Pokémon Go update: latest news and features

Pokémon Go quickly became a mammoth mobile gaming success virtually from day one. Niantic's blockbuster game creates a mirror of the real world using augmented reality, assisted with smartphones’ cameras and GPS chips. This allows players to find, catch and train pokémon (or pokémen) in their own neighborhoods. In this article, we list each Pokémon Go update for the Android app to help you track new features and versions.

Pokémon Go update brings 'minor text fixes'

July 20, 2016: This update to Pokémon Go seemed a long time coming, but in reality is very minimal. Released only a couple of days ago, the Play Store release notes for version 0.29.3 contain only, “minor text fixes”. The iPhone got an update via version 1.0.3 in Apple’s App Store. Perhaps the update was rushed out, as Niantic didn’t give any details for what the fixes were and, ironically, the release notes themselves don’t even contain correct grammar.

Apart from not addressing frozen Pokeballs or three-footstep bugs, this update also crashed servers, as was reported on Twitter and other websites. While a small update is better than none, it’s obvious that Pokémon Go is buggy and needs a polish. We’ll update you when it gets one.

Pokémon Go launches, world goes crazy

July 6, 2016: The first stable version available to Android users was 0.29.0. This was only available in the US, Australia and New Zealand on launch day, which was July 6, 2016. Even though it wasn’t available elsewhere from the Play Store, millions of fans across the globe downloaded the Pokémon Go APK from sites like apkmirror.com.

The game was definitely buggy on launch day, but the huge hype surrounding what had been for many people an unknown type of gaming experience meant that little attention was paid to the software’s flaws. But we waited for an update to arrive and, soon enough, one arrived.

Pokémon Go global release

The global rollout of Pokémon Go didn’t happen all at once, and with good reason. With server issues affecting players in multiple countries – Germany on launch day, for example – the release was gradual.

Resource: https://www.androidpit.com
Resource: http://www.kvtr.com/

Pokemon update: Pokemon Go evolving and secret to unlocking Jolteon, Vaporeon and Flareon

EVOLVING POKEMON in in Nintendo and Niantic’s new hit mobile title, Pokemon Go, can appear a bit of a grind until you find out some of the secret tricks to speed things up.

First the basics, every time you catch a Pokemon of a particular species, you’ll receive Candy for that species.

Evolution requires a different amount of Candy for each species. Pokemon that require more Candy to evolve tend to show greater gains in CP.

That’s why Pokemon Go's Magikarp has such an outrageous appetite for Candy, 400 will turn him into a Gyrados, quite the jump in firepower.

Evolved Pokemon generally have higher CP and HP, making them a valuable addition to your collection.

And just to be clear, you’ll still have the same number of Pokémon in your collection after completing an Evolution. The Pokemon you selected has evolved—transforming into an evolved Pokemon—so you haven’t gained or lost in total Pokemon.

Until you have enough Candy, you won't be able to evolve your Pokemon. You can view the amount of Candy needed to evolve your Pokemon in the Pokemon’s summary.

To evolve a Pokemon :

•     In Map View, touch the Main Menu
•     Touch Pokémon
•     From your list of Pokémon, select one Pokémon to evolve.
•     On the Pokémon’s summary, touch the Evolve Button

Catching Pokemon earn three candy and transferring Pokemon to Professor Willow earns you one more, meaning that it is definitely worth catching those low-level Rattas and Pidgeys you always run into.

Candy is also earned when you hatch Pokemon eggs, baby Pokemon usually give out more than three Candies, place the egg you found at the Pokestop in an incubator, and the egg will hatch into a Pokémon as you walk.

By grabbing a big haul of these Pocket Monsters, you can then hand them in and grab a stash of Candies, after which you can evolve your strongest specimens.

One trick some trainers in Urban areas employ is to find a place with a lot of Pokestops that can be accessed almost at once.

Dropping a lure will bring more Pokemon to your location, you can also keep spinning the Pokestops following their cooldown of a couple of minutes to grab fresh Pokeballs and other useful items.

