Sometimes, a product gets reinvented with new tech and you think “Yea, that makes sense.” Sure, there’s a frightening number of Bluetooth speakers out there, but it makes sense to make music more portable. Then there’s the WECHEER.IO, an “internet of things” bottle opener.
At this year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit in Maui, several major announcements have been made. They were just the tip of the iceberg, however. Today the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Computer Platform, the industry’s first 7 nanometer PC platform, has been revealed. It is clear that Qualcomm is ready to shape the next generation of “always on, always connected” computing.
Yesterday, we were introduced to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform and the fact that it would be an integral part of the upcoming 5G network experience. Let’s dig a bit more into what benefits the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform will provide people like us — those who use and rely on their cellphones.
I’m attending the third annual Snapdragon Technology Summit this week in Maui. Over the next couple of days, much will be revealed about how Qualcomm is shaping the next generation of 5G technology. Of course, there’s more important news to share, too.
The annual IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin covers about 160,000 square meters and almost 2,000 exhibitors. Whether it was on the floor, at a press conference, at the media-only Showstoppers event, or in private meetings, we scoured IFA to find the latest and greatest to make up Gear Diary’s Best of IFA 2018 list.
For a market that’s supposedly dying, tablets are getting an awful lot of attention again. There’s still demand for a screen that’s bigger than a phone, smaller than a computer, and able to entertain you or be productive. Alcatel’s new 3T 8 isn’t flashy, but on paper it’s a solid workhorse tablet for a very good price.
Smart speakers are only increasing in popularity and number, and one of the benefits of this explosion is that companies are adding more features and better sound quality to what was once a novelty item. Huawei is aiming to add all sorts of value with their new Huawei AI Cube powered by Alexa.
Lenovo knows that deep down, we all want to be Jedis. Who doesn’t look good with a laser sword and a bathrobe? They’ve already tapped into that primal desire with their Star Wars Jedi Challenges Augmented Reality game, and now they’re adding more features, plus a chance to play as everyone’s favorite moody emo darkside guy, Kylo Ren.
If you’re in the market for a laptop this fall, you’ll want to pay close attention to what’s coming out of IFA, especially from Lenovo! They’ve got Yoga, Thinkpad, and Chromebook updates, meaning something is likely to fit your needs and your budget.
The summer might be winding down, but JBL and Harman are just heating up with a few announcements this week at IFA 2018 that everyone should be interested in.
We have more and more ways to enjoy cinematic experiences right at home. Streaming services are offering better and better content, soundbars and other speaker system enhancements bring the audio to life, and televisions just keep improving. Samsung is intent on taking this to the next level with their new Q900FN TV with an absolutely futuristic 8K resolution.
If thoughts of QWERTY keyboards give you a little thrill, you’ll like that BlackBerry is giving us more options. In addition to the BlackBerry Key2, you can also consider the new Key2 LE. The BlackBerry Key2 LE has slightly fewer premium features than the Key2, but at $399 for the 32GB and $449 for the 64GB, it’s an attractive alternative.
There are a lot of fitness trackers/smartwatches out there that claim to fit any scenario, but if there’s any niche that needs special attention, it’s the outdoors. You need to be conscious of battery life, feature availability without internet, and of course, ruggedness. Casio has been nailing it with their Pro-Trek WSD line, and the newest WSD-F30 looks eye-poppingly good.
Dell has been busy pumping out gaming computers lately, they haven’t forgotten those of us who think Super Mario 2 was the height of gaming technology. They’re at IFA this week, and they have a full suite of Inspiron, XPS, and other software and hardware improvements to make it faster and easier to get things done!
Do you have a “Craftsman story”? I can remember going into a Sears store as a child with my dad to exchange his older, broken Craftsman Phillips screwdriver for a brand new one. The experience impressed me because no questions were asked; the salesperson cheerfully swapped out Dad’s broken tool. Positive impression made.
If we don’t make an effort to reduce climate change, in 100 years parts of Manhattan could be under water. That’s a scary thought, and just the kind of thought meant to be evoked by the ‘Unmoored and Wake’ by Mel Chin art installation that was unveiled today in Times Square.
Philips has set the goal to improve the lives of 3 billion people per year by 2025, and part of the way that they hope to achieve this goal is by bridging the gap between consumer and professional health. To that end, at the IFA GPC, Philips’s Liat Ben-Zur talked about the importance of healthy sleep.
LG Gram and WeWork have teamed up together to create the LG gram Lounge, a place where entrepreneurs can get together to network and learn how to grow their business by taking part in free workshops focused on business, design, technology and more.
There was a strong showing of health-related gadgets at the IFA Global Press Conference this year, so the brand new Fitbit Versa was the perfect wearable to shine a light on. New to the Versa is the ability to track women’s health — including the ability to log period information, symptoms, and cycle dates. I think this is a first.
It’s not often that I see a device that brags on having a built-in CD and DVD player, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when I wish I had easy access to both. Take a look at the Radionovelli 4G Radio; it’s an FM, DAB, and internet radio with 4G connectivity, a 7″ screen, and more!
Buerer is a European company that’s been around for almost 100 years; their focus is health and well-being. At the IFA GPC, their Managing Director, Georg Walkenbach, mentioned that they currently have 12 apps and 60 connected devices. Georg mentioned several of their health-focused device and app combos, but the one I really took note of was their SleepQuiet app.