Business Articles

The registration of a new X/Twitter account with apparent direct links to the company may be connected to its owner Elon Musk's long-held aspirations of converting it into an "everything app". On that note, the same social media platform has also just enabled video and audio calling on Android, whereas the pay-walled feature had heretofore been exclusive to iOS.

CheckMag There used to be a time when a single payment would get you full access to Windows for the lifetime of that version. However, in recent times hardware and software all seem to require a subscription. While there might be some legitimacy for subscription models, some providers have taken this a step too far. Can Microsoft justify a Windows 12 subscription?

After Tesla caused a sensation with its humanoid robot Optimus and Hyundai teamed up with Boston Dynamics, which became famous for its robot dog Spot, BMW is now following suit: Robots with artificial intelligence are to be used in car production.

While it left Samsung behind in 2022, Xiaomi lost the Indian smartphone market crown to its South Korean rival last year. According to Canalys, Samsung shipped 7.6 million smartphones in India during last quarter of 2023 while Xiaomi was 400,000 units behind. Sadly, the Chinese brand also lost second place to Vivo for the entire year.

Pocketpair's latest creation, the crafting and survival title Palworld, launched with a bang, breaking the one million sales threshold in just eight hours. This open-world game is available on Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S consoles and can be played by up to 32 players per server.

Ubisoft's share price experienced a dramatic slump recently. Controversial statements made by Philippe Tremblay, who heads Ubisoft's gaming subscription service, are considered to have been a possible cause.

Insta360's AI Warp is a feature rated to "transform your footage into something extraordinary" based on the prompts it receives. It was exclusive to the latest Ace and Ace Pro action cameras from their launch - however, it is now officially compatible with more of the OEM's innovative lifestyle vlogging gadgets, the tiny GO 3, VR content-making X3 and modular Insta360 ONE RS included.

Sales of desktops, workstations and notebooks in the Christmas quarter of 2023 fell to an all-time low. Around 67 million PCs were shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Amazon's AI and voice assistant Alexa is still in financial difficulties. As leaked information from internal Amazon documents suggests, Amazon is revamping its Alexa voice assistant into super Alexa, while Alexa Plus is set to launch as a new, paid subscription later this year.

Apple is now the most-sold smartphone brand globally, taking the top spot from Samsung. The place swap is largely due to a drop in sales for Samsung coupled with a growth in sales for Apple last year.

Japanese automaker plans to capitalize on the growing demand for hybrid vehicles and light trucks in the United States. This move comes after a successful year of meeting product demand and achieving strong recovery.

Being the first such ship built for the West Bengal region of India, the 24-meter-long Dheu electric ferry can accommodate up to 150 passengers and is the first step in a long-term initiative that aims to replace ferries driven by diesel engines with green counterparts that rely solely on battery and solar power.

The Ford F-150 Lightning Switchgear features "extreme chassis and suspension upgrades," and Ford envisions it as a test bed to demonstrate what its electric pickup truck is capable of — both off- and on-road.

Tesla Optimus appears to have evolved considerably, as Elon Musk shows in a recent video on X (formerly Twitter). However, an eagle-eyed viewer noticed that the demonstration of the humanoid robot's latest skills appeared to be cheated.

CheckMag The portable Starlink dish is actually coming and the question of "why pay over half a grand for bizarrely low connection speeds" is the first to come to mind. With average 2023 cellular connection speeds close to 200 Mbit/s, will a few megabits per second really make the customer happy? More importantly, will the technology still be able to deliver those few megabits per second once tens of thousands of people start using the kit on a daily basis?

Edmunds got to take the new Porsche Macan EV on a test drive and managed to get in an unofficial range test in. The Macan EV didn't disappoint, delivering almost 50 miles (80 km) more than the smaller Porsche Taycan EV, which only has a slightly smaller battery.

Acemagic has just responded to customer concerns following their discovery that a certain search engine could pre-install itself on some mini-PCs from the OEM with a potential solution. The issue affecting some of the brand's Intel-powered desktops allegedly originates from a third party, yet may now be fixed with new software direct from the company. In related news, Acemagic has released a new discount coupon as a gesture of goodwill.

Microsoft has attracted various customers with the free Copilot app and now is launching a paid version of the AI assistant that has more functions. Copilot Pro is aimed at consumers and small to medium-sized companies.

