Thursday 31 January 2019

Bundle on sale gets your Valentine the OnePlus 6T, wireless earphones and a case

Valentine's Day is coming soon, and OnePlus has a couple of bundles created just for the holiday; one is centered around its current phone, the OnePlus 6T. These package deals are available from the OnePlus website. The "You Complete Me" bundle starts with one of the OnePlus 6T variants, adds the OnePlus Bullets wireless earphones and a OnePlus 6T bumper case. The latter is available in Karbon, Ebony Wood and Nylon (black).

This bundle takes $20 off the price you'd spend to buy everything separately and ranges from $623.95 to $707.95. The actual price depends ...

Gboard keyboard app update adds huge number of languages

When it comes to keyboard apps like Gboard, it's not just the new features that make it better, but support for additional languages as well. And Google has done its job pretty well, as almost every Gboard update the company released added several, if not a dozen, new languages.

Currently, Gboard supports more than 500 languages, but the latest update brings it to a slightly higher level. No less than 50 new languages have been added in the newest Gboard update, some of them obscure dialects that only a very small fraction of the population use.

Even so, it's exactly those people ...

Samsung Galaxy S10 line screen sizes, 3.5mm earphone jack "confirmed"

With Samsung's Unpacked 2019 event still three weeks away, we pretty much know the specs for the Samsung Galaxy S10E, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and the 5G Galaxy S10X. But as you know, nothing is ever written in stone until the phones are introduced. With that in mind, a case manufacturer named Nimbus9 has sent us cases from its clear Phantom 2 line for three of the aforementioned models.

As printed on the box for its case, the Samsung Galaxy S10E (S10 Lite it says on the packaging) will feature a 5.8-inch display. The boxes for the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ list their ...

AT&T starts rolling out Android 9 Pie for Samsung Galaxy Note 9

It looks like AT&T is the first carrier in the United States to release the Android 9 Pie update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. It's the last day of January, so we can't really say that Samsung missed the deadline, as the South Korean company promised to bring Android 9 Pie to the U.S. by the end of the month.

As a matter of fact, two other Samsung phones, the Galaxy S9, and S9+ received the update a few days ago. In any case, if you own an AT&T Galaxy Note unit, you should now be eligible for an Android 9 Pie update.

Keep in mind that this is a fairly sizeable update, so ...

Samsung Galaxy S10 line screen sizes "confirmed" by packaging for cases

With Samsung's Unpacked 2019 event still three weeks away, we pretty much know the specs for the Samsung Galaxy S10E, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and the 5G Galaxy S10X. But as you know, nothing is ever written in stone until the phones are introduced. With that in mind, a case manufacturer named Nimbus9 has sent us cases from its clear Phantom 2 line for three of the aforementioned models.

As printed on the box for its case, the Samsung Galaxy S10E (S10 Lite it says on the packaging) will feature a 5.8-inch display. The boxes for the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ list their ...

How to Effectively Engage Your Employees For Long Working Relationship

After hiring new employees, the biggest challenge, as an employer, will be a long working relationship. For better productivity it’s very essential for a company to have a long term working relationship with employees. And one of the ways you can do this is by engaging your employees and striking a balance between giving them […]

Spotify picked up more paying members in the U.S. last quarter says estimate

After taking a survey of 500 U.S. Spotify users who used the service from October through December 2018, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) has estimated that the music streamer added two million more paying premium subscribers in the states during the fourth quarter.  In the U.S., CIRP estimates that 41% of Spotify users pay monthly for the service. Spotify users can also listen to streaming music for free through its ad-supported plan. At the end of the third quarter of last year, the company reported 87 million paying subscribers and 104 million who listen for free.

The ...

Samsung Galaxy S10 & Galaxy S10+ press renders show off launch colors

Just hours after the first “official” press renders of the Galaxy S10+ made an appearance online, the folks over at WinFuture have obtained extra images of both the regular Galaxy S10 and its larger sibling in all European launch colors.
White, Green, Blue, and a potential fourth color

Corroborating the leak from earlier today, the renders suggest that both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ will be available in a new color dubbed ‘Prism White.’ This finish uses a white undertone along with a combination of both blue and purple hues, thus creating a pretty unique finish which ...

