Business Articles

WeChat claims to have over 1.1 billion users per month, 800 million of who also use WeChat Pay. Now, the company intends to make the use of this aspect of the service easier to use abroad. This involves improving on its existing payments systems in Europe.

An interesting entry in the SiSoftware SANDRA database has been spotted that has shown a presumably upcoming Dell server being tested with one of AMD’s forthcoming Epyc 2 “Rome” chips. It seems the engineering sample and Dell server get along with each other very well, as the qualification record states “excellent performance.”

Micro- and mini-LEDs may make up the next generation of high-end displays after AMOLED. At present, however, they are more of a niche-application product. However, new research indicates that their market will grow to be worth US$6 million in 2024.

Today (May 17, 2019), Sprint has begun taking pre-orders for its first 5g devices. They are the LG V50 ThinQ and HTC's 5G hub. These products are only available in certain regional markets, however.

It’s been reported that some of the executives at BioWare, the EA-owned game developer, have been blaming Anthem’s issues on the gamers that play it. Great things were expected from the title, but within days of its release in February it was already facing a lukewarm response from critics and complaints about hardware crashes from players.

The OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro were recently released alongside some new features for their Android skin, OxygenOS. They include new camera modes, including a second-generation NightScape for low-light shots. However, the OEM has indicated that older flagships may not be in line for the same.

Today (May 16, 2019), the corporations Microsoft and Sony unveiled plans to collaborate on the development of new technology. This partnership will see the 2 electronics giants team up on new image sensors and cloud computing applications. This may enhance platforms such as PlayStation and Azure AI in the future.

The Red Magic 3, Nubia's latest gaming smartphone, is available outside China, albeit through some third-party resellers. Now, however, the OEM has announced that it is about to ship the phone itself to numerous international locations. This general release will begin on May 27, 2019.

Verizon Wireless customers who would like to get the fastest mobile connection speed in the US can now grab the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G from retail locations or with free 2-day shipping. However, this handset does not come cheap — the retail price of the 256 GB variant is US$1,299 (for 512 GB of storage, the buyer should cash out US$100 more).

Of the newest compact business T & X business ThinkPads, the Thinkpad T490 offers the best upgradeability. Unfortunately, the manufacturer makes the process of opening the chassis tedious, as Lenovo uses loads of plastic clips.

UL is promising that these new tools will produce more relevant and applicable results for users. The Battery Life benchmark will test a host of new scenarios individually while the Applications benchmark will focus on system performance when running Microsoft Office software.

Following the successful introduction of cryptocurrency features for this year's Galaxy S10 handhelds, Samsung now plans to add blockchain-related services to budget and mid-range models, as well. Besides crypto wallets and digital signage apps, Samsung may also add digital identity verification tools in upcoming Galaxy models.

Huawei was supposed to be banned from U.S. territories in late 2018, but the trade negotiations between the U.S. and China delayed the process a few times. Now that both countries are exchanging blows with increased trade tariffs, president Trump could finally pull the trigger on the Huawei ban. Meanwhile some allied nations are still willing to work with Huawei for 5G network implementation, and the U.S. is not happy.

The Samsung Galaxy A10 (or SM-A105) was launched in India recently for the rough equivalent of US$120. Now, it seems that more variants of the same line have emerged. Their model numbers resemble those of the A10; however, at least 1 has a MediaTek SoC rather than an Exynos one.

According to some online rumors, Redmi is on the verge of entering the laptop market with its first product of this category. More details on this machine - apparently named the RedmiBook 14 - may have emerged. It could rock Intel Core CPUs up to the tune of an i7, as well as the NVIDIA GeForce MX250 GPU at the highest end.

The legal battle between Samsung and Huawei that involves multiple patent infringement cases seems to be finally reaching its end — at least for the time being. After settling their lawsuits in the US earlier this year, the two tech giants are now burying the hatchet in China as well, according to the local press.

An analyst for the Ace Research Institute has compiled a financial results report about Sony’s PlayStation business. Among the big numbers and forecasts, the researcher has detailed some information about the upcoming PlayStation 5 console, which includes an expected launch date of November 2020. There are also predictions for price and sales.