By saving up the Pokemon that can evolve, you can then level up faster - 100 EXP for each evolve - unlocking more items and stronger Pokemon to choose from.

Resource: http://www.express.co.uk/
Resource: http://www.kvtr.com/

2016 Hyundai Sonata: Hyundai Tones Down the Sonata’s Styling

It happens all the time. Automaker A introduces a new model featuring groundbreaking styling. But four years later, the marketers win out, forcing the styling studio to tone down the design of what was once hailed as a masterpiece. The company will sell more cars, they say.

Such is the case with the 2016 Hyundai Sonata, The previous-generation car was perhaps the best example of the Korean automaker’s stylistic renaissance. Finally, after years of downright boring cars, the Sonata featured a design that was worthy of its musical name.

Leading the way was the car’s unusual wave-pattern grille that carried into the hood. It was groundbreaking, sophisticated and different enough to make the Sonata stand out in a sea of sameness. On the sides, a character line arched up from about midway up on the front wheel well, catching the door handles and continuing to the taillights. Sharp.

For 2016, the marketers convinced company leaders that a more conservative design would allow the company to sell more Sonatas. It’s still a good-looking car, no doubt. But now it’s all but indistinguishable from several other mid-size sedans.

The new trapezoidal grille now continues into a flat, barren hood. At least Hyundai’s designers were able to save the narrow strip of chrome that runs from the headlights, to the base of the side windows.

On the sides, the character line is now a nearly straight line above the door handles.

Parked next to a current-generation Ford Fusion, the Sonata’s styling is virtually indistinguishable from the Ford. The shapes of both are virtually identical. Tall hood, greenhouse swept back, both in front and in back, short trunklid.

Copycat styling aside, the Sonata is a likable car. It’s comfortable, has a nice compromise between ride and handling and there’s plenty of room for front and rear passengers. We tested the Sonata Sport 2.0T, featuring a 245-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine, so it had very good power.

While there’s noticeable turbo lag at lower speeds, once the turbo is spinning it has plenty of get-up-and-go.

In everyday driving, particularly on the freeway, the powerful engine fades into the background. But treat it like a sports sedan and the engine shows off a sexy, raspy voice. Sport mode heightens the throttle response and quickens the six-speed automatic’s shifts. Aluminum-look steering wheel paddle shifters give the driver a bit more control, but if the computers sense that you’ve nodded off, it will revert to shifting for itself.

The seats — leather in the test car — are wide and comfortable all around. The cupholders are conveniently located and there’s space to stash travel junk. There’s even a little spot that is perfect for setting the key if you don’t like to keep it in your pocket.

The back seat has excellent knee room and good headroom. Rear-seat riders get their own vents, their own power outlet and a center armrest with cupholders.

The automatic dual-zone climate control is a little difficult. While many of these systems are pretty much set and forget it, the Sonata needed adjustments, first to cool down after sitting in the sun. Once it cools down, more adjustments are needed.

Turbocharged engines are quickly replacing larger engines because they deliver impressive fuel economy numbers. The Sonata’s optional turbocharged engine is in place of a V-6 option. It’s rated at 23 mpg city and 32 highway. We saw 30 mpg, mostly on highways.

Suspension tuning has long been a sore spot for a variety of vehicles from Hyundai and sister automaker Kia, but the Sonata does well in that regard. The freeway ride is exceptionally smooth, even soaking up bumps on a section of freeway that causes issues for just about every vehicle we test. The steering is accurate and well weighted and the Sonata is willing to attack corners when asked.

About the only downside to the handling is a fair bit of torque steer caused by the powerful engine.

The Sonata SE starts at $22,585, including delivery charges. The base car comes with a 2.4-liter 178-horsepower engine. There are six trim levels including the Eco, which features a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and a 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission. At the top of the lineup are the Sport 2.0T and Limited 2.0T, both featuring the turbocharged engine.

We tested the Sport 2.0T with a base price of $29,760. The only option was a $125 set of carpeted floormats, bringing the as-tested price to $29,885.

Besides the powerful engine, that price brings leather seats (heated in front), 18-inch alloy wheels with beefy 235/45 series tires, power driver’s seat, proximity key, dual-zone automatic climate control, 7-inch touchscreen and sport-tuned suspension and steering.

