Gadget

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.

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.