As much as Palm's tiny phone has improved over the past several months, there's still been one glaring limitation: you've had to use it on Verizon (Engadget's parent company) in the US. You won't have to be quite so picky after today. Palm has opened pre-orders for an unlocked version of the minuscule Android device that will work as a stand-alone phone on most major US carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and the prepaid Metro brand. No, there's no mention of Sprint -- ironically, the home of the original Palm Pre won't get this device a decade later.
The handset is functionally identical to the one available through Big Red, for better or for worse. It was initially meant as a "secondary" phone for times when you didn't want to lug around a full device, and its 3.2-inch display, Snapdragon 435 chip, limited cameras and shorter battery life reflect that. As an independent device, it's really meant for those who hate ever-growing phone screens or prefer something that can do slightly more than the basics.
An unlocked model will cost you $350, with pre-orders expected to ship six to eight weeks. That's certainly more affordable than some phones, although it's not what we'd call a budget proposition. You can snag phones from Motorola and others that do considerably more and cost less. Palm's model is really for people who value miniaturization and focus above all else, and are willing to pay for the privilege.
Verizon owns Engadget's parent company, Verizon Media. Rest assured, Verizon has no control over our coverage. Engadget remains editorially independent.
The first time I showed the Palm phone to the TechCrunch staff, they were excited. At the very least, it was a unique take on the category, designed to be a second phone for those moments that didn’t require a larger, bulkier device.
But reality set in pretty quickly. The device’s capabilities were severely limited by a number of factors, including size. The biggest issue, however, was a Verizon exclusive that only let users purchase the device as a second handset tied to an existing account.
Back in April, the company announced that the 3.3-inch phone could be purchased as a standalone device — albeit still through Verizon or US Mobile. Today, it’s expanding that, making the handset available unlocked, so it will work with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and MetroPCS SIMs.
The phone’s available “at only” $350. That’s cheap compared to many full-sized, mid-tier handsets, but cheapness is certainly a relative concept. It still seems like a lot for a second phone, and while it’s certainly adorable, I’d strongly advise against anyone using it as a primary handset. Heck, it’s not even all that great as a standalone MP3 player.
If you’re still interested, you can pre-order it today — and Palm will throw in a $30 leather case with neck and wrist lanyards. It starts shipping in six to eight weeks.
As much as Palm's tiny phone has improved over the past several months, there's still been one glaring limitation: you've had to use it on Verizon (Engadget's parent company) in the US. You won't have to be quite so picky after today. Palm has opened pre-orders for an unlocked version of the minuscule Android device that will work as a stand-alone phone on most major US carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and the prepaid Metro brand. No, there's no mention of Sprint -- ironically, the home of the original Palm Pre won't get this device a decade later.
The handset is functionally identical to the one available through Big Red, for better or for worse. It was initially meant as a "secondary" phone for times when you didn't want to lug around a full device, and its 3.2-inch display, Snapdragon 435 chip, limited cameras and shorter battery life reflect that. As an independent device, it's really meant for those who hate ever-growing phone screens or prefer something that can do slightly more than the basics.
An unlocked model will cost you $350, with pre-orders expected to ship six to eight weeks. That's certainly more affordable than some phones, although it's not what we'd call a budget proposition. You can snag phones from Motorola and others that do considerably more and cost less. Palm's model is really for people who value miniaturization and focus above all else, and are willing to pay for the privilege.
Verizon owns Engadget's parent company, Verizon Media. Rest assured, Verizon has no control over our coverage. Engadget remains editorially independent.
As much as Palm's tiny phone has improved over the past several months, there's still been one glaring limitation: you've had to use it on Verizon (Engadget's parent company) in the US. You won't have to be quite so picky after today. Palm has opened pre-orders for an unlocked version of the minuscule Android device that will work as a stand-alone phone on most major US carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and the prepaid Metro brand. No, there's no mention of Sprint -- ironically, the home of the original Palm Pre won't get this device a decade later.
