When we’re browsing the web with our phones, bandwidth is usually at a premium. Even carriers that promise unlimited bandwidth often pin an asterisk to the end of that statement that reminds us that they don’t really mean that. Google’s new image compression tool might just help save you some of those precious 4G bytes. I’d like to introduce you to Google’s most recent application of its machine-learning technology RAISR, or Rapid and Accurate Super Image Resolution.
RAISR upsampling takes a thumbnail of an image and uses machine-learning algorithms to try and figure out what detail went into the original, larger version. This in turn allows Google to serve upsampled images that use up to 75% less bandwidth of the original, while still retaining most the visual detail.
Right now, Google is only applying the technology to its Google+ service, and even then only to a subset of the images on the service. This will change as Google starts to roll the technology out to more of its services „in the coming weeks. “
If you’ve been watching HBO’s Silicon Valley , this looks a bit like life imitating art. There’s no word if Google is going to keep this technology for itself or release it to the public like Brotli , but it’d be neat to see it used in other image-heavy services like Facebook and Amazon.

© Source: http://techreport.com/news/31286/google-raisr-upsamples-thumbnails-for-massive-bandwidth-savings
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.

Andy Rubin, the creator of Android, is reportedly working on high-end smartphone that could challenge the industry’s top dogs, including the iPhone and Google Pixel.
Sources speaking with Bloomberg divulged the device, which will actually be the focal point of a number of consumer hardware products, including some for the home, created by a new company Rubin has formed called Essential.
Essential’s phone, though still wading through the prototype stage, has a number of impressive-sounding features. These include a large edge-to-edge display, no bezel, a ceramic back and the ability to add-on hardware via its charging port. Artificial intelligence also sounds to be a major part of the handset, as it will be in Essential’s other products.
At least one prototype of the phone has a screen that bests the iPhone 7 Plus display in size, one source said.
In addition to its top-of-the-line materials and features, the most intriguing aspect of the phone is its ability to support accessories that plug into its charging port.
This innovation would help the device standout in the crowded smartphone world, especially against modular devices, which have so far come up short. It would also give users more out of the phone, allowing them to swap out accessories as needed and utilizing it for more functions than what we’ve grown accustomed to on the software side.
One such accessory that’s currently being developed is a spherical camera that snaps 360-degree photos, according to Bloomberg.
While today’s report offers a trove of details to chew on, one thing remains a mystery: it’s still unclear if the phone – or any of Essential’s products – will rely on an operating system based on the software Rubin created.
Rubin is best known as the Father of Android, which he sold to Google in 2005. After turning Android over to now-CEO Sundar Pichai in 2013, Rubin moved to moonshot robotics projects before leaving Google in 2014.
He went on to start Playground Global, a company that invests in and incubates startups. Now, he seems prepared to launch yet another firm, one with hardware at its core.
The wheels certainly seem to be turning for the phone, and according to the report, Rubin wants to put it on sale by mid-year at a cost that goes up against the iPhone 7 ’s $649/£599/AU$1,079 price tag.
Will we see this phone, and the rest of Essential’s workshop wares, before long? Or is it destined to go quietly into the night, never to be heard from again? With so many key details already surfacing, we’re betting on the former.

© Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techradar/allnews/~3/H8QwqUn1heo/the-creator-of-android-is-reportedly-working-on-a-high-end-smartphone
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.

We knew a few things about Nintendo’s upcoming Switch hybrid home-handheld hybrid console after the first reveal back in October , and the rumor mill speculated on additional things like screen resolution and details on the Nvidia-sourced SoC. Yesterday, the house that Mario built offered more details about the Switch , including a release date, a list of launch titles, and pricing for the system and its first-party accessories.
Nintendo will launch the Switch worldwide on March 3. The base system includes the Switch tablet console, a left-right pair of detachable Joy-Con controllers, wrist straps for each of those pieces, grips to link the pair of Joy-Cons into a single handheld controller, and the requisite AC adapter and HDMI cable. The 6.2″ built-in screen has a resolution of 1280×720, as the rumor mill predicted.
The Mario-maker says that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and display-less party game 1-2 Switch will be available on launch day. Has-Been Heroes , I Am Setsuna , Just Dance 2017 , Skylanders: Imaginators , Snipperclips , and Super Bomberman R are expected before the end of March. Meanwhile, Super Mario Odyssey is scheduled for a holiday 2017 release. Nintendo says that 1-2 Switch , Snipperclips , and Zelda: Breath of the Wild are Switch-exclusive titles.
The company adds that 80 titles are in development, from a range of in-house and third-party development studios. Fans of imported games will be delighted to learn that the Switch will have no region-locking , too.
The Switch console package will cost $300 when it launches on March 3, and it can be preordered right away. Buyers interested in connecting it to multiple televisions and playing multiplayer games may want to consider buying two consoles, as the dock will sell for $90, matched pairs of Joy-Cons will cost $80, and individual Joy-Cons will command $50. The more conventional Nintendo Switch Pro Controller will set buyers back $70.
If you’re following along, assuming one intends to purchase an extra dock and pair of Joy-Cons, the second console would then cost only an additional $130. Nintendo has all the information about the console and first-party accessories for your perusal here.

© Source: http://techreport.com/news/31283/nintendo-reveals-switch-launch-date-pricing-and-initial-line-up
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.