A L-O-N-G Weekend

We're taking a long weekend for Labor Day. 

See you next month!

MSFT VR

Two months ago, Microsoft said it didn't have specific

plans to create an Xbox VR headset. What it didn't say

is that it had been working on a device, but put existing

VR plans on hold until better technology comes along.

Microsoft courted partners over the past couple years to

create games for a virtual reality headset designed to work

with the Xbox video game console, according to people

familiar with the matter. While the physical designs of the

device weren't widely known, the screen quality specifications

were considered good -- but not as good as those for

Facebook's rival Oculus Rift or HTC's Vive headsets, the

people said.

arlier this year, however, Microsoft started telling partners

it was putting its Xbox headset plans on hold. Two people

familiar with Microsoft's thinking said the company decided

to wait until promising new tech like wireless headsets were

more feasible. Today, high-end headsets like Sony's $299

PlayStation VR, Facebook's $399 Oculus Rift and and HTC's

$499 Vive rely on long and bulky wires plugged into their

respective devices in order to work. Wireless adapters

meanwhile, add about $300 in cost.

The move wasn't much of a surprise to partners and those

briefed on the device, considering Microsoft has largely stuck

to a supporting role during VR's recent renaissance, led by

Sony, HTC, Steam game store owner Valve and Facebook's

Oculus VR. And you could argue it's a smart strategy.

Online Shopping

About 69% of consumers use their smartphone to help

]them shop. Some 63% use the phone to research products,

while 62% compare prices, 56% look for coupons or deals,

54% check for store hours, and 52% find nearby store

locations, according to survey reports released Monday.

Uberall’s “Near Me Shopping Report,” which analyzes

responses from more than 1,000 smartphone users

across the U.S., aims to understand “near me” search

preferences and behavior. The commissioned study

was conducted between July 23 and July 27, 2018.

Among millennials, “near me” adoption was even greater,

at 92%.

Overall, 84% of survey participants said they typically use

near-me searches to find food, followed by 56% who use

them to find entertainment, 50% to find banking, 41% to

find apparel, and 38% to locate personal care.

When asked to rank a specific retailer or store with “near

me” searches or a general product “near me” search and

specific brand “near me” search, the top response was “a

specific retailer or store.”

New Apple Phones

Apple Inc. is not only doubling down on the iPhone X,

it’s tripling down.

The world’s most valuable company plans to launch three

new phones soon that keep the edge-to-edge screen

design of last year’s flagship, according to people familiar

with the matter. The devices will boast a wider range of

prices, features and sizes to increase their appeal, said

the people, who asked not to be identified discussing

unannounced products.

However, none of the three iPhones will be wholly new

designs like the iPhone X was last year or the iPhone 6

in 2014, with some inside Apple labeling the launch as

an "S year," a designation the company has given to new

handsets that retain the previous design but add new

internal features. The company is planning more significant

changes for next year, they added.

The iPhone X wasn’t as big a hit as some Wall Street

analysts hoped for before it was released last November.

However, it still sold strongly and helped Apple gain share

in a smartphone market that has almost stopped growing.

The upcoming phones, planned to be unveiled in September,

show the company is adjusting its strategy. Rather than

luring millions of new iPhone users, Apple’s goal these days

is to steadily raise average prices, while expanding the total

number of active devices to support sales of accessories and

digital services like streaming music and video.

"The iPhone is entering a period of 0-to-5 percent annual

growth, and the things they’re doing this fall will keep them

on that path," said Gene Munster, a veteran Apple analyst

and managing partner of Loup Ventures. The "real sizzle"

for investors remains the iPhone because it’s the hub for

almost all Apple’s other offerings like the Apple Watch,

AirPods, and Apple Music, Munster added. Apple spokes-

woman Trudy Muller declined to comment.

Apple shares gained 0.8 percent to a record $217.94 in New

York, pushing its market value to $1.05 trillion.

Sony To Sell It's Robot Dog in The US

Sony is going to release its robot dog Aibo in the US,

following the brand’s relaunch in Japan last year. The

new edition will be available to purchase in September

for $2,899 and will be bundled with three years of Sony’s

AI Cloud service as well as a variety of toys, including a

pink ball, an “Aibone,” paw pads, and a charging station.

The AI Cloud allows Aibo to send its daily activity back

to Sony’s servers, which the company claims help shape

the robot’s personality and let owners stay connected with

their Aibo over Wi-Fi or LTE through AT&T. The dog likely

won’t ship until closer to the holidays, however, so prepare

for a long wait.

The US version doesn’t sound or look much different from

the one Sony showed off at CESthis year. It incorporates

a bunch of sensors, cameras, and actuators to activate the

pup and keep it interactive. There’s a camera on its back to

help it navigate to its charging pad, and its nose camera

helps it find its Aibone and identify family members through

facial recognition. It also responds to voice commands, and

you can add tricks to its knowledge base through the

companion Android / iOS Aibo app.

This is a limited edition product, although Sony hasn’t said

exactly how many units are being made. So if you’re dead

set on owning a robot dog, be ready for that preorder link

soon.

MSFT's Money Machine

Microsoft is planning to unveil an Xbox All Access service

that will bundle the company’s Xbox One consoles with

Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass for a monthly fee. Code-

named Project Largo, Microsoft has been working towards

the subscription service in recent months. Sources familiar

with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that both the Xbox One

S and Xbox One X will be offered as a subscription, and that

Microsoft is planning to offer its Xbox One X bundled with

Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass for $34.99 per month

over 24 months.

