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Voice-controlled smart speakers are getting more and more popular. (Source: Entrepreneur)

36% of US households with high-speed internet own at least one smart speaker by now

A new report released by Parks Associates has found that 36% of US households with broadband-level internet connections also owned at least 1 voice-controlled smart speaker in early 2019. This data suggests that these connected de...

The LG V20 was the first smartphone to ship with Android 7.0 Nougat but has received only one OS update so far (Image source: Gadgets.NDTV)

LG releases its update schedule for Q2 2019, but the V20 is nowhere to be seen

It looks like V20 owners will have to wait a few more months before they see Android Pie on their device. LG will not be updating the device before the summer according to its recently published Q2 2019 update schedule. The V30, V...

This Android TV has started to show ads on the 'homescreen'. (Source: Amazon)

Android TV has ads in its launcher now

XDA contributors have noticed that the latest update to the Android TV OS has resulted in the appearance of "sponsored content" on the launcher visible from several kinds of device. They include the Sony Bravia X900F, the Mi Box 3...

Google leaked its apparently upcoming Nest Hub Max device. (Source: Android Police/Google)

Google leaks its Nest Hub Max smart home device

Google has accidentally leaked a new product in its Google Home range. The Nest Hub Max, which was spotted by Android Police, was featured in the Connected Home section of the tech giant’s website. The information about the Nest H...

Apple unveiled its own streaming competitor at its latest event. (Source: Apple)

The new Apple TV services are here

The Cupertino giant has unveiled the next generation of its TV arm. However, it is not a device; rather, it is a software- and content-based upgrade. The new Apple TV app allows users to cherry-pick channels or streaming providers...

Endel joins Lil Pump, Michael Buble and Red Hot Chili Peppers among others on Warner Music (Image source: Endel)

Endel: The mood music app becomes the first algorithm to be signed by a major record label

Warner Music Group has signed Endel, the stress-reducing sound app, in what is the first algorithm to sign with a major label. Endel promises to release a total of 20 albums by the end of the year and has launched an Amazon Alexa ...

The connected living room is a billion-dollar marketplace these days. (Source: Amazon)

The "connected living room" is a concept that may make a US$900+ billion market in 5 years

Transparency Market Research's latest report is based on the observation that the demand for a 'smart' or 'connected' living room is growing steadily these days. It may consist of entertainment or media hardware that works seamles...

Archos Play Tab 21.5-inch Samsung Galaxy View alternative for less than US$300 (Source: Archos)

Archos goes big: The Play Tab is a 21.5-inch Android tablet

Described as "the ultimate digital board game," the 21.5-inch Archos Play Tab is a tablet that runs Android Pie and promises to hit the European market for a sub-US$300 price tag just in time for this year's "Back to School" perio...

Huawei may release its 1st smart TV soon. (Source: TechnoBlitz)

The first-generation Huawei TV may launch next month

Last year, we reported on rumors that Huawei was working on its first smart TV. Now, a Chinese news outlet claims that its sources have told it these products are nearly ready for release. These products are apparently to be relea...

Qualcomm's QCS400 SoCs aim to bring advanced audio capabilities to smart speakers. (Source: MobileSyrup)

Qualcomm unveils the QCS400 series SoCs for smart speakers and next-gen audio applications

Qualcomm has revealed the new QCS400 series SoCs dedicated for smart audio applications in smart speakers, soundbars, home theatre systems, AV receivers, and IoT hardware. The QCS400 series comes in four SKUs and offers a tri-radi...

The latest LG OLED TVs will be available for purchase soon. (Source: LG USA)

LG announces US availability of 2019 OLED TVs - and that they will be super expensive

LG has stated its US dollar prices for its new OLED TVs. These state-of-the-art panels were previewed at CES 2019, and come with Dolby Vision, ThinQ AI and inbuilt Google Assistant. They start at US$2,499 - and work their way up t...

The Nova 4e will be sold as the Huawei P30 Lite in other parts of the world. (Source: GSMArena)

Huawei launches the Nova 4e, a Huawei P30 Lite for the Chinese market

Huawei has launched its latest device, the Nova 4e, in China. The mid-ranger features a Kirin 710, 3340 mAh battery, triple rear cameras, 32 MP selfie camera, up to 6 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage. It will be sold as the Huawei...

