BT increases fibre target and promises imminent EE 5G launch

BT has increased its fibre deployment targets and says EE is on track to launch 5G “imminently” in 16 UK cities.

So far, Openreach has connected 1.2 million premises with fibre to the premise (FTTP) technology with a view to reaching three million by 2020 and 10 million by the middle of next decade. At the current pace of rollout, around 20,000 properties are being added each week.

It now plans to cover four million by 2021 and 15 million by the mid-2020s – if it there is a suitable investment and regulatory climate.

BT fibre

The UK’s largest telco made the announcements in its annual financial results which show a decline in reported revenue of one per cent to £23.43 billion.

Growth in BT’s consumer divisions was offset by ongoing challenges in its enterprise and global services business, but pre-tax profits rose by two per cent to £2.666 billion.

 “While we are really well positioned in a very challenging and competitive UK market, we have a lot of work to do to ensure we remain successful and deliver long term sustainable value to our shareholders,” declared BT CEO Philip Jansen, delivering his first set of results since joining the company earlier in 2019.

“We need to invest to improve our customer propositions and competitiveness. We need to invest to stay ahead in our fixed, mobile and core networks, and we need to invest to overhaul our business to ensure that we are using the latest systems and technology to improve our efficiency and become more agile.”

The expansion of the company’s fibre targets come at a time when several other companies are investing in fibre and a number of smaller infrastructure players have recently been bought out by equity firms.

This has led to concerns that BT could be left behind in the consumer and wholesale markets, including those for mobile backhaul. The vast majority of Openreach’s superfast network uses fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) technology, with the company planning to use a combination of G.Fast (which speeds up copper connections) and FTTP to upgrade its network.

It had been speculated that BT would cut its dividend for the first time since 2009 in order to fund infrastructure expansion – a move which some shareholders would have accepted if long-term gains could be proved – but this has not happened.

“For 2018/19 the Board has decided to hold the full year dividend unchanged at 15.4p per share,” added Jansen. “The Board also expects to hold the dividend unchanged in respect of the current financial year given our outlook for earnings and cash flow.”

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KENT CamEye – A Smart Car Security Device to Ensure the Safety of Your Loved Ones

Car owners know that dashcams and GPS trackers are a necessity in today’s day and age. The rising concern for security on the road makes car security devices a fundamental part of the children’s safety. Chauffeur-driven cars or parents with teenagers who drive can effectively use better surveillance to protect both the occupants and vehicle. 

KENT – A household brand in India for water purifiers has recently launched CamEye – a car security device. It’s a 4G powered, plug and play device that is loaded with a plethora of features. It bridges the gap between a GPS tracker and dash cam to provide real-time practical uses. 

For starters, KENT CamEye can keep a track of the car across different parameters including and not limited to recording two-way video, people in the car, route, speed limit, and logging trips.

CamEye has a dual camera setup that can record everything inside and outside the car. The live video recording gets stored on a secure cloud storage for 90 days which can be accessed by a smartphone on a real-time basis. Just connect it to the charging port and mount it on the windshield like a dashcam and one is good to go. 

Bundled with the KENT CamEye app – everything from the CamEye device gets synced to the smartphone, all in real-time. The app is available on both iOS and Android. 

Both the cameras on KENT CamEye record clear time-lapse videos and have a 120˚ FOV for capturing everything inside and outside the car. The live feed can be accessed from the app from anywhere in the world. Powered by a 3000mAh battery, the device is capable of recording for up to 24 hours when not plugged. That’s not all; the device has inbuilt memory of 8 GB that can record video and audio even when there’s no network coverage. 

Intelligent Alerts

KENT CamEye comes with intelligent alerts that are a boon for owners with chauffeur-driven cars. Whether the chauffeur is over speeding or is using the AC without driving the car – preventing misuse of the car is now possible on a much micro level.

Capable of sending real-time alerts, KENT CamEye also has facial recognition that can read the driver’s face and send an alert to the app if someone else other than the designated driver tries to drive the car. Not only this, there’s a geo-fence alert that sends a notification to the owner’s smartphone if the car goes out of a certain radius. There are more alerts, including noise level that alerts the owner if the noise inside the car reaches beyond the prescribed limit. Another useful one is the place of interest alert that notifies the owner when the car enters and exits a specific place on the map. This feature is highly useful in scenarios such as the chauffeur dropping the kid to school or picking them up. 