Apple spanks Facebook and Google for distributing iOS apps outside the App Store

The other day, Apple stopped Facebook's internal iOS apps from running on iOS devices. These include early versions of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and other beta apps, along with one used by Facebook employees for transportation. Apple's motive for blocking these apps from working was to punish the company; Facebook used Apple's internal app distribution program to disseminate "Facebook Research." The latter is a VPN app that gives Facebook users $20 a month in exchange for root access to participants' phones.

Today, it turns out that Apple has also blocked ...

Here's why the flashlight on your Apple iPhone seemingly turns on by itself

One of the strangest complaints found on the Apple Communities web page (via USA Today) is one that over 500 iPhone users have written about. We are talking about iPhone owners finding out that the flashlight on their device has been turned on accidentally. The models affected include the iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR, and the problem started when Apple put shortcuts for the flashlight and the camera on the lockscreen.

Some users sporting the aforementioned models are accidentally touching the flashlight icon on the lower left of the screen with ...

Samsung Galaxy S10 & Galaxy S10+ press renders leak showing launch colors

Just hours after the first “official” press renders of the Galaxy S10+ made an appearance online, the folks over at WinFuture have obtained extra images of both the regular Galaxy S10 and its larger sibling in all European launch colors.
White, Green, Blue, and a potential fourth color

Corroborating the leak from earlier today, the renders suggest that both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ will be available in a new color dubbed ‘Prism White.’ This finish uses a white undertone along with a combination of both blue and purple hues, thus creating a pretty unique finish which ...

Apple's unlocked iPhone SE is back in stock for the third time this month

If you’re not a fan of prepaid carrier Metro by T-Mobile, don’t have a number to port in, or just hate free stuff, but love tiny handsets with reasonable amounts of processing power, we have some terrific news for you... for the third time in under two weeks.

The US online Apple Store’s “clearance” section lists the iPhone SE as available for nationwide shipping or in-person pickup yet again, starting at the same discounted price of $249.

That’s down from $349 back before the 4-incher was formally discontinued in September, including 32 gigs of internal, non-expandable storage ...

German court dismisses four Qualcomm infringement suits against Apple

According to the Wall Street Journal, a regional court in Munich today, tossed four patent infringement suits that Qualcomm had filed against Apple. The patents were related to search capabilities on the Apple iPhone, and there are still another four search-related patent suits that are awaiting the court's disposition. You might recall that last month, the very same court ruled against Apple in a separate infringement suit filed by Qualcomm, and issued a sales ban preventing Apple from selling the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in the country.

Earlier ...

"Official" Samsung Galaxy S10+ renders leak out and may confirm a release date

In less than three weeks from now, on February 20, Samsung will be officially announcing the Galaxy S10, its next-gen flagship smartphone family. While the company hasn't shared too many details regarding the S10 series, a steady stream of leaks has been providing us with a lot of info about the upcoming phones, and we've even seen multiple renders and live photos allegedly showing the devices. Now, for the very first time, it appears that we can take a look at what's reportedly an "official" press render of the Galaxy S10+, the largest handset in Samsung's new series.


According ...

"Official" Samsung Galaxy S10+ renders leak out, may confirm a release date

In less than three weeks from now, on February 20, Samsung will be officially announcing the Galaxy S10, its next-gen flagship smartphone family. While the company hasn't shared too many details regarding the S10 series, a steady stream of leaks has been providing us with a lot of info about the upcoming phones, and we've even seen multiple renders and live photos allegedly showing the devices. Now, for the very first time, it appears that we can take a look at what's reportedly an "official" press renders of the Galaxy S10+, the largest handset in Samsung's new series.


According ...

