Business Articles

US$0.99 blockbuster rentals available late February 2019 (Source: Google Play Movies)

Google Play Movies offers US$0.99 blockbuster movie rentals

Without any fanfare, Google Play Movies has started to offer US$0.99 movie rentals, down from a previous US$5.99. However, this deal does not apply to B-rated movies as one would expect. The list of US$0.99 Google Play Movie renta...

Codrut Nistor, 28 Feb 2019 10:55

The video for "Huawei Beauty" has everything from a child soldier to bizarre alcohol-related signage. (Source: YouTube/Hong Kong Free Press)

All around the world, which phone is the most pretty? Huawei, apparently

For those parents desperate to find a new catchy song to entertain children bored of watching “Baby Shark”, look no further. Not only is “Huawei Beauty” sung by a bunch of cute kids, the video also features a nifty dance routine a...

Daniel R Deakin, 28 Feb 2019 10:45

Respawn and Electronic Arts have been very tight-lipped about the upcoming Star Wars third-person action adventure. (Source: Respawn)

Gamers can get a glimpse of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on April 13

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will make an appearance at Star Wars Celebration Chicago on April 13. The story for the game, which is being developed by Respawn Entertainment and will be published by Electronic Arts, is based on a P...

Daniel R Deakin, 28 Feb 2019 08:59

The 16 Gb DDR5-6400 memory chips from SK Hynix integrate 32 banks or 8 groups for 4 banks each. (Source: SK Hynix)

SK Hynix releases details on the upcoming DDR5-6400 RAM standard

The 16 Gb DDR5-6400 memory chips from SK Hynix could be first to hit the market in late 2019, but the launch prices will be quite high, more appropriate for enterprise environments. On the other hand, the 8 Gb chips should be more...

Bogdan Solca, 27 Feb 2019 21:45

The RAVPower 14mm PD wall charger. (Source: RAVPower)

MWC19 | RAVPower releases its thinnest-ever 45W wall charger with PD

RAVPower, the well-known accessory-maker, has a stand at MWC this year. It showcases a new PD charger, an ultra-thin (14mm) 'wall wart' based on gallium nitride (GaN) technology. RAVPower also has a new wireless charging stand tha...

Deirdre O Donnell, 27 Feb 2019 20:18

Now also for iOS devices: WhatsApp Business, at least in the beta version

Beta version of WhatsApp Business for iOS released

We already know about WhatsApp Business for Android, and as of today it’s available to Apple users in a beta version for iOS. The main functions of the app are three messaging features.

Daniel Puschina, 27 Feb 2019 16:50

The Energizer Ultimate U620S' dual pop-up selfie camera. (Source: Android Authority)

MWC19 | Energizer's new foldable smartphone is unveiled

Energizer, a brand known better for disposable lithium-ion batteries, has brought new smartphones made under its name to MWC. One is an extremely typical mobile device, although it has a dual pop-up camera. Another is a foldable p...

Deirdre O Donnell, 27 Feb 2019 15:46

Overkill's The Walking Dead has been criticized for its gameplay. (Source: Variety)

Robert Kirkman's Skybound Games cancels Overkill's The Walking Dead and blames it on Starbreeze

Skybound Games has announced that it has terminated its contract with Starbreeze Studios for Overkill’s The Walking Dead, effectively cancelling further progress on the first-person shooter. Skybound Games is part of Skybound Ente...

Daniel R Deakin, 27 Feb 2019 11:59

The Nvidia GeForce MX250 laptop GPU is aimed at mobile gamers. (Source: Nvidia)

Update | Nvidia announces GeForce MX230 and MX250 laptop GPUs

Nvidia has added two new members to the MX product family: The GeForce MX230 and the GeForce MX250. Both GPUs are based on Pascal architecture, offer DirectX 12 support, and they both utilize Nvidia’s Optimus graphics-switching te...