Maybe the criticism of the styling is unfair. After all, just about every other automaker is doing the same thing. Consider Ford, where the automaker went from the boxy first-generation Escape crossover to the current version that looks very similar to a Hyundai Tucson.

Instead of blaming the automakers, maybe we should look inward. Do American buyers really disdain unique styling? By voting with our wallets, are we telling automakers that they had better follow the template or suffer lackluster sales? Apparently, Hyundai is telling us we are. Hyundai just wants to maximize sales. Apparently, we’ve told them the way to do that is to minimize styling variations among competing models.

Resource: http://www.theoaklandpress.com
Resource: https://www.kvtr.com/life-style/

Unstyled styling – why fashion loves Gus Van Sant’s ‘real’ look

In the search for authenticity in fashion, the struggle is how to look normal, un-styled and real. Historically, fashion has been about aspiration not reality. But in the same week that the couture shows drew to an end, a Paris exhibition and book explore film director Gus Van Sant’s fascination with authenticity – or “unstyled styling”. Because in 2016, a return to normalcy is the apotheosis of style.

Van Sant doesn’t aim to be on trend. Rather he attempts to create hyper-realness in his films’ aesthetic. Tees worn over long sleeves in Gerry, a semi-improvised film following two men called Gerry who get lost in the American wilderness. Hoodies and layered skatewear in Elephant and Paranoid Park, precisely what kids were wearing in the early 00s. Grey marl hoodies, plaid and denim jackets in My Own Private Idaho, which places pin-ups River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves among unknown actors, all dressed in the same gritty, grimy stuff. Matt Damon in baggy trousers and a grandad shirt in Good Will Hunting.

The 1990s-inspired grunge at the heart of Van Sant’s aesthetic has been a fixture in fashion for a while. The key is to look normal, and for your clothes to look worn and/or grubby: “Sometimes, as in Elephant, the actors wore their own clothes so it looked more real,” says Matthieu Orléan, a friend of Van Sant and curator of the exhibition. “In using real kids instead of actors, his films looked more authentic and more realistic.”

The look is there in the work of Juergen Teller and Corinne Day, who is credited with discovering Kate Moss and turning conventional fashion photography on its head by capturing her subjects at their most fragile and real.

It was there in last autumn’s Céline campaign starring Joan Didion, looking wonky and dishevelled. And it was even alluded to in Chanel’s couture show, which was set in a functioning atelier, so as to remind you that the clothes are constructs, not fantasies.

This sentiment certainly chimes with what Jian DeLeon of trend-forecasting agency WGSN says is happening in British fashion, with the rise of Roadman style. The problematic word describes young, sportswear-wearing men from, usually, urban areas: “Think of it as a rough-around-the-edges answer to the oft-derided ‘athleisure’ trend,” says DeLeon. In eastern European fashion, the same can be said for Gopnik, a pejorative term for working-class men that inspired the post-Soviet look. In Australia, the term is “Bogan” (AKA surfers with bad taste), from which designers such as Ex Infinitas are borrowing. In the US, it was typically known as slacker chic, which segued into the “hipster” aesthetic, which was, in its most basic sense, an attempt to recreate authenticity.

The timing feels pointed. Catwalk fashion has long been dominated by a hyper-styled thrift-shop look created by what is known as “New Gucci”

Simon Chilvers, the head of menswear at matchesfashion.com, thinks that while Van Sant’s work has informed a generation of men, “It’s just not possible to recreate that sort of authenticity in fashion.” He thinks Gosha Rubchinskiy, a Russian designer known for his sportswear, comes close “because he uses models he found on Instagram, ie normal models”.

Vetements has become the go-to metonym for this sort of look, too: hoodies with a twist; oversized sportswear and dresses that look like hand-me-downs; agitprop slogan hoodies and T-shirts. It’s no coincidence that Vetements showed at couture for the first time this year. Topshop Boutique’s new collection heavily references it with longline hoodies and comically big floral dresses – so it has broken into the mainstream, too.

