Business Articles

5G networks are set to transform the mobile data experience. However, very robust 4G infrastructure means that people in some countries already have access to ultra-fast connectivity. Etisalat in the UAE tops the list, offering speeds of nearly 100 Mbps on average, 3 times higher than the US average of 33 Mbps.

A new development in OLED technology could result in ultra-high-resolution displays, thanks to the latest developments in increasingly thin, effective solar panels. It involves cutting-edge physics that could be relevant to both fields, which feature in a new paper co-written by R&D scientists at Samsung.

LG's display division has just released its financial performance figures for the third quarter of 2020 (3Q2020). It has posted a net profit of about US$9.7 million, whereas it reported losses in 2Q2020 and in 3Q2019. There are also year-on-year (YoY) and quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) gains in revenue and operating profits in this new report.

Redmi is set to add a new member to the K30 series tomorrow, albeit in China only. However, the rest of the world has apparently already seen this phone, as it is a rebranded Mi 10T. Nevertheless, it is projected to sell for prices in keeping with its budget-friendly flagship-killer kin.

A new research report has concluded that 63% of households with residential security equipment in the US are now considering buying a smart home device in the next 12 months compared to 40% of broadband internet-using households. Therefore, it seems that the trend toward integration with assistants such as Amazon Alexa among home-grade security OEMs is paying off in that respect.

Apple is now slated to finally unleash its long-awaited AirTags in 2021. These new products are currently widely accepted to be this OEM's answer to products such as Tile anti-loss wireless accessories. However, according to leaks of new patents obtained by the Cupertino company, their applications may go far beyond that.

Fancy some origami while you wait for your Xbox Series X to arrive? Well, Microsoft is offering Papercraft Kits with some Xbox Series X pre-orders, albeit only Germany. You can print out your own Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S 'Papercraft Kit' worldwide, though.

The first benchmark result for the RTX A6000 is in, and it does not look good for NVIDIA's enterprise card. Based on a full-fat GA102 GPU with 10,752 CUDA cores supported by 48 GB of VRAM, the RTX A6000 only managed 11% higher scores on average than the RTX 6000.

After spending almost two decades on the market, the only portable media player sold by Apple that still carries the iPod name is the 7th generation Touch, which is much closer to an iPhone than to the original iPod. Once accounting for 40% of Apple's total revenue, the iPod is now only a shadow of its former self.

The release of Halo Infinite may be a while off yet, but The Master Chief Collection is coming to the Xbox Series X and S on November 17. The re-release will run at up to 120 FPS on Microsoft's new consoles and will feature a host of improvement, such as a refined split-screen mode. Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be free for those who already the collection and also for those who subscribe to Xbox Game Pass.

Microsoft has released the Windows 10 21H1 Insider Preview Build 20241, integrating yet more features into next year's update. Behind the scenes, the company has been working on many features, including one that will warn people if their HDD or SSD is in a bad way.

Lenovo has had to remove almost all its products from its German website, because of a patent dispute with Nokia. The Chinese company has supposedly been violating H.264 patents that Nokia holds, resulting in the Finnish company taking out an injunction to freeze Lenovo's online sales.

The current US administration put Huawei on its Entity List, which ultimately led to the OEM being cut off from vital suppliers such as TSMC. However, that company has now obtained a license to once again sell to the Chinese electronics giant. Then again, the terms of this new allowance may render it considerably less of a reprieve for Huawei than it sounds.

Dell's compact business-oriented 13.3-incher offers long battery life, a good keyboard (backlit), and a fast NVMe SSD. An LTE modem is optionally available.

Apple may have pleased may fans with the release of the iPhone 12 Mini, a rare return to mobile screens of well under 6 inches in size. Therefore, other non-iOS smartphone manufacturers may want to start on their own equally compact flagships, right? Wrong, says eminent leaker Digital Chat Station.

In order to bring the total weight down to 643 grams, Fujitsu had to reduce the number of components, replace the metallic upper cover with carbon fiber and redesign some of the ports and internal circuitry. The UH-X / E3 models are powered by the Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU and includes a small 25 Wh battery, but Fujitsu also offers the slightly heavier UH90 / E3 models with 54 Wh batteries and the UH75 / E3 models powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U APUs that weigh just under 1Kg.

