Business Articles

Visible light communication is a form of wireless technology that uses radiation in the visible to infra-red light spectrum to transmit data. It is seen as an increasingly robust and reliable way of doing so, and needs not much more than conventional, low-power LEDs to work. Its market is now thought to be capable of being worth US$101.3 billion by the end of 2024.

2020 will mark the first year that OnePlus will take part in CES, the traditional January Las Vegas tech fest. The OEM has just sent out teaser images for a "special event" that will run through the relevant dates in that location. This has led to speculation that it will unveil the rumored 8 Lite smartphone.

Huami is a wearables OEM that has made a name for itself largely through its Amazfit brand of smartwatches. However, it has revealed that it intends to push into additional product categories next year. The company has secured a CES 2020 booth, at which its new products may be revealed.

Myonaz is a start-up with a new kind of ceramic personal space heater. Not only does its main function initialize in an estimated 3 seconds, it can also act as a warm- or cool-air fan. It also incorporates a reading light and a USB type A port to charge a phone.

The iPhone may be doing well in Western markets, but the handset saw a massive 35% year-over-year drop in shipments in China last month. This news from Credit Suisse analysts flies in the face of prior predictions from Apple and others that claimed the iPhone 11 would do well in Chinese markets due to high demand. The most likely cause for the drop in sales lies at the feet of policy; the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China has driven iPhone prices up in the mainland, likely killing demand in the process.

At least 60% or more of US consumers aged 55 years or more favor Fitbit when buying a wearable. This is due to the demand for smartwatches and fitness trackers in the relevant age ranges. However, Apple is more popular among those aged 18 to 24.

As surprising as this might be for many of us, "iPhone 11" was the only tech-related search in the global top 10 queries that people entered on Google Search this year. Ranked fifth globally, Apple's handset only managed to grab the ninth spot in the most popular Google Search topics stateside.

When you're spending $1000 or more on a gaming laptop, you're going to want to know exactly what's inside. Official specs from manufacturers will often be so truncated that certain performance details regarding the GPU may be omitted.

Gimdow claims that its new smart lock is one that doesn't require the user to replace the existing one (or even parts of it). This may be ideal for those who want this kind of Bluetooth-enabled security, but can't risk damage to fittings while installing it. The new product has just launched as part of a crowdfunding campaign.

Apple is suing Gerard Williams III, one of the founders of Nuvia, for breaching an intellectual property contract and soliciting Apple employees to leave Apple and work at Nuvia. Williams denies that he actively recruited Apple employees and claims that Apple intruded on his privacy by reading through his personal text messages.

Magewell is a company that makes the components that connect video and audio output with the applicable software. Its latest M.2 video capture card is of its 'Eco' line-up, and is capable of single-channel operation at up to 4096x2160 at 60 frames per second over 12G-SDI. It will be launched in 2020 at the ISE exhibition.

According to a lawsuit filed by Amazon, Donald Trump's "personal vendetta" against the company and Jeff Bezos may have resulted in it losing out on a $10 billion US military contract. While Amazon faces an "uphill battle" to prove its case, this might be another case of "improper activity" by the US president.

According to analyst Jun Zhang of Rosenblatt Securities, Apple may cut its production of the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max by as much as 25% in both December and March due to a market shift toward 5G smartphones. However, Zhang's predictions are at odds with other analysts, who claim that the iPhone 11 family is selling quite well.

The eSIM market is thought to be capable of growing rapidly in terms of shipment volumes until 2025. New research on the same subject now shows that its value will exceed US$700 million by the end of the year. This may be driven by their use in consumer-grade devices, as well as in newer cars and in the internet-of-things (IoT).

The panel-maker Vizio has reported that it "exceeded expectations" over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period just gone, having sold 500,000 or more units of its smart TVs between these days in 2019. For example, it sold 87% more premium 4K UHD big-screens year-on-year (YoY) compared to the same event in 2018.

Many may have casually wondered how the speed of the Android 10 rollout compares to those of older versions of the OS. It almost feels like OEMs are sending out the OS update faster this time around. Does hard data agree with that notion? Yes, yes, it does.