Chip giant patents its own foldable phone

This year, we should see a number of large manufacturers bring out foldable smartphones, starting with the Samsung Galaxy F next month. Huawei 's foldable device is expected to support 5G, and Xiaomi recently showed off a foldable phone that bends from the top and bottom.  Eventually, most manufacturers will be pushing out similar models; once pricing drops, the foldable form factor could bring some new life into the smartphone industry.

One company that you wouldn't expect to be looking at hardware is chip maker Intel. Back in 2017, Intel was awarded a patent ...

Nokia 3.1 Plus and 2V hands-on: they're on carriers!


HMD Global continues to make moves directed at returning Nokia to a certain level of prominence in the global, and of course, U.S. smartphone market. With the launch of the Nokia 2V on Verizon prepaid for and the Nokia 3.1 Plus on Cricket Mobile for $159.99, HMD has its first set of Nokia phones on U.S. carriers.

These lower-mid-range, or “value,” offerings are carrier-exclusive devices made to get the most out of the networks they’re on, and the relatively few dollars shelled out for them.

“Quality, reliability, trust”
Nokia’s first and foremost selling ...

Android updates in the US are forever broken

It's that time of the year!

The time when it's been so long since Google has released Android 9 Pie for its Pixel phones that owners have already gotten so used to it they forget it's there. This also coincides with the time period when the Android phones that people actually use in the United States, well... none of them have it.

And this is happening Every. Single. Year.

Every single year we are saying out of desperation: we hope Google does something, anything so that Android updates become faster next year. We hope. We send ...

5 super Android icon packs have been made free for a limited time, grab them while you can!


If you love to customize your Android phone, you might be pleased to hear that several icon packs that are usually paid are now available for free on Google Play. Typically, the price of these icon packs is $1 or more, but now it's possible to download them free of charge.

This assortment should give you some ideas for your next custom home screen masterpiece, just make sure you pick a nice wallpaper to match. Keep in mind that the freebie period on some of these ends soon, so act swiftly!

You can get a preview of each icon pack in the gallery above. The ...

The Rammus could be Google’s next attempt at a revolutionary device

Back in October, we saw a Geekbench database entry for a mysterious Google device, called “Rammus” (most probably a code name). It was powered by an Intel Core m3 processor, leading us to believe it was a tablet of the Pixel Slate’s caliber. Curiously enough, the benchmarked device was listed as running Android 7 Nougat (when the most current version is Android 9 Pie). Even more curiously — the Pixel Slate has just launched, so why does Google have a prototype of another tablet rummaging about, running benchmarks?

We assumed it could be an older prototype that somehow got on Geekbench, or ...

This 400GB microSD card is just $82 on Amazon for a limited time!

If you're looking to add a bit more storage to your mobile device — if your device even allows it — we've got a deal for you. For a limited time, Amazon has various SanDisk microSD cards on sale, including the beastly 400GB model.

Why would you need that big of an SD card? Well, if you have a phone with expandable memory, or a digital camera, or a Nintendo Switch, this card is a perfect fit for storing all of your stuff on it. But most important of all, this 400GB SanDisk microSD card is now just $82 on Amazon! That's a discount of 67% on the regular price of $167!

This ...

Get an unlocked Moto Z3 Play for as little as $300 ($200 off) with upfront activation

While Motorola isn’t exactly the world’s most popular smartphone vendor nowadays, bargain hunters are constantly being treated to killer deals on respectable handsets like the Moto G6, Moto X4, and Moto Z3 Play.

Hot on the heels of the G6 hitting a new all-time low price with upfront Sprint activations, the unlocked Z3 Play has gone down from $499.99 to an irresistible $299.99 under similar conditions at Best Buy.

We’re talking obligatory Sprint activation for upgrading customers, although both new and existing Verizon subscribers can get the handset at a very reasonable $349.99 ...

Would you use a systemwide Dark Mode in iOS 13?

We've been talking about systemwide dark mode coming to iOS since at least 2016 (no, not the inverted colors in the Accessibility menu), but we may have to wait until Apple unveils iOS 13 later this year for the real deal. At least that is what a few insiders allegedly revealed in a Bloomberg report, together with news about other new software features that await.

