SpaceX prepares for Starlink satellite-to-cell phone service

It's Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

Last year, Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert announced Coverage Above and Beyond, a joint initiative to bring Starlink satellite coverage to compatible T-Mobile phones and other devices. Less than a year later, during a panel at the Satellite Conference and Exhibition 2023, SpaceX VP Jonathan Hofeller said the company would "start getting into testing" its satellite-to-cell service this year.

Hofeller didn't elaborate on which phone carriers SpaceX was working with, but the timeline certainly tallies with Musk's original vision for the T-Mobile partnership. In August, Musk said Starlink V2 would launch in 2023 and " transmit directly to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide." T-Mobile said the eventual service would give the carrier "near complete coverage" of most of the US, including National Parks and mountain ranges. And maybe that one airport terminal where I never get a signal. We can dream.

– Mat Smith

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The best Android phones for 2023

From budget to flagship, we have picks for every price range.

Engadget

Unlike the iOS ecosystem, where Apple is the only game in town, one of the best things about the Android phone market is all the choice. That said, when it comes time to upgrade, that wealth of options can make it difficult to choose the right handset for you. If you’re looking for a new phone and don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered with a selection of the best Android phones for every budget. Spoiler alert: the Pixel 6a is cheap and great.

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'The Last of Us' creators won't restrict 'Part II' to a single season

But will it be two or three seasons?

HBO

The first season of HBO’s The Last of Us wrapped up on Sunday night (read our thoughts on the finale right here), and the show's creators are already looking ahead to the challenge of adapting the second game. HBO swiftly greenlit a second season after the show became an immediate success, but that won't be enough to contain the events of The Last of Us Part II, as Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann confirmed to GQ. In the interview, Druckmann added: "It’s more than one season."

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Sony made a $600 point-and-shoot camera for the visually impaired

The viewfinder projects images directly onto a person’s retina.

Sony

Sony’s DSC-HX99 RNV is a camera kit designed for those with visual impairments. The system consists of a Sony point-and-shoot camera from 2018 and a viewfinder with a retinal laser projection system. The camera is a Cybershot DSC-HX99 with an 18-megapixel sensor and image stabilization. The HX99RNV kit will cost $600 this summer, so it won’t cost more than the DSC-HX99 camera on its own. In a show of support for the low-vision community, Sony says it’ll bear “the majority” of the cost to produce the device.

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Google’s latest feature drop brings faster Night Sight photos to the Pixel 6

Google is also bringing Magic Eraser and other features to older Pixels.

Night Sight, Google’s low-lit photography feature, is now faster for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro users. The company chalks up the speed boost to “new and improved algorithms” for the Tensor chip inside the phones. Additionally, the company says Magic Eraser is now available on all Pixel handsets. The highly marketed feature scrubs unwanted people or objects from photos, filling in the backgrounds behind them (usually) seamlessly. It was previously a Pixel 6 exclusive.

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