The third-generation Reno flagship is currently projected to come in 5G flavor. This is due to leaks hinting at a next-generation Snapdragon processor that has this connectivity on-chip. Furthermore, it may be joined in its series by at least 1 more phone with an equally 5G MediaTek SoC.

Windows on ARM is the popular Microsoft OS running on Snapdragon processors. As a relatively new platform, it does not have every feature of its "full" normal PC equivalent yet. However, this may be addressed when it gains the ability to run Project xCloud, as well as Microsoft Zoom Video, soon.

MSI G series laptops are generally easy to service and yet most of them have Factory Seal stickers on the bottom to discourage end-user upgrades. We think putting the sticker directly on parts of the motherboard instead would be a more user-friendly approach for gamers who like to tinker and upgrade.

Historically, Canon and Nikon have dominated the digital camera market. That duopoly changes now, as Sony has sold more cameras than Nikon this year, leapfrogging its competitor into second place.

Steam’s hardware and software survey has revealed an astonishing month for Nvidia in terms of video card usage (monthly change). No less than 16 out of the top 20 products come from Team Green, with three AMD GPUs and a single Intel solution filling in the gaps. Cards from the RTX series and the new SUPER lineup have helped Nvidia consolidate its strong position.

iQOO has finally unveiled its refresh of the original Neo smartphone. This new variant is based on the Snapdragon 855 processor, rather than the 845 of its predecessor. There is also a second option: a “Racing” edition that upgrades further to the 855 Plus SoC.

MSI G series laptops are generally easy to service and yet most of them have Factory Seal stickers on the bottom to discourage end-user upgrades. We think putting the sticker directly on parts of the motherboard instead would be a more user-friendly approach for gamers who like to tinker and upgrade.

Dell has started evaluating the proposition of utilizing a wider selection of processors from AMD due to Intel’s ongoing situation with chip supply. The shortage affected Dell’s business, so now the tech giant is looking for a broader solution. Steam’s monthly hardware and software survey also delivered good news for AMD as the Ryzen manufacturer crossed the 20% processor usage mark.

T-Mobile has unveiled its branded version of the highest-end Galaxy Note 10+. This device has Qualcomm's 2nd-gen 5G modem, which makes it compatible with the US carrier's new sub-6GHz network. It is also Samsung's first phone to ship with One UI 2.0 out of the box.

Sony has been awarded a Guinness World Record for having the best-selling home video console brand ever, just in time for the PlayStation’s 25th anniversary. Best Buy is now offering eager future PS5 purchasers the chance to be notified when pre-order is available. However, fans of handheld consoles hoping for a PS Vita 2 will be disappointed by comments made by PlayStation’s boss, Jim Ryan.

There's been conflicting information on what SoC the upcoming Redmi K30 will feature. Some say it'll be the Snapdragon 730G, while others tout the MediaTek Dimensity 1000 5G. New developments debunk all of those, and we're almost definitely going to see a Redmi K30 powered by the just-announced Snapdragon 765.

In a bombshell announcement, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have announced that they are stepping aside from their roles as Alphabet CEO and Chairman, respectively. In their place, long-trusted lieutenant Sundar Pichai will take over the reins of Alphabet while continuing in his role as Google CEO.

HP School Pack software will come pre-installed alongside dual cameras, a webcam privacy shutter, touchscreen pen support, Wi-Fi 6, and BIOS-level security features to protect students.

Just three months after the phones were launched, Xiaomi has confirmed that it has sold ten million units of the Redmi Note 8 series. That is, the Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro. This means that the Note 8 phones are actually outselling the Redmi Note 7 phones, which is incredible considering the phones’ relatively lackluster reception by the enthusiast community.

Some subscription-based streaming platforms have become huge for a number of reasons, the total lack of ads being one of them. However, there are emerging alternatives that reinstate this potential disadvantage back in return for no monthly fee. Research has shown that their uptake in the United States has increased by nearly 10% over the last 12 months.