The subscription will be available from Microsoft’s retail stores,

and the company is also working with PC makers to try and

offer this bundle elsewhere. Windows Central reported on

Xbox All Access today, after I teased details of the new service

three weeks ago. Microsoft will limit its Xbox All Access service

to US consumers initially, but if it’s successful then it could appear

in other markets in the future. Microsoft also offered a subsidized

Xbox 360 bundle with Xbox Live Gold more than six years ago.

Microsoft is also working on a new Xbox accessory codenamed

Washburn. The software maker had planned to unveil the $149

accessory at Gamescom this week, and accidentally teased an

“all-new Xbox hardware” announcement before the company’s

plans changed. The mysterious accessory is due to launch in

October, just after Microsoft’s launch of Forza Horizon 4. It’s not

an Xbox Elite successor, but expect the company to detail its new

hardware accessory soon.

EcoFlow

By Bayle Emlein

EcoFlow chose Pepcom’s Digital Experience West to

announce the availability of their RIVER Bank portable power

module. At 2 pounds, it outweighs the spare emergency boost

in the bottom of my purse. However, it so outperforms anything

else that I have that if I add to my carry-on, my career as an

action photographer might be back on track.

The modular nature of the RIVER Bank offers a choice of an

additional AC module with an AC port and/or a Car Module with

a car jump starter port. If you’re absolutely sure you’ll never, ever

be someplace where a dead battery might lead to a dead you,

then the car module might be the best idea you’ve ever had and

well worth the extra weight and investment.

The 21W and 50W solar charger modules are available to

replenish the main module as well as the other auxiliary modules

when you’re way off the grid, either because you’ve gone far

afield or because a you’ve encountered a power outage close to

home. EcoFlow is proud of deploying RIVER Banks to areas in

the world where electricity is reliably unreliable, especially to the

kind of person who needs to do homework at night in order to work

her way toward a more stable infrastructure.

Given the variety of natural disasters available within US borders,

a RIVER Bank and accompanying modules would be reasonable

items to add to any preparedness kit. For a while I worked in an

underground room with no windows, in a facility that had frequent

power outages. Man! It was dark in there when it got dark. It would

have been so much easier to manage my crew if I had had just one

RIVER Bank.

New From Apple

Apple will release a new low-cost laptop and a professional-

focused upgrade to the Mac mini desktop later this year,

ending a drought of Mac computers that has limited sales

of the company’s longest-running line of devices, according

to people familiar with the plans.

The new laptop will look similar to the current MacBook Air,

but will include thinner bezels around the screen. The display,

which will remain about 13-inches, will be a higher-resolution

"Retina" version that Apple uses on other products, the people

said. They asked not to be identified discussing products still

in development. Apple spokesman Bill Evans declined to

Comment.

The current MacBook Air, which costs $1,000, remains Apple’s

only laptop without a high-resolution screen. The MacBook Air

was last updated with a faster processor option last year, but

hasn’t seen a major overhaul in several years. The 12-inch

MacBook launched in 2015 was seen as a replacement to the

MacBook Air, but its $1,300 starting price put it out of reach for

some consumers. The new MacBook Air will be geared toward

consumers looking for a cheaper Apple computer, but also

schools that often buy laptops in bulk.

When Apple releases new Macs in the fall, it often does so in

October, following the launch of new iPhones. The company is

planning to debut three new iPhones,

Smart University?

Soon, Saint Louis University students won’t be able to

avoid Amazon’s near ubiquitous smart speakers. The

university announced this week a plan to outfit living

spaces with 2,300 Echo Dots. The devices are set to be

deployed by the time classes start, later this month.

SLU is quick to note that it’s “the first college or university

in the country to bring Amazon Alexa-enabled devices,

managed by Alexa for Business, into every student residence

hall room and student apartment on campus.” It’s certainly

not the first to adopt Amazon’s smart speakers, but it’s among

the largest scale for this sort of deployment.

While the product has become a mainstay in plenty of

American homes, it does seem like an odd choice dorms

and student campus. SLU has worked with Alexa for

Business to create 100 custom questions, including, “What

time does the library close tonight?” and “Where is the

registrar’s office?”

Samsung Sound

On August 20, Samsung is releasing its new HW-N950

and HW-N850 soundbars. These are its high-end audio

devices that it built in collaboration with audio-engineering

firm Harman Kardon. Both soundbars feature support for

Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which are next-gen positional

audio standards that more games are beginning to support.

Samsung hasn’t revealed a final price for the N950 or

N850, but you can expect it to match or surpass its previous

Dolby Atmos soundbars that sell for $1,500. The N950’s

main unit features 7.1.4 separate audio channels, which

refers to the seven front, center, and surround speakers,

one subwoofer, and four up-firing Atmos speakers.

Samsung says this is the most channels available in a

soundbar, but it must not count Creative’s incredible Sonic

Carrier which has 11.2.4 audio channels. Of course, the

Sonic Carrier is still $4,000, so it’s in another category

beyond what Samsung is doing.

Still, soundbars are still an easy way to improve the audio

of your home theater, and now they are also a quick and

effective way to add support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X

sound processing. These new technology standards are the

future of home audio, and upcoming blockbuster games like

Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

support it. Samsung is serving a market that wants that audio

without having to install speakers into your ceiling, and it worked

with Harman Kardon to ensure a high-quality final experience.