Daniel R Deakin, 27 Feb 2019 00:18

Swatch claims that Samsung has copied its trademarks. (Source: Swatch)

Swatch has filed a legal case against Samsung for trademark infringement

The Swiss watchmaker group Swatch has filed a complaint with US legal authorities to the effect that Samsung has impinged on its trademarks. This is connected to the design of some downloadable watchfaces for Gear-line smartwatche...

Deirdre O Donnell, 26 Feb 2019 22:26

The trade negotiations between the U.S. and China could be close to a resolution. (Source: The Daily Conversation @ Youtube)

Trump delays tariffs for China, trade war might end soon and computer part prices may reset

The trade war between the U.S. and China may soon end, as president Trump believes that the negotiations are going well and is now determined to delay the increased tariffs for China as a gesture of good will. As a direct conseque...

Bogdan Solca, 26 Feb 2019 22:07

Guo Ping is Huawei's current chairperson. (Source: Huawei)

MWC19 | Huawei chairperson denies US espionage allegations on stage

Guo Ping, Hauwei's current chairperson, has appeared on stage as part of a conference at MWC19. He asserted that the company is not involved in activities that amount to cyber-spying on behalf of the Chinese govermment, as the U.S...

Deirdre O Donnell, 26 Feb 2019 18:07

The Sony 5G phone. (Source: Pocket-Lint)

MWC19 | Sony shows its 5G phone prototype off at MWC

Sony has unveiled its own foray into 5G tech at the Mobile World Congress (2019). It is a phone that, with its 21:9 aspect ratio, resembles the new Xperia 1 closely. The OEM did not offer much detail on this device, besides that i...

Deirdre O Donnell, 26 Feb 2019 17:33

The Bixby Studio in Barcelona. (Source: Samsung)

Samsung has opened a Bixby Studio in Barcelona

It seems Samsung is doing more in Barcelona than MWC. The OEM has opened a Bixby Studio in the city's Plaza de Catalunya. This installation gives visitors a sense of what life would be like with Bixby-powered applicances and devic...

Deirdre O Donnell, 26 Feb 2019 16:24

The GTX 1650 and GTX 1660 could soon be joining Nvidia's GeForce line-up. (Source: XanxoGaming)

New report offers alleged prices and release dates for Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1660 and GTX 1650 GPUs

A report quoting “industry sources” has offered the prices and launch dates for the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics cards. The GTX 1660 will apparently be released on March 15 with a minimum price tag ...

Daniel R Deakin, 26 Feb 2019 11:14

Lenovo ThinkPad T490s, T490 & T590: Sleeker & brighter screens, but less flexibility

MWC19 | Lenovo ThinkPad T490s, T490 & T590: Sleeker designs & brighter screens, but less flexibility – Update

At MWC 2019, Lenovo has announced five new ThinkPads. The three new T series models ThinkPad T490, T490s & T590 are supposed to win over business-customers with new designs, thinner bezels and better displays.

Benjamin Herzig, 26 Feb 2019 10:46

The Huawei P30 Pro will have a rear-facing triple camera setup. (Source: Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends)

MWC19 | Real-world photos of the Huawei P30 Pro emerge; 5G variant could be in the works

Real-world photos of the upcoming Huawei P30 Pro have been printed online by Digital Trends. The intriguing collection of images unfortunately does not include a shot of the front of the flagship smartphone as the device in questi...

Daniel R Deakin, 26 Feb 2019 10:07

MWC19 | HTC wants to replace your router with its new 5G Hub

HTC has taken the wraps off its 5G Hub. The Taiwanese company claims that this new device can deliver the speed and poiwer of the new radio bands to homes or businesses. It is powered by the Snapdragon 855, as well as Qualcomm's 6...

Deirdre O Donnell, 25 Feb 2019 19:20

Lenovo ThinkPad X390 & X390 Yoga: Smallest ThinkPads now with 13.3 inch instead of 12.5 inch LCDs

MWC19 | Lenovo ThinkPad X390 & X390 Yoga: Smallest ThinkPads now with 13.3 instead of 12.5 inch LCDs

Aside from the larger ThinkPads of the T series, Lenovo has announced two compact models of the X series as well. The Thinkpad X390 has a bigger display with a much smaller screen bezel than its predecessor, while the ThinkPad X39...

