Fully Charged: Facebook’s Internet-beaming drone shown, plus Olio watches go gold

Facebook’s flying Internet drone revealed

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Google has its balloons, but Facebook has a badass drone. That’s our takeaway from yesterday’s blog post revealing that the social network is about to start testing a carbon fiber, high-altitude flying drone that’s able to pump down Internet to impoverished areas around the world.

Even through the Aquila drone has the wingspan of a Boeing 737, it’s one-third the weight of an electric car, yet the cured carbon fiber is stronger than steel. It’ll fly at 90,000 feet during daylight to better power its solar cells, but then drop down to 60,000 feet at night, using gravitational potential energy to be more efficient.

Each flight can last for upwards of 90 days, and lasers are used to communicate between multiple aircraft in a given area. Facebook already tested a smaller version in the UK earlier this year, but the full-sized version should hit the sky starting later this year.

[Source: Facebook]

Olio unveils new models

Back in March, we dug into the story behind Olio’s Model One smartwatch, which went on sale soon thereafter. The initial limited run sold out, and those watches are currently in production – so the team is starting into the next batch. Another 500 each of the black and steel versions are coming.

But so are new 24 karat gold and 18 karat rose gold models, of which just 100 will be produced each during this run. Both start at US$1195 (about £765), although Olio has a $250 (~£160) discount on all models right now – but they’re going fast, as just a couple dozen of each new style is still available as of this writing.

[Source: Olio]

Ubisoft’s ZombiU loses the ‘U’

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ZombiU was one of the most interesting Wii U games available at launch, but the system’s sluggish sales effectively handicapped its chances at being a franchise. But surprisingly, almost three years later, Ubisoft is resurrecting the original game as Zombi for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

It’s particularly surprising because the original game was built around the Wii U GamePad, which can’t be replicated on other platforms. Ubisoft says the minimap has been moved to the main screen, but that it disappears when not needed. Will that help this brutal undead survival game stay fun on new platforms? We’ll find out when the digital release comes on 18 August.

[Source: UbiBlog]

Netflix’s powerful new film teased

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Netflix has made a huge splash with original television series, and now it’s starting to put more muscle into original feature-length films. Beasts of No Nation may be its best shot yet at huge critical acclaim.

From Cary Fukunaga, one of the creative minds behind the first season of True Detective, this tale of child soldiers in Africa looks powerful and brutally heartbreaking. And it stars Idris Elba! It’s slated to hit the service later this year.

[Source: YouTube]