Jamie Condliffe

When Verizon updates its LTE network to use the AWS frequency in the coming months, the Galaxy S4 will be the first—and, for a while, only—phone to take advantage of the doubled internet speeds it offers.

With a Full-On News Feed, Spotify’s Serious About Suggesting New Music

While Spotify’s a powerhouse for streaming music, its social elements for sharing what you find have always been rather underpowered. Now, though, it’s launched a new Discover news feed, which promises to give you a constant supply of new music. Leveraging data from its 24 million monthly users, the new Discover service—currently available on the…

Over 153,000 iPhone users who were denied warranty coverage for water damage are in for a payout: Apple was just forced to officially settle a case which will see them pay out $53 million to those whose iPhone, iPhone 3G, or iPhone 3GS was affected.

Samsung has published a listing for the as-yet unannounced Galaxy S4 Mini on the changelog of one of its apps. That as near as dammit confirms the impending arrival of the phone, which will probably possibly be announced at Sammy’s June 20th London event. [SammyHub via Phandroid]

This Proximity-Sensitive Volume Adjuster Needs to Exist

Apple has just scored a patent with the the US Patent and Trademark Office that’s one of the most simple yet ingenious ideas we’ve seen in a while: a proximity-sensitive volume adjuster on a phone. The patent, “Adjustment of acoustic properties based on proximity detection”, describes how a number of phone sensors could be used…

This Is LG’s White Nexus 4–But It Won’t Make Another Google Phone

LG has finally confirmed that it’s making a white version of the Nexus 4—but it’s also admitted that it’s not interested in manufacturing another Google phone. The white Nexus 4 is in every way identical to the black version. Except it’s white. So, really quite a boring product announcement. It’s not clear yet whether or…

Would You Take a Flight Which Only Had One Pilot?

Over in Europe, a new research scheme is looking into the possibility of creating cockpits that require just a single pilot to fly airplanes—but would you take such a flight? The project, called ACROSS—Advanced Cockpit for Reduction of StreSs and workload—brings together collaborators like Thales, Airbus and Boeing to design control systems that need only…

BuzzFeed, CNN and YouTube are apparently joining forces to create an online video channel, that will combine CNN’s content with BuzzFeed’s social media skill.

Report: Chinese Hackers Have Stolen Sensitive US Weapon Design Files

According to a confidential report that’s been prepared for the Pentagon, Chinese hackers have stolen blueprints for some of the country’s most sensitive advanced weapons systems. Citing the report and sources within the defense industry, the Washington Post explains that hackers have stolen designs for “more than two dozen major weapons systems”. The files were…

How to Chill a Beer With a Slingshot

Slingshots aren’t just good for firing toilet brushes and Oreos: with a little thought, you can even use one to cool a beer. https://gizmodo.com/weaponized-toilet-brushes-wipe-out-zombies-and-hard-wat-493104984 Everyone’s favorite slingshot expert, Joerg Sprave, explains in this video how a little bit of elastic—and effort—can be used to chill a beer to 6 celsius below room temperature. Sure, using…

Samsung has revealed that it’s holding an event in London on 20th June to unveil a new glut of Android and Windows mobile hardware.

How Sending Mirror Image Signals Could Speed Up the Internet

A team of researchers has developed a technique which uses mirror images signals to dramatically increase the accuracy—and speed—of data transmission across the internet. The team explain in Nature Photonics how it’s possible to send not one but two beams of light down a fiber cable: one the normal data signal, the other its mirror…

This Is NASA’s Solar Propulsion Engine of the Future

This Tron-esque glowing blue ring isn’t the latest designer lamp. In fact, it’s NASA’s cutting-edge solar-electric propulsion thruster, being tested in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Using xenon ions to create its thrust, the engine is being considered for use as part of the Asteroid Initiative—NASA’s plan to capture a small asteroid and redirect it safely…

Why We All Love Space Porn

There’s something so beguilingly beautiful about images of space: those awe inspiring images that make us question our place in the universe. In this video, a team of astrophysicists take a look at why we all find them quite so amazing. So, astrophysicist Dr. Emily Rice, Hubble Image Processor Zolt Levay and Astronomer David W.…

Rumor has it that Yahoo is willing to stump up $800 million to take over Hulu. Marissa Mayer is one big spender right now.

Get $50 Off an iPhone at Best Buy From Sunday

From Sunday, Best Buy is knocking $50 off the price off the price of iPhones for four weeks. The deal applies to the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 on two-year contracts with Verizon, AT&T or Sprint. So, if you’ve been umm-ing and ahh-ing, now might be the time to stump up some cash.…

A Homeland Security intelligence bulletin has warned that it could be “impossible” to stop 3D-printed guns from being made. Astute, guys. Very, very astute.

This Chair Is Also a Table

This is a clever little concept design by New York-based Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects: a perfectly normal chair with a tiny little table top, that turns a functional piece of furniture into something rather more sociable. Designed to be thrown together to create informal groupings, the backs of these chairs can be butted together to create a…

Intel Says Haswell Will Extend Laptop Battery Life by 50 Percent

Intel has just made one very, very big claim: it reckons that its new Haswell chip will boost the battery life of laptops by a staggering 50 percent. Intel’s Architecture Group VP Rani Borkar is on the record as saying that laptops powered by Haswell will squeeze 50 percent more runtime out of a battery,…

It Sure Looks Beautiful Inside the Ring Nebula

The Ring Nebula is a common image in astronomy, but new images from Hubble reveal something rather strange inside the cloud of swirling gas. These new images, captured by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, reveal that the glowing gas shroud is actually a rather different shape to what’s previously been observed. Robert O’Dell of Vanderbilt…