Business Articles

Opinion | If Sony were smart, they would introduce an official Playstation 4 trade-in program to push Playstation 5 adoption rate

How great would it be to be able to trade-in your OG Playstation 4 for an instant $75 off the Playstation 5? A Sony-run trade-up program for existing PS4 owners could make the inevitably high launch price of the PS5 easier to swal...

Allen Ngo, 21 Nov 2019 21:18

The OPPO M1 trademark application. (Source: EUIPO)

OPPO trademarks its own in-house mobile chipset in Europe

OPPO may have an equivalent to Samsung's Exynos SoC line in the works. This is in line with a new report that the OEM has registered the name M1 in relation to this product category with the European Union Intellectual Property Of...

Deirdre O Donnell, 21 Nov 2019 19:36

The Realme XT is on ebay.de now. (Source: eBay)

The Realme XT and 5 are coming to Europe

The Realme XT is this brand's first 64MP quad-camera phone. It has finally come to European shores, although it is exclusive to eBay Germany for now, and starts at €259 (US$289) for a 6GB/64GB SKU. In addition, Realme has announce...

Deirdre O Donnell, 21 Nov 2019 18:45

Lenovo busted for secretly paying cybersecurity "influencers" to promote ThinkShield

TechCrunch Security Editor Zack Whittaker blew the whistle on Lenovo on his Twitter account recently over Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo's alleged attempts to pay Information Security "influencers" to say good things about ThinkSh...

Douglas Black, 21 Nov 2019 18:07

The apology letter is signed by Michelle Johnston Holthaus, Intel’s EVP and GM of Sales, Marketing and Communications. (Source: Intel Newsroom)

Intel issues public apology letter for customers and partners regarding the CPU shipment delays

This kind of full disclosure apology is unprecedented for companies the size of Intel. While the CPU maker is acknowledging the “production variability” that is causing customers and OEM partners more supply issues, there is no me...

Bogdan Solca, 21 Nov 2019 17:22

The OnePlus 7T scored well in our recent review. (Image source: OnePlus)

Opinion | The OnePlus 7T trade in program is a joke

Want to lose money quickly? Well, the OnePlus 7T trade-in scheme would be a good way to go about it. You can get up to US$370 in credit for trading-in a 256 GB OnePlus 7 Pro, a quite frankly ludicrous amount of money for a six-mon...

Alex Alderson, 21 Nov 2019 15:05

Qualcomm's president, Cristiano Amon, at last year's Snapdragon Tech Summit. (Source: Qualcomm)

The 2019 Snapdragon Technology Summit keynotes will be livestreamed from their Hawaii venue

Qualcomm has announced that its next Snapdragon Tech Summit will take place from December 3 to 5, 2019 in Maui, Hawaii. This year, the company will showcase its growing 5G expertise, as well as other facets of its mobile device bu...

Deirdre O Donnell, 20 Nov 2019 23:22

Some more Qualcomm 9205 LTE modem specs. (Source: Qualcomm)

AT&T approves Qualcomm’s new 9205 LTE modem for its IoT bands

AT&T now maintains specific bands for internet of things (IoT) devices and other low-power 4G/LTE applications. To this end, the carrier has just validated the new 9205 modem for these kinds of networks and ecosystems. This Qualco...

Deirdre O Donnell, 20 Nov 2019 19:42

Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 W700 with Quadro RTX 3000 graphics now shipping for $2000 USD

Leave it to a company who designs some of the most stylish gaming laptops to offer one of the best-looking mobile workstations yet. The ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 promises Xeon options, ECC RAM, and a 16:10 1200p display wrapped a Z...

Allen Ngo, 20 Nov 2019 07:16

Centaur x86 CPU design with dedicated AI co-processor. (Source: Centaur Technology)

Centaur announces new SoC featuring an 8-core server-class x86 CPU with AVX512 support and an integrated 20 TOPS AI co-processor

Centaur Technologies has announced that their SoC combining eight x86 cores and a dedicated AI co-processor has posted outstanding results on the MLPerf AI inference benchmarks. This is the industry's first server-class SoC with a...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 19 Nov 2019 09:30

These phone's successors may be made by an ODM rather than by Samsung directly. (Source: YouTube)

Samsung reportedly switches to an ODM to make upcoming Galaxy A models

Samsung has a solid track record of both designing and making all its own phones in-house, unlike other phone companies that contract these processes out to original design manufacturers (ODMs). However, according to a new report,...

