Episode 185

This isn’t the last episode of The Voicemail, but it’ll be the last one you’ll hear for a while. In it, James and Stefan discuss what’s been happening in their respective lives since the last time they recorded, what news items caught there eyes during the show’s brief hiatus, and what they’re looking forward to in 2017.

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 185, 46 minutes and 47 seconds, 33.6 MB]

Episode 184

On this week’s episode of The Voicemail, James and Stefan discuss:

• Samsung makes largest acquisition ever: $8 billion for Harmon
  • It also bought a tiny Canadian company that does telecoms stuff (RCS)
• Google gave Google Play Music (the Spotify clone) a total makeover
• Super Mario Run has a date and price: $10 December 15
• WhatsApp now has video calls
• Apple is working on a Google Glass-like product
• Apple launched a repair program for iPhone 6s owners experiencing unexpected shutdowns (like Stefan, who will eventually do this, it’s not a massive issue)
• Google is going to open a new HQ in the UK and hire 3,000 people
• Google launched a photo scanning app
  • Here’s a video demo
• OnePlus launched an updated version of the OnePlus 3
  • Here’s the Android Police review
• Germany may decide that Facebook should be treated like a media company
• Firefox launched an iOS browser that stores zero information and blocks ads
• Qualcomm has a new flagship chip, Samsung is building it, called the Snapdragon 835
• Twitter launched QR codes, because … reasons?
• Instagram now has live video, and it automatically deletes itself
• Good Read: The story behind how Snapchat Spectacles came to be
• Microsoft finally brings Solitaire to Android and iOS

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 184, 34 minutes and 08 seconds, 24.6 MB]

Episode 183

On this week’s episode of The Voicemail, James and Stefan discuss:

• Light Reading: A company that makes iPhone clones is now the number on smartphone maker in China: OPPO
• Twitter hates your website (translation: links in iOS app to open in reader mode)
• Sony’s mobile division is making money … but only selling 3.5 million phones a quarter
• Stefan sold his iPad less than three months after buying it, and preordered a new Mac
• Huawei launched an expensive giant Android phone
• Desktop advertising saw its first decline, ever, as mobile is eating the world
• Apple takes 104% (not a typo) of the smartphone industry’s profits
  • Apple now selling used iPhones in America
• YouTube now supports HDR
• Samsung’s Galaxy S8 may have a dedicated AI button, powered by guys who made Siri
  • Samsung runs multiple full page ads saying sorry for the Note 7 fiasco
• Snapchat Spectacles are out, this 90 second video does a great job showing them off
  • Verge made a really good video too
  • Snapchat now has World Lenses
  • Google invested in Snapchat
• Lenovo will name all future phones Moto phones
• Facebook built an embarrassingly similar clone of Snapchat called Flash for emerging markets
  • Jesus Christ, just look at the screenshots

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 183, 33 minutes and 40 seconds, 24.2 MB]

Episode 182

On this week’s episode of The Voicemail, James and Stefan discuss:

• Weird: Razer, the company that makes those seizure inducing gaming keyboards, purchased the THX certification company, which apparently has only 50 employees
• Qualcomm announces new mid-range chips, with notable features being support for 8 GB of RAM and dual camera system, as well as new Quick Charge technology
• The Chinese iOS App Store finally generates more revenue than any other region
• Nintendo did a thing … can you explain this to me, James?
• Huawei to unveil a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on November 3rd
• The Mi Note 2 is the Samsung Galaxy Note 7
• Holy Shit, the Mi Mix (here’s an actual hands-on video)
• Fun Fact: WIRED journalist says the Pixel went from idea to launch in nine months (podcast link)
• Samsung to give South Korean Note 7 buyers a 50% off coupon they can use on either the Galaxy S8 or the Galaxy Note 8
• Samsung announced a $350 tablet that has a stylus
• Google unveiled a $6,000 55 inch 4K TV with a touch screen for businesses
  • Video showing it off
• Off Topic: The New York Times purchased The Wirecutter for $30 million
• Microsoft unveiled a $3,000 touch-screen iMac
  • Highly recommended video: Microsoft’s event in 9 minutes
• Apple’s fancy pants headphones are delayed, no one knows when they’ll ship
• On the day of Apple’s event, Twitter announces it’s killing Vine and firing 350 people
  • What went wrong with Vine, by James
  • Stefan Side Note: I can’t sit through a 90 minute press conference anymore. Can’t even do a 60 minute press conference. Fuck me, I can’t even watch The Verge’s 10 minute super cut without wanting to slit my wrists. Am I dead inside?
• Samsung’s phones may be exploding, but LG Mobile just had their worst quarter ever
• Facebook now lets you target ads based on people’s race … ughhhhhh
• Bonus: The photo that made Vlad Savov say the Pixel is better than the iPhone