Apple introduced a great dark mode in the macOS Mojave edition and is reportedly going to mimic the idea in iOS for "easier nighttime viewing," like what you see in John Calkin's concept render above. 

Given ...

Moto Mod Style Shell can refresh your Moto Z-series phone at only $2.99 ($17 off)

Moto Mods are an arguably cool concept that never could truly take off, in part because the Moto Z smartphone family is not exceptionally popular to begin with, and in part because many of these existing modular accessories don’t bring enough value and convenience to the table.

But Motorola isn’t giving up yet, simply planning to release fewer “snap-on” mods for handsets like the Z4 and Z4 Play going forward. Meanwhile, the cheapest transforming add-on has just become even cheaper, fetching an incredibly low $2.99 right now at motorola.com/us.

We’re talking about two Moto ...

Spy games: Chinese engineer arrested for allegedly stealing Apple’s smart car secrets

Industrial espionage is definitely a thing, especially in the highly-competitive tech industry. We rarely hear about it, of course, since the spies are presumably good at what they do. Which is why it’s a bit weird that we now have a report of someone being caught red-handed.

One Jizhong Chen, a (now ex) Apple engineer has been arrested by the FBI. Apparently, Mr. Chen was caught red-handed taking photos inside a secure area of the Apple facilites and thousands of documents — including manuals and schematics — were found on his personal hard drive. The engineer first said that the photos ...

2018 was the first year with a continuous decline in smartphone shipments, research shows

Last year wasn’t the best for the smartphone world, that’s fairly obvious by now. And while shifts between manufacturers mean that some companies achieved positive results, overall there was less to go around. A research done by Counterpoint gives us more details about exactly what transpired in the mobile market over the course of 2018.

Starting from the smaller picture, Q4 of 2018 was marked by a 7% decline compared to the same period of 2017, with manufacturers shipping a total of 395 million units during the quarter. Looking at last year as a whole, the drop was “only” 4%, but the results ...

OnePlus celebrates latest India achievements by mocking Apple on Twitter

When it comes to global smartphone shipments, OnePlus isn’t exactly a force to be reckoned with. How could it be with only two handset models released every year, a modest presence in the offline retail channel, and five years of steady but slow manufacturing progress?

The brand was also pretty much nonexistent in the US market until recently, instead relying on India for a large chunk of its inexpensive flagship device sales. Believe it or not, OnePlus has been the most successful smartphone company in the country’s premium segment for the past three quarters, narrowly beating Samsung ...

iMessage or iMess? Zuckerberg says merging WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook aims for Apple-like chat

The eventual merger of the Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp chat apps that leaked not long ago was just confirmed by none other than Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the quarterly earnings conference call with investors.

A 2020 thing or beyondLong story short, it's not happening before 2020, he advised, and yet is very much on the company's mind, with a twist. Zuckerberg, it turns out, is a fan of not only merging all these communication channels into one but also sidestepping SMS functions over the phone network, and encrypting it all, as Apple does with iMessage:
...

Foldable phones will kill the tablet category

The flexible phone will likely kill the Android tablet

With the advent of flexible and shape-bending phones that hold to potential to pack lots of screen in a relatively slim body, there’s one product category that could be in dire danger - the tablet.

With the iPad being a solid exception, the Android market has been declining for a couple of years now, to the point where we could probably expect merely one or two more exciting tablet announcements per year. While there are many reasons for this decline, the main one is certainly the fact that phones have been exploding in terms ...

Free iPhone SE deal with carrier switch is back on at Metro by T-Mobile

Apple caught us all off guard with that recent revival of the 2016-released, 2018-discontinued iPhone SE, but unfortunately for nostalgic fans of super-compact handsets, the 4-incher quickly sold out before returning and vanishing again.