Sprint's open letter was printed in the New York Times. (Source: Sprint)

Sprint's 5G fight with AT&T intensifies

The Sunday edition of the New York Times has published a full-page advert by Sprint in the form of an open letter to wireless consumers. In the letter, the telecommunications company berates its rival, AT&T, for the use of the ter...

The 2009 Palm Pre Plus offered a form of wireless charging in conjunction with a Touchstone charger. (Source: Pocketnow)

Global wireless charging market could be worth over US$30 billion by 2024

It has been predicted that the global wireless charging market could reach a value of US$30.164 billion by 2024, according to a press release from Research and Markets. In contrast, 2018’s value was estimated at US$7.897 billion, ...

TVs are now at least as likely to connect to the Internet as to cables. (Source: Eicoff)

52% of US households with high-speed Internet now watch their streaming services on connected TVs: new report

A thin majority - 52% - of all households with broadband connections in the US now watch content that can be found, bought or sourced online on their connected TVs. These findings have been reported by Parks Associates. They have ...

The Pine H64 Model B starts at US$25 with the 3 GB RAM version currently available for US$48.95. (Image source: Ameridroid)

Pine H64 Model B: The updated Raspberry Pi alternative that starts at US$25

The Pine H64 Model B succeeds the Model A and adds onboard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The Raspberry Pi competitor starts at US$25 and is now based on a Rock64 footprint.

A potentiallly critical bug has been found through the use of a Vu Android TV. (Source: NDTV Gadgets)

A Twitter user claims an Android TV allowed access to other users' Google Photos data

An Indian Twitter user has alleged that an Android TV to which he had access allowed him to see all the other accounts linked to the same via the Google Home app. The bug in question also could have let him put their Google Photos...

Connected LED bulbs can often change color at the tap of a screen. (Source: TechHive)

New Google Home app update adds ability to control the color of smart-home lighting

The Google Home app can act as a one-stop shop for all your smart-home appliance control needs. Its latest update also adds the ability to tune the color of connected bulbs or lamps. This is opposed to the simple on-off switch fou...

The Bixby Studio in Barcelona. (Source: Samsung)

Samsung has opened a Bixby Studio in Barcelona

It seems Samsung is doing more in Barcelona than MWC. The OEM has opened a Bixby Studio in the city's Plaza de Catalunya. This installation gives visitors a sense of what life would be like with Bixby-powered applicances and devic...

Bixby now supports a wider range of languages. (Source: News4C)

Update | Bixby 2.0 adds support for more languages

Samsung's in-house virtual assistant, Bixby, has been historically linked to many limitations over its life. One of them is the inability to work in certain languages, German and Italian included. However, support for these langua...

PullString (ToyTalk) joins Apple to improve Siri (Source: TechCrunch)

Apple acquires AI startup PullString

The latest corporate acquisition in the AI field for Apple is San Francisco-based PullString, a company that was founded in 2011 by former Pixar executives and has been working on "shaping the future of voice applications" ever si...

New hire by Apple suggests renewed focus on smart home market

Apple does not quite match up to some other major software companies in terms of smart-home products. It has only one product dedicated to this market: the HomePod. The company may by trying to change this by hiring Sam Jadallah, ...

Refrigerdating: The search for “the one” based on the contents of their refrigerator

“Refrigerdating”: Samsung's dating platform for fridge fetishists

This new dating trend originates from Samsung and shows just how handy the integrated camera in its Family Hub refrigerators can be. Instead of having to swipe through dating profiles plastered with snapchat filter modified photog...

February could be a good time to think about that new 4K TV in the US. (Source: 4K.com)

February is one of the best times of year to get a new TV in the US: online deals company

RetailMeNot, a company that collates online deals for consumers, has released a report indicating that this month is a good time to buy a new TV, along with some other appliances - second only to the Black Friday weekend, in fact....

