Episode 16: Super Mario Run, Samsung, and VR on your iPhone

In this week's show: Super Mario Run for your phone needs an Internet connection; Samsung is remotely killing its phones in the US (and disconnecting from towers in Canada); the Samsung Galaxy S8 might not have a headphone jack; iPhone has a VR headset companion—and it might rival the big guys.
Recommendations
Riley — Red Harvest (https://www.amazon.ca/Red-Harvest-Dashiell-Hammett/dp/0679722610/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481596060&sr=8-1&keywords=red+harvest) (A very old book by the guy who brought us the Maltese Falcon)
Marc — Modern Strike Online (http://www.androidcentral.com/review-modern-strike-online-blows-competition-away)
Dan — Fallout Shelter (http://www.falloutshelter.com)

In this week's show: Super Mario Run for your phone needs an Internet connection; Samsung is remotely killing its phones in the US (and disconnecting from towers in Canada); the Samsung Galaxy S8 might not have a headphone jack; iPhone has a VR headset companion—and it might rival the big guys.

Recommendations

Riley — Red Harvest (A very old book by the guy who brought us the Maltese Falcon)

Marc — Modern Strike Online

Dan — Fallout Shelter

Links:

The Bridge Headset Brings Positional-Tracking VR to iPhone | WIRED — Positional tracking is what makes higher-end hardware such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR such fundamentally different devices compared to phone-based headsets like the Gear VR and Daydream View. With positional tracking, you can roam around inside a virtual world laterally and vertically.Super Mario Run needs a constant internet connection to run | TechCrunch — Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed this week that Super Mario Run will only work on a device with a constant internet connection.Samsung confirms it will render the US Note 7 useless with next update - The Verge — Samsung will render remaining Galaxy Note 7s in the United States useless and inoperable with its next and final update for the recalled smartphone. Verizon refuses to release update that would kill Samsung’s Note 7 - The Verge — Verizon will not be releasing a just-announced Galaxy Note 7 software update designed to stop the recalled smartphone from charging. In a statement, the leading US mobile carrier attributed the decision to concerns over safety for customers who might not have another mobile phone to use after the Note 7 has been crippled.Why you should get rid of your recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7 now - National | Globalnews.ca — Canadians still hanging on to their recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s will soon have their phones rendered almost entirely useless.

Samsung announced in a press release Wednesday plans to “deactivate service” for the recalled devices by Monday.Samsung’s Galaxy S8 might not have a headphone jack - The Verge — You were probably hoping the whole no headphone jack thing was just a 2016 fad, right? Sorry, but SamMobile thinks it’s here to stay, as Samsung is reportedly preparing to release its Galaxy S8 sans jack.If you tweet emoji at Google, it will reply with local search results - The Verge — Google has a new trick up its sleeve on Twitter — it can now understand emoji you tweet at it. HP Spectre x360 review: the best Windows laptop of 2016 - The Verge — That’s what makes HP’s latest Spectre x360 so interesting. It has the same basic spec sheet as countless other laptops, and from a distance, even looks similar to many others. But in a year that’s been full of laptop disappointments, the Spectre x360’s cohesive design and lack of compromises has been a breath of fresh air.Neil Young is turning Pono into a high-res music streaming service - The Verge — “We’re gonna re-emerge as a streaming service and a high-res download offer,” he said during an interview. “We provide the best that's available. Full resolution music, great sounding music.”Dropbox now has an Xbox One app - The Verge — Since the Xbox One runs a universal version of Windows 10, it's easier then ever for developers to make apps for the video game console. Thus, we now have a Dropbox app for Xbox One.Pokémon GO gets its first Gen II Pokémon and a special limited edition Pikachu (with a Santa hat) | TechCrunch — Pokémon from the series’ second generation (“Johto”) are making their way into the game — but not all at once, it seems. And, in a further twist: You won’t be able to catch these first ones in the wild. You’ll have to hatch them from an egg that you’ve picked up at a Pokéstop.Doppler’s Futuristic Earbuds Sound Great. They Also Speak Spanish | WIRED — Demos are always controlled, and don’t always represent what a product is actually like in the world. Sometimes they’re even fake! But all that said, Doppler’s Here One demo is one of the wildest gadget experiences I’ve ever had.