Mihăiță Bamburic

Of all the action cameras that I have used, the SJCAM SJ5000X Elite is probably the one I liked the most. The video quality was top-notch, it was well made and it also got lots of updates. The SJ6 Legend has replaced it, but does it live up to its predecessor?

The new action camera is similar in terms of specs, but thanks to some key changes it makes for a much more interesting proposition. But how does it perform? I've tested the SJ6 Legend to find out.

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Ethereum is a hugely promising blockchain technology which has really taken off this year, thanks in no small part to the backing of major companies like Microsoft, Intel and Cisco. It is also super valuable as a cryptocurrency, being worth around $28 billion, and a great platform for ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings).

So, many startups are now turning to Ethereum to raise money, and the way that they are doing it is through smart contracts. Only problem is, they are not bullet-proof, as a newly-uncovered vulnerability in a popular wallet puts hundreds of millions of dollars at risk.

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Broadcom today officially reveals that it wants to buy rival chip maker Qualcomm, in a deal that is currently valued at $130 billion. If Qualcomm accepts, this would be the most expensive acquisition in tech history.

Broadcom says that it is willing to pay $70 per share, $60 in cash and the remaining $10 in Broadcom shares, which represents a "28 percent premium over the closing price" for Qualcomm shares on November 2.

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This should not come as a surprise to anyone reading this wonderful website, but here at BetaNews we love beta software. The prospect of trying new features and changes before they make it into production gets us pretty excited. That's why, for instance, we check out every Windows 10 preview build we can install -- thanks, Microsoft!

I also have to thank Google, this time around for feeding our addiction of betas on the mobile side. Many major developers have embraced this option, opening programs so that enthusiasts can help improve their favorite apps. Netflix is the latest to (re)join the list.

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Samsung will release the Android Oreo update for a significant number of devices, and, just like last year, the latest flagships in the Galaxy S range are the first to receive this treatment.

Android Oreo will initially be offered on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ through the Samsung Experience 9.0 beta program, which opens today, November 2, for users in US, UK and South Korea. Here is what you need to know.

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The price of Bitcoin has skyrocketed this year, going from $1,000 in early-January to $3,000 in mid-June. Some pundits saw it coming, but not many believed it would go higher than that. Yet, in early-September, the main cryptocurrency reached $5,000. And it kept going.

Today, Bitcoin is trading over $7,300 for the first time ever. It's up 730 percent since the beginning of the year, and its market cap now sits at over $122.7 billion, which is a few billion more than what the whole market was worth at its June peak. It's quite unbelievable.

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Just moments ago I was reading about Bitcoin setting a new price record above $6,400. The main cryptocurrency has been incredibly strong, and resilient during crashes, so this latest development does not surprise me one iota.

What also does not surprise me is that Bitcoin kept going after reaching the $6,400 mark, settling above $6,600 at the time of writing this article, based on an average from major exchanges like Bithumb (where it's actually gone past $6,700), Kraken, GDAX and Poloniex.

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We've known for a while that a 4G LTE model is going be introduced in the Surface Pro range, and today, at the Future Decoded event in London, Microsoft officially announces when it will be available.

Microsoft says that Surface Pro with LTE Advanced, as the new version is formally known as, will start shipping to business customers in December. It comes with global connectivity and fast transfer speeds, thanks to a Cat 9 4G LTE modem.

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Even though its name suggests otherwise, Office 365 is more than a subscription for Microsoft Office. Sure, you do get the hugely popular suite, but you also get some other really cool perks, like 1TB of OneDrive storage. And, today, Microsoft is adding one perk more to the list.

Outlook.com Premium, the paid plan that Microsoft officially introduced early this year, is now included in Office 365 Home and Personal subscriptions for free. Outlook.com Premium was previously available only as a standalone plan costing $19.95 a year.

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Early adopters have discovered a number of problems with the display of the Pixel 2 XL, which could make the flagship a tough sell in its segment. To make sure that that does not happen, Google has decided to upgrade the warranty.

Google is moving the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL to a two-year worldwide warranty, which is designed to "give users peace of mind," knowing that it will address any issues that may arise during that period. Google, however, says that it is done despite the quality of Pixel 2 XL's display being in line with that of similar devices.

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Synology is slowly but surely updating its DiskStation lineup, with three new models entering its two-bay and one-bay NAS ranges today: the multimedia-optimized DS218play, value-focused DS218j and performance-oriented DS118.

The DS218play, like the DS418play which Synology announced a month ago, is designed with high-resolution content in mind, being capable of 4K 30FPS video transcoding.

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Amazon Prime Exclusive Phones is a pretty interesting proposition, giving consumers the option to get a new smartphone at a lower price in exchange for ads and offers. The number of supported devices is not that high though, but Amazon is constantly adding more and more to the list.

And today it is the LG G6 and G6+ flagships as well as the Q6 and X charge that join the program. All are available through Amazon Prime Exclusive Phones in their unlocked version, so that they can be used on different carriers.

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Amazon has come up with a novel approach to make it painless for Prime customers to receive their packages. It is a new service, called Amazon Key, that leverages smart locks to let couriers open your front door to make in-home deliveries. And, to help folks keep an eye on things, the online retailer also announced a new security camera, called Cloud Cam.

The idea behind it is not just to enable deliveries when the customer is not home to receive the package, but also to enable folks to open the door remotely to friends or workers. Using the security camera, they can monitor who entered their home and when.

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When you pay big bucks for a smartphone you expect it to be flawless. That's why people make a big deal out the problems they find on a flagship device. Things are no different with Google's new Pixel 2 XL, which exhibits some serious issues.

The problems stem from its display which, put simply, is not of the highest quality. Users have reported color shifting when looking at the screen from an angle, poor color reproduction and, most-recently, burn-in. That last bit is especially worrying because the Pixel 2 XL has only been around for a couple of weeks.

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I have mixed feelings about the Essential Phone. On one hand, it is a bold attempt at creating a high-end smartphone to go up against the iPhone and the Galaxy S. On the other hand, it is difficult to make a case for it, if you ignore the fact that its parent company was founded by the creator of Android.

When you ask a lot of money for a smartphone these days you have to offer more than the device itself. Things like in-store availability and easy access to support are just as important as the hardware. That's why people buy a ton of iPhones and Galaxy S devices: because Apple and Samsung get these things right. Essential is simply not there yet.

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