LG promotes home appliances head to CEO

LG has moved to a single CEO structure.

LG has promoted the head of its home appliances division, Jo Seong-jin, to vice chairman and CEO of the company. A forty-year veteran of LG, Seong-jin was pivotal in turning the South Korean manufacturer’s fortunes in the home appliances segment. As CEO, Seong-jin will oversee all of LG’s business units — including its mobile arm — as the company gets ready for a challenging 2017.

From LG:

Mr. Jo (60), joined Goldstar in 1976, becoming part of the team which developed LG’s first automatic washing machine in 1980. Prior to becoming president of the H&A Company in 2015, Mr. Jo was the head of LG’s H&A washing machine division. In 2007, Mr. Jo received the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit from the Korean government in recognition of his valuable contributions to the development of new technologies and Korean industry.

More recently Mr. Jo was instrumental in LG’s move into premium appliances with the introduction of the LG SIGNATURE brand and built-in Signature Kitchen Suite as well as building the foundation for future businesses in the areas of IoT and smart homes.

A total of 58 executives were promoted as part of a larger reshuffle.

These are the Huawei phones that will be updated to Nougat

Wider EMUI 5.0 rollout will commence in the first quarter of 2017.

The Mate 9 is Huawei’s first device to offer EMUI 5.0 — based on Nougat — out of the box, and the company is now announcing when other phones will receive the update. EMUI 5.0 will be rolled out to the Huawei P9, Nova and Nova Plus, and others in the first quarter of 2017.

These are the phones eligible for EMUI 5.0:

• Huawei Mate 8
• Huawei P9
• Huawei P9 Plus
• Huawei P9 lite
• Huawei Nova
• Huawei Nova Plus

Huawei will roll out beta tests before kicking off the final builds. In his review of the Mate 9, Alex Dobie liked the changes introduced in EMUI 5.0:

EMUI 5.0 is, for the most part, the huge improvement it needed to be. Most of Huawei’s own preloaded apps have been given a complete visual overhaul, with white backdrops, light grey accents and blue highlights. Apps like the dialer, messages app, calendar and settings look more like they belong in the modern Android ecosystem, as opposed to seeming like weird not-quite-right-looking iOS clones.

And the new, darker notification shade, is more customizable than ever, with more icons shown at once than the old grid setup of old.

Make your dumb car smarter with Automatic Pro!

Let’s face it — we can’t all buy new cars with the hot new tech. A Tesla just isn’t for everyone. But we can do a few things to make our older, dumber cars just a little bit smarter. And for that, I’d been eyeing one of those little dongle adapter things from Automatic.

Automatic Pro is the big brother. It’s $129, but for that one-time expense you get data that uploads automatically over 3G (for the five-year lifetime of the device). It’s simultaneously a game-changer and not necessarily that big a deal. It sort of depends on what you need it for.

If you drive for business, this little thing can be a BIG deal. If you just want to make your car a little smarter? Well, it does that, too. It might not change your life, but it might just change your drive.

Featured Tech

• Buy your own Automatic Pro today and save $20!
• Check out the Pioneer AVH-4100NEX In-Dash Multimedia DVD Receiver with 7″ WVGA Touchscreen Display

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Best Touchscreen Gloves for Winter

What are the best touchscreen gloves? The ones that keep your hands warm and actually work!

Not to bring up a meme that’s done to death (literally, if you watch the show), but:

That means that using your phone outside is uncomfortable and makes for frigid digits. That is unless you have some awesome touchscreen gloves that let you use your phone with toasty phalanges.

Not all gloves of this nature work very well, so here are the best of the best to keep you texting even when Jack Frost is nipping at your butt.

• Mujjo double-layered touchscreen gloves
• Agloves
• The North Face ThermoBall Etip
• Glove.ly Classic Touch Screen Glove
• Moshi Digits
• Nanotips

Mujjo double-layered touchscreen gloves

These dual-layer gloves are Mujjo’s response to customers asking for something a bit thicker for colder climes. They added a layer of wool (just like grandma used to do!) so you can now have your phone and keep your hands warm too.

Silicone grips all over the palms of these gloves make sure your phone doesn’t slip out of your hands in slippery weather, and Mujjo has made it so that you can use any fingertip, knuckle, and even the palm or heel of your hand. It’s almost like you’re wearing nothing at all… Nothing at all… Nothing at all!

See at Amazon

Agloves

These acrylic gloves have ten-finger functionality, meaning you can use any finger to use your phone, while keeping warm.

They come in black, red, brown, navy, or white. These aren’t the thickest gloves around and probably won’t do the trick when temps drop below zero, but what are you doing standing around long enough to use your phone when it’s that cold anyway?

See at Amazon

The North Face ThermoBall Etip

As a Canadian, I can attest to The North Face’s quality. The ThermoBall Etips are a little on the bulky side for touchscreen gloves, so movement is somewhat difficult, but they work exceptionally well, even in colder weather.

