T-Mobile offers $200 back when you buy an iPhone X with a trade-in

Tax season is in full effect here in the United States where millions of Americans are getting their tax returns. Many folks take advantage of this extra money to stimulate the economy by upgrading their smartphones. T-Mobile will start running a promotion on Friday that will give $200 off to those who pay full price for an iPhone X on an EIP (Equipment Installment Plan). This $200 giftcard (via mail-in rebate) will be given to customers who trade-in eligible smartphones as a bonus for trading in these smartphones. Eligible phones for the trade-in include: Apple iPhone 6S Apple...

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New leak shows all the colors of the Moto G6 Plus

Motorola's G6 family started leaking in January, and hasn't stopped since. The company might unveil the G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play at MWC this weekend, in fact. Until that happens, though, let's feast our eyes upon another leaked image of the G6 Plus. This one shows all of the phone's color versions, and it's a bit surprising that they're this many. As you can see, it will be offered in silver, gold, white, blue, and cyan, though do expect much more exciting official names for these. One past rumor talked about exquisite-sounding monikers like Deep Indigo, Nimbus, and Dark Lake. You can try...

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Essential Phone's Android 8.1 beta is now available over-the-air

Andy Rubin's Essential Phone has definitely had a bumpy ride so far, with less than 100,000 units sold last year. But the startup is still supporting its first smartphone, even though it decided against releasing a 'stable' Android 8.0 Oreo update for it. The company is now working on Android 8.1, of which a first beta became available for eager testers exactly one week ago. And starting today there's a much easier way than before to get it. Up until now, if you wanted a taste of the Essential Oreo update, you had to manually sideload it to your phone. That's not something everyone...

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Nest Cam IQ indoor gets Google Assistant via software update

Two weeks ago Google announced that Nest is joining its hardware team, the one responsible for products such as Chromecast, Google Home, and the Pixel smartphones. This made us look forward to more integration between Google and Nest products, and today the first step has been made. The Nest Cam IQ indoor is officially getting Google Assistant through a free software update. Once you receive it, you'll be able to talk to the camera just as you would to a Google Home. Simply say "OK Google" or "Hey Google" followed by your command or query, and it will respond. According to Nest,...

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BLU Vivo X launches with 6" 18:9 screen and quad cameras, yours for $249.99

BLU has announced and released a new smartphone today, the Vivo X. It comes with a 6-inch 1,440x720 18:9 touchscreen (that can achieve 520 nits of brightness), covered in Gorilla Glass 3. It has an 80% screen-to-body ratio. The phone has four cameras. The dual system on the back comprises of a 13 MP + 5 MP arrangement with f/2.0 aperture, while for selfies you get 20 MP + 8 MP sensors (also with f/2.0 aperture) capable of 120-degree wide-angle shots. It's powered by MediaTek's Helio P25 chipset, which has a 2.6 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU. This is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of...

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Google's new Android Enterprise Recommended program showcases the best phones for businesses

Today Google has launched a new program called Android Enterprise Recommended. It's a way for businesses to easily choose Android devices to deploy for their employees. To be Android Enterprise Recommended, a handset has to adhere to a strict set of rules. It must run Android 7.0 Nougat or later, offer zero-touch enrollment with bulk deployment to employees, get the latest security patches within 90 days of their release for a minimum of three years, be available unlocked, and offer a consistent app experience in managed profiles and on managed devices. Furthermore, it must come with a...

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 caught in another benchmark, 16:10 screen confirmed

It's been a while since Samsung launched a high-end tablet, but the wait could be almost over. A couple of days ago an upcoming slate from the Korean company was spotted in a benchmark and based on its model number it's assumed to be the Galaxy Tab S4. Now it's been caught in another benchmark, HTML5Test, where its screen aspect ratio is confirmed as being 16:10. That's a bit odd considering that the Galaxy Tab S3 from last year used the 4:3 aspect ratio. It looks like Samsung decided it was time for a change. When you look at the screenshot above, keep in mind that HTML5Test...

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Broadcom lowers offer for Qualcomm acquisition

A week ago Qualcomm leaders met with Broadcom to discuss the $121 billion acquisition offer. While the results of the meeting were not announced publicly, Broadcom has a new offer - $117 billion. Wait, what? In early February Broadcom upped its offer to $82 per share to try and entice the reluctant Qualcomm stockholders - they refused. Now the offer is $79 per share - $57 in cash, $22 in Broadcom shares. The reason is that Qualcomm increased its offer for the acquisition of NXP to $44 billion. The major shareholders of NXP support this new deal and it's almost approved by 8 out of 9...

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Qualcomm unveils tons of stuff: faster Wi-Fi, new VR platform, AI, audio and other tech

Qualcomm unleashed a pack of announcements that paint a fast, wireless picture of the future of digital tech. Wi-Fi 802.11ax It introduced the first integrated 802.11ax solution for smartphones and computers. An advancement over Wi-Fi ac, it will double the network speed while using up to 67% less power. The module, named WCN3998, features 2x2 antennas and implements a pre-standard implementation (the Wi-Fi Alliance is still tweaking details). It will work with pre-draft 11ax access points due to hit the market later this year and in early 2019. Qualcomm's new module also...