Benjamin Herzig, 25 Feb 2019 00:01

According to a new report, smartphones are now the most popular form of consumer tech. (Source: YouTube)

Smartphones account for 59% of all spending on consumer electronics in 2018: tech author

Jim Harris, an author and speaker on disruptive innovations, has released a new report on consumer tech ahead of MWC 2019. In it, he claims that 59% of all the money spent in the same market in 2018 was expended on smartphones. Ha...

Deirdre O Donnell, 24 Feb 2019 14:42

The 5G OnePlus phone will be released in the UK, but not the US

OnePlus' first 5G phone will be released in partnership with the carriers EE and Elisa in the second quarter of the year. They are located in the UK and Finland respectively, and are the only companies to be associated with the re...

Deirdre O Donnell, 23 Feb 2019 19:00

A pre-existing physical Huawei store. (Source: Retail in Asia)

Huawei's first flagship offline store outside China will be located in Vienna, Austria

Huawei maintains a number of physical stores for its devices in China. Reuters has reported that it now plans to open its first international bricks-and-mortar establishment in Vienna. This outlet will reportedly be open by summer...

Deirdre O Donnell, 23 Feb 2019 18:29

The Commercial Suite version of Microsoft's HoloLens costs US$5,000 per unit. (Source: Microsoft)

HoloLens 2 could be launched at MWC19; dozens of Microsoft staff oppose its proposed military applications

Microsoft and its CEO, Satya Nadella, will be in attendance at MWC19 in Barcelona, and it is rumored that the company’s new HoloLens 2 AR smartglasses will be revealed. However, at least 50 Microsoft employees have publicly object...

Daniel R Deakin, 23 Feb 2019 11:57

Through "The Odyssey" program, Intel is looking to involve end users in the GPU design process in order to deliver the best possible products for gamers. (Source: Intel)

Intel invites you to help build the best GPU through "The Odyssey"

The discrete GPU market is about to get busy in 2020, as Intel is planning a triumphant return. To ensure its success, the company is now launching "The Odyssey" initiative which aims at involving gamers in the GPU development pro...

Bogdan Solca, 22 Feb 2019 21:14

MediaTek has designed new KaiOS-compatible SoCs. (Source: KaiOS Tech)

MediaTek announces new chipsets for 3G and 4G KaiOS phones

KaiOS powers feature phones such as the Nokia 8110. MediaTek has prepared new 3G and 4G SoCs for this platform. One of these, the MT6731, can also support 4G in dual SIM slots. They are intended to bring new, affordable phones wit...

Deirdre O Donnell, 22 Feb 2019 20:47

The current STT-MRAM chips are built on the 22 nm process and come in 7 Mb packages. (Source: Intel)

Intel's STT-MRAM ready for mass production, viable alternative for SRAM and NAND flash?

STT-MRAM is one of the alternatives for current SRAM and NAND flash memory / storage solutions. Intel's current implementation is manufactured on the 22 nm node and promises faster read/write speeds, better endurance, and long-ter...

Bogdan Solca, 22 Feb 2019 20:10

Xbox One games may become available on the Switch. (Source: Nintendo Enthusiast)

Nintendo Switch may gain ability to use Xbox features, including Game Passes, soon

A YouTuber has asserted that Microsoft will port some games and features to the Nintendo Switch later this year. The indie title Ori has been specifically named in relation to this new purported deal to link the two platforms. Thi...

Deirdre O Donnell, 22 Feb 2019 16:46

Adobe is offering a limited-time discount on individual Creative Cloud Plans

Adobe is offering a discount on the prices of all-app Creative Cloud (CC) plans. This offer applies to monthly-paid prices for CC and CC plus Adobe Stock plans only, and drops them to US$39.99 and $69.98 respectively. It is valid ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 22 Feb 2019 16:20

Bowser takes over Nintendo: Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime to retire, Doug Bowser named as new President

Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO of Nintendo of America, announced that he will retire from the company on April 15. Doug Bowser, currently the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, will step up as the new President upo...

