Whats new in TECH - February 19th - February 25th

DJI Air Setting The Standards

We begin this week with yet more news in the drone industry. DJI announced and revealed their new Mavic Air. This little drone is out to set the standards for personal drones. The Mavic Air still sports the folding arms of the 2016 Mavic, but in a smaller, sleeker form factor. Folded up, the entire drone is about the size of a smartphone.

PC: https://www.pocket-lint.com/drones/reviews/dji/141676-dji-spark-review-the-tiny-drone-that-makes-you-feel-like-a-jedi

In the weight class, the Mavic Air is an impressive 41% lighter than the Mavic Pro Platinum. Now Let's talk about the camera. The Air features a 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor with a 24mm f2.8 lens. This little camera can shoot 12MP stills and record stabilized 4K videos up to 30 fps. The video stabilization comes from the 3-axis gimbal, making the Air the smallest drone to feature one.

PC: http://www.capetowntours.photography/dji-mavic-air-comparison-review-2018/

In the case of emergency, such as when you can’t find your SD card, the Air comes included with an 8GB internal storage.

The Mavic Air has 7 on board cameras that are reinforced by magnesium alloy brackets to provide a more durable yet robust framework for better performance. The onboard cameras form an updated Flight Autonomy 2.0 system, which makes the Mavic Air the most intelligent of its kind. The new system enables a three-directional environment sensing system: forward, downward, and rear dual cameras sense the 3-D environment in real time. This helps with the active-track feature, which allows you to sense up to 16 selectable subjects simultaneously, and enables you to choose the right tracking subject.

PC: https://www.digitaltrends.com/drone-reviews/dji-mavic-air-review/

This precision allows active-track to follow targets weather they are running, jumping, or cycling. The Mavic Air can reach a top speed of 68.4 kph (roughly 42 mph). This little drone contains a lot in the small package, and the standard Mavic Air (arctic white) will run $799 USD (which is $200 less than the standard Mavic Pro). DJI continues to release new drones that are revolutionizing the industry. In just two years, I have seen some of the most astounding drones come into the market, and I look forward to what the future has in store.

AT&T 5G

On Tuesday, AT&T wireless announced the first cities that will obtain their 5G networks. AT&T has plans to install 5G networks in 12 cities by the end of 2018. On the top of the list is Atlanta, Georgia, and Dallas and Waco, Texas. Other cities have yet to be announced. Many carriers have been trying 5G networks for a while now. AT&T says this rollout will be based on the 3GPP standard and will be able to operate on the millimeter wave, or mmWave, spectrum.

PC: https://www.reviewgeek.com/2105/att-announces-plan-to-bring-5g-to-dallas-waco-and-atlanta/

5G wireless is believed to offer peak speeds of several gigabits per second at lower latency than the already existing 4G networks.

SVP of Wireless Network Architecture and Design at AT&T, Igal Elbaz, stated that, “After significantly contributing to the first phase of 5G standards, conducting multi-city trials, and literally transforming our network for the future, we’re planning to be the first carrier to deliver standards-based mobile 5g - and to do it much sooner than most people thought possible.” With this in mind, the rollout of the 5G service is ahead of consumer 5G devices.

PC: https://www.reviewgeek.com/2105/att-announces-plan-to-bring-5g-to-dallas-waco-and-atlanta/

Both hardware makers and wireless carriers need to closely time the launch of 5G devices and networks because if one ends up launching at an earlier date, the other will suffer. You can expect major hardware makers to announce some of the first 5G devices in the upcoming week at Mobile World Congress.

AirPods Become The New Buddy of Apple Watches

PC: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2358246

Do you wish you had a safe place to put your AirPods when you take them out? Are you tired of the risk of losing or breaking your AirPods when they are not in your ears? The SuperheroDIY shop at Etsy has an AirPod holder, which is a custom, high-resolution 3D printed piece that is designed to fit on your Apple Watch.

PC: https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/6m38av/3dprinted_airpods_holder_for_the_apple_watch/

The shop owner describes the holders as “Tight enough to hold them in, but easy enough to get the AirPods out! It is also small enough as to not interfere with your movements and stays in place on your watch band!” The band is now available in black, red, or green plastic, and the owner says you can request a custom color. The price for the holder is just $9.00.

Samsung galaxy S9 Leaks

PC: https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/19/samsung-galaxy-s9-dual-camera-leak/

With the actual release of the Samsung Galaxy S9 right around the corner, the company is having trouble keeping the lid on the box. The public has been given a long list of specs, possible pricing, and detail images. The rumors so far give the Galaxy S9 the following specs:

PC: https://mspoweruser.com/more-real-life-samsung-galaxy-s9-pictures-leak/

• Display resolution: QHD+ (1440x2960)

• Display size: 5.8-inch

• Display tech: Super AMOLED

• Chipset: Exynos 9810/Snapdragon 845

• RAM: 4GB

• Storage: 64GB/128GB

• Rear camera: 12MP

• Front camera: 8MP

• Battery: 3,000mAh

• Rear fingerprint scanner, Waterproof, Wireless charging.

The Galaxy S9 launch date is set for tomorrow, February 25, according to Samsung’s unpacked 2018 invite that the company sent out. The pricing for the new piece of tech is said to range from $1,000 to $1220 depending on if you get the S9 or S9 plus. As for the design of the phone, it is to have smaller bezels than the S8, A repositioned fingerprint scanner below the rear camera, and the headphone jack will remain.

PC: https://techviral.net/samsung-galaxy-s9-galaxy-s9-plus-coming-soon/

The camera will be a single-lens camera with variable aperture, super slow-motion video, and Mobile HDR video recording. The battery will be a 3,000mAh battery that is “More power efficient,” which is the same as the S8.

Tech Joke of The Week:

There are only two hard things in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors.

Works Cited

AT&T announced late Tuesday it will first roll out 5G to three locations: Dallas. “AT&T Names First Three Cities to Get Its Ultra-Fast 5G Network.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, money.cnn.com/2018/02/20/technology/att-5g-mobile-network-cities/index.html.

Burns, Matt. “AT&T Names Atlanta, Dallas and Waco First of 12 US Cities to Get 5G Wireless.” TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 21 Feb. 2018, techcrunch.com/2018/02/21/att-names-atlanta-dallas-and-waco-first-of-12-us-cities-to-get-5g-wireless/.

“Buy Mavic Air.” DJI Store, store.dji.com/product/mavic-air?site=brandsite&from=mavic_air_buy_now_bottom&vid=38961.

Cloninger, Janet. “Add a Secure AirPod Holder to the Apple Watch Band.” The Gadgeteer, The Gadgeteer, 21 Feb. 2018, the-gadgeteer.com/2018/02/21/add-a-secure-airpod-holder-to-the-apple-watch-band/.

Epstein, Zach. “Massive High-Resolution Images of the Galaxy S9 Just Leaked.” BGR, 21 Feb. 2018, bgr.com/2018/02/21/samsung-galaxy-s9-release-date-announcement-soon-new-leak/.

Kelly, Gordon. “Galaxy S9 Leak 'Confirms' Samsung's Expensive Secret.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 Feb. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2018/02/22/samsung-galaxy-s9-price-release-date-specs-galaxy-s9-plus/#3ab5b1a36008.