Business Articles

Although the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the dual-camera Galaxy S9+ were well received globally, the latter even being crowned as ruler of the mobile photography kingdom by DxOMark, these two flagships only got a lukewarm response in South Korea. For many retailers, the most recent best seller is the Samsung Galaxy A8, mainly thanks to its dual front cameras and its very good value overall.

The tiny chips are smaller than salt grains and integrate several hundred thousand transistors. Computing power for each chip is estimated to be similar to an early 1990s high-end x86 CPU. They will be used as "cryptographic anchors" in mass produced goods, as a blockchain-enabled anti-counterfeit measure.

The official invite that Apple has recently sent out contains the headline "Let's take a field trip." and the location of the March 27 event makes it all clear. The new Apple products will be unveiled at the Lane Tech College Prep High School, the rumors about them including new iPads (models with an OLED display and/or cheaper ones), VR gear, a new Apple Pencil, and even a preview of the upcoming iOS 12 update.

Platinum Games' Nier: Automata celebrated its one-year birthday on PC yesterday. Over that period, the game has sold 2.5 million copies across all platforms, which we think is impressive for a niche JRPG.

ZTE was hit with a massive US$892 million fine by the US government back in 2016, a fine that led to the company posting a massive US$377 million net loss for that year. All looks to be well with the Chinese electronics giant now, though.

LG, a while ago, was said to be set to use an OLED display on the G7. That device is currently being redeveloped, apparently, and it would seem the company has decided to make a return to its tried and trusted LCD panels, after the failure that was the V30's OLED display.

Spotify has announced the launch of its services in Israel, Romania, South Africa and Vietnam. This makes South Africa the first African country to receive official Spotify support, with users in other African countries having to use VPNs. Meanwhile, Indians will have to make do with alternatives like Apple Music and Amazon Music.

The fan-less 11.6-inch Windows tablet is guaranteed to survive through shock, vibration, rain, dust, sand, temperatures as high as 140 F (60 C), and a drop of up to 6 feet without a sweat. The rugged and fully closed system competes directly with the Dell Latitude Rugged series also designed for extreme conditions.

There is a great anticipation for the upcoming mobile CPUs from Intel with the codename "Coffee Lake" – the first mobile processors to feature six CPU-cores. Now, the first benchmark-numbers for the Hexa-Core Coffee Lake CPUs have been leaked.

Although mobile gaming managed to leave both consoles and PCs/Macs behind for the first time in 2014, its position strengthened ever since and the figures for 2017 show that there is no turning back now. According to the latest report by App Annie and IDC, mobile game spending was 2.3 times higher than PC/Mac game spending and 3.6 times higher than the amount of money console gamers had spent during the same period.

The LifeBook U938 comes with many options, including i5/i7 Intel Kaby Lake-R CPUs, up to 20 GB DDR4 RAM, 512 GB SATA III or NVMe SSDs, a 13.3-inch FHD touchscreen or brighter non-touch display, and enterprise-oriented features like a SmartCard reader, fingerprint scanner or palm vein scanner.

Broadcom has officially withdrawn from plans of acquiring Qualcomm. The now Singapore-based semiconductor giant tried its might to cajole Qualcomm with enticing offers but the latter did not budge. Despite losing the dangling carrot, Broadcom said it will still continue its redomiciliation process and shift base to the United States soon.

The highly anticipated Dell XPS 15 (9570) could feature a discrete Max-Q GPU. This was confirmed by Dell's Frank Azor in reply to a question asked on Twitter. Azor, however, did not reveal what the exact GPU is but expect to see a GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q at the minimum.

Users are now purchasing refurbished smartphones more than ever due in part to slowing innovation and marginal design changes on the latest models. The hardest hit are mid-range smartphones as used high-end models from Apple or Samsung can be had for about the same price. Why purchase a brand new flagship when last year's model is very nearly the same for hundreds less?

There has been speculation that Activision Blizzard may enter the battle royale genre sooner rather than later. Apparently, the video-game giant is “keenly aware” of how well some competitors are performing with this particular type of game, and as a “faster follower” it is surely only a matter of time before the California-based behemoth gets royally involved.

