Lenovo Announces New ‘ThinkPad’ Docks Equipped With Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C Ports

Lenovo recently announced a pair of docks in its “ThinkPad” accessory line, including one equipped with Thunderbolt 3 and one with USB-C (via Anandtech). The ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 dock includes a Thunderbolt 3 port, two DisplayPort options, HDMI, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, a headphone jack, and five USB-A 3.0 ports, with one that is always powered.

Both images show the ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 dock
The company said that users can connect as many as three displays to the Thunderbolt 3 dock, with two coming off the dual DisplayPort streams, and another connected to an extra Thunderbolt 3 output. One display will get up to a 3840 x 2160 resolution at 60Hz, while two displays will have the same resolution at 30Hz. In terms of power, the dock comes with a 135W adapter, with up to 65W of power to a connected laptop. The Thunderbolt 3 dock is likely to work with the new Touch Bar MacBook Pro, but Lenovo hasn’t specified compatibility yet.

The dock ships with a 135-Watt AC Adapter, which provides up to 65W of power to the laptop, and the remainder for powering the accessories. There is also a power button on the dock to control the ThinkPad power state when docked, which is nice since the laptop could easily be closed when docked.

The USB-C dock has a similar look and number of ports when compared to the Thunderbolt 3 version. It includes a single USB-C port, three USB-A 3.0 ports, two USB-A 2.0 ports, two DisplayPort options, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, and a headphone jack. A single display can be driven with 3840 x 2160 resolution at 30Hz, or the dock can power two displays with 1920×1080 resolution at 60 Hz. The USB-C dock includes a 90W power adapter, with up to 60W of power to a connected laptop.

Users will be able to purchase the ThinkPad USB-C dock in January for $199.99, and the ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 dock in February for $279.99. More information about the ThinkPad line, and other Lenovo products, is likely to be announced at CES in January.

Tags: Lenovo, Thunderbolt 3
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Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls AirPods ‘A Runaway Success,’ Says ‘It’s Been a Great Holiday’

Apple CEO Tim Cook toured the New York Stock Exchange with his nephew this morning, where he took a few moments to do a quick interview with CNBC.

Cook said he couldn’t comment on business when asked, but he told the interviewer that Apple has had a “great” holiday season. “It’s been a great holiday,” he said.

When questioned about Apple’s recently released AirPods and the lack of available stock, Cook called the AirPods a “runaway success.” “We’re making them just as fast as we can,” he said.

Introduced in mid-December, the first AirPods began shipping out to customers during the week of December 19th, the first day retail stores began carrying the accessory.

NEW: Apple CEO Tim Cook tells CNBC that “it’s been a great holiday” and the company’s new Airpod headphones “are a run away success” pic.twitter.com/lDo0Fdw7ym

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) December 28, 2016

AirPods have proven to be popular with Apple users, and supplies have been constrained since launch. Retail stores and third-party retailers are receiving regular shipments, but many customers have not yet been able to purchase AirPods. Online orders placed today won’t ship out for six weeks.

Reviews of AirPods have been largely positive, with customers praising the sound quality, battery life, ease of connectivity, and better than expected Bluetooth range, but some users have been having battery trouble with their Charging Case.

Tags: Tim Cook, AirPods
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2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS450 review – Roadshow

The Good The GLS450 packs a smooth ride and is nearly as capable as its bulky body-on-frame competition. It’s surprisingly good without requiring a ton of options, too.

The Bad Since it’s an older platform, the GLS lacks many of Mercedes-Benz’s most visually stunning new features. The second and third row lack USB ports, and some connected features are slow as molasses.

The Bottom Line Despite being long in the tooth, the GLS450 is a properly capable family trucklette with on-road demeanor that bests competitors.

Trying to fish through a field of options is tough when you’re trying to buy a new vehicle. But it’s even tougher when you have to review one within the span of a week. I might spend all my time trying to figure out where half the baubles are by the time it’s ready to go back home.

That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS450 arrived on my doorstep with very few options — what some call a ‘stripper.’ Sure, its $68,700 base price inflated to $78,550 (including $925 for destination and delivery), but considering most Mercedes-Benz press cars arrive with a CES show’s worth of gizmos, this nearly base GLS450 allowed me to spend most of my time evaluating how it drove and how it survived daily use in and around the metro Detroit area.

What I learned is that the GLS450 packs an impressively smooth ride with decent fuel economy. Its day-to-day demeanor is leagues ahead of its body-on-frame competition, but its age lets it down a bit in the face of newer, fresher unibody rivals.

What I’m trying to say is, this is one stripper you’ll want to take home to the family.

