It's the publishers' platform for iOS applications and it takes people to run the place. And those people will get a break for a workweek in December.
The post App developers take heed: iTunes Connect holiday schedule is out appeared first on Pocketnow.
Meanwhile, the Surface Pro (2017) is getting adopted at a nice clip while the Surface Laptop is just starting to creak through the floorboards.
The post HP still dominates as Windows PC OEM, Surface Pro 4 most popular from Microsoft appeared first on Pocketnow.
Big Red won't have mobile 5G anytime soon, but it will have some homes served starting next year in the capital of California.
The post Verizon 5G home internet service going live in up to five markets in 2018 appeared first on Pocketnow.
Choosing the right gift for your special someone (or yourself) is hard. We've sifted through many excellent products to bring you only the best gift ideas.
Whether it's a new laptop, smartphone, wearable, smart home accessory or a set of headphones you're after, you'll find our take on what's the very best below.
An all-around fantastic phone with an all-star camera
The cool factor of your phone ultimately comes down to one question: does it take good photos? In the case of the Google Pixel 2, the results speak for the phone. This is a phone that, beyond just being an excellent all-around option for enthusiasts and newbies alike, is basically a DSLR replacement.
The first VR headset remains the best
Now at an all-time-low price, Facebook’s Oculus Rift headset remains the best of bunch both when it comes to value and support, with a now sizable library of games of all genres. It’s not the most technologically advanced VR headset around, but it has all of the basic ingredients for a fun time immersed in another world, thanks to built-in headphones and optional Oculus Touch controllers. Though, just make sure you or your loved one has a PC that supports the device before picking one up – luckily, the hardware requirements aren’t even that extreme.
The iPhone you’ve been wanting for over 10 years
The new iPhone is one of the best, and maybe also the hardest gifts, to find in 2017. But it’s well worth the effort and the $99 starting price if you want Apple’s redesigned 10th anniversary smartphone. It has an all-screen design, wireless charging, and bigger screen yet smaller body than the iPhone 8 Plus. Oh, and it does Animojis.
The little drone for everyone
The DJI Spark is the best compact drone you can buy for anyone. It's portable, agile and all so easy to fly for beginners. You'll even be able to launch it from your hand and control it with a wave of your palm like a Jedi.
The perfect iPad to replace your laptop
The “perfect” tablet size debate rages on, but at 10.5 inches, this iteration of Apple’s iPad Pro might just hit the sweet spot. The goods are all here - great audio, awesome video feedback, and, thanks to iOS 11, some serious laptop-rivalling capabilities, at a starting price of $649. Giving an iPad as a gift is a guaranteed win. Giving the iPad Pro 10.5 is a slam dunk.
Bring Mario, Link and with you anywhere
Nintendo’s latest system is a gorgeous mobile-console hybrid that’s just as comfortable hanging out with you at a park playing a game like Super Mario Odyssey, as it is sitting on your shelf at home hooked up to your TV. With a plethora of great games already available for the system (including TWO Game of the Year contenders, including Super Mario Odyssey that comes with this bundle) the Switch is too good of a system to pass up.
The foldable electric scooter of your dreams
Mashing together a moped and scooter, the URB-E Sport is the ultimate portable electric vehicle. It reaches a top speed of 14mph and goes a fair distance of 16 miles thanks to its electric motor and yet it’s just as maneuverable and portable as an actual scooter thanks to its tight frame.
The best budget TV of the year, bar none
The problem with buying TV is that, most often, you either have to spend a lot of money to get something that’s going to last you and look great, or grab something at a discount only for the picture to look less-than-perfect for the next two years before it breaks down. TCL’s 55-inch P-Series is the answer we’ve long been searching for: It’s a 4K HDR TV with Dolby Vision, a 120Hz native resolution and a 10-bit panel, and costs just under $600. It’s the perfect compromise between price and performance.
The already-great iPad gets even better
We’re picky reviewers at TechRadar, so when a product earns a perfect score of five stars, it means we really liked the product. That’s the case with the iPad 2017. Not only is it the cheapest of the full-size iPads at $329, it’s simply a fantastic device with a gorgeous screen and great design.