KENT CamEye effectively incorporates practical applications for various situations requiring surveillance and sends notifications of the vehicle when there’s a breach of limits such as engine idling duration, noise alert and over speeding. 

A powerhouse of practical real-time applications, KENT CamEye, is a next-gen car security device that provides effective use-cases for all car owners. People with chauffeur driven cars, parents, taxis and women are more likely to find the best use for the device and prevent the misuse of their expensive cars. The device is entirely Made in India and is available on Amazon India

Image credits: Kent

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Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL vs Pixel 3 and 3 XL: Half as good or twice as nice?

For the first time ever, the choice between buying a Pixel is more than just the big one or the small one. At its I/O Developer’s Conference Tuesday, Google took the wraps off the Pixel 3a, a brand new entry to the Pixel line that costs half as much as its older sibling. But how much are you really giving up when you opt for the cheaper model? Let’s break it down:

Google Pixel 3a vs Pixel 3: Design

The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a external designs are similar in many ways, including size. The Pixel 3a is slightly larger all around:

Pixel 3a: 151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2mm
Pixel 3: 145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9 mm
Pixel 3a XL: 160.1 x 76.1 x 8.2 mm
Pixel 3 XL: 158 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm

Moving on to major design characteristics, the Pixel 3 and 3 XL are distinctive—if not as beautiful as flagships from Apple or Samsung. From the 3 XL’s notch to the two-tone frosted-glass back, the Pixel 3 family is instantly recognizable at a distance.

The 3a follows a similar aesthetic, with some tweaks. The 3a XL doesn’t have a notch, for instance, so there’s a fair amount of space above the screen. The other big change is on the 3a’s back: It’s made of plastic rather than glass.

As far as external components, both have a single camera lens in the top left corner and a smooth “window” above the matte body. The 3a lacks a front-facing speaker below the screen, as you’ll find on the Pixel 3.

The 3a is also a bit lighter, particularly comparing the larger models of each:

Pixel 3a: 147 grams
Pixel 3: 148 grams
Pixel 3a XL: 167 grams
Pixel 3 XL: 184 grams

Huawei P30 Pro’s unmatched camera gets even better with new update

The Huawei P30 Pro currently occupies the top slot in our best camera phone roundup for plenty of reasons. It has an incredibly versatile camera system with three lenses, and a brand new sensor that can capture more light than any other phone.

Such technology has allowed Huawei to offer features on the P30 Pro that are exclusive to it, and with the latest B153 software update released by Huawei, it now has the new dual view mode.

Dual view is a feature that allows you to record video from the primary lens as well as the telephoto lens simultaneously and create a split-screen video that is both panoramic and a close up. This allows you to get shoot some very creative videos without much effort.

Traditionally, you would need multiple cameras and a fair knowledge of video editing to create a multi-frame show but with the Huawei P30 Pro, it’s as easy as firing up the camera app and selecting the Dual View option. 

Using the power of the Kirin 980 processor along with multiple lenses, the P30 Pro stitches the muti-frame movie in real time and can export them to share with friends or on your favorite social platform.

If you prefer, you can use Huawei’s AI editor to edit the clip to your liking. What’s incredible is that all of this is done on your phone and not expensive desktop computers that have traditionally handled such tasks.

The dual view option works on both the Huawei P30 and the Huawei P30 Pro. Here are some of the top features of the dual view mode

  • Empty listCapturing a wide view with more of the background and surrounding objects
  • Simultaneously zooming in on desired subjects via the split screen
  • Shooting two different angles: panoramic and close up, at the same time
  • Ability to adjust the magnification level
  • Taking artsy and creative shots for a vivid recollection of special moments

There are tons of creative ways you can think of to shoot using dual view, and the results are noticeable and impressive.

