Samsung offers +$100 credit, fireproof shipping box to Note 7 owners

CPSC issues formal recall for flammable Samsung Note 7 phones

In case you missed it the first few times we’ve mentioned it, Samsung is recalling all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones because they can overheat and explode. The recall just got official – again – with a new posting by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which explained the recall in a rather short and terse description. To recap: the phones can catch fire, so turn them off and return them. Right now.

Also, in a bid to persuade the last hangers-on of the estimated 2 million Note 7s out there – both original and “replacement” units – Samsung is sweeting the deal with a $100 in credit if you decide to trade in on another Samsung phone, like the so far non-fiery S7 flagship device. And they will help with return shipping as well by sending a pair of protective gloves and a fire-proof box for your convenience – and the safety of postal workers.

Sony, take me away….

Is Sony’s PlayStation VR going to be the breakthrough device that finally brings virtual reality to the masses? If it does, it’s because it’s a well rounded system, and not due to a single game.

That’s our take on the latest heavyweight entry into the nascent VR field. While past gaming systems have typically been married to a super-popular title, the PlayStation VR doesn’t really have a breakthrough game that makes it a must-buy system. Rather, the system is arriving fully formed, with a suite of fun games to choose from at launch and more on the way of course, and the low price – compared to the competition – also helps its holiday appeal.

Is a PlayStation VR – or any VR system – showing up at your place this holiday season? Let us know in comments and tells us what convinced you to finally take VR plunge.

Do those stormtrooper uniforms have A/C built in?

We were up early today because about 100 of our Star Wars-obsessed friends texted to say the latest Rogue One trailer is up, and we admit, it looks fantastic.

The two-and-half minute trailer shows a young Jyn Erso watching as her father Galen is taken away by a stern-looking Moff Tarkin type, ostensibly to help the Empire design and build the Death Star. And then there’s a shot of the Death Star rising above the cloudtops of a tropical planet – instant new desktop background right there.

And really, the whole look of the worlds, battle sequences and set pieces for this movie just look amazing. We’ve got the new trailer, the old trailers and everything we’ve deduced about Rogue One by going through each one frame by frame right here. Obsessed? No, not us…

from Planet GS via John Jason Fallows on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2ebj2iz
Bill Roberson