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 182, 33 minutes and 43 seconds, 24.3 MB]

Episode 181

On this week’s Extended Edition of The Voicemail, James and Stefan discuss:

• Facebook launched Messenger Lite for emerging markets
• Facebook launches Events, iOS only, US only
• Facebook also launches Workplace (finally)
• Microsoft’s wearable is dead
• Huawei fired its US team responsible for Honor, company doing terribly in America
• Xiaomi launched something in the US … an Android TV box for $69
• The Google Event:
  • Hands-on with the new phones
  • Video from MKBHD
  • Android 7.1 features
  • The new $69 Chromecast Ultra (4K with HDR)
  • Straight from Google: The Nexus is dead
  • Google’s VR headset is $79
  • Google’s new WiFi router is $129 or $299 for a three pack
  • Google Home will cost $129 and come with half a year of YouTube Red
• Remember that Lenovo Phab 2 Project Tango phone? Now coming November.
• Another Note 7 exploded (on a plane no less), and this one was one of the fixed phones
  • WSJ claims Samsung is temporarily ceasing production of the Note 7
  • Update: Samsung kills the Note 7
  • Update: Samsung says killing the Note 7 will cost them $3.1 billion
• Remember the company Apple bought to turn into Siri, and then those people left Apple to start another company called Viv? Samsung just bought them, no price mentioned.
• Oculus announced a bunch of shit I don’t care about, but they did say they’re working on a standalone headset, meaning it doesn’t need a PC or your smartphone.
  • Here is the prototype
  • Pretty Cool: Oculus buys Irish company who invented advanced LCD tech
• Interview with CEO of Instagram. I didn’t read it. But it has a cool stat: 100 million people are already using the Snapchat clone feature, Stories, every single day.
• Snapchat is going to demote publisher content, turn off auto-play
  • Update: IT’S FIXED
  • Even The Economist is making content for Snapchat
• Microsoft event on October 26th, some dumb PC
• Amazon launches music service, $10 for everyone, $8 for Prime members, $4 for Echo
• Looks like no one is going to buy Twitter after all
• Some HTC phone no one will buy leaked, big deal is no headphone jack
• Sony is going to pull a Nintendo and bring their games to Android/iOS
• Google is going to change how it indexes the web. Will create a separate index that will only index mobile sites. Eventual goal is to make this mobile-index the primary index.

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 181, 61 minutes and 37 seconds, 44.4 MB]

Episode 180

On this week’s episode of The Voicemail, James and Stefan discuss:

• The new iPhones hiss under load
• Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 isn’t coming back to the US until late October now
  • Update: Wait, that’s not true?
    • OHHH, I get it. Sales halted until October. Note 7 for swaps here now.
    • Samsung says they fixed half the busted phones
• Looks like Google’s new phones are going to be priced like iPhones
  • Update: Pictures leaked (above)
  • Update: The day after we recorded, Google sent out invites: Oct 4
  • Update: Google will also announce a router there
  • And their Amazon Echo competitor, plus a new 4K Chromecast
  • We may even see Google’s first stab at merging Android + Chrome OS
  • Pixel 3 coming out this time next year running “Andromeda”
  • Final Update: Everything you should expect for October 4th
• HTC launched two phones no one cares about
• Google Allo is out … OK?
• iOS 10.1 beta is out, public beta, is this the new normal?
• Snapchat renames itself to Snap, unveils $130 glasses
  • Nice FAQ about the specs
• Verge founding member now works at Apple, didn’t tell anyone at Verge
• Twitter is going to be purchased by someone for at least $30 billion
  • Update: Even Disney is thinking about buying them
  • Update: Microsoft may buy them, sale expected in ~45 days
  • Here’s Twitter’s 10-K
• Plex will now let you use your cloud storage provider as your storage bucket
• Lenovo laid off half of its US Moto employees
• There’s a YouTube for India which lets you download videos and set quality
• BlackBerry no longer making their own hardware, will instead install s/w on others
• Android Wear 2.0 pushed back into 2017
• Meerkat officially dead—pulled from the App Store

