Gadget

Spotify, the popular music and podcast streaming service, is planning on releasing its own hardware. The Financial Times reports that the device will be an in-car music player and could cost US$100.

The Orange Pi, an alternative to the Raspberry Pi, has received a RAM upgrade this week. There are four new versions of the single-board computer, which start at US$29.90 plus shipping.

Fossil Group has issued a press release to announce a US$40 million deal with Google. The search engine giant will be purchasing intellectual property (IP) from the well-known American designer label in regard to smartwatch technology. There has been speculation that Google is preparing to mount a challenge to Apple’s current dominance of the smartwatch market.

A mistake or a marketing ploy? Call it what you like, but Samsung may have briefly let slip an official render of the Galaxy S10 in a One UI press release. The company has since replaced the image with one of a generic phone too, which only adds to the speculation about whether we have caught our first glimpse at the front of the S10.

Google has officially confirmed the discontinuation of the Chromecast Audio device. A quick glance at Google’s online store lists the music-streaming gadget as out of stock, after recently receiving a heavy price cut from US$35 to just US$15. It may be possible to buy the device in some outlets while they still have stock remaining.

The Lexar Professional 633x SD card, announced at CES earlier today, is the largest capacity SD card available to date at a whopping 1 TB. Despite its large size, the card is somewhat disappointing in performance; the 633x is rated at 95 MB/s write and 70 MB/s read. It also supports VSC Class 30, which means it should hit at least 30 MB/s when recording video. This should be adequate for 4K footage, but higher bitrates and higher resolutions may suffer.

Early reviews of Royole’s foldable FlexPai device have come in, and it seems the main attraction of the smartphone is what everyone expected it to be: Its flexibility. The company has done well in beating major players like Samsung and Huawei to the crown of producing the first fully foldable phone, but it has done this by creating a seemingly flawed handset.

The currently crowdfunded Matrix PowerWatch 2 is expected to have almost unlimited battery life and comes with both an LCD display and a GPS module. The device is currently comparatively affordable too.

Sony has announced the LSPX-S2, a successor to its glass bulb speaker the LSPX-S1. The LSPX-S2 has been slightly revised compared to its predecessor and is considerably cheaper too.

Omnicharge has managed to secure funding of over US$1 million on Indiegogo for its Omni Ultimate battery-charging solution. The device offers a colossal 40,300 mAh (145 Wh) battery capacity but is considerably more portable than some of its rivals. It comes with a plethora of features to help it stand out of the small crowd of mega-chargers, including the ability to replace depleted batteries on the go.

Lenovo has announced the transformable Yoga Mouse with laser presenter. This sleek-looking peripheral has the ability to turn from a V-shaped mouse into a flat laser presenter with just a simple twist of a hinge. Up to 1600 DPI tracking promises accurate mouse movement, and the four-button device weighs in at just 0.14 lbs (63 g).

Lenovo has introduced a new device to its Smart Home family: The Lenovo Smart Clock. According to the Chinese manufacturer, the Smart Clock can learn the sleeping habits of users and comes with Google Assistant, so it should offer quite a lot more features than just telling the time and waking you up in the morning.

The last Windows Phone keeps getting cheaper. Wileyfox has reduced its Wileyfox Pro to a bargain price of £59.99, which is a massive drop from its initial pricing of £199.99 when it first launched.

Mophie has launched new Powerstation PD and Powerstation PD XL battery packs that will fast charge both supported iPhone and Android smartphones. Compared with the standard 5W charger that Apple ships with its iPhones, the Mophie Powerstation battery packs will charge an iPhone 2.5 times faster.

2018 has come and gone and with it the promise of an Apple-made wireless charging pad. Announced back at the 2017 iPhone X event, Apple's AirPower wireless charging mat is still MIA. At that event, Apple promised a 2018 release. However, the company has silently removed all references of AirPower from its website and hasn't said a word about the product since its 2017 announcement.

Samsung has already announced the Galaxy Home smart speaker, and it appears the South Korean tech giant could already be working on another device in the new series. The Galaxy Home is expected to be a premium-level device, but in a market saturated with budget-accessible speakers, it seems Samsung has taken note and is preparing a “mini” version of its upcoming smart speaker.

The Zanco smart pen is a stylus with (nearly) all the features of a smartphone crammed into it. It has physical buttons, a click-pad, front and rear cameras and even a teeny tiny screen. It is intended as a smartphone replacement or companion (much like the Palm phone) and can also function as a Bluetooth remote for screens for purposes such as presentation. So far, it has raised just over US$50,000 on Kickstarter.

