Thursday 2 November 2017

The Morning After: Razer's gaming phone

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Thursday, November 02, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

It’s no surprise to see a few new phones from HTC, but what about Razer? The gaming company is ready with a new mobile device that you should really see, and we’re going to explain who the real Wolfenstein II villains are.

Built for gamers, good enough for everyone.

Razer Phone hands-on

We finally got a real look at Razer’s $699 Android phone, and it’s living up to the hype. According to Chris Velazco, “If you took a Nextbit Robin, made it bigger and draped the thing in dark anodized aluminum instead of cutesy plastic, you’d basically have the Razer Phone.”

It has a massive 4,000mAh battery, awesome front-facing speakers and an IGZO LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate that’s great for high-res mobile gaming. The Snapdragon 835 CPU and 8GB of RAM inside should provide more than enough power, although there was a little lag on the pre-release models we tried. The phone’s dual-camera and its lack of dust or water resistance were less impressive, but it will be worth a look when it launches on November 17th.

U.

HTC tries again with the U11+ and cheaper U11 Life

HTC is following up its latest flagship with a couple of phones that expand the lineup in either direction. The U11+ isn’t headed to the US, but as you’d guess from the name, it’s a bigger version of the U11 with improved Edge Sense features and Android 8.0 Oreo onboard. The smaller (5.2-inch) U11 Life, however, is confirmed for a US debut, and at $349, it should be an intriguing option for smartphone shoppers on a budget.

Now with a proper drum sequencer.

GarageBand expands its music-making palette

Apple pushed a major update to its mobile production suite yesterday, and according to Terrence O’Brien, GarageBand 2.3 is all about versatility. Thanks in part to the aptly-named Sound Library, artists can get free instruments and sound packs straight from Apple, while third-party developed add-ons are still restricted to the App Store. It’s free, so you can try to pull together a few tracks on your own and see how it’s improved.

That waitlist isn’t moving much.

Tesla is still struggling to mass-produce the Model 3

Tesla dropped its third-quarter earnings report today, which showed it only managed to deliver 222 units of the car. That’s a fraction of the 1,500 it expected to produce in September alone.

Alexa, is this all you’ve got?

Amazon Echo Plus review

The Echo Plus is an upgrade over the base model sonically with better bass and high-end, but does it offer enough to justify its $150 price? Maybe not, since its smart hub feature is still very basic and only supports the Zigbee protocol.

Hard hat HoloLens?

Microsoft HoloLens is now certified protective eyewear

Microsoft’s augmented reality headset is ready for work. (And 29 new European markets.)

But wait, there's more...

1. The makers of 'Resogun' are leaving arcade shooters behind

2. Apple TV 4K update will fix its HDR problem

3. The real villain in 'Wolfenstein II' is a complicit America

4. GoPro is finally profitable again

5. House Intel Committee releases Russia-backed Facebook election ads

6. Apple finally makes it easier to change your registered email

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Wednesday 1 November 2017

Editor's Pick: 6 Ways E-Commerce SMBs Can Offer Great Customer Service on a Tight Budget

6 Ways E-Commerce SMBs Can Offer Great Customer Service on a Tight Budget

Richard Adhikari Nov 1, 2017 10:04 AM PT
	Keeping customers satisfied is the No. 1 priority of any retail business. Technological advances such as interactive voice response systems, chatbots, omnichannel accessibility and robotics have helped many large e-commerce companies improve customer satisfaction rates. However, these options require financial and manpower resources that small and mid-sized firms often don't have. [More...]

More Picks:

Amazon May Disrupt Prescription Drug Space Next
The rumor that Amazon has set its sights on disrupting the pharmaceutical industry has gained greater currency recently, just months after the company set the grocery business on fire with its acquisition of Whole Foods, and in the midst of its widely publicized search for a second U.S. headquarters location. Amazon reportedly has taken major steps toward becoming a drug distributor and seller. [More...]

Neural Nets Give Low-End Phone Pics DSLR Look
Researchers have found a way to use neural networks to create DSLR-quality photos from snapshots taken with low-end smartphones. A team of scientists at the ETH Zurich Computer Vision Lab recently published a paper describing a deep learning approach that uses neural networks to translate photos taken by cameras with limited capabilities into DSLR-quality photos automatically. [More...]

