Gadget

Back in 2009, Alienware opened up the gates of its first retail store in the US. In the meantime, the brand's network of brick-and-mortar locations expanded all over the world and even got to China. Now, the time has come for a new Alienware flagship store and Frank Azor is flying there for the grand opening.

Smart home technology has definitely caught on by now, with many people automating or controlling their living spaces with new products designed to be integrated into them. A new market research report suggests that the market built up around this trend is worth billions now and will be worth even more in the future.

Canon has released the PowerShot SX70 HS compact camera. This new, 4K point-and-shoot has a 20.3MP sensor, an optical zoom of up to 65x and extensive image stabilisation. It also has an electronic viewfinder, which is an OLED panel made up of 2.36 million dots. It is also compatible with RAW recording.

aibo, Sony's robot in the shape of a puppy, is available from today (September 18, 2018) for purchase in the US. This event is being dubbed the "First Litter" release of the mechanical pets. Sony claims that aibo can learn to recognize up to 100 faces and develops a unique personality based on how it is treated.

The Nintendo Switch has been one of Nintendo's most successful consoles in history. While Nintendo has historically struggled with third party appeal, the Switch seems to have overcome its predecessors' struggles to date has received some of the most popular third party titles. With this most recent Direct, the Switch continues to garner third party games and ports, as well as first party titles.

A hands-on image of the upcoming Apple Watch Series 4 has leaked showing a slightly larger edge-to-edge display with rounded corners. The resolution of this display is expected to be around 384 x 480 pixels, which allows for a higher information density than the Watch Series 3.

While Samsung, LG and Motorola are planning to release foldable phones next year, Chinese companies like Nubia are pushing for late 2018 releases. Even if it's not a full-fledged foldable phone, the Nubia Alpha bracelet concept showcases an interesting take on flexible displays. Specific details on hardware specs are not yet available, but the Nubia Alpha should launch in Q4 this year.

Polaroid has updated the instant camera for the 21st century in the past. Now, it is continuing in this vein with the new Mint digital camera/printer combo device. For those not in need of a camera, Polaroid also now offers the Mint compact digital photo printer.

DJI has finally released its long-awaited update to the Mavic Pro aerial drone. The device now has not one but two successors. The Mavic 2 Zoom has some advanced optics and videography tricks, whereas the 2 Pro features a Hasselblad camera. Both may offer improved flight times and anti-collision sensors.

An iPad exploded in the Apple Store in Amsterdam on Sunday possibly due to an overheated battery. Luckily no one was injured but some of the staff are being treated in a local hospital for respiratory complications.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple's next trillion dollars could come from its services business, AR glass, and Apple Car. The Apple Car is expected to launch sometime between 2023 to 2025 and will be positioned as the 'next star product'. While the idea of an Apple-branded vehicle was shelved sometime ago, some of the recent hirings of the company might mean Apple is indeed reconsidering getting into the automobile industry.

Samsung has introduced the Galaxy Tab S4, which is aims to satisfy those who swear by Android tablets for personal and professional use. The Galaxy Tab S4 comes with the S-Pen, Snapdragon 835 SoC, and DeX support. The asking price of US$650 gets you the S-Pen but doesn't include the Book Cover Keyboard.

First announced in 2014, the crowdfunded Dragonbox Pyra handheld mini PC is finally close to commercial release. The German developers released the final specs, which now include a 5-inch 720p screen, a TI OMAP 5 dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU, 2 or 4 GB RAM and 32 GB eMMC storage. What sets apart this model is the ability to upgrade each hardware component.

If reports are to go by, the upcoming 12.9-inch and 10.5-inch Apple iPad Pros are all set to go almost bezel-less. These iPad Pros will also be getting the Face ID feature and in all likelihood, will be ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack.

The first foldable phone from Samsung will most likely be named Galaxy X, and Wall Street Journal informs that it is supposed to be launched in early 2019 with a flexible 7-inch display that can be folded like a wallet. It can either hide the display completely or split the main display into two smaller screens.

A German engineering student has designed a 'mobile airbag' case that protects your phone by detecting when it has been dropped and deploying springs to cushion the fall. The prototype has won a national mechatronics award in Germany, and the product will be launched in Kickstarter later this month.

Even though it is not the foldable phone everyone is waiting for, Nubia's Z18S still comes with a dual-display setup. The front screen has no notch or selfie cam, so the bezels are as thin as they can get. The secondary screen is placed on the back, under the camera setup and it can be used to display, notifications, widgets or headlines.

Even though the ROG Phone is not yet available for purchase, Asus fans are already coming up with interesting design ideas for the 2.0 version of the device. Concept creator's design includes a slimmer metallic case, red accents on the back, streamlined air vents, a repositioned dual rear camera setup, plus a sliding area housing a selfie cam, which allows for a truly bezel-less screen.

In an almost offhand post on their Japanese website, camera manufacturer Canon announced that they have "finally decided" to end sales for their last film-only SLR camera, the EOS-1v. The company will still offer repairs on any existing EOS-1v cameras until October 31, 2025, as parts availability allows.

The innovative stacked display design developed by Mobvoi for the upcoming TicWatch Pro should provide a substantial battery life boost. While in standard mode, the battery may last around 2 days, but there is also an Essential mode that completely disconnects the OLED screen and turns off the Wear OS, leaving only the black/white LCD active.

A press release from a strategy consulting firm has stated that voice-based shopping will enjoy incredible growth over the next four years, hitting a total of more than US$40 billion in sales across the US and UK by 2022. The market forecast, issued by OC&C, highlights how the increasing adoption of smart speakers in millions of homes will help drive growth.

The question “What is Fire TV Cube?” has been posted on a splash page on the Amazon website. Amazon Fire TV is a digital media player and microconsole created by the Seattle-based online shopping giant. Rumors of a cube-shaped device appeared before Amazon released the third-generation “pendant-style” Fire TV, and now it seems the Fire TV Cube is soon going to be a reality.

Vesta is a more advanced Alexa that can go about houses thanks to advanced cameras and computer vision systems that are currently featured in self-driving cars. Additionally, the domestic robot could come with a pair of robotic arms so it may be able to carry things around the house. The appearance may be humanoid in order to instill a sense of friendliness.

According to a report, Intel is planning on closing down its New Devices Group. This particular division of the chip-making giant was involved in developing wearable projects. One of these projects was called “Superlight” but was better known to the outside world as the Vaunt smart glasses. It seems the state of the smart-glasses market prompted Intel’s withdrawal.