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The new Amazon Echo Show features a large 10-inch display. (Source: Amazon)

Amazon launches a slew of new Alexa-powered products

Amazon has released a stunning array of new Alexa-powered devices that spans traditional products like its Echo range, through to a new car product and even an Alexa-enabled microwave oven. The new devices highlight the increasing...

Sanjiv Sathiah, 21 Sep 2018 12:24

Apple's Homepod had a mere 6% share of the smart speaker market in June, according to CIRP

Apple's Homepod has so far been a flop, only managing to capture 6% of the smart speaker market as of June 2018. The picture is even more bleak among Apple's own consumers; of Apple users that own a smart speaker, only 2% have pur...

Sam Medley, 19 Sep 2018 06:37

Amazon Alexa Echo Show, more Alexa-branded devices coming in 2018

Amazon Alexa microwave, receiver, subwoofer, amplifier, and in-car solution coming by the end of 2018

Amazon Alexa fans should get ready to celebrate before the end of the month because the tech giant will soon unveil a few new devices. By the end of the year, the list of new Alexa-driven devices by Amazon should include an in-car...

Codrut Nistor, 18 Sep 2018 20:17

OnePlus 6 Android flagship, OnePlus TV coming in 2019

OnePlus TV coming next year, AI assistant in tow

As the first step in its new quest of "building a connected human experience," OnePlus is planning to launch its first TV set next year. The OnePlus TV will come with a premium design, focusing on providing the best audio/video ex...

Codrut Nistor, 17 Sep 2018 10:52

Verizon 5G Home coming October 1 (Source: Verizon)

Verizon 5G Home service coming next month

Although coverage will need time to improve, Verizon will launch its 5G Home internet service on October 1 in Houston, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Indianapolis. Current customers will get it for US$50 a month and non-customers wi...

Codrut Nistor, 12 Sep 2018 20:22

Samsung SmartThings Tracker and SmartThings app (Source: Samsung US Newsroom)

Samsung unveils the SmartThings Tracker GPS tracking device

The new Samsung SmartThings Tracker GPS tracking device connects through an LTE-M network to allows its users to track the objects, animals, or even kids that it gets attached to. The first carrier to bring it to the US is AT&T, w...

Codrut Nistor, 11 Sep 2018 18:45

NetSpeed Systems team is now a part of Intel's Silicon Engineering Group (Source: Intel Newsroom)

Intel acquires NetSpeed Systems to speed up SoC development

San Jose-based NetSpeed Systems, a company which provides SoC design tools and interconnect fabric IP, has just joined Intel. NetSpeed's team is now part of Intel’s Silicon Engineering Group, but those who would like to know all t...

Codrut Nistor, 11 Sep 2018 10:45

devolo claim that their new line of Powerline-enabled Magic mesh adapters will speed up your home WiFi. (Source: devolo.co.uk)

IFA 2018 | devolo's new Magic line combines mesh WiFi and Powerline

devolo's new home networking solution, Magic, is a form of mesh WiFi that also uses Powerline technology. It does so using next-generation G.hn chips and new, AC-adapter mesh points. devolo claims that this combination can drastic...

Deirdre O Donnell, 01 Sep 2018 16:32

The Citation 500 is Harman Kardon's latest smart speaker. (Source: Harman Kardon)

IFA 2018 | Harman Kardon set to launch super-expensive Google Assistant-powered speaker

Harman Kardon have a track record of smart speaker (powered by Alexa or Cortana) sales by now. The company's newest one is to be debuted at IFA 2018. This device, the Citation 500, has some things in common with the Google Home sp...

Deirdre O Donnell, 28 Aug 2018 20:29

Samsung Exynos i S111 chip for IoT announced in late August 2018 (Source: Samsung Global Newsroom)

Samsung announces the Exynos i S111 narrowband IoT solution

The new Exynos i S111 is Samsung's latest narrowband solution for IoT applications that includes a modem, processor, memory, and Global Navigation Satellite System on the same chip. The Exynos i S111 comes as the successor of Sams...

Codrut Nistor, 23 Aug 2018 12:56

Siri, Apple's voice assistant, may be able to distinguish between user voices in the future. (Source: Sophos.com)

Recent Apple patent could allow Siri to recognize multiple different users

Apple has filed a patent that may contribute to the voice assistant Siri's functionality in the future. It may impart the ability to recognize different voices and attribute them to corresponding users on new versions of the softw...