Sonar Could Help Devs Build a Better Website
Microsoft's Sonar, released under an open source license, could help developers build more effective and secure websites. Sonar, a linting tool and site scanner, is the next evolution of the static scan tool, according to Microsoft. The team that developed Microsoft's Edge browser created Sonar as a better way for website maintainers to check performance and security issues. [More...]

Oil Patch CRM
A recent story chilled me to the bone. The headline supplies all the reasons: "Saudi Arabia's Grand Plan to Move Beyond Oil: Big Goals, Bigger Hurdles." At first glance, this doesn't ring any CRM bells, but maybe it should. Why would any business or business-state contemplate moving out of its sweet spot if it weren't required to? What happens to the customers that have become dependent? [More...]

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This Week's Top News Headlines From the E-Commerce Times

6 Ways E-Commerce SMBs Can Offer Great Customer Service on a Tight
Budget
(Posted 01-Nov-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84924.html

Amazon May Disrupt Prescription Drug Space Next
(Posted 31-Oct-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84920.html

New Search Tool Helps Firms Find the Best B2B Software Fit
(Posted 27-Oct-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84912.html

Amazon to Let Delivery Drivers Open Your Front Door
(Posted 26-Oct-17)
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84911.html

This Week's Top News Headlines From TechNewsWorld

Neural Nets Give Low-End Phone Pics DSLR Look
(Posted 31-Oct-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84919.html

Fake News: Amazon Wants a Key to Your House
(Posted 30-Oct-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84915.html

Super Mario Odyssey Has Reviewers Jumping for Joy
(Posted 28-Oct-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84918.html

Noon Home Debuts New Way to Light Up Your Life
(Posted 26-Oct-17)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84913.html

This Week's Top News Headlines From CRM Buyer

Oil Patch CRM
(Posted 31-Oct-17)
http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/84921.html

With Gamification, CRM Is a Brand New Ball Game
(Posted 27-Oct-17)
http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/84917.html

This Week's Top News Headlines From LinuxInsider

Sonar Could Help Devs Build a Better Website
(Posted 31-Oct-17)
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/84923.html

AWS Offers Aurora Cloud DB Service Compatible With PostgreSQL
(Posted 26-Oct-17)
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/84914.html

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The Morning After: Sony revives Aibo

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Wednesday, November 01, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

November is here, and Sony’s pet robot is back. Before we play with Aibo, however, we’re preparing for an afternoon news deluge. That includes Razer’s ‘biggest unveiling of the year,’ as well as earnings reports from Facebook and Tesla at 4 PM ET. Stay tuned.

A pet with an off switch.

Aibo’s back

After more than a decade away, Sony has resurrected its robot pet. The new Aibo has advanced AI, and it’s connected to the cloud so its personality will evolve. You can pre-order one today to get it in January -- in Japan.

99 euros for a smartphone that promises two days of use.

The Nokia 2 is a very cheap Android phone with a huge battery

Cheap smartphone? A battery that lasts? Stock Android that promises to be up to date? Be still, my beating heart. Nokia steals a trick from its Windows Phone days by offering an entry-level smartphone that doesn’t look like trash and has one major selling point: a giant battery.

Mario’s return is the biggest hit yet for the Switch.

‘Super Mario Odyssey’ is selling even faster than ‘Zelda’

We learned earlier this week that the Switch is a bonafide hit for Nintendo, and its latest major game is also on track to be a hit. Super Mario Odyssey has already sold two million copies, according to the company. That was in a mere three days.

Nice specs.

Razer Phone leak suggests it’s made for gamers

We knew Razer was working on a high-end gaming smartphone, but a leak from one of its partners shows just how powerful it might be. According to a (since deleted) page from a UK mobile plan reseller called 3G, the Razer Phone will have a 5.7-inch, 120Hz IGZO display, Dolby Atmos sound with dual front speakers and amps, a dual 12- and 13-megapixel wide angle/zoom camera, 4,000mAh battery and 8GB of RAM. We’ll find out what’s true during Razer’s launch event at 4 PM.