Features - SlashGear

Android’s WannaCry “SLocker” source leaks online: Here’s how to avoid it

Chris Burns | Jul 24, 2017

A piece of mobile ransomware that mimics the methods of WannaCry malware has leaked online. The source code for the malicious software has been spilled to the web, allowing this "SLocker" to be downloaded and spread ad infinitum. The source code might also give security experts an easy way to ramp up protection against the malicious code - but the potential costs far outweigh the potential benefits.

Game of Thrones season 7, episode 2 recap and analysis: Stormborn

Eric Abent | Jul 24, 2017

After last week's premiere of Game of Thrones season 7, audiences certainly came back hungry for more. The first episode of the season was a bit heavy on exposition, but it's clear now that it was merely setting up for an action-packed season. Who were the winners and who were the losers in this week's episode?

2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon first drive review: hell on wheels

Vincent Nguyen | Jul 22, 2017

I’m sorry, you’re called what? The Demon? The demon of what, you might also ask? It’s the torpedo of drag racers, born out an addiction to speed in a straight line, and its singular mission is to obliterate the competition on any drag strip. The specs say that the 840 HP V8 can propel this particular 4,275-pound missile from 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds, and hammer out the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds at 140 mph. This is the world’s fastest production car, and it’s wearing an American badge.

5 Reasons it’s good to be a Motorola smartphone user again

Chris Burns | Jul 21, 2017

As we approach the release of a couple more Motorola-made smartphones on the 25th, it's become a good time to be a fan of the mobile MOTO brand again. The staple brand name in mobile electronics had a few years of ups and downs - switching parent companies twice over - but they've come home once more. Owned by Lenovo and moving forward with a unique and powerful phone lineup, Motorola's once again hit their smartphone stride.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Review: The anti-MacBook Pro

Chris Davies | Jul 20, 2017

Microsoft knows how to make sleek hardware. If the Surface Book is handsome but bulky, and the Surface Pro is more minimalistic but suffers a less-compelling keyboard, then the Surface Laptop falls happily in-between. You don't get a fancy detachable display, no, or even a 360-degree hinge. Instead, it's a neatly finished, beguiling traditional laptop form-factor with some eminently pleasing material decisions.

Galaxy S8 Bixby Voice: How to get started

Chris Burns | Jul 19, 2017

This week Samsung's Bixby Voice feature begins to roll out to users everywhere - here's how to get it. This system is a relative long-time-coming, when we consider how long it was since Samsung revealed the feature for the phone. Just as the phone itself was first announced, so too was Bixby's ability to speak with its master - you, the owner of the Galaxy S8.

5 things you need to know about the 2017 BMW 540i xDrive

Benjamin Hunting | Jul 19, 2017

A lot of what you'll read about BMW's newest 5 Series sedan will devote sizable column inches to lamenting the past - that is to say, the bygone era when BMW cared a little bit more about crossing the finish line first than coddling comfort. Those days are gone, however, as evidenced not just by the 2017 BMW 540i xDrive I drove for a week, but also when examining almost every other model in the automaker's Byzantine line-up.

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 First Drive: Fiercely relaxing

Chris Davies | Jul 18, 2017

Throbbing red and scented with bespoke perfume, the 2018 Mercedes-AMG S63's cabin made absolutely clear that, even by Stuttgart's standards, this is no ordinary luxury sedan. Still, to describe the 2018 S-Class as an important car for Mercedes-Benz is to damn it with understatement. What's under its handsome sheet metal doesn't just represent the pinnacle of the automaker's engineering efforts, but in effect sets a roadmap for the rest of its vehicles over the next ten years.

Bluetooth Mesh: What you should know about this IoT revolution

Chris Davies | Jul 18, 2017

You might associate Bluetooth with cutting the cable between your headphones and your phone, but Bluetooth Mesh aims to make it a ubiquitous backchannel for the Internet of Things. Launched today, Bluetooth Mesh is a way that low-energy radios can build many-to-many (m:m) links between devices, evolving to encompass new gadgets, temporary blackouts, and more. Initially, it's setting its sights on the lucrative smart lighting segment.

HTC U11 Alexa hands-on: What works and what needs work

Chris Burns | Jul 17, 2017

This past week we've had some time with the HTC U11's newest feature boost: HTC Alexa onboard. That's Amazon's Alexa personal assistant, but placed on the HTC U11 in a way that's unique to this device. While Alexa is available in its app form for other smartphones, here Amazon and HTC have worked together to allow Alexa to act as similar to an Echo or Echo Dot as any smartphone has been before.

Game of Thrones S7E1 “Dragonstone” review and discussion

Eric Abent | Jul 17, 2017

Beware: everything that follows after this paragraph contains thorough and unrelenting spoilers for last night's Game of Thrones episode, “Dragonstone.” If you haven't watched it yet and you don't want the story spoiled for you, do not read on. You have been warned.

2018 Hyundai Sonata First Drive: 5 things you need to know

Benjamin Hunting | Jul 17, 2017

The 2018 Hyundai Sonata is here, and while the automaker's mid-size family sedan hasn't been completely redesigned there are a few aspects of its recent refresh that are definitely worth discussing. The Sonata has moved past its challenger status and now sells at or over 200,000 examples every year in the United States, although it's starting to show the same battle scars as other sedans as a result of growing consumer interest in SUVs.