Business Articles

The Apple HomePod packs a powerful CPU, directional speakers, and a 6-microphone array. (Source: Apple)

Apple HomePod up for pre-order on Jan 26, arriving Feb 9

Apple's wireless HomePod speaker is finally launching on February 9 for US$349 with pre-orders starting tomorrow in the US, UK, and Australia. The HomePod features an enhanced Siri experience, spatial awareness, and a wide soundstage.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 25 Jan 2018 09:49

The Honor 7X is now on sale on Amazon US

The Honor 7X was one of our value picks of 2017 and it has finally gone on sale on Amazon US. The device itself may cost just $200 but tax and handling fees bring the total up to $225.

Ricci Rox, 24 Jan 2018 23:20

Users of Intel 'Broadwell' chips will get a more reliable microcode update in the coming weeks. (Source: Wccftech)

Intel readying a more reliable Meltdown/Spectre fix for 'Broadwell' and 'Haswell' platforms

Intel has identified the root cause of the recent reboot issues plaguing the company's 'Broadwell' and 'Haswell' chips that received a microcode update for the Meltdown and Spectre exploits. The company has issued an updated guidance for customers and partners in this regard.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 24 Jan 2018 13:49

Micron's GDDR6 are significantly slower than the ones from Samsung and Hynix. (Source: HotHardware)

Micron is bringing GDDR6 memory to non-GPU products

Micron and its partners want to improve the adoption rate of GDDR6 chips, making them compatible with non-GPU products like AI neural nets, car image processors and networking devices.

Bogdan Solca, 24 Jan 2018 12:59

HP still king in EMEA market while Asus blunders

The Holiday shopping season proved to be disastrous for Asus as the manufacturer struggles to compete in both the desktop and laptop markets.

Allen Ngo, 24 Jan 2018 07:00

AMD hires industry veterans Mike Rayfield and David Wang to lead the Radeon Technologies Group

The new appointments come after the former head of the Radeon Technologies Group, Raja Koduri, was sniped by Intel last November. Both Mike Rayfield and David Wang are multi-decade veterans of the technology industry and have had their hands on several projects and GPU developments.

Sam Medley, 24 Jan 2018 00:33

Netflix value now above the US$100 billion mark

Netflix now valued at over $100 billion

new Netflix article abstract | According to the fresh report for Q4 2017, Netflix added almost 2 million subscribers in the US and over 8 million globally (US included) during this period. The company also crossed the US$100 billion mark for its market cap earlier today.

Codrut Nistor, 23 Jan 2018 16:45

Amazon Alexa coming soon to Windows PCs

Alexa for PCs is scheduled to debut exclusively in the US later this year on select Windows 10 PCs by Acer, HP, and Lenovo, sporting the same features as the version for Echo devices.

Codrut Nistor, 22 Jan 2018 16:55

Fujitsu Esprimo D series. (Source: Fujitsu)

Fujitsu announces three new Esprimo desktops, a Quadro equipped Celsius notebook, and Attachecase confidential file distribution software

Fujitsu caps off a busy week with three new desktops, a 17.3-inch workstation notebook with an Nvidia Quadro 5000, and Attachecase confidential file distribution software which removes part of a file and uploads it to a company server to make the original file unreadable.

Craig Ward, 19 Jan 2018 22:51

Three new Arrows Tab Windows tablets from Fujitsu with user replaceable battery

As part of Fujitsu's big product refresh they have announced three new Arrows Tab Windows tablets. Two are 13.3-inch 16:9 aspect ratio, while the other is a Surface Pro-esque 12.3-inch 3:2 aspect ratio. In a rare move for tablets, Fujitsu have designed the batteries to be user replaceable.

Craig Ward, 19 Jan 2018 22:35

Image: OnePlus (w/ edits by article author)

Up to 40,000 OnePlus customers may have had their credit card information stolen

The darling of the mobile phone enthusiast community is in hot water once again. Less than a week after it was discovered that OnePlus was sending user data to servers in China without permission, the Chinese OEM's merchant platform was compromised. OnePlus has just revealed the full scope of the attack: up to 40,000 users may have had their credit card information stolen.

