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OnePlus 7 Pro confirmed to have no notch or bezel
OnePlus rarely waits for the full announcement to give details away about its phones, and the OnePlus 7 Pro is no exception, as the company has taken out a big advert in the New York Times which, among other things, reveals that there’s no notch or bezel.
The advert – shared in full on Twitter by @jerflash and in part by OnePlus itself - doesn’t fully rule out a punch-hole, but based on leaks of the OnePlus 7 Pro we’re expecting an all-screen front with nothing on the top edge and instead a pop-up selfie camera.
That includes no real bezel on the top edge, though leaks have shown a slim strip of bezel below the screen, so while we wouldn’t take the company’s claims of no bezel too literally, there just probably won’t be much.
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According to the advert there’s also no bells and whistles, no bloatware, no app lag, no random music and no $2000 price tag, so while few phones cost quite that much, it suggests the OnePlus 7 Pro will still undercut most flagships.
You can also see schematics of the OnePlus 7 Pro in the advert, which further suggest an all-screen front, and which appear to show a motorized front camera, which would allow it to pop up, as leaks have shown.
These aren’t the first details about the OnePlus 7 Pro that OnePlus itself has shared. The company has previously for example teased that the phone will be “smooth”, pointing to the rumored 90Hz refresh rate of the screen.
As for everything else, all will be revealed soon, as the OnePlus 7 Pro (likely alongside the standard OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro 5G) will be announced on May 14.
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Vault Platform raises $4.2M to fix workplace misconduct reporting
Vault Platform, a London-based startup that has built software to “re-imagine” workplace misconduct reporting, has raised $4.2 million in seed funding. Leading the round is Kindred Capital, with participation from Angular Ventures, System.One, Jane VC, and ex-Mosaic Ventures Partner Mike Chalfen.
Founded in 2018 by Neta Meidav and Rotem Hayoun-Meidav, Vault is attempting to create a new and better way for company employees to report misconduct, such as workplace bullying or harassment, and in turn replace existing “hotline” systems, which it reckons are underused and often ineffective.
The so-called “TrustTech” offering lets employees easily record incidents in a diary-like space, with the option to only action those complaints when others also come forward. The SaaS consists of an employee app, corporate case management hub, and data and analytics. The latter claims to be able to help enterprises identify repeat problems and manage issues internally before they escalate.
“It’s undisputed that the world of work is going through a rapid change in light of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements — we realised that one of the underlying reasons for this cultural revolution is the fact that reporting mechanisms are completely broken and what we really witness here is a deficit of trust,” Vault Platform co-founder and CEO Neta Meidav tells TechCrunch.
“Bullying and harassment are prevalent, however only 25 percent of misconduct is reported. This is a long-standing problem, but nowadays the risk lies with the enterprise not just the individual. Companies are waking up to the need of doing things differently”.
To tackle this, Meidav says Vault was created as an “employee-centric” platform that provides employees with a safe diary-like space to record incidents and save related evidence. If and when they choose to report it to their employer, they can do so by choosing “GoTogether,” a feature that allows them to file the report on the condition that they are not the only ones raising the same issues.
“GoTogether is a viable alternative to anonymous reporting, and it ensures that people are coming forward… with substantiated, evidence-based reports,” explains the Vault Platform CEO. “With the prevalent legacy hotline solution, abuse is much more of a possibility, since employees can just ‘tip’ anonymously without any accountability for what is being said”.
Meidav describe’s Vault Platform’s main competition as the “business as usual” solutions: anonymous reporting hotline operators that are traditionally the default for most employers. “They provide very little value for employees and employers beyond ticking the compliance and ethics box,” she says. “Alongside them, we compete with other startups who by large took the idea of anonymous reporting, digitised the same old methodology and turned it into an app”.
Meanwhile, Vault says it will use the funding to scale and expand its presence in North America and Europe. The company says target customers are organisations and enterprises from every sector and industry, typically with more than 1,000 employees. “Our client pipeline is varied, however, the most overwhelming interest has come so far from emerging tech companies,” adds Meidav.
from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2WelnzF
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The best Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus deals in April 2019
The best Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus deals in April 2019
It wasn't that long ago that the Galaxy S8 Plus was the big dog in the Samsung yard. It was the go to Android phablet for any looking for a bigger phone for a good six months or so after its release in 2017. With the S9 Plus, Note 9 and Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus deals all now available, the S8 Plus has been slowly replaced. But Galaxy S8 Plus deals are still well worth a look - possibly now more than ever.
A year might have passed since its release, but the S8+ remains one of our absolute favourites, especially as the Galaxy S9 Plus doesn't offer much in the way of massive improvements. The S8 Plus is a way more affordable alternative to its successor, as well as to the Galaxy Note 9 and iPhone XS Max.
If that's got you sold, then you'll want to hear a little about pricing. We have the full rundown of the best Galaxy S8 Plus deals right here in our comparison chart, with the cheapest prices from the major networks - EE, O2, Vodafone and Three - including sub-£25pm tariffs that have really got our pulses racing.