Deirdre O Donnell, 21 Aug 2018 23:36

The Galaxy Watch was the second device presented at the 2018 Unpacked Event. (Source: Business Insider)

The Samsung Unpacked event also introduced the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Home

The event that provided the Galaxy Note 9 with its debut also introduced the Galaxy Watch, Samsung's new smartwatch. This device, like the latest Note, uses Bixby as a virtual assistant. The new Galaxy Home smart speaker also runs...

Deirdre O Donnell, 10 Aug 2018 12:53

You'll soon be able to make and receive calls on your HomePod. (Source: Slashgear)

Apple HomePod gets the ability to make phone calls and a bunch of new features with OS 12

The upcoming OS 12 update for the Apple HomePod is slated to bring a slew of new features to the smart speaker including the ability to make and receive calls when paired with an iPhone and set multiple timers. With the upcoming M...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 23 Jul 2018 14:50

Shuttle's new XPC barebone only comes with the motherboard, PSU and cooling system. (Source: Shuttle Europe)

Shuttle announces new compact XPC series supporting gen 8 desktop Intel CPUs

The XPC SH370R6 supports Coffee Lake CPUs up to i7-8700K with max 95 W TDP, plus there's enough room for up to 64 GB of DDR4-2666 RAM, 4 SATA bays and even a PCIe 3.0 16x slot for discrete GPUs. While it is not the most compact ba...

Bogdan Solca, 13 Jul 2018 21:17

The Google Pixel 2 XL is US$100 off for a limited time. (Source: Google)

Google Store offering Pixel XL 2 at US$100 discount, other devices on special too

Google is currently offering its Pixel 2 XL models at US$100 off their regular price. The sale also includes other products in its hardware lineup and runs until July 17 while stocks last.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 10 Jul 2018 10:53

Amazon Fire TV Cube is finally available for purchase

After a brief pre-ordering period, Amazon's Fire TV Cube can be acquired for a price of US$119.99 (the player alone) or US199.98 (Fire TV and Cloud Cam package). Later this year, this device should get support for sleep timers, Al...

Codrut Nistor, 21 Jun 2018 18:35

WWDC 2018 | WWDC 2018 Live Blog

Join us as we share our thoughts during Apple's WWDC 2018 developer conference.

Sam Medley and Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 04 Jun 2018 21:00

The Amazon smart-speaker family includes the Echo, Plus, Spot, Dot, and Show devices. (Source: PCMag)

Update | Amazon Echo device records and sends private conversation without permission

It has been reported that an Amazon Echo device recorded and then sent out a husband and wife’s private conversation without their permission. The Alexa-enabled smart speaker sent the audio file to a random contact who just happen...

Daniel R Deakin, 24 May 2018 23:30

Relay Starter Pack (Source: Relay by Republic)

Republic Wireless intros the Relay secure smartphone for kids

The Relay secure smartphone for kids by Republic Wireless is so secure that it does not feature a display. This accessory can be considered a basic phone with tracking capabilities for kids, as it features nationwide 4G LTE connec...

Codrut Nistor, 21 May 2018 13:14

Xiaomi coming to France on May 22

Promising to bring a "new attitude" to Europe, Xiaomi is ready to enter the French market. The Chinese brand will open its first Mi Store in Paris on May 22, but more are expected to follow in other French cities over the coming m...

Codrut Nistor, 19 May 2018 08:08

The ZBOX CI329 features ZOTAC's signature honeycomb fanless design for improved passive cooling. (Source: Zotac)

ZOTAC's ZBOX CI329 quad-core Gemini Lake fanless mini PCs launched

The ZBOX CI329 Nano from ZOTAC is powered by Intel's Celeron N4110 CPU that integrates a UHD Graphics 600 GPU, which allows it to handle 4K resolutions and H.264/265 decoding. Thanks to the low 6.5 W TDP CPU, the mini PC does not ...

Bogdan Solca, 18 May 2018 20:47

According to the report, the global smart speaker market has enjoyed a year-over-year growth of 278%. (Source: BBC)

Amazon and Google dominate global smart speaker market

A new quarterly research report has been released that shows Amazon and Google currently leading the pack in terms of global smart speaker shipments and market share. However, although Amazon has shipped twice as many units in Q1 ...

