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Fashions fade, but Acer's selfie sombrero is forever
Once the Earth has burned and all that remains is humanity's high score floating on the arcade cabinet of the universe, aliens will wonder what the 2010-2020 generation contributed to culture. Googly-eyed academics will scrub through countless Twitter posts, news programs and songs to reveal that, for some reason, we were all obsessed with documenting our own faces with relentless abandon. Acer's contribution to our mutually assured destruction vanity is to team up with fashion designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis, who adapted his trademark pink glitter suit and visor hat into something more selfie-appropriate.
Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the Selfie Brush
Imagine waking up one day, wondering what you'd have done with your life if you hadn't listened to your parents and gone into the family hairbrush business. "Everyone needs hairbrushes," they said, waggling a warning finger at your infant face, "it's a stable job, and it's not as if you're going to be a Hollywood actor, eh?" they'd add. The only downside to this, of course, is that every day of your life is the same because, after all, every hairbrush that could have been invented has already been invented. Then, one day you listen to the song Selfie by The Chainsmokers, and all of a sudden a bolt of inspiration hits you. Selfies are, by their very nature, an act of vanity, so why wouldn't people want to fix their hair before immortalizing themselves on Instagram? Furiously, you run downstairs to your basement design lab and, after a month of sleepless nights, using a coffee can as an impromptu latrine and emaciated from a lack of food, you emerge with the Selfie Brush.
Smiley Alarm Clock is how the selfie generation wakes up
Capitalizing on the selfie craze, the Smiley Alarm Clock aims to start your morning off with a smile. Unfortunately, the app, which requires iOS 7.1 and works on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, leads to frustration and general annoyance. The concept is simple. When the alarm goes off you grab your phone and pose for a morning selfie. In theory, the app snaps a photo and the alarm turns off when it detects your smile. Once Smiley Alarm Clock takes your photo you can share the picture on Instagram or Facebook. Undoubtedly you'll include the hashtag #iwokeuplike this, or something similar. But who wants to take a picture of their morning face, let alone share it with the world? Not me. You couldn't even pay me to do it, as is evident by the loads of makeup I'm wearing in these pictures. I'm sure there are people who do this under the safety of Instagram filters, but Smiley Alarm Clock has zero filters to hide the bags under your eyes. Beyond the problematic concept, there are two major flaws with the app itself. You'll notice that I used the phrase "in theory" earlier and that's because the app doesn't do what it says it does. I spent a full 60 seconds smiling my face off and the app never took a photo and never shut off the alarm. You can manually shut off the alarm, but then what's the point of the app? This happened more than once, leaving me extremely frustrated. I tested this out in the afternoon; pretty sure it would've left me enraged had this happened at 7am. The second flaw is somewhat amusing but mostly annoying. You would think that the app would take your photo when your face is positioned nicely in the center of the screen and you look awesome. Nope. I took about 15 test shots and all but two of them turned out decently. A few of them only captured my forehead and eyes because the app didn't wait for me to position my phone correctly. Considering the camera is supposed to be triggered by a smile, those were pretty odd photos for it to take. Most of the time, I had to move my phone around randomly until it took a picture. These were the most unflattering pictures ever and were taken from very weird angles. They will never see the light of day. I wouldn't be surprised if the developer is deliberately trolling us here. Oh, and you don't even have to smile for it to work. Incidentally, this image sums up exactly how I feel about this app. When you're already not a morning person, the last thing you want is to fake a smile and pretend you don't hate how you look when you haven't had your first cup of coffee. However, if you are really into how you look in the morning, Smiley Alarm Clock is available for free in the App Store with an in-app purchase for extra alarm sounds.
HTC One M8 for Windows, 'Halo 2: Anniversary' and other stories you might've missed
This week, we got our hands on the HTC One M8 for Windows, anticipated the release of Halo 2: Anniversary, learned about monkey selfie rights, investigated issues with Secret's anonymity and more! Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last seven days. Oh, and be sure to subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
Twitter can now prompt attachments via hashtag
Thinking about using a hashtag in your next tweet? Watch out -- Twitter might use it as an excuse to attach a video or image to your message. A promotion for ABC's new TV comedy "Selfie" revealed that Twitter can now prompt users to attach media to a tweet based on the hashtags they use. iOS users who compose a message with #SelfieABC, for instance, will be asked if they want to attach the TV show's first episode in the tweet.