There has been a report made about the expected release date and higher price tag for the LG G7. The device is expected to be announced in April and to go on sale in May. No exact price point has been revealed yet, but the same source commented that the G7's release price will be considerably higher than that of the G6's. There is also a rumor LG is preparing to announce a Plus version of the G7, too.

US president Donald Trump has personally intervened to quash the proposed acquisition of Qualcomm by Singapore-based Broadcom. In signing an executive order barring the deal, President Trump cited US national security concerns as the rationale.

Mostly thanks to the release of the iPhone X in November, iOS handsets managed to grab the first spot in Australia during the last quarter of 2017. During the given period, Apple shipped 1.76 million handsets in Australia, which accounted for a market share of 56.2 percent. On the other hand, 1.37 million Android handsets managed to reach the continent in the final quarter of last year, grabbing 43.8 percent of the market.

A report by a Korean outlet has estimated the S9 day-one pre-order sales numbers to stand at 180,000, down 31% from the S8's 260,000 figure. It's about expected, though, as the S9 doesn't actually offer a substantial upgrade over its predecessor.

A teaser for an upcoming platform game called Planet Alpha has been released, and it looks mighty impressive. The game has been developed by Planet Alpha ApS, who are based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The creative director behind the visually breathtaking game, Adrian Lazar, previously worked on the game Hitman with IO Interactive. Planet Alpha will be published by Team 17.

A report created by Kyle Bennett of HardOCP will likely not go down well with executives at Nvidia. Bennett’s article focuses on the GPU-maker’s GeForce Partner Program (GPP), which has been introduced to “better serve gamers.” Concerns have been raised over the alleged requirement of partners having their “gaming brand aligned exclusively with GeForce.” Some commentators have suggested this could be considered an anti-consumer practice.

Essential has filed a patent with the USPTO for “image capture with a camera integrated display.” Could this mean the American technology company is working on a method to remove the selfie camera from the polarizing top notch position that many manufacturers have currently adopted? Would new sensor-positioning technology be introduced in a future Essential smartphone release?

RMIT researchers claim that the proton batteries could be mass produced by 2023. This new breed of batteries is carbon-based, but the energy storing process is totally eco-friendly and also has reduced production costs. The Australian researchers are currently trying to increase the overall efficiency above what Lithium-ion batteries can offer.

The Sony tablet with an E-Ink display that was recently spotted on the FCC website has the model name DPT-CP1, so it is probably a successor to last year's DPT-RP1. Made by Netonix, this slate features WiFi, Bluetooth, and NFC, but the FCC listing does not reveal any of the main technical details. However, the document confirms that this device has reached the mass production stage, so its launch is imminent.

Intel is apparently viewing the possible acquisition of Qualcomm by Broadcom as a potential threat to its communications semiconductor business according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The company is also reportedly exploring various fallback options in the event the Qualcomm takeover materializes.

Estimated to begin reaching its first owners in about a month, the US$749.99 Garmin tactix Charlie is a premium GPS watch that features a 1.2-inch sunlight-readable display with domed sapphire lens, GPS with GLONASS support, as well a rugged design. Its battery can provide up to 12 days of autonomy in smartwatch mode, 20 hours in GPS mode, and 35 hours in UltraTrac battery saving mode.

Microsoft is now offering the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ for pre-order through its store. There have been reports that these are "Microsoft Editions" of the smartphones, which will operate on Android OS and will look identical to the flagship devices sold on Samsung’s website. Microsoft’s supposed customizations will come in the form of software additions, such as Cortana, Skype, Microsoft Launcher and apps from Office 365. However, it appears there is no such thing as a "Microsoft Edition" Galaxy flagship.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has published a patent application made by Apple Inc. titled “ingress prevention for keyboards.” The wordy document features a number of technical drawings showing alternative examples of key assembly. The general idea of the patent is to “block contaminant ingress,” so could this mean future MacBooks will have crumb-resistant spill-proof keyboards?

French video-game developer Ubisoft has announced that a sequel to the hit action RPG Tom Clancy’s The Division is in the works. The Division was released in 2016 and performed very well for the publisher, so a sequel was practically inevitable. The follow-up is being developed by a group of Ubisoft’s subsidiaries, headed by Massive Entertainment.

