USA TODAY -- LL -W JJ -W 6B WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016 awrence ournal ournal awrence
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USA TODAY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016
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TECH
Top picks from a ho-hum 2016 Hot items include Google Pixel, eero and PlayStation VR Edward C. Baig @edbaig USA TODAY
NEW YORK Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 might have claimed a spot on the tastiest products to consider this holiday season — but we all know how that turned out. After receiving high praise during its late-summer debut, the twice-recalled and ultimately discontinued phablet phone had a tendency to catch on fire. Fortunately, the products on this list might be deemed hot for another reason.
SARA SNYDER, USA TODAY
Pixel uses Google Assistant.
uGOOGLE PIXEL. Pixels are the first phones in which Google took over all aspects of the hardware and software design, borrowing from Apple’s playbook, resulting in a superb, well-rounded smartphone. The cameras are excellent, certainly on par with the equally fine iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S7 shooters. What particularly stands out is the presence of the Google Assistant, the voice-driven, artificialintelligence-infused digital assistant. While not perfect, Assistant encourages you to have a conversation, helped out at times by contextual buttons on the screen with suggested replies. The phone runs the latest version of Android called Nougat and also supports Google’s new mobile Daydream virtual-reality headset. A 5-inch version starts at $649; the 5.5-inch Pixel XL model starts at $769. uSONY PLAYSTATION VR. This has been a breakout year of sorts for virtual reality headgear,
Samsung phone, falling drone top this year’s dubious list Jefferson Graham
@jeffersongraham USA TODAY
TALKING TECH
LOS
ANGELES
What’s worse, a phone that explodes in your face or a drone that falls from
the skies? It’s a question worth pondering as we embark on our annual list of the top tech turkeys of the year.
SHAWN L. MINTER, AP
A damaged Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on a table in Richmond, Va., after it caught fire. uNO. 1: THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7. The Samsung
Note 7 received rave reviews for wireless charging, water resistant design and the ability to unlock the phone with your iris. But weeks after the first shipments, consumers started reporting phones that were erupting in flames, causing damage to houses and cars. Samsung announced a recall and a massive replacement — and then the new phones started blowing up, too. Samsung, which could be on the hook for as much as $10 billion in lost sales and recall charges, pulled the Note 7 alto-
one. Using the Photoscan app and camera on your smartphone, you snap four pictures of the analog picture you’re trying to capture, by lining up each of the four small circles that appear on top of the image inside the app. And that’s it. Google’s software works its magic to mostly eliminate the glare that would have appeared had you taken a picture of the picture without the app. If satisfied with the result you can store the image inside Google Photos and at your discretion share it. PhotoScan even works with framed photos or pictures hanging on the wall. uPOKÉMON GO. I have to admit I got caught up in the viral frenzy that is Pokémon Go, Niantic Lab’s hit location-based mobile augmented reality app. Research firm Sensor Tower said Pokémon Go was the fastest mobile app to reach 10 million downloads and exceeded SNAP $200 million in worldwide net Snapchat Spectacles will be sold through yellow pop-up vending machines called Snapbots. revenue during its first month of and choosing a winner has a lot to called “mesh” networking tech- 10 that have garnered availability in do with your budget and perspec- nology and work together to ex- the most attention July. tive. uFACEBOOK tend the Wi-Fi signal throughout since Apple launched Google brought out the afore- your home. New addition: The the latest version of its LIVE. OK so mentioned $79 Daydream, which ability to take advantage of cer- mobile operating systechnically, Facecompetes most directly with tain “skills” through Amazon’s tem for iPhones and book Live Samsung’s $99.99 Gear VR, both Alexa voice, provided you have an iPads are the stickers launched in 2015, as Facedecent solutions for folks with Amazon, Echo, Echo Dot or Tap. and fanciful effects inbook’s livecompatible mobile phones. u ECHO DOT. Speaking of side the Messages apps, streaming alterAt the high-end of the VR spec- which, the $49.99 Echo Dot is the along with improvenative to trum, we saw the debuts of the smaller and considerably cheaper ments to Maps, Apple Meerkat and ($599, or $798 with soon-to-be version of Amazon’s standalone Music, Photos, home Twitter’s Periavailable Touch controllers) Ocu- Echo speaker; it looks like Ama- screen widgets and Siri. scope. But Facelus Rift and ($799) HTC Vive, the zon chopped an inch-and-a-half And yes, some of these book Live was latter of which exploits what is off the full-sized Echo model. Dot features find Apple originally limited contains its own speaker, and playing catchup to known as room-scale VR. Enter Sony PlayStation VR. At while it is not as good as the rivals. to designated $399.99, it isn’t exactly cheap ei- speaker inside the regular Echo, uGOOGLE PHOVIPs, and it was ther, and that price doesn’t in- you can connect it wirelessly TOSCAN. If you’re like only this past clude the required ($59.99) through Bluetooth to your own me, you have boxes of EDWARD C. BAIG, USA TODAY April that CEO camera, or the pair of motion better speakers. I’ve turned Dot old photo prints lying