Sam Medley, 19 Jan 2018 21:38

GDDR6 listing in SK Hynix's 2018 Databook. (Source: SK Hynix)

SK Hynix lists GDDR6 memory as available

SK Hynix has listed the status of GDDR6 memory in its Q1 2018 Databook as available with speeds starting from 10 Gbps and reaching up to 14 Gbps.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 19 Jan 2018 15:05

Oppo R9s Android smartphone was the best-selling smartphone in China in 2017

Oppo R9s dominates the Chinese smartphone market

Although Huawei remains the leading brand in the Chinese smartphone market, the best-selling smartphone in 2017 was the Oppo R9s, with a market share of 3 percent.

Codrut Nistor, 19 Jan 2018 13:28

Samsung 16 Gb GDDR6 memory chips (Source: Samsung Newsroom)

Samsung begins mass production of 16 Gb GDDR6 memory

Just as expected, Samsung has finally begun to mass produce the industry's first 16 Gb GDDR6 memory chips. In addition to the growing needs of the graphics card market, the new memory will also be used in automotive, network, and AI projects.

Codrut Nistor, 18 Jan 2018 16:45

It's been a crazy month for Bitcoin owners. (Image: CryptoCompare)

BTC dives under USD $10,000 for first time since December, loses 50% over the past 30 days

Bitcoin has proved that it's not for the faint of heart this week. At one point today, BTC swooped down 10% for the day and hit a 35% loss for the week. Just in today's trading, BTC has seen losses and gains between 10% on each side.

Sam Medley, 17 Jan 2018 23:49

Fujitsu Lifebook E558/S E448/S (Source: Fujitsu)

Fujitsu unveils over a dozen notebooks for enterprise use

Fujitsu has just announced no less than 14 notebook models from five series that are scheduled to roll out in stages starting at the end of January. Sadly, there is no word on their arrival in the US yet.

Codrut Nistor, 17 Jan 2018 23:36

Facebook promises to improve Messenger this year

Facebook has recently admitted that the Messenger app is too cluttered, but promised that this year they will focus on "massively simplifying and streamlining" it.

Codrut Nistor, 17 Jan 2018 16:07

Meizu's factory, Zhuhai. (Source: Engadget)

Meizu in decline as company registers just 20 million smartphone shipments in 2017

Meizu VP Yang Xun has, at a press briefing, announced that the company recorded a total of 20 million shipments in 2017, a slight decline from 2016's total.

Ricci Rox, 16 Jan 2018 22:03

Samsung Pay old and new UI (Source: Android Central)

Samsung Pay gets a new interface

The latest Samsung Pay version that is apparently labeled 2.8.18 (the version number may vary depending on the device) drops the on-screen section menus for a traditional bottom bar. Overall, the UI is now cleaner and more user-friendly.

Codrut Nistor, 16 Jan 2018 17:35

China's Five-star Red Flag, Google Maps returns to China mid-January 2018

Google Maps returns to China after 8 years of absence

Thanks to a partnership with Alibaba-owned AutoNavi, the Google Maps service returns to China, but with a few feature limitations needed to get the approval of the local government.

Codrut Nistor, 16 Jan 2018 14:40

BlackBerry Motion Android smartphone available in the US as of January 2018

BlackBerry Motion finally available in the US

After a few months of full availability in Canada, the UK, and most European countries, the BlackBerry Motion finally reached the US market via Amazon and Best Buy.

Codrut Nistor, 16 Jan 2018 02:02

Samsung Newberry County manufacturing plant opening ceremony (Source: Samsung Newsroom US)

Samsung's first US home appliance plant begins production

Samsung plans to make one million washing machines in the recently opened Newberry, South Carolina factory. This new manufacturing plant should also create more than 1,000 jobs by 2020.

Codrut Nistor, 15 Jan 2018 23:15

The phased rollout of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is now complete. (Source: Microsoft)

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (1709) is now fully available

The phased rollout of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update has reached the final stage with it now being fully available to all Windows 10 computers.

