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A first-generation Apple iPhone from 2007 has been sold at auction for a whopping US$63,356.40. This particular original iPhone was still in a factory-sealed state, with its box and wrapper in pristine condition. Other sealed iPhone 1 models have previously sold for around US$35-39,000, so this latest auction demonstrates the growing demand and value for iconic tech products.

SpaceX is testing a truly worldwide Starlink satellite Internet service subscription that would work anywhere on land there is coverage. The new Starlink Global Roaming service will be available for US$200 a month with one-time equipment cost of US$599 and is only priced in US dollars for now with import duties on top of the Starlink Kit price.

In a move supposed to help users protect themselves from impersonation and to gain direct access to customer support, Meta Verified is rolling out this week to increase security across the brand's services. Australia and New Zealand will be the first countries to get it, for a monthly price of US$11.99 (web) and US$14.99 (iOS).

LG has launched a new projector, the BU70QGA. The laser projector, designed for business and commercial use, has up to 7,000 ANSI lumens brightness from a laser light source. Features include auto zoom, autofocus and auto keystone. Plus, it is the first projector from the company to feature the LG webOS Signage 6.0 platform.

Apple has been said to unleash its inaugural mixed-reality headset as early as March 2023. However, according to a famed tech correspondent, these plans have now fallen through, and the Cupertino giant will settle for debuting the first-gen hardware during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June instead. Then again, it is possible that this might be the better option.

Telefónica has just launched services based on its recently-secured mmWave 5G spectrum, and that it has made it consumer-ready with the help of technology from Ericsson and Qualcomm. The partners will demonstrate their achievement at MWC 2023. They assert that mmWave is the ideal solution for high-performance connectivity for densely populated areas.

While the crypto market continues to struggle, Japanese authorities are planning to test the use of an official digital coin. The country's central bank revealed that a digital yen will be tested starting in April. Last year, China completed the first test of its e-CNY central bank digital currency (CDBC).

Samsung has now released its new top-end, Dynamic AMOLED 2X-equipped Galaxy Book3 Ultra laptop to pre-order in the US. The new 6-inch PC has landed alongside its Book3 360, Pro and Pro 360 siblings, with special offers such as complimentary storage upgrades and trade-in offers. It allows 1TB SKUs series to debut for just under US$1,100 in their new market.

Meta is now slated to forge ahead with successors to the Quest Pro headset. The OEM is said to equip them with custom displays with microOLED from leading supplier LG Display. According to industry sources, SK Hynix may also contribute parts for these next-gen VR headset components.

Samsung's latest Galaxy S23 series of Android flagships have been available to pre-order in their native South Korea for about 2 weeks now. In that time, they have surpassed their S22 predecessors in these terms - and to a reportedly record-breaking extent, too. The top-end S23 Ultra is estimated to have amassed the majority of the reservations in question.

The PC market slowdown has severely affected motherboard sales according to a new report from DigiTimes. The report reveals that Taiwanese motherboard makers ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE, and ASRock have suffered a combined sales loss of 10 million units in 2022 as compared to 2021.

MediaTek has indicated that the updated Helio G36 SoC will be the one to bring specs such as 50MP rear cameras and 90Hz displays to the new budget, 4G/LTE-only smartphones of the near future. It also boasts a GPU optimized with the OEM's HyperEngine 2.0 Lite features for potentially enhanced gaming at this tier; then again, some on-chip specs remain unchanged compared to its predecessor.

Customers in four additional countries now have to pay an additional fee for sharing their Netflix account with someone outside their household. Unfortunately, one of Netflix' steps against password sharing could also affect frequent travelers and VPN users who don't even share their account.

New iPhones are finally slated to drop proprietary connectors from their 2023 "15 series" onward. However, Apple fans looking forward to enjoying the universal appeal of USB type-C may be disappointed to learn that the Cupertino behemoth allegedly intends to impose its current MFi system on its version of the port. The rumored restrictions might be enforced using similar hardware that keeps the Lightning port in the same walled garden at present.

