optimizing." A user simply connects one Pod to the modem, downloads the application to set up a private home network, and plugs in all the other Pods in any regular outlet.

It's literally plug > download > connect. And the Plume Cloud takes over from there to "manage" the connections.

But perhaps the most striking feature of Plume has to do with its machine learning capability. The system can track the type of activity the Pod is being used for, whether it be for gaming, watching high-definition TV or managing the Internet-of-Things, and recommend how best to optimize the Pod based on these patterns.

(Photo : Plume) The stylish Plume Pod

The Cost Of A Good Home Wi-Fi System

For $234, Plume sells a minimum of six Pods, which the company says is perfect for a two- to three-bedroom home. (Of course, Plume recommends more Pods for wider coverage.) That total gives it a price tag of $39 per unit, but the price goes up to $49 after the preorder period.

"The intent was to give people more Wi-Fi, in more places, on more devices, more of the time – all at a more affordable price point," Diner says.

The Plume cofounder is also hoping to work with internet service providers that can distribute the router alternatives along with their Wi-Fi service package, and charge an additional monthly fee of $10 for the cloud-based Wi-Fi management.

The question is: would homeowners be willing to cough up extra bucks for this smart system?

- See more at: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/165458/20160616/plume-envisions-future-with-high-quality-managed-wi-fi-in-every-home.htm#sthash.TTHdYgtv.dpuf

Have iPhone? Love Android? This Phone Case Is Just For You

If you are an iPhone user who is currently suffering from Android envy, you don't need to trade in your beloved iPhone 6 in order to use Google's operating system. There is now an iPhone case that allows Android to run on an Apple device.

Created by developer and CTO of Tendigi, Nick Lee, the custom-built case brings Android directly on the screen of an iPhone.

To make this case work, Lee cloned the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and was able to make a customized version of Android Marshmallow. The developer then 3D-printed a case for the iPhone 6 Plus using a model from Thingiverse as a starting off point and then made his own modifications.

He added a Lemaker HiKey board that has an 8-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 processor that has the power to run just about any Android app—and ironically is the official reference board of the AOSP— inside the case. He also included a 650 mAh lithium-polymer battery pack and a boost converter for more voltage.

After realizing that all the parts fit well, Lee then reprinted the case but this time made it thinner. Even still, the final product is a bit thicker than the average battery case. Lee also made new adjustments such as adding an opening for an SD card, HDMI and USB ports.

To run Android on an iPhone, an iPhone is inserted into the case and is connected via the device's Lightning port. A user would then be able to directly launch Android on the iPhone.

Although this Android case for the iPhone is just a concept, it's impressive that Lee was even able to have it work. The developer discussed this project in detail including all the issues that came up along the way, such as having to buy his own 3D printer to make the case just the way he wanted, in a post on Medium. He also posted a video showcasing the Android iPhone case in action. The video reveals that Lee is able to do things like add an Android account, browse the Google Play Store and use other Android apps when using the case.

This isn't the only time Lee was able to successfully mix up a different OS on an Apple product. His previous project included having an Apple Watch run Windows 95.

Watch Android run on an iPhone in the video below.

OnePlus 3: Everything you need to know

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ONEPLUS 3

The OnePlus 3 is official, and it's even better than we expected. Here’s what we know, including the OnePlus 3 release date, specs, features, and price.

The OnePlus 3 has officially launched. We now know all of the major details about the new handset so here’s the full list of OnePlus 3 specs:

• 5.5-inch screen
• 1,920 x 1,080 pixel display (401ppi)
• Dimensions: 152.7 x 74.7 x 7.4mm
• Weight: 158 grams
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
• Adreno 530 GPU
• 6GB RAM
• 64GB storage (32GB variant may be offered in some markets)
• 16MP main camera
• 8MP selfie camera
• USB-C port (Dash Charge 5V/4A)
• 3,000mAh battery
• Fingerprint scanner
• NFC
• Dual-SIM
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Oxygen OS (Android 6.0.1)

ONEPLUS 3 – DESIGN

We don’t blame you if you’re feeling a sense of deja-vu when looking at the OnePlus 3 – it looks a lot like an HTC One.

From that large camera sensor in the middle, to the antenna lines running around it, everything feels very familiar. We’re not really saying it’s a bad thing, but it feels very safe.

The fingerprint sensor from the OnePlus 2 has also returned, and the whole front of the handset looks very similar, identical even, to its predecessor. The screen is covered in Gorilla Glass 4 and there's a bottom firing speaker alongside the USB Type-C port on the base of the handset.

Made using an anodized aluminium unibody the phone looks slightly sleeker than the previous OnePlus models with its rounded design, and comes in two colours: Graphite and Soft Gold.

