Luxury smartphones are a terrible idea and Vertu's problems confirm it
When I dream of being rich, the one thing that I never imagine buying is a luxury smartphone. It just doesn't make sense to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a device that, realistically speaking, isn't better than an iPhone or Galaxy S flagship. I have not conducted a scientific study to back this up, but I suspect that people who are actually wealthy would agree.
A luxury item, at least from my perspective, has to stand the test of time. It has to be just as attractive today as it was yesterday. A Rolex Submariner from 10 years ago isn't looked down upon now or perceived as worse compared to the latest model. But a phone, that's different. It actually becomes less appealing as time goes by, because its core functionality becomes less and less attractive to the owner when new generations hit the market.
Cryptocurrency market bounces back after crash
Volatility is the norm of the day in the cryptocurrency market, so the recent crash that saw tens of billions of dollars wiped off from its value is hardly something unusual. These things happen from time to time, but, as of late, you can expect the market to recover shortly after.
Case in point: yesterday I was telling you that all the major cryptocurrencies were in the red. The market's cap was down to under $90 billion. A couple of hours later, things started to improve, reaching the point where the cap is back over the $100 billion mark.
Bitcoin is stronger than Ethereum -- the flippening will have to wait
When the price of Ethereum broke the $400 mark earlier this month, the flippening looked like a sure thing. Pundits were expecting it to soon surpass Bitcoin and become the most valuable cryptocurrency in the process. However, fast forward to today, Ethereum is crashing hard while its rival is still holding well.
The price of Ethereum has dropped to around $235, bringing its market cap down to around $21.9 billion. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading for around $2330, and its market cap is around $38.8 billion. From a difference of less than $8 billion in market cap, Bitcoin's lead has more than doubled in just a couple of weeks.
Xiaomi Mi R3P AC2600 Wi-Fi router review
Xiaomi may be best known for making smartphones, but that is not the only market the company focuses on. You can also find a Xiaomi VR headset, drone, action cameras, TVs, wearables, power banks, headphones and, last but not least, Wi-Fi routers.
Routers are a good fit in the Xiaomi ecosystem. In its lineup, the Mi R3P is the fastest router that you can get, sporting AC2600 transfer speeds, and just like you would expect, it is also priced competitively. But is it worth your attention? I've tested the Mi R3P to find out.
Google Chrome bests Microsoft Edge in new battery life tests
Ask Microsoft which browser offers the best battery life on Windows 10 and it will not hesitate to tell you that Microsoft Edge is the best. And it has the test results to prove it: on a Surface Book, for instance, Microsoft Edge lasts a couple of hours longer than Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, which is remarkable.
But, and there is a but, an independent test disputes Microsoft's claim. YouTuber Linus Tech Tips has pitted Microsoft Edge against Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera and discovered that it does not deliver as strong a performance as Microsoft claims.
OnePlus 5 gets OxygenOS 4.5.2 and root
OnePlus is among the few vendors that provide frequent updates for their smartphones. And it continues this tradition with its latest flagship killer, the OnePlus 5, which just received a software update over the air before its highly anticipated open release on June 27.
OxygenOS 4.5.2, which is also the update for the OnePlus 5, fixes a couple of bugs and adds a number of optimizations for the stock apps and built-in functionality. But that is not all that is new in OnePlus 5 land right now, as the flagship killer has also been rooted.
GDAX exchange reimburses customers affected by Ethereum price crash
A large sale order on the GDAX exchange earlier this week caused the price of Ethereum to crash massively for a brief period of time. The second most-valuable cryptocurrency dropped to as low as $0.10 in trading before bouncing back to over $300, after the sale triggered a domino effect which saw around 800 advanced orders being filled.
The customers who placed those orders -- stop loss and margin call -- have lost big as a result. However, even though it has found that "all trades this week were executed properly," GDAX says that it will reimburse the affected accounts, in what I believe is a brilliant move on its behalf.
Google Photos removes backup while charging option
As a tool to backup your photos and videos to the cloud, Google Photos should give you a fair degree of control over how and when you want the backups to be performed. However, a new update to the popular app on Android manages to do quite the opposite, removing a very useful feature -- which is sure to frustrate some users.
Google Photos has dropped the backup while charging option from the settings menu, forcing users to either perform backups manually or accept that backups can happen anytime their smartphone or tablet is connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network.
Microsoft Edge bug bounty program now permanent
Microsoft introduced a bug bounty program for Edge last August. Originally intended as a temporary thing, it will now live on as the software giant reports that it has lead to major improvements in its browser's security.
As is the case with bug bounty programs, part of the appeal for security researchers is the financial side. In this case, Microsoft says that it has paid over $200,000 in bounties in since it kicked off.
Ethereum price plunges to $0.10 before bouncing back
Ethereum has redefined volatility in the cryptocurrency market. On the GDAX exchange, the second most valuable cryptocurrency dropped to as low as $0.10 in trading before the price swiftly recovered.
The price of Ethereum is hovering around the $336 mark at the time of writing this article. What caused the plunge? GDAX blames it on a basic sell order, albeit one of really high value.
Google Play fails to catch trojan-injected apps (again)
Getting your Android apps through Google Play is considered safe, but there are times when even the search giant's store is dangerous. Case in point, Kaspersky uncovered two more trojan-infected apps that weren't removed until they had over 60,000 installs.
Kaspersky security researcher Roman Unuchek reports that, since September 2016, he has discovered "several dozen new malicious apps" on Google Play, all of which "were rooting malware that used exploits to gain root rights on the infected device." Obviously, Google failed to catch any of those in time either.
India will regulate Bitcoin
Many analysts argue that cryptocurrencies need to be formally recognized by major governments in order to gain credibility. Well, for Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency around, things are moving in the right direction.
The Indian government has decided to regulate the local Bitcoin market, just a few months after it was revealed that the Inter-Disciplinary Committee under the Ministry of Finance was assessing the legality of Bitcoin.
Web hosting company pays $1 million after Erebus ransomware attack
The cost of a ransomware attack can be pretty substantial. Businesses that are not well prepared are looking at lost revenue from downtime and massive damage to their reputation, not to mention a pretty hefty ransom bill as well.
For web hosting company Nayana, that was $1 million. Nayana, which is based in South Korea, had 153 of its Linux-based servers infected by the Erebus ransomware on June 10. The attack affected roughly 3,400 customers that relied on its services for hosting websites, databases and multimedia content.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies have millions of users
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are receiving more and more attention, but the fact of the matter is, the market is still in its infancy. To put things into perspective, its capitalization is currently about six times lower than Google -- and even less compared to Apple, which is the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world.
What we do not know exactly is how many people own cryptocurrency. It may be a small market in the grand scheme of things, but according to new report from Cambridge Judge Business School, between 2.9 and 5.8 million people in 38 countries use Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.
LG's new G6+ flagship takes it up a notch with more storage and two new features
Just a couple of months after releasing the G6, LG today announces a new version of its flagship smartphone. It's called the G6+, and, as its name suggests, it is a (slightly) beefed-up version of the device it is based on, which is one of the best smartphones introduced this year.
LG introduces the G6+ alongside an important software update for the G6, which adds improved security and usability, as well as new color options. But more on that later.
Mihăiță's Bio
Mihăiță Bamburic is the resident staff writer, reporting technology news from Europe. He focuses on mobile computing, covering the latest smartphones, tablets, laptops and apps. He also frequently writes editorials, analyzing companies and products that have a deep impact on consumer-facing technology.
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