The ultimate powerhouse mirrorless camera
Whether you want to shoot 4K movies, high-speed sports or just take a pretty picture, the Sony Alpha A6500 can do it all. This mirrorless camera is a powerhouse offering the highest specs in its category and impeccable image quality.
The best Mac that money can buy
Meet the best Mac you can buy to date, now with faster processors – not to mention its headline feature: the Touch Bar. This is a thin OLED touchscreen at the top of the keyboard, replacing the function row for a slew of new tasks, like auto-suggesting words as you type, or allowing you to log in with just your fingerprint via Touch ID. While there are Windows laptops out there that offer more hardware for less, steadfast Apple diehards will be well-pleased by this gorgeous and versatile machine.
Dress up as the undisputed best Overwatch character
As D.Va would say “alright, gameface on.” And you’ll be able to do quite literally that with Razer’s new D.Va Peripheral Suite. While most of this set includes reskinned gaming peripherals, D.Va’s iconic MEKA headset has been lovingly brought to life as a functional analog on-ear headset with integrated mic. It’s a must have item for fans of Overwatch, D.Va lovers, cosplayers and everyone who just wants a cool set of headphones.
Apple’s smartest smartwatch can ditch the iPhone
The new Apple Watch 3 comes in two flavors, one with that has a faster processor, battery life and enables Siri to speak from the watch, and one that does all of that and has the bonus of connecting to LTE. This means you don’t need you smartwatch to receive calls and data if you include the Apple Watch 3 LTE as part of your phone plan (for an extra $10). Workouts become 100% easier without a Plus-sized phone jiggling in your pocket.
A VR-capable desktop PC for the everyman
The Dell XPS Tower might look as boring as any old office computer, but beneath it simple, silver veneer is the heart of a gaming PC. Even with the starting model you’re going to get a hexa-core processor with a GPU good enough to get you started on the road to becoming an eSports legend. Thanks to an internal design that folds into itself, this gaming PC is uniquely bigger on the inside a lot like the Doctor’s Tardis.
No time (or money) for a chiropractor? No problem
File this in the “hurts so good” category. If you’ve ever used a roller you know how well they work at kneading out sore muscles. Throw three-setting vibrations in the mix, like the Hypervice Vyper 2.0 does, and you’re looking at maximum muscle relief. Get this $199 roller for the fitness fanatic in your life. Trust us - they’ll thank you.
The perfect mirrorless camera for selifes
In case Animoji and portrait mode selifes aren’t cutting it, the Canon EOS M100 will give you the high-res selifes you and your friends crave. Of course, this camera can do much more than that what with its 24MP sensor and growing family of lenses. It’s far more compact than Canon’s DSLRs and yet offers the same if not better image quality, making it one of the best cameras to buy as a gift.
Re-live your gaming glory days with this excellent retro console
If you’re anything like us, you probably have some fond memories of the Super Nintendo. Whether you were A Link to the Past lover, Final Fantasy III fanatic or Super Mario World maniac, the Super Nintendo offered some of the greatest experiences (and memories) we’ve ever known. If you want a one-way ticket back to the land of nostalgia, SNES Classic Mini is a holiday season must-have.
The best action camera. Period.
Another year another GoPro is what you might think, but the Hero6 Black is easily the company’s most impressive camera yet. With the ability to shoot at 4K 60fps and Full HD at 120fps, it’s the perfect camera for capture high-speed action at a great resolution.
The perfect go anywhere mini tripod
Between its bendy arms and magnetic feet, there’s practically nowhere you can’t mount the GorillaPod Magnetic 325. Carrying around a traditional tripod can be a major pain and ridiculous if you just have a tiny point-and-shoot camera or an action camera. That’s where this pocketable and extremely versatile camera tripod comes to save the day.