The prices on the Galaxy S8+ are lower than ever, but if they still look a little rich for your blood, then you can buy the smaller Galaxy S8 for less or head over to our best mobile phone deals page for something completely different. If it's the Plus-sized screen that you need though, then we'll find you the best S8 Plus deal here.
See also: Galaxy Note 8 deals | Galaxy S9 Plus deals | Galaxy S8 deals | Samsung phone deals | iPhone 8 Plus deals | Mobile phone deals | SIM only deals
If you want a huge Android phone with market leading specifications, an incredible display and a superb camera, then the Galaxy S8 Plus is a must for your shortlist. The price will be a bit cheaper than some of the newer flagships but it still holds a lot of the same features
Read TechRadar's full Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus review
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2mKwVvQ
Perkbox, the employee experience platform, raises £13.5M
Perkbox, the London-based startup now calling itself an “employee experience platform,” has raised a further £13.5 million in funding. The round is led by existing investor Draper Esprit, alongside a number of previous Perkbox angels. Prior to this, the company, which launched in 2015, had raised £11 million.
Targeting companies of all sizes, from SMEs to larger businesses, Perkbox’s platform lets employers give employees a number of benefits and rewards to enrich their work and personal life. The broader aim, of course, is to improve retention and staff well-being.
The offering now spans several products beyond its “perks” origins, including card-linked loyalty and medical provision. In addition, Perkbox enables companies to measure employee sentiment to help break down silos between management and teams, and to let employees give recognition to one another. This can either be peer-to-peer or top down from management.
“With this new suite of products, we transitioned from an employee ‘engagement’ platform to an employee ‘experience’ platform,” Perkobox co-founder and CEO Saurav Chopra tells me. “[All] with the aim of helping employers enrich the personal and working life of employees by catering for the full spectrum
of employee wellbeing: financial, physical and emotional”.
Headquartered in London but also with offices in Sheffield, Paris and Sydney, Perkbox says the new funding will be used to finance the company’s expansion operations in Australia and France.
longside this, it will invest in scaling the development and distribution of Perkbox’s new products: Perkbox Medical, Perkbox Insights and the platform’s card-linked PerksGo feature — all of which were launched late last year.
from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2V2UHFi
Prisma Labs raises $6.7M for its AI-powered approach to visual editing
Remember Prisma? The Moscow-based team behind the app that sparked a style transfer craze in 2016 has raised a €6 million (~$6.7M) Series A, led by early stage artificial intelligence focused VC firm, Haxus.
While two of Prisma’s original co-founders left the company in the middle of last year, to work on building a new social app — the still, as yet, unreleased Capture — co-founder Andrey Usoltsev stayed on to keep developing Prisma Labs, taking up the CEO role.
The Series A funding will go towards expanding Prisma’s 21-strong team and scaling the business by spending on marketing to grow uptake of its apps’ premium subscription offers. These include a subscription layer for its eponymous app which gives users access to styles not available in the free version.
“We’re going to grow rapidly. We’re going to double our team this year and set up the impressive marketing budget,” says Usoltsev.
Late last year the team released a new freemium selfie retouching app, called Lensa, hoping to capture a slice of the beauty filter/photo-editing market. Their twist was to bake in AI smarts that power automatic adjustments — smoothing skin tone, whitening teeth, brightening eyes and so on, at the touch of the in-app camera button — as if by technomagic.
Their pitch for the selfie retoucher is ‘natural’ looking enhancements. And Prisma claims it’s seeing “very high” retention rates for Lensa, more akin to a sticky social network than photo-retouching software.
They argue the app’s face-retouching machine learning algorithms have benefited from the heap of data amassed from Prisma’s multi-millions of selfie-submitting users. And while there’s certainly no shortage of rival apps out there claiming to make selfies look better, Lensa’s AI-powered retouching does offer — at a glance — less crude/more plausible results than plenty of gimmicky ‘beauty filter’ apps also touting reality-editing wares.
“There is competition [for selfie retouching] and we think that it is good because it shows the size of the market,” says Usoltsev. “It’s huge. There are millions of people using apps like Facetune and what our advantage is is that we have a great technical team, R&D team that creates the best technology on the market in some areas… that trained building Prisma.
“We’re focusing on the quality and the natural look of the results. And some apps on the market didn’t pay as much attention as needed to these two things. We’re going to focus on this. We are not the first in this space but we are going to be the best in this space.”
“Automation is the key,” he adds. “We can now provide users with new kind of product, new kind of photo- and video-editors that automate the routine and requires less effort from the user side to get awesome results.”
Lensa, which launched in December with a subscription offering right off the bat, now has more than 100,000 users, according to Usoltsev — though it’s not breaking out paying subs yet.
The early userbase skews female and young — without, according to Usoltsev, Prisma doing any overt targeting — the main group being 18-24 year old women, somewhat unsurprisingly for a selfie beautifying app.
“The product is not viral, like Prisma, and most of the users are acquired from paid sources like Facebook ads and so on so. We strongly control the amount of users we acquire and now the product is not ready for the real scale,” he continues, noting they’re in the process of tweaking the app to expand the features and improve product market fit.