Venezuela’s Petro cryptocurrency has been called “illegal” and “unconstitutional” by the country’s National Assembly. Bitcoin has suffered another fall in its current exchange value, with the virtual currency's latest closing price standing at US$9434. In Japan, the Financial Services Agency has been throwing its weight around and has issued business suspension orders to two cryptocurrency exchanges.

A report published by the highly respected journal Science has estimated that fake news is 70% more likely to be retweeted than true news. The study found that false information which was rapidly shared online through social media reached more people than the truth did. The research also pointed out that fake news travels much faster than real news.

"Castle Peak" will be based on the upcoming Zen 2 core, while this year's Threadripper gen 2 will feature a slightly improved 12 nm Zen+ core. The first Zen 3 cores are expected to arrive with the 2020 APUs.

HMD CEO Florian Seiche has confirmed that the company will not be selling its new retinue of devices in the US. The Nokia 6 (2018), however, will make the trip later in May, but not under the banners of any carrier.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a stern statement in regard to potentially unlawful online trading platforms. The statement includes a warning to investors that they should use “SEC-registered and regulated marketplaces” for virtual currency (VC) trading. The value of Bitcoin, and other VCs, dipped dramatically after the statement’s publication.

BlackBerry Ltd has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook and its companies WhatsApp and Instagram for improperly implementing BBM IP in the social network's messaging apps. While BlackBerry is seeking to protect the interests of its shareholders, Facebook is not in a mood to give up and is ready to challenge the suit in court.

It seems that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) may have just thwarted any further attempt by Broadcom to succeed in its quest to takeover Qualcomm. CFIUS has sent a letter raising concerns to officials at Qualcomm that has been made public, and the agency has also ordered the American technology company to delay an annual shareholder meeting whilst the proposed US$121 billion deal is thoroughly investigated.

The premium G52 GPU will be featured in mid-range mobile products, while the G31 GPU is designed for entry-level smartphones and tablets. Furthermore, the V52 and D51 processors deliver improved performance with reduced die sizes.

HP has reportedly has plans for a slew of Ryzen and Vega powered Elitebooks going by a listing on its Care Pack Central support page. References to the new Elitebooks appear to have since been removed but we can expect the official unveil to be not too far away.

A seemingly coordinated series of burglaries has taken place in Iceland leading to the loss of around US$2 million worth of computing equipment used to mine Bitcoin. The thefts actually occurred back in December and January, but they have only just been reported as Iceland’s police did not want to reveal details until their investigation had been completed. An estimated 600 devices were taken.

There are reports that EA Dice is working on the next installment of the Battlefield video-game series, with the developer possibly launching the new game later this year. The game was originally known in-house as Battlefield 2 but has apparently now been renamed Battlefield V. It will be set in World War II and may feature cosmetic loot boxes rather than pay-to-win microtransactions.

The 4th largest smartphone manufacturer (as of Q4 2017) may be entering one of the only markets it hasn't actively pursued: the United States. While the brand sells several other electronic devices (like speakers and home products), the OEM's phones may soon be on the store shelves of the four major U.S. carriers.

Although the new Samsung Galaxy S9+ does not come with major improvements over its predecessor, it looks like the difference is solid for mobile photography fans. The dual-camera Galaxy S9+ scored a combined score of 99 DxOMark points and 104 points for its still photography performance, also scoring 91 in the video recording department. With a combined score of 98 points, the Google Pixel 2 now holds the second place.

Apple could be looking to play the waiting card until Intel gets its 5G modem ready, which implies Qualcomm is being given the slip. We might not be seeing a 5G enabled iPhone in 2019 although Apple is already testing the technology.

Horizon Zero Dawn has been hailed as one of the best video games of this generation, and it certainly is putting up the sales numbers worthy of the hype. The game celebrated its first year anniversary this week and has already sold over 7.6 million copies since it was launched.

According to a report, technology company Broadcom Limited could be redomiciling to the US in the near future, possibly by May. The company is currently based in Singapore and has a co-headquarters in San Jose, California. Broadcom was bought out by Avago Technologies in 2015 for a deal worth US$37 billion and the newly combined company was then renamed Broadcom Limited.