Sam Medley, 21 Feb 2019 22:42

TSMC is looking at US$550 million losses, but these should be reduced to around US$220 million with a Q2 production ramp up. (Source: TechSpot)

TSMC reveals details on Fab 14B production incident, estimates considerable losses

It took TSMC a little over two weeks to fully assess the consequences of the Fab 14B incident. Apparently, the chemical contamination was triggered by an abnormal reaction in the photoresistant material that led to a polymer resid...

Bogdan Solca, 21 Feb 2019 21:36

The new fabs will be located south of Seoul. (Source: SK Hynix/Korea Times)

SK Hynix planning enormous US$107 billion semiconductor fab investment

Reuters has reported that the South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix is planning on investing 120 trillion won (~US$106.6 billion) on chip manufacturing plants. The company will also spend an additional 55 trillion won (US$49 billion) on...

Daniel R Deakin, 21 Feb 2019 08:57

Lenovo ThinkPad 2019 leak: Data-sheets of the redesigned ThinkPads T490, T490s & T590 have been leaked

Lenovo's ThinkPad division gets hit by another leak, as a reddit user has published data-sheets for most of the upcoming ThinkPad business laptops. Though there is no way to verify the specs at this point, the specs of the T490 do...

Benjamin Herzig, 21 Feb 2019 03:29

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. (Source: Samsung)

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G has even more cameras than the S10+

Samsung also devoted some of its latest launch event to 5G and its potential in the future of telecommunicatons and online life in general. This led to the unveiling of the Galaxy S10 5G. It has an extra 3D-sensing module on its r...

Deirdre O Donnell, 21 Feb 2019 00:27

The end of 2019 could bring halved prices for consumer DRAM modules. (Source: PCGamesN)

RAM prices to see 30% cuts in the next few months

Ever since the Chinese government started to investigate memory chip suppliers over suspicious price fixing schemes, DRAM module prices started to slowly decline, and it looks like prices could get reduced by 30% in Q2 2019. By th...

Bogdan Solca, 20 Feb 2019 20:45

Razer was founded in San Diego in 2005. (Source: Craft)

Razer realignment forces layoffs; Razer Phone 3 possibly cancelled

Razer has had to cut around 2% of its workforce due to “realignment.” It’s believed many of the staff that have been let go were involved with the company’s smartphone products. The cuts could mean that any progress on the Razer P...

Daniel R Deakin, 20 Feb 2019 06:22

The new Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 modem. (Source: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm has announced the new, 2nd-gen 5G Snapdragon X55 modem

Today, (February 19, 2019) Qualcomm has launched its second modem for use with 5G-New Radio (5G-NR): the Snapdragon X55. It is rated to support download speeds of up to 7 gigabits per second (Gb/s) and upload speeds of up to 3 Gb/...

Deirdre O Donnell, 19 Feb 2019 18:24

The world's thinnest wireless charging pad is now up for crowdfunding

PlusUs has introduced its Xpad, a charging pad that measures only 2.2 millimeters in depth. This spec leads the start-up to assert that it is the thinnest product of its kind worldwide. It is available as a reward as part of an In...

Deirdre O Donnell, 19 Feb 2019 17:57

PullString (ToyTalk) joins Apple to improve Siri (Source: TechCrunch)

Apple acquires AI startup PullString

The latest corporate acquisition in the AI field for Apple is San Francisco-based PullString, a company that was founded in 2011 by former Pixar executives and has been working on "shaping the future of voice applications" ever si...

Codrut Nistor, 19 Feb 2019 16:55

The Mi 9 will feature a triple camera setup at the back. (Source: Xiaomi)

The Mi 9 could feature an unmatched 20 W wireless charging and 27 W wired fast charge

Xiaomi is set to unveil its newest flagship, the Mi 9, in a few days. The Mi 9 is said to feature wireless charging—the first time a Mi flagship will have that honor—and will further take things up a notch with 20 W wireless charg...