They’re also playing with the business model, with the initial subscription offering definitely feeling a bit underwhelming vs the core free AI-powered edits. (You can read our first look at Lensa here.)
“Right now we’re very close to start scaling it,” he adds. “We need a couple of more releases to be ready 100% and then we start scaling.
“We’re going to expand the range of features. We’re going to add a video feature because our primary feature — retouching — works in real-time and we tested it even on livestreaming and it works well. We’re working on optimizing it even more, to work faster, and in better quality.”
Other ongoing dev work to polish Lensa’s proposition includes tweaking the auto-adjustments it makes by determining the best settings for portrait-influencing factors, such as exposure, contrast, highlights and shadows. “For each adjustment we use a neural network,” he notes. “They work together… to find the best output result.”
Prisma is also monetizing its namesake original app — which grabbed around 70M downloads in a few months back in 2016, with Usoltsev saying they’re still relying mostly on organic/viral downloads rather than active promotion, riding the Prisma craze’s long viral tail.
They now have more than 100,000 paying subscribers for Prisma, though they’re not breaking out active usage — beyond saying it runs into the “millions”. (Back in 2017 they were reporting active monthly usage for the app of around 10M.) A premium sub offering was switched on in Prisma in January 2018.
“The paying audience is actually diverse. The major group by age I think it’s 24-35 year olds. And men and women is about the same proportion,” he adds.
Last year’s launch of Lensa came despite an earlier focus shift for the startup to b2b, after the style transfer craze that had powered its namesake app’s 2016 virality appeared on the cusp of being crazed (and, well, cloned) to death.
The plan, as it was in 2017, was for Prisma Labs to offer an SDK for computer vision-powered effects that developers could use to enhance their own apps. But the team kept its hand in the consumer space, maintaining their apps as testing grounds. A decision that set them up for what now looks a full reverse pivot back to consumer.
Usoltsev tells us the earlier b2b switch was “mostly” at the behest of Prisma’s investors — and wasn’t something the wider team was keen on.
They’re fully stoked to get back to their consumer roots, he adds.
“It didn’t really resonate with our team experience and our company DNA,” he adds of the b2b phase. “But in the process we figured out this is not what we want to do. We came up with the idea for the new product in the process and came up with the broader vision for the entire company and what we want to do.
“The core team was all about consumer products and b2b was not seen as interesting topic at all.”
So what’s on the slate for the future, as the team thinks about other features and/or consumer apps it might want to launch this year?
“Right now we’re thinking a lot about video,” he says. “Video is so fast growing space right now and we see a lot of new apps that break into the market — like TikTok — that grows insanely and based on video. And we’re going to provide users with automated tools to enhance their videos.
“Videos is more complicated to edit than photos because it requires more skill… to learn how to edit videos. And if your clip is longer than one minute it’s so hard to create it because montage could be a boring process and the longer the video is the more complicated the process is. So we’re going to fix this — and provide users with automated tools to help them create great videos quickly and with no effort, or as little as possible.”
AI-enabled auto video editing is “probably” going to be a standalone app, he says, rather than a feature baked into one of Prisma’s existing apps. But, well, watch this space.
from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2V5eO5V
Struggling EV firm Faraday Future gets another financial lifeline with new $225M investment
Editor’s note: This post originally appeared on TechNode, an editorial partner of TechCrunch based in China.
It may have lost its original founding team, but the wheels are still rolling for embattled electric vehicle (EV) maker Faraday Future. The company, famous for lavish promotions but little substance, has received yet another financial lifeline in the wake of a dispute with key investor Evergrande.
Faraday announced on Monday that it had received $225 million in bridge financing. That sum is apparently part of a larger $1.25 billion capital raise that the company believes it can close before the end of this year. This latest shot in the arm is led by U.S. asset management firm Birch Lake Associates and it is aimed at bringing Faraday’s flagship FF91 SUV to market.
Part of the financing seeks to reassure Faraday’s suppliers after the financial turmoil the company has seen since late last year, and to “obtain their commitments” to ensure that the FF91 enters mass production. To secure the financing, Faraday said it had its intellectual property and technology valued — they are apparently worth $1.25 billion, it claimed.
This new financing comes hot on the heels of a joint venture (JV) with once-popular Chinese gaming company The9, which will bring Faraday’s V9 EV — a vehicle based on the FF91 — to market in China. Both companies will own 50 percent of the JV — The9 provided $600 million in capital to secure its share.
Faraday said that it expects the JV to reach an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles and begin selling cars by 2020. But, as we’ve seen often with this company, strategies don’t always go as planned.
Faraday was previously said to be in talks with EVAIO Blockchain over a possible $900 million in funding last November. Notably, the company has made no mention of the deal which suggests it didn’t materialize.
Faraday said on Monday it has a “growing fleet” of pre-production vehicles to test features for its FF91. The company has yet to enter mass production five years after its launch, mainly as a result of a series of financial issues that have ended in layoffs, unpaid wages, furloughs, property selloffs and much more. Faraday had previously planned to begin production of the FF91 at the end of 2018… but we are still waiting.
