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Amazon’s holiday deals on Prime Exclusive Phones include discounts on the Moto X4, LG G6+

Alexandra Arici
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Missed some of the deals Amazon had on its Prime Exclusive Phones during Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Don’t worry, the company isn’t done offering discounts this holiday season.

And if you haven’t found the perfect gift for that special loved one or family member, maybe Amazon’s list of discounts on Prime Exclusive Phones will inspire you.

Just keep in mind that these devices come with Amazon’s ads and offers on the lock screen. But if you’re OK with that, the phones are a pretty good deal especially this month:

  • Nokia 6 – $149.99 ($30 off); deal starts today until December 24
  • Moto G5 Plus 64GB – $199.99 ($40 off); deal starts at 12:01 a.m. on December 10 until December 23
  • Moto X4 – $279 ($50 off); deal starts at 12:01 a.m. on December 10 until December 23
  • LG X Charge – $119.99 ($30 off); deal starts at 12:01 a.m. on December 10 until December 23
  • LG Q6 – $179.99 ($50 off); deal starts at 12:01 a.m. on December 10 until December 23
  • LG G6+ – $449.99 ($50 off); deal starts at 12:01 a.m. on December 17 until December 23

These deals are available for a limited time while supply last. So if you eyed an offer, you best make sure you act fast.

Qualcomm’s new USB-C DAC aims to bring Hi-Fi audio to smartphones

Alexandra Arici
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During its Tech Summit this week, Qualcomm unveiled more than just the high-end Snapdragon 845 chipset for smartphones. In an attempt to cure the missing 3.5 headphone jack blues, the chip maker also announced its first dedicated USB-C Hi-Fi DAC, titled the AQT1000. Qualcomm already makes DACs and audio codes, but this is its first USB-C Hi-Fi DAC offering.

With the new USB Type-C plug-and-play module, Qualcomm aims to bring a more enhanced audio experience to the headphone dongles normally used with 3.5mm jack-lacking smartphones.

The module is designed to plug into a phone USB-C port and stream high-quality sound through its 3.5mm output.

To do so, the AQT1000 boasts a dynamic range of 123dB up to 384kHz, 32-bit audio, and THD+N of -105dB. Furthermore, the module also takes advantage of DSD (Direct Stream Digital) audio support, a format originally developed to capture jazz concerts – which takes a different approach to creating high-resolution audio signals than PCM.

Instead of using many bits of information in the single, DSD uses a single bit. But rather than sampling the info several thousand times a second, this single bit samples 2.8 million times a second to generate the audio signal. The result is a more “natural” sounding audio preferred by audiophiles.

Qualcomm will be offering the AQT1000 to manufacturers to bake it into their devices, rather than offer it as a dongle itself. The chip maker says to expect the first products in early 2018.

YouTube’s upcoming Remix music streaming service reportedly launching in March

Alexandra Arici
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A few months ago, YouTube’s global head of music, Lyor Cohen confirmed the add-free YouTube Red service and Google Play Music will be merged into a new subscription service.

Now a new report coming out of Bloomberg sheds more light on the matter. Apparently, the new service – internally referred to as Remix – is set to launch next March in an attempt to take on the likes of Apple Music and Spotify. The new product will offer both music and video streaming.

But whether Remix goes live or not depends on a few factors, the most important one being getting the big music publishers on board. While Warner Music Group has already signed on, YouTube is still in talks with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, as well as Merlin – a consortium of independent labels. Bloomberg also notes YouTube has negotiations set up with Vevo – a popular video hosting service which is under the patronage of Universal and Sony.

YouTube has been harshly criticized over the years for its casual approach to copyright infringements issues, as well as for providing unsatisfactory compensations, which might explain why the remaining two music giants are reluctant to sign a deal with the Google-owned company.

At this point, it’s not entirely clear how YouTube plans to differentiate Remix from the slew of rival services out there. Spotify and Apple Music boast 50 million and 30 million paid subscribers respectively, so it will be quite hard to compete with that. Especially since, over the years, Google has failed to impress with its music-centric Play Music offering while YouTube’s Red service was reported to have only a 1.5 million subscriber base last year.

Huawei’s upcoming P11 flagship might come with an iPhone X-like notch

Alexandra Arici
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Some Chinese smartphones makers like Ulefone have already signaled their intent at launching an iPhone X clone complete with the controversial notch. But it seems that copying the design of Apple’s latest and greatest flagship is not only reserved for China’s more obscure brands.

According to a report coming out of the xda-developers, Huawei – who overtook Apple as the world’s second-largest smartphone maker in September 2017 – is working on a flagship that will come with a distinct iPhone X-esque notch.

The current Huawei P10

The publication found evidence in official Huawei firmware that one of the company’s upcoming flagships, quite a possibility the P11 will come with a notch. The biggest clue is an overlay image (re-created below) referenced in a configuration file that defines the “RoundCornerDisplay”. A second configuration file is even more specific and directly references one of the systems build properties as a “notch”.