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Emily Ratajkowski to give away OnePlus 5T phones to 5 lucky couples

The OnePlus 5T Lava Red edition hit Europe and the US in the beginning of February. Now the phone, endorsed by model and actress Emily Ratajkowski, will be given away to five lucky couples in North America during a raffle that is ending tomorrow, provided all required steps are done. OnePlus gives away five bundles of a Lava Red 5T for her and a Midnight Black 5T for him (or vice versa) in a celebration of love for tech. Users are required to tag their SO in the Facebook comments in the Source link we provided below and explain in a creative way why they should win. There are also...

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Samsung Galaxy S9 duo to launch on March 16, 256GB version incoming

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will be unveiled this Sunday and they may be on store shelves less than a month later. Korean publication The Investor cites sources who claim that pre-orders for Korea's major carriers will start on February 28 - the Wednesday after the Samsung Unpacked event. Global sales are set to start on March 16, though those who've pre-ordered will probably get it the week before (that's for Korea, it's not clear if the global pre-orders will ship before the 16th). There's no new info on the pricing - last we heard, it would start at €910/£740 for the Galaxy...

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Sony and Facebook enable direct 3D Creator sharing

Facebook introduced 3D posts earlier, but today the social network is rolling out gITF 2.0 compliance to support high-quality 3D content. The biggest beneficent are owners of Xperia smartphones with Android Oreo and 3D Creator app, who get easy sharing of their 3D art. Objects from Oculus Medium can also be posted with no hassle. Compliance with gITF 2.0 brings support for textures, lighting, and realistic rendering techniques. The 3D portraits and objects are available both in the desktop version and the regular app, but Facebook Lite users will miss on the experience. Web...

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Apple AirPlay 2 delayed

Apple's AirPlay 2 went MIA in the latest developer beta releases. For those of you who've been following our recent first look at AirPlay 2 in the iOS and tvOS 11.3 betas, you may have to wait a little longer. In the latest developer iOS and tvOS 11.3 versions released yesterday, there is no sign of AirPlay 2 functionality. In our recent hands-on AirPlay 2, when working, delivered as promised. Allowing us to reliably stream to two Apple TV's from our iPad Air 2. However, it was clear that this was still work in progress and this may have caused Apple to take pause while it addresses any...

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Samsung Galaxy S9 stars in premature hands-on photos

Tired of cases and 3D renders of the Galaxy S9? Well, the floodgates have opened now and hands-on photos of the actual device were inevitable. The photos show the front of the upcoming flagship as the phone boots up as well as the back with the redesigned camera/fingerprint reader assembly. There wasn't any doubt on the matter, but you can see the Bixby button on the side - it hasn't gone anywhere. Leaked Samsung Galaxy S9 hands-on photos This is the Black color option, one of four color options to be available at launch. Source (in Chinese) | zVia

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Another Sony Xperia with Snapdragon 845 chipset visits Geekbench

A second flagship Sony Xperia with a Snapdragon 845 has visited Geekbench. The model number is different, but the specs are the same - the chipset, the Android 8.0 Oreo, the 4GB of RAM. These are either different variants of the same model - perhaps, the Xperia XZ2 - or one is the big unit (5.7" screen, allegedly) and the other is the Xperia XZ2 Compact (5" screen). These two should bring a new era in Sony's design language. Sony will unveil the next-gen Xperia phones on Monday, but since its official teasers are vague, we have to rely on rumors for a preview. Source | Via (in...

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AT&T announces first three cities to get mobile 5G in 2018

In the first days of the new year, AT&T announced that 12 markets in the US will receive true mobile 5G in 2018. Today the carrier said that Dallas, Atlanta, and Waco, Texas will be the first three cities to experience true 5G. 9 more cities are expected to be announced in the coming months. Igal Elbaz, Senior VP of Wireless Network Architecture and Design at AT&T, said the company contributed, conducted trials and "literally transformed the carrier's network for the future". The 5G will be deployed based on 3GPP standards and operating on the mmWave spectrum. Once the system is...

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Meizu VP says Meizu X2 smartphone is real, will have a Snapdragon 845

We last heard of the Meizu X2 way back in the summer of 2017 but forgot about it due to the eventual radio silence. Now, however, it has resurfaced. Meizu VP Li Nan has confirmed that the smartphone is real and is coming. He added a few details - the X2 will use a Snapdragon 845, it will launch in late 2018 and it will likely cost CNY 2,999 or about €384. So the Meizu X2 will be a flagship and not the midranger we expected. However a few questions are left in need of answering - will it have a second screen on the back? Will it have a tall-aspect screen? Will it have more than one...

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Qualcomm ups NXP bid to $44B in response to Broadcom

The semiconductor business is getting into a new phase of takeovers. While Qualcomm was ready to purchase NXP for $47 billion ($37 billion value + $10 billion existing debt), it was surprised with a bid from Broadcom that reached $121 billion. In a bold move, the San Diego company decided to boost its offer for NXP from $110 per share to $127.50 per share, or a total of $44 billion value. Qualcomm's presiding board director Tom Horton said the acquisition "enables Qualcomm to accelerate its growth strategy". The deal already has support from major shareholders at the Dutch...

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Nokia can't see the fortunes of its Digital Health business turning around

Last week Nokia announced it is considering the future of its Digital Health business, but a leaked memo revealed that the company is planning to abandon the consumer product part of it, although a final decision is not yet done. Kahtrin Buvac, Chief Strategy Officer at Nokia, told employees the "digital health business has struggled to scale and meet its growth expectations". The memo does not say that Nokia decided completely to shut down the digital health business. The purchase of Withings back in 2016 was seen as "placing a bet" that took off for a brief moment with the Steel...

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