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 180, 36 minutes and 33 seconds, 26.3 MB]

Episode 179

On this week’s episode of The Voicemail, James and Stefan discuss:

• EU bans network level ad blocking (Translation: You need to do your own ad blocking.)
• Minor News: SoftBank acquisition of ARM completed
• Huawei is making a Nexus/Pixel tablet that’ll launch this year, says @evleaks
• HP bought Samsung (lol jk, the printer business only, $1 billion)
• One third for Facebook Messenger users are using the audio/video calling features
• AdBlock Plus now sells ads
• There’s now a $50 Echo; more compelling?
• Samsung: Yep, it’s officially a recall now
• Samsung: The New Note 7 will be in US stores on September 21
  • How to identify the new Note 7
• Microsoft closes its London Skype office, fires 400 people
• At the hardware level, Qualcomm is supporting fancy dual camera tech
• LG announced a phone no one gives a shit about
  • Five minute hands-on video and dear god it’s horrible
• Apple Stuff:
  • Thank you, The Next Web, for writing one single damn article
  • Ten minute video for those who hate reading
  • CollegeHumor: The New iPhone is Just Worse
  • Yeah We Removed The Headphone Jack. The Fuck You Going To Do About It?
• Minor (Off Topic) News: The new Amazon TV devices can now search Netflix and HBO
• Super (Off Topic, academic paper) News: Using neural networks for text to speech
• ALSO: SONY PS4 ANNOUNCEMENTS
• ALSO: UPDATE ON JAMES’ PHONE PURCHASING SAGA

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 179, 37 minutes and 09 seconds, 26.7 MB]

No Special #AppleEvent Episode

No special episode this week.

See email from Stefan to James last night.

Our dynamic duo will be back in a week or so.

Got a question / disagreement?

Throw it in the comments.

Until then.

Episode 178

In this week’s episode of The Voicemail, James and Stefan discuss:

• Remember when HTC promised to update their phones really quick? Yeah, no.
• Remember when WhatsApp said it’ll never sell you out? Yeah, no.
• Apple sends out invites: September 7th
  • Here’s everything that’ll be announced there
• EU orders Apple to pay 13 billion Euros in back taxes
• The Nexus phones this year won’t be called Nexus phones
  • Update: They’ll be called Pixel and Pixel XL, to be unveiled October 4th
• Project Ara reportedly dead
• There’s now a Gorilla Glass for wearables
• Samsung’s having some issues cranking out Note 7 phones
  • Update: NOTE 7 SALES HALTED

— then a 15mins interlude while Stefan schools James on what phone he should get — 

• Mildly interesting IFA news:
  • New Chromebook from Acer
  • ASUS ZenWatch, first watch to use Qualcomm’s new wearable SoC
  • New Samsung watches … OK?
  • Moto Z Play: cheaper Moto Z w/ a 1080p screen, slower chip, HEADPHONE JACK
  • New $300 camera mod for the Moto Z, but it’s kind of shit
  • Lenovo announced an Android tablet with a gigantic trackpad
  • Sony has a new flagship and a new compact
  • HTC has a new iPhone clone that’s worse than their old iPhone clone
  • Qualcomm announces VR headset meant for companies to license and sell
  • Sony Xperia Ear (Bluetooth headset you can talk to)

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 178, 49 minutes and 06 seconds, 35.4 MB]

Episode 177

On this week’s episode of The Voicemail, James and Stefan discuss:

• Pokémon GO passes 100 million Play Store downloads in just a month, but engagement is down
• Google launches Duo, says it’ll make Hangouts more for business folks
  • Note the fancy new “pre-register” feature
• Android 7.0 is out
  • Comprehensive changelog here
• Note 7 reviews are out
• Intel will make ARM chips—LG says they’ll use Intel to make its own chips
• Huawei’s new flagship Honor phone launched in the US (James has a Huawei)
• Twitter finally does something about abuse
• Facebook made an app specifically for people under 21
• Samsung Milk will be shut down next month
• Rumor has it Samsung will sell used phones next year
• Instagram reaches 1 billion downloads in the Play Store
• Rumor: Apple to expand the iPhone lineup yet again in 2017 with higher end model
• Geek Out: Microsoft talks about the chip it built for HoloLens

Note: You can subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

[Episode 177, 36 minutes and 10 seconds, 26.1 MB]