They come in men’s and women’s sizes and styles, so there’s a ThermoBall Etip for everybody.

See at Amazon

Glove.ly Classic Touch Screen Glove

The Glove.ly Classic lets you use any part of your hand to control your phone. They’re not for arctic temperatures, but they’re warmer than most of the thinner touchscreen gloves you might find.

If your screen gets smudged and dirty, you can use the built-in microfiber label to keep it clean, and magnets hidden under the logo help to make sure you don’t lose a glove.

They come in small or medium/large, so make sure you choose the right size.

See at Amazon

Moshi Digits

The Moshi Digits are excellent touchscreen gloves that do a great job of keeping your hands warm and work very well when it comes to using your phone while wearing them.

They feature a double-layer of material that helps keep your fingers warm, even when it’s quite chilly outside (better than most touchscreen gloves). Each glove also features Moshi’s “GripTrak” pattern on the palm to ensure that you never drop your phone, even in icy weather.

Though they’re dual-layered gloves, they shouldn’t slow down your texting ability, even if you have fingers of lightning.

See at Moshi

Nanotips

Don’t feel like buying a brand new pair of gloves? Nanotips makes it so you don’t have to. Just paint a coating onto the thumb and fingertips of your favorite gloves and they become touchscreen gloves.

The efficacy of Nanotips really depends on the what material your gloves are made of, and you may see varying results with different pairs of gloves. Nanotips does make a leather formula and one for fabric/acrylic, so make sure you choose the correct formula.

See at Amazon

Got a favorite?

Do you have a favorite pair of touchscreen gloves? Do you even use them? Let us know in the comments below!

This $6 car charger will charge your phone nearly four times faster

Many people haven’t even adopted Quick Charge 3.0 in their homes, let alone the car, but when it is just $6 why wouldn’t you? That’s right, RAVPower’s Quick Charge 3.0 car charger is on sale at Amazon for just $6 when you use coupon code SHES5GA5. It has two USB outputs, only one of which will offer the quicker charging speeds, so you can get multiple devices charging at the same time.

Odds are this deal won’t be around for long, so be sure to grab one right now. Remember, coupon code SHES5GA5 at checkout gets you the full savings.

See at Amazon

Essential Accessories For OnePlus 3 + OnePlus 3T

Outfit your OnePlus 3 or 3T with these must-have accessories.

Whether you’re a veteran OnePlus 3 owner, or you’re just getting started with the brand new OnePlus 3T, you’ve got the same broad range of accessories to choose from. That’s because although these two phones are different on the inside, they have many overlapping features, and exactly the same physical dimensions.

So let’s dig in. Check out these all-important OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T that should be part of your arsenal.

• OnePlus 3/3T protective case
• OnePlus 3/3T flip cover
• Aukey 10,000mAh dual port power bank
• Dash Power bundle
• Dash Car Charger
• Orzly 2.5D tempered glass screen protector

OnePlus 3/3T protective case

The official OnePlus-branded case for the OnePlus 3 and 3T comes in six textures, including the famous sandstone finish, a carbon fiber style, and various varieties of wood. Each of them is a little easier to grip onto than the slick metal of the phone, while also protecting the back and sides of the phone from scrapes, drops and impacts.

Each case is precision-cut to fit the OnePlus 3 and 3T, so you’re ensured of a snug fit.

See at OnePlus

OnePlus 3/3T flip cover

If you’re after a bit more protection, OnePlus’s official flip cover comes in three colors — black, gray and sand — and shields the screen, back and corners of the device from damage. The enclosure itself is made from PU leather with a stitched trim and OnePlus branding around the front. And there’s also a credit card holder for your favorite payment method or ID card.

And thanks to the magic of magnetic sensors, the phone will automatically power on when the case is opened up. Flip it closed and the phone instantly enters sleep mode. Simple.

See at OnePlus

Aukey 10,000mAh dual port power bank

There’s no official power bank using OnePlus’s Dash Charge standard just yet, but this Aukey 10,000mAh USB battery is the next best thing. It has a combined output of 3.1 amps across two ports — but you should still get an ample 2A or so out of this battery bank, meaning it’ll be quicker than a basic power bank or wall charger.

It’s small enough to fit in the back pocket of a pair of jeans, and with two USB-A ports built in, you’ll be able to charge another device at the same time as your OnePlus 3 or 3T.

The battery charges over micro-USB, and a 1-foot micro-USB cable is included in the box.

See at Amazon

Dash Power bundle

The cheapest place to get hold of an official OnePlus Dash Charger and cable — and remember, you’ll need both to charge at full speed on your OnePlus 3 or 3T — is the company’s own storefront.

The Dash Power bundle gets you another Dash Charger, just like the one in the box, and an accompanying cable in stylish red and white. These will let you charge the phone at up to 4A, giving you up to a day’s power in just 30 minutes if the phone’s teetering on the brink of a dead battery.