A sleek, affordable 360-degree camera perfect for total immersion
Recording a video is a great way to cement a memory in motion. But as nice as it is, you can do better. The Samsung Gear 360 records footage in a full 360-degrees – perfect for viewing in a virtual reality headset – and best of all, it does it on the cheap. This way, every little detail (even you holding the camera) is captured, letting you look around the frame at things you hadn’t noticed that passed you by when you were in the moment.
The ultimate backpack for everyone's everyday
Whether you have a dozen lenses, four camera bodies or a hundred accessories, this Peak Design can hold it all. With two large side opening and a ton of other smart design choices, you can easily access all your gear without even having to take the bag off. Beyond camera gear, this bag has been really designed to be an Everyday Pack for everyone to use and look stylish at the same time.
Hey Android fans, this is the best tablet that isn’t an iPad
If you prefer Android, this is the best tablet for you. It has a beautiful HDR screen and has four powerful speakers, so it’s fit for multimedia. Productivity? It does that, too. The S Pen is its big headline feature and there’s an option keyboard cover for a clutch 2-in-1 form factor. Yes, the keyboard is extra, but this tablet is now cheaper than the iPad Pro.
Loot your way through space with this frenetic first-person shooter
When Bungie announced that it would leave the Halo franchise behind, we had our concerns. Halo had to be the pinnacle of what space-themed first-person shooters could be, right? Wrong. Destiny 2 takes the fast-paced gameplay from Halo, sure, but adds in fun RPG-lite mechanics that help make each guardian feel like your own unique avatar on the ever-evolving battlefield.
Fight your way through the cinematic Star Wars universe
Who would win in a fight between Yoda and Darth Maul? Could Rey ever have escaped from Boba Fett? If Chewbacca had to square up with Emperor Palpatine … well, you get the idea. Star Wars Battlefront II lets you live out your fantasy match-ups in epic 8-on-8, 12-on-12 and even 20-on-20 multiplayer matches.
COD returns to its roots with authentic battles, weapons and locals
If you like your video games with a little more, uh, historical accuracy, check out the latest Call of Duty game from Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software. After steering the franchise away from the far-flung future, Call of Duty returns to its roots: historically accurate battles set within the greatest conflicts of our time. Add in some addicting multiplayer modes - and the not-totally-accurate Zombies Mode - and you have all the makings of a war hero.
A homicidal history lesson with the latest Assassin’s Creed game
History isn’t the most peaceful subject - in fact, study it for a few minutes and you’re bound to run into some bloodshed. That being said, Assassin’s Creed takes the idea of sanguine history to a whole new level. The latest installment of the franchise takes us way back to one of the first recorded civilizations - Ancient Egypt. Here you’ll guide Bayek and his wife Aya as they forge the beginnings of the titular Assassin Order.
Mario’s latest adventure is his greatest of all-time
Until this year, the award for the best Super Mario game ever made was a tie between Super Mario World on Super Nintendo and Mario Galaxy on the Wii. Why? Both games leveraged the technological advantages of their new platforms to do something fresh, bold and different than anything before it. Super Mario Odyssey does all that and somehow even more. In our opinion, it’s the greatest Mario game ever made.
You need a smart scale more than you think
A smart scale might seem like it’s outside of your needs, but it’s more helpful than it seems. For instance, the Nokia+ Body Scale knows who’s stepping on it based on their weight, body fat percentage and blood pressure reading. Additionally, this smart Wi-Fi enabled scale can integrate with IFTTT, and with some tweaks, can do things like map out trends around your weight loss (or gain) progress automatically in a Google Sheet.
The top PC VR experience on the cheap
Not looking to spend what’s still a small fortune on an Oculus Rift? Then, look no further than Acer’s first-ever VR headset for Windows 10 PCs. With its very own position tracking system built-in and custom motion controllers – not to mention an easy-as-pie, USB-based connection to your PC – Acer makes it easier than ever to dive into another world. Plus, even games in Steam’s VR library support the headset, making this one to watch for an affordable VR gaming gift.
