DJI Phantom 4 Advanced Drone Launched With Upgraded Camera, Lower Price Point

DJI Phantom 4 Advanced Drone Launched With Upgraded Camera, Lower Price Point

Updated: Apr 14, 2017 16:16 IST

After unveiling Phantom 4 Pro last year, drone industry's biggest name - DJI has now launched its DJI Phantom 4 Advanced drone. DJI says that its new drone provides users with an affordable way to capture aerial imagery with a powerful camera and precise controls. Notably, the company says that it comes with a new camera sensor compared the original Phantom 4 and will be available with a plus variant as well.

DJI Phantom 4 Advanced drone's "upgraded" camera is capable of recording 4K videos at 60 frames per second, the company said in a release. The video processing has also been improved and now supports H.264 4K videos at 60fps or H.265 4K at 30fps, both with a 100Mbps bitrate. "Excellent optical performance, sensors and processors ensure everything is captured with high dynamic range and more image detail needed for advanced post-production," the company said.Just like Phantom 4 Pro, the new drone comes with key features that allow smooth automatic flight modes, including Draw, ActiveTrack, TapFly, Gesture, and Tripod, the company said.

"Equipped with the FlightAutonomy system made up of 5 vision sensors, forward-facing obstacle avoidance system, dual-band satellite positioning (GPS and GLONASS), and ultrasonic rangefinders, the Phantom 4 Advanced is able to hover precisely in places without GPS and fly in complex environments." DJI said.

Moving to the plus variant of the device, the Phantom 4 Advanced+ sports a 5.5-inch 1080p display integrated into the controller. The company says that the display is twice as bright as conventional smart devices and allows for convenient viewing when outdoors.

The Phantom 4 Advanced and Phantom 4 Advanced+ drones have been priced at $1,349 (roughly Rs. 87,000) and $1,649 (roughly Rs. 1.06 lakhs) respectively. The drones will be available on company's online store and will start shipping on April 30, 2017. Importantly, DJI has announced that with the release of the new drone, the original Phantom 4 drone will reach its End of Life (EOL) but customers will continue to receive after sales service from the company.

Separately, the company has also updated the DJI GO 4 companion app, which is used to control its drones. The new update brings Find My Drone feature to the app, which makes use of GPS to help users find out the recent location of the drone. Apart from this, with the latest update, the company has added audio recording function when caching video, a function to verify your purchase when activating your aircraft, and warnings for RTH altitude in the One-Tap RTH, as per the update log on Google Play.

Candy Crush Creator, King Digital, Is Making a Call of Duty Mobile Gam

Updated: Apr 07, 2017 12:22 IST

Call of Duty has been one of the most successful video game franchises on consoles and therefore it should not come as a surprise that another game from the franchise is being developed for mobile platforms. The game is being developed by the same studio that developed popular mobile game Candy Crush - King Digital. There were rumours of this from as far back as Septemberlast year, after a 'mobile shooter' job listing on its website.

Activision Blizzard, the company behind Call of Duty franchise, acquired King Digital Entertainment, the studio behind development of Candy Crush Saga, in 2015 for a consideration of $5.9 billion (roughly Rs. 38,000 crores). The new Call of Duty mobile game will be developed by a new Stockholm-based team inside King Digital."Our challenge as a team is to create a Call of Duty experience on mobile that will strive to transform the best console experience fans know and love, while also breaking new ground for mobile and redefining the genre," the team behind the development of the mobile game says on the King website. The team says that its approach and ambition is to be "fresh, social, and highly accessible, while providing a very authentic game experience."

The game currently seems to be in early development stages as the team has clarified that it is currently in a 'discovery mode'. After the acquisition, King Digital has not made complicated but rather casual mobile video games, but considering that there is a new team inside studio working on the Call of Duty game, we will have to wait and see how the final product turns out.