The company’s financing troubles began in 2017 but a new crisis emerged last year after a fallout with Evergrande. The Chinese real estate giant backed out of a proposed $2 billion investment deal with Faraday at the end of 2018 following an extended dispute over terms. Faraday had requested an advance on a future payment from Evergrande, a plea the Chinese company refused. Faraday then sought arbitration in Hong Kong.
The companies eventually settled the dispute, with Evergrande taking control over Faraday’s operations in China.
Faraday has since sought alternative investment. The EV maker has had to sell its headquarters in Los Angeles for around $10 million to stay above water. It has also put its 900-acre, $40 million property in Las Vegas up for sale.
In the midst of Faraday’s financial issues, the company also lost a number of its senior executives as a result of the “devastating impact” its troubles were having on company employees and the “ripple effect” on its suppliers and the industry.
With editing from Jon Russell
from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2vuPK9c
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Spotify boasts twice as many paid subscribers as Apple Music
Less than a month ago, it was revealed that Apple Music had overtaken Spotify in terms of paid subscribers in the US – a milestone for the music streaming service – but Spotify’s latest earnings report shows that it’s still well and truly dominating the overall global market.
“Premium Subscribers grew up to 100 million, up 32% year on year,'' the report reads, a figure that's double that of Apple Music’s last reported subscriber count, from January of this year.
The report attributes the growth, at least in part, to the success of certain promotions such as Family Plan offers, bundles with the Google Home Mini in a variety of regions, and Hulu partnerships in the US.
It’s worth considering that Spotify offers a free tier on its service, whereas Apple Music does not, and when factoring these figures in, Spotify’s total global listenership more than quadruples Apple’s, with 217 million monthly active users (a growth of 26% from last year).
In Apple’s defense, the most recent figures that it has officially released date back to the end of 2018, so Spotify has a four-month advantage on these numbers in terms of paid subscribers, although this may change during Apple’s anticipated Q2 earnings report.
It's no secret that the two competing services are feuding, with Spotify officially complaining about Apple's alleged anti-competitive practices, but with Amazon tipped to be launching a hi-res audio streaming service as well as a free ad-supported service, there'll soon be a new kid on the block that's likely a serious threat to both.
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- Spotify trials subscription plan for two called Premium Duo
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2J4mG0a
Samsung's latest patent shows phone with wraparound display
According to a new patent spotted by Dutch technology site LetsGoDigital, Samsung could be working on a smartphone with a wraparound display that continues over the phone's edge and onto the rear of the device.
The patent, titled 'Electronic Device Having Plurality of Display and Method for Controlling Same', suggests a handset with a screen that can be viewed from both sides, which should assist immeasurably when it comes to photographing friends and selfie-taking.
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In the patent application, Samsung describes a device with "a display configured to include a first surface in a first direction, a second surface in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a third surface enclosing at least a portion of the space formed between the first surface and the second surface."
Presumably, the third surface described consists of the small area of the display that curves over the edge of the handset.
Below, you'll find some of the drawings that accompanied the patent application, which should give you an idea of what Samsung is going for with the proposed device.
Of course, the idea of a display that curves around to the rear of the device is not necessarily a new one – Huawei's foldable Mate X offers similar functionality for selfie and photo taking, and while Samsung's own Galaxy Fold uses a secondary outer screen and not a single curved one, it also allows for friends to see themselves while their photos are being taken.
At present, we don't know whether the patent's proposed design will make its way into an actual phone, though it's believed that the next Samsung Galaxy Fold could fold twice over.
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2ZC7ywS
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IFA GPC 2019 highlights: Sennheiser’s superb soundbar, an AI razor and a new 8K TV
Providing something of an early teaser for the massive IFA tech expo in Berlin in September, the annual IFA Global Press Conference offers a first look at new gadgets set to be shown off at the show later in the year.
This year’s event took place in Huelva in Spain over the weekend, attracting over 300 media attendees from around the world and it didn’t disappoint – delivering a number of intriguing announcements and unveilings, including an AI-powered razor, an 8K screen and a number of neat new appliances.
For those who weren't able to attend, we've rounded up all the big news from the show and have categorized it by manufacturer below.
Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar
Sennheiser’s long awaited first foray in to the world of consumer speakers is edging closer. With its original prototype having wowed visitors at CES back in January, the final retail version of their 3D audio AMBEO soundbar was being demoed at IFA GPC ahead of its release next month.
Packed with 13 separate drivers including two 3.5” top-firing speakers, the AMBEO delivers 5.1.4 immersive sound with compatibility with the three main 3D audio formats (Dolby Atmos, MPEG-H and DTS:X).
Using a combination of acoustic wave guides and digital processing, like most other soundbars, the AMBEO uses reflections off walls via its directional speakers to create a surround effect. On the evidence of our demo however, Sennheiser’s processing appears to be on another level to its rivals, with a real sense of height and separation of sounds delivered. This was particularly acute during a demo of a rainforest scene, with the sound of dripping water genuinely feeling like it was coming from a non-existent speaker behind us thanks to the convincing 360 degree soundstage.