A great entry-level turntable for your favorite vinyl enthusiast
The vinyl revival warms our once-cold digital hearts. And while we’re happy to see so many people getting back into analog, we’re just a hair concerned at the players most folks are picking up at places like Urban Outfitters. Not only are these turntables bad at conveying the intricate grooves of a record, but over time they’ll actually chew up your favorite LPs. Your safest bet? The Audio-Technica AT-LP 120-USB. Not only will it save your collection from utter destruction, but you can even transfer recordings from the player to your PC to preserve that warm analog sound you’ve come to love.
The best tablet is also a laptop
The Surface Pro is in its fifth iteration this year, and Microsoft’s flagship tablet just keeps getting better. Not only does this version maintain a super sharp and color-rich screen, it also continues to run full Windows 10 natively. Better yet, the latest model sees battery life improve by as much as 32% and improved performance through a new Intel processor. Grab the optional Surface Pen stylus and Touch Cover keyboard, and you have one of the most versatile pieces of computing gear around.
Never lose your keys (or your phone) again.
If you’re looking for some affordable tech for the holidays that can make your life measurably better, look no further than Tile. Latch it onto your keychain and you’ll no longer need to worry about lost keys, or for that matter, a lost phone. Just tap Tile to find a misplaced phone or if you lost your keys, you’ll be able to easily find them via the Tile app.
The DVR of the future
It was probably pretty difficult to improve upon the TiVo Bolt, the DVR that not only recorded shows, but automatically could cut out commercials with the tap of a button. And yet, somehow, TiVo did just that with the new Bolt Vox. The Vox comes in three different configurations - each of which at least pack four separate tuners that can record four shows at once. The top-tier model sports six tuners and a 3TB hard drive that can store 450+ hours of TV. If you’ve got a cable binge-watcher on your list - the TiVo Bolt Vox will be their dream come true.
The future of wireless networking is cheap
The mission to eliminate Wi-Fi dead spots in the home has gotten easier than ever, thanks in part to Google. Its Google Wifi wireless mesh systems is, frankly, future of routers. Google Wifi’s premise is easy: buy a three-pack set of ‘points’ and place them throughout your house where you use Wi-Fi the most. Then, you simply scan a QR code to set them all up and – boom – you’ve got strong Wi-Fi throughout the house!
A reliable, comfortable wearable that’s easy to recommend
Fitbit’s successor to the classic Charge fitness tracker brings several subtle enhancements, as well as a few major ones to the table – er, wrist. First off, the Charge HR 2 features a display that puts this affordable wearable more in the smartwatch ballpark.
Download ‘ALL’ the games with this Xbox One upgrade
The Xbox One is a great console no matter what iteration you might have or be interested in getting, but its biggest shortcoming is storage. Luckily, you can run games off an external hard drive just as quickly as if you were playing them off the internal storage. While you can plug in any external drive you have on hand including a dollar store thumb drive, you should get something more reliable and nothing’s going to work more perfectly than the official Xbox Game Drive from Seagate.
One of the fastest external storage drives
If you’re already on the USB-C bandwagon with one of 2017’s fancy new laptops or tablets, then you ought to treat yourself or a loved one to its biggest benefit: crazy fast data transfer speeds. Samsung’s T5 Portable SSD delivers that in spades, with speeds of up to 540 megabytes per second – that’s a gigabyte of data every two seconds! If you’ve been stuck with a lame external hard drive all these years, grab something that’s 4.9 times faster. It’s worth the cost.
High capacity, high style
Looking to give the gift of even more storage. Western Digital's MyPassport hard drives offer an incredible capacity upgrade in a fashionable package. With a ton of color choices and the options between 500GB to 4TB drives, these portable HDD are the perfect stuffing stock for all your friends.
The ultimate wireless gaming mouse
You won’t find a finer wireless gaming mouse than the Logitech G903. It features a Lightspeed Wireless system that’s faster and more reliable than even some wired peripherals. Then it only gets even better if you also purchase the Logitech Powerplay wireless charging mouse pad, which makes it so you can run this wireless gaming mouse indefinitely.