Microsoft has been fitting out its London flagship store for several months now, and it does not look like the store is close to opening. The store will remain under construction until at least the end of April 2019, according to planning notices recently placed around the storefront.

In 2014, ZeniMax sued Oculus VR on allegations that CEO Palmer Lucky had stolen technology that made the Oculus Rift VR headset possible, and it became a 4 year long battle between ZeniMax and Facebook once the latter bought Oculus VR. Finally, the suit has been privately settled for some amount of cash.

Get your NES and SNES Classic Edition consoles while you can. Reggie Fils-Aimé, Nintendo of America President and COO, has announced that the company has stopped manufacturing both Classic Edition consoles. Fils-Aimé confirmed that the consoles will be available this holiday season in the Americas, but that Nintendo will not be producing anymore once they go out of stock.

Google has filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) that depicts motion sensors built into a smartwatch. They expand the wearable's range of user interface feedback to the device's immediate surroundings. In practice, this means the watch can turn part of the user's arm into a 'mousepad' to select letters while typing and for other similar actions.

Foldable phones will surely be one of next year's highlights for revolutionary tech. Most of the big names have already scheduled showcasing events for their foldable phones. Samsung and LG will present their models at CES in January, while Chinese manufacturers like Huawei and, more recently, Oppo are expected to reveal their handsets at MWC 2019 in February.

Fresh details about Microsoft's first store in the UK have emerged online. Published on the City of Westminster's planning portal, Microsoft has confirmed the size of its London store's retail floor space and offered more details about its layout.

Antlion Audio claims that its ModMic Wireless attachment adds mic capabilities to any kind of headphone. It has the aptX low-energy Bluetooth codec, 16-bit 48khz audio and a USB type A receiver. The ModMic Wireless also has a patented clasp to stay attached to its headphone cup.

The Gameband, formerly known as the Atari Gameband, looked like a promising gaming-focused smartwatch during its successful Kickstarter campaign last year. Despite raising a total of $500,000 between Kickstarter backers and other investors, the Gameband has officially been killed. Worst of all, backers may never receive a refund

The $25 Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ is the latest single-board computer from the venerable Raspberry Pi Foundation. The Model A+ boasts the same CPU and wireless connectivity as its bigger brother, the Model B+, but shaves off some I/O for the sake of thinness. Notably missing are three out of four USB ports and the Ethernet jack.

Google Glass was the search giant's first attempt at smart glasses, and could clip onto transparent spectacles to deliver info and shots from its camera via an eyeball-level LED. It was not a popular release, not least because of its ultra-high price tag. Nevertheless, Google is developing second-gen Glass, which is to target corporations rather than consumers.

11.11 was a major sales event for Chinese and international e-sellers that took place (accordingly enough) on November 11. Xiaomi has reportedly had a marked success for the day, making US$747 million by the end of the promotional period. It was also the most popular brand in various price brackets.

The Nintendo Switch finally got a YouTube app yesterday, bringing the world's most popular video streaming service to the console. However, Netflix and Amazon are still absent. The lack of video streaming services on the console is becoming a sticking point for some, especially considering that the Nintendo Wii, which is 12 years old, offers Netflix, Hulu, Amazon video, and YouTube.

At the Samsung Developer Conference 2018 (SDC 2018), Samsung showed off their first working foldable display smartphone. The actual details about the device itself was kept under wraps but Samsung is calling this display 'Infinity Flex'. Samsung said that this foldable AMOLED display is designed to be folded hundreds of thousands of times and is also making an emulator SDK along with guidelines available for developers for testing their apps. Some of the specifications of the foldable display are also now available.

DJI is putting a number of its drones, including the Mavic Air and Spark, on sale for the Black Friday season. This sale also includes the Osmo 2 Mobile and Racing Edition Goggles. This promotion is starting later this month.

The full games list for Sony's upcoming PlayStation Classic has been released. While several classics like Resident Evil, Final Fantasy VII, and Metal Gear Solid will be available, there are a few curious omissions. The full games list is enumerated below.

A report published by Microsoft Research has described an Integrated Display Cover for use in conjunction with a regular smartphone. The Display Cover would offer users an additional e-ink display for viewing information, thus increasing the amount of screen real estate available. Concept images of the cover were shared on Twitter.

Anker's Nebula Capsule is a 720p portable cinema projector that could put your streamed or saved movies on any flat surface. Now, the company is back with the Nebula Capsule II. This Android-powered projector has raised just about US$650,000 on Kickstarter so far.

