First impressions on Google Home

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

One of my biggest frustrations is that it takes so much time for a lot of technology to make it from the US to Canada. Certain items like voice assistants, streaming boxes, and apps take longer to come to Canada and when they do make it here, their features are often hobbled compared to the US versions.

This is true with Amazon's Echo product, which was ubiquitous at this year's CES, and this is also true with Google Home. These voice assistant speakers and hubs are supposed to be the next big technology and they're not openly available in Canada.

I picked up a Google Home during a recent US trip knowing full well that the smart speaker might not be fully supported in Canada. Here are my impressions.

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Nintendo’s ‘Fire Emblem Heroes’ has already earned US$5 million

It’s been roughly a week since Nintendo launched the free-to-play Fire Emblem Heroes on iOS and Android and it looks like it’s doing pretty well for itself. According to Time’s interview with Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima, the games has already been downloaded over a million times and has made US$5 million in revenue. As a lesser known franchise from Nintendo, we have to say it’s doing well for itself so far.

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Sony is rolling out Android Nougat to select Xperia devices

Sony rolled out Android Nougat last month to the Xperia Z5 but have met some issues. Now, it looks like the Japanese company is ready to give it another try. Android 7.0 is making its way to the Xperia Z3+, Z4 Tablet, and Z5 series. It would seem Sony has been able to fix the issues such as “inconsistencies related to audio playback via third-party apps and SD card encrypted data read performance.” The new firmware heading the way of these Sony devices has a build number of 32.3.A.0.376. Despite the issues with the roll out, it has to be noted that Sony is also one of the first manufacturers to offer Nougat update to its devices beyond the latest phone series.

Source: Android Authority

Apple offers Pro Apps Bundle for Education in Canada

Giving both educators and students the tools they need to teach and learn, Apple is offering its Pro Apps Bundle for Education in the country. The suite will be available to college students, K12, and HiEd institutions and teachers for CA$259.99. It’ll include Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, Motion 5, Compressor 4, and MainStage 3. These apps offer real world video editing and music creation capabilities to help schools have an end-to-end solution for these subjects.