It will be interesting to see how the new team inside the gaming studio approaches the new Call of Duty game for mobile as many studios have struggled to provide the right experience to gamers while creating mobile adaptations of console games. However, the likes of Hitman GO and Lara Croft GO do give a glimmer of hope that even if the same experience is not provided, the studio might come up with an enjoyable take of Call of duty universe

Microsoft to Soon Offer Steam-Inspired 'Self-Service Refunds' for Xbox One, PC Games

Microsoft to Soon Offer Steam-Inspired 'Self-Service Refunds' for Xbox One, PC Games 

 Updated: Apr 14, 2017 15:23 IST

It seems like Microsoft has been inspired by Valve's Steam business model for games on PC as the company is following in its footsteps and will soon allow users to avail refunds on digital games (and apps) for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. Notably, the company will only allow users to get refund on games within 14 days of purchase, and have been played for less than 2 hours across all accounts. It has certain checks in place to ensure that the service is not misused. The 'self-service refund' feature will be available for both the Xbox Store and Windows Store (for Windows 10 PCs).

The information regarding the refunds was provided to users participating in the Xbox Insider Program, which allows users to test new features before they are rolled out to rest of the Xbox users. "You've spoken; we've listened. In support of offering gamers the freedom of choice, we're making changes to the Microsoft Store purchase experience by offering customers a simple way to instantly return digital products like games and apps through account.microsoft.com," the company said in its message.

As per the details posted on NeoGAF forum, in order to request a refund, users need to first navigate to account.microsoft.com and sign-in. Then from the top menu bar, they need to select "Payment & billing" option and go to order history. Users then need to navigate to the purchased game or app and select the option to refund.

Coming to the conditions presented by the company to be eligible to request this service, apart from the 14-day window and 2-hour gameplay conditions, Microsoft says that DLCs, season passes, and add-ons are not eligible for self-service refunds. The game or app must have been downloaded and launched before requesting a self-service refund. Moreover, users will have to wait for at least one day after the game or app's release before requesting a self-service refund.

Microsoft has mentioned that certain Windows 10 apps may not be eligible for self-service refunds. Another thing that you might need to keep in mind is that "Microsoft reserves the right to block access for users who abuse self-service refunds."

This is the first time that refunds for digital games will be offered on consoles and it can definitely be seen as a step in right direction with consumer-centric approach.

Sony Launches New Lineup of EXTRA BASS Headphones and Wireless Speakers in India

Sony on Monday launched three new pairs of EXTRA BASS headphones in India, alongside four new EXTRA BASS wireless speakers. The former will be available in India via Sony Center and other major electronics stores from Thursday, while the latter will be available from April 25.

Let's start with the new Sony EXTRA BASS headphones. As we mentioned, Sony has launched three new models in India - Sony MDR-XB950B1 (Rs. 12,990), MDR-XB550AP (Rs. 3,290), and MDR-XB510AS (Rs. 2,790). The first is a pair of wireless circum-aural headphones, while the other two are wired, with the MDR-XB550AP a supra-aural pair and the MDR-XB510AS an in-ear pair with dust and water resistance meant for sports. All three support voice assist functions via their built-in microphones.The Sony MDR-XB950B1 are Bluetooth v4.1-based wireless headphones that also feature NFC connectivity for past pairing, and can also be controlled via the Sony Headphones Connect app. It has a separate Bass Effect toggle button, apart from volume and track control buttons, and a built-in microphone. The headphones bear 40mm drivers, and the onboard battery is rated to deliver up to 18 hours of wireless Bluetooth playback - a full charge requires 4 hours. If the battery runs out, users can utilise the bundled 1.2-metre headphone cable to connect. It weighs in at 280 grams including the battery. It will be available in Black and Blue colour variants.

Sony MDR-XB950B1

Next up, are the Sony MDR-XB550AP supra-aural headphones with what the company calls a "premium metal headband". These feature 30mm drivers, and come with an in-line remote for volume and track control, apart from a built-in microphone. They come with a 1.2-metre long cable, and weigh in at 180 grams excluding the cable. The free Smart Key App for Android helps customise the controls of the in-line remote. They will be available in Black, Red, Blue, Green, and White colour variants.

Sony MDR-XB550AP

Rounding off the new EXTRA BASS headphones, are the Sony MDR-XB510AS in-ear sports headphones that come with IP5X/ IPX7 rating for dust and water resistance. The company says the headphones can be worn while running in the rain or sitting around the pool - they are also said to be highly sweat resistant. They feature 12mm drivers, and come with an in-line remote that bears volume and track controls, apart from a built-in microphone. They weigh in at 9 grams excluding cable, and ship with a cable adjuster, clip, four sizes of earbuds, three sizes of arc supporters, and one carrying pouch. They will be available in Black, Red, Blue, and Green colour variants.