Along with dual view, super zoom and low-light photography, the Huawei P30 Pro is a powerhouse of a camera phone with impressive performance and battery life. If you are smartphone photography and technology enthusiast, there is no doubt that you won’t find anything like the Huawei P30 series.

How metamaterials could one day bring the impossible to life

Metamaterials is one of the newest, most dynamic and exciting areas of science.  They enable scientists to change the natural properties of materials, pushing the boundaries of possibility to achieve what has never been done before. Dr Irina Khromova is one of the foremost experts on metamaterials and she discusses how metamaterials could be used now and in the future. 

Metamaterials first came into public consciousness through the concept of invisibility cloaking – and while making objects invisible using metamaterials is certainly not the only or most practical application for the science, there are many potential commercial benefits to explore.  

Scientists first started to look at practical uses for metamaterials in the late 20th century. This new branch of science involves changing the behaviour of waves, for example sound or light, by making them interact with purposefully designed and artificially-built structures. For the waves in question,  such a structure looks and feels like a material with unusual properties not found in conventional materials.   

Once appearing to defy the laws of physics, metamaterials science is now opening up numerous possibilities and challenging the thinking around the design and capabilities of different technologies. Using metamaterials can even bring improvements or efficiencies to existing technology by introducing features that have not been achievable before.

According to Grand View Research, the global metamaterials market will be worth $1.35 billion USD by 2025.  Already used in industries such as aerospace and defence, metamaterials will become widely adopted across many vertical industries including construction, consumer electronics, medical and energy. The report projects that the use of metamaterials in consumer electronics will grow at a CAGR of 21% from 2017 to 2025, and attributes the opportunities for product enhancement as a key reason for this.

Many people were first exposed to metamaterials through the concept of invisibility cloaking, with media outlets jumping on the idea that metamaterials could be responsible for a Harry Potter type invisibility cloak. Although this is more associated with the world of wizardry, the science behind using metamaterials to create cloaking is real. 

One of the newest, most commercially successful applications of metamaterials is to create noise reduction barriers, with a view to using them on motorways and major roads. Traditionally, noise barriers made of conventional materials fail to block low-frequency sounds and degrade with time as moisture builds up inside them.  Inevitably, with so much new urban development and the continued growth of transport infrastructure, there will be increasing demand for materials that reduce or cut out the sound of road and air traffic. Metamaterials-based solutions promise to be much more robust and longer lasting, offering significant opportunity in this area of engineering. 

Scientists are also making significant progress into honing the properties of materials to create protective shields against radiation and seismic activity. Barriers made of metamaterials would absorb or deflect seismic waves, thus reducing the risks and impact posed by earthquakes. This works very differently from traditional materials so it is entirely possible that future cities could be built using materials that offer more robust protection against earthquakes and other natural disasters than ever before.    

Apart from shielding and absorbing waves, metamaterials can also help us tap off some of the energy these waves carry. Metamaterials can be designed to trap, convert and recycle this energy. With prospective application in advanced solar batteries and residual radio-noise harvesting, metamaterials are in the spotlight of breakthrough greener technologies.

With the ability to control the propagation of waves, metamaterials are also enabling scientists to take power and data transfer to the next level. Specific types of waves, such as magneto-inductive waves, existing in the metamaterial, can carry power in a controlled manner. This phenomenon has paved the way for scientists to significantly expand wireless charging for mobile phones and other electronic devices. For an individual, a metamaterials-based charger will mean hassle-free charging on large surfaces – one can just drop a device onto the charging surface without the need to worry about alignment. This is a huge step towards making wireless power as ubiquitous and convenient as modern data connectivity.

Including many aspects of physics and engineering, metamaterials offer new possibilities for developing technologies for smart cities, houses and transport and could help reduce costs, increase security and safety and lessen environmental impact all in one go. In addition, the design of future medical and health technologies could employ metamaterials to help enhance product features, particularly where personal data security is paramount or where very high-quality imaging is needed.

Metamaterials have opened up a new treasure chest of possibilities for safer, greener and more effective and efficient technologies. If metamaterials technologies keep up the pace, metamaterials will be used extensively yet unobtrusively in our daily lives. Undoubtedly, these are exciting times for metamaterials and the next decade will carve out their place in the world of technology and engineering.