Deirdre O Donnell, 18 Nov 2019 23:45

Asus launches ProArt StudioBook Pro X laptop with Quadro RTX 5000 graphics for a hefty $5000 USD (Source: Asus)

Asus launches ProArt StudioBook Pro X workstation laptop with Quadro RTX 5000 graphics for a hefty $5000 USD

The 17-inch laptop integrates some unique features for a sleek mobile workstation including a ScreenPad, 16:10 1200p display, Xeon E-2276M, and a Quadro 5000 GPU.

Allen Ngo, 18 Nov 2019 23:40

Business: HP rejects Xerox acquisition offer

Business: HP rejects Xerox's acquisition offer

Recently, a spectacular take-over in the PC market was in the making: Xerox wanted to swallow the much larger HP. This plan may be doomed to fail however, as HP has rejected the offer from Xerox now. In a surprise twist, HP is say...

Benjamin Herzig, 18 Nov 2019 20:49

Sony: Smartphone business collapses; services being shut down too

Sony sold only 600,000 smartphones in the previous quarter, an all-time low for the Japanese company's smartphone division. The collapse of its smartphone business also has consequences for the services that Sony offers.

Alex Alderson, 18 Nov 2019 16:50

Size matters – Fujifilm's tongue-in-cheek takedown of Xiaomi. (Image source: Fujifilm)

Fujifilm trolls Xiaomi and the Mi Note 10 Pro's 108 MP camera

Size matters, at least according to the social media team at Fujifilm. While Xiaomi has gained plenty of attention recently for 108 MP camera in the Mi Note 10 and Mi Note 10 Pro, also known as the Mi CC9 Pro in some markets, Fuji...

Alex Alderson, 18 Nov 2019 16:26

The Motorola Razr's first European launch may be in Sweden. (Source: LetsGoDigital)

The Motorola Razr may be even more expensive in Europe than first thought

Earlier, a Motorola Razr 2019 leak suggested that it would be priced at up to €1500 on its European launch. Now, a new rumor indicates that it will in fact cost the equivalent of €1680 when it is released to the Swedish market in ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 17 Nov 2019 19:19

The Mi Note 10 is a solid phone with quite a few compromises. (Source: The Verge)

Opinion | Should you buy the Xiaomi Mi Note 10?

Xiaomi launched the Mi Note 10 a few weeks ago and the phone's impressive camera hardware has suddenly put it close to the top of many prospective buyers' shopping lists. Most are unsure about the purchase decision, however, so wh...

Ricci Rox, 17 Nov 2019 12:50

Ice Lake issues: Microsoft is aware that the Surface Pro 7 is currently stuck on broken graphics drivers

Ice Lake issues: Microsoft is aware that the Surface Pro 7 is currently stuck on months-old broken graphics drivers

All those Iris Plus-related bug fixes Intel have been releasing over the past three months have yet to arrive on the Surface Pro 7 despite the fact that this is supposed to be Microsoft's latest flagship Windows tablet. Though we ...

Allen Ngo, 17 Nov 2019 04:07

Huawei may get slight reprieve in US markets with extension of trade waiver

Despite the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, Huawei received a small reprieve in the way of a general license allowing U.S. firms to transact with the Chinese telecom giant. That license is set to expire on Monday, bu...

Sam Medley, 17 Nov 2019 01:01

The Fujitsu FUTRO Q9010 has PalmSecure hand-vein biometrics. (Source: Fujitsu)

The latest Fujitsu thin clients have Gemini Lake Refresh processors

Fujitsu has announced the latest 3 additions to its FUTRO line of thin clients. They also have freshly-launched Intel chipsets: Gemini Lake Refresh processors named as the Pentium Silver J5040, Celeron J4125 and Celeron J4025. The...

Deirdre O Donnell, 16 Nov 2019 21:39

Who made the display on the Motorola Razr 2019? BOE, apparently

BOE has made an announcement on Weibo claiming that it supplied Motorola with flexible displays for the new Razr. Furthermore, it now asserts that it has done the same for the Huawei Mate X - and for the foldable Lenovo ThinkPad X...

Deirdre O Donnell, 16 Nov 2019 14:30

The new MacBook Pro 16 inch model. (Source: B&H Photo Video)

Deal | B&H offers US$100 off some new 16GB MacBook Pro 16-inch SKUs

B&H Photo Video is offering a US$100 "holiday" discount off the first MacBook Pro 16" units it has in stock. However, they all have 16GB of RAM, whereas this new Apple product also has 32GB and 64GB options. Some do have a core i9...

Deirdre O Donnell, 16 Nov 2019 13:52

Frank Azor gets a replacement: Vivian Lien becomes new VP of Alienware and Dell Gaming (Source: Dell)

Frank Azor gets a successor: Vivian Lien becomes new VP of Alienware and Dell Gaming

Dell has found a new pair of eyes to help envision the future of Alienware and the direction it's headed. A larger Alienware presence in eSports, schools, and mainstream media seems likely for more widespread recognition of the br...