The Intel Core I9-8950HK hexa-core CPU requires quite a bit of ventilation, meaning that these mini PCs will certainly not be quiet. (Source: EGLOBAL)

EGLOBAL starts shipping the world's smallest mini PC with Intel Core i9-8950HK CPUs

The Intel Core i9-8950HK represents the top of the line, but users with tighter budgets can opt to get one of the variants sporting Core i5-8300H / i7-8750H / Xeon E-2176M CPUs. All models may be equipped with up to 32 GB of DDR4-...

The new VivoMini VC65-C1 can come with either UHD Blu-Ray players or DVD writer drives. (Source: Asus)

The Asus VivoMini VC65-C1 is the world's first mini PC with a UHD Blu-Ray player

Besides integrating UHD Blu-Ray players or DVD writer drives, the new VivoMini HTPCs come with internal PSUs and generous room for storage expansions. These mini PCs are powered by Intel's 35 W Core T CPUs that bridge the gap betw...

Coolpad Surf 600 MHz LTE hotspot hits T-Mobile and Metro (Source: SlashGear)

Coolpad Surf 600 MHz LTE hotspot now available via T-Mobile and Metro

While most people around the world are still waiting to get 5G access, T-Mobile and Metro are back with an accessory for their 600 MHz LTE network. The Coolpad Surf hotspot is capable of connecting up to 15 devices simultaneously ...

Google I/O 2019 will take place in May, as usual. (Source: Google)

The dates and venue for Google I/O 2019 have been revealed

The next Google I/O event is scheduled for May 7 to 9 2019, at the Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, California. These details were uncovered as part of some code relating to a cryptic Tweet on the subject. This conference ma...

The Sonos high-fidelity Play:5 speaker currently costs US$499. (Source: Sonos)

Smart speaker specialist Sonos could be targeting the headphones market

There has been a report published stating that the American consumer electronics manufacturer Sonos is planning a foray into the headphones market. The company is probably best known for its work with smart speakers and other home...

Intel RealSense Tracking Camera T265 now up for pre-order at US$199 (Source: Intel Newsroom)

Intel intros the RealSense Tracking Camera T265 for autonomous devices

The new Intel RealSense Tracking Camera T265 was designed for applications such as robotics, drones, and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR). This US$199 piece of hardware uses proprietary visual inertial odometry simultaneous local...

Orange Pi 3 H6: An updated version of the Raspberry Pi competitor that starts at a bargain price. (Image source: Ali Express)

Orange Pi 3 H6: An updated version of the Raspberry Pi competitor that starts at US$29.90

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.

Xiaomi retail store, Xiaomi coming to Africa in 2019

Xiaomi ready to launch a dedicated African department

Although Xiaomi is present in most African markets via third-party distributors, the Chinese brand is now ready to take a more direct approach by launching a dedicated department for this part of the world. Xiaomi's African Region...

Xiaomi has released a 4K version of its popular MIJIA laser projector. (Image source: Xiaomi)

Xiaomi releases a 4K laser projector that costs CNY 14,999 (~ US$2,200)

Xiaomi has surprisingly announced a new 4K MIJIA laser projector. The device can create up to a 150-inch display and will last for over 25,000 hours. The projector will cost 14,999 Yuan, but Xiaomi is currently running a 5,000 Yua...

The Google Chromecast Audio supported lossless high-resolution audio. (Source: Google)

Google discontinues Chromecast Audio

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...

The smart TV market will continue to grow over the next 4 years. (Source: Multichannel)

The smart TV market will be worth more than US$250 billion in 2023: new report

The smart TV market was worth US$143 billion by the end of 2017. However, a new report has indicated that this value will grow by $110 billion in the next four years. This rate will be driven by a sustained downward trend in smart...

The Lenovo Smart Tab P10 comes with a Smart Dock for added functionality. (Source: Lenovo)

CES 2019 | Lenovo shows off with 2-in-1 Smart Tab P10 and Smart Dock

Lenovo has unveiled the 2-in-1 Smart Tab P10 tablet and Smart Dock. The versatile P10 device offers typical usage scenarios in Tablet Mode, but when it is added to the Smart Dock it switches to Show Mode and incorporates Amazon’s ...