Acer is releasing an updated mobile workstation: The ConceptD 7 Pro combines the Quadro RTX 5000 with Intel Comet Lake H. As a variant, the ConceptD 7 contains the GeForce RTX 2080 Super instead of the ISV-certified Quadro.

The new Travelmate models come in slimmer yet sturdier chassis made of an aluminum-magnesium mix. Upgrades include the latest Tiger Lake CPUs with Xe iGPUs, up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, up to 1 TB NVMe SSD storage, a Thunderbolt 4 connector and a larger battery that can last up to 15 hours.

The CXI4 is Acer's new Chromebox with up-to-date connectivity, featuring Wi-Fi 6, USB 3.2 Gen 2 and type C ports. Therefore, it may prove an option for the processing needed in retail or learning spaces. It also has the dimensions and VESA mount necessary to hide it behind nearly any screen paired with it in these environments.

A new software tool from Parallels, the Parallels Desktop for Chromebook Enterprise, allows certain Chromebooks to natively run Windows apps alongside Chrome OS apps, no Internet required. The software seamlessly integrates Windows into Chrome OS, allowing shared use of system functions like the clipboard, network connections, and more.

The Covid-19 pandemic often has connotations of economic downturn and general consumption-insecurity. Nevertheless, the US consumer tech sector is now projected to grow by 18% year-on-year for the final quarter of 2020 (4Q2020), whereas this figure was 4% in 4Q2019. This increase is thought to be connected to the need for remote working and learning equipment, particularly laptops and monitors.

Xiaomi is revamping the packaging of the Mi 10T Lite in Europe by using cardboard instead of plastic. The result should yield up to 60% less plastic used without needing to remove the charger or case from the box, an impressive feat. Xiaomi has, of course, took another opportunity to remind people of Apple's recent decision to do otherwise, though.

The US carrier T-Mobile now lists the new OnePlus 8T as its latest 5G phone. It costs the same as unlocked units in this country; however, a buyer may avail of an offer by which one is half this price when bought with a new line on the network. This requires a 2-year bill-pay contract, however.

SK Hynix and Intel have reached a deal to sell Intel's NAND memory business for US$9 billion over the next 5 years. The sale includes Intel's NAND IPs and a NAND manufacturing facility in China.

ROG Strix Scar 15 G532, ROG Strix Scar III G531, HP Pavilion 15-cs0053cl, XPS 13 7390, XPS 13 9380, Yoga C930, Yoga Book C930... it's no surprise that even we're starting to get a bit confused at how all these names are structured.

Xiaomi has announced plans to bring the Mi 10T series to the UK. The Mi 10T, Mi 10T Pro and Mi 10T Lite will all be available to purchase from multiple retailers, including Amazon and Mi.com. The Mi 10T Lite will start for just £199, too.

OPPO unveiled products new to this OEM during its October 19, 2020 Wisdom Life conference in China. They include its first-ever TVs, which run on a version of ColorOS developed specially for this new category. They have 4K panels, the highest-end of which is also QLED and has a 120Hz refresh rate.

The PlayStation 2's record sales will be blown away by the market dominance of the PlayStation 5, according to a top Japanese analyst. Sony's next-generation console is expected to sell anywhere from 200 to 300 million units its lifetime, which is thought to last 5-6 years.

BOE is the largest supplier of display panels (AMOLED included) in China. A new report indicates that it now intends to compete even further with the likes of Samsung by making its own ultra-thin glass (UTG) as well. This material is the most effective existing solution to protect foldable displays, and as such may become more and more important in the future.

PlayStation fans in Southeast Asia will be dismayed by the rumor that the PlayStation 5 launch may have been delayed in a number of countries in that region, including Indonesia and Thailand. However, while gamers in some places may have to wait until 2021 to buy the console, Singapore has already received a second PS5 pre-order wave.
Update: Sony has issued a short statement about the SEA launch.