Selfie cameras that look like perfume bottles are going to be a thing
It's no secret that girls in China are obsessed with taking selfies, but there's also a local trend of slapping a Chanel perfume bottle case onto their phones. No, we don't understand, either. Nevertheless, Sony is seizing this opportunity by releasing a new Cyber-shot camera that not only looks like a perfume bottle, but its big lens -- encased in a clear brick with a gold accent -- can also be flipped around to suit your needs. While it seems that Sony's seeded this bizarre device to several Chinese female influencers and models, they're remaining tight-lipped about the specs, but all will be revealed in China on August 22nd.
'Antiselfie' app uses face tracking to ruin your best pout
The onward march of the selfie, there's no stopping it. Many people shudder at the slightest mention of the (now official) word. Others need only the flimsiest (and sometimes eyebrow-raising) reason to extend one arm and assume the duck face. Unsurprisingly, as with any part of popular culture, there's a backlash. SLMMSK is an "antiselfie" app for iOS (and Android eventually) that subverts the selfie, using the art form's very own weapon of choice -- the filter -- to obscure, rather than enhance, the subject's face. The app also adds a CCTV-esque grain effect and VHS-style timestamp to ramp up the underground vibe. You just need to pull your best grin, say YOLO, and take the snap. The "filters" include a black censor bar, heavy pixelation, warping and more. The dislike for selfies doesn't extend to social sharing though -- you can upload your best shots to Instagram and Facebook and jostle for attention among the uncensored self portraits as per usual. Judging by the associated (and equally anarchic-looking) website, you might even increase your infamy by bagging a featured spot.
OnePlus pulls sexist selfie contest (update: regrets 'misguided effort' to involve more women)
When you're looking to celebrate a milestone for your company's forums, what's the best way to do so? How about a sexist photo contest where the entrant that nabs the most likes gets a the chance to buy a phone? Sounds like a terrible idea. Well, that's just what OnePlus did to commemorate 200K registered message board users. In order to be eligible, ladies (no boys allowed) had to draw the outfit's logo on a piece of paper or on their body, take a picture of themselves and post it in the contest thread. The top 50 "most well-liked" women would earn a t-shirt, and if there were at least 500 entries, OnePlus promised an invite to purchase it's One smartphones to "our favorite photo." So yes, the winner still had to pay for the device they "won." As you might've guessed, folks around the internet expressed their rage almost immediately and links to the contest thread are dead several hours later. We've reached out to see if the promotion has officially been pulled and what OnePlus has to say about it, but it looks like the masses have prevailed. Update: OnePlus has provided a statement in response to our query, and is apologetic about a "misguided" effort to reach out to women. The company says it's "thrilled to have a small but growing number of women active in our online community," and deeply regrets any offense caused. You can read the statement in full after the break.
Microsoft's new, selfie-friendly Windows Phone gets caught on camera
Rumors have swirled of Microsoft making a new Windows Phone that's all about selfies, and it now looks like that portrait-oriented device is about to become a reality. WPCentral has scored photos of a prototype for the mid-range "Superman" (rumored to be named the Lumia 730) that would reportedly pack a 5-megapixel camera up front. That's on par with what you'll find on some Android phones, but it's a big step up from the modest 1.3MP cam on the Lumia 720 this will likely replace. There's no definitive evidence of the sensor, though, and it's tough to verify additional claims of a 4.7-inch screen -- don't be surprised if the specs are different if and when Superman shows up.
Engadget Daily: Uber's legal battle, Foursquare's new identity and more!
Today, we take a few selfies, investigate Uber's legal struggles, learn about home automation with the Ninja Sphere, go hands-on with Foursquare's new app and more. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
You can't stop the selfie
You can't escape the selfie. No one can. Celebrities do it; politicians do it; and it's likely you or someone you know has done it. Selfies have become so ubiquitous that it was dubbed Word of the Year in 2013, and it's even entered the Oxford Dictionary, where it's defined as "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website." The latter part of that description is why the selfie is more than just a simple self-portrait -- it's meant to be shared. One could argue -- and James Franco certainly has -- that the selfie is a window into one's personality. It's a quick way to show the world who you are on the internet -- like an online avatar if you will. I'll admit I've taken a few selfies myself, but always with a twinge of guilt that I was being shallow or vain. That guilt, however, is apparently not a concern for the majority of us. Selfies have well and truly permeated popular culture to, as you'll see in the gallery here, ridiculous levels. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
New photo app is all Selfies, all the time
We know what you're thinking, but a new app called Selfies is actually kind of fun, considering that it's a barely-promoted one-off from Automattic (the company responsible for WordPress). It told TechCrunch that Selfies was in development for eight weeks or so as part of the Gravatar universal avatar app before it became a separate thing. Trying the app showed that its basic-ness is part of the kick, since it let us post our own pic right after logging on. (We also found it to be a little rough around the edges with a few crashes.) Right now, there's just a single public feed showing ever photo, but the company has plans to filter the best content soon. You can try it now for yourself, but only on Android -- the company narrowly picked that platform to launch it first thanks to a user poll.
