Microsoft video teases HoloLens 2 ahead of MWC launch
23 hours ago
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Microsoft video teases HoloLens 2 ahead of MWC launch

One of Mobile World Congress’s most anticipated reveals isn’t a phone at all. Microsoft is expected to announce the next generation HoloLens headset at an already announced event…

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How I podcast
23 hours ago
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Hardware

How I podcast

I’ve been podcasting in various forms for about a dozen years now. Sometimes it has been within the corporate confines of the various publications I’ve worked for and…

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Eight Sleep unveils The Pod, a bed that’s smarter about temperature
2 days ago
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Hardware

Eight Sleep unveils The Pod, a bed that’s smarter about temperature

Smart mattress company Eight Sleep is announcing its newest product today, The Pod. Co-founder and CEO Matteo Franceschetti described it, succinctly, as “Nest for your bed.” Eight has…

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Xnor’s saltine-sized, solar-powered AI hardware redefines the edge
2 days ago
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Hardware

Xnor’s saltine-sized, solar-powered AI hardware redefines the edge

“If AI is so easy, why isn’t there any in this room?” asks Ali Farhadi, founder and CEO of Xnor, gesturing around the conference room overlooking Lake Union…

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Asteroid is building a human-machine interaction engine for AR developers
2 days ago
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Hardware

Asteroid is building a human-machine interaction engine for AR developers

When we interact with computers today we move the mouse, we scroll the trackpad, we tap the screen, but there is so much that the machines don’t pick…

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Daily Crunch: Amazon acquires Eero
13th February 2019
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Hardware

Daily Crunch: Amazon acquires Eero

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am…

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Tim Cook-backed shower startup Nebia shows off a warmer, water-saving shower head
13th February 2019
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Hardware

Tim Cook-backed shower startup Nebia shows off a warmer, water-saving shower head

I’m not in the habit of getting naked during meetings at startup offices, but this time it felt appropriate. Nebia, a shower startup that has attracted investments from…

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Massless raises $2M to build an Apple Pencil for virtual reality
13th February 2019
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Hardware

Massless raises $2M to build an Apple Pencil for virtual reality

Despite all of the VR over-hyping, for those observing from the inside, the capabilities are still uncharted. VR as a creative medium has probably been one of the…

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I’m digging this ridiculous $19 folding laptop stand
12th February 2019
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Hardware

I’m digging this ridiculous $19 folding laptop stand

Ask me in a couple of months what I think about the Moft. Right now, I’m actually digging it. Granted, I didn’t have particularly high hopes for a…

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Samsung promises a better look at its folding phone next week
12th February 2019
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Hardware

Samsung promises a better look at its folding phone next week

Samsung’s not telling us anything we don’t already know with its latest teaser. But before I hop on yet another flight to San Francisco, it’s good to know…

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Amazon is buying home mesh router startup, Eero
12th February 2019
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Hardware

Amazon is buying home mesh router startup, Eero

Amazon is about to expand its smart home offerings in a big way. The company just announced its intention to acquire Bay Area-based home mesh router startup, Eero.…

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Xiaomi-backed electric toothbrush Soocas raises $30 million Series C
11th February 2019
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Hardware

Xiaomi-backed electric toothbrush Soocas raises $30 million Series C

China’s Soocas continues to jostle with global toothbrush giants as it raises 200 million yuan ($30 million) in a series C funding round. The Shenzhen-based oral care manufacturer has…

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What to expect from Mobile World Congress 2019
10th February 2019
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Hardware

What to expect from Mobile World Congress 2019

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: 2019 just might be the year that smartphones get fun again. After years of similar form factors and slight…

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Item tracking startup Adero is laying off 45% of staff, just weeks after it pivoted
9th February 2019
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Hardware

Item tracking startup Adero is laying off 45% of staff, just weeks after it pivoted

Pivots can be the making of a startup, helping teams refocus on a good idea when previous things haven’t worked. But sometimes, they are just one more step…

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LG’s next flagship is getting a 3D front-facing camera
8th February 2019
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Hardware

LG’s next flagship is getting a 3D front-facing camera

LG’s never been much on waiting for a big show to announce its latest offering. Mobile World Congress is still weeks away, and the company just dropped what’s…

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Google Fiber pulls out of Louisville
8th February 2019
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Hardware

Google Fiber pulls out of Louisville

It wasn’t that long ago that cities across the U.S. were vying for Google Fiber, the company’s high-speed internet service. Since the launch of the project in Kansas City…

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Sonos CFO Michael Giannetto will retire later this year
7th February 2019
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Hardware

Sonos CFO Michael Giannetto will retire later this year

At the tail end of its shareholder letter for Q1 2019, Sonos disclosed that the company’s chief financial officer, Mike Giannetto, will be retiring “later this year.” Giannetto…

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Amazon invests in Hatch Baby, launches Baby Skill Activity API as it eyes up the next generation of parenting products
6th February 2019
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Hardware

Amazon invests in Hatch Baby, launches Baby Skill Activity API as it eyes up the next generation of parenting products

Amazon today is one of the biggest retailers of gear for babies and other parenting aides, and today the company is taking another two steps into that business…

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Report: Smart speaker adoption in US reaches 66M units, with Amazon leading
6th February 2019
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Hardware

Report: Smart speaker adoption in US reaches 66M units, with Amazon leading

Smart speakers had a good holiday. Amazon already said its Echo Dot outsold all other items on its site this holiday season, which hinted toward the sizable growth…

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Sonos unveils in-ceiling, in-wall and outdoor speakers
6th February 2019
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Hardware

Sonos unveils in-ceiling, in-wall and outdoor speakers

Sonos is partnering with Sonance for a new lineup of passive speakers. You can now pre-order in-ceiling, in-wall and outdoor Sonos speakers. These are weird products as you…

