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Xiaomi's Global Spokesperson Talks About 5G & Foldable Smartphones

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Xiaomi 's Global Spokesperson and a Director of Product Management, Donovan Sung, got interviewed by Venture Beat at MWC, and during the interview , he talked about both 5G and foldable smartphones. Xiaomi's 5G Phone Is Here For those of you who do not know, Xiaomi did introduce a 5G-enabled smartphone at MWC 2019, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G. That is essentially the Mi MIX 3 with the Snapdragon 855 SoC and Qualcomm's X50 modem, so it's basically the same phone with a more powerful SoC and 5G capability. There are a couple of added differences, in the battery department, for example. Mr. Sung said that the company really wanted to make its first 5G smartphone as affordable as possible, as that is the company's philosophy, to be extremely competitive as far as price is concerned, while offering the best possible products that they can. The company definitely managed to do that with the Mi MIX 3 5G, as it is only about $50 more expensive than the regular Mi MIX 3, t

Anker's PowerCore+ portable charger on sale for $104 doubles as a USB-C hub

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So much power. The Anker PowerCore+ 19000mAh Power Delivery USB-C portable charger is down to $103.99 with code HYBRID13 on Amazon. The charger sells for $130 normally and has never dropped from that price directly. This deal comes with the portable charger, but you'll also get a 30W USB-C Power Delivery wall charger and USB-C to USB-C cable to ensure you've got exactly the correct setup to get the fastest charge possible. With its large capacity, you'll be able to charge phones like the iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S9 several times before recharging. With Power Delivery you'll get full 27W speeds for all USB-C devices, including phones and laptops. Charge three devices simultaneously with two USB-A ports in addition to the USB-C port. A unique feature of this charger is Hub Mode. Connect to your USB-C port on your laptop and turn the charger into a data hub, so you can quickly read and transfer data using all the extra ports. Need a portable charger wi

Super Chargers: Samsung is being left in the dust by Chinese manufacturers

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Chinese brands are at the forefront of fast charging innovations. Phones have transformed drastically over the course of the last decade, but the trusty Lithium-ion battery has seen little in the way of change. Sure, batteries are denser and have much better safeguards built in, but the technology itself hasn't altered much. Until new-age tech like gallium nitride comes in, the only other recourse for manufacturers is to build fast charging tech that pushes Li-ion to its limit. And no one does it better than Chinese brands. OPPO leads the pack with its insane 50W Super VOOC fast charging standard. OPPO has invested in fast charging tech from the beginning, with its VOOC standard one of the fastest around. OPPO introduced a 50W Super VOOC standard at the end of last year on the R17 Pro, and right now it's the fastest such protocol around. Although OPPO's phones are just now starting to get mainstream attention in western markets, the company licenses the

Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+ will come with a screen protector pre-installed

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Like to use screen protectors on your smartphones? If you're buying a Galaxy S10 , you'll get one pre-installed. Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S10 and S10+ will come with a factory pre-installed screen protector. This applies to all global subsidiaries and all variants of the S10. "This decision was made to increase overall customer experiences with the improved screen durability and full functionality of the Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor on Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+", Samsung explains. The screen protector that comes with your S10 or S10+ will be covered by a 90-day warranty. Not everybody uses a screen protector with their smartphone, but some folks like to protect their expensive new device from getting scratches on the screen. It's nice to see Samsung including a screen protector with the S10 and S10+, especially since they have an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor that could be difficult to use with some screen protecto

AT&T Embraces 5GE Again, Claims Customers Love It - MWC 2019

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In a recent ZDNet interview at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, AT&T Business CEO Thaddeus Arroyo claimed that its customers love the 5G Evolution branding because they want faster speeds. At the same time, the CEO also reiterated that 5GE and 5G are two separate platforms and that 5GE is the evolution platform upon which its 5G infrastructure will be built. AT&T claims that it wants its customers to know whenever they are in an area capable of providing 5G Evolution connectivity, which is why it introduced the 5GE icon to a number of smartphones that are technically incapable of 5G networking. Customers love it, because they want faster speeds, according to the CEO, but in reality, 5G Evolution does not offer higher speeds compared to LTE Advanced. 5GE is, in essence, AT&T's LTE Advanced infrastructure rebranded into 5GE. Surely, customers do want faster speeds but changing the name of the product won't offer that. It's only natural for the carrier t