Most impressive of all is its sheer power. With its bass response dropping to 30hz, while there’s the option of adding a separate third-party subwoofer, the amount of low-end the soundbar provides renders this option as all but unnecessary.
There’s no support for Apple Airplay 2 at this stage, but both Google Chromecast and Bluetooth (4.2) are integrated, as well as support for UPnP. On the physical input front, there’s three HDMI (v2.0a) inputs, one HDMI Out (eARC, v2.0a) as well as digital optical audio and aux-in.
The high-end performance will carry an unsurprisingly hefty asking price of €2,499 / £2,200, when it goes on sale on May 28 in Germany, UK, and Australia, while home cinema fans in the US will be able to pick one in early June for $2,499.
A further barrier for some will be that in order to fit in all those drivers, the AMBEO has a fairly sizable footprint compared to other soundbars. As well as being almost 17 cm deep, its 13.44cm height will likely cause an issue when pairing it with TV’s that aren’t wall mounted.
Nevertheless, on this showing the Ambeo soundbar is clearly set to be something of a game-changer for home cinema. With Sennheiser hinting at the show that they may be planning smaller speakers and systems in the future, the home audio market looks to have a new major player that’s set to shake things up.
Philips S7000 Smart Shaver
Proving that beards can indeed be smart, Philips announced at the event that it will be releasing a new AI-powered razor.
Nestling underneath its flagship S9000 shaver in its range, (thanks to boasting fancier finishing and housing), the new S7000 is nevertheless far more advanced, featuring its own dedicated app which helps to prevent skin irritation. The app works in conjunction with the S7000’s built-in Beard Adapt Sensor, which records dozens of measurements per second of hair density and direction and adjusts the blade accordingly to optimise shaving for each area of the face.
Having transferred its TV business to a joint venture with TPV Technology, and spun off its lighting line, Philips now concerns itself primarily with matters of health. A big part of this focus is on those with sleep-related issues including insomnia and sleep apnoea. The big talking point of its new Smart Sleeping range however appears to be its new anti-snoring wearable which aims to tackle the problem which, according to Philips, affects around 40% of the world’s population.
The belt-like SmartSleep Snoring Relief Band works using “positional training”, with its built-in sensor first monitoring the user’s sleep positions over a period of a few nights. After learning your resting habits, it then delivers gentle vibrations when it detects that you’re lying on your back – the chief cause of snoring – prompting you to instead lay on your side. Philips claim the vibrations will be light enough not to break your sleep, unlike the sharp kick in the shins most suffers no doubt normally experience from their partners.
Hisense 74U9E 8K TV
Chinese manufacturer Hisense used the event to show off its new 8K TV, the 74U9E, due for release in Asia at the end of the year, with the US and Europe to follow early in 2020. The 75” LED display has an impressive 5,376 local dimming zones for improved contrast and it seemed to perform very well during an encouraging demo session with what appeared to be upscaled 4K content.
It’s also set to boast a somewhat unique approach to sound: The prototype on show featured a subwoofer cleverly integrated into the set’s triangular rear stand. The 74U9E’s design is still yet to be finalised - there’s a fair amount of depth required to place the set on a table top thanks to the sub and it’s not yet clear if the speaker needs to be discarded completely in order to wall-mount the display.
Nevertheless, while we weren’t able to hear the speaker in action, it certainly seems like an ingenious way of adding some decent low-end to the notoriously underpowered speakers commonly found on super-flat TVs.
TCL's plan to take over TVs
While fellow Chinese rivals TCL didn’t have any products on show, a briefing delivered by Sales and Marketing Manager Frédéric Langin outlined the company’s hugely ambitious plans to become the world’s biggest TV manufacturer – with the company claiming it expects to increase sales in the UK by 50% in the coming year.
As well as revealing it would be joining Panasonic and Philips in supporting both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ with its 2019 TVs, the company also announced that their forthcoming ranges would feature printed OLED, QLED and Mini LED displays – with TCL’s next flagship TV set to use the latter technology, which will boast an astounding 20000 LEDs and 1000 zones.
Haier Candy Rapid'ò Washing Machines
Having recently added white goods maker Candy to its stable alongside other big brands like Hoover and GE Electrical, Chinese firm Haier is fast on its way to becoming the world’s biggest home appliances manufacturer.
Judging by European CEO’s Yannick Fierling’s presentation, Haier looked to be making good on their aim of not just being the biggest, but the most innovative company in the market, after highlighting some intriguing new solutions for everyday household chores from its upcoming ranges.
Its new line of Candy Rapid'ò washing machines work in tandem with a dedicated app, which will feature a “Snap and Wash” option. Take a picture of your laundry pile and Haier claim the app’s sophisticated built-in algorithm will magically recognise the material of each item and then automatically set the appropriate program and maximum water temperature for the wash.
Arguably even more impressive was the new Hoover H-KEEPHEAT 700, which offers the tantalising prospect of being able to keep meals at the perfect serving temperature for up to two weeks - doing away with the need for freezing and re-heating dishes.