A premium Chromebook for less
One of the first Chromebooks to release with Google’s vision for a laptop with Android apps, the Samsung Chromebook Pro is a primo laptop for a decent price. With a 12.3-inch, beyond-HD touchscreen with a 360-degree hinge, this laptop-meets-tablet is lauded for its built-in stylus – a first for a Chromebook. For these reasons, this device ousts not only a majority of laptops in its category, but it’s better than most Android tablets to boot.
Meet the world’s most powerful console
If you’re after a console powerful enough to process 4K HDR signals like they’re nothing, the Xbox One X needs to be on your radar this holiday season. With 6Tflops of raw power, a 1TB hard drive and a built-in 4K Blu-ray player, the Xbox One X stands second to none in terms of sheer unabashed power. Oh, and yeah, it’s pretty fun to play, too.
The best mobile virtual reality headsets available
Own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone or a Google Pixel? There’s an excellent virtual reality headset that’s just waiting for you to jump into. Depending on which phone you have, the offering, both in terms of software and hardware, are a bit different. However, each come recommended given their relatively low asking prices and steadily-increasing catalogs of virtual reality experiences.
The gaming PC that was made for your livingroom
The MSI Trident 3 is basically the little gaming PC that could. Although it’s about as compact as the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, it’s substantially more powerful thanks to its quad-core CPU and Nvidia GTX 1070 graphics card. It’s a tantalizing package that comes at a reasonable price, which makes it the perfect gaming PC to have in your living room.
A fully-featured mid-range phone that doesn’t compromise on style
There’s no shame in wanting to save a buck (or hundreds) when buying a smartphone. Thankfully, there’s also zero shame in donning the Moto G5s Plus, Motorola’s affordable mid-range phone that has all of the style and most of the performance of a flagship, but for less.
Who knew that earbuds could be so smart?
Google’s new wireless headphones are the perfect complement to the Pixel 2 and other new Android smartphones. They come equipped with Google Assistant, which can handle everything from telling you tomorrow’s weather to texting back your loved ones – all with just your voice. They can even translate foreign languages without blowing up your spot, which is seriously a game-changer.
TechRadar’s best laptop two years running
Thin, feathery, fast and gorgeous, the Dell XPS 13 is the best laptop in the world for 2017 – its second year on top of TechRadar’s buying guides. Come for the ‘Infinity Edge’ display, cramming a 13.3-inch screen into an 11-inch frame with wafer-thin bezels, stay for new quad-core Intel Kaby Lake processors inside. Not only that, but the port selection is equally on point, with USB-C 3.1 as well as USB 3.0 along with the elusive SD card slot. Topping it all off is your choice between an FHD display or a super-sharp touchscreen.
The Sonos One combines Alexa’s smarts with Sonos’ audio prowess
The Sonos One truly is the perfect marriage between two very odd bedfellows. On one hand, it’s a tried-and-true Sonos speaker that’s designed similarly to the Sonos Play:1 and integrates easily into any Sonos system you already have. On the other, it comes stocked with Alexa, the same smart assistant that makes the Amazon Echo such a wonderful, unique gadget. If you’re looking for a speaker that’s smart and sounds like something twice its price, Sonos One deserves a spot on your shopping list
The top gaming laptop for cash-strapped PC gamers
If you want PC gaming on the go and don’t have the scratch for super-thin, super-powered aluminum laptops, the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop is your best option. This notebook is priced well under half of most high-end gaming laptops, offering fantastic value for the money. The Nvidia GeForce GTX-provided graphics inside are easily enough to push the pixels behind the built-in 1080p display, while overall performance in Windows 10 is super smooth, thanks to your choice of an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor – all within a stately, matte plastic frame.
Let the best smart lightbulb light up your holidays
Hate getting up to turn off the lights when you’re ready to turn in for the night? We’ve been there before - as have hundreds of thousands of people looking for a solution to their lighting conundrum. Cue the Philips Hue Smart Light System. With it, you’ll be able to control your lights either via an app for iOS or Android, or if you’ve invested in one of those smart speakers we’ve been talking about, with the intonation of a few simple words. It’s not a huge time-saver, but it is the pinnacle of convenience.
