Business Articles

With the new Mars lineup of mini PCs, Minisforum is looking to merge innovative features with the small form-factor. The MC560 model thus comes with a unique design that integrates business-like features, including a 2.5K HDR webcam plus dual speaker and dual microphone array for a complete teleconferencing experience.

The MediaTek Dimensity 8200 is the latest chipset out of Taiwan and promises to build on the success of the critically acclaimed Dimensity 8100. Like its predecessor, it will find use on a Xiaomi smartphone, with Xiaomi now confirming the Redmi K60E to be among the first batch of smartphones to feature the new Dimensity 8200.

Xiaomi originally scheduled its product launch event for December 1. Those plans were scrapped due to events in China, but the company has now confirmed a new date for that event—December 11—during which the Xiaomi 13 series and other devices will be unveiled.

Qualcomm has announced that the Snapdragon Pro Series, a leading e-sports competition for multiple mobile games, will be played exclusively on Samsung Galaxy-series devices in most of its regions worldwide. The new partnership will start with the upcoming Mobile Challenge Finals, a DreamHack Valencia event set about to take place in December 2022.

Eurocom asserts that the latest version of its Sky Z7 R2 crams the entire requirements of an entire "mobile server" into an 8.4lb package. This is because it is actually in the form of an Intel Z590-compatible laptop with up to 128GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, up to 26TB of SSD storage, up to RTX 3080 graphics and 2.5Gb Ethernet with Killer WLAN. Therefore, the OEM is confident that it can support any number of VMs or server-grade software a manager can throw at it.

Qualcomm touts its new Compact Macro 5G RAN Platform as a way to boost uptake of mmWave 5G, which may be held back at present by the costs involved in establishing a network based on that type of mobile data, not the least is the risk of needing a high concentration of base stations to cover a given area. The new platform is rated to reduce them "significantly" with an increase in range of over 200% compared to its predecessor.

Introduced by CD Projekt Red in 2018 on Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, Gwent: The Witcher Card Game was also released for iOS, macOS, and Android in the meantime. Sadly, it has just been confirmed that the game will only be supported until 2024, when its balancing will be passed on to the community.

Nothing has no plans to launch a Nothing Phone (2) anytime soon. Instead, according to CEO Carl Pei, it will be focusing on its existing products, with the Phone (1) geared for software improvements and the Android 13 update.

In a thread posted on Twitter, journalist Matt Taibbi discussed documents and messages he obtained from Twitter employees and Elon Musk that suggest Twitter took an active role in influencing the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The crux of Taibbi's story is the controversial news reporting around Hunter Biden's laptop and the confusion among Twitter employees and executives as to how to handle the dissemination of potential misinformation.

Asus touts the latest version of the ExpertBook B9 as the world's lightest laptop and, as such, the ideal companion for the professional on the go or on a remote-work assignment. Its Core i7-1255U-powered variant has now been released to Amazon, and even has a small discount already on its more expensive 32GB RAM SKU.

Nokia has reportedly outlined the roll-out plan that upgrades its smartphones to stable Android 13, including a short list of the first wave of the devices in question. Some are those with pre-existing betas for the new major software upgrade; however, all have certain things in common, a relatively recent launch date and a tendency to be used at work included.

Apple has been thought to unveil Reality OS (or, possibly, realityOS) as the new "mixed reality" dimension for its software ecosystem in 2023. Now, according to a knowledgeable Bloomberg blogger, the Cupertino giant has decided to make a practically last-minute change to this branding. The volte-face apparently involves a whole new trademark for a very different naming scheme.

Samsung has claimed that the amount of Galaxy Z Fold- and Z Flip-series devices sold to enterprise customers has increased by just over 100% in 2022 compared to the previous year. The OEM claims that they have grown in popularity for these buyers due to their larger screens that allow for more tasks to get done at once, something particularly valuable to remote workers.

As Starlink's customer base grows dramatically, its download speeds have once again dropped on a quarterly basis. The number of US counties with at least 10 unique Starlink satellite Internet subscribers has increased 200% year-on-year, resulting in slower overall speeds.

