Sunday
Nov122017

Is Hasbro planning to buy Mattel?

This might not seem to be the right space to talk about this a few years back but with gadgets and even connected toys taking up more and more of the attention of children, this doesn’t seem too off tangent. A new report from the Wall Street Journal claims Hasbro recently made an offer to purchase Mattel. It wasn’t said how receptive Mattel was to the idea or how much Hasbro offered but the move would put two hot properties side by side: My Little Pony and Hot Wheels. A merger of the two companies might help both sides. Hasbro, who has been taking advantage of the popularity of its Disney-themed toys as well as licenses from TV and movie deals, can help out Mattel, who is trying to turn around years of failed toy lines.

The acquisition will also give Hasbro access to Mattel’s manufacturing facilities. The former gave up its own facilities a while back. On top of that, Mattel could contribute to building up Hasbro’s tech-driven toys, which they need to develop more of now as they compete with top tech companies for the younger audience. Of course, this might raise concerns about how this could violate US antitrust law but whether this will draw as big a scrutiny and opposition as telecom mergers is something we can’t say yet. Both parties refuse to comment about the rumours.

Source: Engadget

Saturday
Nov112017

Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup 11/05-11/11

Saturday
Nov112017

Google Pixel 2 renders Assistant useless with Bluetooth headsets

Review: Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

While the Google Pixel 2 XL has been taking the spotlight in terms of bad press, it looks like even the Pixel 2 is immune from it. An issue being reported widely on Google support forums talk about how Google Assistant seems to be having issues when used with Bluetooth headphones. It seems to mute the microphone when Assistant is invoked, basically rendering voice useless and defeating the purpose of the feature. There isn’t any fix for it yet but hopefully Google works on this soon.

Source: GSMArena

Saturday
Nov112017

Google to bring Pixel 2’s Driving Do Not Disturb API to developers next year

The Driving Do Not Disturb feature in the Pixel 2 and 2 XL is one of the more practical features we need in our devices. Thankfully, more Android users might get access to this in the coming year. Google plans to release the API for this feature in early 2018. It gives developers a chance to integrate the Activity Recognition Transition API within their apps. We might see them in navigation and other apps we might often use on the road and we’re all for that. No specific timeline though but we should hopefully some apps introduce the feature in the first quarter of next year.

Source: Android Central