Party like it 1988 all over again
This instant film camera not only looks like an old-school Polaroid camera, it also instantly spits out any photo you take. The prints look just as vintage as the camera itself with a mix of off colors, low contrast and other imperfections seen in the camera. If you and your friends aren’t sticklers for perfect image quality, it’s the perfect fun shooting camera for parties and little get togethers.
4K streaming without the forced ecosystem
For years, Roku has been our go-to streaming video player. While other players strongarm you into using their streaming services (cough, Amazon Fire TV) the Roku Ultra wants you to use whatever streaming service you feel the most comfortable with. If you’re an Amazon Videos person, great. If you’re a Netflix subscriber or would rather hole up with Hulu, that’s fine too. Roku supports all these services and some several thousand more. It’s egalitarian video streaming that lets you pursue cutting the cord however you’d like.
Making printers sexy again
Printers are no longer clunky paperweights. The Canon TS9120 Wireless AIO is a sleek yet capable system that wirelessly connects to a smartphone or tablet. Whether printing candid vacation snaps or an important document, you can count on Canon’s creation to deliver quality every time it’s used. At $149.99 (on sale on Amazon), it’s a great value, too.
4K streaming without the forced ecosystem
For years, Roku has been our go-to streaming video player. While other players strongarm you into using their streaming services (cough, Amazon Fire TV) the Roku Ultra wants you to use whatever streaming service you feel the most comfortable with. If you’re an Amazon Videos person, great. If you’re a Netflix subscriber or would rather hole up with Hulu, that’s fine too. Roku supports all these services and some several thousand more. It’s egalitarian video streaming that lets you pursue cutting the cord however you’d like.
4K streaming without the forced ecosystem
For years, Roku has been our go-to streaming video player. While other players strongarm you into using their streaming services (cough, Amazon Fire TV) the Roku Ultra wants you to use whatever streaming service you feel the most comfortable with. If you’re an Amazon Videos person, great. If you’re a Netflix subscriber or would rather hole up with Hulu, that’s fine too. Roku supports all these services and some several thousand more. It’s egalitarian video streaming that lets you pursue cutting the cord however you’d like.
4K streaming without the forced ecosystem
For years, Roku has been our go-to streaming video player. While other players strongarm you into using their streaming services (cough, Amazon Fire TV) the Roku Ultra wants you to use whatever streaming service you feel the most comfortable with. If you’re an Amazon Videos person, great. If you’re a Netflix subscriber or would rather hole up with Hulu, that’s fine too. Roku supports all these services and some several thousand more. It’s egalitarian video streaming that lets you pursue cutting the cord however you’d like.
A serious tripod for both novice and pro photographers
So you need a serious tripod for your serious camera, but at the same time you don’t need a massive support system project to just support it. This is why the Manfrotto Befree Advanced is the perfect choice for photographers who need a stable, flexible and ultimately portable system. From hunching down to the ground to giving you a slightly overhead perspective, this tripod does it all and it’s folds up into an incredible compact package too.
Qualcomm accused Apple of violating its battery patents. Apple denied those claims and then came back with accusations of its own.
The post Apple counters Qualcomm battery patent infringement claims with its own appeared first on Pocketnow.
Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the rumored Samsung graphene battery revolution, Pixel Visual Core extends & more
The post Samsung graphene battery revolution, Pixel Visual Core extends & more – Pocketnow Daily appeared first on Pocketnow.
More importantly, in a bid to drive even further growth, Honor India is looking to launch the V10 sooner than it had previous such devices.
The post Honor nearly doubles shipments to India from 2016 appeared first on Pocketnow.
Content from publishers will have a clearer delineation away from the special moments that friends share with users, CEO Evan Spiegel says.
The post Snapchat to revamp app to divide “social” from “media” appeared first on Pocketnow.
EE has just unveiled the Hawk, a phone that seems built around speed, as the network is highlighting its CAT 6 capabilities, which means it theoretically supports 4G speeds of up to 300Mbps, and it has reached 238Mbps on EE's network at Wembley Stadium.
