Skip to main content

Trends with Benefits: 4K phones, OLED takeover, Star Wars toys and DIY helicopters


Unless you’ve been hiding under a schnitzel all week, maybe you’ve noticed that our editorial team has been on the ground in Berlin covering all the new gadgetry coming out of IFA 2015. One of the biggest stories? LG has unveiled its new flat 4K UHD OLED TV, the EF9500.  The new television has the ability to process HDR and all around is looking pretty damn amazing.  Plus, Panasonic is now elbowing into the market with its new CZ950. OLED is definitely the future of display, and it seems like it’s finally ready to start branching out.

Ultra HD isn’t just limited to TVs at the show, either. Sony has unveiled the Xperia Z5, a smartphone with a 4K screen. But is that really necessary, and will apps and content even be able to take advantage of the resolution?

T-Mobile has been making a lot of waves lately, thanks to eccentric CEO John Legere. He’s making some very good points about mobile carriers, and letting the public vote on how he will troll the other companies. Who doesn’t love that!?

Next up; THE STAR WARS TOYS ARE OUT!  Yes, that deserved all caps because they are looking incredible. From the BB-8 Droid that you can control with your phone, to the Millenium Falcon and X-Wing drones, Disney is set to break records before the movie even comes out.

Finally, we round out the show with discussion of a DIY helicopter made from drone parts, and the possible future of MMA-style fighting, in Unified Weapons.

Today’s episode features Ryan Waniata, Drew Prindle, Bill Roberson and Greg Nibler. We also broadcast live on Periscope taking your questions throughout the show!  Follow @DigitalTrends to be alerted when we go live or send in questions ahead of time to podcast@digitaltrends.com. Please subscribe and share Trends with Benefits and send in your questions to podcast@digitaltrends.com.

Digital Trends Staff
Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…
TWB Podcast: SpaceX triumph, Spotify vs. Apple Music, Apple Watch health
trends with benefits spacex tesla spotify apple watch twb full

SpaceX has reinvigorated space exploration: There can be no doubt that putting a cherry red Tesla Roadster into space, as part of the Falcon Heavy X rocket launch on 2/ 5/18, captured the world's attention. It showcased what vision, ability, talent and a whole lot of money, can accomplish. The question now is what will Elon Musk do next? One would imagine that investors are clamoring to pour more money into future projects. This was also the world's greatest ad campaign for Tesla, for which there are some pretty bold plans in their own right. A letter was sent to shareholders stating that they are planning to send an autonomous Tesla car on a coast-to-coast trip in 2018.

Spotify vs. Apple: When it comes to overall users, there is no question that Spotify is the current leader in streaming music services. They have millions more subscribers (approximately 70 million total) than their closest rivals. However, Apple Music is now claiming to have 36 million of their own and according to the Wall Street Journal, is growing at nearly double the rate of Spotify. So, who do you use for streaming music and why?

Read more
Between the Streams: Venomless trailer, Game of Thrones Star Wars, ‘Solo’ time
between the streams

DT’s weekly entertainment show, Between the Streams, is your guide to all of the hottest, most important, and (of course) dumbest new developments in streaming and entertainment, providing a handy recap of the week that was and a preview for what's ahead. Follow us here at 2 p.m. PT every Friday, or add us via RSS, iTunes, or Stitcher at the links below to take BtS on the road!

      

Read more
How to photograph ghosts — get an iPhone (Samsung cameras won’t work)
how to photograph ghosts julie rieger crabman color circled

Forget selfies and sunsets, any ordinary iPhone can be used to take pictures of something far more intriguing: the spirit world.

Julie Rieger is the biggest of Hollywood bigwigs; she’s president, chief data strategist, and head of media at 20th Century Fox, where she’s worked on a few little films like Avatar, Deadpool, The Fault in Our Stars, and more. And in addition to being one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, she’s an avid ghost photographer -- in fact, she wrote the book on it.

Read more