Solar modules using perovskite tandem solar cells are highly efficient, which is why they are of great interest to some of the world's largest solar companies as a renewable energy source for power generation. There have been problems with the instability of perovskites, but research is progressing rapidly and several start-ups are competing to bring them to market.

TCL claims to have practically soaked up the industry recognition and accolades as a result of its CES 2024 exhibition. The OEM showcased a wide variety of products that have subsequently been showered in awards, not the least of which are its new flagship 115-in mini-LED TV. TCL's latest AR glasses, NXTPAPER tablets and other displays have also attracted potentially meaningful appreciation during the Las Vegas event.

Tesla Inc. experiences a rocky start to 2024, with a significant plunge in market value. The electric vehicle titan is battling supply chain disruptions and escalating labor costs. A slowdown in demand for EVs further compounds the company's difficulties.

With his channel "The Game Theorists", MatPat is one of the most well-known faces on YouTube. What fans have suspected for some time is now a sad certainty: the YouTuber is calling it quits. But MatPat doesn't plan to leave the scene completely.

TCL's CSOT R&D division has indicated that it might help build the 14-inch laptop displays of the future based on some of its current OLED prototypes. Some of these PCs might have improved outdoor visibility thanks to high-brightness Ultra Tandem technology, while others might be high-res with rich colors and 120Hz VRR technology. TCL has also developed a Frequency Division Display for smartphones that might be able to exhibit 2 or even 3 different refresh rates simultaneously.

BOE's latest Las Vegas outing demonstrates its latest cutting-edge display prototypes, and is also the first to draw attention to the brands under which it will be selling such products in markets such as the United States. For example, its line of foldable OLED products - such as the new ambi-sliding flexible display - will be handled by f-OLED, whereas others such as the curved 27-inch 4K Mini LED monitor is part of the OEM's α-MLED division.

The display tech OEM BOE has a 2024 car as part of its Las Vegas exhibition, and for good reason. The Geely Galaxy E8 boasts the world's first 45-inch 8K borderless smart dashboard, rated to cater to the most pressing need of both driver and front-seat passenger simultaneously. Furthermore, BOE is also demonstrating the screen's even higher-res, more responsive Oxide Mini LED successor with custom curved glass from Corning.

Does it still make sense to buy a 2-in-1 Windows device with (overly) timeworn hardware (Amber Lake) in 2024? Well, it depends. The reasonably attractive price does help: the base model Surface Go 2 is available now for as low as €266 (US$291) – Windows 10 Pro included. We took a chance on it.

Vuzix has debuted the ultralight Z100 smart glasses for enterprise customers. These are designed for corporate developers to create custom applications for their businesses to optimize staff workflow with information, AI-assistance, work progress, and more.

HP claims that its latest Chrome OS convertible can last the course as a rugged work PC. The Fortis x360 G5 is also touted to be as adapted to writing by hand as it is to typing, thanks to its Gorilla Glass 3-enhanced screen and option of using the HP USI Garaged Pen accessory. The G5 is also backed to stay mobile with a "long-lasting" battery and charging that might not take that long.

The Fortis 11-inch G10 Chromebook is another new HP PC "purpose-built" to "stay productive" regardless of what it encounters at work, spills and drops included. It is also equipped with a Titan C chip for security as well as "responsive" Intel platforms for advanced, optionally independent, connectivity. The G10 also has "fast" USB-C charging and the option of a touchscreen.

HP asserts that its new Pro Fortis-series Windows 360-degree convertible is built to withstand any professional or educational environment in 2024 with a MIL-STD-810-tested chassis and Gorilla Glass 3 screen. It is also equipped with the OEM's Wolf Security software suite for potentially improved peace of mind among the IT managers invited to start deploying it from now.

With its long-range, high-payload design, DJI's latest drone is definitely not intended for normal recreational use. The global version of the FlyCart 30 (or FC30) is rated to fly for nearly 10 miles while "intelligently" carrying nearly 70 pounds (lb) in either Cargo or Winch mode. DJI also asserts that it can do so at high altitudes in extreme conditions, and can be monitored and controlled easily.

Hollyland claims to have packed all the tech for a "top level consumer-grade" lavalier- or lapel-style microphone into an "all-in-one button" with its latest Lark-series release. The M2 is rated to eliminate unwanted background noise with environmental noise cancellation (ENC) to product "accurate" recordings in "studio-grade" quality. Hollyland also claims that its receiver can pick up from a "remarkable" distance away or right through obstacles like the user's body.