While we honestly have no idea if you’ll ever be able to purchase the unlocked iOS 12-eligible device from official Apple Stores again, Metro by T-Mobile still sells the iPhone SE in space gray and rose gold 32GB variants.

Perhaps “sell” is not the best way to describe what Metro is doing, though, as new subscribers can get the timeless ...

Mario Kart mobile game delayed until summer

Nintendo once stood adamantly against mobile games, but these days the company is no stranger to releasing mobile spin-offs of its most popular and profitable franchises. Last year, Nintendo announced Mario Kart Tour – a mobile game app (so you know you won't be playing a full-fledged Mario Kart game on your phone anytime soon, unless you delve into the realm of emulators) that was supposed to come out by the end of March 2019.

However, just like a blue shell that decimates you unexpectedly, mere feet away from the finish line, Nintendo has delayed the release of Mario ...

Mobvoi TicWatch E2 offers a compelling package for just $160


To some people, it’s outright robbery paying $400 for a smartwatch. Sure, it’s still not close to the cost of some of today’s ultra-premium smartphones that hover around the $1000 range, but $400 is still quite an investment. Then again, there’s Mobvoi’s TicWatch E2, which is a Wear OS running smartwatch that can be picked up on the cheap for a mere $160!

The savings you’d get going with the TicWatch E2 is no doubt something consumers will appreciate, especially those who are on a tight budget to begin with. Being priced that low would generally be suspect ...

Google abused an Apple backdoor to collect user data

In the wake of the Facebook VPN scandal, it was recently revealed that Google has also been abusing the same Apple backdoor to collect data from users as young as thirteen. Similar to the Facebook Research app, Google's Screenwise Meter has been using Apple's Enterprise Certificate, which is meant for distributing employee-only apps, to circumvent the App Store and tap into a wealthy reserve of user data.

Upon downloading the app, users complete a survey and are then sent a special code that allows them to download the Enterprise Certificate-based VPN app that ...

LG Mobile records another revenue drop, looking to spice things up in 2019

With another quarter over, companies left and right are sharing their financial results, some boasting, while others are hesitant to reveal what they “achieved” in the past three months. Sadly, LG’s mobile division falls in the second category yet again.

While other segments of the company are improving, the part of LG that’s responsible for its smartphones continues its trip on the downward spiral, according to the freshly released financial results. In the calendar Q4 of 2018 LG Mobile’s profit was $1.51 billion, contributing to a total of $7.08 billion in revenue for the entire 2018. ...

Sprint follows Verizon in bringing official Android Pie updates to the Galaxy S9 and S9+

It was certainly surprising to see Xfinity Mobile, the tiny, Comcast-owned mobile virtual network operator, beat all big four US carriers to the Android 9.0 punch for Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and S9+ earlier this week, but after Verizon followed suit yesterday, we’re not shocked in the least to hear Sprint is also joining the party.

The “Now Network”, which may or may not merge with T-Mobile soon, has yet to officially confirm the two Pie-flavored updates or reveal its very own carrier-specific changelogs. But SamMobile and a number of excited Redditors are reporting over-the-air software download ...

Huawei and Xiaomi had a stellar quarter in Europe, while the iPhone XS Max dominated the US market

After seeing Strategy Analytics, Counterpoint Research, and the International Data Corporation release various reports of late focusing on different aspects of the smartphone market during the final three months of 2018, it’s now time to hear what Kantar Worldpanel has to say on the same topic.

The self-described “global expert in shoppers’ behavior” has some interesting insight to provide into new industry trends across key regions like Western Europe, urban China, and the US.

The company’s fresh smartphone OS data compiled for the October - December 2018 timeframe reveals, ...

Apple's future iPhones & iPads were just detailed: triple-cameras, iOS 13 and 3D sensors

An alleged iPhone XI prototype design

The 2019 iPhone series is still eight months away but this month already we have seen multiple leaks which have revealed two potential designs and quite a few camera details. Today, Bloomberg has published a new report which corroborates some of these leaks and also describes a number of other things.The iPhone XI Max will include a third camera on the rear

Like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg believes the iPhone XI Max, which is codenamed ‘D43,’ will arrive complete with a new triple-camera ...

