Samsung recalled the Galaxy Note 7 after it started blowing up, but the company was blasted by Consumer Reports for not making the recall official with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission .
Thankfully, that’s now changing. The commission issued the following statement today:
The official recall is important because it means it will actually be illegal for stores to sell the unsafe batch of Note 7 devices; many stores have still been selling it despite new stock coming in just a week or two. The CPSC also works with companies to determine the scope of the hazard and figure out the best strategy for replacing devices.
If you want to make sure your phone is from the safe batch, check out our guide here .
Nintendo’s dream handheld console = Game Boy + Google’s Project Ara
I’ve been thinking about Nintendo a lot since the terrible sadness of Mr Iwata’s untimely death .
He brought the company back to life by shepherding the Wii and Nintendo DS and focusing on wonderfully fun games. That’s why I think he would have loved this concept.
Thailand-based French designer Pierre Cerveau came up with the Smart Boy concept , which melds a modern Android smartphone with the aesthetic of the classic Game Boy .
The really smart bit is that he’s taken a leaf out of Google’s Project Ara playbook (or Fairphone’s current approach ) and incorporated modular elements into the design.
That means a physical controller that can be added or removed at will, the possibility of additional memory and battery packs, and even the option of an interchangeable camera module.
The best feature of all? The 8-bit power-saving mode. The most touching? The “In loving memory” dedication to Mr Iwata.
While the Smart Boy itself is never likely to make the leap from beautiful renders to a buyable product, it’s worth noting that Nintendo has patented ideas around interchangeable controls for a handheld device.
I would love to see this kind of vision in Nintendo’s next assault on the mobile world. It’s already experimenting , so why not? As for Cerveau, he’s got form for creating great concepts – check out his Macintosh Phone too.
➤ Nintendo Smart Boy [ Design by Pierre Cerveau via Stuff ]
Read next : ‘I’m sorry, Mario, but our prince is in another castle.’ A tribute to Satoru Iwata.
Image credits : Pierre Cerveau
Samsung takes on dual-monitor setups with its massive ultra-wide display
Samsung is designing a brand-new display to replace your outdated dual-monitor setup – and it is absolutely massive.
The company is reportedly working on an ultra-wide panel called ‘double full HD’ (DFHD) that sports an impressive 32:9 aspect ratio. The screen will be 49-inches wide and boast a 3840×1080 resolution, TFTCentral reports .
The panel is essentially the exact same size as two standard 27-inch full HD single monitors. To better optimize its wide viewing angles, the device will also feature a 1800R curvature.
The display will further support G-Sync or FreeSync as well as a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz in order to accommodate the needs of both gamers and pro users.
Samsung purportedly also has plans to put out another slightly panel with a little extra vertical pixels that will come at a 3840×1200 resolution.
The South Korean behemoth is expected to begin production for both monitors later this year in September, which means you’ll likely have to wait until next year for a chance to buy one of these.
Samsung’s display division has been on a tear as of lately. Just last week, the company unveiled its revolutionary Cinema Screen for theaters. It also reportedly inked a deal with Apple to manufacture 92 million OLED panels for the next-generation iPhone.
via PC Gamer