Light Up Your Home With Philips Hue Bulbs From $38 - Amazon Deals

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Philips Hue is one of the more popular smart light bulbs on the market, and today, you can pick them up for just $38. That's about $12 off of their regular price. And considering these rarely drop in price, this is a really good time to pick up a few. The Philips Hue bulbs are multi-colored, and can actually do 16 million different colors. They can also be synced with different things like your smoke alarm so that the house will turn red when the smoke alarm goes off. Or it can be synced with the game to turn to your teams colors when they score. Of course, they can also be used to add some accent lighting in your home. These bulbs do need a hub in order to work. So if you don't already have a Philips Hue Bridge, you'll want to grab one. Or pick up the Amazon Echo Plus, which is a hub but also gives you voice support for Philips Hue with Alexa. There is also support Google Assistant and Apple's Siri. You can pick up these Philips Hue bulbs from Amazon using the l

This USB-C ViewSonic Monitor Is A Steal At $399 - Amazon Deals

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Amazon is currently selling the ViewSonic VP2771 27-inch Quad HD USB-C monitor for just $399. That is down about $50 from its regular price, which actually puts it at an all-time low. This is because it is a very new monitor, that only launched a few months ago. It is also one of the cheapest USB-C monitors on the market right now. This monitor from ViewSonic is a 27-inch, Quad HD resolution monitor. With a resolution of 2560x1440. It does also have an adjustable stand, making it great for putting on your desk, whether you're using a standing or a sitting desk. ViewSonic made sure to add plenty of ports on this monitor. Which includes a an HDMI, two DisplayPort with a DisplayPort Out, four USB-A ports and then a USB-C port. With the USB-C port, it means that you can plug your laptop directly into the monitor and not worry about plugging your laptop into the wall. Meaning that there will be less wires going around. You can pick up the ViewSonic VP277Z 27-inch Quad HD USB-C mo

Nokia 9 PureView Goes On Sale March 3, With Time-Limited $100 Discount

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HMD Global has announced that the Nokia 9 PureView is going to be available this Sunday, March 3. It'll be priced at a special introductory price of $599 through March 10. Afterwards, it'll jump to $699. The Nokia 9 PureView will be on sale at the usual retailers: Amazon , Best Buy and B&H Photo. It will also be unlocked and work on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, unfortunately, there's no support for Verizon or Sprint. At Mobile World Congress earlier this week, HMD Global announced the long rumored Nokia 9 PureView, which is the world's first penta-camera smartphone. The Nokia 9 PureView was a project that HMD Global worked with Light on, so that it can produce a pretty impressive smartphone camera experience. Thanks to this partnership, the Nokia 9 PureView is able to produce pictures that look almost as good as those from a DSLR. There are five cameras on the back, but unlike other smartphones on the market, it is not using different

Pre-Order Samsung Galaxy S10 Or S10+, Get A $130 Gift Certificate

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Samsung is currently running a deal on pre-orders of the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ through its website. Allowing customers to pre-order either model and get a $130 eCertificate (aka a gift card) with their purchase. This can still be stacked with the up to $550 off with a trade-in, and you can still get a free pair of Galaxy Buds. That makes this a rather incredible deal for the new Galaxy S10 or Galaxy S10+. The Galaxy S10 and S10+ were announced not too long ago, and the devices are set to be available on March 8. So there's not a whole lot of time left to get your hands on these pre-order sales and freebies. If you are looking to pre-order the Galaxy S10 or Galaxy S10+, now is definitely the time to do just that. Samsung's Galaxy S10 starts at $899 for 128GB of storage, with the Galaxy S10+ starting at $999 for 128GB as well. These aren't cheap smartphones, but Samsung is making some pretty killer deals for both of them. They both sport the Snapdragon 855 chipset wi

Huawei P30 Pro Certification Confirms 40W SuperCharge Charging

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The Huawei P30 and P30 Pro have surfaced on the Chinese 3C certification agency's website. Two Huawei P30 variants surfaced, the ELE-AL00 and ELE-TL00, while three variants of the P30 Pro appeared, the VOG-TL00, VOG-AL10, and VOG-AL00. As per usual, this certification does not really share all that much info about smartphones, but it does share some charging-related information. The 3C certification confirmed that the Huawei P30 Pro will include 40W wired fast charging, same as the Mate 20 Pro, while the P30 will offer up to 22.5W fast wired charging. The 40W fast wired charging that is included in the Mate 20 Pro is called the Huawei SuperCharge, and Huawei will stick to that naming for the P30 Pro as well, of course. That fast charging comes with TÃœV safe fast-charge system certification, and it's capable of charging the device from 0 to 100-percent extremely fast. With Huawei's SuperCharge, you will be able to recharge the Huawei P30 Pro's battery from 0 to 7