Making use of its new Exever technology, the top-spec convection oven is able to keep its chamber at between 63 degrees Centigrade or 70 degrees Centigrade depending on what ingredients have been used, ensuring that the perfect temperature is used to preserve the food for a prolonged period.
Responding to questions on what sort of impact on energy consumption using the feature would have, a Haier rep claimed it would costs around 75p a day to run the oven in its keep-warm mode.
Safera Power Control Unit
Among a number of kitchen appliances showcased at IFA CPC 2019, arguably the most important on display was that from Finish firm Safera,
It’s new Sense smart cooking sensor aims to eradicate cooking-related fires – the current leading cause of domestic blazes.
The simple, one primary button device is placed above the stove and can recognise different cooking events, set timers automatically and act as an alarm should it notices irregularities.
As well as monitoring surface temperature and air quality when used with its corresponding app, the sensor can also be linked up to an optional smart plug called the Power Control Unit. This automatically shuts off electricity to the stove should the sensor detect dangerous heat levels. The sensor can also be linked to similar third-party options for gas stoves.
Sense also offers support for voice control via Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home, while Apple’s HomeKit digital assistant is also catered for. The sensor is available with a one price fits all fee of 149 pounds/euros/dollars depending on where you are in the world, with the Power Control Unitsold separately for the same price. The company is also working with cooker manufacturers to offer the sensor as an inbuilt feature, with several big name brands set to be named as partners in the coming months.
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from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2V4eOTv
The Huawei P30 Pro camera just got even better somehow
We just updated our best camera phone page to name the Huawei P30 Pro the best for taking photos in 2019 (so far), and it's about to get even better soon.
The promised dual-view video recording mode has arrived in a software update, according to XDA Developers, and it allows you to capture video from two perspectives.
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Specifically, you're now able to simultaneously record 'panoramic' and 'close-up video images', according to the official EMUI 9.1.0.153 release notes in China. In practice, this seems to record both standard and zoomed-in footage.
The update still needs to launch worldwide, but we know what the resulting footage looks like: it appears in a split-screen video format, as demoed below. (Sorry, Huawei P30 standard owners – the report only mentions the update coming to the P30 Pro.)
Why the Huawei P30 Pro is the best camera
The P30 Pro combines its powers of the main camera and the 'periscope' telephoto lens, which is icing on the cake. There are four cameras on the phone's rear (the above, plus an ultrawide and depth-sensing time-of-flight lenses) and one front-facing shooter.
The entire camera array handles low-light scenes without much trouble compared to its competition, and the 40MP main camera sometimes beats the Google Pixel 3.
As Huawei continues to tweak the software of the P30 Pro, we're destined to get an even better camera while we wait for the Google Pixel 4 to reclaim its crown.
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2WhpkU8
Samsung is making a vertical TV for all your Instagram Stories
Continuing the trend of creating new form factor screens, Samsung has announced a new TV for the South Korean market called 'The Sero' that can swivel to display videos vertically, similar to how you watch content on your phone.
The Sero, a close cousin to Samsung's Serif and The Frame TVs, will be part of the manufacturer’s 2019 Samsung TV lineup and will also use a quantum dot screen similar to the ones we’ve seen in its other QLED TV series.
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According to the specs provided by Samsung, the TV is 43-inches across from corner-to-corner and features 4.1-channel audio through its 60w speakers.
The Sero will also include Bixby. Because a TV this strange wouldn’t be complete without Bixby.
The Sero will be available exclusively in Korea for now with no international release in the near future – which is a shame, because at just 1.9 million won (around $1,600, £1,260, AU$2,300), there are plenty of influencers who'd buy it ironically.
Vertical screens: fad or functional?
Admittedly, even to us the idea of a vertical TV sounds a bit laughable - especially considering the TV’s eye-watering price tag.
And yet, while Samsung is really taking vertical screens to their limit, other tech companies are behind the idea of smaller vertical screens. Just look at the Facebook Portal, a Google Home Hub-type display that connects you with friends and family members on Facebook.
Whether vertical screens will take off outside of the computing world remains to be seen, but you can't blame Samsung for not trying.
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from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2Pz5fWK
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VMB launches new 500MBps broadband for SMEs
Virgin Media Business (VMB) has launched Voom 500 business broadband to improve the connectivity of SMEs by offering download speeds of up to 500Mbps and upload speeds of up to 35Mbps.
This speed boost will allow the telecom's business division to deliver broadband service that is more than four times faster than the equivalent speeds offered by its rivals.
New and existing business customers will be able to take advantage of the new download and upload speeds on May 2nd.
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Additionally, customers will be able to choose a range of additional options to suit their needs including increased upload speeds and support options.
Voom Fibre
With VMB's Voom Fibre, businesses will have a choice between three price plans and upload speeds with a number of add-ons and discounts on additional services to help them tailor the product to the specific needs of their business. Prices start from £30 per month though there are two additional options priced at £40 and £55 a month.