Simply put, this is the fastest way to charge your OnePlus 3, and it doesn’t hurt to have a spare around.

Check out our guide to Dash Charge for more info on what makes OnePlus’s fast charging standard unique.

See at OnePlus

Dash Car Charger

Behold, the OnePlus Dash Charger, now in car form.

This adapter plugs into your vehicle’s lighter port, and charges your phone at almost the same super-fast speeds as the regular wall plug Dash Charger.

In Dash Charge mode, you’ll power up at 3.5A. In regular mode, it’s 2A. It’s also pretty stylish, with a textured metal grip, and red accents on the USB port. And it comes bundled with another Dash Charge-capable USB-A to USB-C cable, so you can leave one in the car with this charger.

See at OnePlus

Orzly 2.5D Pro-Fit V2 Tempered Glass Screen Protector

Sure, the OnePlus 3 and 3T both come pre-fitted with plastic screen protectors, but if you want something that feels less slick and plasticky, you’ll want to invest in a decent tempered glass screen protector.

We’ve used several of Orzly’s premium tempered glass shields, and their OnePlus 3 and 3T model comes w both black and white fronts — the latter being for the lesser spotted soft gold OnePlus 3.

This screen protector comes rated at 9H hardness — that’s harder than a knife — to protect your phone’s screen from annoying hairline scratches, as well as more serious drops and abrasions. It also has an oleophobic coating to stop the surface of your screen getting gunked up with fingerprints.

Amazon offers a two-pack of these for a surprisingly decent price.

See at Amazon

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T

• OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
• The OnePlus 3T is official
• OnePlus 3 specs
• OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
• Latest OnePlus 3 news
• Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums

OnePlus

Steam winter sale promises even bigger games deals than Black Friday, start date revealed

The Steam winter sale is always a massive deal for PC and Mac gamers. Yes, we’ve just had a sale as part of the Black Friday period, but that was nothing in comparison to the bargains to be had over Christmas and into the new year.

Games deals at the end of each year are traditionally bonkers. With more taken off than at an office party after someone spikes the punch.

Valve hasn’t yet officially announced the date this year’s winter sale will start, but you need to get poised to start a-spending on 22 December. A NeoGaf user spotted an official listing for the sale and posted a screengrab.

According to the grab, it runs through to 2 January, so you get 11 days to fill your Steam library with hundreds of games you probably won’t ever play – like us.

The Steam team has always had fun with its winter sale too, with a hilarious lampooning of a classic advert being the teaser for its 2013 event. It was a direct lift of the famous Coca-Cola Christmas commercial with a dodgy voice-over saying “Steam” over the drinks brand name and still makes us giggle today.

We’ll update you on the Steam winter sale when we get closer the time.

Nokia’s Android phones get one step closer

We’ve known for a few months that Nokia intends to make a return to the smartphone market. It won’t be strictly Nokia as we remember it, but rather HMD Global manufacturing phones using the Nokia name.

HMD Global has recently confirmed we can expect to see the first Nokia branded smartphones in the first half of 2017, perhaps at Mobile World Congress? HMD has also struck up a partnership with Google, and so the incoming Nokia phones will run on Android.

HMD president Florian Seiche has added: “We believe that the time is right for renewal in the mobile industry. The market is fatigued and flooded with undifferentiated products.”

“Consumers are looking for technology with clear purpose that is useful, exciting and with a brand they can trust, so our approach will focus on true, core user experiences and a dedication to quality”.

“With our passionate team, start up attitude, a brand with a 95% worldwide awareness and a unique, asset light partnership approach, we believe we are perfectly placed to forge a new way in mobile”.

It’s clear then that HMD Global means business since its acquisition of the Nokia licensing rights and safe to say we’re excited to see how the company’s return to the smartphone arena will fare.

The new phones are expected to move away from the colourful Lumia devices we’re now accustomed to, instead opting for an all metal design. With the majority of flagships now using metal and glass as primary materials, we’re not surprised to see the new Nokia follow suit.

• Nokia Android phones: What can we expect to see?
• Nokia is back with Android smartphone and tablet plans

Arto Nummela, CEO of HMD has said: “Driven by the extremely positive reception we have received since HMD was announced earlier this year, we are excited about building the next chapter for Nokia phones. We see this as a brilliant opportunity to solve real life consumer problems and to deliver on the quality and designs that the Nokia brand has been always known for”.

ICYMI: Eye surgery, bot style

Today on In Case You Missed It: The Axsis microsurgery robot is designed to work remotely so that doctors can more minutely control the removal of cataracts. The machine can’t cut too deeply into the cornea since it’s designed to avoid that most common of human pitfalls.

Meanwhile, the big news in the Ukraine is that nuclear accident site Chernobyl just got a massive building to block radiation placed over its exploded reactor, funded by more than 40 countries to the tune of $1.5 Billion. The hijinks of crazyRussianHacker are here and Google’s time-lapse photos of Earth; here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.