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Oppo will revive its Find smartphone line on June 19th
Just recently, Oppo launched a dedicated website for the Find series, hinting at its return after four years of hibernation. Now, the Chinese phonemaker has confirmed that the line is coming back: Oppo will launch its new flagship, the Find X, at the Louvre Museum in Paris on June 19th. It's keeping details under wraps until the event, but in the press materials it sent out, the company listed all the technologies it launched since it launched the last Find phone back in 2014. It mentioned the 5x dual camera zoom it debuted at MWC 2017, its fast charging tech that can fully charge a 2,500 mAH battery in 15 minutes, as well that time it demoed a 5G video call using 3D structured light technology.
Blue Origin will livestream its first test flight of 2018
Blue Origin is gearing up for its eighth test flight, which also happens to be its first for 2018, on April 29th. Thankfully, it's one we'll be able to watch: Blue Origin chief Jeff Bezos has announced on Twitter that it's live streaming the event on Sunday. The company hasn't posted the stream's details yet, but you can expect it to go live around 8:30AM CDT (9:30AM Eastern) when the launch window opens.
Spotify streaming comes to Sky Q boxes
Spotify is available on Sky Q from today, letting you play music via your Sky Soundbox or stream music to your TV speakers via AirPlay or Bluetooth. It's the first high-profile app to come to the platform since it launched two years ago, and its arrival kickstarts the raft of new features -- including machine learning, additional voice commands, a new kids mode and a wide-screen user interface -- which were announced for the service earlier this year.
The world's largest aircraft may finally take off this summer
Turns out there's a reason Stratolaunch has been ramping up its taxi tests: The company has revealed at the 34th Space Symposium that it's planning to conduct the massive plane's first flight this summer. With a wingspan measuring 385 feet, the 500,000-pound, twin-fuselage aircraft is the largest plane in the world. It has already gone through two taxi tests these past few months, with top speeds hitting 28MPH and 46MPH. However, it still has to go through three more taxi tests before it can finally take to the skies, two years after its original target date.
Russian cosmonauts are really into 'World of Tanks'
You'd be forgiven for thinking Fortnite and PUBG were the only games in existence at the moment, given the amount of noise surrounding them. But an upcoming gaming event, launched from actual space, shows that long-established games are still making their mark. Today, in one of the wildest endorsements ever, World of Tanks unveiled a Stellar Bonus event from the International Space Station (ISS), in celebration of the International Day of Human Space Flight.
Rocket Lab will try to launch its first commercial mission this month
New Zealand based launch company Rocket Lab has had multiple successful test drives, and now it's ready for the real thing. The company announced this morning that its first commercial launch is scheduled to occur this month. The launch window will open on April 20th and will last for 14 days. The Electron rocket will lift off from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia peninsula in New Zealand.
Watch SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch its internet satellite payload (updated)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 is blasting into the skies today carrying Hisdesat's PAZ satellite, which will spend five and a half years carrying out radar and imaging work for the Spanish government and businesses. The launch, which uses a first stage booster previously used last August during the FORMOSAT-5 mission, will also have on board SpaceX's first demonstration satellites for its proposed satellite broadband service, which will be tested out before a full constellation launch over the next five years. Weather permitting, you'll be able to watch the launch live on PAZ's YouTube channel at 9AM EST (6AM PST), although a back-up window has been scheduled for Thursday, February 22nd, should things go awry -- since today's launch was initially slated for February 17th, that's not entirely unfeasible. Update 2/21/18 9:27AM ET: SpaceX has announced that the launch will be delayed until February 22nd due to strong winds. Standing down today due to strong upper level winds. Now targeting launch of PAZ for February 22 at 6:17 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base. — SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 21, 2018
SpaceX to launch its satellite internet prototypes this weekend (update: delay)
For years, Elon Musk has been talking about his plans to launch thousands of low-orbiting satellites that will be able to provide high speed internet to people around the globe. While the details of those satellites have been kept largely under wraps, we've known that the first round of prototypes were nearing a launch date, and according to a letter posted on the FCC's website yesterday (and spotted by CNET), the first two test satellites will be placed into orbit this weekend.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch gets a spacesuit-clad 'Starman'
The debut launch of the Falcon Heavy will be a serious and complex affair, but SpaceX boss Elon Musk is trying to boost the fun level to maximum. Not only is he using a cherry red Tesla Roadster as ballast for the first test, he's placed a dummy wearing SpaceX's stylish new space suit in the driver's seat, according to a new Instagram post. "Starman in Red Roadster," Musk wrote, a reference to the fact that the EV will supposedly be blasting David Bowie's Space Oddity.
Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S9 on February 25th
Samsung has started sending out invites for the Unpacked event this year, where it will take the wraps off the Galaxy S9. The date? February 25th. Its upcoming flagship phone will make its debut at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, just like what DJ Koh, the Korean conglomerate's mobile chief, promised at CES. The teaser Samsung posted on Twitter hints at the S9's "reimagined camera." While the company didn't say anything more than that, one of the phone's rumored features is a variable aperture camera.
