Gadget

Canon has unveiled its Black Friday 2019 week deals, which include a number of high-end cameras, on its own website. This store also offers discounts on some lenses, as does Amazon at present. These listings also include Tamron or Sigma attachments.

A Sony patent for a cartridge has been creating considerable speculation recently, with some believing the PlayStation 5 could come with a game cartridge slot while others opined the patent heralded the introduction of external SSDs for the next-gen console. However, it appears the device in the patent drawing is actually destined for use with Sony’s Toio platform.

AT&T now maintains specific bands for internet of things (IoT) devices and other low-power 4G/LTE applications. To this end, the carrier has just validated the new 9205 modem for these kinds of networks and ecosystems. This Qualcomm SoC is designed to be half as big as its predecessor, while using 70% less power and 40% fewer resources.

The Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max costs between US$1,099 and US$1,449 depending on which version you buy, making it one of the most expensive smartphones currently on the market. However, although Apple extols the device's camera capabilities, DxOMark seems to think that a smartphone that costs up to 3x less offers a better camera experience than Apple's latest flagship does. While DxOMark is not the arbiter of camera reviews, but Xiaomi can probably chalk this one up as a win.

The information guide for Huawei’s Sound X smart speaker has leaked online ahead of the device’s expected launch. The Sound X offers an interesting collection of hardware specifications that includes two 60 W subwoofers and a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor. But will consumers be willing to place a hefty listening device from a controversial manufacturer in their homes?

Huawei has reportedly filed patents for phones with reversible cameras. This design choice is found in a pre-existing Asus phone: the ZenFone 6 (or 6Z), which uses a flip-action module to deploy its dual cameras as both main and selfie shooters. Huawei's apparent competing IP has either 1 or 2 sensors in its own rotating component.

TheGodThings claims that the PrinCube is the smallest mobile colour printer on the market. Better still, the device can print on all surfaces and fits in the palm of your hand. The PrinCube costs US$109 and ships next month.

The LattePanda is now available to purchase worldwide. The powerful single-board computer (SBC) incorporates an Intel Celeron N4100 processor, 4 GB of LPDRR4 RAM and 32 GB of eMMC 5.0 flash storage. The SBC supports USB Power Delivery via Type-C, has two M.2 PCIe slots and has an Arduino co-processor on board, along with two 50-pin headers and three USB 3.0 ports. The LattePanda Delta 432 is compatible with Windows, Linux and other OSes and retails for US$188.00.

The Canon EOS Ra is now available to purchase, having leaked earlier this month. The night shot and astrophotography specialist launched quietly, and includes the same 30.3 MP full-frame CMOS sensor as the regular EOS R does. Canon has added a modified IR filter though, which promises to transmit up to four times the volume of Hydrogen Alpha rays than the IR filter in the regular Canon EOS R can. The EOS Ra will start shipping on December 3.

Sony started selling its first consumer-grade robot puppy, aibo, quite some time ago. Therefore, you'd think the OEM would have also released advanced development tools so that the more tech-savvy of this product's owners could have really made it their own by now. However, this has only happened with the latest app update for this device.

Some renders and the specifications of the upcoming Ricoh Theta SC2 360-degree camera have appeared online. The pictures show the device in a range of pastel colors and it sports a similar design language to the Theta SC. According to the leaked specifications, the Theta SC2 has the ability to record 4K video at 30 fps.

Huawei is expanding the launch of its FreeBuds 3 beyond China within the next few days. The wireless earbuds will undercut the Apple AirPods Pro on price while featuring active noise cancellation (ANC) and a Kirin A1 SoC. Some preorders will include a complimentary 15 W wireless charger too.

DJI has introduced its Remote ID, which allows a drone to "beam" its identity and other prevalent information to any smartphone on the ground via Wi-Fi. The company has developed this modality, which can be used through an app, in accordance with government recommendations for safety and compliance while flying personal aerial robots.

Intel unveiled its upcoming vision processing unit (VPU) for edge computing devices. Dubbed Keem Bay, the new chip offers major improvements over existing VPUs from Nvidia and Huawei. Additionally, Keem Bay offers better performance with a significantly lower power draw.

Canon USA has unveiled its inaugural 8K broadcast lenses, the UHD-DIGISUPER 51 and 7x10.7 KAS S attachments. The company is pitching them at the capture of live TV in this UHD resolution. They also have an image format size that could become standard for the same.