The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 with Smart Dock can answer your questions thanks to Amazon Alexa. (Source: Lenovo)

CES 2019 | Lenovo's Smart Tab M10 comes with Smart Dock and Amazon Alexa to make your home smarter

Lenovo’s new Smart Tab M10 tablet with Smart Dock has been revealed. The 10.1-inch tablet comes with a Smart Dock and Amazon Alexa to beef up its potential usage scenarios. Users can easily integrate the device from the Chinese ma...

Lenovo's Smart Clock can do much more than just tell the time. (Source: Lenovo)

CES 2019 | Lenovo's Smart Clock will make sure you're always on time

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...

MediaTek is promoting the use of its new WiFi 6 + BT chipset already. (Source: Fudzilla)

CES 2019 | MediaTek reveals its new connectivity chipset with the latest WiFi standard and Bluetooth

MediaTek has unveiled its new silicon for connectivity at CES 2019. This chipset is compatible with next-generation WiFi (Wi-Fi 6, or 802.11ax) and also delivers Bluetooth access points. It supports 2x2, 4x4 and multi-user MIMO (M...

The new Panasonic TV. (Source: Panasonic)

CES 2019 | Panasonic unveils the GZ2000, the "world's most cinematic TV"

Panasonic has launched its new GZ2000 TV at CES 2019. The company calls this product "the world's most cinematic TV" as it has been tuned by Hollywood colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld. Panasonic also claims that the GZ2000 is the world'...

The LG Rollable TV has a product name and model number for its third run at CES. (Source: LG)

CES 2019 | LG's rollable TVs are here again, but they're close to retail this time

TVs that can curl up and store themselves in a box are becoming a staple of CES. This technology, introduced by its maker LG in 2017, has yet to appear in stores. However, this year, the company has brought them to the event again...

Kroger and Microsoft CEOs (Source: Microsoft Stories)

Microsoft teams up with Kroger to pilot two connected experience stores

The partnership between Microsoft and Kroger, the largest grocery retailer in America comes as a joint effort to bring Retail as a Service to other retailers. The first result of this effort is the pair of connected experience sto...

The D-Link 5G broadband gateway. (Source: D-Link)

CES 2019 | D-Link launches next-gen 5G-NR broadband modem

D-Link has announced a new product it is calling a 5G-NR broadband gateway (or the DWR-2010) at CES. It is intended to use 5G in order to set up home WiFi networks that, as D-Link claims, deliver download speeds that are over 40 t...

Asus is offering a smart decluttering solution with Lyra Voice. (Source: Asus)

CES 2019 | Asus combines a Wi-Fi router and a smart speaker to create Lyra Voice

Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has announced the Lyra Voice device, or 3-in-1 Smart Voice Router. The gadget combines an AC2200 tri-band mesh Wi-Fi router with two 8 W stereo speakers and includes Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. Th...

TCL-32E4300 3D TV, Xiaomi acquires small stake in TCL January 2019

Xiaomi acquires small stake in TCL, the world’s third-largest LCD TV maker

The 0.48 percent stake acquisition comes less than a month after Xiaomi and the world's third-largest LCD TV manufacturer, TCL, entered a strategic partnership that involves joint efforts in many fields. The agreement focuses on t...

Samsung's 2019 range of smart TVs will debut the a new iTunes app from Apple. (Source: Samsung)

Apple and Samsung team up on iTunes for Samsung 2019 TVs

Samsung has announced a new partnership between it and Apple. The frenemies have collaborated to bring a new iTunes app to Samsung’s new 2019 TV range in over 100 markets globally.

Amazon's Alexa-enabled Echo Dot speakers have sold out for the month. (Source: TechWiser)

Amazon executive reveals sales of over 100 million Alexa-enabled devices

In an interview with The Verge, Amazon’s SVP of devices and services, David Limp, has revealed how many devices have been sold that have Alexa built into them. Apparently, over 100 million speakers, smartphones, gadgets and other ...

JOLED is a joint venture created by Sony and Panasonic. (Source: Anandtech)

Sony and Panasonic working on OLED monitors for gamers

Right now, the only way to benefit from OLED displays as a gamer is to buy a TV that has at least a 55-inch diagonal. This could prove to be quite the investment, and gamers have been looking forward to OLED monitors in the 20/30-...

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