The Realme 1, 2, C1 and U1 were all released at various points in 2018. Despite this, their maker has just announced that they will not receive an update to ColorOS 7. This is an upcoming software skin based on Android 10 that the company shares with OPPO.

Huami has released a statement on how its latest device, the Amazfit GTS, did in the recent November 2019 sales event. It claims that the smartwatch was a hit on numerous regional online sales platform. The GTR and Bip Lite wearables also allegedly sold out in 1 hour in 1 store.

Be excited, ye lovers of small smartphones; be very excited. Sony is apparently working on a new compact phone. The Xperia Compact will feature a 5.5-inch display with a physical footprint smaller than that of the Xperia XZ2 Compact and Samsung Galaxy S10e.

The European Hardware Association (EHA) has released the results of its latest study into user preferences for chipsets from different manufacturers. It indicates that over 60% of these customers would choose AMD for their next non-mobile PC processor. The preference for this company's graphics is also showing slow but steady growth.

Huawei has announced that it will introduce its Watch GT 2 to Indian customers on December 5, 2019. This will be the first device with the new Kirin A1 processor for wearables released to this market. This smartwatch also boasts a 2-week battery life and a bezel-less display.

The smartphone OEM Realme started life as a spin-off from the company OPPO. Now, however, it has emerged that the 2 brands are effectively going their separate ways. The younger firm is now its own private company with its own CEO and R&D unit.

Olympus has plans to address "the issue of personnel" as part of a restructuring process, according to Bloomberg. Its CEO has hinted that the company may sell its camera division to help double its operating margin too.

We genuinely believe the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro—and the Mi 9T rebrands—to be the best-value premium smartphones on the market. Xiaomi is set to release a successor this month, the Redmi K30, but things aren't looking quite as exciting as one would expect.

Google is pushing a new update in which its SMS app will gain the ability to tell between 'real' and 'fake' corporate messages. This will be done in line with the search giant's new "Verified" initative, by which businesses register with Google so as to prevent their communiques being automatically labelled as a form of spam and never reaching their customers.

The mystery of the new Lenovo ThinkPad naming scheme is solved: The ThinkPad laptops of the T and X series adopt the new, simplified naming system that Lenovo has already previewed with some of the budget ThinkPads. The upcoming models ThinkPad T14 and ThinkPad X13 are listed on Lenovo's website for the first – but there are no pictures or specifications yet.

The Google Pixel 4 series started at US$799 at launch. However, the OEM's Black Friday event brings it down to $200 off each variant. Their predecessors are also included in this sale, as are the Pixel 3a and 3a XL.

Aside from the obvious input latency, Stadia has a long list of other issues ranging from its pay-per-title business model and quality of service. What can Google do to make Stadia a success?

Rumors about a possible collaboration between Intel and Samsung started making the rounds this summer, and the latest reports from Korea now confirm that Samsung's foundries will help Intel alleviate the 14 nm CPU shortage problems, as the Korean giant has managed to lock in a significant number of CPU orders for the beginning of 2020.

While we're fans of the Mi Note 10, its US$610 MSRP was rather off-putting, and we recommended potential buyers to wait for a sale if they planned to buy the device. Well, here's one such deal. The Mi Note 10 can now be had for just US$466, about US$140 off its MSRP.

Lenovo has some very impressive doorbuster deals running at the moment that offer consumers savings that reach into the thousands of dollars. Various ThinkPad P53 mobile workstations have been discounted by nearly 50%, and there are hefty savings to be had on ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptops, ThinkPad X1 Extreme notebooks, and ThinkPad X1 tablets. The mind-boggling deals are time restricted and stock limited.

Lego Group, the company behind the beloved plastic building bricks, has expertly trolled Tesla in regard to the recently revealed Cybertruck. Elon Musk unveiled the futuristic-looking electric vehicle a few days ago in a PR event that was overshadowed by the Cybertruck having its unbreakable windows shattered on stage. Lego has come up with a very attractive alternative for prospective buyers.