Business Articles

The Epson Pro EX11000 projector has been launched in the US. The 1080p model has up to 4,600 lumens brightness and the brand’s 3LCD technology for a vivid image up to 300-in (~762 cm) wide. The gadget allows wireless screencasting via Miracast and has dual HDMI ports and a built-in 16W speaker.

The ViewSonic PA700S, PA700W and PA700X projectors for the classroom or meeting room have been launched in the EU. The models, already available in the US, offer up to 4,500 ANSI lumens brightness and start from €459 (US$376.99). Other features include dual HDMI ports and a built-in speaker.

Kia has announced a pre-order campaign for the EV6 GT in China, launching on June 28. Only 1,000 units of the electric crossover will go on sale at this point, with the official launch later this summer. The EV6 GT has an ultra-fast charging battery, recharging from 10 to 80% in 18 minutes.

Panasonic has unveiled its LANTERNA smart light in Japan. Table lamp and ceiling pendant models of the new product will be available from July, with a dimmable light and customizable color temperature. Plus, you can cast images or videos onto the side of the lamp for a customized design.

Micron has unleashed new flash storage with the updated UFS 4.0 standard on the mobile device memory market. The OEM asserts that it can double the speeds associated with its predecessor, while using up to 25% less power. Its "advanced" 3D NAND is backed to help make next-gen premium up-to-1TB smartphones.

Volkswagen has introduced its latest flagship SUV as a plug-in hybrid that will, as such, be able to handle acceleration off the line as it will in practical uses such as towing. The new Touareg R eHybrid is also backed to look good doing either, with "re-designed" front and back ends, a new matte finish and some high-tech tweaks in common with some ID.-series vehicles. The marque's "absolute top model" is available to order in Europe from now.

With a maximum Amazon price of US$899.99, the Samsung ViewFinity CJ79 curved monitor is a great choice for users of Apple hardware thanks to its Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, but it also can be used with USB-C Windows laptops, external graphics cards, and other devices. Now, it is available for a low price of US$499.99.

In addition to the Intel Alder-Lake U15, Lenovo also offers the Alder-Lake P28 in most 2022 ThinkPads. Not so in the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga Gen 3, where only less powerful chips are used. Nevertheless, the fan is louder and the battery life is shorter than in the predecessor.

The latest in the slow drip of information about Rivian's second electric vehicle platform reveals that the vehicle's design is set to make its debut in 2024. What we know so far is that the R2 platform will play host to a crossover SUV that is set to take on the likes of the Ford Bronco, topping out at a price of US$60,000. Given Tesla's recent Model 3 and Model Y pricing, it looks like tough competition lies ahead for the startup EV maker.

Ford has unveiled the custom 1,400 hp E-Transit SuperVan it plans to use during the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 25, 2023. This Hot Wheels van come to life sees a number of improvements over last year's competitor and is a far cry from the E-Transit van that it was based on. Ford worked with STARD (Stohl Advanced Racing and Development Motorsport) to realise the SuperVan 4.2.

The Hyundai Motor Group has announced a new electric vehicle platform that it says will allow the companies under its umbrella to develop electric vehicles in every segment, including electric SUVs and pickup trucks. Between Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, the group is putting a lot of work into filling out its electric vehicle line-up.

Despite recently reaching an agreement with Tesla to include NACS charging hardware, Ford's CEO, Jim Farley, has had some choice words about the Cybertruck, all but dismissing its viability as competition for the F-150 Lightning as a work truck. According to the Ford CEO, the two vehicles are aimed at different market segments, and the Cybertruck is more of a techie status symbol than anything else.

After a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride over the last few months, it's been revealed that DPReview and its editorial team has been acquired by Gear Patrol. This move serves as the salvation of a vast knowledge base for the photography community that has been built up over the last 25 years.

TimeCheck The 802.16 WiMAX network technology was conceived about 20 years ago. It was meant to combine decent coverage of several square kilometres with great data transfer rates (for the time) of several dozen megabits per second, and it ended up achieving both objectives. Major companies such as HTC and Intel released WiMAX-compatible devices and hardware; ultimately, the standard lost to 4G LTE due to the latter receiving more welcome reception.

One app to rule them all. Increasing proliferation of AI-generated content into large social platforms like Twitter is fast blurring the lines between fake news and credible information. Musk's US$44 billion Twitter acquisition may be down-valued today, but the potential that the platform holds for evolving into a one-stop "everything X app" and assessing journalistic credibility cannot be undermined.