Daniel R Deakin, 18 May 2018 03:08

Samsung Bixby-powered smart home ecosystem (Source: Samsung Newsroom)

Samsung Bixby coming to ovens and robot cleaners this year

Already available in smartphones, TVs, air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators, the Samsung Bixby virtual assistant will also be added to the company's robot cleaners and ovens by the end of this year. Samsung remain...

Codrut Nistor, 17 May 2018 14:26

HTC headquarters, Hsintien, Taiwan. (Source: News4Europe)

HTC's trip down the spiral continues as company records 55% drop in revenue

HTC's latest revenue figures show the company falling deeper into a pit of bad sales numbers. Revenue for April spelled a 55% year-on-year decline, which is impressive considering how bad 2017 already was for the company—sales-wis...

Ricci Rox, 11 May 2018 01:29

An estimated 39 million Americans have a smart speaker in their home. (Source: TechHive)

Voice shopping could be worth US$40 billion by 2022

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 mark...

Daniel R Deakin, 10 May 2018 23:39

John Legend coming to Google Assistant later this year, six new voices already available

Thanks to the recent introduction of six new voice choices, Google Assistant now features a total of eight such options — four female and four male voices. Even more, Sundar Pichai has confirmed at Google I/O that John Legend's vo...

Codrut Nistor, 10 May 2018 14:20

Assets loaded on the card can be verified via smartphone through a validation app. (Source: Tangem)

Bitcoin gets physical

A Swiss technology company has started rolling out smart banknotes called Tangem Notes that offer a physical presence for cryptocurrencies. The "banknotes," which are actually plastic cards, have been launched for sale in a large ...

Daniel R Deakin, 04 May 2018 20:52

Facebook's smart speakers coming in October

The recent Cambridge Analytica scandal forced Facebook to delay the launch of its first smart speakers, which are now scheduled to arrive in October, loaded with the Facebook M artificial intelligence software solution. These smar...

Codrut Nistor, 02 May 2018 22:50

Amazon's total revenue for 2017 was US$177.86 billion. (Source: Phys.org)

Amazon, Intel, and Microsoft post impressive quarterly results

Amazon, Intel, and Microsoft have all published quarterly financial reports showing better than expected results. Microsoft revealed revenue of US$26.8 billion while fellow tech giant Intel managed revenue of US$16.1 billion for t...

Daniel R Deakin, 26 Apr 2018 23:46

Fire TV devices were developed by Amazon and manufactured by Foxconn. (Source: Amazon)

Amazon's Fire TV Cube is coming soon

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 dev...

Daniel R Deakin, 25 Apr 2018 03:40

The Vaunt smart glasses could deliver simple messages or display route directions. (Source: Liliputing)

Intel's vaunted smart glasses facing the axe

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 ...

Daniel R Deakin, 19 Apr 2018 09:44

In-house Facebook chips could be used in future Oculus Go headsets that currently use a Qualcomm SoC. (Source: ABC)

Facebook expected to start making its own processors

A report from Bloomberg has stated that Facebook is creating a chip-making team. Job listings have appeared on the social-networking site’s careers section that seem to point toward this eventuality. Other tech giants, such as App...

Daniel R Deakin, 19 Apr 2018 03:45

Pre-orders for the Apple HomePod were apparently strong, but sales of the device have been slow. (Source: Apple)

Apple has reportedly reduced HomePod production

A report from Bloomberg has stated that Apple has had to cut manufacturing orders with Inventec in regard to the HomePod. Apparently, the smart speaker has not been selling in huge numbers and Apple workers have commented that sto...

Daniel R Deakin, 12 Apr 2018 08:53

The CL200 wallet-sized mini PCs are specifically designed for IoT workloads. (Source: Logic Supply)

Fanless wallet-sized mini PCs revealed by Logic Supply

The CL200-series ultra-compact form-factor PCs measure only 3.26 x 4.56 x 1.33 inches and have a fanless case due to the 6 W TDP Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core/dual-thread SoC powering the systems. The entry-level CL200 comes with ...

Bogdan Solca, 23 Mar 2018 14:01

Samsung's new ambient mode provides a reason to leave your TV switched on

This week Samsung was showcasing their 2018 Smart TV lineup including a new ambient mode that displays relevant information, models with local lighting zones to improve dark and light parts of a scene, specialised power and data c...