Deal: Grab an Apple Watch Series 3 for as low as $279 at B&H

If you've missed the last two Apple Watch Series 3 sales at Best Buy and still looking to buy one, you'll be happy to know that another U.S. retailer offers some decent discounts on Apple's smartwatch.

B&H continues to run its Apple Watch Series 3 sale, but this time it includes the Nike+ line as well, both GPG and cellular versions. As the title says, the cheapest Apple Watch Series 3 that you can get at B&H during the sale cost $279, about $100 cheaper than the list price.

We're talking about the Apple Watch Nike+ Series 3 38mm (GPS + cellular), which comes with a free AVODA ...

Samsung's Q4 2018 smartphone profits were the lowest in more than two years

Global smartphone sales are down (and unlikely to bounce back in the next few quarters), impacting the bottom line of both Apple and Samsung while Huawei somehow continues to defy market trends.

The final three months of 2018 have been particularly problematic for Samsung, as the mediocre performance of the chaebol’s mobile division could no longer be offset by the semiconductor business.

That’s because demand for memory chips is also sliding, a trend likely to continue in the early stages of 2019. All in all, Samsung did manage to generate a solid Q4 2018 operating profit ...

Wednesday 30 January 2019

Foldable phones would kill the tablet category

The flexible phone will likely kill the Android tablet

With the advent of flexible and shape-bending phones that hold to potential to pack lots of screen in a relatively slim body, there’s one product category that could be in dire danger - the tablet.

With the iPad being a solid exception, the Android market has been declining for a couple of years now, to the point where we could probably expect merely one or two more exciting tablet announcements per year. While there are many reasons for this decline, the main one is certainly the fact that phones have been exploding in terms ...

Microsoft launches new Outlook app for iOS devices

Last month Microsoft revealed that its Outlook app for iOS will receive a major redesign, but failed to mention when exactly the new app will be made available to users. The new design was only available to beta testers since December, but starting today, Microsoft is rolling it out to everyone.

The visual changes are quite obvious, as Outlook for iOS now features an all-white design. A blue bar at the top of the app allows users to switch between Focused and Other emails inside the Inbox, which, as Microsoft said, was part of Android.

The new design comes with new animations and ...

Deal: Get two Google Home Mini smart speakers for just $40

Google's Home Mini is the best-selling smart speaker in the low-tier price range, but Apple seems to have gained more revenue selling the Home Pod, which is considerably more expensive. Currently, you can buy one for just $30 at Google Store, but that's because it's on sale for $20 off.

At just $30, the Google Home Mini is a steal, so the fact that you can get it for even less is simply amazing. The only requirement to get the Google Home Mini cheaper than $30 is to buy two instead of just one.

BuyDig via Rakuten now offers a 2-pack of Google Home Mini smart speakers for only $40, ...

YouTube Music is coming to Sonos speakers, but you'll need a subscription

Sonos fans rejoice, as Google has just announced YouTube Music is now rolling out to all Sonos speakers. Google's service is available through the Sonos app, but in order to be able to use it, you'll need a YouTube Music Premium or YouTube Premium subscription.

If you already have a subscription, you'll be able to play official songs, albums, playlists, and artist radio, in addition to YouTube's huge catalog of remixes, live performances, and covers. The YouTube Music app comes with various tabs that give users access to content like new releases, top charts, mixtape, suggestions, and library.

The ...

Samsung's take on the gaming smartphone is bold and peculiar at the same time

The history of gaming phones goes back to the early 2000s when Nokia launched the bizarre N-Gage, which was specifically designed to play mobile games. After a long break, the gaming smartphones are making a comeback with the launch of a new line of more powerful devices such as the Razer Phone and Asus ROG Phone.

Xiaomi has joined the competition as well with the Black Shark, but major smartphone vendors like Apple, Huawei, and Samsung have yet to launch a gaming smartphone, even though some of them tried to advertise their top-tier handsets as such.