Chrome Will Become Even Faster Thanks To Back-Forward Cache

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A new back/forward cache feature may soon make its way to the  Google Chrome browser. This functionality makes it faster for users to navigate between previously visited webpages by saving entire pages, including its JavaScript states, temporarily into the memory of the computer or the mobile device after the user moves on to another webpage. By keeping the webpage in RAM, the browser can immediately load the page without having to re-download data from the servers of the website and processing the elements of the webpage again. There are already early prototypes of this feature, and two videos that show how this feature works on desktops and smartphones are available on the Google Developers website . This functionality amy significantly benefit smartphone and tablet users, since navigating back and forth between web pages comprise 19-percent of all navigations in the mobile version of the Chrome browser. Back/forward cache feature is already present in other browsers, namely

P30 and P30 Pro: new renders dispel all doubts

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Announced in March last year, the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro quickly became some of the most successful smartphones coming out of China. It is not surprising, then, that Huawei is preparing to launch their successors during the spring of this year. Newly leaked renderings of the P30 and P30 Pro, accompanied by device specs, answer many of the questions that have arisen in recent days. Shortcuts: P30 and P30 Pro show up in new renders The source is our old acquaintance - leaker Roland Quandt, who has published new renders of the Huawei P30 range coming later this month on WinFuture . We can finally know a lot about the final look of the flagships, but also, again thanks to our colleague, we can take a first look at the complete specs. Huawei P30 The standard version of the P30 closely follows the form factor of the previous generation. The smartphone has a metal structure enclosed in two glass panels. In this case the display is fl

Even Energizer Has A Foldable Phone At MWC 2019

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Many of the foldable phones coming out of the woodwork for 2019 have two small displays that combine to form a single tablet-sized one, but Energizer bucks that trend by having a mammoth 6-incher on the front of its device, along with an 8.1-inch tablet screen on the inside. This phone's hinge is built around a single folding screen, which means that the slightly smaller phone screen gets relegated to the device's backside when the tablet folds out. One of the most shocking things about this phone is that it will only cost 850 euros, the equivalent of less than $1,000 USD. Naturally, because it's an Energizer phone, it's got a massive 10,000mAh battery. Between the two large screens, the beefy Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, and the phone's out-of-the-box 5G capabilities, you're probably going to end up being quite thankful for that battery. The six-inch screen is a 2,160 by 1,440 affair, and the tablet screen runs a roughly equivalent full HD+ resolution

A Darker Mode For Android Chrome Steps Closer To Release

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Chrome for Android's incoming dark mode has taken a step closer to release with reports now cropping up about its arrival behind a functioning flag setting option on the Canary variant of the app.  The feature had previously been spotted with the addition of a new flag but that didn't actually do anything prior to the most recently spotted change. Now, the flag activates and turns on the mode. In effect, as of this most recent iteration of dark mode, activating the feature sends webpages through an inversion of the HSL-based lightness value of given colors on a website. For sites that already utilize black colors, those do get swapped to a much lighter tone. That does also mean that most webpages already using a lot of other dark colors could appear much brighter but for the most part, sites and their content will now seem much darker almost across the board. Conversely, that discrepancy could affect only a few elements of the page -- as highlighted in the images below.

Best Samsung Galaxy S10 Screen Protectors You Can Buy - February 2019

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The Samsung Galaxy S10 has a pretty incredible looking display. But as is the case with any smartphone, you're going to want to protect that display, so that it doesn't get scratched, or worse. With the Galaxy S10, things are a bit different compared to other smartphones. Due to the in-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor, not all screen protectors will work on the Galaxy S10. Apparently, only the plastic screen protectors will work. Glass will not, with one exception - the Whitestone Dome tempered glass screen protector. We've rounded up the very best screen protectors available for the Galaxy S10 down below. These are all available for purchase now, and make for a great insurance policy on your smartphone. Spigen NeoFlex Screen Protector The Spigen NeoFlex is a plastic screen protector that will cover the entire front of the Galaxy S10. It is case friendly, which is particularly important when it comes to curved displays like the Galaxy S10. This is not a temper