Huawei’s notch

Another hint that the phone will come with a notch similar to the one found on the iPhone X and mind you, the Essential Phone, is found in a boot animation. While the alleged P11 has a 6.01-inch display with 2160 x 1080 resolution, the boot animation reveals the phone actually uses 2244 x 1080 resolution. This discrepancy can be explained by the presence on the notch.

Furthermore, we’re told the phone is apparently called EMILY and will come with Android 8.0.1 Oreo out of the box.

Huawei unveiled the P10 and P10 Plus during the MWC 2017 tradeshow in Barcelona, so we expect the company to unveil the P11 and probably the P11 Plus during the same event next year. So we should be able to learn more details about the company’s upcoming top-tier phone in the upcoming weeks.

Upcoming HTC U11 EYEs (Ocean Harmony) could arrive with a dual selfie camera

Alexandra Arici
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Remember the HTC Desire EYE smartphone which launched back in 2014? Well, it looks like the Taiwanese company is looking to bring back the “EYE” naming scheme. Well sort of.

According to reliable leakster, @evleaks HTC is gearing up to unveil a new handset dubbed the U11 EYEs. This is the same device previously known as the HTC Ocean Harmony which recently received CCC certification in China.

The HTC Desire EYE got its name from the large centrally-positioned 13-megapixel selfie camera on the front, so it could be assumed the HTC U11 EYEs branding could signal the presence of a dual-camera setup up front.

Other than that, the HTC U11 EYEs is expected to arrive with a 5.99-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio and thin bezels all around. Two versions of the phone will reportedly be launched, one with a Snapdragon 652 and 4GB of RAM + 64GB of native storage on board, as well as one with a Snapdragon 660 chipset.

HTC U11+

While we are yet to see any images of the HTC U11 EYEs, some believe the phone will look quite similar to the recently launched HTC U11+, but we’ll just have to wait and see if this will be the case or not.

Fortunately we might not have to wait that long, as according to recent rumors, the HTC U11 EYEs will make a debut this month.

Republic Wireless wants to take your mind off smartphones with two new products

Alexandra Arici
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In an attempt to combat addiction to smartphones with large, bright displays among children, Republic Wireless has unveiled its own take at a kid-friendly phone.

Republic Wireless’ Relay looks more like a tiny, square speaker, but is in fact marketed as a phone for children. The small device benefits from both Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity but doesn’t include a screen and a keypad in order to minimize appeal. There’s a circular button in the middle of the device which triggers walkie-talkie interactions with another Relay devices, or users who have the Relay companion app installed on their Android or iOS devices.

The kiddie phone can hold up to 10 hours of music, includes a few games and is powered by the Google Assistant, although privacy-concerned parents can disable it if they wish to. The physical buttons located on the side of the device let users switch between Channels – which are used to communicate with family, and activate the Assistant. Adding a friend’s Channel on the Relay is done via the embedded NFC functionality.

The tiny device is said to be able to last multiple days without running out of power and will go on sale in multiple color variants including Blue, Pink, Azure, and White. Republic Wireless will start selling the kiddie phone in packs of one, two or three for $99, $149 and $199 respectively. Service will cost an extra $6.99/month per device.

Note that the Relay will be available for everyone interested in the product, so you don’t have to be a Republic Wireless subscriber to get one.

On top of unveiling the Relay, Republic Wireless also pulled the veil off a Google Assistant-powered speaker/phone called Anywhere HQ.

The speaker works in connection with a dedicated phone number (like a ported home number) and can be used as fully functioning phone by using the wake phase “Hey Republic”. Switch to “Hey Google” and you’ll get to interact with the Assistant instead.

Like the tiny kiddie phone, the Anywhere HQ has 4G LTE and Wi-Fi and should provide several day battery life. The speaker comes with built-in spam filtering and a Do Not Disturb mode which users can activate when they do not wish to get interrupted by calls.

The Anywhere HQ will be launched in the carrier’s beta program, Republic Labs in January. A wider rollout is expected to happen later in 2018.

LG unveils the ultra-premium V30 LG Signature Edition with 6GB of RAM, Android 8.0 Oreo

Alexandra Arici
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Don’t you just wish sometimes you could live on the Asian continent? The market always seems to be getting the coolest exclusive smartphone models, while the rest of the world watches in envy from afar. A very good example of this trend is the Burgundy Red Samsung Galaxy S8 which made a debut mere weeks ago.

Today we have another one for you. LG just unveiled the V30 LG Signature Edition in South Korea. And while most of the new phone’s specs are similar to what you’d find in a normal V30, the LG Signature Edition does bring some intriguing bonuses.

Regular LG V30

The LG Signature Edition is the more luxurious version of the 6-inch phablet. For starters, the glass back on the V30 has been replaced with a more premium zirconium ceramic plate which is a lot less prone to scratch. And by the way, the LG will be offering buyers the option to engrave their name on the backplate.

In the hardware department, the LG Signature Edition boasts 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which beats even the 4GB of RAM and 128GB storage of the V30+. The phone will ship with two Bang & Olufsen headphones inside the box – a wireless one and a normal one.

Regular LG V30 (2)

Another edge the newcomer has over the standard V30 is that it comes with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. In the meantime, LG is only in the testing phase when it comes to Oreo for the normal V30 units.