Those with their hearts set on a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Apple's first ever in-house M-series processor and a Touch Bar may find that it is available as a renewed model more often than not. OWC's Valentine's Day sale includes just such a unit at nearly 50% of its starting price, described as a factory-sealed refurbished unit from the OEM in an as-new condition.

An Android device calling itself the Nokia G22 has rolled up onto the Geekbench database for the first time. However, the alleged 2023 device's appearance might cast a dark cloud over hopes for significant upgrades in this round of HMD Global-brand smartphones, not to mention those for software support in the existing G21.

Announced in December 2022 with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600U processor and integrating a 2.5k HDR webcam, dual speakers, as well as a dual microphone array, the Minisforum Mars MC560 is now up for sale. However, the processor used is the slightly faster AMD Ryzen 5 5625U. The early bird prices are US$399 (16/512 GB) and US$458 (32/512 GB).

Samsung's plans for its future chipsets, the Exynos 2300, Exynos 2400, and Exynos 2500 have since been shrouded in mystery. That may have changed now, however, with a Korean leaker now providing insight into the subject, with an ambitious "Exynos 2500" seemingly set to mark Samsung's return to the flagship SoC space in 2025.

The large, 16-inch business laptop in our test offers a fast AMD APU, while still remaining cool and quiet. Despite its smaller battery option and high-resolution WQXGA display, it has a long battery life. On the other hand, you have to make do without USB 4 and all of the LPDDR5-6400 RAM is soldered in.

Hisense now claims to have shipped the most units of any brand in the global TV market. These figures, which apply to the month of December 2022, have also apparently helped propel the brand to #2 in terms of market share over the past year. Hisense also attributes its success to its sponsorship of the recent FIFA World Cup event.

Lenovo sells its ThinkPad P16 mobile workstation with a range of options, including the graphics chips. The RTX A2000 from Nvidia is one of them - but hardly worth it.

SK Hynix might be best known for its RAM or storage modules - however, it also makes the CMOS image sensors (or CIS) found in smartphones. The company is rumored to have ambitions to challenge the dominance of other companies such as Samsung in this arena with new sensors that target the top end of the market.

The Sharp NEC PA1405UL and NEC PA1705UL projectors have been revealed ahead of ISE 2023. The devices, designed for educational, work and leisure spaces, have a peak brightness of 17,000 lumens. A key feature of the projectors is their quiet operation noise, but the company still need to specify a figure.

Nothing CEO Carl Pei claimed the Nothing Phone (2) wasn't set to launch "anytime soon" a while ago but the OnePlus co-founder has now confirmed that it will, in fact, debut later this year. Unlike the Phone (1), however, it'll be released in the US and as a more premium device than its predecessor.

Christie has announced a new product in its HS Series, the 4K22-HS laser projector. The gadget has up to 22,500 ISO lumens brightness and can throw images with a 4K UHD resolution with a 60 Hz frame rate. Features of the device in blue BoldColor+ and Christie Twist technologies.

Apple had reportedly planned to release iPhone 16- or 17-series devices with their own in-house Wi-Fi chips to go with their next-gen proprietary processors. However, according to a leading industry analyst, these aspirations have just gone the same way as the Cupertino giant's custom 5G baseband dreams. Meanwhile, the unusually high pressure to make A16 Bionic and M2-series successors instead mounts.

TCL has loaded the Ion X up with a nostalgic combination of smartphone features: a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm jack and a removable battery. Then again, its display and internal specs are on the low-end side, and it will not get 5G on its Metro service in the US. Accordingly, it goes for just under US$120 via its new carrier.

Q4 2022 brought an all-time second biggest quarterly loss of US$664 million for Intel and the YoY situation is bleak as well, forcing CEO Pet Gelsinger to axe a few more non-core businesses to save capital.

The Surface Pro is Microsoft's flagship convertible, and the ninth generation now offers Wi-Fi 6E and a leap in performance thanks to the Alder Lake CPU, but other features such as the optional LTE modem or the audio jack have been omitted. This doesn't make the device any better.

