Columns

Ten years ago, the first commercial Android smartphone, the T-Mobile G1, was launched. While it came on the heels of the iPhone and was, naturally, seen as Google desperately chasing after Apple. But in the 10 years since that fateful September day, Android has grown from what many thought would be yet another failed Google experiment into the world’s largest smartphone platform, transforming smartphones and the tech world at large and, in a twist of fate, even shaping some of the iPhone’s features along the way.

Continue Reading

Facebook wants to put a camera in your home, and I can't decide if the company is tone-deaf, supremely confident, or some odd combination of the two. The delayed Facebook "Portal" smart speaker will take on Amazon's Echo Show and Google Smart Displays, so the rumor mill would have it, delivering video calls and more as the latest incarnation of the social network's attempt to encourage communication.

Continue Reading

Tesla may have had the early bird advantage in electric cars, but while increasing competition from vehicles like the new 2019 Audi e-tron may give Elon Musk's business plan a headache, for drivers it's all good news. The new electric SUV won't just headline Audi's new electric car strategy when it arrives in dealerships next year: it'll also mark a turning point in a new EV infrastructure that's great news for Tesla drivers too.

Continue Reading

Another year, another batch of new iPhones. More than just the beginning of a new breed of iPhones, last year’s iPhone X is changing the narrative ever so slightly when it comes to upgrading to the latest and greatest. Yes, it’s an “S” generation, but, unlike before, the decision isn’t as clear-cut. But rather than directly answer the question of whether you should upgrade or not, it might be better to consider not what you’re upgrading to but where you’re upgrading from.

Continue Reading

We’re counting down the hours to Apple’s much awaited event of the year, even if it’s still more than 24 hours away. But while the event on 12th September is already earmarked for that iPhone, the story hardly that simple. Yes, we are getting new iPhones, but which ones? And it won’t be arriving alone either. Over the past months, even all the way back to late 2017, we’ve been inundated with rumors, leaks, and tips about Apple’s next mobile devices and wearables. And even if those don’t come to pass, they were strong enough to have changed the face of the market way before the next-gen iPhone X. To help you navigate through tomorrow’s big day, here’s the Cliff Notes version of what we’re expecting to be unveiled.

Continue Reading

Air travel is dire, autonomous car development is split into poorly-communicating silos, and the goal of cutting road fatalities and making better use of infrastructure simply isn't the priority it ought to be. That, at least, is how Volvo sees the state of play in the self-driving world, and while the striking new 360c concept car may be a very visible expression of its focus on autonomy, arguably it's its ambitions for co-development and exploring new businesses that are more dramatic.

Continue Reading

Huawei’s recent misstep was like opening up a wound we thought had gone away. And while Huawei did admit to cheating benchmarking tools, its justification for doing so only serves to highlight something that was brought up half a decade ago. Mobile benchmarks, while not completely useless, are still nowhere near the maturity of their PC counterparts. Worse, they have even served to further the agenda of manufacturers instead of helping consumers make better choices.

Continue Reading

Mercedes-Benz is getting into all-electric cars, and the 2020 EQC shows it's serious about it. Revealed today, the all-new EQC is the culmination of several years of concept cars and positioning in general from the German automaker, as it readies its push back against upstarts like Tesla along with more familiar rivals like Audi, BMW, and Jaguar.

Continue Reading

IFA 2018 has all but wrapped up and disappointing as it may be for some, it’s not exactly unexpected that there weren’t that many shiny new smartphones announced during the week. Especially premium smartphones. Of course, we’ve had some of those land before IFA. While waiting for three and a half more such Android phones to come in the next month or so, we take a breather and try to check which smartphones deserve your hard-earned cash. Here are seven, in no particular order.

Continue Reading

The hopes of smartwatch fans, especially those from the Android Wear/Wear OS crowd, might have just been dashed. Google has allegedly confirmed there will be no such things as a Pixel Watch this year. Truth be told, there was never really assurance there’d be one. But Google also didn’t actually discount the possibility of having its own Pixel-branded Wear OS smartwatch in the future, maybe even next year. Google, however, shouldn’t dillydally too long on making that wearable device. Because right now, the smartwatch market needs a Pixel miracle.

Continue Reading

Convergence gave us the smartphone that was also a camera and media player, and now Lenovo's Yoga Book C930 wants to do the same for the larger gadgets that currently fill up your bag. The dual-screen clamshell cherry-picks the best of LCD, E Ink, and digital pen technology, encapsulating them all in an unusually compact design. That might be enough to help oust four other devices from your carry-on.

Continue Reading

Donald Trump was concerned this week that Google suppresses conservative news media in search results. He did so in two Tweets, one of which asked whether this practice was legal. Inside the United States, the FCC effectively ended Net Neutrality in December of 2017. Net Neutrality is not the same as Search Neutrality, and neither the FCC nor the FTC (nor any other government entity) has the legal power to tell Google that it needs to show "fair and balanced" search results - at least where politics are concerned.

Continue Reading