Accessory

Viveport Infinity is a service that pulls together VR experiences from numerous different publishers for a single monthly fee. To this end, "Beyond the Wall", an HBO/Game of Thrones product, launches on this platform tomorrow (May 31, 2019). It may offer customers the opportunity to explore Westerosi vistas in a virtual manner.

LG's XBOOM series is often worth a look, as they can be high-powered speakers in relatively compact or portable form-factors. Its 2019 iterations are not exceptions to this rule. They range from entire sound-systems to smart speakers with inbuilt screens.

Bose has launched an all-new range of premium noise cancelling headphones. The first to hit the market is the new Headphones 700 that packs in 11 levels of noise cancellation.

Home security camera systems can be expensive. But where there is a Raspberry Pi, there is a way. All you need is a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a Raspberry Pi camera module, some free software and an enclosure that you can buy for as little as €5 (~US$5.57).

Some of the most recently-released LG ThinQ TVs have been advertized as Amazon Alexa-capable. However, customers in the US may have noticed that this apparent functionality was missing - until now. The OEM has announced that the smart assistant app on these devices should become active over the next few weeks.

Qualcomm is at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) to launch its new Snapdragon Smart Viewer Reference Design. It is a reference VR headset based on the XR1 Platform. This device has a DJI display, up-to-date controllers, interfaces and a Standalone Mode.

Asus is ready to ship laptops with liquid metal thermal paste and the initial results have us excited. The cooler temperatures will lead directly to quieter, lighter, or thinner laptop designs from future ROG laptops.

DJI has announced the Manifold 2, a line of tiny supercomputers that can be installed on certain drones from this manufacturer. These devices can upgrade the devices in quesiton into autonomic flying machines, or those that can be trained to recognize certain objects or use an AI.

Coral is a platform developed by Google to support and facilitate on-device AI. Asus has announced that it will use its system-on-module (SOM) on its new AI development kit and single-board computer (SBC). They will be called Tinker Edge T and the CR1S-CM-A respectively.

Asus has revealed its new ROG Strix XG17 portable monitor that has been specifically designed for gaming on the go. The 17.3-inch display offers a maximum refresh rate of 240 Hz and can be powered either through AC power in the wall or via its two USB Type-C ports. The XG17 is less than half-an-inch thick.

Much like Nvidia and its G-Sync technology, Intel will integrate its own adaptive sync technology to its upcoming Ice Lake Iris SKUs. The chipmaker says we can expect Ice Lake laptops with adaptive sync displays to be available within the next year. Such models would not require an Nvidia GPU.

The ZenScreen is a product that allows the user to take a monitor anywhere they might need to. This year, Asus has updated it with touch capability. This model is also just 9 millimeters deep, has micro-HDMI and Hybrid-Signal USB type C ports.

Asus has revealed a new motherboard as part of its celebrations of enjoying 30 years in business. The Prime X299 Edition 30 supports the LGA 2066 socket that is compatible with Skylake-X, Kaby Lake-X, and Skylake-W processors from Intel. This means the special edition motherboard from Asus can operate with up to 18-core CPUs.

The Sprint TREBL with Magic Box is a small cell solution that also integrates Amazon Alexa voice-assistance and Harman Kardon sound quality. This combination makes it unique in its product category. Perhaps this is how it has won the Small Cell Forum's Judges' Choice Award for this year.

GoPro has a history of allowing its customers to trade their existing cameras in for something off the cost of a new model of this brand. However, this offer has never been available in the European Union's (EU) member-states before. This has now changed: customers in these 28 countries can now "trade-up" their cameras for €100 (about US$112) off a Fusion or Hero7 Black's price.

The laptop webcam has become a critic's punchbag as of late, as its relationship with these devices' screens is changing, diminishing or in some cases disappearing altogether. This may put some OEMs off the development of thinner bezels in their entry-level machines. However, the new OV0VA10 SoC may help them in this regard.

The Chatterbox is a DIY smart speaker that even children can build. The device has a chipboard case and is built around a Raspberry Pi 3B. The speaker can be taught new commands using the Chatterbox app too. The Chatterbox is currently available for US$119 on Kickstarter and ships worldwide in December.