Whether it marks the end of styling is up for debate. But as Rubchinskiy said at the end of his show: “I am not fashion” – and this new look looks set to subvert the polish we associate with fashion.

Resource: https://www.theguardian.com
Resource: https://www.kvtr.com/life-style/

Auto Styling Truckman soars after move

Auto Styling Truckman, the Black Country-based 4x4 accessories manufacturer and distributor, is reaping the benefits of its expansion by reporting increased turnover and profits for its last financial year.

Turnover rose to £11.2 million from £9.5m a year ago, while the workforce has expanded to 68 with another eight per cent growth planned.

Profits rose to £1.57m, from £1.4m last year, before exceptional one-off expenses of around £212,000 to pay for moving part of the company’s operations to a new head office, with a fitting and distribution centre in Brierley Hill.

The company, which is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of hardtops for pick-up trucks, achieved strong turnover growth delivered as a result of a 17.2 percent increase in sales on its previous financial year.

Sales of its hardtops, produced under the iconic automotive accessory brand, Truckman, and its range of vehicle accessories have been driven by its online activity and its strong relationships with Original Equipment (OE) customers including Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.

The growth of the business during 2015 has been supported by the acquisition of the new head office, with a fitting and distribution centre, which is part of a £2.6m investment programme.

The 52,000 sq ft building provided ‘much-needed’ additional warehouse storage space enabling Auto Styling Truckman to meet increased demand from online and commercial customers.

By providing additional capacity to expand stockholding of its extensive product range, the company has increased its distribution capabilities and expanded its hardtop fitting service. Completed hardtops are distributed direct to customers or fitted to vehicles at the company’s facility in its suite of fitting bays.

Auto Styling Truckman’s expanded facility is located close to its previous head office and its existing hardtop manufacturing facility ensuring the company could retain and grow its highly-skilled, loyal local workforce. The company employs 68 people and said it will “imminently increase its headcount by eight percent across office-based warehousing and production roles”.

Managing director Mike Wheeler said: “Our investment in infrastructure, quality products and skilled people has enabled us to maintain our rapid rate of expansion.

“Relocating to larger premises has supported our growth ambitions and provided an improved workplace for our skilled and committed employees. Our people are essential to the success of the business and their efforts are reflected in our increased sales and the excellent levels of customer service we provide.”

Resource: http://www.expressandstar.com
Resource: https://www.kvtr.com/life-style/

How Michelle Obama masters summer dressing in a grown-up way

Michelle Obama is never far from our fashion radar. In the eight years that have passed since she took to the stage in a red and black Narciso Rodriguez dress with the newly elected President Barrack Obama, she has consistently dressed the part of First Lady, while staying true to her signature style.

Her recent 6-day European tour to highlight the work of Let Girls Learn, a U.S. government initiative she launched with the President in 2015, is the latest proof of her fashion prowess. With royal dinners, tours and public speeches to dress for, the First Lady’s outfit planning must have been a military operation. Outwardly though, Obama was immaculate, traversing each formal occasion with a selection of dresses that were summer-appropriate, culturally aware and flattering.

Morocco saw her dabble with scarf prints, but on long-sleeved designs (courtesy of Altuzarra and Etro) that were a departure from the sleeveless styles she favours to show off her toned upper arms. In Spain Obama returned to form, wearing fresh white (sleeveless) creations (from Delpozo and Proenza Schouler) befitting the garden walks she went on with Queen Letizia in Madrid.

So, aside from applauding Obama on yet another well-packed suitcase, there are tips we can take from the First Lady’s European tour wardrobe. When dressing for your next formal summer occasion, keep Obama’s failsafe formula in mind.

When it comes to block-coloured dresses it's all about the detail

Wandering around the gardens of the Zarzuela palace with Queen Letizia, Obama chose a cotton-blend white midi dress by Madrid-based brand Delpozo (now 60 per cent off at Net-a-Porter). The choice was not just a diplomatic nod to the fashion of the country she was in, but a chic example of a hard-working summer dress that goes the extra mile.

