Weekly Tech Recap - № 153 - DJI Mavic Air, foldable phone, death of the consoles, Internet usage, etc.

DJI Mavic Air

Mavic Air. © DJI.

At an event in New York, DJI just announced the newest model to join its line-up of drones, the Mavic Air. On the DJI range it rests between the foldable Mavic Pro and the ultra-portable Spark, combining some of the best features of the two. The Mavic Air is equipped with a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor camera and a 24mm-equivalent f / 2.8 wide-angle lens and a 3-axis gimbal. It can take stills of up to 12 megapixels, 4K videos at 30 frames per second (up to 100 Mbps) and Full HD at 120 frames per second. It can be folded like the Mavic Pro but is 40% lighter (weighing 430g vs. 734g). When folded, it’s unbelievably small and takes up less space than the Spark, allowing you to easily carry it in a backback. The drone comes with a remote control with a screen displaying real-time video transmission of 1080p. It flies at speeds of up to 68 km/h and can reach heights of up to 5,000 metres. Its flying time is up to 21 minutes (compared with 27 minutes for the Mavic Pro and 16 minutes for the Spark). It’s available for $800 USD.

⇨ Ars Technica, “Hands-on: DJI’s new Mavic Air is a beefed-up Spark with 4K video.”

Foldable phone

Foldable phone. © LG.

Device manufacturer LG has filed a patent application for a phone with a foldable screen that can be opened like a book, turning into a tablet. The phone has an exterior display that shows the date and time, as well as notifications, when the device is closed. No actual information is available as to whether LG is really gearing up to launch such a device though. Smart phone manufacturers seem to be riveted by folding phones; while many patent applications have been filed for these devices, there haven’t been any actual releases in this area to date. Last September, Samsung announced it hoped to launch a foldable Galaxy Note this year, while making it clear that there are still “challenges to overcome.”

⇨ Circuit Breaker, “LG patents a folding phone that morphs into a tablet.”

The death of video game consoles

© iStock.

Ars Technica looks back on a prediction made in 2012, which at the time generated a lot of press: that the era of video game consoles was coming to an end. Time has proven this wrong, of course, as the game console market is thriving these days. NPD analysts noted that the US market for videogames rose by 11% in 2017, and is worth $3.3 billion. The launch of Nintendo Switch was a success. Sales of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are continuing on a “record-setting pace” in the United States. Together, these high-end consoles are selling 18% better than the PS3 and Xbox 360 at the same point in their life cycle. It’s hard to believe that six years ago, the general opinion was that consoles were headed the way of the Dodo bird, to be shunted aside by cell phones, tablets and PCs. Consoles remain fixtures in many family rooms to this day.

⇨ Ars Technica, “Years after predicted “death,” game consoles are doing better than ever.”

We Spend How Much Time Online?

Moggy thinks the web is boring. © iStock.

According to a report from the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future, we now spend almost an entire day each week online. The 15th annual report sheds some light on how our online behaviours are changing. Since 2000, the amount of time we spend online every week has risen from 9.4 hours to 23.6 hours – that’s almost a full day! Our home lives have also changed since that time: we used to spend 3.3 hours each week at home online, but this number has now risen by more than 400 percent, to 17.6 hours.

⇨ CNET, “You spend nearly a whole day each week on the internet.”

Don’t be that guy

And don’t bite your gold ever. © iStock.

And this week’s Stupid Idea Award goes to… the man in China who purportedly tested a replacement cell phone battery by putting it in his mouth and biting down, to make sure it was the real deal. Cue the explosion and ball of fire in the electronics store. Is this fake news? You decide – we couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried. Don’t try this at home folks.

⇨ CNET, “Friendly reminder: Please don't bite your phone battery.”