Dr. Irina Khromova, Head of Science and Technology at Metaboards 

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The Aorus 15 is the perfect gaming laptop, no matter what your budget

You need to be careful when buying a gaming laptop. While it’s easy to choose a machine with all of the latest and greatest components inside it, if they’re not put together properly, you could end up with a laptop that overheats and underperforms. Furthermore, unless money is no object, it’s important to remember that the type of games you play affect the type of gaming laptop that you should purchase. If you want to play the latest, cinematic adventures at their best, most-realistic settings, then you’ll need top-shelf graphics hardware to ensure things run smoothly. However, if you’re a competitive gamer that primarily plays popular, stalwart shooters you can save a lot of money (and still maintain maximum framerates) just by making a few sensible choices when it comes to the components used. Whatever your requirements, however, the latest Aorus 15 gaming laptops from Gigabyte have you covered.

Striking and clean looks, plus plenty of power

The Aorus 15 laptops are built using the latest technologies from Nvidia, Intel and Microsoft – and yet the body of these high-performance machines is less-than one-inch thick! The Aorus 15 employs a striking angular design that gives it a look that’s clean and instantly appealing. In Australia, this refined gaming laptop is available in two models. The Aorus 15-XA is the higher-end option, equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 graphics and a luxuriously-fast 240Hz screen, with an RRP of $3,299. If you don’t need all that power but still want the (portable) potential to play competitive shooters like Apex Legends, Fortnite, Overwatch or CS:GO without limitations, the Aorus 15-SA is the more wallet-friendly – but still astonishingly capable – alternative, priced at just $2,399. It sports Nvidia’s GTX 1660 Ti graphics chip and a fast, ghost-free 144Hz screen.

Both GPUs are based upon Nvidia’s latest Turing architecture, which adds AI smarts to the mix. Performance on Turing is up to six times better than previous generations, while features like DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) will adapt and continue to improve antialiasing performance as time goes on. Of particular on the RTX 2070 note is real-time ray tracing, which makes live, rendered graphics within supported games more realistic than ever before.

Inside both laptops also resides the brand-new Intel 9th-generation Core i7-9750H processor, with six-cores and twelve-threads of beefy processing power. This CPU intelligently runs from 2.6GHz to a speedy 4.5GHz depending on what’s required and yet still delivers more performance per watt than its predecessors. There’s space for up to two super-fast PCIe solid-state drives, plus a mechanical drive which can provide an astonishing 6TB of storage space. That means you’ll have plenty of room to install the latest, massive game files on a fast SSD while simultaneously recording plenty of high-definition game footage to share on Twitch or YouTube.

With a customisable backlit keyboard and Killer wired and wireless networking, the Aorus 15 is built using premium components that gamers can rely on.

With a customisable backlit keyboard and Killer wired and wireless networking, the Aorus 15 is built using premium components that gamers can rely on.

(Image: © Aorus)

Always cool – even under pressure

Of course, even the latest powerful components can generate a great deal of heat, and if that’s not managed correctly you can end up with a laptop that can slow right down due to thermal issues – something which can even result in hardware problems in the long run. Adding an army of tiny, whining fans is neither effective nor pleasant on one’s ears – and nobody wants to lug a bulky, breezy box around.

So how do you manage heat in a powerful laptop that’s only 2.4cm thick? The Aorus 15 uses brand-new Windforce technology that encompasses six heatpipes, nine inlet and exhaust vents plus two, extra-large 12V fans to shift as much cool air into the system – and hot air out – as possible. If that’s not enough, business-grade AI technology from Microsoft Azure is used for power management to ensure that only the important system elements are working when needed. It will even learn to operate more efficiently based on your usage patters – so the more you use it, the better it gets.

The Aorus 15-XA and 15-SA both feature a world-class thermal design that's assisted by AI, providing exceptional cooling performance.  

The Aorus 15-XA and 15-SA both feature a world-class thermal design that’s assisted by AI, providing exceptional cooling performance.  