Don’t call it a dildo: Kiiroo and OhMiBod on the future of sex toys
CES may have a complicated relationship with sex, but one company at the world's largest technology conference has made it its mission to destigmatize doing it. For the past seven years, the family-run sex-toy manufacturer OhMiBod has made the trek to Las Vegas in an attempt to gain mainstream distribution for its line of tech-savvy pleasure products. This year, the company has partnered with one of the leaders in interactive sex toys, Kiiroo, to create an internet-connected vibrator that can communicate with the Fleshlight-branded Launch male masturbator. OhMiBod's Fuse claims to be the first of its kind to offer bi-directional control -- basically, allowing either the stroker or the vibrator to send sensations to the other device from long distances. Both devices also promise to sync with VR and traditional porn and can be used by webcam models to give their clients an extra-sensory experience. The Fuse can be purchased online, and you can see the devices for yourself at the Las Vegas Convention Center's South hall through the remainder of CES. The Kiiroo Launch is now available for $220 and the OhMiBod Fuse can be had for $150. I sat down with Kiiroo founder Toon Timmermans and OhMiBod's Suki and Brian Dunham at CES 2018 to talk about the future of long-distance love and learned a lesson in interactive sex-toy branding: Whatever you do, don't call it a dildo!
SpaceX reportedly lost the mysterious Zuma satellite (update: SpaceX denies launch troubles)
While SpaceX successfully relanded the most recent Falcon 9 it launched -- Elon Musk even tweeted about it -- its top secret payload apparently met a different fate. According to The Wall Street Journal, Zuma failed to make it to orbit, and authorities believe it has plummeted back into the atmosphere. No government agency stepped forward to claim the satellite, but industry experts estimate its cost to be billions of dollars. WSJ says the satellite didn't separate from Falcon 9's upper stage as it should have, but Bloomberg reports that it was the rocket's second stage itself that had failed.
SpaceX launches NASA resupply mission with reused rocket and capsule
Today SpaceX launched its first reused rocket for NASA. Both the Falcon 9 rocket itself and the Dragon capsule have been used prior to this resupply mission. Back in June, Elon Musk's spacefaring venture put a reused capsule in orbit, but this trip to the International Space Station marks the first time that NASA has used a "flight proven" booster on a mission (read: reused) according to CNBC. Based on the livestream, everything seems to have gone well: SpaceX successfully landed the rocket, which means it could potentially make its third flight in the future.
Watch SpaceX launch a reused capsule on a recycled rocket
SpaceX is making an historic first on Wednesday, when it gets one step closer towards realizing its vision of reusable space launch gear. The private space company is launching a space station resupply mission using a refurbished Dragon spacecraft and a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster. Dragon will spend around a month at the International Space Station unloading supplies and filling up with return cargo before returning to Earth, while SpaceX plans to recover Falcon 9 by landing it at its LZ-1 facility at Cape Canaveral. Both parts have been used on other resupply missions before, and if SpaceX's dreams come to fruition, they'll be used again. Watch them blast off live on Wednesday December 13 at 11:24 AM EST (08:24 AM PST).
Android Oreo for low-powered phones launches today
Google is finally releasing the bare bones version of Android it showed off at I/O 2017 back in May. The tech titan is making Android Oreo Go available to manufacturers with Android 8.1, which is scheduled to drop anytime within the next 24 hours. This optimized version of Google's mobile OS was created specifically for devices with only 512MB to 1GB of memory. It was built to be lighter and to run faster on phones that don't come with big ROMs and the most advanced components money can buy, with core apps that are 50 percent smaller and 15 percent faster than their full-sized counterparts.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch has been pushed to next year
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket has been gearing up for its inaugural launch for quite some time, but multiple delays keep pushing that event later and later. The SpaceX team had most recently been shooting for a launch before the end of this year, but according to reports from Aviation Week and confirmed to us by SpaceX, Falcon Heavy probably won't see a launch before next year.
Rocket Lab schedules second Electron test launch for December 8th
On Friday, December 8th at 2:30 PM New Zealand time (8:30 PM ET), a 10-day window will open for a launch of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket. The window will be open for four hours each day. This second test is called "Still Testing"; the rocket will launch from the company's facility on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula. It will be the first launch that Rocket Lab has live streamed to the public.
SpaceX is launching a secret mission called 'Zuma'
On November 16th, between 8PM and 10PM Eastern, SpaceX is sending a secret payload called "Zuma" beyond our atmosphere. The aerospace corporation test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket on November 11th with the intention of launching the mission on the 15th. While the latest target date was moved by a day, and it could be delayed again, Zuma needs to launch by November 30th. Why it absolutely needs to be in position by the end of this month isn't clear, though -- not when we know next to nothing about the mission.
NASA insists its Mars rocket will still launch in 2019
NASA is aiming to launch its deep space-bound Space Launch System (SLS) in December 2019, even though a review has suggested it's not likely to fly until mid-2020. The launch date has already been pushed back once due to technical issues, but NASA is confident it will hit its 2019 target and has taken steps to "protect" the launch date.
Leaked HTC U11 Plus video reveals a bigger battery and screen
A hands-on video featuring the upcoming HTC U11 Plus has been leaked to Facebook, showing that the flagship phone will be available in a translucent option, as well as black and silver. Evan Bass, who's known for leaking tech specs, also confirmed the translucent option in a tweet. The video has since been taken down, but the inevitable copies still available online show the U11 Plus will have a six-inch display, 4,000 mAh battery and 128GB of storage (other storage options, if any, are yet to be confirmed). A closer look also reveals a coil beneath the shell, which could indicate wireless charging capabilities.
