Search Results for: samsung

Despite the fact that consumer awareness of mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay is growing all the time, the use of mobile payment solutions in the United States and Canada has so far been low. In fact, in both markets mobile payments account for only 3 percent of all transactions.

While the two payment landscapes are very different, there are similar reasons why the result has been largely the same. By the same token, there are also common factors that could see mobile payments explode in both markets sooner rather than later.

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Two days before Apple's next media event, where long-overdue new laptops presumably arrive, the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant released fiscal fourth quarter and full-year 2016 results. You could feel the anticipation after the Bell closed on Wall Street today—and, honestly, it had been palpable for weeks. Shares closed $118.25, up .51 percent.

The drama is a TV thriller: Release of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus set against a backdrop of saturated global smartphone sales; launch of Apple Watch Series 2 into an already declining market for smart timepieces; analyst data showing calendar third quarter to again be bad for PC shipments—with even Macs losing momentum. So everyone wants to know: What was the quarter's financial crop?

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The Internet of things is predicted to revolutionize the way in which we live our lives, with many industry experts tipping it to have the biggest technological impact since cloud computing.

The reason behind such a bold claim is that IoT devices have the potential to be more pervasive than any other form of technology. By embedding Internet connectivity into everyday objects we can open every facet of our lives to technological innovation. In truth, it is impossible to say with certainty what the future impacts of this will be, and there are just as many Internet of things doomsayers as there are enthusiasts.

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Smartphones from LG, Samsung and Motorola are all vulnerable to an attack that makes it possible to gain root access in a matter of seconds. Known as Rowhammer, the attack works using a bit flipping technique that exploits a vulnerability in the design of RAM chips.

Because the attack takes advantage of a physical aspect of design, it is going to be difficult to quickly devise a fix. In the meantime, millions of smartphones are at risk of compromise in what could be as large an issue as the recently-discovered Dirty COW bug -- and there's an app you can use to check if you are at risk.

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San Diego, Calif. As a general rule I never connect to public WiFi networks, which is fine except when attending an event at a hotel ballroom where T-Mobile cellular is like an apparition dancing around a Halloween grave. So as Wendell Brooks, CEO of Intel Capital, begins his speech, I sit typing narrative offline rather than tweeting live. There’s irony, I suppose, reporting old style, about investments in new innovations.

Welcome to the trials and travails of the Intel Capital Global Summit, which kicks off today and goes through October 26. Looking at the lineup, I expect to hear about newfangled tech that would make news reporting so much easier if available—although 4G cellular data would be good enough for today.

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For Christmas 2015, I bought myself a new pair of Bluetooth headphones. After trying several sets, I settled on Master & Dynamic MW60, which were a fantastic choice then and are still my top recommendation nearly a year later. The wireless cans replaced my beloved Grado RS1e -- no small feat.

Read no further and buy the M&D cans, if wireless listening is priority -- and should be if using iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, which lack 3.5 mm jack. Authentic audio, spacious soundstage, and full fidelity (without over-punchy bass) make the MW60 the gold standard for Bluetooth cans.

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Manufacturers seem obsessed with making laptops, tablets, and smartphones both thinner and lighter. You know what? That is a good thing. As long as the design isn't entirely form over function, who can argue with a more sleek device? As someone who is constantly carrying a laptop in a backpack, having a lightweight machine is wonderful for my back and shoulders.

Speaking of svelte laptops, the Acer Swift 7 is the world's thinnest. Yes, the 13.3 inch Windows 10 notebook is apparently a record-breaker at an insane 0.39 inches height. You might think the 2.48 pound PC would have an Intel Core M processor, but actually, it has a Kaby Lake Core i5.

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That the Samsung Galaxy Note7 was killed off hardly came as a surprise, but rumors also started to circulate this week that the OnePlus 3 was to be discontinued. While OnePlus has not suffered from any problems, delays in getting orders out to customers led to speculation that there was a new phone in the pipeline and that production on the OnePlus 3 had come to an end.

