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Microsoft has announced a useful new feature for Office on phones or tablets: the ability to convert an image of a table into one in Excel. The app will use optical character recognition (OCR) and AI to deliver this promising new function. However, it will be exclusive to Office 365 subscribers on Android at first.

A new leak associated with the upcoming Ryzen 3000 series has surfaced. It is a pricelist that has been distributed by the IT seller Bizgram, which has an address in Singapore. This document baldly lists all the new Threadripper variants, as well as the prices at which they may be sold.

According to Tech Insights, Samsung's new flagship, the Galaxy S10+, cost US$420 to build. That represents a US$40 increase over the manufacturing cost of last year's S9+, while the devices' MSRPs show a massive US$160 differential.

The Nokia 9 PureView was unveiled last week at MWC and is now available in the US starting today. The device's selling point is its penta-lens camera setup that has been shown to take photos with incredible depth and details. The Nokia 9 has a US$700 MSRP but those who hit the buy button this week will get an extra US$100 shaved off.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A30 and A50 at MWC last month, and the devices have now made the trip over to India, with the A50 starting at US$280. The duo will be joined by the A10 later in the month.

A map for Apex Legends was leaked on Reddit 11 months ago but was quickly dismissed by the community. A redditor called hiticonic uploaded the map image along with the caption “alleged minimap for rumored Titanfall battle royale game.” Another redditor has now created a new subreddit about the leak, allowing hiticonic to receive some belated upvotes.

Sony has discontinued production and shipment of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. The final two SKUs that were still listed on the Japanese product page now have the solemn words “shipment complete” in their respective summaries. Production of game cards for the Vita will cease at the end of March.

The short-video app TikTok has seen its billionth download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store combined. It has also rivalled Facebook and surpassed Instagram for app install counts in 2018. It was also the most-downloaded non-game app in the US in January 2019.

Vivo has released a series of new smartphones under its iQOO sub-brand. The iQOO devices are aimed at gamers and range from the base model with 6 GB RAM/128 GB storage up to the top-end variant (the iQOO Monster) that sports 12 GB RAM/256 GB storage. The smartphones come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC and some of them feature Vivo’s 44 W Super FlashCharge technology.

The Canadian government has moved ahead with extradition proceedings in regard to the case of Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei. The executive will be back in court on March 6 to find out the date for her extradition hearing. The news will undoubtedly infuriate the Chinese government, which has been insisting on Meng Wanzhou’s release.

John Peddie Research has released its review of the GPU market for Q4 2018. Overall GPU shipments were down by 2.65% from the previous quarter, with Nvidia shipments decreasing by 7.62%, AMD’s by 6.81%, and Intel’s GPU shipments falling by 0.67%. However, GPU shipments for notebooks increased as the cryptocurrency crash continued to affect desktop GPU demand.

This year's Mobile World Congress (MWC19) focused heavily on more mobile tech, particularly as some acquired the ability to fold this year. However, this was also a stage for 5G this year. To this end, Qualcomm unveiled its X55 SoC-containing module for laptops at the show.

Huawei has won this year's Best Connected Mobile Device of Mobile World Congress 2019 for the Mate X. The GSMA conferred this title on the new foldable phone at the end of MWC19 (on February 28, 2019) at the GLOMO awards event. Kevin Ho, who accepted the award on the OEM's behalf, said that his team were "very excited and honored" to receive it.

A United States Patent Application made by AMD for variable rate shading (VRS) has been discovered. At present, the little-used technology only features in Turing-based cards from Nvidia; VRS can offer an fps increase in games that utilize it. It has been speculated that AMD plans to incorporate variable rate shading in its upcoming 7 nm Navi GPUs.

System76 has revised its Oryx Pro laptop, bringing Nvidia GeForce RTX 20-series GPUs and an 8th Gen Intel Core chip into the mix. The champions of open-source software are offering potential buyers the chance to choose from an RTX 2060, RTX 2070, and an RTX 2080 graphics card. More RAM and storage options are also available in the company’s online configurator.