This 13.3-inch business convertible is among the lightest in its class, with a 0.67-inch profile and 2.2 lbs weight. CPU options include Intel's Core i5-8265U, i5-8365U and i7-8665U Whiskey Lake CPUs, and users may add up to 16 GB of LPDDR3-2133. For storage, users can opt to combine SATA 3 SSDs with NVMe models for up to 1.5 TB. Noteworthy here is the inclusion of a Thunderbolt 3 connector.

Xperi claims that Nvidia has been using 5 of its patents related to voltage circuitry and semiconductor manufacturing technologies in some of its GPUs and processors without acquiring licenses. Three of these patents have already been litigated with Broadcom and Samsung, therefore Xperi clearly has a strong case.

In an interview a few days ago, Soniya Jobanputra, Product Manager at Google, revealed the reason behind the company's inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack on the new mid-range Pixel 3a phones...while that same feature is missing on the Pixel 3 flagships. We don't buy it.

Xiaomi's high-value sub-brand, Redmi, has officially announced its new flagship. The device will be named the Redmi K20, with "K" standing for "killer", perhaps due to how effectively the device is aimed at killing off the competition. Details of the K20 have also surfaced.

Thanks to the latest developments in automation and robotics, Amazon needed almost 20,000 fewer workers in 2018 than in 2017. In the coming months, machines that pack orders — which are currently being tested — might burn over 1,300 human warehouse jobs at the 55 fulfillment centers for standard-sized inventory operated by Amazon US.

Login to Windows just by walking up to your laptop. Dell's ExpressSign-in security feature works with Intel's Context Sensing Technology to automatically wake or lock the laptop before the IR camera even has a chance to work.

Xiaomi India’s managing director, Manu Kumar Jain, has announced a new initiative by the OEM: a vending machine for its devices and accessories. It is located in Manyata Technological Park, Bengaluru. The innovative "Mi Express Kiosk" accepts a wide range of payment types to dispense phones, power banks and more.

The new ThinkBook series will be a business-consumer offering designed for small businesses not yet ready to invest in pricier ThinkPad laptops. Its chassis design is arguably sleeker and more affordable than many ThinkPads while offering the same ThinkShield security protection plans.

The MIL-810G-certified mini PCs promise a broader thermal operation range with higher vibration tolerance in industrial and professional environments. Prices start at $540 USD for the entry-level Celeron configuration.

The newer model will sport Intel Core i9-9880H and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q options with an improved 4K UHD OLED touchscreen over the 2018 model. Otherwise, the chassis will be unchanged from the original X1 Extreme that we already know and love.

We already know that the Huawei Mate 20 Pro will be updated to Android Q. Now, its maker has announced that 5 more of its fellow flagships, in addition to 2 from Honor, will join it. However, these phones will have to wait until the stable form of this OS is released.

The Australian smartphone market could benefit from more choices as much as any other. Accordingly, the OEM UMIDIGI is now selling its devices in this country, via its eBay and Amazon sites. They will include the new A5 Pro, a budget option with a triple camera.

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is one of 21 devices certified for the latest beta for Android Q. The OEM has now made places on a program to test it available to users of the 2018 flagship. It appears that this program is best suited to developers or those used to testing potentially unstable ROMs.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly launched a full-scale probe into Google's business practices. It is doing so based on allegations of anti-trust behaviors on the part of the Mountain View giant. Should the CCI find a basis for these complaints, the target could be liable for potentially sizable penalties.

Intel's Raja Koduri laid out the position of the company in key markets such as PC, CPU, GPU, FPGA, data center, interconnect, and memory compared to the competition. During the presentation, Raja felt that AMD has no meaningful software ecosystem without Intel and that the 'Red' team lacks a memory and interconnect strategy. He also dwelt upon Intel's OneAPI strategy to make it easy for developers to code for multiple Intel architectures.

Notebookcheck is reviewing the Lenovo ThinkPad T490 at the moment. Our review sample contains a FHD screen that Lenovo markets as "Low Power". As we found out, the screen used here is not a normal a-SI IPS LCD, but a higher quality IGZO IPS panel.

Earphones and headphone sales drive a healthy market in the United States. The market analysis firm ReportBuyer estimates that it will grow at a compound rate of over 12% until it is worth approximately US$9 billion in 2024. The products in question are mostly used in fitness, entertainment and gaming pursuits.

The HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc. has sent a DMCA takedown notice to GitHubber 'Glenwing' for posting detailed specifications of all versions of the HDMI standard, which are apparently copyrighted and confidential, on his personal GitHub page. Glenwing claims that he only used publicly available documents to educate people on the capabilities of HDMI and not for any malicious intent.

Costco is currently running a limited sale on one ThinkPad X1 Extreme SKU. The machine comes with an Intel Core i7 Coffee Lake processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti discrete GPU and 16 GB RAM. The device also has a 4K anti-glare touchscreen display and a 1 TB SSD. The SKU usually costs US$2,399.99, but the sale brings it down to US$1,999.99.

Set your alarms to next Thursday. One-Netbook has already revealed most of the specifications for its next device, the One Mix 3, and now it has confirmed when it will be making the mini laptop available to pre-order too. It is still keeping pricing secret though.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has ordered the recall of a wireless charging pad sold by the company Imagine Nation Books due to a burn hazard. This order affects about 64,000 of these products circulating in the country. Those who have bought them are advised to return them for a refund without delay.

It is unclear what caused the drastic drop in hash power, but several hypotheses stipulate that Bitmain may have reallocated more hash power towards AI-driven activities, or the company may have rented out most of its hash power to other companies. Furthermore, Bitmain may have moved most of its miners abroad and does not currently count this "exported" hash power as its own so it would not be affected by the imminent Chinese ban on crypto mining activities.

Today (May 9, 2019), Qualcomm unveils support for Google Fast Pair and for Google Assistant on its current Smart Headset hardware platform. It incorporates the most up-to-date low-power Bluetooth audio SoCs the chip-maker has to offer. The new levels of support may enhance the advanced mobile-device audio experience consumers may expect these days.

The previously Intel-exclusive ThinkPad T Series will now have second generation Ryzen Pro options for faster graphics performance and cheaper starting prices. AMD wants to prove that its latest processors can go toe-to-toe with Intel on higher-end business laptops and Ultrabooks.

There is a rumor that Redmi is not satisfied with just producing budget-friendly smartphones and phablets and intends to move into creating laptops too. The sub-brand’s parent company, Xiaomi, has been in the notebook business for a few years now, and it has won praise for products such as the Mi Notebook Pro and Mi Notebook Air.

Although the security breach that has just been discovered by Binance impacted the BTC hot wallet only — which contained only about 2 percent of the total BTC holdings of the exchange — the hackers managed to withdraw 7,000 BTC in a single transaction. Fortunately, Binance will cover this incident in full and no user funds will be affected.

IHVs for laptop PCs can submit their products to Intel for compliance assessment, quality assurance, and performance tests. If they pass, then major OEMs like Acer, Huawei, Asus, or Dell will be more likely to source these optimized components for their future laptops.

The new Linux kernel update integrates support for using persistent storage as regular system memory, a new Linux Security Module (LSM), live patching, as well as multiple minor tweaks and fixes. All these will be included in the first point release that should go live later this month, but those in a hurry can grab the sources and compile the new kernel right now.

ZTE's newest Axon-brand flagship, the 10 Pro, has been released for sale in China. It is touted as the world's first phone to be powered by the Snapdragon 855 and have the F2FS filesystem. Otherwise, the phone has a 48MP main camera, stereo speakers and a 5G variant.

The Exynos i T100, Samsung's latest IoT solution is now official as a 28 nm chip that targets short-range devices that automate and control environments within homes or businesses. Its list of features and capabilities includes BLE 5.0 and Zigbee 3.0 support, as well as a hardware block for data encryption.

The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities proved that most of the CPUs made by Intel and AMD in the past 10 years are susceptible to code-based attacks and the current security model of bugs and patches needs to change at a fundamental level. Researchers at the University of Michigan might have the solution with the Morpheus CPU security architecture that renders processors virtually invulnerable even to the fastest electronic hacking techniques.

More than 7 times faster than the current fastest supercomputer, Frontier will probably end up even faster than Intel's Aurora exascale supercomputer scheduled to go operational around the same time frame. Frontier will combine the power of the current top 160 fastest supercomputers in the world and will help scientists forecast global warming patterns, engineer better pharmaceuticals and run extensive cosmological simulations.

While the chassis will remain the same, internal options will be updated from 12-core Xeon and Quadro RTX 6000 options to 28-core Xeon and Quadro RTX 8000 options for massive gains in performance. Units will begin shipping before the end of this month.