Most of the time you won't get speeds close to that, but it does mean the EE Hawk should be more future-proofed in one way than some budget phones.
With a price tag of £149.99 (or from £14.99 per month on contract) this most definitely is a budget phone, especially as you also get a pair of JBL headphones thrown in.
So what else do you get for your money? Well, the EE Hawk has a 5-inch 720 x 1280 screen, 1.5GHz MediaTek 6750 octa-core chipset, 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, 8MP front-facing camera, 16GB of storage and a microSD card slot.
It also has a 2,500mAh battery which EE reckons will see you through 10 hours of use, a rear-facing fingerprint scanner, NFC and runs Android 7.1.
What’s perhaps more interesting is the design, as the EE Hawk features toughened Gorilla Glass on both the front and back, and from the front it looks a lot like the original Google Pixel.
That includes the Pixel's large bezels, but bezels aside it looks to have a more premium finish than some sub-£200 phones.
The Hawk also supports both Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling, so you should be able to make the most of EE’s network, and it’s out on December 1.
Whether it will be worth buying, we can’t say, but EE's own brand phones such as the EE Harrier and EE Kestrel have generally been fairly accomplished, though we were less impressed by the EE Rook.
Mobile phone vendors looking to use Qualcomm components in their equipment, look like they’re going to be forking out heavily for the privilege. The chip maker has released a statement with its terms for royalty payments for handsets, looking for sums in excess of other chip vendors’ demands.
The company is looking at a royalty rate of 2.275% of the selling price of branded single-mode 5G handsets; and a rate of 3.25% of the selling price of branded multi-mode (3G/4G/5G) handsets. For a $500 handset that’s £16.25 in royalty fees.
Contrast this to the statement put out by Ericsson earlier this year in which it said it would charge just $5 per handset “in order to encourage the adoption of the standardized technology”, the company was even prepared to go $2.50 per device, if the circumstances warranted it – in other words, to kick-start a particular market.
This is just another chapter in Qualcomm’s battles to protect its intellectual property. It is already fighting a lawsuit with Apple (to be strictly accurate, it’s fighting two – one as plaintiff, one as defendant) and is engaged in a takeover battle with Broadcom.
The Qualcomm demands for royalties will have a familiar ring about it: in its lawsuit, Apple claimed that “Qualcomm charged at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined.” It remains to be seen how Qualcomm’s demands will be met in this particular case or what will happen to them if the Broadcom takeover succeeds.
It took a couple weeks before major fixes could be applied to the US Android 8.0 beta. Galaxy S8 users are now able to head back into the experience.
The post Galaxy S8 Android Oreo beta resumes with third update appeared first on Pocketnow.
How much does $100 do for you for owning a phone with a second screen that folds out? AT&T's hoping it'll do something for you.
The post AT&T tries to sweeten ZTE Axon M purchase with $100 gift card appeared first on Pocketnow.
The Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL have plenty going for them, including their awesome photography chops and top-notch build quality that’s imbued with impressive and smart software. And yet, it hasn’t been the smoothest launch for Google’s 2017 flagship duo.
To list of issues discovered by those who have picked up the phones since their October 2017 launch is, to be frank, quite large. From widespread display issues to strange clicking noises and audio recording hiccups, the problems range from bad to worst for customers hoping to be wowed by their expensive purchase.
We’ve put together this guide to help you keep track of which issues have been discovered, as well as Google’s progress on addressing them.
The larger Pixel 2 XL uses OLED display technology, and while its benefits look good on paper and generally are in practice, the results aren’t as convincing on Google’s latest phablet.
This is primarily because of the limited favorable viewing angles on the 2 XL. When you look at the display head-on, things look good – great, even. But when you tilt the phone to the side, its warm colors begin to fade into a more pale blue tone.
Some people won’t notice or be too affected by it, as it’s not technically a defect, but it’s hard not to see it once you realize that it’s there.