Craig Ward, 11 Mar 2018 22:34

Amazon has stated "we're aware of this and working to fix it." (Source: TheINQUIRER)

Unexplained Alexa laughter is freaking people out

Apparently, some Alexa-enabled devices have started laughing in a disturbing manner at their owners. There have been reports made of unrequested creepy chortles issuing from smart speakers and Amazon devices by a number of users, ...

Daniel R Deakin, 07 Mar 2018 21:23

Rumor: Amazon acquires video doorbell maker Ring for US$1 billion

According to Reuters, Amazon has acquired the smart video doorbell maker Ring for more than US$ 1 billion. The current Ring doorbells can integrate with Amazon Alexa and it's likely that the company wants to expand in the home sec...

Jonathan Maes, 28 Feb 2018 11:44

Archos has presented 'Hello', a portable smart display running Google Assistant in two different sizes. (Source: Archos)

Archos presents 'Hello' portable smart home display with Google Assistant

Archos has presented Archos Hello, the company's first smart home device. Hello is a smart display with a built-in battery for optional portable use. The device runs on Android Oreo with Google Assistant and will come in two diffe...

Jonathan Maes, 24 Feb 2018 01:20

Amazon Echo Show smart speaker with touchscreen

Facebook Aloha and Fiona smart speakers could launch in July

Facebook's upcoming smart speakers are expected to arrive in July, reveal insiders familiar with the matter. Sporting 15-inch touchscreen displays, they are also supposed to provide video chat and social features.

Codrut Nistor, 20 Feb 2018 20:05

Google will acquire IoT platform Xively for $50 million. (Source: Google)

Google acquires Internet of Things platform Xively for US$50 million

Google has announced that it intends to acquire the Internet of Things platform Xively in order to expand its own Cloud IoT Core infrastructure. Google will pay US$50 million for the takeover.

Jonathan Maes, 16 Feb 2018 13:44

Google has announced to support more locales and languages for Google Assistant in 2018. (Source: Elger van der Wel)

Google Assistant will support 17 new languages in 2018

Google is planning on bringing its Google Assistant service to a large number of new countries and the voice assistant will also support multiple new languages in 2018. The company has announced this during a presentation at the D...

Jonathan Maes, 15 Feb 2018 15:37

The new MIT AI chip is bringing power efficient neural-net processing to mobile and IoT devices. (Source: MIT)

MIT reveals superefficient AI chips for smartphones

Researchers at MIT managed to simplify and adapt the intricate algorithms required by large neural-nets in order to be ran on mobile devices and smart home appliances.

Bogdan Solca, 15 Feb 2018 13:03

Bixby is going to be in every Samsung product by 2020. (Source: Samsung)

Samsung bringing Bixby voice assistant to TVs, white goods, to boost AI efforts

Samsung is looking to expand its Bixby voice assistant platform across all of its consumer products, including white good, by 2020. The move is aimed at increasing its IoT footprint as well as its AI efforts.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 15 Feb 2018 07:22

Mi India Xiaomi Mi TV teaser still image (Source: @XiaomiIndia)

Xiaomi Mi TV apparently heading for India

While the Redmi Note 5 is headed for India and expected to arrive on February 14, it looks like the Mi TV is going to be introduced locally on the same day.

Codrut Nistor, 12 Feb 2018 21:15

Amazon Alexa was initially released in 2014. (Source: Digital Trends)

Amazon may be creating AI chips for Alexa

There are rumors that Amazon is in the process of developing new artificial intelligence chips to be used in hardware that features the company's virtual assistant, Alexa. The chips could help reduce response times by utilizing sp...

Daniel R Deakin, 12 Feb 2018 19:25

Sony XBR55X900F 4K Android smart TV with Google Assistant (Source: Amazon)

Sony smart TVs with Google Assistant coming soon

In addition to the X900F series that Sony unveiled at CES 2018, this iconic Japanese brand also announced the X850F series. Both feature Google Assistant support and have been listed already on Amazon at prices that range between ...