Google’s software Mark Zuckercontrollers ($99.99) that you’re (which has no screen) into a bed- around that you’d like works its magic in berg opened it probably going to want. And oh side companion. It’s a terrific way to restore or salvage in PhotoScan app. up to everyone on the gigantic yeah, you need a PlayStation 4 to get to know Alexa, which can digital form. You can console as well, which starts at deliver news, answer questions, certainly ship them off to a paid social network and went live $299.99 before any Black Friday play music, set an alarm or order service such as Scanmyphotos himself. uSNAPCHAT SPECTACLES. I discounts. But many already have an Uber, among its more than .com or iMemories.com, and if you have a ton of pics that might thought long and hard before inthe console, and either way the 4,000 voice-driven skills. uIOS 10. The features in iOS be the easiest, albeit costliest, way cluding Spectacles mainly beexperience is a lot cheaper than to handle the job. If you’ve got a cause the chances of any of you with Rift or Vive. flatbed scanner at your landing a pair anytime soon are u EERO. Until I installed the $399 eero disposal, you can certain- slim. The glasses are only sold Wi-Fi system in my ly employ that method as through yellow pop-up vending machines called Snapbots, which house, poky Internet well. was too-often the norm. But the new Photo turn up around the country with Eero solved that. It conScan app for iOS and An- minimal advanced notice to posists of what are essendroid, an offshoot of Goo- tential buyers. But the social gle’s excellent Photos media buzz around Snap’s tially three identical app, is a simple and sur- $129.99 sunglasses is unmistakInternet routers, each a WKG CREATIVE prisingly decent way to tackle the able, and you’ve got to give Snap small white box with no antennas task, if a bit slow as you go one by credit for brilliant marketing. sticking out. They exploit so- Eero has three routers.
2016 HAD ITS TURKEYS, TOO GoPro’s Karma drone in flight, but it didn’t remain aloft for long. gether. We now await word from dongle adapters that are really the company at January’s Con- easy to lose. But it’s a real turkey sumer Electronics Show about move for Apple to take away what’s next. these basic consumer expectauNO. 2: FALLING DRONES. tions and expect to get away with GoPro’s Karma drone, its first, it. had so much going for it. For uNO. 4: CONSUMER$1,100, you got a new GoPro Hero FRIENDLY 360. The handful of affordable 360-degree vir5 camera, a grip stabilizer tual reality cameras to bring drone-camavailable are either era-like fluidity to so-so quality, or just land shots, and a too complicated backpack. I loved for consumers. the video images That includes the from the Hero 5, Ricoh Theta and and the ease of 360Fly cameras, use of the drone which are relativecontroller was ly easy to use but simple. Then conhave just-OK video sumers started showquality, or the new Niing videos of Karma kon KeyMission 360, drones losing power midGRAHAM, air, and GoPro announced JEFFERSONUSA which has terrific 4K imTODAY a recall just two weeks af- KeyMission age quality, but is sorely ter the initial release. shoots 360- lacking in simple set-up. uNO. 3: MISSING degree virtu- (The Samsung Gear 360 PORTS. Apple thought it will only record when al reality could introduce a new videos. paired with one brand of iPhone successfully withphone — the Galaxy.) out a headphone jack, or We’re still waiting for the even worse, new Macs with no breakthrough consumer 360 deslot to charge an ... iPhone. Yes, gree VR camera — 2016 wasn’t there’s a workaround with little the year.
JEFFERSON GRAHAM, USA TODAY
uNO. 5: CHARGING WOES. I love the idea of the Fitbit Blaze, a fitness watch that doesn’t try to do more than let you know about your heart rate, steps and the time. What I didn’t like was having to take the watch out of its frame to charge to an oddball doodad that was proprietary to the Blaze. The end result: I don’t wear it. uNO. 6: BOTS. In April Facebook introduced a new way to have conversations with chat bots in Messenger as a way of reaching customer service quicker or to engage in e-commerce. Well, it must have seemed like a great idea to somebody. Even more notifications coming from an app associated with friends? And the experience is on par with com-
Google Home.
puter trees on phone calls. Slow, maddening and ineffective. uNO. 7: “SORRY, I CAN’T HELP WITH THAT.” Speaking of robots, we like the look and price ($99 holiday) of Google’s answer to Amazon’s Alexa in Google Home. But when it can’t even answer some of the questions Google suggests we try in its press materials (“List all my events on December 5th,” “Set Go to Gym alarm,”) you know this was a product that was released before it was ready. uNO. 8: HEY SIRI, GET IT TOGETHER. And keeping with the robot motif, this was supposed to be the year that Apple’s Siri was finally, ready for prime time, by opening it up to thirdparty apps in September. How’s that working for you iPhone users? Five years in, and Siri still misses more than she gets.
LILY CAMERA
The Lily camera still isn’t available to consumers.
uNO. 9: THE FLYING CAMERA THAT NEVER SAW FLIGHT.
The Lily Camera sounded like a dream come true. No flying skills needed, just throw it in the air and watch it fly and record your hikes, cycling and skating excursions. The Lily camera won a coveted CES innovation award in January, took in over $34 million in pre-sales, but has yet to see the light of day. There’s not even a buy button on its website. uNO. 10: CLINTON WILL WIN! Finally, no bigger turkey than those online polls that assured us they knew how the election of 2016 was going to turn out. It turns out online polls are just as ineffective as phone polls.