Lenovo and Hasselblad team up to create True Zoom Moto Mod camera

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Moto Mods are magnetic accessories that transform Lenovo's Moto Z line of smartphones into better standalone devices. We've already seen the JBL speakers, the Lenovo projector and various Style Mods and battery cases but the Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod elevates the idea of turning your smartphone into a camera.

Hasselblad needs no introduction, they are synonymous with professional grade cameras and lenses. Their first foray into mobile photography brings 10x Optical Zoom and a Xenon flash to any Moto Z smartphone. More importanly, the Moto Mod also adds the ability to shoot in RAW format which can gather more photo information and is better for editing and printing. A plug-and-play attachment, the True Zoom mod will also offer access to Phocus Hasselblad editing software. An ideal replacement to a standalon SLR or travel camera, the Hasselblad True Zoom will be available in Canada starting in October. Pricing and availability will be announced closer to October.

Acer aiming for ultraportable notebook space with latest IFA releases

Acer's had a big showing at IFA and kicked off their keynote by revealing a bevy of gaming and consumer notebooks, smartphones, chromebooks and convertibles. The latest thin and light line of Swift notebooks are particularly exciting. From the ultra-thin black and gold Swift 7 to the budget-friendly Swift 1, Acer’s new ultra-slim notebooks provide both elegant and practical solutions for everyone. The Swift 7 is just 0.39 inches thin and weighs a mere 2.48 pounds. 

Models in the Swift 5 and Swift 3 Series include premium features such as metal chassis, 7^th Generation Intel Core Processors, Solid State Drives, USB 3.1 Type-C ports, fingerprint scanners and and up to a 9 hour battery life. Looks like a lot of choice coming to the ultraportable, ultra-thin and light computing market.

Thermos has an iOS-connected Smart Bottle that minds your hydration

Smart appliances are becoming a thing and Thermos is right in there with the first ever Smart Bottle with a lid that uses consumer’s information to create a customized hydration goal to ensure they are properly hydrated all day.

Now available in Canada, the Connected Bottle allows consumers to customize and monitor their water intake through the Thermos Smart Lid app and stay hydrated, no matter what life throws at them. The Connected Bottle Works with Fitbit, a leader in the connected health and fitness market, letting consumers track their water intake so they can more easily meet their hydration goals to help maintain energy and overall health.

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Niantic is reversing bans for mistakenly banned ‘Pokémon GO’ players

Niantic is letting some users back into the Pokémon GO fold after they’ve been dealt lifetime bans. The developer is taking back the bans for users who have been unknowingly using lesser known mapping tools that have been collecting data on the users and sending these to Niantic’s servers. Niantic CEO John Hanke says these tools resemble a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. And since these look like DDoS attacks, Niantic acted somewhat indiscriminately to protect its servers. "Because of this we have had to ban some accounts associated with using these add-on map tools, leading to confusion by some users about why they were banned," Hanke writes.

But Hanke presses on to say that they won’t stop enforcing its rules going forward. It still plans to ban users who use add-on maps or third-party tools that violate the game’s terms of service.

Source: The Verge