Corning has announced a successor for its top-end Gorilla Glass Victus product for mobile devices such as smartphones. The company asserts that its latest form of flagship display protection will boost durability when exposed to "rougher" surfaces such as concrete. The first devices with the new attribute is projected to be on the market in early 2023.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it and seven federal states will sue Google and iHeartMedia for ‘deceptive ads’. Having paid radio hosts to promote the Pixel 4 without labelling their testimonials as advertising.

While the crypto market continues to struggle, BitPay announces a new partnership that brings a popular meme coin into the spotlight once again. Berlin-headquartered shoe manufacturer Atheist Shoes is now accepting Shiba Inu payments, also offering a 10% discount for all buyers until mid-December.

LG Display has announced that all future OLED panels will be based on OLED.EX technology, a panel type that uses deuterium for improved efficiency. The change should mean that cheaper OLED Smart TVs will benefit from brighter panels too, albeit perhaps only when LG Display exhausts stocks of older OLED panels.

Black Friday 2022 might be over, but the deals are still going on at Lenovo's US store online. They include discounts of 60% or more on certain ThinkPads, even a SKU of the X1 Carbon Gen 10. The AMD-based Yoga 6 is also nearly 40% off, whereas the Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 is about to drop to under US$300 imminently.

The Christie Griffyn 4K35-RGB projector for large venues has been unveiled. The ultra-short throw device has up to 36,500 ANSI lumens brightness and can project with a 4K at 120 Hz resolution. Plus, the gadget has a solid-state RGB laser light source with over 50,000 hours of life expectancy.

To improve the 3 nm yields that are barely reaching 20%, Samsung started working with US-based company Silicon Frontline Technology that specializes in electrostatic discharge prevention methods. Samsung is also developing a second generation 3 nm node, but it is unclear which stepping will be utilized by Nvidia, IBM and Qualcomm.

MSI has just announced its Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2022 deals on a selection of its laptops for gamers or creators. They include the well-received Intel Tiger Lake-based Stealth 15M, normally priced at US$1,399 on Amazon, as well as the newer Katana GF76 and G66 and the Pulse GL66. 16- and 17-inch Creator-series variants are also included in the sale.

According to the latest report from Jon Peddie Research, GPU shipments in Q3’22 vs Q2’22 have fallen to an extent not seen since the 2009 economic downturn. The total shipments for graphics boards are also down 25.1% compared to Q3 2021. The same is the case for the CPU segment which have experienced a double-digit year-over-year decrease in Q3’22.

During his tenure, Thakur managed to acquire Tower Semiconductor, as well as sign MediaTek and the US Department of Defense as prominent customers for the Intel Foundry Services. A disagreement with CEO Pat Gelsinger regarding the future role of Tower Semiconductor is allegedly linked to Thakur's resignation.

Twitter is reportedly experiencing a significant surge in usage. Per the latest figures posted by Elon Musk, the platform has recorded an additional 1.6 million Daily Active Users (DAU) over the past week. The recent spike comes amidst widespread uncertainty regarding the site’s future as employees have allegedly resigned en masse over the previous days.

Expect performance to be almost identical to the Core i5-1235U and the integrated Iris Xe 80 EUs even though the Core i7-1260U and its Iris Xe 96 EUs may sound faster on paper.

Oukitel has announced that the WP21 rugged smartphone will have 2 displays on its launch. Its extra rear-facing screen is a centerpiece for its camera hump, which also houses a 64MP main sensor. The WP21 is powered by one of MediaTek's latest 4G/LTE-only processors and will launch just before Black Friday 2022.

VIOFO asserts that its latest A139 Pro records "real" 4K HDR video, unlike many dash-cams marketed with that spec. It is also equipped with Night Vision 2.0 powered by up-to-date tech from Sony and "upgraded" Wi-Fi, as well as the front, rear and in-cabin view support that ride-sharing customers and drivers in particular may find welcome.

Apple is tipped to raise its challenge to Meta's bid for AR/VR dominance from early 2023 with the launch of its first ever headset. Now, the inaugural potential Quest-series competitor is said to go into production around that time at the facilities of an established manufacturing partner. Meanwhile, for those who can help make the software for the alleged new hardware, the Cupertino giant may be hiring.

Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 flagship processor is projected to be on the market in the form of new smartphones by 2023. However, those who would like it in something more like a reference platform for purely AI applications are in luck. The OEM will also offer the SoC as part of a new Innovators Development Kit to academic and research entities.

AiDot, a universal software platform shared by multiple smart home device and accessory brands, has announced that it is now compatible with Google's new Matter standard. To this end, the first wave of smart light-bulbs that support both protocols are now in their pre-sale period. They start at US$13.99 for a threaded unit that can fit seamlessly into an existing network of existing IoT devices and sensors.

Volkswagen now reports that it has delivered half a million ID.-series vehicles worldwide. The marque touts this figure as an important milestone for its future plans, now projected to result in the discontinuation of all non-electric models in 2033. It also now hints at a number of successors for the current ID. range to hit the road prior to that.

The Pentagon is looking to expand its presence in the Arctic to counter Russia's chain reopening of bases there, and has chosen SpaceX's Starlink for military connectivity tests which it passed with flying colors. Starlink was brought to military bases as well as on moving armored vehicles, and will soon be tested on Air Force planes in the harsh Arctic conditions.

The Acer Swift 3 SF314 aces many categories in our review. With a beautiful, high-resolution OLED display and a powerful Alder Lake-H 12-core CPU, the compact laptop does not seem to leave much to be desired. However, there are a few minor weaknesses, which prospective buyers should be aware of...

MediaTek has announced the addition of a new flagship variant for its Pentonic chipsets specifically for TVs. The Pentonic 1000 is pitched at the 4K/120Hz screens of the near future, and is rated for on-board support for broadcast standards worldwide as well as high-end TV features such as ALLM, VRR up to 144Hz and multi-split-screen views.

According to TCL, it's number 1! - in terms of market share for 98-inch TVs from January to September 2022, that is. The OEM claims to have dominated the sector with its latest QLED TV of this size (the 98C735). The new XL Collection flagship has a 4K "IMAX Enhanced" display, and is touted to deliver "leading" color reproduction and "stunning" brightness

Huawei's new 2.5K 90Hz touchscreen laptop has started rolling out to European markets. The MateBook 14s 2022 is powered by an Alder Lake platform from Intel, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. Meanwhile, the Watch GT 3's more affordable SE version has started to pop up on European Amazon stores.

Qualcomm is (still) a vociferous proponent of the potential of millimeter-wave (mmWave) 5G in commercial applications. Now, the company claims to have leapt a key hurdle in its race to become a major supplier of standalone mmWave in China. It involves the achievement of multi-gigabit per second (Gb/s) peak download and upload speeds using the Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System.

Google has started to issue refunds for purchases related to its Stadia game streaming service, which will officially halt in January 2023. While the search giant is avidly working to get refunds rolling, it stated that the process could take until January for some.

GoPro has announced that it has finally released the new HERO11 Black Mini to its official web-store. The "smaller, lighter" variant of the OEM's 2022 flagship action camera is also now available on sites such as Amazon. It ships without some of its brand's more premium perks in exchange for a reduced starting price.

Qualcomm Technologies and Renault Group have announced that they will team up to deliver new platforms for next-gen electric vehicles from the latter. The resulting new "Software Defined Vehicle Platforms" will take over from the Snapdragon Digital Chassis, and may thus deliver new advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), "connected car" experiences and generally many more of a vehicle's controls than ever before.

Sony has announced that the image sensors usually known as the IMX line are to be released under a new brand name going forward. The OEM believes that the new LYTIA moniker will reflect the quality and experience it aims to confer on its CMOS for the cameras found in the mobile devices of the near future. Its release may or may not coincide with the 20-year anniversary of Sony's presence in this business coming up in 2023.

With Elon Musk at the helm, Twitter is making some sweeping changes to the account suspension policy. Under the updated rules, any account that imitates another without specifying it is for parody/satire will be terminated indefinitely without any prior notice.

Although the timeline is not public yet, UK customers of the Santander bank will no longer be able to acquire crypto in less than a year. As a new move in its fight to protect customers from scams, the bank will block online, mobile banking, in-branch, and telephone banking payments to cryptocurrency exchanges.