Light Start – Huawei’s Nexus, RePhone, the X-Files, Mass Effect IRL, and iPhone sales records
Brett Venter
This is Huawei’s Nexus 6P. Do you know what this means?
Google’s Nexus event took place last night and amid the pile of announcements that appeared was this: The Huawei-made Nexus 6P. This is an Android 6.0, 5.7-inch AMOLED smartphone created with customary Nexus power – expect a Snapdragon 810, a Sony-created 12.3MP camera with laser autofocus (which apparently doesn’t need OIS – seeing that in action will be fun) and USB-C with a 3,450mAh battery. The Nexus 6P will be available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models from Google soon but its announcement has other implications as well. Expect a Huawei-branded device-a-like to appear on the local market pretty soon – so even if this Nexus doesn’t show up in SA, we’ll still get to play with one. Kinda.
Modular phones are the next big milestone and everyone wants to cross that line first. Project Ara is the best commercial prospect but the RePhone, a custom-created smartphone in a cardboard box, is looking pretty sweet too. Users can connect a series of modules to a main brain, build a working phone (or robot, or comms device, or…) and then encase it in a cardboard, plastic or wooden case. The RePhone, which was seeking funds on Kickstarter, quickly hit its funding target so now everything else is just gravy. It’s a cool concept, though one that lacks the hot-swapping features something like Ara will display. We will see the RePhone at the heart of some interesting non-phone inventions soon.
Tech-heads of a certain age will remember the Jersey Devil and that liver-eating gimp in the first season of The X-Files, when Chris Carter was at the helm and Gillian Anderson was on every wall. The trailer for the new X-Files mini-series, a six-episode run set to start next year, feels like that time again. Except everyone’s older. So, to recap, the new X-Files series is like a school reunion. Everyone’s back in their old roles, with a bit of age in their faces. Except there are aliens everywhere. It looks awesome, though we feel for Scully being pulled back into Mulder’s madness.
Mass Effect is getting its own theme park attraction
Speaking of aliens…if you’re a Mass Effect super-fan, then best get yourself over to California to the Great America theme park, where you’ll be able to step inside the game. How? “Riders will climb aboard motion-based seating and wear 3D glasses as they are taken on a thrilling adventure. A live performer will curate the journey and appear to interact seamlessly with the next generation 3D visuals. These elements will be integrated with motion seating, high tech sound and other 4D effects to create a truly compelling and immersive attraction. Guests will travel through space to a distant planet, face off against bigger than life adversaries and ultimately help save the day.” If they give every one of the attendees a light-gun and battery pack, this could turn out very much larger-than-life.
Apple sets new sales records on the back of the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus
Apple’s not one to toot their own horn… who are we kidding, that’s pretty much in their company mission statement. At least they have reason for tooting, as they’ve announced that they have beaten the first weekend sales record set last year. If you remember, Apple topped 10 million devices. This year? Over 13 million. That’s a pretty large trumpet. Tim Cook said “Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history. Customers’ feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can’t wait to bring iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9.” If Apple went for a truly global iPhone launch, they’d probably set a record that they’ll have difficulty beating – and we’d get an iPhone on time for a change. Oh well, just a few weeks left to go.