Managing Director at Virgin Media Business, Peter Kelly explained the company's decision to launch Voom Fibre, saying:
“We have, for many years now been the champions of small business, in particular entrepreneurs, through both our VOOM Competition platform and our Pioneers Community. With the launch of Voom Fibre we want to unleash every small business by providing the digital backbone they need for their business. For UK small business to thrive in this evolving digital economy they should have the technical ability and capacity in place so they can focus on development and growth, we are removing a barrier and enabling them to fulfil their digital potential - offering them all the speed they need to achieve success.”
VMB is also helping SMEs connect with each other through socializing and developing their community. The community will be a UK-wide network of seers and providers of advice where a geo-located platform will enable entrepreneurs to share, co-create and collaborate with other SME owners in their local area.
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from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2J1DBAE
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Europe lags behind in race to the cloud
New research from O'Reilly Media has revealed that Europe is struggling to keep pace with global cloud development.
The company's Evolving Data Infrastructure report also revealed that companies in the region have been slower than others to adopt the necessary tools and capabilities for cutting-edge solutions such as analytics and artificial intelligence (AI).
European organizations are aiming to make progress this year by investing heavily in data solutions to catch up. However, persistent skill shortages may continue to derail the region's efforts to emerge as a world leader in future technologies.
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Businesses in Europe have been slower to adopt cloud-based data infrastructures than the rest of the world with less than a quarter (24%) having used cloud in production for over four years. Surprisingly as many as a third (32%) of European companies say they are 'just exploring' cloud options and are yet to commit.
Looking to the future
Despite falling behind in cloud adoptions, European organizations broadly align with the rest of the world when it comes to their future priorities. The region has invested heavily in solutions that will help improve accessibility and usability of data with 59 percent building or evaluating solutions in data integration and extract, transform, load (ETL) processes.
When it comes to adopting DevOps modes of working, Europe has been slightly faster than the rest of the world with almost half (48%) of the organizations surveyed saying they are using specialized DevOps roles for machine cloud computing services and deployments, compared to 47 percent worldwide.
However, European progress in data infrastructure and analytics is being held back by skill shortages in several key areas. Data science talent is in especially high demand (47%) as well as data engineering (37%) roles. Companies in the region are also finding it slightly higher on average to fill roles in security.
Chief Data Scientist and Program Chair for the Strata Data Conference at O'Reilly Media, Ben Lorica provided further insight on the report's findings, saying:
“Innovation needs a strong foundation. Years of delayed investment and a reliance on legacy infrastructures may be holding European organisations back in the global race to the cloud. Yet, whilst they have some way to go before they achieve parity with their counterparts, it’s positive to see so many investing in data. A strong core of organised, clean and actionable data is crucial for any AI or analytics project. Provided companies become more competitive in attracting the best talent, 2019 may be the year that the continent turns a corner.”
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from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2VChibl
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Samsung TV sale at Walmart: save up to $500 on Samsung 4K TVs
If you're looking to save money on a new TV, then you've come to the right place. For a limited time, you can find discounts on a wide array of Samsung TVs at Walmart. The deals include fantastic savings on Samsung 4K HDR TVs that even include 2019 models.
A standout deal from the sale is the Samsung 65-inch 4K TV that's on sale for $597.99. That's a massive $500+ discount and the lowest price we've found for the UHD TV. The 65-inch TV features smart capabilities, so you can stream your favorite movies and TV shows all in one place using the Samsung remote. You can also control other smart home devices from your TV by downloading the SmartThings app. You'll enjoy a stunning picture with sharp contrasts and vibrant colors thanks to the 2160p Ultra HD resolution. The Samsung TV will also look good in your home thanks to ultra slim design and clean cable solution.
This week-long sale ends on Sunday May 5, so be sure to snag one of these discounted TVs before it's too late.
See more Samsung TV deals below.
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See more of the cheapest OLED TV prices and deals and shop other cheap TV deals and sale prices that are currently going on.
You can also learn more about our top-rated TVs with our guide on the best TVs of 2019: the big-screen TVs worth buying this year.
Learn more about Prime Day with our guide on Amazon Prime Day 2019: everything you need to know for the July deals event.
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2XNiczg
GoDaddy shuts down 15k subdomains used in massive spam campaign
Web hosting provider and domain registrar GoDaddy has taken down over 15,000 subdomains following a two year investigation into a spam operation that tried to sell consumers fake products.
First users would receive a spam email promoting a product and if they happened to click on any of the links contained within the message, they would be sent to one of the fraudulent subdomains which were hosted on legitimate sites without their owner's knowledge.
All of the subdomains that were part of the scam shared one thing in common, they all sold products backed by fake endorsements from celebrities including Stephen Hawking, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, Wolf Blitzer, the cast from Shark Tank and others.
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In terms of the fake products being peddled on these scam subdomains, the majority were health-related such as CBD oil, weight loss pills and brain supplements.
Hacked GoDaddy accounts
The massive network of shady domains was first discovered by security researcher Jeff White at Palo Alto Networks two years ago and since then he has been collecting the spam emails sent out in the campaign and indexing the subdomain URLs promoting these fake products.
