Twitter flips the switch for the new 280 character limit

Twitter flips the switch for the new 280 character limit

Today, Twitter has lifted the 140-character limit for its general users to 280. The micro-blogging platform first tested the new limit on a select group of Twitter users, particularly those with large amounts of followers and celebrities. The took place over about six weeks, during which Twitter has collected some interesting data. Only 5% of tweets sent were longer than 140 characters while only 2% were over 190. Mind you, this data was collected before the limit was changed for the vast majority of Twitter users. Wed be interested to learn if well see long tweets all the time, or if people will just keep it short and sweet as theyve been doing since Twitter launched. Twitters reasoning for the increase in character limits is to bring more users who want a bigger canvas to express themselves more easily. The limit is not being raised for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese users because these languages has much denser characters in their languages, thus not requiring them to cram very much. Anyway, those whose limits have been raised will see a new circular character limit indicator, which replaces the digital counter.

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Amazon launches Fire TV Stick Basic Edition in over 100 countries

Amazon launches Fire TV Stick Basic Edition in over 100 countries

Amazon has launched a new version of the Fire TV Stick for the global market, called the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition. This media streaming player will be available in over a 100 countries worldwide where Amazon launched its Amazon Prime Video service last year. The new Basic Edition is essentially the second generation Fire TV Stick but without the Alexa functionality, as many of these 100 countries do not have Alexa. The remote it comes with lacks the microphone and the Alexa button. While that is fine, the device is strangely also available in the US, which does have Alexa. Even more strangely, at $49.99, it costs more than the previous Fire TV Stick that comes with the Alexa remote and costs just $39.99. I'm not quite sure what is happening there but if I had to guess they will eventually phase out the Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote in the US and drop the price of the Basic Edition but for now it makes no sense to get the Basic Edition in the US.

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Measuring the bezels of the iPhone X - can Apple win the bezel-less war?

Measuring the bezels of the iPhone X - can Apple win the bezel-less war?

says Apple about the . An admirable goal, though Apple is hardly a pioneer here Sharp went bezel-less years ago, Xiaomi pushed the concept into the public consciousness. Still, you cant deny the X is a massive improvement over all iPhones dating back to the original. We decided to measure Apples achievement how thin are those bezels? Is it a huge improvement over the iPhone 8 Plus? Obviously yes for the top and bottom bezels, but we think those are of secondary importance. Its the side bezels that matter with todays large screens, thick side bezels can make the phone so wide as to be impossible to hold comfortably. We measured the side bezels of the iPhone X at 4.13mm. Thats almost a full millimeter thinner than the iPhone 8 Plus bezels (and dont forget any saving here counts twice). Its not as thin as it could have been though, the two Androids we used as control are both comfortably under 4mm. Perhaps Apple didnt want to go too thin the iPads have great palm rejection, but even then you dont want accidental touches. As you may have noticed, we didnt include the Galaxy flagships as their curved screens are difficult to measure but also exacerbate the accidental touch issue. Anyway, if you look closely, youll see that the bottom bezel is slightly thinner than the side bezels. So Apple have gone thinner but chose not to for one reason or the other. Note that the top bezel includes the notch with the TrueDepth camera. Its impressive that this notch is smaller than the bottom bezel of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, even though it contains a minified Kinect. Also, its only a millimeter more than the top bezel on the LG V30, despite housing one of the stereo speakers. If you want to imagine a V30 with stereo speakers, you can look at the Pixel 2 XL. In short, Apples engineers deserves kudos their product strikes a great balance between minimal dead space and ergonomics.

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YouTube for iOS now supports full screen on the iPhone X

YouTube for iOS now supports full screen on the iPhone X

The 19.5:9 aspect ratio of the is not quite perfect for watching videos when the majority of content out there is at 16:9. Such content covers the equivalent of (a bit less actually) due to letterboxing. The latest YouTube update allows you to get rid of that and use the screen fully, horns and all. You lose a bit from the top and the bottom of the video while the sides lose bits due to the notch and the rounded corners. Still, if you want to, you can. All you need to do is a pinch gesture to fill up the screen. Check the App Store for updates, the new version is 12.43.

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OnePlus will let fans attend the OnePlus 5T event for a fee

OnePlus will let fans attend the OnePlus 5T event for a fee

Smartphone launch events are typically restricted to journalists, but OnePlus is giving you a chance to see get unveiled in person. The event will be held in Brooklyn, New York. Tickets will cost $40 and youll be able to buy one from starting tomorrow, November 16. (chances are that the spots are limited) The event will be streamed live (and for free), but the $40 will go to charity and seeing the event first hand is much more exciting. PS. Razer also offered fans tickets for its London event that brought us the Razer Phone and those sold out very quickly.

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Assistant's music recognition feature rolling out to non-Google devices as well

Assistant's music recognition feature rolling out to non-Google devices as well

Google has confirmed that the Assistant's ability to recognize music/songs being played around users has started rolling out to non-Google devices as well. The feature which works like Shazam or SoundHound was only available on phones until now. Reports confirm the functionality now works on devices by other manufacturers like OnePlus and Nextbit. Following screenshots taken from a unit confirms this: In case the Assistant app on your device isn't recognizing music yet, it's likely because the update hasn't reached your device. Google says the rollout began this past weekend, so you'll have to keep patience for a few more days.

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Samsung Galaxy Note8 (international variant) to get new update soon

Samsung Galaxy Note8 (international variant) to get new update soon

While Samsung has the October security update to the , not every region has been lucky. Specifically, countries where the international variant (SM-N950F) was sold have been waiting for quite some time now the model's security level is still stuck at August. Officially, there's still no information on when this model would get the next security update, but a new report suggests that's likely to happen soon. The report notes a new security update will start hitting SM-N950F units sometime next week. The update could be for the month of October or November. In case it's the latter, then the Note8 will be the first Samsung device to get the November patch.

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New Google Pixel 2 ad focuses on phone's key features

New Google Pixel 2 ad focuses on phone's key features

It's been a for Google when it comes to their latest flagship smartphone, but that doesn't take away the fact that it's an impressive device. And in case you have any doubt about that, Google's new ad for the device is here to quell that. The video focuses on several useful day-to-day scenarios where the phone can be of help, like it can remember your bike lock code for you, provide accurate weather forecasts, and even snap a selfie when user says take a selfie. Then there are other features, such as unlimited storage for photos, fast charging, ability to control lights at home as well as record stable videos even during bumpy rides. Of course, the ad features Google Assistant as well. Here's the video, take a look:

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