Gadget

A start-up called Nebra has included its AnyBeam portable projector as a reward on its current Kickstarted campaign. It claims that, as this product uses lasers rather than bulbs, it avoids many of the drawbacks of other similar projectors. This new product comes either in a housing or as a Raspberry Pi-mountable module.

The Sega Genesis Mini (Mega Drive Mini) has finally received an official launch date: September 19. The Mini console has been in the works for some time but apparently got stuck in development as Sega changed its plans in regard to production and global availability. It will cost US$79.99/£69.99/€79.99/ AU$139.95.

AAEON has added a new single-board computer (SBC) to the UP product family: the UP Xtreme. As is befitting the hyperbolic name, the board can operate with a CPU from Intel’s 8th Generation Whiskey Lake series. The board also has the UHD 620 iGPU solution at its disposal and can be fitted with up to 16 GB RAM.

It might not be that surprising to learn that Nvidia is willing to enter the AI-powered smart home device market, since the company already has a division focused on self-driving car technologies. However, Project R.O.N. is also set to combine AI-powered assistance with some sort of holographic projection, and this combination could make Nvidia's device stand out from other solutions like Google's Home and Amazon Alexa.

The new golf watch from Garmin features a 1.2-inch touchscreen, a GPS tracker along with golfing features like AutoShot and Green View with which you can manually position your pin and check distances or obstacles.

UDOO recently ran a campaign on Kickstarter for the UDOO BOLT single-board computer, and the developers of the device managed to secure US$635,769 in crowd-sourced funding. It’s likely many investors were attracted by the claim that the BOLT is “almost twice as fast as the MacBook Pro 13”. The Ryzen-powered board should start shipping by the end of the month.

Apple subsidiary Beats will be launching its first pair of truly wireless earphones imminently. The discovery of the name PowerBeats Pro and black and white versions was uncovered by 9to5 Mac in the code for iOS 12.2 which went live today.

Although it will retail for more than twice its price, the Samsung Galaxy Fold seems to be slower than the Galaxy S10e. According to an alleged Geekbench entry — that has already been removed from the benchmark database — Samsung's foldable is also slower than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855-powered Royole FlexPai.

Amazon debuted a new version of their entry-level Kindle eReader with four front lights. The new eReader is the cheapest electronic book with a light, coming in at $90. This is $10 more than the previous base-level Kindle. Other than the front lights, not much has changed from earlier Kindles.

Nvidia has launched the Jetson Nano, a small computer that offers machine-learning capabilities at an entry-level price. The developer kit costs US$99 while a production-ready module will cost US$129. The Jetson Nano module offers 472 GFLOPS of computing performance in a 69.6 mm x 45 mm package. Worldwide distribution for the module version will begin in June; the developer kit is available now.

Developer boards now allow end users to realise complex circuits in the smallest of spaces, but Itaca Innovations is taking space-saving to the next level with the uChip, which is just 28.5 x 10.6 mm. The Arduino Zero compatible board is no bigger than a large coin and is currently being funded on crowdfunding website Kickstarter. ITACA estimates to ship the uChip from June this year for early-bird backers.

The Galaxy Fold has showed that Samsung is more interested in inwards-folding devices for now, but the company is clearly open to exploring the outwards-folding side, as shown by a recently unveiled clamshell phone patent. Additionally, it looks like Samsung already has an improved hinge that allows the two halves to flatten on the fold.

Huawei looks to be the latest wearable maker to give Google’s WearOS a miss in favor of an in-house alternative. According to Winfuture, the next Huawei GT watches will run the company’s LiteOS as it looks to differentiate itself from its competition.

The popular case-maker Spigen is collaborating with Ossia, a true-wireless charging pioneer, to bring a phone case that integrates the necessary Cota technology to market. The two groups have brought renders of this product (which comprises a 'phone sleeve' and a transceiver) to this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC19).

Until now, the popular single-board computer has been specifically optimised for the Internet of Things version of Windows 10. However, there is now a tool that allows the installation of the full version of the OS on the Raspberry Pi 3. It is not all smooth sailing though.

Compact single-board computers can deliver excellent performance and fast file transfers. A new expansion board for the NanoPi M4 should allow it to be realised as network-attached storage (NAS).

The Raspberry Pi Foundation opened its first shop earlier this month, at the Grand Arcade shopping center in Cambridge, England. The move to a brick-and-mortar presence for the previously online-only Raspberry Pi gives enthusiasts a chance to physically browse through the products the charity has been working on, including the Pi 3A+ and Pi 3B+.

Hardkernel has announced its latest single-board computer, the ODROID-N2. The device is equipped with a hexa-core SoC and up to 4 GB DDR4 RAM, which should deliver considerably more performance than the Raspberry Pi while remaining affordable. There is 384 KHz/32-bit stereo DAC onboard too.

The next version of the popular single-board computers will be manufactured on a more advanced FinFET process, but it won't be any smaller, according to the CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The Pi 4 will still cost US$35 though.

Despite its critical and commercial failure, the PlayStation Classic may be an attractive retro gaming device, especially given Walmart's latest price cut. The PlayStation Classic can be found at Walmart for a mere $40, 60% less than its original retail price. Additionally, those willing to hack or modify their PlayStation Classic may find the mini-console to be a suitable emulation box.

2019 could be the year when the Smach Z handheld Windows gaming device finally becomes reality. Smach is still trying to hype things up, as it recently updated the official site with new prices and specs, plus it added a few videos showing various gaming sessions. There is no specific 2019 launch date mentioned, so delays may still occur.

The MXCHIP EMW3060 is a small Wi-Fi board that integrates an ARM processor, which can help developers deliver small IoT projects affordably. The EMW3060 may have less flexibility than its Arduino alternatives though.

The Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday in the US, and all authorities from the FBI to the FAA have prepared themselves for disruptions and threats from drone pilots. No-fly zones have been set up, and new radar technology and drone interceptors will monitor the stadium.

Samsung has been pushing for foldable devices in the past year, but it looks like the company is also considering the gaming handheld market. This latest patent is consistent with what was revealed about the Flex display in late 2018. What is interesting about this patent is the lower edge of the device that folds upwards to reveal gaming buttons like a directional pad and six buttons.

The double-folding device looks to be in the prototype phase, as the folding creases are still visible. In its default state, the screen seems to have a 3:2 ratio, while the folded state shrinks down to a 2:1 ratio. What really impresses is the responsiveness of the Android interface that immediately snaps into the new ratio as the phone enters in the folded state.

The latest teaser video released by Vivo shows off the slick metallic back of the Vivo 2019 smartphone, which does not appear to feature any rear cams or buttons and ports on the edges. To top things off, Ben Geskin obtained exclusives design info from Vivo and put together a render depicting the back as well as the front of the handheld.

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.