The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was launched with the debut of the game Fortnite on Android. As the Galaxy Note 9 was essentially touted as the ultimate mobile device on which one might play Fortnite, we decided to run a test. At 9AM on test day I began playing Fortnite, and I did not quit the game nor did I turn off the display until the phone's battery went dead.
Huawei has launched an LTE-connected smart speaker and router, the Huawei AI Cube, complete with Alexa built-in, but the weirdest thing about it is the shape. Making its debut at IFA 2018 today, the Alexa speaker may be called a cube, but in fact it's a stubby cylinder. Huawei does say the design may change before launch, but what shouldn't are the capabilities.
T-Mobile has a new promotion lined up for Labor Day, one that will be available to all smartphone users...including those who are signed up with different carriers like Verizon. This upcoming Monday, the Uncarrier will give smartphone users free in-flight Gogo WiFi on domestic flights, giving them a taste of the T-Mobile ONE plan experience.
Samsung wants to tame your smart home and end your WiFi deadspots, with its new SmartThings Wifi mesh router system. Promising not only smoother internet access for things like online gaming, streaming media, and general browsing, the mesh networking system also integrates an IoT hub that could leave you spending less time jumping between apps and more time letting your connected home do the hard work in the background.
This morning the folks at Google revealed - officially - the last Developer Preview Android update for Android P before release. This will be the last time - before the public beta release - that Google will deliver a software update for Android P preview before it's available completely to the public at large. This update is called Android P DP4, and all downloads are ready to roll now.
Wi-Fi is pretty much the wireless technology that binds us all to the Internet. Given the prevalence of laptops and mobile devices and the costs of cellular data like LTE, Wi-Fi is still the preferred way to connect to the Internet both at home and outside. So much so that when the KRACK vulnerability was discovered, there was an even bigger panic than with Meltdown and Spectre. While those holes have mostly been patched up, the Wi-Fi Alliance, the caretakers of the technology, quickly moved to finalize WPA3, the first Wi-Fi security update since 2003.
TP-Link has a new mesh router on the scene, and it seems to do a little bit of everything. Today the company revealed the Deco M9 Plus, a tri-band router that can cover the same area with fewer nodes than previous releases in the Deco line. Beyond that, the Deco M9 Plus has a few tricks up its sleeve as well.
Wi-Fi meshes are now the hot thing in home networking. Once just a feature in offices and more sophisticated environments, home networks have become just as complicated to require their assistance. There is no shortage of Wi-Fi meshes from popular router and networking equipment makers, but, while more open and flexible, they may not always work with ISPs proprietary technologies. That is why Comcast has just launched their own xFi Pods mesh system so that XFinity subscribers won't have to look elsewhere or give anyone else their money.
Mesh WiFi systems promise to spread wireless internet access to every dead-zone in your house or office, but now the Wi-Fi Alliance wants to make them play nicely together, too. Systems like Google Wifi, eero, and Linksys Velop are all designed to support multiple units - or mesh nodes - to which your phones, laptops, consoles, and IoT gadgets connect to for ubiquitous coverage, but so far you've had to commit to one brand.
The US is home to several ultra-low cost airlines, one of them being Spirit Airlines. The carrier has announced that it will be the first budget airline to offer in-flight WiFi, though customers won't have access to it until next summer. Once available, travelers will have access to the network on all Spirit flights via tech partner Thales Group.
Home WiFi company eero has announced the launch of eero Labs, a way for customers to get access to features that are still being tested. eero calls the new Labs an "innovation playground." The first beta feature to be made available under the program is called Smart Queue Management (SQM), a way for devices on the network to share bandwidth "simply and fairly."
Netgear has a new mesh router in its Orbi line-up, but as well as filling in dead-spots in your home WiFi, it also wants to save you money. The new Netgear Orbi Tri-Band WiFi Cable Modem Router System combines the mesh networking of the other Orbi routers with a built-in cable modem.