Craig Ward, 15 Jan 2018 21:38

Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime Android smartphone hits India mid-January 2018 (Source: Samsung)

Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime launching in India later this week

In the aftermath of a pretty long stream of rumors and teasers, the Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime is now finally ready to hit the Indian market. This 5.5-inch handset with an Exynos 7870 processor will be available in two configurations, both loaded with Samsung Pay Mini and Samsung Mall.

Codrut Nistor, 15 Jan 2018 20:10

No more new OLED laptops: LCD technology continued to dominate the market

CES 2018 | No more OLED laptops: LCD technology continues to dominate the market

There were many new laptops at CES. Not a part of any new announcement: Laptops with OLED displays. It seems that most manufacturers will instead continue to stick with IPS LCDs – a situation that can by explained with multiple reasons.

Benjamin Herzig, 15 Jan 2018 16:58

The premium finish remains one of the hallmarks of Dell's Vostro family. (Source: Dell)

Dell Vostro 13 5370 business notebook already available online for Asia and Australia

The 13.3-inch business notebook gets upgraded with an Intel gen 8 i5-8250U CPU, up to 32 GB DDR4-2400 RAM and a choice between Intel's UHD Graphics 620 or AMD's Radeon 530 GPUs. The model is now available online for Asia and Australia for as low as US$930.

Bogdan Solca, 15 Jan 2018 15:34

Could we see an Intel dGPU take AMD's place in upcoming MCMs? (Source: Intel)

Updated | 'Arctic Sound' and 'Jupiter Sound' Intel dGPUs could be in the works

Intel could be looking to develop its own discrete GPUs and package them into an MCM similar to the Intel-AMD MCM we've seen at CES. We could see this implementation starting from the upcoming 10th generation Core family.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 15 Jan 2018 15:10

TAG Heuer Connected Modular 41 (Source: TAG Heuer)

TAG Heuer Connected Modular 41 smartwatch now available

The TAG Heuer Connected Modular 41 is not only a smaller variant of the popular Connected Modular 45 smartwatch, since it also doubles the amount of memory and storage space, and features a 326 ppi AMOLED display with a resolution of 390 x 390 pixels.

Codrut Nistor, 15 Jan 2018 14:15

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds hits a new milestone, 3 million Xbox One players

Battlegrounds hits 3 million players on Xbox One

Although it was released worldwide on December 12, the multiplayer online battle royale game shortly known as PUBG (or Playerunknown's Battlegrounds in full) already has a strong following of more than 3 million Xbox One players.

Codrut Nistor, 15 Jan 2018 12:42

The new AMT hack can bypass all known security measures. (Source: Anandtech)

Gone in 30 seconds: New Intel AMT exploit is scarier than you can ever fathom

F-Secure's security researchers discovered another flaw in Intel's Active Management Technology (AMT) that a hacker can potentially misuse to gain remote access to a system.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 14 Jan 2018 14:54

'Haswell' CPU owners are getting increased security at the expense of reliability. (Source: Overclock3D)

Intel 'Haswell' and 'Broadwell' CPU users complain of higher system reboots after applying Meltdown and Spectre patches

Users of older generation 'Haswell' and 'Broadwell' Intel CPUs are reporting of constant reboots after applying patches to address the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities. Intel is looking at issuing a revised firmware to address specific issues related to these CPUs.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 14 Jan 2018 13:05

ThinkPad Roadmap Leak 2018: ThinkPad A285 & A485 with Ryzen, T580p & ThinkPad P1 with Coffeelake Hexa-Core CPUs?

Lenovo has announced a new ThinkPad generation a few days ago, but not all models were updated. Now an internal Lenovo document has been leaked, which mentions some new ThinkPad models for the remainder of 2018.

Benjamin Herzig, 13 Jan 2018 00:52

Samsung Galaxy X render from 2017, foldable handset introduced behind closed doors at CES 2018

CES 2018 | Samsung Galaxy X unveiled during private event

Although the foldable Samsung Galaxy X will probably not hit the market before the end of the year, insiders familiar with the matter claim that an updated prototype has been shown at CES to a few chosen ones.