ONEPLUS 3 SPECS

The OnePlus 3 comes a robust 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. In terms of processing power, the new handset packs in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip – the same processor that can be found in many top-end handsets, including US versions of the Galaxy S7. That should ensure some seriously speedy performance, especially in combination with the 6GB of RAM.

However, an early video test published on YouTube seems to suggest that the added RAM isn't being put to good use just yet. The test pitches the OnePlus 3 (6GB RAM) against the Galaxy S7 Edge (4GB RAM), examining how each handset performs in key areas like opening apps and games, and managing memory. It took the OnePlus 3 more than twice as long as the Galaxy S7 Edge to run through its app allotment, and it appeared that the OnePlus 3 was reloading each ap, rather than holding it in the memory. Fortunately, this sort of issue can be easily corrected by a software fix.

And when it comes to the display, there's lots to be excited about. Although OnePlus has kept the resolution at 1080p, the 5.5-inch screen is now made using AMOLED technology. That means each individual pixel emits its own light, as opposed to LCD, which uses a backlight to illuminate the pixels. It should result in deeper blacks, more vibrant colours, and better energy efficiency.

The 5.5-inch screen is the same form factor as the iPhone 6S Plus, which means it’s near the top-end of what most people are willing to hold. Unfortunately, the Full HD display won’t be as VR-capable as QHD rivals, like the Galaxy S7.

Still, it's great to see OLED tech finally make it to the OnePlus series and the Full HD display and 401ppi density is going to offer more than enough sharpness for the average user.

ONEPLUS 3 – CAMERA

OnePlus has also loaded its new handset with a 16-megapixel rear camera. That's more than the Galaxy S7 but, as we've seen with several phones this year, more pixels doesn't always mean better photos. We'll have to wait until we get our hands on a review model to see how the OnePlus 3 camera stacks up against others on the market.

The new sensor also features optical image stabilisation (OIS), which should make for sharper shots.

We've seen a number of official camera samples from OnePlus in the run up to the OnePlus 3 launch. Bear in mind that these images may have been taken on pre-production models, and thus aren't necessarily representative of the final product:

OnePlus CEO taking a selfie with the OnePlus 3's front-facing camera

On the front of the OnePlus 3 you'll find an 8MP selfie shooter, which, again, is more megapixels than you'll find on top-end handsets such as the S7, but as always, we'll have to wait until we can put the sensor through its paces to see what that amounts to in practice.

ONEPLUS 3 SOFTWARE – ANDROID 6.0, CERTAINLY NOT ANDROID N

The OnePlus 3 is going to run Android 6.0.1 with OnePlus' Oxygen OS skin overlaid. Thankfully OnePlus has always done this well in the past, adding just enough new software tweaks to keep it fresh without taking away from what makes Android great.

The release comes far too soon for Android N, which is set to be the next version of Google’s OS. You can install N on a bunch of Nexus device right now, but it’s very much a beta and won’t hit consumer devices until later in 2016.

ONEPLUS 3 – BATTERY LIFE

The OnePlus 2 offered a formidable day-and-a-half of usage between charges, which is par for the course with flagship phones.

That was thanks to a 3,300mAh battery, paired with reasonably efficient components like a Full HD display and the Snapdragon 810. The OnePlus 3 has a slightly smaller 3,000mAh battery, but seeing as it hasn't made the jump to a QHD or 4K panel, we’d expect to see similar battery life once again.

What’s more, the Snapdragon 820 offers significant efficiency improvements over the Snapdragon 810, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow also improves battery management. All in all, there’s plenty of scope for a solid OnePlus 3 battery life, but we'll have to test it ourselves to know for sure.

The OnePlus 3 also has a 'Dash Charge' feature that promises 63% battery life with just 30 minutes of charging. Interestingly, 'Dash Charge' isn't built with Qualcomm's popular Quick Charge technology, but instead uses a proprietary system based on Oppo's VOOC technology. This proprietary system means that you'll only be able to take advantage of Dash Charge when you're using the official OnePlus Dash Charge cable and adapter.

ONEPLUS 3 PRICE AND HOW TO BUY

The OnePlus 3 is on-sale for £309 – pretty good considering the internals are on-par with most high-end handsets.

Our main issue with each OnePlus phone to date was the invite system that went along with its release. Instead of just heading to the OnePlus website and clicking ‘buy’, you had to apply for an invite, join a queue and then wait for that invite to arrive in your email inbox. With so many fans eager to pick up the budget blower, that queue grew rather large very fast.

Thankfully, with the OnePlus 3, the invite system has been scrapped. That's right, the phone is available to all.

There's only one colour option available right now: Granite. But OnePlus has confirmed that a Soft Gold variant is coming in the second half of July: