Business Articles

Fujitsu's 15.6-inch laptop produces relatively low emissions, does not weigh too much (1.8 kg, ~4 lb), and offers a DVD drive. Windows 10 Pro serves as the operating system (upgradable to Windows 11). A positive feature is the maintenance flap that gives access to the SSD, RAM, and battery.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we all live our lives. Everything from work to hobbies and habits have all had to adapt and change. Let's take a look at how tech trends have changed as our lives have changed during the pandemic.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed its acquisition of Bungie for US$3.6 billion. Bungie created the popular multi-platform Destiny franchise and the company maintains that the deal will allow it to keep its independence and gaming communities across platforms.

Warner Media has announced that its streaming service HBO Max is to launch in 15 new markets in early 2022. The countries in question are all located in continental Europe, which may stand ready to access movies such as the new Dune remake through this new source of content. It is slated to expand even further thereafter.

BlackBerry has announced that it has agreed to sell its "legacy patents" to a group dedicated to acquiring intellectual property. The assets reportedly relate to areas for which the OEM was once best known, messaging and mobile devices included. However, it asserts that the ones it has retained will allow it to keep its core business going.

Toyota Camry can feel safe that its 28-year reign at the top of the new car sales ranking hasn't been abruptly brought to an end by the Model 3 EV. Tesla Australia, it turns out, has claimed record Model 3 sales in error, putting its numbers at odds with the actual vehicle registration data in defiance with the 'truth in reporting' initiative of a local industry board.

RWE has collaborated with Inmarsat to bring IoT connectivity to its hydroelectric power stations in rural Snowdonia, Wales. Inmarsat claims that its network provides 99.9 percent coverage, which aids RWE in reliability and safety. IoT data also tracks weather conditions and increases efficiency in electricity production.

Panasonic claims to have pioneered the "world's first integrated-frame lens", a new type of lens suitable for demanding and potentially crucial use-cases such as the far-infrared sensing needed for effective person- or object-avoidance of the autonomous vehicles touted to take over in the future. Furthermore, this new advancement might boost the integrity of these lenses while reducing the cost of making them.

XDO Tech's Pantera Pico PC has become a crowdfunding darling due to its relatively tiny size and budget price. Now, the start-up has contacted its fans to assure them that it is in production, and has made some progress despite the upcoming Chinese New Year break at its factory. Meanwhile, the OEM has come down to the last few units it will sell at early bird prices.

Tesla's gross profit margin is one of the highest in the industry, it turns out, as it costs Tesla just US$36,000 on average to build one of its electric vehicles. A healthy 29% profit margin is something many carmakers can only dream of, yet Tesla is determined to bring production costs even further down going forward.

The Exynos 2200 made its debut nigh-on two weeks ago. Samsung has failed to provide any performance data on the chipset, however, instead choosing to focus on vague features and properties. While it's hardly earth-shattering, most would consider that a red flag.

Microsoft is making changes to its Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold subscription services, in part because of the UK CMA. The changes should make it easier for people to manage their subscriptions, while Microsoft will even end unused subscriptions.

According to Counterpoint Research, the smartphone industry in the United States was relatively indifferent in terms of growth for the last quarter of 2021 (4Q2021). Nevertheless, the country's market did see some interesting and possibly unexpected shake-ups, such as the rise of OnePlus' sales over that of Google. Motorola also posted its best quarter on record, with 1 of the best-selling phones over the 3 months.

Leaked marketing material for the Samsung Galaxy S22 series has now confirmed regional availability for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Exynos 2200. Rumors claiming widespread Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 adoption look to have been off the mark, sadly.

Instead of creating a battery development and manufacturing partnership with Rivian, Samsung created such a joint-venture with Stellantis, as the maker of the R1T electric pickup went into a production delay spiral. Not only couldn't Rivian commit on purchase volumes, but it also wanted "unacceptable" technology transfers.

Lamborghini has announced its first NFT in tandem with Swedish artist, Fabian Oefner. The NFT features a space-themed design with a Lamborghini car that is disintegrating into the atmosphere. The company intends to attract young people in the NFT community and capitalise on the current NFT trend.

Inspired by the mayor of New York City, Belgian official Christophe De Beukelaer has decided to receive his paychecks in Bitcoin. Since he is the first European official to do so and the legal framework is not yet in place, his monthly paycheck of 5,500 Euros will be converted to cryptocurrency (no details available yet).

If you're on a $500 budget, then this sale will be one of the better 15.6-inch laptops you can find if maximizing both performance and portability for the price.

Information on pricing of the Galaxy S22 series has leaned hard one way so far: that the phones will all launch with a US$100 premium over their predecessors. One particular leaker is sticking to their guns, though, and claims that the Galaxy S22 series will debut with the same prices as the Galaxy S21 lineup.

Apple has been placed at #1 in a newly-released list of 500 brands ranked by "value" in 2022. The Cupertino giant has retained this position due to its perception as a company that releases high-end, reliable and easily recognizable products on a regular basis. Of course, being a tech company has not hurt in this respect, either.

Lenovo has become the latest PC company with the resources to pair the future of its hardware with first-party chipsets. Its new subsidiary for the purpose has received an injection of hundreds of millions of RMB in capital, and now lists the development of proprietary integrated circuits among its functions.

The electric car pioneers from the Alliance of Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi will be investing US$26 billion in the next five years towards fleet electrification with the goal to have 35 new EVs by 2030. Not only that, but Nissan is tasked with the mass production of an all-solid-state battery before the end of the period.

After stopping by at Indonesia's SPDDI, the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro have now also made the trip to FCC, with both phones running MIUI 13. Once again, however, the Xiaomi 12X is absent, encouraging rumors that the phone may not be launched globally.