Nonsense! Says OnePlus. The company reassures us that it is "still producing and selling the OnePlus 3". There is, however, a slight problem with the supply chain.

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Call me a cheapskate, but I’ve always been a bit stingy when it comes to spending on technology. Maybe it’s all those years spent testing and reviewing hardware for myriad trade publications (and the parade of free "extended loaners" I received). Or maybe it’s my insider knowledge of tech trends that makes me hesitant to pay top dollar for something I know will be obsolete inside of a year. But regardless of the motivation, I’ve steadfastly resisted the "urge to splurge" on high-profile technology products.

Case in point: Apple. When the original iPhone came out, I dismissed it as a toy and stuck with my feature phone. And when the iPad debuted, I ignored the tablet sector entirely for nearly two years before investing in what I thought was a technically superior (and by that time, heavily discounted) Blackberry Playbook.

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The Android smartphone market is in disarray. Samsung smartphones are exploding like bombs, while Google's too-high Pixel pricing and likely cancellation of the Nexus line are both recent bombshells. In other words, it is a confusing time for consumers looking for a high-quality and safe Android device.

Luckily, a lot of value can be found by choosing lesser-known brands, such as Honor by Huawei. The affordable Honor 8 Android smartphone is rather inexpensive at $399, offering a beautiful design and respectable specifications. To celebrate Columbus Day tomorrow, the company is giving a special one-day $50 discount. Yes, you can score yourself a seemingly good phone starting at a very low $349 -- a fraction of the cost of flagships from some other companies.

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Starting in December, smartphone manufacturers will no longer be required to install Hangouts on their handsets. Instead, phone makers will need to provide users with the recently-launched Duo.

This is not to say that Hangouts is being killed off -- not yet, at least. But Duo, complete with end-to-end encryption, will replace the app as part of the core Google Mobile Services package.

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Lenovo is already a well-established brand in Western Europe thanks to its personal computer brand which counts the legendary ThinkPad range and German manufacturer, Medion, amongst its ranks. It also absorbed storage vendor Iomega, IBM’s Intel-based server business and NEC personal computer range.

The company has acquired phone manufacturer Motorola, inheriting yet another iconic brand whose name still carries a lot of value for a mainstream audience. But the latest move of the Chinese company, which is also the biggest PC vendor in the world, has been surprising.

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Israeli security firm Cellebrite -- the company said to have helped the FBI access the San Bernadino iPhone -- says that it has the power to break into, and extract data from, just about any phone out there. Speaking with the BBC, the company demonstrated how it can crack the password on a smartphone to access its data.

It said that it was able to extract data from the very latest handsets including Android 7 devices and the iPhone 7. Cellebrite says it works with law enforcement agencies around the world too, and stopped short of saying it refused to work with oppressive regimes. The interview raises some interesting questions.

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BlackBerry used to be an incredibly successful smartphone maker, but the iPhone and Android changed that. Now, the company formerly known as RIM cannot even manage to sell a measly one million units in a quarter, let alone compete against players like Apple and Samsung.

So, with a market share hovering around the 0.1 percent mark, BlackBerry has decided to take a big step back, announcing that it will stop developing its own smartphones. Instead, BlackBerry will focus on a more lucrative market -- enterprise software services.

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Another day, another SATA SSD. Yeah, these SATA solid state drives are no longer exciting, since for the most part, they all have similar performance. As PC enthusiasts and gamers look to faster PCI-e NVMe SSDs, there is still a market for SATA drives.

Today, Toshiba announces the OCZ TL100 SATA SSD series, and it is rather lackluster. The drive features TLC NAND and relatively low capacities of 120GB and 240GB. This is not designed for performance, nor is it ideal for those looking to store a lot of files. Who is it for? Consumers that are still using mechanical hard drives and want a performance boost without breaking the bank.

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