SoC-embedded 5G modems should help reduce production costs and decrease energy requirements. The successor of the Snapdragon 855 is scheduled to be Qualcomm's first SoC with integrated 5G modem and it should first be featured in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S11-series. Qualcomm's upcoming flagship SoC is supposed to help with the adoption of the 5G standard through its 20 OEM partners.

Xiaomi's Redmi sub-brand, today, launched its new mid-range phone. The Redmi Note 7 Pro features a dual rear camera setup, with the main sensor being Sony's 48 MP IMX586—also seen on the Honor View 20 and Mi 9; Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 675; and a 4000 mAh battery.

According to OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, wireless charging is considerably slower than Dash Charge, and the company will not be implementing it on its smartphones. Prospective buyers who need wireless charging will have to look past the upcoming OnePlus 7.

Samsung has launched its new device, the Galaxy M30, in India. The mid-ranger delivers a slew of impressive features including an AMOLED display, triple rear cameras, and a 5000 mAh. Quite the enticing package especially considering its US$210 base price.

The HERO7 Black is the top-spec'd SKU of its GoPro camera series. It is now available in a limited-edition alternative finish, Dusk White. This version will be released on March 3, 2019 on gopro.com and selected retailers worldwide.

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 rentals includes blockbusters like "A Star Is Born," "Bohemian Rhapsody," and more.

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 and gives some handy advice about what brand smartphone you should own. Just try to ignore the unsubtle propaganda and occasional iffy imagery.

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 Padawan who manages to escape the infamous Order 66. The title is expected to be released in fall this year.

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 cost-effective, thus more appropriate for consumer modules, which are expected in 2020.

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 that is also a power bank.

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.

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 prototype with specs to challenge Samsung or Huawei in the same regard.

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 Entertainment, which was cofounded by the creator of The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman.

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 technology. The MX230 and MX250 also support Vulkan 1.1, OpenGL 4.6, and OpenCL 1.2 APIs.

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 smartwatches. The company will look for hundreds of millions of US dollars in compensation for this breach.

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 consequence, the Chinese Shanghai Composite index spiked by 5% and we could be looking at a price reset for the overpriced computer hardware in the next few months.

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. has alleged. Guo also called for improved regulation and assignation of responsibility in the coming global 5G infrastructure roll-out.

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 it is powered by the Snapdragon 855 and runs the X50 modem.

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 devices in it.

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 of US$229. The even cheaper GTX 1650 will purportedly be launched on April 30 at a price starting at US$179.

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.

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 question was an incomplete prototype. The P30 Pro in the photographs has a rear triple camera setup and there is no sign of a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

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 60GHz 802.11ad Wi-Fi and 2x2 Wi-Fi 6-ready chipsets.

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 X390 Yoga has been redesigned with a much thinner chassis.

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. Harris also asserts that Android is now the most popular software platform.

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 release of this phone so far. OnePlus' CEO has indicated that the device will cost under US$1000.

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 2019.

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 objected to the tech giant’s US$480 million contract with the U.S. Army that involves the augmented-reality headset.

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 process. Intel is willing to listen to what end users have to say in order to create the best possible gaming GPUs.

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 with these connectivity options in 2019

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-term data storage at higher temperatures. Its hybrid nature should allow Intel to include it in future Optane products.

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. This development will also apparently bring Xbox Game Passes to the Switch.

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 from now until March 1, 2019.

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 upon Fils-Aime's retirement. Fils-Aime oversaw one of the most successful periods of Nintendo's life and managed the launches of the Nintendo DS, 3DS, Wii, and Switch.

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 residue compromising up to 30,000 of 12 nm and 16 nm wafers. Total losses are estimated around US$550 million, but TSMC intends to ramp up production in Q2 to mitigate part of the losses.