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Nest’s security system can now be a Google Assistant
5th February 2019
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Hardware

Nest’s security system can now be a Google Assistant

A bit over a year after its release, Nest’s security alarm system is picking up a new trick: it can now double as a Google Assistant device. Nest…

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Amazon’s Audible brings Choose Your Own Adventure stories to Alexa devices
5th February 2019
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Hardware

Amazon’s Audible brings Choose Your Own Adventure stories to Alexa devices

Choose Your Own Adventure-style stories have been making a comeback, thanks to Netflix’s adoption of the format for kids TV and other interactive tales, like “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,” as…

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Carbon is 3D printing custom football helmet liners for Riddell
2nd February 2019
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Hardware

Carbon is 3D printing custom football helmet liners for Riddell

Just in time to ride the last of the pre-Super Bowl buzz, Carbon today announced that it’s teaming up with sports equipment giant Riddell to 3D print customized…

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Huawei’s folding phone debuts this month
2nd February 2019
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Hardware

Huawei’s folding phone debuts this month

Huawei mobile chief Richard Yu has already made mention of the company’s upcoming foldable phone amid talks of smartphone world domination. This morning, however, we caught our first…

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Foxconn says Wisconsin factory plans are back on after talk with Trump
2nd February 2019
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Hardware

Foxconn says Wisconsin factory plans are back on after talk with Trump

It seems Foxconn’s plans for a $10 billion Wisconsin plant are back on. After a couple of years of back and forths, the manufacturing giant says it’s recommitting…

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Microsoft highlights the Xbox Adaptive Controller in emotional Super Bowl ad
1st February 2019
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Hardware

Microsoft highlights the Xbox Adaptive Controller in emotional Super Bowl ad

Once upon a time, people had to wait for the Super Bowl to watch the ads. Those dark days are over. Now you can have companies sell you…

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Lowe’s is killing off and bricking its Iris smart home products at the end of March
1st February 2019
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Hardware

Lowe’s is killing off and bricking its Iris smart home products at the end of March

If you’ve got any gear from Lowe’s Iris line of smart home products, it’s time to start looking for alternatives. Lowe’s has announced that the line is toast,…

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Apple’s global active install base of iPhones surpassed 900 million this quarter
30th January 2019
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Hardware

Apple’s global active install base of iPhones surpassed 900 million this quarter

It’s not surprising that Apple has a massive active install base of iPhones across the globe, but we now finally have an exact number to put behind it.…

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iRobot’s robotic lawnmower was 10 years in the making
30th January 2019
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Hardware

iRobot’s robotic lawnmower was 10 years in the making

Meet Terra, the latest product line from iRobot destined to be forever known as the “Roomba for lawns.” There are worse names, of course. After all, with the…

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Samsung is ditching plastic packaging
29th January 2019
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Hardware

Samsung is ditching plastic packaging

Samsung Electronics said Sunday it will replace plastic packaging used for its bevy of products — from mobile phones and tablets to home appliances and wearables — with…

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Will the iPod return in 2019?
29th January 2019
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Hardware

Will the iPod return in 2019?

I get a little giddy at the notion of another iPod. It’s almost entirely nostalgic, of course. And Apple long ago abandoned my own favorite, the definitely dead…

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China’s smartphone shipments dropped 14 percent in 2018
29th January 2019
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Hardware

China’s smartphone shipments dropped 14 percent in 2018

Smartphone numbers are down all over — but things look especially stark in China these days. Tim Cook cited softened demand in the world’s largest smartphone market as…

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The state of the foldable
27th January 2019
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Hardware

The state of the foldable

You’d be forgiven for being cynical. I’ve been seeing foldable display concepts for as long as I’ve been attending tech trade shows (which, quite frankly, is longer than…

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What (we think) we know about the Samsung Galaxy S10
27th January 2019
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Hardware

What (we think) we know about the Samsung Galaxy S10

The Galaxy S10 will be revealed at an event in San Francisco on February 20. This much we know for sure. Samsung sent out invites for the event…

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Another port-free phone emerges
26th January 2019
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Hardware

Another port-free phone emerges

In the future, everything will be a screen. Glasses, hats, shoes, windows. You’ll turn on the faucet and bath in screens. Sure, most of us have, at best,…

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HMD Nokia phones are coming to Verizon, Cricket and Rogers
26th January 2019
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Hardware

HMD Nokia phones are coming to Verizon, Cricket and Rogers

The North American market can be a tough one to crack for a number of reasons, not the least of which is consumers’ continued reliance on carriers. Without…

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The Rodecaster Pro gets multi-track recording next month
25th January 2019
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Hardware

The Rodecaster Pro gets multi-track recording next month

As a frequent podcast host/producer/editor, I found very few things to quibble with when I reviewed Rode Microphone’s Rodecaster Pro. There was, however, one very big issue: multi-track…

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Huawei aims for top smartphone spot, with or without the US market
25th January 2019
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Hardware

Huawei aims for top smartphone spot, with or without the US market

Last year, Huawei marked a notable bright spot in an otherwise flagging smartphone market. It was a remarkable rise for the handset maker, given the slowing pace of…

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Smartphones are about to get more interesting, but is it enough to drive growth?
25th January 2019
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Hardware

Smartphones are about to get more interesting, but is it enough to drive growth?

Smartphone numbers are down. In 2018, global shipments dropped 3 percent, and while the long-promised arrival of 5G will help numbers get back into the black, IDC predicts…

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Desktop Metal just raised another $160 million
24th January 2019
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Hardware

Desktop Metal just raised another $160 million

Desktop Metal announced this morning that it has raised $160 million. That Series E brings the Burlington, Mass.-based metal 3D printing company up to a whopping $438 million.…

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