Allen Ngo, 16 Nov 2019 07:00

New name, same hardware: Microsoft has been using the exact same LG Philips panel for its Surface Pro series for the past three years

The two-year old Surface Pro 5 offers essentially the same display experience as the latest Surface Pro 7 down to colors, contrast, brightness, response times, and more.

Allen Ngo, 16 Nov 2019 04:46

The Mi Note 10 features a stunning penta-camera setup. (Source: Xiaomi)

Forget the Mi Note 10, Xiaomi reportedly has an even more impressive camera phone in the works

Xiaomi's newly released Mi CC9 Pro and Mi Note 10 phones have received plenty of praise for their impressive camera performance. According to a new leak, however, that isn't as good as it gets, with the Chinese company touted to b...

Ricci Rox, 15 Nov 2019 11:36

The Moto One Actions gets US$100 shaved off its RRP. (Source: Expert Reviews)

Motorola's Black Friday deals bring even more value to smartphone buyers

Black Friday deals typically bring more value to the table, and Motorola's offerings this time will likely be enticing to most, with discounts of up to US$320 being on offer, starting November 24.

Ricci Rox, 15 Nov 2019 11:35

Lenovo's ThinkPad P53 offers incredible GPU horsepower

Lenovo now offers better GPU options and for the first time, an OLED display in its 15-inch workstation. Nvidia's Quadro RTX 5000 offers a level of performance that is usually exclusive to 17-inch models.

Andreas Osthoff, 15 Nov 2019 08:06

MSI Prestige 15 Core i7 is really fast, but expect high temperatures (Image source: MSI)

MSI Prestige 15 Core i7 is really fast, but expect high Core temperatures

As the first 15.6-inch MSI laptop with an Intel Core i7-10710U CPU, the Prestige 15 has some big shoes to fill. Performance and clock rate sustainability are good at the cost of high core temperatures stabilizing at ~95 C when und...

Allen Ngo, 15 Nov 2019 02:04

The Manifest has released the results of a new study on wearables. (Source: The Manifest)

Up to 56% of all US consumers may own a wearable at this point

A new study of wearable uptake in the US shows that 56% of its participants own such a device. Furthermore, another 13% of this group reported considering the purchase of one by 2020. This study's publication also contained some r...

Deirdre O Donnell, 14 Nov 2019 19:56

The Acer TravelMate X514-51-511Q: Lightweight, compact and powerful. (Image source: Acer)

Acer TravelMate X514: A small office laptop that weighs less than a kilogram

Carrying around a hefty laptop can prove tiresome if you are often on the move. However, many lightweight laptops are underpowered and struggle in office tasks, which is where the Acer TravelMate X514 steps in. Acer has designed t...

Alex Alderson, 14 Nov 2019 19:44

Google Pay will reportedly gain a new checking arm soon. (Source: Economic Times)

Google is reportedly coming for the Apple Card with new financial-institution partnerships

Google has reportedly set up partnerships, or at least talks for partnerships, with various US banks and credit unions to offer a new kind of checking account linked to the Pay service. This may help it battle Apple, not to mentio...

Deirdre O Donnell, 13 Nov 2019 22:15

The page on which a user can update to Windows 10 1909. (Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft rolls the November 2019 update out for Windows 10 devices

Microsoft has let it be known that checking for updates on Windows 10 PCs that run the stable-channel 1903 version may result in the ability to download its successor, 1909. This November 2019 replacement for that build can also n...

Deirdre O Donnell, 13 Nov 2019 20:44

Acer ConceptD 7: Premium multimedia laptop with throttling issues in review

With the ConceptD series, Acer has launched a completely new product lineup. The premium white multimedia system tries to appeal to creators of digital multimedia content. However, as our review shows, it comes with a few drawback...

Christian Hintze, 13 Nov 2019 09:45

NVIDIA is currently running a COD-themed promotion. (Source: NVIDIA)

The chance to bundle Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with a new RTX card will be gone soon

NVIDIA is offering a free copy of the latest Call of Duty PC game with every purchase of an RTX graphics card, desktop or notebook. However, this deal's window is shrinking: it is only available until November 18, 2019. The GPUs m...

Deirdre O Donnell, 12 Nov 2019 20:19

GoToMeeting's security issues may have been prevented by timely reporting. (Source: GoToMeeting)

GoToMeeting is found to be potentially susceptible to hacking

The European "responsible vulnerability disclosure" specialists Swascan claim to have discovered that the popular virtual conference service GoToMeeting may be subject to various common weakness enumerations (or CWEs). They may af...