Home theaters brought in a total of US$7.7 billion last year. However, this market value is thought to be capable of growing by up to $5.7 billion more over the next 6 years. The sound bar sector may grow at the greatest rate over this period.

The NVIDIA Jetson Nano is one of the most powerful SBCs on the market, but it only passively cools its 128 CUDA core and 472 GFLOPS-capable GPU. Now 52Pi, the company behind the ICE Tower Raspberry Pi CPU cooling fan, has returned with a version for the Jetson Nano complete with two 5 mm copper cooling tubes. The cooling solution replaces the pre-installed heatsink on the Jetson Nano and ships globally for US$24.90.

The Rock Pi S has finally made it to market, after being announced this summer. The miniature SBC is underpinned by a Rockchip RK3308 quad-core SoC, either 256 or 512 MB of RAM and 1 GB of NAND flash storage. The board has a microSD card slot too, Wi-Fi connectivity and a 26-pin GPIO header among other features. The Rock Pi S measures just 3.8 x 3.8 cm and starts at US$9.90. Orders will begin shipping globally from November 12.

Samsung's Developer Conference (SDC) 2019 contained numerous interesting announcements, not the least that Tizen OS for TVs can be ported to third-party devices. In addition, there are now additional developer-friendly facilities for this part of the OEM's ecosystem. They include more granular user opt-outs for ads.

A few images of the Canon EOS Ra camera have been leaked. The full-frame mirrorless digital camera has been specifically designed for night shots and astrophotography. A price tag for the upcoming device has also been leaked; those looking for a dedicated star-shooter will be looking at paying just under US$2,500 for the body.

DJI has announced the availability of the Mavic Mini — an extremely compact drone that weighs 249 grams, does not require an FAA registration, and costs just US$399. The Mavic Mini can capture videos at 2.7K resolution and comes with safety features to aid new pilots. While the Mavic Mini includes most features found in high-end DJI drones, it does cut a few corners to make the price more accessible.

Even brighter and flatter than before, that is the motto with the Razer Firefly V2. The gaming mousepad is Razer's brightest to offer Chroma lighting, and supports Razer Synapse 3 too. The accessory more lighting zones than its predecessor too. The Razer Firefly V2 is available to purchase now for US$49.99.

A new image of the Huawei Band 4 Pro has been shared online. Although details about the specifications are still thin on the ground, the first appearance of the activity tracker is seemingly positive. There is a range of colors to choose from, and the smart band exhibits a color display (presumed to be AMOLED) and swappable straps.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER may seem enticing with its US$229 price tag, but the AMD Radeon RX 590 currently has the last word on value for money. The Polaris-based GPU can be had for practically US$100 right now and remains powerful enough for 1080p gaming.

Latency remains an issue with wireless headphones, with most sets being unsuitable for gaming. The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless seeks to address that, with the US$99.99 (£99.99/€119.99) pair of earbuds offering an ultra-low latency Bluetooth mode that should eliminate any audio stutter or sync issues. The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless are available to purchase now and come with free shipping.

A new Moto 360 smartwatch was unveiled today, but it won't be made by Motorola. Rather, a company called eBuyNow has purchased the rights to the Moto 360 brand and will manufacture the new smartwatch. The Moto 360 3rd generation will be available for preorder in November and in stores in December for US $350.

Qualcomm has announced the 9205 LTE modem, a new component destined for internet-of-things (IoT) devices that will connect using this kind of mobile data. However, it will not require a conventional SIM to do so. The OEM has integrated Deutsche Telekom's novel nuSIM platform instead, which goes directly on a chipset to save on device footprint and circuitry.

A tech blog claims to have dug up a number of Japanese-language patents, awarded to Sharp, that show this OEM's plans for its oneday line of foldable electronics. Some show rather slim-line devices that are most likely clam-shell phones, whereas others appear to be collapsible, mobile gaming machines. One may also be designed to process credit-card transactions.

Apple unveiled its new AirPods Pro wireless earbuds earlier today. The buds feature a new design and active noise cancellation. However, the $249 price tag is significantly higher ($90) than the current AirPods'. AirPods Pro will be available for purchase starting October 30th.

The Arduino MKR WAN 1310 developer board can bring LoRa connectivity to projects without requiring continuous mains power. The board is just 67.6 x 25.0 mm and integrates an ARM Cortex M0+ processor. The MKR WAN 1310 is available to order now for €33 (~US$37).

