AsteroidOS is an Open Source OS for Smartwatches

Florent Revest is a French computer science student who has been working on an open source operating system for smartwatches for the last two years. Yesterday, he officially launched version 1 of the alpha for AsteroidOS.

The goal for the platform was to create something that gave smartwatch owners more control over their privacy, as well as the hardware they purchased.

Florent feels that the current proprietary platforms do not guarantee this, and this was the basis for AsteroidOS. He wanted his open source smartwatch operating system to provide freedom with free software, more privacy than other wearable platforms offer, interoperability so it could communicate with other devices, modularity that enabled the user to tweak and change the OS as they see fit, the ability to port the software to as many devices as possible, and gathering a community who is passionate about the platform.

AsteroidOS currently runs on the LG G Watch, LG G Watch Urbane, ASUS ZenWatch 2 and the Sony Smartwatch 3. The LG G Watch is its default development platform, and it provides the best support for the software. The OS does run on the other 3 smartwatches, but not fully. For example, Bluetooth doesn't work on the G Watch Urbane, ZenWatch 2 or the Smartwatch 3 right now, and there are some graphical glitches with Sony's smartwatch as well.

Florent has even began working with Jolla to come up with a demo that shows their Sailfish technologies running on top of AsteroidOS. It's unclear how far this partnership will go, but it's interesting nonetheless. There are some installation instructions up on the AsteroidOS website, you can find the porting status for other smartwatches here, and there are a number of ways you can get involved in the project and the community. Whether it includes becoming a maintainer, developing apps, donating, or becoming a part of the community.

Here's a quick video of AsteroidOS in action on the LG  G Watch…

Source: Florent Revest

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Hands-on with the Elephone S7

Today we are getting a hands-on look at the Elephone s7 phone. This is a great budget phone starting at only $139.99. One of the highlights of this phone is the dual-curved design which curves the front and the back panels towards the edges of the phone. Let's take a look and see what it's like.

Specs

The display is measured at 5.5″ with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. This is pretty standard for entry level phones. The MediaTek Helio X20 CPU has a 2.3 GHz Deca core processor. These specs are paired with either 2GB, 3GB or 4GB of RAM depending on your configuration. Camera sensors are 16 MP for the back and 8 MP for the front. There is an external microSD slot that supports expansion up to 128 GB.

These are standard budget specs but still impressive for the price tag.

Design

The model that we got our hands on today is the blue version. The color is fairly subtle but really stands out with the deep blue reflection when the light hits it.

The dual-curved design makes this phone very comfortable to hold. The Galaxy Note 7 had a similar shape, so if you've used the Note 7 this will feel familiar. The bezels on this phone are practically non-existent. This makes for a very bold and premium look. Definitely a stand-out feature.

As far as buttons go, the volume rocker and power buttons are in the standard position on the right side of the phone. You also have a home button in the bottom center of the front of the phone.

The phone comes in four different color options: Blue, Black, Gold and Green.

Price

The price starts at $139.99 for the base model, and the fully loaded model for only $199.99. These low prices allows people to save money on a decent smartphone, if they're not too concerned with having the most powerful phone out there.

2GB+16GB	3GB+32GB	4GB+64GB
$139.99	$169.99	$199.99

If you like what you see, click the link below to buy an Elephone S7, and be sure to check out the Elephone S7 forums on XDA.

  Buy Elephone S7   Elephone on Facebook   Elephone on Twitter

Thanks to Elephone for sponsoring this post.

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The Bluetooth SIG Officially Adopts a Spec for Bluetooth 5

Back in June of this year, a letter from the Bluetooth SIG was discovered and in it we learned some of the first official details of the version 5 update for Bluetooth. We didn't learn too much though, mainly that there would be an official announcement a week later on June 16th. This date came around and sure enough, Bluetooth 5 was officially announced to the public. In this press release, it was confirmed that Bluetooth 5 would bring four times the range and double the speed compared to Bluetooth 4.2.

That was really all we had heard, officially, about the topic since June though. It takes a while before a spec can be thoroughly tested and made official. Then this week it was confirmed, the Bluetooth SIG officially adopted the Bluetooth 5 spec they announced 6 months ago. We're told the key updates to this version of Bluetooth include longer range, faster speeds, a larger broadcast message capacity and some improvements to interoperability and coexistence for other wireless technologies.

When we get into specifics, the Bluetooth SIG say that Bluetooth 5 will indeed bring four times the range and two times the speed when we compare it to what is available today. The new Bluetooth 5 spec also allows for eight times broadcast message capacity, which will result in improved and more context relevant solutions. The improvements to interoperability and coexistence for other wireless technologies mean that we shouldn't see as much interference from said wireless technologies (such as microwave transmitters, wireless cameras, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi devices).

The special interest group also announces that Bluetooth 5 focuses on improving their IoT performance with a big focus maintaining its low-energy functionality. The first official products that have chosen to go with Bluetooth 5 are said to arrive to the market and be fully available to the public within two to six months.

Source: Bluetooth SIG

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Knuckle Gestures in EMUI 5.0

One of the more useful features on the Honor 8 is the gesture controls activated by using your knuckles. The Honor 8 can tell whether you are touching the screen with your finger or your knuckles. This allows the software to assign different actions to the different types of touches. In this video, TK goes over some of the best gesture controls in the new EMUI 5.0 update.

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Unofficial Android 7.1.1 Released for MediaTek MT6752-based Jiayu S3

Within days of the Android 7.1.1 release, the MediaTek MT6752-based Jiayu S3 has received a custom ROM that brings to it the latest version of Android. Check it out!

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U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Samsung Over Apple in Latest Appeal

There are multiple lawsuit cases going back and forth between Samsung and Apple right now. At the end of last month, we learned that Samsung was denied an appeal against Apple in regards to their slide-to-unlock, quick links and auto-correct patents. On this case, Samsung can either pay the $119.6 million, or attempt to take it to the Supreme Court. Now, in a completely separate case, the U.S. Supreme Court has sided with Samsung.

This other case was one that Samsung had lost as well, and was ordered to pay Apple $930 million for copying "key iPhone designs." While the penalty for this specific case was supposed to be $930 million, but it was cut by $382 million before Samsung decided to pay. So last year, Samsung paid Apple $548 million and then decided to take the case to the Supreme Court, hoping they could have that penalty cut again (this time by $399 million).

Generally for patents, it's said that the person or company who violates them will have to pay its entire profits from the sales of products using stolen designs. This is generally known to be true even if the design patents are only for a portion of the overall product being sold. Samsung felt this was unfair and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue. They agree with Samsung and feel they shouldn't have to pay the entire $548 million penalty.

Samsung feels they should have that total cut by $399 million, but now it's up to the lower courts to figure out a new penalty total. The thing is, the U.S. Supreme Court did not present a way for the juries and lower courts to come up with this new total. Apple will continue to argue that it was innovative designs that made the iPhone a success (and therefore the majority of a product's profits), while Samsung will continue to say these features are small and do not reflect the overall product.

Source: Reuters

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Universal TA Backup Tool is Available for Xperia Phones

Yesterday, Recognized Developer rayman released a new TA Dump tool for Xperia phones that should work on all recent Xperia phones which are currently vulnerable to the Dirtycow exploit.

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