Well, it looks like Samsung is ...

T-Mobile has a mysterious announcement to make during Super Bowl LIII

T-Mobile today unveiled that it's getting ready to announce something (possibly important) during Super Bowl LIII. Scheduled for February 3, 2019, Super Bowl LIII will determine the champion of the 2018 NFL (National Football League) season and is expected to be watched by over 100 million American television viewers.

While T-Mobile doesn't want to share too many details about its upcoming Super Bowl announcement, it can tell us what this won't cover. Specifically, the announcement will not be about: T-Mobile's merger with Sprint, the deployment of 5G, or the carrier's ...

Audio recorded from OnePlus 6/6T sounds tinny, distorted and distant on some third party apps

OnePlus 6T users have recently complained about a sharp decline in the battery life of the device. Today, there is another issue being discussed on Reddit and the OnePlus forum (via Android Police) revolving around the poor recording quality of the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T with certain apps. Audio recorded from the last two OnePlus handsets sounds like it is coming from a distant planet when heard over Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and more. The quality is poor, there is a tinny quality to it, and the sound is distorted.

The problem apparently stems from ...

Amazon's Super Bowl ad shows why Alexa shouldn't be on everything



You might recall last year's Super Bowl ad for Amazon that showed company founder, CEO, and richest man in the world Jeff Bezos perplexed after virtual assistant Alexa lost her voice. This was totally fictitious (although Alexa did go down the next month) and Bezos was presented with a number of different celebrity replacements including Gordon Ramsay, Cardi B, Rebel Wilson and Anthony Hopkins.

Today, Amazon released its Super Bowl ad for this weekend's big game between the L.A. Rams and the New England Patriots (will head coach Bill Belichick throw around his Surface ...

Quirky foldable phones you probably forgot about


All fingers point toward a certainty that’s no doubt fresh on the minds of consumers. Foldable phones are coming – and they've been the talk of the town over the last few months. LG, Motorola, and Xiaomi are said to have foldable handsets already in development, while Samsung’s foldable smartphone is allegedly pegged for an official unveiling as soon as next month.

But there's still a bit of doubt about foldable phones and their potential to become mainstream. Just recently, during CES 2019, we got to see the flexible Royole FlexPai ...

AT&T Mobility's fourth quarter looks sad compared to T-Mobile and Verizon

AT&T reported its fourth quarter earnings today, and the company fell short of analyst's expectations for its wireless operations. For the three month period that ran from October through December, AT&T added 134,000 net postpaid phone subscribers; Wall Street expected a gain of 208,000 customers for this category. Churn was 1%, up 11 basis points from the .89% recorded during the same quarter in 2017. The carrier added 13,000 postpaid pre-paid phone net additions.

Jonathan Chaplin, an analyst with New Street Research, blamed the increase in churn on the heavy ...

Future Nokia smartphones to offer high-quality display and video performance

HMD Global, the Finnish company behind Nokia smartphones, has just announced it has expanded its partnership with Pixelworks, a major player in the visual display processing and advanced video delivery solutions industry.

The first product that benefited from the collaboration between the two companies, the Nokia 7.1 boasts an impressive PureDisplay screen that enhances the viewing experience. This is also the first smartphone that uses Pixelworks' last-gen Iris processor and Qualcomm's mid-tier Snapdragon 636 chipset to deliver exceptional visual performance on an LCD display.

The ...

Google+ consumer accounts to be discontinued on April 2, some features killed off in February

After discovering a bug that impacted 52.5 million users, Google announced more than a month ago that it has decided to shut down Google+ earlier than it originally planned. So, instead of killing off the service in August 2019, the search giant confirmed Google+ consumer accounts will be discontinued in April 2019.

Today, the Mountain View company confirmed Google+ for consumer accounts is shutting down on April 2, 2019. Moreover, some of the service's features will be discontinued starting early next week.

For example, beginning February 4, if you have a personal Google+ account, ...