The Sharp NEC PV800UL projector has been announced. The gadget has a laser light source producing up to 8,000 ANSI lumens brightness. You can use the device to throw images up to 500-in (~1,270 cm) wide, and the projector is compatible with various lenses. Plus, the PV800UL can run quietly with 33 dB running noise.

Xiaomi's upcoming first-gen car is reportedly coming along in testing ahead of its upcoming launch. The vehicle has allegedly been spotted in some new leaks that have drawn comparisons between it and a certain Tesla vehicle. However, according to a company executive, all is not as it appears.

The well-known 3D printer brand Creality has pursued a direct sales model, or one of selling through its own web-store, for about half a year now. Now, it has announced it has raked in over US$12 million since going live in 2022. The company credits the move with a vast growth in success and recognition in the consumer (or prosumer) home extruding market.

We put these pricey AI-powered earbuds to the test in both Mandarin and English under a variety of scenarios. They're great for basic day-to-day conversations, but the automatic translations can be unreliable depending on your accent and topic.

Smartphones that can convert into phablets or even tablets without the need for a hinge may once have been thought to be the trend that would leave devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 behind without delay. However, according to the latest industry leaks, rollables will fail to overtake foldables in the near future after all, as OEMs struggle to solve some of the greater manufacturing and durability problems implied by the newer form-factor.

Shortly after a Russian weapons manufacturer claimed they have developed a Starlink terminal detection radar to be tested on the battlefield in Ukraine, Russia now informs that it has captured Elon Musk's satellite Internet stations as trophies. The former head of Roskosmos also tipped that Russia has created and delivered its own satellite system for battlefield communications.

Microsoft's recent layoffs seems to have impacted 343 Industries — makers of the popular Halo franchise — the most along with studios such as The Coalition and Bethesda. With several former employees voicing their opinion about leadership and the unwarranted need to cull workforce despite good cash flow, Halo fans fear these moves will have an adverse impact on Halo Infinite even while being assuaged officially that the game's development will go as planned.

ViewSonic has announced that it will unveil a new 5K display as a headline act at its Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) showcase. The massive, business-grade display can be written or drawn on as well as show 105 inches of visual content. It will be joined by even bigger LED displays, some of which have upgraded to flexible displays, and ultra-bright projectors at the conference.

ViewSonic's latest VG56V Series of monitors come with their own pop-up cameras for a new perspective on pro-grade remote conferencing. The OEM asserts that their new front-facing "docking" web-cams improve on user security as well as enhance how they present themselves during online meetings. The new displays also support USB type-C, DisplayPort and giga connectivity.

Lenovo introduces numerous ThinkPad laptops into the market every year that each cover different market segments. It is not easy to select one model from this wide selection that is "the best," but we still think that for most users, this is the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s G3 AMD.

The Sharp NEC P627UL laser projector will shortly be demonstrated at ISE 2023. The gadget, designed for meeting rooms or educational spaces, has up to 6,200 ANSI lumens brightness. You can use the projector to throw images up to 300-in (~762 cm) wide with support for a WUXGA resolution and 4K @ 30 Hz input processing.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has issued a blog post detailing the company's plans to reduce its personnel numbers by 10,000 in 2023. These layoffs have reportedly already begun, affecting one of the Redmond giant's US centers. Then again, some of those whose jobs are terminated are slated to benefit from enhanced post-employment support.

A recent rumour of Samsung showing a new prototype foldable smartphone during CES 2023 has fired up speculation about the state of the Galaxy Z Fold5. Sadly, the prototype shown is actually the Flex In N Out, a work of Samsung Display, not the Samsung Galaxy division.

Once known as Samsung Pay and available as Samsung Wallet since June 2022, the digital wallet platform of the South Korean tech giant continues its expansion. After reaching 13 new markets at the end of 2022, Samsung Wallet is now heading for 8 new ones, including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and more.