Scuf has launched its new Xbox One and PC Prestige game pad designed to take on Microsoft’s own customizable Elite controller. Not only can the buttons be remapped, the device also includes mappable paddles and other customizable options to give players a distinct edge over the competition.

ASUS is currently holding a "30 Years Together" event to celebrate 3 decades as a hardware and peripherals OEM. It involves competitions in which contestants can enter a PC-centric quiz or tell their own ASUS/ROG ownership story to gain points. The prizes to be won include laptops, cutting-edge graphics cards and accessories.

Casio has released the WSD-F30RG, its newest smartwatch from the PRO TREK line. It has an OLED display, but also has individual monochrome and color overlays. The OEM also asserts that it has an improved resolution for detailed legibility on its screen.

Who needs an Amazon Kindle when you can build one yourself? The Waveshare e-paper HAT comes in numerous display sizes ranging from 1.54-inches to 9.7-inches. The HAT communicates with a Raspberry Pi via SPI, UART or USB depending on the model and comes in a choice of two, three or four supported colours. The Waveshare e-paper HAT costs between US$15.99 and US$169.99 and ships worldwide.

A certification for what may be 2019 iPhones has allegedly surfaced on the Eurasian Economic Commission's database. The submission details a total of 11 different model numbers apparently associated with the Apple brand. They may represent different SKUs of the XR, XS and XS Max's successors.

Today (May 22, 2019), the carrier EE announced the launch of its 5G network in the UK, the first of its kind in this country. EE has also made some devices that are compatible with this network available. They include the OnePlus 7 Pro and the LG ThinQ V50.

Graphics card specialist Manli has not skimped on the hyperbole in unveiling the Superior Ultimate Editions of the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 2080 Gallardo desktop graphics cards. The triple cooler boards offer the power, performance, and pizzazz that any demanding gamer would require from a high-end ray-tracing capable graphics solution.

Google has announced the next generation Google Glass - called the Glass Enterprise 2. The improvements show the evolution of the device from the Original Glass through to the Glass Enterprise launched in 2017. Changes to the device improve its usability for firms while a reduced price looks set to expand its user base.

Thanks to the QNAP QNA-UC5G1T USB 3.0 to 5 GbE adapter, laptops without an Ethernet port can connect to wired networks at speeds of up to 5 Gbps via USB 3.0. However, this piece of hardware can also be used to add extra Ethernet ports to NAS devices. The QNA-UC5G1T should hit the US market by mid-June.

The Quest is Oculus' first all-in-one virtual reality (VR) headset. It is available for sale from today (May 21, 2019). It is also a truly wireless VR set, and uses the company's imaging and touch-sensor technology to deliver this. The Quest starts at US$399 for a model with 64GB of on-board memory.

The super-pricey style house Louis Vuitton has unveiled a new range called "Canvas of the Future". This, appropriately enough, means bags that incorporate flexible displays from the OEM Royole. These displays can make the side of the bag show nearly anything, and can also be controlled by the owner.

MediaTek will design AI-centric SoCs specifically for home security, screened devices, and voice-activated appliances. The goal is to get a head start in the fast-growing smart home market where big competitors like Intel, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Huawei have yet to focus on.

OPPO has confirmed that the upcoming K3 smartphone will be launched on May 23, 2019. This new mid-range device will apparently be equipped with VOOC 3.0, with a fresh range of accessories to match. They are said to include power banks with the same technology.

The manufacturer is claiming to have the world's first ever M.2 SSD with RGB lights and a modular heatsink to prevent performance throttling. SKUs range from 256 GB up to 2 TB with prices starting at $80 USD.

The Jetson Nano Developer Kit is one mighty single-board computer (SBC). The device can churn out up to 472 GFLOPS of performance, despite its compact form factor, thanks to its quad-core CPU and 128 CUDA core GPU performance. The Developer Kit definitely gives other SBCs like the Raspberry Pi a run for their money.

The Reolink Go is a possibly worthwhile innovation in the security-cam industry: it is a truly stand-alone product that does not require external power or cables of any sort. Therefore, it can be installed so as to surveil anything the user wants. However, its need for 4G connectivity could be a drawback in some circumstances.