Deirdre O Donnell, 12 Nov 2019 15:16

The Exynos 990 will power the Galaxy S11 phones. (Source: Samsung)

The Exynos 990 is actually the Exynos 9830, and it will debut on the Galaxy S11

It's been fiercely debated which SoC would be on Samsung's next-gen Galaxy S11 flagships. Most claimed the newly launched Exynos 990 would have the honor, while others expected Samsung to launch another SoC, the Exynos 9830. Appar...

Ricci Rox, 12 Nov 2019 08:34

5G connectivity promises a better future, but it might hide some health hazards as well (Source: H2S Media)

Health check: Is 5G really bad for you? Debunking some 5G-related myths and fake news

As 5G networks go live in more and more markets with each month, some questions regarding the health hazards that might come with this new technology remain unanswered. However, most 5G dangers that some websites have been warning...

Codrut Nistor, 12 Nov 2019 07:00

The Vivo S5 has a different angle on the square-cam trend. (Source: Weibo)

Update | Vivo teases the interestingly quad-cam, Snapdragon 712-powered S5 ahead of its launch

The Vivo S5 is a probable successor to the S1 series that is rumored to rock the Snapdragon 712 processor. This phone has also been revealed to have a unique take on rear quad-cam design. It also has a punch-hole selfie camera: th...

Deirdre O Donnell, 11 Nov 2019 18:39

Dynabook Portégé X30-F in review: Light, slim, enduring

Dynabook is mainly doing a model update with the Portégé X30-F

The slim and light Portégé X30-F scores points with long battery life, a bright, contrast-rich display and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. Our configuration variant lacks an LTE modem.

Sascha Mölck, 11 Nov 2019 07:15

Qualcomm has a new permanent CFO. (Source: ZDNet)

Qualcomm names its next permanent chief financial officer

Akash Palkhiwala is Qualcomm's new CFO (or chief financial officer). His appointment comes following a stint as the company's interim CFO, as well as the senior vice president and finance head of its CDMA tech division. Palkhiwala...

Deirdre O Donnell, 10 Nov 2019 20:36

Some CES Innovation Awards have been given out already. (Source: CES)

The CTA announces several CES 2020 award winners and honorees early

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has conferred a number of CES 2020 Awards on some OEMs ahead of this event. They include OnePlus, LG and Acer, who have won recognition for their latest flagship devices, (or, in some case...

Deirdre O Donnell, 10 Nov 2019 18:05

The 8K 7x10.7 KAS S from Canon. (Source: Canon)

Canon introduces the first 2 of its 8K broadcast-grade lenses to the US market

Canon USA has unveiled its inaugural 8K broadcast lenses, the UHD-DIGISUPER 51 and 7x10.7 KAS S attachments. The company is pitching them at the capture of live TV in this UHD resolution. They also have an image format size that c...

Deirdre O Donnell, 09 Nov 2019 20:50

The Omen 17t gaming laptop. (Source: HP)

HP knocks up to US$400 off a variety of Envy, Spectre and Omen notebooks

HP is having something of a pre-Black Friday sales event in which US$100 or more is taken off many up-to-date PCs from the Envy, Spectre or Omen laptop series. Examples include the Omen 17t and 15T Spectre x360. This promotion als...

Deirdre O Donnell, 09 Nov 2019 20:09

An example of a home theater in a box. (Source: Lifewire)

The home theater market could be worth US$13.4 billion by 2025

Home theaters brought in a total of US$7.7 billion last year. However, this market value is thought to be capable of growing by up to $5.7 billion more over the next 6 years. The sound bar sector may grow at the greatest rate over...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Nov 2019 22:44

These icons are few and far between for some Pokémon GO players. (Source: Bulbapedia)

Niantic is addressing its current Pokéstop deficiency in Pokémon GO

Pokémon GO remains one of the world's most popular augmented-reality (AR) mobile games. However, it has a persistent discrepancy as a title in this ecosystem, which is a lack of Pokéstops, particularly in more isolated regions. Th...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Nov 2019 19:35

The Vivo Z5i leaks via its own carrier

Vivo is now slated to release a new phone called the Z5i. This has not been officially announced by the OEM; however, this device has shown up on China Telecom's website despite not having even launched yet. It is powered by the S...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Nov 2019 18:37

Dynabook Portégé A30-E in review: Great display, unstable case

A lot of light but also shadow: The Dynabook Portégé A30-E

Dynabook's 13.3-inch business laptop pleases with a bright, contrast-rich IPS display, an NVMe SSD and long battery life.

Sascha Mölck, 08 Nov 2019 18:35