The first Project Tango AR smartphone arrives next month

By Jose Vilches on October 5, 2016, 1:45 PM



Google may putting all its weight behind the new Pixel smartphones as it moves to become a full-fledged, vertically integrated device maker — controlling hardware, software, and ecosystem design. But that doesn't mean it has forgotten about its other, niche smartphone projects. According to Cnet, the company’s first commercially-available Tango phone will go on sale next month, as confirmed by Google’s head of VR and AR Clay Bavor.

The Lenovo-made Phab 2 Pro uses depth sensing 3D camera system that scans the world around you to deliver augmented reality experiences. It can do things like scan real world objects and bring them into a virtual world, and it can position itself in a room via motion tracking while using the included fisheye camera to identify edges and corners, which can be used to build a three-dimensional map of indoor spaces.



Spec-wise, the handset features a huge 6.4-inch Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) IPS curved glass display, a Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon 652 SoC alongside 4GB of RAM, a 4,050mAh battery and 64GB of local flash storage expandable via microSD card slot.

Around back you’ll find a 16-megapixel camera and a fish-eye camera as well as depth and motion tracking sensors that are necessary to make Tango’s magic work, alongside a series of sensors under the hood. Other features include dual SIM slots, a fingerprint reader, a front-facing eight megapixel camera, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, triple-array active noise cancellation and Dolby Atmos audio technology.

The Phab 2 Pro was supposed to arrive in September but got delayed for unspecified reasons. It should sell for $499 unlocked in your choice of gray or gold aluminum finish. As Cnet points out, only the Google Pixel phones will be compatible with the Daydream VR headset, not the Phab2 Pro. The latter is all about augmented reality.

Facebook at Work arriving next month, will now charge per employee

By Rob Thubron on September 28, 2016, 2:30 PM
After being tested in closed beta by over 300 select organizations last year, Facebookannounced last December that the enterprise version of its social network, Facebook at Work, would be rolling out over the following months. And while it may be a bit later than planned, the Slack competitor will finally launch publicly next month, according to The Information.

Aimed at businesses and their employees, Facebook at Work looks very similar to its non-enterprise version. It features a scrolling newsfeed, posts that can be 'liked', timelines, groups, events, the ability to follow and interact with co-worders, and a built-in chat service.

Facebook said that the service would remain free - as it has been during the testing phase - with a charge of “a few dollars per month per user” for premium features such as analytics and customer support. However, the firm has now decided to charge a set monthly fee for all active users. The company didn’t specify how much it would ask, though it’s believed to be between $1 - $5. For reference, Slack charges $6.67 per active user.



Facebook at Work director Julien Codorniou said it changed the payment model as Facebook believes it can keep individual employees engaged with the product.

Anyone worried about their personal and business Facebook profiles overlapping needn’t worry. The two accounts are kept separate; anything shared on a work account will only be seen by people in the company, and anything displayed on a personal account will only be visible to friends (based on privacy settings).

If it proves popular, many office workers may find themselves spending even more of their waking hours on the social network.