Nikon announces a new firmware update for the mirrorless Z 7 and Z 6 full-frame cameras. It upgrades the products with eye-detection autofocus (AF) for still-image shooting. The update also enhances the cameras' low-light AF detection range, and adds an auto-exposure tracking capability to their 'burst' modes.

Today (May 17, 2019), Sprint has begun taking pre-orders for its first 5g devices. They are the LG V50 ThinQ and HTC's 5G hub. These products are only available in certain regional markets, however.

The ToyBrick RK3399 Pro is a developer board that is powered by an RK399Pro SoC, which integrates an ARM Mali-T860MP4 GPU and an RK1808 NPU that can achieve up to 3.0 TOPS. The board can dual-boot Android and Linux out of the box and comes with up to 6 GB RAM and 32 GB of eMMC flash storage.

An interesting new custom kit has been discovered that can turn a simple-looking Raspberry Pi board into a handheld gaming console with keyboard and game controls. The Hyper Keyboard Pi is currently being sold for ¥6,980 (~US$64), although users will have to purchase the rest of the key components separately.

The TinyPICO ESP32 development board has been making some waves at the Crowd Supply website. The developer of the board set a very realistic goal of US$100, although the little product has proved to be a very popular project to back. The current total stands at US$19,156 for a development board that measures just 18 mm x 32 mm.

A flaw discovered in Google's Bluetooth Low Energy Titan Security Keys leaves a hole open for potential attackers. Under certain circumstances and with proper timing, an attacker could potentially hijack the Bluetooth pairing process used by the Titan to log into a user's account. Google has offered to replace affected Titan Security Keys free of charge.

The OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro were recently released alongside some new features for their Android skin, OxygenOS. They include new camera modes, including a second-generation NightScape for low-light shots. However, the OEM has indicated that older flagships may not be in line for the same.

According to a new report, the virtual reality (VR) gaming market will grow from its most recent US$10.3 billion valuation to one of $40.2 billion in 2024. This is likely to be driven by advancements in VR equipment design and function. However, the cost of the same is also thought to be what is holding this market back at present.

Some renders of Xiaomi’s Mi Band 4 fitness tracker have been leaked online. The wearable now appears to have a color screen, which will be a new feature in the Mi Band series. It looks slightly refined in comparison to its predecessor, and it is expected to be released within the next few months.

Biostar has announced the 300 and 400-series motherboards that will offer compatibility with AMD’s upcoming range of Ryzen 3000 desktop processors. There are models from the A320, B350, B450, and X470 lineups that will be able to welcome the 3rd Gen chips. A promo image has also shown off the “AMD Ryzen 3000 Desktop Ready” logo.

Xiaomi India’s managing director, Manu Kumar Jain, has announced a new initiative by the OEM: a vending machine for its devices and accessories. It is located in Manyata Technological Park, Bengaluru. The innovative "Mi Express Kiosk" accepts a wide range of payment types to dispense phones, power banks and more.

The RPI Relay Board allows the Raspberry Pi to control high current and voltage devices like home appliances. The expansion board supports up to 5A/250V AC or 5A/30V DC and comes with extensive development resources such as sample programs written in BCM2835, python, shell, WebIOPi and WiringPi. The RPI Relay Board is available worldwide for US$18.99.

Earphones and headphone sales drive a healthy market in the United States. The market analysis firm ReportBuyer estimates that it will grow at a compound rate of over 12% until it is worth approximately US$9 billion in 2024. The products in question are mostly used in fitness, entertainment and gaming pursuits.

Google has unveiled its latest Nest product at I/O 2019. It is called the Nest Hub Max: a possibly more extensive, useful and powerful version of the Google Home Hub released earlier. It will retail for US$229, or its regional equivalent.

Samsung’s Galaxy Home smart speaker has missed its April launch date. The company, however, says that the device will still ship in the first half of the year but hasn’t offered any explanation for the delay.

A new entry into the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may show where Samsung may think foldable displays and their use in the future are headed. It depicts an electronic product that can lay flat, but can also be folded...into a 3D rectangle. This "display device", therefore, may be a new kind of convertible, although it does not really seem that portable.