So far, Google’s response to appease users (of both Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL) is the added ability to adjust the color saturation between “Boosted, Natural or Saturated” settings until the display’s presentation suits your desires. You’ll find this option in the “Display” setting and inside of the advanced settings within.
This doesn’t necessarily “fix” the blue shift in color, but according to Seang Chau, a top engineer at Google, this was intentional in design. He provided the following statement on the company’s blog regarding the Pixel 2 XL’s OLED tech:
"The slight blue tint is inherent in the display hardware and only visible when you hold the screen at a sharp angle. All displays are susceptible to some level of color shift (e.g. red, yellow, blue) when viewing from off angles due to the pixel cavity design. Similar to our choice with a cooler white point, we went with what users tend to prefer and chose a design that shifts blue."
Credit: Alex Dobie
OLED displays are far less susceptible to burn-in than, say, an old plasma television, but it can still happen. And just a few weeks following the release of the Pixel 2 XL, users were reporting early signs of burn-in on the phone’s OLED display – a worrying development for a phone that had already received complaints regarding its screen.
Upon requesting a statement from Google, it stated the following:
"The Pixel 2 XL screen has been designed with an advanced POLED technology, including QHD+ resolution, wide color gamut, and high contrast ratio for natural and beautiful colors and renderings. We put all of our products through extensive quality testing before launch and in the manufacturing of every unit. We are actively investigating this report."
After the reports of apparent burn-in began to spread, Google provided a follow-up statement regarding its findings:
"Our investigation so far has given us confidence that our displays are as great as we hoped they would be, though we’re also taking steps to address the concerns we've heard."
One of those steps is giving every Pixel 2 XL (and Pixel 2) user a two-year warranty, which replaces the standard one-year warranty. This covers any manufacturer defects, including OLED decay, for twice the duration.
Another one of those steps, although not mentioned by Google, is likely to be a fix made to the nav bar, which now fades out periodically – likely an effort to prevent these static elements from burning in as time goes on.
The final known issue (as of yet) with Google’s plus-sized flagship smartphone is the poor recording quality that some are experiencing when recording a video. Certain devices are recording audio that’s very distorted – clearly pointing to a problem with either the microphone hardware or the software. A Pixel 2 XL user uploaded the video below, which makes the issue apparent from the get-go.
Once word of this issue began to spread, Google stated that it would have a fix in the following week. And according to a Reddit user, the latest developer preview of Android Oreo 8.1 appears to have fixed it.
The wireless operator is donating $1 million and is looking for some help from anyone who's willing to bring a broken phone or tablet to its stores.
The post T-Mobile prepares to donate millions with help from your broken phone appeared first on Pocketnow.
Everything is going to be just phab in the future. We all love our smartphones but we love our phablets even more.
According to new figures from IDC, the market for smartphones with screen sizes of 5.5 inches to 7+ inches, the so-called phablet, is set to boom – with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.1%. In contrast, smaller smartphones are set for a period of decline, with a CAGR of minus 7.4%. Consequently, total smartphone growth will be 3%.
The growth is particularly strong in China – China was responsible for 50% of the phablet sales in 2016, the country is expected to see a CAGR of 12.6%
One of the factors that has driven this growth is the arrival of Apple in a market that had been dominated by Android devices. IDC expects its Plus and X devices to account for 41.2% of its shipment volume in 2017 and 50% or more of Apple's iPhone shipments in 2018.
However, Android still accounts for the bulk of all smartphone sales, racking up 85% of total sales. Despite this high penetration, the market is expected to grow even further, with worldwide volumes of Android devices set to rise from 1.3 billion in 2017 to 1.5 billion in 2021, a five-year CAGR of 3.2%. One of the interesting growth area is in the rise of Chinese OEMs, a phenomenon that has hampered Samsung’s dominance of this area.
"In 2012, phablets were just 1% of smartphone shipments and now they are approaching 50% of the market just a few years later," said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. "Consumers continue to consume more video entertainment, gaming, social media, and other data-heavy applications on their smartphones making the display size and type a critical factor in smartphone buying decisions."