YouTube Find: Watch the amazing healing of a facial injury in this daily iPhone selfie video
This "selfie a day" photographer had the unfortunate experienced of being "glassed" a few months into his daily photo project. From that day forward, his selfies took on new meaning as they documented his terrible facial injury, the resulting scar and his eventual transformative healing. The stills were captured using the Everyday app from Little Pixels. [Via Reddit]
Sony belatedly gets in on the selfie trend with the Xperia C3
Selfies are so popular that not only is the President getting in on the action, but ABC's even named its newest TV show after the trend. Not to be outdone, Sony is debuting the Xperia C3, a mid-range smartphone whose most notable feature is the 5-megapixel wide-angle lens and LED flash for self portraits. Beyond the snapper itself, the company is also boasting about the software enhancements like retouching, auto-scene modes and quick sharing to ensure your Instagram friends will be, you know, totes jel. There's a 5.5-inch 720p IPS display up, shielding a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, with support for 64GB microSD cards and a 2,500mAh battery. Other features include dual SIM-card slots, NFC, Blueototh 4.0 and Android 4.4.2. The handset will begin its world tour in China from August, presumably meandering over to Western shores shortly after.
Engadget Daily: OnePlus One review, new Nintendo consoles, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Flickr struggles to capture the selfie generation
Flickr's latest app is its best yet, but even that might not be enough to save it. I posted my first-ever selfie on Flickr on July 11, 2004. Taken with the rear camera of a Sony Ericsson T616, the photo was horrendously grainy at a resolution of 288 x 352. But at the time, taking a picture with my phone and uploading it to a website (via MMS, no less) was a strange and wonderful thing. I would soon grow to use Flickr for photos taken with a regular camera as well, but it was that initial brush with mobile technology that drew me into its fold.
Aviary for iOS appeals to tweens with blemish-removing selfie tools
You know what veritable selfie addicts would love to get for their birthday? A fairy godmother to magically erase their flaws -- or a darn good photo editor. Aviary claims the newest version of its Photo Editor for iOS is a cross between the two. After all, it has a brand new selfie suite that people can use to edit their photos to the nines before uploading them to Facebook to be judged by their peers. This wondrous suite features a Blemish tool that can magically zap those zits into oblivion with just one tap of its virtual wand and a Blur tool to soften the lines and wrinkles of more mature selfie enthusiasts. It also has an upgraded Red Eye Remover, as well as a Teeth Whitening Tool that can instantly bleach those yellowing chompers. Other than making users look good, the updated app also comes with new one-tap enhance tools and an undo/redo option that's absolutely necessary in people's quest for selfie perfection.
White House has had legal talks with Samsung about that presidential selfie
It isn't quite the selfie-retweeted-'round-the-world, but that hasn't stopped the White House from answering questions about David Ortiz's impromptu snapshot with the president. Obama's senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer made an appearance on Face the Nation to talk about serious matters like the state of the Affordable Healthcare Act, but didn't shy away from host Bob Schieffer's questions about the above picture (those start around the 5:47 mark). Pfeiffer said that the president didn't know anything about Samsung's connection with Big Papi, and that whenever someone is using the president to promote a product, that's concern for the White House's counsel. On the topic of legal action, Pfeiffer said that the while the White House has spoken with Samsung, he'd rather leave the outcome of that conversation between the lawyers. "Maybe this will be the end of all selfies," he said. We can only hope. [Image credit: David Ortiz, Twitter]
White House miffed after Samsung uses an Obama selfie as an ad
Did you catch the selfie that the Red Sox's David Ortiz took with President Barack Obama? That was a great instance of cultural zeitgeist, wasn't it? However, Samsung also has a deal with Ortiz that let it use the shot (taken with a Galaxy Note 3) in a Twitter ad -- and the White House isn't very happy. The administration tells CBS that it didn't realize the baseball star's photo could be used as an Oscars-style marketing ploy. Officials aren't asking anyone to take pictures down after the fact, but they hint that they might not have approved the photo if they'd known about the possible financial incentives. For his part, Ortiz insists that it was a sincere, spur-of-the-moment shot -- while Samsung pays him, he couldn't exactly promise an Obama photo op. We're inclined to believe Big Papi, but something tells us that the President may be a little more camera shy in the future. [Image credit: David Ortiz, Twitter]
Apple adds a dedicated selfie section to its iOS App Store
A new App Store section. Not the app store section we needed, but the app store section we deserved.