Electric vehicle (EV) chargers with MSI logos might become a thing in 2024, as part of the brand's bid to become as well-known for automotive or industrial smart tech as it is for gaming laptops. Some of the MSI tech for cars support standards including NACS, whereas others employ AI to enhance driver or charge point operator (CPO) safety.

The Aspire 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition, Acer's creator-centric laptop, has been announced at CES 2024. It supports Acer's suite of SpatialLabs software and can even use AI to make 3D models out of 2D images.

MSI has announced the Stealth 18 AI Studio laptop at CES 2024. It features an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, a 4K 120 Hz mini-LED screen and a RGB keyboard.

HP has previewed its next-gen consumer-grade monitors as revamped displays with "thin and light" designs, and the bezels to match. The Series 5s will also have increased refresh rates and contrast ratios compared to some of their predecessors, and may be able to connect to more devices, those with HDMI included.

HP has made some big claims for its latest consumer-grade peripherals, the new 960 Ergonomic Wireless Keyboard included. It is joined at the latest CES event in Las Vegas by "the world’s most customizable Bluetooth mechanical keypad", a mouse with wireless charging, a dock with all the "essential" ports and another keyboard that is sanitizable as well as backlit.

HP present the new Poly Voyager Free 20 earbuds as part of its CES 2024 peripherals showcase. They feature hybrid adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) alongside the brand's "legendary" smart voice-boosting and noise-reduction technology for calls. The Free 20s are also backed to deliver "all-day" battery life and conferencing app compatibility.

XREAL (formerly Nreal) has declared itself "the largest player in the augmented reality (AR) industry", having captured just over half of that market according to its latest sales report. The brand also claims to have shipped over 300,000 units of its Air-brand glasses to date, a new generation of which might be unveiled during CES 2024.

The French antitrust office has accused Sony of abusing its dominant market position and putting competing companies at a disadvantage on the controller market. At the core of the accusation is the claim that PS4 controllers from third-parties could have worked just as well, if not better. The electronics giant is now paying a fine in the millions.

The leading processor manufacturer for smartphones unveiled the Snapdragon XR2+ chip, which will be utilised in mixed and virtual reality headsets produced by Google and Samsung.

General Motors confirmed that it will match the US IRA tax incentives for its Chevrolet Blazer EV and Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicles that will no longer be eligible for the tax reduction after the January 1 rule changes. The regular Tesla Model 3 also lost eligibility, and Tesla has not yet commented on whether it will compensate, as it did in Germany in December.

The shares of the Chinese chip foundry SMIC fell after it became clear that it is not the one making modern 5nm processors for Huawei. After the 7nm scare, the new 5nm Huawei chip doesn't come from mainland China, either.

Costco has installed Trinity Structures off-grid solar capture and charging stations at their key distribution center in California where recent passage of CARB and WAIRE mandates are forcing trucking operators to convert from diesel to electric vehicles. Installing solar energy capture and storage on-site will bypass current headaches connecting EV chargers to a strained electrical grid.

Manufacturing tech giant Siemens has announced that it will fulfil its sustainability and carbon-neutrality resolutions by augmenting its company's portfolio of vehicles with more and more new ID.4s from Volkswagen over time. The marque hails the move as another step closer to the more complete electrification of mobility, industrial and otherwise.

Following Tesla, the two largest car brands in Norway in 2023 were Volkswagen (10.8%, down from 11.6%), and Toyota (12.4%, up from 8.0%). As of 2023, 82.4% of newly sold vehicles were electric, up from 79.3% in 2022, according to data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV).

An in-development version of the Porsche Taycan beat both the previous Taycan Turbo S and the Tesla Model S Plaid with Track Pack around the infamous Nürburgring by over 15 seconds. The new Porsche was driven by Porsche Development driver Lars Kern and fitted with a roll cage and bucket seats for safety purposes.

The Chinese firm sold 526,409 fully electric cars in the last quarter of 2023, challenging Tesla in the global EV race. Out of the three million, 1.6 million were fully battery-powered.

Reliable Robotics has created aviation history with the world’s first flight of a Cessna controlled entirely by smart software, not humans. With nobody on board, the self-flying Cessna is able to taxi, take off, fly its scheduled route, land, and taxi back to the gate all by itself. For safety, a remote pilot monitoring the flight can take over at any moment.