In a recent press conference, Tesla confirmed that it would not be releasing any new vehicles this year. Musk confirmed rumours that Cybertruck production would be delayed until 2023 at the earliest.

According to recent rumours, Diem, the stablecoin project backed by Meta, is looking to sell off assets such as its intellectual property. The company has faced many setbacks, including warnings from the U.S. Federal Reserve last year.

Ricoh's Theta series is one of the best-known types of omnidirectional or 360-degree cameras out there. Its new X flagship may be its most versatile and user-friendly variants to date, being the first of its line to have a large color touchscreen, a microSD card in place of internal storage and a replaceable battery.

Blizzard has announced a new survival game set in a brand new universe for PC and console. The company is currently hiring experienced developers to fill a variety of roles for the unannounced game. Although the project appears to be in its early stages, concept art has been released.

MediaTek has announced a new addition to its line of chipsets specifically intended for Chromebook laptops and tablets. The Kompanio 1380 is a chipset rated for speeds of up to 3GHz thanks to the presence of high-end ARM cores. It may be released soon in the form of an upcoming Acer PC.

It seems that Intel wants people to forget that it commissioned several 'Justin Gets Real' videos, published less than a year ago. For some reason, the company has set all the videos to private, preventing anyone from watching them. Unfortunately for Intel, not all its YouTube channels have got the message.

Weeks ago, Realme indicated that it would not send out the Android 12 update to its four-month-old tablet, the Realme Pad. It appears that the bad press from that choice has helped change Realme's stance on the matter, although the company's update policy on the Realme Pad remains unsatisfactory.

The Xiaomi 12U may replace the Xiaomi 12 Ultra as the top dog in the Xiaomi 12 series. New leaks essentially confirm the existence of such a device and tip it to be powered by a chipset that will likely debut as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus. The 12U is expected to have better cameras than the Xiaomi 12 Pro and Xiaomi Mix as well.

The external monitor is as simple as it gets with nothing but two USB-C ports, power passthrough, and a surprisingly decent 1080p display with respectable response times, 95 percent sRGB coverage, and a 300-nit backlight all for $269 USD.

Neuralink is a company set up by Elon Musk that apparently exists to investigate the potential for brain implants that might allow their oneday users to control their personal devices with their minds. It might be ready to progress to a clinical trial of its futuristic technology with actual human participants, if its latest job postings are anything to go by.

General Motors announced the biggest single production investment in its history, a nearly US$7 billion outlay aimed squarely at the production of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra electric trucks. GM plans to surpass Tesla and become America's largest EV manufacturer, and will start by converting the Orion factory in Michigan into an electric truck plant, as well as invest in battery cell production there.

A new report from Bloomberg says that Nvidia will abandon its prospects of taking over SoftBank-owned ARM. However, the official announcement could come later as both companies are still optimistic about the deal and want to convince regulators about its benefits.

Currently, most new Pro-series iPhones are shipped with displays made by Samsung. However, BOE aims to cut into that market with new panels with the specs Apple might be looking for in future models. They include LTPO and a double-stack tandem structure, which could persuade the Cupertino giant to throw more orders its way from 2023 on.

Digital cameras are often the medium of higher-end online and social content, and are projected to get even more versatile and innovative as time goes on. Despite this, however, its market is now thought to decline by hundreds of millions of US dollars by 2025. This might be driven by fragmentation and competition from other device categories.

HP has introduced new desktops aimed at business and professional users. The Elite 800 G9 Series includes the Elite SFF 800 G9, Elite Mini 800 G9, and the Elite Tower 800 G9. These desktops come with improved enterprise security and management combined with flexibility in upgrades.

The NIO ET7 and ET5 performance sedans that are sizing up Tesla's Model S Plaid won't be the first electric cars with semi-solid state batteries, as a humble taxi fleet just got its first delivery of EVs with such packs. Made by the world's largest lithium producer Ganfeng, the E70 electric cars' battery packs are made with solid electrolyte diaphragm.

The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 appears to be a superior chipset to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Word on the grapevine leans towards Samsung wanting a piece of that pie as well, with the Korean company potentially geared to equip a non-flagship model with the MediaTek chipset.

Volkswagen has finally previewed its new bus - the first of its kind to be electric. It has been revealed to have a design somewhat like the original's hallmark shape - however, it will be outfitted with considerably more up-to-date tech. They include an AR heads-up display, LED headlights and a new kind of wheel.

OPPO has introduced one of the latest products of its research and development as Zero-Power Communication, a new technology that might enable electronics to stay on by simply "harvesting" energy from other nearby devices that are using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi at the time. This potential replacement for batteries might end up as the way to sustain the IoT systems of the future.

The recently elected mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, has received his first paycheck in cryptocurrency earlier this week via Coinbase's Direct Deposit. Thanks to the Bitcoin & Ethereum combination that was transferred to his wallet, he became the first mayor of the Big Apple to be paid using crypto.

The Chinese car company Geely allegedly has plans to start making phones as well. To this end, it is said to be in talks to acquire the OEM Meizu. Meanwhile, the same brand has confirmed that it will release 2022 devices with Qualcomm silicon, prompting the release of an image projecting how such handsets might look.

Oukitel has launched its first-gen P2001 Portable Power Station as a reward via the OEM's latest crowdfunding campaign. This device is rated for a 2,000 watt-hour (Wh) capacity, and offers a range of outputs, AC and USB type C ports included, for an off-the-grid electricity at need. Oukitel claims that it can charge both mobile devices and home appliances several times over on a single charge.

The new Ohio mega-site is to accommodate eight fabs, and construction for two of these should begin by the end of this year, with effective production capacity scheduled for 2025. Intel is investing $20 billion initially, but the construction of the other six facilities is expected to cost an additional $80 billion.