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Osmo Mindracers puts real Hot Wheels on crazy virtual tracks

Hot Wheels will be celebrating its 50th anniversary soon and, even in an era where kids spend a lot of time on smartphones and tablets, they also still play with little die-cast metal vehicles on plastic orange track. But the venerable toy car brand can also be found on handheld devices, making its entry into AR earlier this year with Track Builder, which allowed users to build their own Hot Wheels setup in simulated space by moving their phone around. Last holiday season the company also brought video game mechanics into the real world with Hot Wheels AI, which put computer-controlled cars onto a real track with virtual pitfalls. With their newest product Mindracers, Hot Wheels and Osmo have flipped that dynamic around. Now those metal cars can be dropped into virtual worlds to race, the kind of places kids used to only see in their imagination.

Osmo Mindracers puts real Hot Wheels on crazy virtual tracks posted first on http://ift.tt/1tUdcCk

Blizzard's Battle.net mobile app is strictly social

With its original moniker intact (sort of), Blizzard Battle.net is making the jump to mobile. The online gaming platform already boasts a desktop portal, through which players can install and patch games, voice chat, message one another, and livestream their gameplay to Facebook. Its brand-spanking new iOS and Android apps, on the other hand, offer a pared-down service focusing entirely on the social aspect.

Source: Blizzard

Blizzard's Battle.net mobile app is strictly social posted first on http://ift.tt/1tUdcCk

DoorDash adds group ordering to its food delivery app

On-demand food delivery service DoorDash has been adding some cool new features over the years. You can get ice cream and beer delivered right to your door now, which is all kinds of perfect. The company has delivered voter registration kits, too, and has tested robot-powered delivery in select areas. It has also offered group ordering features on its website for a couple of years now, making grabbing takeout with a bunch of picky friends a lot easier. Now the DoorDash app will have the same group feature with its latest update on both iOS and Android.

Source: DoorDash

DoorDash adds group ordering to its food delivery app posted first on http://ift.tt/1tUdcCk

ESPN's app streams its studio shows on-demand

ESPN has been adding more features to its mobile app, like personalizing user live video streams. Starting today, fans can stream select shows on the app, including College GameDay, Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn -- and they can watch them whenever they want. No more missing an episode because you couldn't make the livestream.

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Essential Phone has reportedly sold 5,000 units so far

The Essential Phone has now been available for a little over a month, and some folks may be wondering how the premium smartphone from a new company is selling. If a new report is accurate, the answer may be “not well.”

Essential has sold 5,000 Essential Phones since its debut, according to the firm BayStreet Research. That number refers to the number of devices consumers have bought from retailers, not the number of units retails have bought from a manufacturer.

BayStreet came to its estimate by tracking shipments of phones and other devices across the U.S.

When asked about this report, Essential didn’t respond.

While the number reported by BayStreet is an estimate, it’s certainly possible that sales of the Essential Phone haven’t been great. Most U.S. consumers buy their phones from their carrier, and Sprint is the only carrier offering the Essential Phone in the U.S. And even on Sprint, the Essential Phone is facing stiff competition from the likes of Samsung and Apple.

For everyone else, they have to plunk down $700 for a device from a brand new manufacturer, which is a tough ask for some people.

Have you bought an Essential Phone? If so, what do you think of it so far?

Essential Phone

Essential

Essential Phone has reportedly sold 5,000 units so far originally posted at http://phonedog.com

Google Home Max rumored to be coming with 'premium' design

Rumors have suggested that Google is prepping a Google Home Mini device, and now it looks like there may be a Google Home Max in the works, too.

Google is developing a device referred to internally as the Google Home “Max”, say sources speaking to 9to5Google. Details on the device are light, but it’s said to feature “premium” design and materials as well as stereo speakers.

It’s unclear when Google might announce this Google Home Max. The company does have an event scheduled for October 4th, but one source said that a Google Home Max announcement at that event is only a “possibility”.

This rumored device sounds like a high-end version of the Google Home smart speaker. We know that Apple is launching its own smart speaker called the HomePod later this year, and today Amazon introduced its own premium smart speaker called the Echo Plus, so it’s possible that the Google Home Max will be Google’s answer to those devices.

What will be interesting is seeing where Google prices this Google Home Max, as Amazon is on one end of the premium speaker spectrum with its $149 Echo Plus and Apple is on the other end with its $349 HomePod.

What do you make of this rumor? Would you be interested in a premium version of the Google Home?

Google

Google Home Max rumored to be coming with 'premium' design originally posted at http://phonedog.com