(Image: © Aorus)

Class-leading design

A great deal of thought has gone into the Aorus 15 laptops’ whole design. All of the ports and technologies that gamers need are catered for, including Ethernet and full-sized HDMI. This ensures that the Aorus 15 can be taken to any kind of LAN event and connect with minimal difficulty while ensuring maximum performance. It can even be used for virtual reality. Killer Networking further fights lag, while Nahimic audio helps you locate shots and footsteps on the battlefield. A full complement of keys means you won’t run out of macros and shortcuts, while the RGB lighting can be customised to help with performance… and also just make your set-up look awesome! If you’re into streaming, a high-definition webcam is provided, as is an array-based digital microphone for better voice capture.

Naturally, having all these features in a laptop suggests that serious design compromises are being made. Traditionally, high-performance gaming laptops like these have come stuffed into a huge, heavy, desktop-replacement chassis: it’s refreshing, then, to see that both the Aorus 15-XA and 15-SA are comparatively both small and portable. N only is the chassis less than one-inch thick and only 2.4kg in weight, its discrete styling means it’s perfect for use in any environment, from the most conservative office to your local LAN gathering.

In back, the Aorus 15 includes a full compliment of video outputs including HDMI, mini-DisplayPort and USB 3.1 Type-C, making plugging in an extra monitor quick and easy.

In back, the Aorus 15 includes a full compliment of video outputs including HDMI, mini-DisplayPort and USB 3.1 Type-C, making plugging in an extra monitor quick and easy.

(Image: © Aorus)

No compromises

Whatever your requirements, the new Aorus 15-XA and 15-SA gaming laptops represent best-in-class choices for gamers. They hit the perfect trifecta of being portable and affordable while also offering outstanding gaming performance. They’re more than the sum of their parts and, by being backed by Gigabyte’s heritage of robust-and-reliable, high-performance PC hardware – plus a two-year international warranty – you’ve got the assurance that they won’t let you down.

For more information on the Aorus 15 gaming laptops and details on where to buy, please visit the official Aorus 15 website.

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Red Bull Illume competition returns for 2019

Mastered that GoPro yet? Following a three-year hiatus, Red Bull has announced the return of its Illume competition, which celebrates the best in adventure and action sports photography. And this year, things are a little different.

The competition, which was originally conceived in 2006 and is now in its fifth year, returns with new prizes and categories, one of which recognizes video captures for the first time. 

The new Moving Image category seeks the best 5-30 second video of jaw-dropping action, while another new category, Best of Instagram by Sandisk, will celebrate the most ‘gram-worthy’ moments.

There’s even a revamped Raw category, which requires you to submit your raw files rather than any retouched and polished masterpieces to prove just how well you got the shot in-camera.

To get an idea of the kinds of images the competition is looking for, you can check out the winning shots from the 2016 competition below…

Red Bull Illume 2016 winners

Image 1 of 6

(Image: © Micky Wiswedel / Red Bull Illume)
Image 2 of 6

(Image: © Daniel Vojtech / Red Bull Illume)
Image 3 of 6

(Image: © Lorenz Holder / Red Bull Illume)
Image 4 of 6

(Image: © Dean Treml / Red Bull Illume)
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(Image: © Ale Di Lullo / Red Bull Illume)
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(Image: © Dean Treml / Red Bull Illume)

If the honor of bagging one of the category accolades isn’t enough of an incentive, the prizes may well be. There are over $100,000 worth of goodies on offer, with a Sony A7 III and FE 24-105 mm F4 G OSS lens going to each category winner, together with Sandisk Extreme Pro memory cards and a copy of Skylum’s Luminar 3.

The most recent Illume competition saw over 34,000 submissions from more than 5,000 photographers across 120 countries. The organizers have also confirmed that the competition will now run every two years instead of three.

Eleven category winners and one overall winner will be announced in November, and this will be followed in 2020 by a world-wide Red Bull Illume Exhibit Tour showcasing all the finalist images. 

The competition is now open for submissions at the Red Bull Illume site; the closing date for entries is July 31, although the Best of Instagram by Sandisk category closes sooner. It’s free to enter but, as with any competition, are sure to give the T&Cs a quick read first.

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