Ricci Rox, 18 Feb 2019 23:46

The Redmi Note 7 Pro is coming. (Source: Ithome)

The Redmi Note 7 Pro with a 48 MP Sony IMX586 is expected to launch after the Mi 9

The Redmi Note 7 Pro is expected to feature a Snapdragon 675 and Sony's 48 MP IMX586 sensor, the same module used on the Honor View 20. Initial reports claimed the Note 7 Pro would be launched in February but that's looking increa...

Ricci Rox, 18 Feb 2019 23:36

Polish retailer X-Kom briefly sold PS4 thumbstick covers and Fallout 76 bundle for US $5

Polish e-retailer X-Kom ran a promotion this past weekend that offered a free copy of Fallout 76 with four sets of PlayStation 4 thumbstick covers, all for POL 19 zl (~US $5). This discount is not out of the norm for retailers sel...

Sam Medley, 18 Feb 2019 23:34

Xiaomi may release a smartwatch that has nothing to do with Amazfit or Huami. (Source: Amazfit)

Xiaomi's first own-brand sports watch may be launched via crowdfunding

MyDrivers has reported that Xiaomi intends to announce a crowdfunding project for a new product: a smart sports watch. This device will apparently support real-time GPS tracking, so that a user can generate and maintain maps of th...

Deirdre O Donnell, 18 Feb 2019 17:40

The Realme 2 Pro is on sale on Flipkart. (Source: Realme)

Realme 2 Pro now available at a discount in India

The Realme 2 Pro is a phone directed at the younger market in a number of countries, including India. Here, the 2 Pro is available at Rs. 1000 (about US$14) less than usual. However, its better-spec'd SKUs are currently out of sto...

Deirdre O Donnell, 18 Feb 2019 17:14

Science Channel shows how a Gigabyte Aero 15 laptop is made

Watch a quick 5-minute video following the production, assembly, and diagnostics of the Gigabyte laptop from start to finish.

Allen Ngo, 18 Feb 2019 06:33

Razer to shut down Razer Game Store February 28th, 10 months after it opened

Razer is shutting down the Razer Game Store, its own online retail space for PC games. The store will close in the early morning of February 28th. Any games purchased through the Razer Game Store will continue to work, though keys...

Sam Medley, 18 Feb 2019 04:40

New hire by Apple suggests renewed focus on smart home market

Apple does not quite match up to some other major software companies in terms of smart-home products. It has only one product dedicated to this market: the HomePod. The company may by trying to change this by hiring Sam Jadallah, ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 17 Feb 2019 17:18

The Nubia Red Magic Mars. (Source: Nubia)

The Nubia Red Magic Mars is a Pocophone F1 alternative for the US

The Pocophone F1 has been lauded for the high price to performance ratio it brings to the table. Sadly, Xiaomi's high-value magnum opus isn't sold officially in the US. ZTE's Nubia is now offering something almost as good, and it'...

Ricci Rox, 17 Feb 2019 13:48

Renders of the Huawei P30 Pro. (Source: Techenguru)

The Huawei P30 Pro and P30 will settle for 1080p displays

According to new reports, Huawei's upcoming flagships, the P30 and P30 Pro will feature 1080p displays. Both devices are expected to have some impressive specifications sheets, and the listed display resolutions are somewhat disap...

Ricci Rox, 17 Feb 2019 13:44

The Raspberry Pi Foundation was formed in 2009. (Source: YouTube/Raspberry Pi)

Raspberry Pi joins the brick-and-mortar brigade

The Raspberry Pi Foundation opened its first shop earlier this month, at the Grand Arcade shopping center in Cambridge, England. The move to a brick-and-mortar presence for the previously online-only Raspberry Pi gives enthusiasts...

Daniel R Deakin, 17 Feb 2019 09:35