The handset is functionally identical to the one available through Big Red, for better or for worse. It was initially meant as a "secondary" phone for times when you didn't want to lug around a full device, and its 3.2-inch display, Snapdragon 435 chip, limited cameras and shorter battery life reflect that. As an independent device, it's really meant for those who hate ever-growing phone screens or prefer something that can do slightly more than the basics.
An unlocked model will cost you $350, with pre-orders expected to ship six to eight weeks. That's certainly more affordable than some phones, although it's not what we'd call a budget proposition. You can snag phones from Motorola and others that do considerably more and cost less. Palm's model is really for people who value miniaturization and focus above all else, and are willing to pay for the privilege.
Verizon owns Engadget's parent company, Verizon Media. Rest assured, Verizon has no control over our coverage. Engadget remains editorially independent.
Many people try to learn an instrument at one point or another in their life, and for a lot of us that instrument is the piano. But when you give up learning there’s no easy way back — not without paying for expensive lessons at least.
Music hardware startup Roli wants to change this with the launch of Lumi: a 24-key, light-up keyboard and companion app that teaches users how to play the piano from scratch, before transforming into a tool for jamming and even composition.
The keyboard and companion app are available to preorder on Kickstarter today with a base price of $249 and early bird sales as cheap as $150. Shipping starts in October.
Roli founder Roland Lamb says the aim is to appeal to as wide a group of music-lovers as possible. With that in mind, he says, Lumi’s learning functions don’t start by teaching you the basics of sheet music. Instead, Lumi offers a Guitar Hero-style interface that coaxes you into playing your favorite songs by hitting the light-up keys in time with on-screen notes.
“Music education frequently starts with reading music [but] no good language learning program starts by teaching you to read before you can speak,” Lamb tells The Verge. “Guitar Hero has a lot of value because it’s fun and easy to use — you just follow the lights.”
By giving users an intuitive interface that lets them play before they can read, Lamb says Lumi creates an easy on-ramp for beginners. After users progress past the Guitar Hero stage, the app makes things trickier by adding in first the names of notes, then a left-to-right interface, then chords and keys, and finally offering up regular sheet music.
This certainly seems like a good way to get beginners started, but an equally important part of the Lumi package is the library of songs.
In a demo version of the app The Verge briefly tried out, the tracks available were nicely varied. They included music from pop titans like Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars, as well as jazz and classical standards from J.S. Bach to Herbie Hancock. Roli says the app will launch with a few hundred tracks, but that this library will be updated over time for no extra cost.
Lumi marks an interesting milestone for Roli. Since the company was founded in 2009, it’s made a series of products that have become progressively more mass market over time.
Its signature technology has always been its squishy keyboards, which are touch-sensitive and allow musicians to bend notes on a piano or synthesizer like they would on a guitar, but as the years go by it’s repackaged this into more and more affordable products.
It started with the 61-key, $2,999 Seaboard Grand in 2013, and then followed this with the 25-key, $799 Seaboard Rise in 2015. Then, in 2016 it released the modular beat-making Blocks hardware, and an even cheaper, smaller keyboard: the $299 Seaboard Block.
But Lumi feels like the first time the company has made a product that is supposed to appeal to people who aren’t already making music. Though Lamb hopes the music-making demographic will still get a kick out of Lumi. Multiple keyboards can be attached together to create larger playing spaces, and the device also works as a regular MIDI input which can be used with all the usual professional music software, such as Ableton Live and Cubase.
“The concept of having a very low floor and a high ceiling was always very important,” says Lamb. “I’ve had some really nice moments where I’ve had the chance to show Lumi to some eminent musicians and have them replay their track. It’s been very entertaining to see how they respond to their own music … they see how easy it is, how direct it is to play.”
But trying to appeal to as big a demographic as possible might also hinder Lumi. Even with its companion app and library of tracks, $249 is a big price for such a small keyboard. Using illuminated keys as a teaching device is also not a new concept. Casio sells a number of bigger, cheaper keyboards with light-up keys, for example (although they don’t have a companion app or popular songs). And you can even buy add-on LED strips for acoustic pianos that offer similar functionality.