White shared his findings with GoDaddy earlier this year and the company then launched its own investigation into the matter in which it discovered that the group behind the scam had likely used either phishing or credential stuffing attacks to gain access to its customers' accounts.
After gaining access to a user's GoDaddy account, the cybercriminals would create a subdomain for their legitimate sites that would later be used to host shady product pages and lure users with spam email campaigns.
The web host has put the number of hacked accounts at “several hundred”. After taking down more than 15k subdomains from its servers, GoDaddy also reset the passwords for the accounts that had been compromised and notified the users that had been impacted.
In related web hosting news, ICANN, the organization which oversees the domain name system, has proposed an end to price caps on the .org, .info and .biz top-level domains. The move comes at a time when the domain name system has seen thousands of new extensions added over the past five years, all of which are free to set their own prices. If the change does go into effect, the cost of hosting a website could rise significantly over the next few years.
Via ZDNet
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from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://bit.ly/2vqX1qu
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The best iPhone 8 Plus deals and UK contracts in April 2019
Apple is the king of brilliant, yet expensive phones. With devices such as the iPhone XS Max and XR costing eye-watering prices, it can make sense to go back a models and pick yourself up one of Apple's older plus size models.
This is where the iPhone 8 Plus deals come in. If you want one of the newest large screened Apple smartphones, but the price of the iPhone XS make you feel dizzy, then the 8 Plus will be the one for you.
So how are iPhone 8 Plus prices looking. On average, if you shop wisely (using our price comparison chart below) you'll save yourself around £300 if you go for this handset over the iPhone X. We've seen monthly tariffs as low as the £25 region if you're prepared to stick a wedge down upfront.
Still feeling a bit overwhelmed by these prices? Don't forget that iPhone 8 deals are also available if you'd prefer the smaller smartphone, along with the smaller prices. And you can save £10 on the upfront cost of any iPhone 8 Plus deal at Mobiles.co.uk by using the voucher code 10OFF at the checkout.
See also: iPhone X deals | iPhone 8 deals | iPhone XS Max | Samsung Galaxy Note 8 deals | Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus deals | Best mobile phone deals | Best SIM only deals
The 5 best iPhone 8 Plus deals you can get in the UK right now:
iPhone 8 Plus price: how much does it cost?
A mighty £699. That's how much the 64GB iPhone 8 Plus will cost you in the UK according to the RRP. That might seem like a lot but that's one hundred pounds cheaper than when it first came out.
Need more memory? Then your only other option is spending an extra £150 and grabbing a £849 256GB iPhone 8 Plus.
If you opt to buy the iPhone 8 Plus upfront without a contract you will save money in the long run, but of course £699 is a lot of money to pay. If you can afford it though it the way to go once you pair it with a cheap SIM only deal.
This is the iPhone you want if you can't quite afford the iPhone X or iPhone XS Max. It's got the larger battery, same powerful innards and strong camera. If you don't mind the poorer screen, it's a good option - and the screen is still a beaut. And we prefer it quite a lot more to the regular iPhone 8.
Read more in TechRadar's full iPhone 8 Plus review
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Samsung sees Q1 profit plummet 60%
Samsung’s Q1 earnings are in and, as the company itself predicted, they don’t make for pretty reading.
The Korean giant saw revenue for the three-month period fall by 13 percent year-on-year to 52.4 trillion KRW, around $45 billion. Meanwhile, operating profit for Q1 2019 came in at 6.2 trillion KRW, that’s a whopping $5.33 billion but it represents a decline of huge 60 percent drop from the same period last year. Ouch.
Samsung’s Q1 last year was admittedly a blockbuster quarter, but these are massive declines.
What’s going on?
Samsung said that sales of its new Galaxy S10 smartphone were “solid” but it admitted that its memory chip and display businesses, so often the most lucrative units for the company, didn’t perform well and “weighed down” the company’s results overall. Despite those apparent S10 sales, the mobile division saw income drop “as competition intensified.” Meanwhile, the display business posted a loss “due to decreased demand for flexible displays and increasing market supplies for large displays.”
That’s all about on par with what analysts were expecting following that overly-optimistic Q1 earnings forecast made earlier this month.
The immediate future doesn’t look terribly rosy, too.
Samsung said the overall memory market will likely remain slow in Q2 although DRAM demand is expected to recover somewhat. It isn’t expecting too much to change for its display business, either, although “demand for flexible smartphone OLED panels is expected to rebound” which is where the company plans to place particular focus.
On the consumer side, where most readers know Samsung’s business better, Samsung expects to see improved sales in Q2, where buying is higher. It also teased a new Note, 5G devices — which will likely limited to Korea, we suspect — and that foldable phone.
The Galaxy Fold has been delayed after some journalists found issues with their review units — TechCrunch’s own Brian Heater was fine; he even enjoyed using it. There’s no specific mention in the quarterly report of a new launch date but it looks like the release will be mid-June, that’s assuming what AT&T is telling customers is accurate. But we’ll need to wait a few weeks for that to be confirmed, it seems.
from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2vt1Dwv
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