Codrut Nistor, 09 Feb 2018 09:30

The Nest thermostat shown alongside a Google Home speaker. (Source: Google)

Nest folded into Google's hardware team

Google has announced that it is folding the Nest smart home products team into its rapidly expanding hardware division. The move will see the end of Nest-branded products in favor of Google's own "Made by Google" branding.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 08 Feb 2018 11:55

Intel Xeon D-2100 processor (Source: Intel Newsroom)

Intel Xeon D-2100 processors now official with up to 18 cores and 36 threads

The new Xeon D-2100 processor architecture allows for up to 18 "Skylake-server" generation cores and was designed to provide lower-power processing to multiple enterprise applications, focusing on the needs of data centers and net...

Codrut Nistor, 07 Feb 2018 21:25

ADB.Miner worm global infection map (Source: 360 Netlab Blog)

ADB.Miner worm turns your Android device into a mining rig

Although it quickly infected a few thousand devices worldwide, the spread of the cryptocurrency mining malware ADB.Miner seems to be quite limited at this time. However, there is still time for this piece of code to become a serio...

Codrut Nistor, 07 Feb 2018 16:35

Kazuo Hirai at Mobile World Congress 2013. (Source: Cellanr via flickr)

Kazuo Hirai steps down from Sony CEO role, replaced by man responsible for selling off VAIO

During the presentation of Sony's Q3 2017 financial ressults, they announced the resignation of their current President and CEO, Kazuo Hirai, to be replaced by Kenichiro Yoshida. Hirai's time at the top was defined by a return to ...

Craig Ward, 04 Feb 2018 14:24

Smart Home

Amazon launches a slew of new Alexa-powered products

Apple's Homepod had a mere 6% share of the smart speaker market in June, according to CIRP

Amazon Alexa microwave, receiver, subwoofer, amplifier, and in-car solution coming by the end of 2018

OnePlus TV coming next year, AI assistant in tow

Verizon 5G Home service coming next month

Samsung unveils the SmartThings Tracker GPS tracking device

Intel acquires NetSpeed Systems to speed up SoC development

IFA 2018 | devolo's new Magic line combines mesh WiFi and Powerline

IFA 2018 | Harman Kardon set to launch super-expensive Google Assistant-powered speaker

Samsung announces the Exynos i S111 narrowband IoT solution

Recent Apple patent could allow Siri to recognize multiple different users

The Samsung Unpacked event also introduced the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Home

Apple HomePod gets the ability to make phone calls and a bunch of new features with OS 12

Shuttle announces new compact XPC series supporting gen 8 desktop Intel CPUs

Google Store offering Pixel XL 2 at US$100 discount, other devices on special too

Amazon Fire TV Cube is finally available for purchase

WWDC 2018 | WWDC 2018 Live Blog

Update | Amazon Echo device records and sends private conversation without permission

Republic Wireless intros the Relay secure smartphone for kids

Xiaomi coming to France on May 22

ZOTAC's ZBOX CI329 quad-core Gemini Lake fanless mini PCs launched

Amazon and Google dominate global smart speaker market

Samsung Bixby coming to ovens and robot cleaners this year

HTC's trip down the spiral continues as company records 55% drop in revenue

Voice shopping could be worth US$40 billion by 2022

John Legend coming to Google Assistant later this year, six new voices already available

Bitcoin gets physical

Facebook's smart speakers coming in October

Amazon, Intel, and Microsoft post impressive quarterly results

Amazon's Fire TV Cube is coming soon

Intel's vaunted smart glasses facing the axe

Facebook expected to start making its own processors

Apple has reportedly reduced HomePod production

Fanless wallet-sized mini PCs revealed by Logic Supply

Samsung's new ambient mode provides a reason to leave your TV switched on

Unexplained Alexa laughter is freaking people out

Rumor: Amazon acquires video doorbell maker Ring for US$1 billion

Archos presents 'Hello' portable smart home display with Google Assistant

Facebook Aloha and Fiona smart speakers could launch in July

Google acquires Internet of Things platform Xively for US$50 million

Google Assistant will support 17 new languages in 2018

MIT reveals superefficient AI chips for smartphones

Samsung bringing Bixby voice assistant to TVs, white goods, to boost AI efforts

Xiaomi Mi TV apparently heading for India

Amazon may be creating AI chips for Alexa

Sony smart TVs with Google Assistant coming soon

Nest folded into Google's hardware team

Intel Xeon D-2100 processors now official with up to 18 cores and 36 threads

ADB.Miner worm turns your Android device into a mining rig

Kazuo Hirai steps down from Sony CEO role, replaced by man responsible for selling off VAIO

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