During our time with a prototype version of the Lumi hardware, we were also a bit underwhelmed by the hardware’s quality and responsiveness. Too many key presses went unregistered, and the keys themselves felt overly flimsy and cheap.
Roli, though, says it’s still developing the final build for the keyboard, which we’ll try ourselves before the device’s launch. “The keyboard action is definitely something we’re tuning right now,” said Lamb. “It’s getting much better even as of a couple of weeks ago, and we’ll definitely be far and away the best of any portable keyboard of this size.”
These caveats aside, Lumi certainly offers some unique experiences. One stand-out feature is a jam mode in which keys light up with the chords and scales of a song. The stronger the color of each note, the closer it is to the root of the song’s key. It’s a simple approach that allows even jazz novices like myself to feel like they’re improvising with a degree of skill.
Lamb — an accomplished pianist himself — says it’s his favorite way to use the keyboard, especially when it comes to playing along with jazz standards from the likes of John Coltrane. “I love playing “Giant Steps“ in jam mode, because I can understand the chord changes in a different way,” he says. “It presents musical opportunities in a way I hadn’t seen before.”
• On impact, this thrown item splashes liquid in a small area. All players within the splash radius will be instantly granted 20 Health/Shield.
• Grants health unless you are full health, in which case it will grant Shield.
• Chug Splash can heal allies, enemies, and can extend the duration of the ‘knocked’ state for knocked players.
• Rare variant.
• Drops in stacks of 2.
• Max stack size: 6.
• Can be found from Floor Loot, Chests, Vending Machines, Supply Drops, and Llamas.
Shotgun Swap Delay Removed
• Shotgun cooldowns now only apply when the player is carrying multiple shotguns, regardless of Shotgun type.
• This is a Quality of Life change to prevent the swap delay system from interfering with players who do not have multiple shotguns in their inventory. As with all changes, we’ll be keeping a close eye on this and make adjustments if necessary.
• Reduced the Combat Shotgun’s long-range effectiveness
• Reduced damage at medium distances by 10%
• 2.44 tiles to 4.88 tiles
• Reduced damage at long distances by 20%
• 4.88 tiles to 9.76 tiles
• The Combat Shotgun’s accuracy uniquely enables players to hit shots from longer distances compared to other shotguns. However, the damage at those longer ranges was a little higher than desired..
Vaulted
• Boom Bow
• Dual Pistols
• Dynamite
• These Vaults are primarily targeted at adjusting the availability of explosives, putting them more in line with where we think they should be.
• Removed the ability to ride Proximity Grenade Launcher projectiles
• Due to the faster speed of this projectile, it was causing problems with level streaming. You can still ride rockets launched from Rocket Launchers.
• Added short delay to start damaging players from Storm Flip on entry, to mimic normal Storm gameplay
• Added Storm Flip to Audio Visualizer when it is activated
• Toys no longer will show up in the elimination feed on Starter Island
Playground mode will be unavailable after the maintenance while we investigate some stability issues. We will keep you updated as soon as it is back.
• Players could shoot immediately after using a Rift to Go.
• Supply Drones would sometimes spawn underground in areas with water.
• Adjusted the area of around the Reboot Van that players cannot build to prevent the placement of floors and traps under the Van.
• The Proximity Grenade Launcher was auto reloading while aiming down sights.
• This is fix makes it consistent with Snipers and will reload once unscoping or after next attempt to fire.
• Adjusted the timing for the effects of consumables to help situations where players would switch away from the consumable before it finished activating.
• Reboot Cards will no longer fall to the ground. They will remain where they spawn.
• Reboot Cards were remaining available on the map even after the timer had expired.
• Campfires could block explosion damage at specific angles.
• The Shadow Bomb double jump ability could be activated while under the effect of a Boogie Bomb.
• Boogie Bomb effects would continue playing on players while they were skydiving.
• Empty Shadow Bombs could not be discarded correctly if eliminated while the effect was active while in respawn game modes.
