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mercredi 28 décembre 2016

2016 in Review: Which OEM Improved the Most in 2016?

As we enter the final days of the year, it's time to get your opinion on all the events, news, releases and controversies that we witnessed so far in 2016.

The year saw some heavy performances, and some duds, from all OEMs – big or small. We're looking for the OEM that deserves the most praise for trying their best this year and bouncing back from whatever lows it had in the past. Improvement in the year 2016, and not actual performance, is what we ask your opinion about.

So, our question to you is,

Which OEM improved the most in 2016? Which OEM had a disappointing 2015 but came back with a bang in 2016? What contributed to their leap forward? What do you think they should do to maintain momentum in 2017?

Let us know in the comments below!



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The VisionTek BTi65 Speaker: Impressive Sound at an Impressive Price

A few months ago VisionTek Products shared word that they were coming out with a new Bluetooth speaker. The BTi65 was IP65 waterproof rated, could remain connected up to 30 feet and play for 10 hours. Over several months I have tested this, thinking I may have missed a problem with it.

But what originally turned to suspicion that I was missing something seems to be a gem in the market. So what was it about the VisionTek BTi65 that impressed me so much?

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First Impressions

Out of the box the speaker is pretty straight forward. The package contained a USB to Micro-USB charge cable, 3.5 mm cable (to plug in directly versus Bluetooth) and then of course, the speaker itself. The initial charge took about 3 hours which was within their listed 3-4 hours for a full charge. After that it was turn the power on, then press and hold to begin pairing.

I tested this with my Samsung Galaxy Note7 and then with its replacement, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. In both cases the pairing was pain-free, as was the ability to answer the phone and end a call. The play/pause button thankfully acts as a way to pick up and end a call on the phone. This was tremendously helpful during the multiple trips to different offices that I made during the fall. Turning the volume up and down was self-explanatory as was turning it off or unpairing. A side rubber panel protects the 3.5 mm and USB power connections to avoid dirt and water getting in when not occupied with a cable in those ports.

Sound & Water Testing

Sound quality was impressive, though I found without any tuning/equalizer tools that it was easy to have distorted audio at higher volumes. With an equalizer it's easy enough to correct this issue when it popped up, but it was rare when it did anyway. The speaker can clearly serve up the sound at a great volume, which can be seen in a linked demonstration below. The IP65 rating does not suggest it can withstand being submerged under water for prolonged periods of time. A test drop into a sink and quick removal didn't affect the speaker. Nor did extended spraying or splashing of water.

Distance Testing

What perhaps surprised me the most about this speaker was the range. For a device that is listed to only remain connected for up to 30 feet this device far exceeded its listing – and my expectations. During an office network setup there was sufficient time to test this. I placed my phone in the telephone room with a constant music source and started walking. When it held the connection at not just 30 feet but well over 100 feet away I went back to the phone in disbelief. Then I grabbed my Nexus 6P and started recording to prove it.

It's likely that with additional barriers this distance would be shortened. But even then it seems VisionTek was clearly conservative on paper with this estimate. Based on what I saw it should easily be able to handle well over 30 feet with the right signal and environment.

Battery Life

The other place that it seems they were perhaps too conservative was with the battery life. VisionTek boasts a solid 10 hour play time but didn't mention anything about a standby time. It's a shame too — there were periods where I would keep this in my laptop bag for weeks in between uses and I could easily pull it out and put it right back to use without another charge.  For someone that would use this casually this has the right battery life to serve that need – as would someone else that can charge it from time to time during the day.

Conclusion

The VisionTek BTi65 is one of those speakers that I think may be a diamond in the rough. With the right settings and use this speaker could easily play with some of the mid-to-high range speakers in this segment, but with it listed at $39.99 on VisionTek's website it comes at a much lower price point than many that it would compete against. The IP65 rating, while not waterproof, means it can certainly hold its own in outdoors and in wet venues so long as it is not submerged. And the distance means that you could easily extend the party far to 30 feet and beyond from the sound source. It certainly raised the bar of expectations for a Bluetooth speaker for me — and should, at the least, merit consideration if you're looking for a speaker like this.



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Worst Apps of 2016

We had a bunch of great apps in 2016. So many fun and exciting apps made their way to your homescreen. This year was not without fails though. Google launched two massively hyped apps that didn't last more than a day before they were irrelevant. We also saw old favorites become cluttered and terrible. These are the worst apps of 2016.

Google Allo

Google Allo promised to revolutionize the way we chat with each other from our smartphones. The app was to deliver a more expressive way to communicate through the use of art, emojis, text size and other features. The app ultimately fell flat when it couldn't be used to talk to anyone on hangouts. The thought of getting everyone to change messaging services just to use the new features was too much. The app didn't last 24 hours before the buzz was completely gone.

Google Duo

Launched side by side with Allo, Duo is a bare-bones video chat service that had little to offer. Hangouts, Skype, Snapchat, Facebook messenger and many other apps that you probably already use, have video chat options. Even though this app has over ten million downloads, it was never able to take off.