Merely 300 units will be made available, so unless you live in South Korea and act super-fast when sales start, we don’t really see how you could get your hands on one.

When will you be able to buy this beauty? LG is pretty vague about it, saying the handset will be launched towards the end of the month. No pricing information has been revealed, but it figures it will cost more than the regular V30 which is already a pretty expensive phone. The phone should be available in Black or White color versions.

Nokia Steel HR makes a debut in the US, available for $180 and up

Alexandra Arici
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Looking for a Christmas gift for a tech-loving female family member or friend? Then you might want to take a look at the Nokia Steel HR hybrid smartwatch which just went on sale in the US.

Pricing starts at $180, depending on the variant you purchase. Customers can pick between a 36mm variant, which is available in black and white or the 40mm model which is only offered in black.

The product has been available in Europe for quite some time, and now customers in the US can also acquire it.

The Nokia Steel HR is almost a full analog watch, save for the small circular LCD screen that lives on top of watchface. The tiny screen can display information related to your heart rate, activity tracking, calorie/step counts, as well as a sleep patterns. On it, you’ll also see notifications for texts and calls, as long as you connect it to a smartphone, be it Android or iOS. The accompanying app called Nokia Health Mate lets users control their hybrid smartwatch, as well as view detailed health data.

The Nokia wearable is also water resistant (can be immersed into water up to 164 ft/50 m) and includes a battery that can reportedly last for up to 25-days with normal use or 5 days in workout mode.

The hybrid smartwatch is offered with a wide variety of additional wristbands from Leather, Woven or Silicone materials in many bright and cheerful colors, but they will cost you additionally.

If interested in the Nokia Steel HR, you should know the 36mm black variant starts shipping in 2-3 weeks, while the other models will begin going out to buyers on December 22.

Securing your data and keeping it that way (Promoted)

Guest Blogger
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For companies and businesses out there today, there is nothing more important than securing company and customer/client data and keeping it that way. Nowhere is that more evident than in the medical field where data and information is collected in huge amounts, and is often very sensitive in nature. So how can the healthcare industry ensure that their data is being kept secure in the most up-to-date and safest manner? What is necessary on their end? Here’s a closer look on what the industry is doing.

When Data Needs to Be Available and Stored Online

A big part of the problem for the medical industry is that unlike so many other industries and businesses, the medical industry needs their data to be available, collected, updated, and stored online. This presents its own unique set of challenges because the right people need access to it, but it needs to be secure enough to keep everyone else out.

Medical billing is an excellent example of the type of data that needs to exist and be accessible online, but needs to be kept 100% secure. This is why many in the industry are using high-tech medical billing software such as what you’d find through MediPro.

This solution looks after the medical billing, as well as the revenue cycle management which is imperative from an administration and operations standpoint. It’s the kind of software that can work for large and small clinical practices no matter where they are located. This software even offers a patient portal so that the patient can access their account, a claims submission, and more.

For the medical industry this is the exactly the kind of software solution that makes sense and manages to put data security as a priority.

Making Sure Staff is Educated

Another step that the medical industry is taking to help ensure data security is to better educate its staff. Data breaches can happen without malicious intentions and simply due to operator error, so staff need to be aware of this and make sure they are following all the proper protocols. This includes such things as choosing secure passwords, changing passwords on a regular basis, and restricting access to data.

Wireless Networks Need to be Secure

This is something that isn’t just affecting the medical industry but industry as a whole. The wireless networks make it possible for everyone to access data, but it needs to be kept secure. Far too many networks seem to have security vulnerabilities these days, which allows hackers to steal data. In 2015, the Washington Post actually called it the Year of the Healthcare Hack, and unfortunately not a lot has changed according to those in the know.

A Concentrate and Continuous Effort

Keeping data secure and safe isn’t something that is a one-time deal, it is an on-going battle that needs constant attention. When dealing with such sensitive information as the healthcare industry does, there is no choice but to keep up with the latest security protocols and measures, taking every step possible.

Qualcomm and MediaTek announce support for Android Oreo (Go edition) devices

Alexandra Arici
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During its Tech Summit, Qualcomm shared more details about its upcoming initiatives. For example, the chip giant announced support for Google’s newly launched Android Oreo (Go edition).

Part of the Android 8.1 Oreo rollout, the Go edition is a light version of Android Oreo which has been optimized for smartphones with 1GB of RAM or less on board. Well, Qualcomm says it has partnered up with Google to power the next wave of affordable smartphones with the aim to deliver “new experiences not seen before from smartphones in this range”.

In the official press release, the chipmaker notes that Snapdragon processors will be Android Go-optimized as soon as Google releases Android 8.1 Oreo to the Android Open Source Project.

But Qualcomm isn’t the only chipmaker who announced support for Android Go devices. MediaTek, the Taiwanese semiconductor company who is becoming more and more prominent, also joins the Android Go bandwagon.

Case in point, the company’s MT6739, MT6737, and MT6580 processors all now support Android Go. The first two models will be used to power 4G smartphones and tablets, while the latter will go into 3G devices.

The first Android Go smartphones with Qualcomm and MediaTek processors should make a debut on the market in early 2018.

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