Look closely at the fresh white cotton and you’ll see a cape-effect cut-out back that shows off just a little skin, and feminine ties on either side of the nipped-in waist. It’s these details that elevate the dress into a unique one that will stand alone as a modern update on a classic silhouette, or can be dressed up with choice accessories.

Note, for example, how Obama has chosen metallic sandals instead of the nude courts favoured by Queen Letizia and the Duchess of Cambridge.

Be wary of lightweight dress fabrics

Touching down in Morocco, Obama was photographed wearing a pleated monochrome Proenza Schouler dress, which retails for $1800. Undoubtedly luxe, elegant and interesting, the First Lady fell prey to gusts of wind when embarking the aircraft.

To avoid the perils of holding down your own dress hems opt for thick fabrics that will withstand windy spells. Alternatively, wear a close-fitting slip underneath. Practical, but essential when dressing for Britain’s unpredictable weather.

An asymmetric hemline can't fail to flatter

Cast your eye along the beautiful, intricate dresses worn by Obama, her daughters Sasha and Malia, and the Moroccan royal family below, and it is the First Lady’s Altuzarra dress that stands out. Its fluttering hemline draws the eye down the leg area, showing off a little more leg than an mid-calf A-line cut would do, and highlights her ankles. The black panels across her torso and arms also highlight the slimmest parts of her body, marking it out as a clever dress indeed. Whether shopping for a skirt or dress for work or play, keep an asymmetric cut in mind for this unfailingly flattering silhouette.

Black in summer is officially OK

Wearing black in summer doesn’t put you in Wednesday Addams’s morbid style camp. In fact, one Telegraph fashion editor maintains that “black and white are your only friends” in summer. All other colours are too high risk and will show sweat patches (not chic). There are certain points to consider when going back-to-black in July, however. As Obama shows, cut is important so that you don’t wash out your frame. Colour, too, should be strong - Obama’s printed Proenza Schouler dress, worn to meet Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco is anything but wishy-washy. 

A belt can make or break a dress

Touching down in Morocco, it was Etro’s swirling prints that Obama greeted waiting photographers in. The paisley scarf motifs could have overwhelmed her slim frame were it not for a black belt sitting neatly on her waist.

In a week that has also shown Samantha Cameron relying on a simple belt to break up a patterned dress and frame her figure, we have a new appreciation for the simple accessory. If you don’t own a classic belt (one inch width, in either black, brown or navy), it’s time you got one in your arsenal.

Resource: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Vetements and Manolo Blahnik Update Carrie Bradshaw's Favorite Shoes

For Vetements' highly anticipated couture show this weekend, Manolo Blahnik's classic Hangisi shoe will also debut—redesigned by Demna Gvasalia.

The news comes after the Paris-based fashion label announced that it would be collaborating with 18 brands, ranging from Juicy Couture to Levi's and Dr. Martens, for its upcoming show.

The Hangisi is a hallmark of the Manolo Blahnik brand (who can forget Carrie Bradshaw's iconic blue shoes?), but Vestments turns the design on its head. Classic versions of the shoe are rendered in jewel-toned silk in both pumps and flats, and always with the sparkly encrusted buckle.

Gvasalia reportedly removed the signature buckle and reworked the shoe into ankle boots, thigh-highs, slingbacks, and a court-shoe style. He worked with Blahnik to give the shoes a Vetements touch by deconstructing the shoes and adding frayed edges. The shoes will have Vetements and Blahnik's logos on the soles and will be sold in co-branded packaging from select retailers and online at manoloblahnik.com.

Vetements has a way of turning reworked classics into covetable pieces. One of the items that propelled the brand into fashion fame were the reworked vintage jeans released for fall 2014. The Vetements team scoured markets and online shops for pre-worn jeans before combining two pairs together along the seams. It's hard to miss the jeans in any recent photos of fashion week street style.

"I am excited about collaborating with Vetements," Blahnik told WWD. "I think it is of the moment to mix different brands and wear them the way you want. I like the freedom of that—fashion shows have become so boring—hence why I was intrigued and said yes when they approached me."

Resource: http://www.allure.com/