Geek News

Volkswagen's I.D. platform just got its flagship product, the Vizzion. The electric vehicle will have a range of about 370 miles (600 kilometers) via a 111kWh battery pack, two motors for all-wheel-drive capabilities and will be ready for autonomous driving. The vehicle was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show and is part of Volkswagen's electrification roadmap of 50 new electric vehicles on the road by 2025. Like the rest of the I.D. vehicles, it's built using the MEB platform which the automaker says will make its cars less expensive and can offer up long EV ranges. During the presentation, the automaker called the Vizzion, "it's most emotional and customized Volkswagen." The idea is that when people are not driving, they want an environment that suits their needs. Volkswagen noted that we would learn about the vehicle during its press conference tomorrow at the Geneva Motor show. But what we know now is that it'll have 300 horsepower, a top speed of...

If you grew up with video games as a kid, you probably struck a deal with your parents: pass a school test with flying colors and you can play more. Tencent wants to formalize those arrangements. Chief executive Ma Huateng has proposed digital contracts that offer game time to kids (for Tencent games, of course) in return for either reaching certain academic criteria or performing chores around the home. He wasn't specific about when these agreements would be available, but he noted that children could have their friends witness the signing of a contract. This isn't an altruistic gesture. Tencent's Honor of Kings ( Arena of Valor in the US ) has been so popular and addictive in its native China that the mobile multiplayer title now has time limits to prevent kids from playing too long. Between that and a degree of Chinese government pressure (games like HoK have been likened to "opium" by one delegate), Tencent has an incentive to implement its own limits b...

Essential first introduced us to our current notch-riddled reality , but maybe all these notches could have been avoided. Maybe, instead, we all could have had pop-up selfie cameras, like the one Vivo showed off at Mobile World Congress last week. Essential CEO Andy Rubin replied to a tweet a few days ago about that Vivo Apex concept phone by pointing to an Essential-owned patent for a similar pop-up camera. It filed it years ago. The company had considered foregoing the notch for a mechanical, pop-up camera! I want this world to exist... if only Apple hadn’t incorporated a notch into the iPhone X. Now I can understand why Rubin and his company decided against the camera. I imagine fixing a broken pop-up camera would be a nightmare, and... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2oSaDHt"

Before packing my bags for Spain, I took stock of my inbox for MWC meeting requests . A quick search showed I had more than 100 emails about 5G . "Solutions for cloud-based 5G infrastructures," one read. "5G is happening," another proclaimed. "Meet with XX 5G exec?" "XX invites you to experience the new 5G era." From demos of super fast phones and connected street lights, to obscure infrastructure projects that will actually form the backbone of 5G, the thirst was real. Cut to the first official day of the show , and it was almost impossible to avoid the in-your-face signs attempting to lure you to "5G open innovation" demos. Everywhere we turned, we were confronted with yet another banner. This isn't surprising of course, 5G is very much a mobile communications standard and we were in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, after all. This isn't the first time 5G news has permeated MWC -- in years past, we saw companies show...

Google has announced that its app for iOS is introducing several new changes today . The new tweaks are aimed at letting users discover and share information more fluidly across iMessage and the Google app itself. For starters, the Google app for iOS now supports an iMessage extension that lets users search for and share things like videos, businesses, and more when messaging others. In the example below, icons like “Food” or “Nearby” can be tapped to discover and then share locations directly within iMessage. To the right of the search bar is a dedicated button which switches things into GIF Search mode. If you already have the Google app, as long as you’re updated to the newest version, it should automatically appear in the iMessage... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2I544Kv"

Now that Waymo's long-running lawsuit against Uber is finally settled , the two companies are free to cozy up to a possible partnership. According to a report at The Information , Uber executives, led by new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, have been looking for a way to get Uber riders into Waymo 's autonomous cars. Even though Waymo is already collaborating with Lyft , a working relationship with Uber would likely help the Google-owned autonomous car division get more of its self-driving cars on the road. Uber would be able to stay competitive with its largest rival, too, without falling too far behind in the public consciousness. There's no indication, says The Information , that Waymo is ready to make a deal, however. Still, CEO Khosrowshahi is aware that Waymo's self-driving systems are more advanced than Uber's own , the site's sources note, and would benefit from working with the Alphabet company. Source: The Information via Engadget RSS Feed "http://if...

Facebook began testing a "breaking news" label for developing stories back in November, and now the social network is expanding the option to more publishers. Starting this week, the company says 50 more outlets in North America, Latin America, Europe and Australia will be privy to the tag. That's in addition to the "small group of local and national publishers" that are already using it. If all goes well, Facebook said it may offer the option to even more publishers in the future. As the image above illustrates, the tag adds a red "breaking" label beside the time and source as an attempt to make those posts more visible in the News Feed. The feature can be applied to Instant Articles , links and Facebook Live videos. Publishers included in the test can use the tool once a day and set a time limit for how long the story is breaking news -- up to six hours. There's also an option for readers to report if they don't think a story deserves t...