Lyft, the second most popular ride-sharing business, announced its first acquisition centered around autonomous cars. The company will purchase Blue Vision Labs, an AR startup, for US $72 million (with an additional $30 million option). This marks Lyft's first major push into self-driving cars, a space currently ruled by juggernauts Uber, Tesla, GM, and Ford.

A week before the official unveiling of the Nubia X anniversary flagship, the Chinese company posted an infographic describing eight key features that recommend the upcoming model over the competition. Apart from the front and rear displays, the Nubia X will be featuring a flexible OLEDs, no selfie cam on the front (no notch), wireless charging, gaming-friendly specs and more.

Misfit, the American wearables manufacturer, has unveiled official details about the upcoming Vapor 2 smartwatch. The wearable will come in two different sizes and feature a phone-free music player, a standalone GPS, and it will have a built-in heart-rate sensor. This useful device is currently advertised at a starting price of US$249.99.

Amazon has revealed the full details of the all-new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, which offers IPX8-rated waterproof protection. According to the promotional text for the device, it can manage up to 60 minutes of being submerged in fresh water no deeper than two meters. The e-reader is also thinner, lighter, and the base variant comes with twice the storage of its predecessor.

While the C64 Mini has been widely available in Europe for some time, the U.S. has missed out on the console's retro computing goodness until today. The C64 Mini is now available Stateside for US$80 through Amazon, Walmart, and GameStop.

It has been reported that Essential’s next smartphone-related product may be saturated with enough AI technology to enable users to have a full-fledged virtual assistant in their pockets. Apparently, there is a prototype in the works, and it could even see the light of day at the 2019 CES event in January. It's unlikely it will be a successor to the Essential Phone PH-1 though.

Panos Panay opened up on why the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2 lack a USB Type-C port while the Surface Studio 2, Surface Go, and even the Surface Headphones have one such port. Panay insisted that USB Type-C will not be at the expense of the traditional USB Type-A port, which still is the connector of choice for most USB devices today. The Type-C connector will eventually make it into future devices but Microsoft is in no hurry to make it happen.

The Internet of Things (IoT) market is now estimated it will attain a value of just under US$1,500 billion by 2024. This is particularly impressive as it was worth $334 billion in 2016. A new report attributes this potential growth to the general demand for state-of-the-art technology.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K has just been announced. It may be able to deliver HDR10+, as well as Dolby Vision, in order to stream content. Amazon has also included object-based Dolby Atmos surround sound, for material that supports it. At just US$49, it may be a significant problem for the upcoming Chromecast update.

The Atrohaus Freewrite Traveler is a "distraction-fee" writing machine that can do one thing: type. As a dedicated writer, the 1.8 lb computer only supports document creation and file management. However, the Traveler can sync with online services like Dropbox and Google Drive, and thanks to its E-Ink display, the device should last about 12-14 hours on a single charge (4 weeks standby).

A Russian engineer claims to have invented an "exoskeleton" that allows the walker to walk up to 3 times their normal possible range. This device, the Kineticstep, reportedly augments or supports normal walking motions with specific engineering breakthroughs. It is mainly directed at people with walking difficulties or impairments.

A lucky Reddit user by the name of GroveStreeHomie was able to buy a (currently unannounced) third-generation Chromecast from his local Best Buy. The new device features a slightly tweaked design and might have some new features, such as Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the device is currently unusable as it requires an update to the Google Home app that isn't available yet.

Instead of battling it out at the very high-end smartphone market dominated by Samsung and Apple processors, MediaTek is taking a tangent into the world of voice activation. The move has paid off as the majority of voice activated products are powered by MediaTek SoCs with even more to come in the near future on everything from microwaves to cars.

Demoed at Lenovo's Tech World event, the foldable phone prototype seems to be very similar to what Samsung could be releasing in November. it has a hinge system in the middle of the display and several segments that facilitate the folding angle. the device is quite responsive, but Lenovo still has to rectify a few issues for the final versions.

It's 2018, so where's my flying car? Still pending a massive bank balance, apparently. On the other hand, the Transition, which may be the first aircraft also capable of being driven, still looks much more like a plane. The Chinese company behind it will release it for pre-sale in October - for up to US$400,000.

Harman has released the Spark, a product that it claims can make any car "connected". It may be able to convey LTE connectivity, monitoring for auto security and automatic crash assistance on a vehicle. The Spark is currently available through AT&T in the US.