The Canon RF lens series has now added its 9th and 10th members, in the form of the 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM and 85mm F1.2L USM DS products respectively. The former is described as the most compact device in its class, whereas the latter debuts the novel feature of Defocus Smoothing. The OEM asserts that either would be an asset to those with EOS R or RP cameras.

Tolino has released three new eReaders. Strictly speaking, they are not new, though. Instead, they are rebranded Kobo devices but pre-loaded with Android rather than Kobo's in-house software.

In our opinion, keypads should complement keyboards while gaming or be able to replace them completely. The Tartarus series of compact gaming keypads have a long tradition at Razer, and now the company has released one with analog optical switches. The Tartarus Pro is available to purchase now for US$129.99 and comes with free shipping.

Paper Phone is an app that allows users to select certain features or information from their smartphones and print it on a piece of paper to carry around. Users can select contact information, maps, simple games, guides, and a list of appointments or tasks, among other things.

Canon announced the EOS-1D X Mark III, the latest and greatest flagship DSLR from the Japanese camera colossus. The 1D X Mark III is the best of Canon's crop, boasting 16 fps bursts for five times longer than the 1D X Mark II, 4K video at 60 fps, and support for the new HEIF image format. No word yet on pricing or availability.

A firmware update pushed out to Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers earlier this month has been bricking devices, leaving them completely unresponsive. Google has acknowledged the problem and promised a resolution in the near future. Unfortunately, the tech giant is apparently not replacing out-of-warranty devices.

In a blog post published today, Google claims that its 54-qubit quantum computer Sycamore calculated a complex problem in 200 seconds. The company also estimates the same problem would take the world's fastest supercomputer 10,000 years to solve. However, IBM (who owns the world's fastest supercomputer) says the estimate should be closer to 2.5 days. Either way, Google's achievement is a big milestone for quantum computing.

A press kit for the Fujifilm X-Pro3 digital camera, which includes many renders of the device, has already been shared on Twitter. The X-Pro3 is scheduled to be officially launched on October 23, but like every good piece of tech equipment nowadays, many of its details have already been leaked online or guessed at.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is on its way and will arrive before the end of the month, according to confirmation that Videocardz has received from its sources. The new GPU will sit between the GTX 1660 and GTX 1660 Ti in NVIDIA's product stack, with its pricing reflecting that. Oddly, the GTX 1660 SUPER will outdo the GTX 1660 Ti in some areas, while retaining elements of the GTX 1660 too.

The full details of the technical specifications for the Zeiss ZX1 camera have been published. The renowned German manufacturer announced the device back at the Photokina trade event in 2018 with availability originally scheduled to start with chosen dealers in early 2019. However, the camera has failed to materialize on the market thus far.

According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is planning on releasing its rumored AR glasses sometime in 2020. The glasses, while still in development, may eventually become a replacement product of the iPhone. However, a lot of work remains to be done, including the development of a "killer application."

The Intel Cascade Lake-X series launched earlier this month to the tune of price cuts and offering great value for money. However, not all looks rosy for the blue team, as its premier High-End Desktop (HEDT) chip has been resoundingly beaten by the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X in leaked 3DMark results. Intel may have even more competition on its hands with Zen 2-based Threadripper HEDT processors launching next month too.

Olympus has unveiled its newest Micro Four Thirds digital camera, the OM-D E-M5 Mark III. This mirrorless unit is based on a 20.4MP Live MOS sensor and a TruePic VIII Image Processor. The OEM asserts that it also packs a wide range of features into a relatively compact form-factor.

An Amazon pre-order page listing the Nvidia Shield TV Pro popped up earlier this morning and was promptly taken down. The page listed specs of the Shield TV Pro, which largely mirror those of the standard Shield TV. However, the Pro model will use Nvidia's Tegra X1+ SoC and will support Dolby Vision HDR.

Google also announced its new Nest Wi-Fi home product at the 2019 Pixel launch event. It consists of scalable router and point units in various muted colors. A single 802.11s router covers up to 2200 square feet of space each, whereas each point doubles as a smart speaker.

Nikon has launched the new and expansive NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens. This product name may sound familiar as it has been chosen to honor an iconic lens of the past. The new S-series lens has manual focus and an aperture of up to a whopping f/0.95.

One of two cameras that GoPro has announced today, the GoPro Max replaces the GoPro Fusion 360 as the company's premier 360° action camera. The GoPro Max features 16.6 MP 360° and 5.5 MP sensors and costs US$499.99. GoPro is offering a complimentary 64 GB SanDisk Extreme microSD card with pre-orders, which will ship on October 15.