Insta360 hints that its next new product will not be any run-of-the-mill action camera, but something much, much...smaller. Nevertheless, it also apparently packs the ability to capture memories with family, friends or pets, from the point of view of any of them. It is backed to start a "tiny revolution" later in June 2023.

After officially unveiling the EV9 in March of this year, Kia has started shipping the first production units of its seven-seater all-electric SUV in Korea, indicating that production is on-track. US and European shipments of the Kia EV9 are set to start sometime in the coming months of 2024, and at least some of the US trims will qualify for federal EV tax incentives.

There has apparently been a spell of 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 owners have experienced total power loss to the electric drive in their vehicles. 30 owners complained to the NHTSA about a "loud pop" followed by a sudden loss of power. The NHTSA has launched an investigation into the complaints, and the agency estimates that 39,559 vehicles are affected by the issue. Hyundai has indicated that it is working with the NHTSA during the investigation.

Sony has announced that its BRAVIA line of big screens will be the first of their category to support Zoom. Accordingly, the TVs' users will be able to make video calls and hold conferences just as they might on their smartphones or laptops - so long as they have the series' matching webcam, that is. Zoom for TV is rated for tools such as screen-sharing, and also to be compatible with BRAVIA Cam features such as Ambient Optimization Pro.

TCL CSOT has unveiled a new touch-responsive screen of over 100 inches in size as part of its latest display industry showcase. The new 5K Interactive Whiteboard is now pitched at next-gen professional or corporate use-cases, as are others such as the 55-inch 4K high-brightness outdoor display. The new 21.3-inch Color In-Cell Touch Display, on the other hand, might be found in the clinic of the near future.

The inexpensive Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G4 AMD performs as well as a business laptop in almost all categories: the eight-core processor produces a lot of power, the fan is restrained and the keyboard is even better than in the current ThinkPad T-series. Nevertheless, real innovations are almost completely lacking.

A report analysing automotive trends has revealed that, in the period between January and April, the Tesla Model Y saw more new sales than any vehicle except the Ford F-150. Teslas were also the only electric vehicles to make it into the top 20 when it came to new vehicle registrations, defying the US trend towards massive SUVs and pickup trucks.

Citroën brand CEO, Thierry Koskas, has confirmed that it will be bringing a new, affordable EV to the market in 2024. The vehicle in question is the e-C3 — a small crossover hatchback based on the C3 design. While the €25,000 pricing of the e-C3 is attractive, the lack of a US launch and a somewhat underwhelming range estimate put a damper on the celebrations.

Reddit is bringing new API pricing and moderation policy changes that are causing quite the consternation among users and developers alike resulting in blackouts among thousands of subreddits. The new API pricing means that popular third-party apps like Apollo will have to cough up US$20 million per year, prompting the developer to retire the app on June 30. However, Reddit's CEO believes that the changes are important and that the protests would eventually fizzle out on their own.

Apple's inaugural Vision Pro will be put together in the facilities of a Chinese manufacturing company, according to a new report. The assembly partner will apparently build the XR headset from parts sourced from a number of other firms, Some of them also supply parts for other products such as the iPhone, whereas others specialize in the virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) market.

Sony has released details on each of its latest CMOS image sensors for devices such as smartphones. They are all under the OEM's new LYTIA brand, and are also of the "most versatile" 50MP resolution. The new LYTx00 series range from sensors intended for selfie cameras to a premium 1-inch flagship for main rear cameras.

Realme has virtually been synonymous with having Madhav Sheth as a top executive for the length of its successful five-year tenure as a personal electronics brand. Now, however, the former CEO has announced that it is time to move on to another role. Sheth has led the company through its development from an increasingly popular smartphone OEM to one that now makes an entire ecosystem of tech products, laptops included.

A recent brand reputation survey has seen Tesla drop over 50 spots — from 12th to 62nd overall — and beating only Chrysler in the automotive space. A closer look reveals that Tesla's electric vehicles and charging network don't seem to be why the carmaker's reputation has suffered. Despite the rising popularity of electric vehicles, the only automotive company to make it into the top ten was Toyota — a company that makes one of the least convincing EVs to date.

