This week, Lego looks pretty good for 60, and how accurate is the EA Sports prediction of the result of Super Bowl L!!? But first, 5G mobile networks get beta tested in PyeongChang.

PyeongChang to show off 5G mobile network this month

In Canada, mobile networks are currently 4G LTE, which can deliver download speeds of between 20 and 40 megabits per second. The next mobile network standard that will be rolled out is 5G, which will deliver blazing download speeds, up to 10 gigabits per second. Theoretically, you’d be able to download a high-def version of a movie to your tablet in just a few seconds.

And latency, the amount of time between when data is sent and when it arrives, will also decrease with the 5G standard. Establishing robust 5G mobile networks is key to rolling out autonomous vehicles, because they rely on rapid, low latency communication for safe operation.

Reuters reported recently that China is pushing hard to get 5G mobile networking.

That may be so, but the country is not alone in wanting to deliver better mobile connectivity. AT&T plans to roll out 5G to select U.S. cities this year.

And during the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang this month, Intel is enabling a 5G network that will deliver 100 Mbps speeds. That system is also being used for security, supported by facial recognition technology and an army of drones and cameras.

Meanwhile, there are mutterings in the U.S. that the current administration is considering nationalizing the 5G network in the name of national security.

EA Sports predicts the winner of Super Bowl LII will be the New England Patriots

Every year there’s another Super Bowl championship to determine the best NFL team, and every year, based on player and team data, EA Sports football simulation, Madden NFL, predicts a winner.

This year, the simulated Super Bowl game, which takes place this Sunday, February 4, occurred within Madden NFL 18, the latest version of the game developed by EA Sports.

The final score was 24 – 20 in favour of the Patriots over the Philadelphia Eagles. The simulation also predicts that Tom Brady will win another MVP award. Highlights of the simulated game are below.

The simulation was not able to predict how Eagles fans will react to the game.

Lego celebrates 60 years of building brains

Last Sunday, Lego turned 60. The timeline below shows how the company and its bricks have changed over the years.

To celebrate, Lego “Master Builders” spent 350 hours constructing a massive model of a “2×4” brick from 133,000 individual bricks. The model was on display in New York last weekend.

Fun fact: Six 2×4 bricks can be assembled in more than 915 million ways.

And the company is rolling out a series of five limited edition kits ranging in price from $5 to $60.

While many of the sets that Lego releases these days are licensed brands and are designed to be built into a specific scene, these anniversary kits are open ended, intended to spark the kind of creative play that Lego is known for.

The “Fun Future” set, which costs $13, includes bricks that can assemble a robot, for example. The “Ocean’s Bottom” set is $35 and can be configured into an octopus, a dragon, or even a rocket car.

Four of the five sets are available now at Lego’s shop site. A sixth set, “Bricks On a Roll”, for building all kinds of vehicles, is exclusively available at Walmart.

Mike Smyth was in the chair last Friday. Mike and I talked about the release of Apple’s HomePod speaker and how it won’t be coming to Canada quite yet, the new cashier-free convenience store owned by Amazon, and the TimePlay tournament that is being held in Cineplex movie theatres in the Greater Toronto Area through February.

This week, Amazon’s bricks-and-mortar grocery store sees lineups and TimePlay hopes that moviegoers will come even earlier to compete for cash prizes. But first, Apple’s HomePod is ready for release, but not everywhere.

Apple’s HomePod arrives on February 9 except in Canada

Apple announced this week that its HomePod wireless speaker will be released in early February, but the only regions getting the new device are those that are English only: the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia. France and Germany will get HomePods in the spring.

The company hasn’t said why Canada’s not part of the initial release, but I’m guessing it has to do with our our pesky language idiosyncrasies. We’ve got the bilingual requirement, for one. And our English and French just isn’t like the others.

In the U.S., the HomePod is priced at $349. Canadian pricing has not been announced.

Amazon’s cashier-free store opens in Seattle

The lineups outside Amazon Go this week were nothing short of ironic. One of the selling points of the retail store was that you wouldn’t have to line up at a cashier because there are no cashiers in the bricks-and-mortar store. Instead, tiny cameras throughout the space watch what’s going on and track it all.

The idea is that you walk in, grab what you need, and walk out again, with your Amazon account processing the payment automatically.

But so many people wanted to not have to line up at the cashier that they lined up to get in the store instead.

Presumably there is a limit to the number of people the systems can track, which is why Amazon Go last week looked less like future retail and more like a 7-Eleven across the street from a high school at lunchtime.

Imagine what shopping at Whole Foods could be like.

Pre-movie pastime TimePlay launches tournament format in GTA

If you’ve been to a movie at Cineplex in the last couple of years, you may have used your smartphone to participate in the TimePlay trivia game that’s part of the pre-show entertainment.

Getting the top score in a theatre nets players free popcorn and occasional movie passes. Players visiting 14 theatres in the Greater Toronto Area are being given the chance to win a $2,500 cash prize as part of a new tournament.

The TimePlay Tournament, which will include new games about sports and music, starts tonight and runs through February 22. During that time, players scores will add up, with the top 20 being invited to a final at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto on March 17.

Last Friday, Charles and I talked about the iPad trade-in program now available to Canadians, the FIFA 18 league that has become part of the MLS, and the car rental disruption service, Turo.

This week, EA Sports’ FIFA 18 is the new battleground for Major League Soccer, and Turo gives you options when renting a car. But first, find out how you can get a credit towards a new iPad by trading in your old one.

iPad trade-in program comes to Canada

If you’re miffed because you didn’t get a new iPad for Christmas, why not give yourself a gift. The coveted iPad trade-up program is now running in Canada.

You can get up to $380 credit towards a new model. You can find out what your old iPad is worth by taking it to your local Apple store, or at the trade-up program website.

Major League Soccer plugs into esports with eMLS competitive league

Video game soccer games are being adopted by Major League Soccer, the professional soccer league in Canada and the U.S.

Nineteen of the league’s 23 clubs, including Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, will name professional gamers who will compete playing EA Sports’ FIFA 18.

The new video game league will debut with the eMLS Cup in April at the PAX East gaming festival.

Competition will be fierce, as one gamer, representing one team, will be representing MLS in the EA Sports FIFA 18 Global Series Playoffs.

So far only two teams have named their representatives. Christopher Holly will represent New York City FC, while Mike LaBelle will be playing for the New York Red Bulls.

This echoes moves made by the NBA and the NFL to have eSports representatives for teams competing against each other in leagues and tournaments. The Madden NFL Club Championship finals, with one representative for every team, will take place at the NFL Pro Bowl, with the top finishers competing for the championship during the Super Bowl Experience in Minnesota. The winner gets a cash prize and two tickets to the live game.

Turo disrupting car rental business

Turo is the Airbnb of car renting. Instead of paying market rates to the big multinational companies when you’re traveling to other cities, you can rent a car from a local.

The company started operating in 2009, and in the spring of 2016 moved into Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. Last fall, it started operating in B.C.

The appeal for renters is cheaper prices, delivery of cars to where you are, like the airport, and access to a wider range of vehicles, including fancier cars like BMWs, Mercedes, and even Teslas.

Businesses are seizing opportunity here, too. The DoubleTree hotel in Victoria has two Toyota Prius hybrids available for around $20 a day.

If you want to list your vehicle, maybe to cover a portion of your payment, you’re covered by Turo’s group insurance policy. Except in B.C., which has a “unique” regulatory structure, according to a release by Turo. In B.C., vehicle providers actually extend commercial rental insurance to users.