After beginning to offer meal kits from third party brands last fall, Walmart announced today that it’s now producing its own brand of pre-portioned kits priced between $8 to $15 designed to serve two people. The company says the recipes were developed at Walmart’s Culinary and Innovation Center which opened in June 2016, and all kits are made and packaged in individual stores daily. Unlike Walmart’s first meal kit offerings, its own line of kits will be available for purchase at 250 stores nationwide, with plans to roll out to more than 2,000 stores this year. Its meal kit recipes cover a range of cuisines, such as steak dijon, sweet chili chicken stir fry, and pork Florentine. In addition to the kits, Walmart will also offer... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2H63sTG"

In the 80s, Roland drum machines were at the epicenter of hip hop, house, techno, acid house and other music genres. The 808, 909, 707, and 606 helped create the beats of some of your favorite songs. But if you wanted to pick up any of these vintage drum machines today, you'd probably end up dropping thousands of dollars. Fortunately, Roland just made getting all those vintage drum sounds a lot easier and cheaper with its new TR-8S, drum machine. The successor to the Aira TR-8 introduced four years ago, takes what the company learned from that drum machine and fine-tuned it into a more capable and feature-rich drum machine that's ready to mix and mash all those genres along with a few more with a just a few twists and button pushes. I got a chance to try out the new $699 TR-8S and during a hands-on and I came away impressed with what Roland has accomplished with the machine. Right off the bat, my favorite new feature is the ability to import and play stereo or mono samples....

LG has set $3,000 as the baseline price if you want one of the company’s latest, most advanced OLED TVs . That’s for the 55-inch model of the C8 series, which includes LG’s new a9 processor for reduced noise and smoother gradation (less banding). There will also be a less expensive B8 series in the lineup, but it will lack the new chip and should offer near-identical performance to last year’s sets. Stepping up to the 65-inch C8 will cost $4,000, and the 77-inch version will run $10,000. So yes, OLED TVs are still very pricey, but as CNET notes , the good news is that once these models go on sale, we should see some of the lowest prices LG has ever offered. Buying a brand-new TV as soon as it hits the market in the spring is almost always... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2Fnht2d"

Would it surprise you to hear that Netflix's Black Mirror series is popular enough to justify more episodes? No? Well, we're going to let you know regardless: Netflix has confirmed that Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones' technology-gone-wrong anthology show has been renewed for a fifth season. It's not offering a release window or further details, but it's safe to presume that Black Mirror will continue to explore new concepts and formats. Brooker has been adamant about wanting to avoid rehashing familiar ideas. For Netflix, a fifth season is practically music to its ears. The streaming giant has been orchestrating a major sci-fi push as of late between Altered Carbon , Mute and its upcoming Lost in Space reboot, and more Black Mirror bolsters that effort. It's also relatively rare in that Netflix doesn't release every episode at once -- Black Mirror s seasons typically arrive in two releases, giving you a reason to come back even if you're the...

Last week, Switch users began to notice that their activity log data had reset and play time from before March 3rd had been deleted. A number of Redditors reported the loss of play time data while a few of us here at Engadget noticed the reset as well. And for those who got a Switch when it launched last March , that could mean that up to a year of activity had suddenly disappeared. Nintendo has now commented on the issue and if you're a Switch user you can breathe easy. Your data isn't gone. Some Nintendo Switch owners' play activity info is displaying incorrectly, but play activity is still being recorded accurately in the background. A future system update will resolve this issue & ensure play time data is correctly displayed. We apologize for the inconvenience. — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) March 5, 2018 In a tweet, Nintendo said that for some users, activity information is displaying incorrectly. However, players' true activity is still be...

The city of Geneva, Switzerland is about to become of the center of the automotive universe. Automakers from all over the world are descending upon the city to unveil their latest vehicles and Engadget will be there to keep you abreast of the breaking news. But first, we wanted to catch you up on what to expect from the show. EVs At this point it almost goes without saying that electrification (hybrids, EVs) will be a big part of this event. If a company shows off a concept car, expect it have some sort of electric drivetrain. With that in mind, Volkswagen is going to unveil its latest I.D. vehicle, the Vizzion. The newest member of the automaker's electric platform will be a showcase for autonomous driving. Yet, VW isn't the only European car maker jumping even more into the world of electrons. Jaguar will be showing off its I-Pace electric crossover which it unveiled last week. This will be our opportunity to see it up close and personal and make sure it's worthy ...

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Google bought Zagat in 2011 with hopes of offering definitive restaurant reviews in its search results, but that dream is ending quietly. True to the rumors , Google has sold Zagat to The Infatuation, a restaurant discovery platform. The new owner will keep Zagat as a separate brand and increase its exposure while helping it with a "tech-driven platform" that provides a "more meaningful alternative" to crowdsourced review sites like Yelp. The terms of the deal aren't public, although Google bought Zagat for $151 million. Google hasn't said why it's selling Zagat, but the review brand hasn't had an easy time. Its listings were quickly integrated into Maps and other Google services, but it was virtually silent from 2013 until the release of a reworked Zagat app and website in 2016. Google even started prioritizing its own user reviews over Zagat's. Simply speaking, Zagat stopped growing while its rivals were on the rise. In that regard, the...

If you're one of the many people who is bummed because your shoes can't order pizza for you, boy do we have some news for you. Pizza Hut is bringing back its Pie Tops sneakers, which can order pizza at the press of a button, thanks to a Bluetooth connection with your phone and the Pie Tops app. Not only that, but the Pie Tops II can also pause your TV when your pizza is at the front door. How revolutionary. Pizza Hut is the official pizza of March Madness, and it introduced the Pie Tops sneakers last year. However, this is the first time these beasts can actually be purchased. Pizza Hut and The Shoe Surgeon will make 50 pairs of these shoes available on hbx.com the week of March 19th, with more pairs to come later in the year -- follow @PizzaHut and @Hypebeast on Twitter for more details. It is unclear how much they'll cost, but honestly anything other than "zero dollars" is probably too much. The shoes will come in two different colors -- red and wheat. There...