Although the first dropped by 0.19% and the latter faced a 0.7% descent compared to April, the 1080p primary display resolution and Windows 10 64-bit reign supreme in last month's Steam hardware and software survey. No less than 60.51% of Steam users use Microsoft's previous operating system, while 64.33% play their games in FHD.

The Satechi Triple 4K Display Docking Station is now available in the US. You can use the device to create a four-display set-up, connecting three external 4K@60Hz monitors via DisplayPort and HDMI. Other ports on the USB-C dock include Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gbps USB-C and 7.5W USB ports.

TELO claims its upcoming electric pickup truck is the ultimate gear- and people-hauler that packs pickup truck practicality into city proportions. It purports to have the bed size of a Ford F-150 while delivering 350 miles of range and fitting into the same proportions as a Mini Cooper — and not even the Countryman. The short overhangs that make it look a bit like a panel van should also make it a hoot off-road.

The Barco G50 laser smart line projector line-up has been unveiled. The range-topping G50-W8 model has up to 8,900 ISO lumens brightness with an 18 Lm/W efficiency. The compact gadgets have been designed for business applications, offering a WUXGA native resolution and built-in 10W speakers.

Optoma has now released the ML1080 and its ST (short throw) variant to the United States market. The series' design award-winning "ultra-portable" form-factor is touted as ideal for on-the-go laser projection in 1080p, and packs a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor for automatic focus and keystone-finding. The ML1080 line also has USB type-C for display and charging as well as remote control support.

While brands like Ford and GM have hopped on-board the NACS train, there are a number of EV industry players that have either entirely rejected the notion of adopting NACS or are holding off for the time being. Stellantis appears to be one of the latter, stating that it is evaluating the standard at the moment, but has no announcements to make. Stellantis's adopting NACS could give RAM's upcoming electric pickup a much firmer shot at competing with the Cybertruck on more even footing, given the consumer sentiment around the NACS vs CCS debate.

The Fujifilm X100V has been one of Fujifilm's most successful fixed-lens endeavours to date, with many reviewers praising it highly for its image quality and great handling. It seems that Fujifilm has become a victim of its own success, as it appears to be unable to keep up with demand for the camera. B&H Photo is only the most recent retailer to suspend orders for the X100V, calling into question Fujifilm's supply chain and the ability to ship enough units of a potential successor.

AMD has unveiled its new Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 chips for desktops. It has three SKUs, the Ryzen 9 Pro 7945, Ryzen 7 Pro 7745 and Ryzen 5 Pro 7645. All three 5 nm chips will run in any AM5 motherboard and support DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 peripherals.

An engineering report centring on an early CyberTruck design was leaked, revealing that the electric pickup truck started life with elementary automotive design flaws, from a leaky cabin to shoddy brakes and terrible steering. An automotive engineer commented that the oversights were "astounding," and that the flaws in the design were rudimentary design challenges that every car manufacturer should have solved easily.

Samsung has finally made the Heatsink version of its latest PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD available. It boasts an up to 50% performance boost compared to the previous generation, in a new chassis equipped with adjustable RGB lighting in addition to cooling touted as improved compared to the 'normal' 990 PRO.

The beta versions of platforms such as macOS are normally exclusive to those able or willing to pay US$99 (or the per-region equivalent) per year for an official Developer Program membership. However, the Cupertino giant has just unveiled a new, free version of this subscription that allows a user access to, say, the latest iOS 17 beta with their existing Apple ID.

The Epson BrightLink 770Fi Ultra Short Throw Lamp-Free Laser Display will be on show at the upcoming InfoComm event. The digital whiteboard has a 1080p display with up to 4,100 lumens brightness. Other features include wireless connectivity, dual pen and finger touch support.

Just a few days after Ford announced that it would be adopting Tesla's North American Charger Standard (NACS), General Motors has joined the blue oval, revealing that it will soon start replacing CCS ports with NACS hardware. Ford's adoption of the standard drew some scrutiny from industry players, but this move by GM is likely to put pressure on other EV makers to do the same.

Zeiss has finally responded to rumours that it has abandoned the photography lens market for good. While the brand will remain active in the dedicated camera market for the foreseeable future, it also noted that there has been an irreversible shift in the market thanks to smartphones and the pandemic.

The Epson PowerLite 810E, an extreme short throw projector, has been announced alongside the PowerLite L series and Pro series models. The PowerLite EB-810E gadget can throw large images when placed just 1-in (~3 cm) away from the wall. Other features include 4K Enhancement technology and built-in speakers.