Intel-based business laptops still have to make do with Comet Lake. This may not stop business customers from buying, but for many customers, laptops with outdated hardware no longer make sense. The HP ZBook Firefly 15 G7 also shares this fate.

Intel's latest Celeron 6305 and 6305E processors have a number of up-to-date features and specs that may make devices based on them particularly worthy of consideration. There may have a lower base clock here compared to its immediate forebear, but it also supports double the cache, as well as faster memory and graphics. And, of course, Thunderbolt 4 is here in these newer models.

Intel has launched the Pentium Gold 7505 processor, which, unlike its immediate predecessor, has a 10 nanometer (nm) architecture thanks to its place in the Tiger Lake series. It also now has double the cache and supports faster integrated graphics compared to its closest 2019 counterpart - with Thunderbolt 4 on top of that.

Xiaomi is believed to be one of the potential buyers for Huawei’s sub-brand Honor if such a deal is being planned. Other companies connected with the alleged sell-off include Digital China and TCL. Huawei has denied the rumor in the past but such a sale could be good for both Honor and its founder in terms of sustainability and growth.

Sony has unveiled a new colour option of the Xperia 1 II, Mirror Lake Green. The fresh look for the flagship smartphone has also been paired with 12 GB of RAM, like the Frost Black version that Sony launched in August.

The Xperia 5 II may not feature a vapour chamber cooling system, but Sony has attempted to keep its latest flagship cool in other ways. Multiple pieces of graphite film should help prevent overheating, while the Xperia 5 II looks simple to repair too.

Nokia has secured a contract from NASA to provide it with a 4G/LTE network - for a lunar base. The US' space administration has plans to have such a structure on the moon and operational by 2028, and the Finnish brand is the one to supply the astronauts who will work there with a telecommunications infrastructure based on a common terrestrial mobile data standard.

OnePlus is a smartphone brand that has leveraged hype around "alternative" flagships into a market-leading position over the years, and Carl Pei has been there from the start as its co-founder. However, he has just posted a goodbye message to its official community website, thereby affirming he is stepping down from this position and leaving the OEM.

We recently reviewed the 15-inch version of the ultra light-weight Galaxy Book Ion and were very pleased with it - all except for one major issue. Despite its good connectivity, its driver issues mess with its overall rating. We hope the manufacturer will be sending an update.

ASUS has packed an awful lot of features into the slim chassis of the ROG Swift PG32UQX, its 32-inch gaming monitor. Not only has ASUS included a 4K panel, but it also has equipped the PG32UQX with a 1,152 zone Mini-LED backlight and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The PG32UQX supports NVIDIA G-Sync Ultimate too, although there is no HDMI 2.1 on board.

Apple is expected to sell at least 70 million iPhone 12 units by the end of 2020, DigiTimes claims. Apple may even top 80 million units before the new year, barring an escalation in the trade war between China and the United States. Apparently, hardware improvements and a fresh design will drive iPhone sales this year.

OnePlus has released a new version of the Nord, its budget alternative to the likes of the OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8 Pro. The Gray Ash variant is only available with the premium storage option of the OnePlus Nord though, making it just £80 cheaper than the entry-level OnePlus 8T.

The AirPods Studio may not be arriving until December at the earliest, according to a new report. March 2021 is another likely candidate for the release window of Apple's over-ear headphones, which are rumoured to cost up to US$599. The AirTags are now slated to arrive next month alongside iOS 14.3, though.

Dell's end-of-2020 holiday deals have been outlined in good time this year. They are a range of discounts on PCs and monitors for entrepreneurs as well as those looking for gift ideas already. This includes Vostro-brand machines, in addition to the new XPS 13 Touch.

The Nubia Watch is now available to order globally for US$219. The futuristic-looking smartwatch features a curved AMOLED screen, a heart-rate monitor and an e-SIM, among other features.

Nintendo will sell more consoles than Microsoft and Sony this holiday season, despite the arrival of the next-generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X, according to analysis from NPD. Call of Duty is expected to continue to dominate the market too, while the sale of gaming subscriptions and accessories will receive a boost.