Snapchat

Snapchat's Discover section has become a vessel for the Kardashian family to violate you with their boobies and butts. Mixed in with the stories from your friends, these articles often contain nudity and borderline adult material fed right to the phones of children of all ages. Fantastic.

Facebook

Remember Facebook? Neither do I. This app has been the center of a heated debate of the fake news epidemic. Often featuring news stories that are highly inaccurate or just flat out lies, this app has the ability to spread false information on a massive scale. This activity going unchecked by Facebook has earn this app the title of one of the worst apps of the year.

Let us know what your list is for the worst app of the year, in the comments below.



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Full ADB Root, System Read/Write, and dm-verity Off Achieved for All LG G5 Variants

Expanding on their previous guide, XDA Senior Member Honestly Annoying has demonstrated how to get full ADB root access, system read/write permissions, and disabling dm-verity protection for all variants of the LG G5. This was previously released only for the Sprint model, but is now available for all variants.



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Qualcomm Accused of Antitrust Violations in South Korea, Faces a $853 Million Fine

Qualcomm has faced antitrust accusations in multiple countries over the last few years. The company recently settled a big one within the country of China, and they were accused of similar allegations in the EU back in 2015 as well. Today, it's been announced that a regulator within South Korea wants to fine Qualcomm $853 million over its own patent-licensing business. This announcement comes after a 3-year investigation completed by the Korea Fair Trade Commission.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission feels that Qualcomm has violated the country's antitrust laws by limiting competing chip makers' access to its patents. The commission also feels that Qualcomm ended up forcing smartphone OEMs into unfair license agreements by refusing to supply important chips for phones to companies who didn't agree with their terms (which includes purchasing licenses the OEM didn't need). Lastly, they're accused of using their market position as a leveraging tool in an attempt to force smartphone OEMs into accepting unfair terms.

As mentioned, we've seen these accusations come up before in regards to Qualcomm, as other countries have come to the same conclusion as well. In previous cases, Qualcomm has gone ahead and paid the fine so they could continue doing business in the country. However, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Qualcomm will contest the decision. Qualcomm doesn't feel they have hindered other chip makers from selling their own products within the country.

Qualcomm also says their licensing deals have existed in South Korea, and all over the world, for decades. Since South Korea hadn't felt the need to complain about their business practices before, they question the legitimacy about this recent accusation. This recent ruling won't go into effect until the commission issues a formal written order, which is said to take anywhere from weeks to months to put together. It's at this point where Qualcomm will have 60 days to either pay the fine or initiate the appeal process.

Source: The Wall Street Journal



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Rumor Suggests Samsung is Integrating Bixby in the Galaxy S8’s Native Apps

Back in October, Samsung announced they were acquiring Viv Labs and their entire AI platform. For those who are unaware, the founders of Viv Labs were the same group of people who worked on Siri (before Apple acquired them back in 2010). The big product from Viv Labs is an AI-powered voice assistant known as Viv. This voice assistant AI excels in natural language processing and is said to be more powerful than Siri is today.

It's no surprise that Viv Labs was on Samsung's radar, as we've been seeing a lot of companies wanting to get into this market. Amazon's Alexa personal assistant has found success in the company's Echo products, Google dove into the market with Google Home, and even Apple has started focusing on expanding the capabilities of Siri lately. Since the original announcement, it's been rumored that Samsung will replace S Voice with this new tech from Viv Labs, and it will debut with the launch of the Galaxy S8.

It's believed that Samsung will call their new personal assistant Bixby, thanks to a trademark that was filed in their home country of South Korea. As we've seen with the success of Amazon's Alexa assistant, the more things it can do the better experience the user will have with the service. Google Home has been struggling in this area, but Google has launched Actions on Google that open up the platform to 3rd-party developers.

Yesterday, SamMobile's sources have told them that Samsung is working hard to make sure most of their native applications will support this Bixby personal assistant feature. The article didn't go into much detail about how powerful it will be, but uses the Gallery application as an example, saying we can ask Bixby to show us photos or videos that match a particular criteria. We'll likely have to wait until Samsung's official launch event before we learn more details about Bixby, though.

Source: SamMobile



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mardi 27 décembre 2016

2016 in Review: What did you think of the Tablets Released in 2016?

As we enter the final days of the year, it's time to get your opinion on all the events, news, releases and controversies that we witnessed so far in 2016.

While all price points of the smartphone market saw fierce competition, one segment which was once hotly contested barely saw any attention this year. We're talking about tablets, a segment that stayed out of the limelight for the most part. Few OEMs seem willing to dip their toes back into the tablet market, and stock-Android tablet enthusiasts have to contend with just rumors of an Huawei-made "Nexus" tablet coming in 2017.

Our question to you is,

What did you think of the tablets released this year? Why do you think tablets saw such little attention? Why are OEMs unwilling to release tablets? Have our use cases for tablets vanished, or have OEMs grown wary of investing into the tablet space? How big of a contribution did software have in their decline? Is there hope for tablets to make a comeback in 2017?

Let us know in the comments below!



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