Sony MDR-XB510AS

We now come to the new EXTRA BASS portable wireless speakers. The Japanese consumer electronics giant has launched the Sony SRS-XB40 (Rs. 13,990), SRS-XB30 (Rs. 9,990), SRS-XB20 (Rs. 6,990), and the SRS-XB10 (Rs. 3,590). All four speakers come with Bluetooth (v4.2) and NFC connectivity options, while Sony is also touting their compact size and long battery life. The first three portable speakers can also be used to form a wireless party chain, connecting up to 10 speakers via Bluetooth for a truly surround sound experience. Two speakers of the same model can be paired together for stereo sound. The SRS-XB40 and SRS-XB30 can also be used as power banks, allowing users to charge their smartphones on the go. All four speakers are IPX5 rated for water resistance.

Sony SRS-XB40

Sony adds that the SRS-XB40, SRS-XB30, and the SRS-XB10 feature a flexible two-way design that allows them to be placed horizontally or vertically depending on the user's space requirements. The SRS-XB40, SRS-XB30, and the SRS-XB20 on the other hand all feature lighting setups, with the first bearing a LED perimeter line-light, a strobe light, and a speaker light. The SRS-XB30 has a multi-colour line-light and strobe, while the SRS-XB20 bears a single colour line-light that's meant to complement the colour of the speaker. All speakers can be controlled via the Sony Music Center app, while a separate Fiestable app provides light controls and DJ sound effects. With their inbuilt microphones, all four speakers can also activate Google Now/ Siri based voice guidance.

Sony SRS-XB20

Let's start with the Sony SRS-XB40. It bears 61mm drivers and is powered by a 5400mAh battery. The company is touting a 24-hour battery life, and a 4-hour charge time. It comes with its own AC charging adaptor. The Sony SRS-XB30 on the other hand features 48mm drivers and is powered by a 4200mAh battery with the same battery life and charging time figures. It comes with its own AC charging adaptor.

The Sony SRS-XB20 on the other hand feature 42mm drivers and a 2100mAh battery that's rated to deliver up to 12 hours of battery life, with a 4-hour charging time. It comes with a Micro-USB charging adaptor. Finally, the SRS-XB10 bears a 46mm driver (mono) and is powered by a 1400mAh battery that's rated to deliver up to 16 hours of battery life, and requires 4.5 hours to charge fully. It comes with a Micro-USB charging adaptor. The Sony SRS-XB10 has already gone up for pre-orders via Amazon India, and will remain up till Thursday. Pre-order customers can avail a Rs. 1,600 discount.

NSA Spying Tools: Microsoft Says You Are Safe if You've Installed Latest Windows Updates

  NSA Spying Tools: Microsoft Says You Are Safe if You've Installed Latest Windows Updates

Up-to-date Microsoft customers are safe from the purported National Security Agency spying tools dumped online, the software company said Saturday, tamping down fears that the digital arsenal was poised to wreak havoc across the Internet .

In a blog post, Microsoft Corp. security manager Phillip Misner said that the software giant had already built defenses against nine of the 12 tools disclosed by TheShadowBrokers, a mysterious group that has repeatedly published NSA code. The three others affected old, unsupported products.Most of the exploits are already patched," Misner said.

The post tamped down fears expressed by some researchers that the digital espionage toolkit made public by TheShadowBrokers took advantage of undisclosed vulnerabilities in Microsoft's code. That would have been a potentially damaging development because such tools could swiftly be repurposed to strike across the company's massive customer base.

Those fears appear to have been prompted by experts using even slightly out-of-date versions of Windows in their labs. One of Microsoft's fixes, also called a patch, was only released last month .

"I missed the patch," said British security architect Kevin Beaumont, jokingly adding, "I'm thinking about going to live in the woods now."

Beaumont wasn't alone. Matthew Hickey, of cyber-security firm Hacker House, also ran the code against earlier versions of Windows on Friday. But he noted that many organizations put patches off, meaning "many servers will still be affected by these flaws."

Everyone involved recommended keeping up with software updates.

"We encourage customers to ensure their computers are up-to-date," Misner said