• Players that had a Rift to Go used on them at the same time they were being rebooted would sometimes not be put into the skydiving state.
• Storm Flip would deal incorrect damage if two were overlapped on each other.
• Storm Flip was able to stop a Supply Drop from falling
• Weapons were showing while using emotes while on a Driftboard
GAMEPLAY
• Made the “Hold to Swap” feature an option. This defaults as OFF.
• With the option OFF, pickup is now back on the initial button press instead of button release. This should result in more responsive pickup behavior.
• Made the Fortbyte Pressure Plate Puzzle NW of The Block easier to complete.
• Once unlocked the Fortbyte will be available for up to 15 seconds.
• Parking all vehicles on the pedestals will trigger them, except the Hoverboard.
• Slipstreams now fade out the visual effects and play audio cues to warn that they are shutting off before the collision and forces are disabled, to give players more advance warning.
• Added Storm Flip color switch effects, depending on Storm intersection points.
Bug Fixes and Adjustments
• Skydiving from the bus toward a slipstream was not auto-deploying gliders at the correct height.
• Storm Surge was not activating in Phase 8
• Player health could be improperly rounded when receiving damage.
• The health bar for structures could disappear when hitting a wall and swapping to build mode.
• Lava was dealing damage to players too quickly.
PERFORMANCE
• Rendering optimizations on player built walls to help end-game situations with thousands of building pieces.
• Added general optimizations for audio visual indicators.
Bug Fixes and Adjustments
• Resolved an issue causing poor performance in the lobby on Mac when in a large party.
AUDIO
• Improvements to Grenade Launcher and Grenade fuse sounds
• Added a close-range fuse loop that is attenuated based on damage radius.
• Sound ramps up as the projectile get close to exploding. If you hear this you’re going to take damage unless you block the explosion.
• Lowered the volume of vehicles in a Slipstream that doesn’t have a driver/passenger.
• Increase the range for the enemy 1x1 pickaxe impact sound from 1 tile to 1.5 tiles
Bug Fixes and Adjustments
• Fixed an issue with audio device hot-swapping when switching between outputs.
• One-shot sounds could re-trigger when walking into audio range.
• This was most noticeable with harvesting, explosion, and gunshot sounds.
• The Victory Royale sound no longer gets affected by the slow motion effect when a match is won.
• The Combat Shotgun had the wrong fire sounds on Mobile/Switch.
• The Baller suction sounds were playing 2d if someone piloted a baller that you’d previously dismounted.
• Sounds for consumables would not play if approaching a player while they were already using them
• Footstep audio for the “Take the Elf” emote wasn’t playing.
UI
• Hiding the vehicle health bar that appears above a vehicle if you are the player operating it to avoid two vehicle health bars from being displayed.
• The vehicle health bar that appears above a players health and shield will remain in the HUD.
Bug Fixes and Adjustments
• The direction-to-safety vector lines were not appearing properly on the map when in game modes where respawn was enabled.
Apple has added a warning in iOS 13 beta 2 that appears when you try to uninstall an app which still has an active subscription. “Do you want to keep the subscription for this app?” the message reads, before giving you a link to manage your Apple ID subscriptions. The feature was first spotted by MacStories editor Federico Viticci.
It’s a sensible move from Apple, after its App Store was hit by a plague of “free” apps that used a variety of shady tactics to extract money from unwitting users. Often these tactics revolve around aggressively coercing users into signing up to expensive subscriptions with unclear terms, in the hope that people either won’t notice or will forget to unsubscribe. If a user is uninstalling an app, then there’s a good chance they’re no longer interested in the subscription. Giving people a link to manage their subscriptions is a convenient way of reminding them to cancel.
Never seen this alert before – Apple now tells you if an app you're deleting has a subscription still active. Good move.
The feature is the latest in a series of attempts made by Apple to make app payment terms clearer to its users. This year alone, Apple has changed its App Store guidelines to say that developers have to be more upfront with the true cost of subscriptions, it has added an extra confirmation step during signup, and it also reorganized its menus to make your active Apple ID subscriptions easier to see and manage.
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