Need A Keyboard With An Android Phone Attached? Here's One

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One of the new Android smartphones to make its public debut during MWC 2019 was the Pro1 Android smartphone by F(x)tec. As has been the case with this year's MWC event in general, F(x)tec has designed the Pro1 with a new and novel form factor in mind. Arguably, an old form factor that'a now been updated to marry well with the needs of the modern Android phone user. This is due to the Pro1 coming equipped with a physical QWERTY keyboard. While that in itself is not new new due to the likes of the BlackBerry KEY line , the orientation of the keyboard is the big selling point. BlackBerry Mobile's physical keyboard solution banks on the use of a keyboard in portrait mode and by association results in a keyboard which is not that much bigger than the virtual keyboard on other devices. More importantly, the physical keyboard most often comes at the expense of valuable display space. F(x)tec has looked to overcome both of these issues by opting to include a landscape-or

Sony Latest Inexpensive Xperia 10 & Xperia L3 Smartphones Land In Europe

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Orders for Sony's latest mid-range and budget models -- the Xperia 10, 10 Plus, and L3 -- are now open in Europe and the UK, with the former two of those also available for pre-order in the US.  The new handsets debuted at MWC 2019 and users in Europe will find the dual-SIM variant of the Sony Xperia L3, 10, and 10 Plus for €200,  €350, and €430 respectively. The UK and Ireland variants will ship only in the single SIM configuration for considerably less -- at £170, £300, and £350. Users in the latter region can reportedly be expected to pay a slightly higher price. The US version of the new handsets are slated for March 18 and will ship for $350 for the more affordable Sony Xperia 10 while the Sony Xperia S10 Plus is up for pre-order at $430. What to expect from the new handsets The Sony Xperia L3 represents the company's budget entry model with a 720p 5.7-inch 18:9 Corning Gorilla Glass 5 display. An 8-megapixel selfie camera sits just above that and a 13-megapixel i

Motorola Confirms It's Joining The Foldable Phone Party

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Mobile World Congress this week in Barcelona, served as a coming-out party for foldable smartphones. Samsung, Huawei, TCL and OPPO all showcased foldable phones. But they aren't the only ones working on them. Motorola also confirmed that it is working on one too. In the past few months, several patents have surfaced showing what Motorola's foldable smartphone might look like, so it's not too surprising to hear this from Motorola. From what Motorola has shown us, via patents, is that it'll look like the original RAZR, from the flip phone days (not the Droid Razr from a few years ago). Engadget got a chance to speak with Motorola's VP of Global Product, Dan Dery at the trade show this week, who stated that the company "started to work on foldables a long time ago." Also mentioning that Motorola has "been doing a lot of iteration." Which seemingly means that their foldable smartphone may be coming sooner rather than later. Dery also said tha

Pocket Casts Brings The First Meaningful Podcast Skill To Alexa

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Shifty Jelly, the company behind one of the most popular podcast apps of all-time, has announced that Pocket Casts is now available on Alexa, via a new skill. This is a pretty big deal on a few fronts. Firstly, Alexa doesn't really have a way to play podcasts on its smart speakers. There are some workarounds, but none of them really work well. It's also a big deal because it is able to play podcasts from where you left off on your phone. With Pocket Casts now available on Alexa, you can simply ask Alexa to play your favorite podcast on your Alexa-enabled speaker. Just tell Alexa the name of the show and then "play on Pocket Casts" and you're good to go. If you listen to a lot of podcasts, this is actually going to be a pretty big deal, as Pocket Casts does have a lot of podcasts available in its app - basically any podcast that exists. And now being able to play it with your voice, is a great thing to have. To get things setup, you'll need to go and fi

USB 3.2 Designations Descending Further Into Chaos As Speeds Double - MWC 2019

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Universal serial bus standards could become either more or less confusing for end users, following an announcement by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) at MWC 2019 that there will be a new designation for USB 3.0, USB 3.1, and USB 3.2.  All three of the standards will be classified as USB 3.2 with the clarification provided by generation designations. Summarily USB 3.0 will now be called as USB 3.2 Gen 1 while USB 3.1 will be designated USB 3.2 Gen 2 and the most recent iteration of the technology will be designated USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. The change will undoubtedly take some time to move across the entire industry and may cause some initial confusion as a result, with different OEMs and resources using different naming conventions. The key marketing terms intended for use by manufacturers should eventually balance that out and make things more straightforward. USB-IF has changed those to each bear the SuperSpeed designation. Qualifiers will highlight differences in data transfer ra