Codrut Nistor, 13 Jan 2018 00:39

CES 2018 | ThinkPad Ultra dock: New docking-stations for the ThinkPad T480, ThinkPad X280 & X1 Carbon 6

Lenovo has announced new ThinkPad laptops. Alongside, the Chinese manufacturer also announced a new generation of mechanical docks. The new docks are based on USB C and are compatible with the new X1 Carbon for the first time.

Benjamin Herzig, 12 Jan 2018 14:10

Movi Android smartphone (Source: Moviphone Products)

CES 2018 | MediaTek-powered Movi smartphone features a built-in projector, already retails for US$599

Although its specs or design are nothing really special, the Movi smartphone makes up for that by integrating a built-in projector that can deliver a 720p image at a size of 12 to 200 inches.

Codrut Nistor, 11 Jan 2018 22:51

The Honor 9 Lite sports a beautiful design. (Source: Honor)

Honor 9 Lite to be sold exclusively via Flipkart in India

The Honor 9 Lite will opt out of the recent trend of Amazon exclusives, with the budget device billed to go on sale in India via Flipkart's channel only.

Ricci Rox, 11 Jan 2018 21:02

BLOCKS Core modular smartwatch Stainless Steel with Sunrise Red strap

CES 2018 | BLOCKS Core modular smartwatch now available for purchase

The BLOCKS Core modular smartwatch that started as a Kickstarter crowdfunded project is now available for anyone with full Android 8.0 Oreo onboard and support for Amazon Alexa voice commands.

Codrut Nistor, 11 Jan 2018 19:45

LG Pay in South Korea (Source: Yonhap News Agency)

LG Pay to hit the US by June

After a few delays, LG Pay launched in South Korea last summer and, thanks to its moderate success in that market, LG has decided to bring it to the US in the first half of 2018 with the help of the G7 and V40 flagships. The mid-range handsets are expected to get support for it at a later time as well.

Codrut Nistor, 11 Jan 2018 11:55

Samsung 2nd-generation HBM2 memory chip (Source: Samsung Newsroom)

Samsung begins mass production of 2nd-generation HBM2 memory

The 2nd-generation 8 GB HBM2 memory is the industry's first such solution capable of delivering a data transfer speed per pin of 2.4 Gbps. This memory is branded Aquabolt and directly succeeds the original HBM2 known as Flarebolt.

Codrut Nistor, 11 Jan 2018 09:55

Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018) coming to India via Amazon

Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) coming to India via Amazon later this month

In India, the 6-inch Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) can be pre-ordered exclusively from Amazon starting today and will be fully released in that market on January 20.

Codrut Nistor, 10 Jan 2018 22:47

CES 2018 | Unlocked Huawei Mate 10 Pro makes its way over to the US

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro will be making its way over to US, albeit not under any carrier. While it's welcome news, we're not so sure of how accommodating the device's price tag is.

Ricci Rox, 10 Jan 2018 20:36

The Honor 7X has finally been listed on Amazon US

The Honor 7X, our pick for best value budget smartphone of 2017, has finally been listed on Amazon, and will go on sale on January 25.

Ricci Rox, 10 Jan 2018 20:16

Samsung confirms Galaxy S9 launch date

The launch date of the Samsung Galaxy S9 lineup is no longer a secret since the president of the company's mobile business DJ Koh confirmed that the official unveiling of the new flagships will take place at MWC 2018.

Codrut Nistor, 10 Jan 2018 17:55

Jumbo marshmallows, Android Marshmallow still most popular version as of January 2018

Marshmallow remains most popular Android version, Oreo still below 1 percent

The data collected by Google during the 7-day week period that ended yesterday reveals that Marshmallow is now below 29 percent, with Nougat getting closer to taking the lead, while Oreo still struggles to reach the 1 percent mark.

Codrut Nistor, 09 Jan 2018 22:45