Not a truck, but still a behemoth

Other new Mercedes-Benz SUVs play host to a smorgasbord of curves, as if the engineering team lost all the rulers and replaced them with compasses. The GLS is unabashedly old school in comparison, keeping what rulers remain quite busy.

There’s no getting around the fact that many full-size, three-row crossovers and SUVs look like bricks on wheels. The GLS450 is a large slab with wheels underneath, and this impression isn’t helped by its design, which is still based on the original 2007 model (then dubbed GL).

Yet, there is some character here. The front end is mostly new, bringing it closer in line with other new Mercedes-Benz products. The rear end has some changes, too, like new taillights. The sides feature some impressive sculpting. The whole package is cohesive, despite being a smattering of both new and old design. It works. It’s one of the best-looking vehicles in its segment, if only because it doesn’t resemble those bricks that make up dorm room walls.

It’s an attractive car, but there’s no hiding this thing’s size.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

An interior bordering on anachronistic

If the outside strikes you as a little old, boy howdy, you’re in for a treat once you step inside the GLS450. Whether it’s the centrally located volume knob on the center stack or the keypad immediately to its right, the GLS450’s interior takes you right back to the pinnacle of Mercedes-Benz’s design — from the last generation.

Mercedes-Benz has added some new bits to keep it relevant. The COMAND infotainment controller is the new touchpad, the steering wheel is newer and there are two USB ports in the (admittedly small) center console. But the best parts of Mercedes-Benz’s new interior design will not make an appearance. There is no double-widescreen display, à la E-Class, and the ambient lighting comes in three colors, as opposed to approximately one billion.

That said, the trim is still pretty, the seats remain very supportive and there’s plenty of room for adults inside. That’s what really matters. The second row has a massive amount of space, according to this 6-foot-zero lanky Gumby type.

The third row is tight, putting my knees to the seatback, but headroom is ample. Its third-row legroom measures 35.0 inches, which is ahead of the Cadillac Escalade and Infiniti QX80, but it lags behind the Lincoln Navigator. It would help if the second row could slide forward, but it can’t. It just tilts.

Speaking of tilting, folding down the third row for extra cargo space is a breeze, thanks to power switches in the trunk. You can fit a week’s worth of groceries for two in the back without dropping the third row. Moving the second row is a larger hassle — the 60-percent portion of the 60/40 split is rather heavy.

The addition of a power third row must feel like the saving grace for every driver with an arm full of groceries and children in tow.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Super soft on the road, for better or for worse

I’ll just dispense with the tired boat references — the GLS450 is supremely soft. Detroit’s horrible roads became much easier to deal with, although there is a trade-off, because with all those gradual motions comes a fair bit of body roll, and it might be too soft on the highway with its 275/55/19 Continental all-season tires. But it’s comfortable.

The GLS450 packs a 362-horsepower, 369-pound-foot V6 engine. It’s the volume engine, and while it doesn’t pack the outright thrust of the 449-hp V8 in the GLS550, it’s still plenty capable along with managing to save you more than $10,000 in the process. The new nine-speed automatic transmission keeps the revs low for fuel economy’s sake, but the shifts arrive quickly if you put the hammer down.

You’ll want to leave it in Comfort mode for the whole period of ownership. It starts from a stop in second gear, which requires a stronger pedal push, but it’s a gradual departure free from drama. Sport mode is horrible and pointless, as it attempts to inject some unwanted performance characteristics, like an all-too-touchy throttle and transmission shift points that hold all nine gears for unnecessarily long periods.

Sport mode is stupid. Don’t use it, unless you like a jittery giant under your right foot.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Much of that softness comes from the air suspension, which is standard. You can raise it for slightly more treacherous terrain, but I recommend against that unless absolutely necessary. It takes more than a minute to raise the vehicle a couple extra inches, and at least in the case of my tester, the suspension creaks and groans the whole way up. I thought it was broken the first time I lifted it. A Range Rover, this is not.

If you want to get a little dirty, though, there’s an optional Off-Road Package that adds a two-speed transfer case, skid plates and extra ride height.

Visibility from all angles was ample. Blind spots were minimal, and the driver gets a great view of the road ahead. That said, for something so big and fancy, I was turned off by the amount of road and wind noise that permeated the cabin.

Over the course of a couple hundred miles in the GLS450, my highway fuel economy danced between 18 miles per gallon and its EPA-estimated 22-mpg highway rating. It’s rated at 17 in the city, but I saw closer to 15, although I prefer to keep up with traffic instead of steadfastly adhering to posted limits. Stop/start helps keep fuel consumption in check, and it’s very hard to tell when the engine turns off and starts up again.

Moto Z owners, how’s the Nougat update treating you?

Moto’s modular phone gets Android 7.0 — so how have you been finding the update?

Lenovo’s Moto brand has been hit and miss when it comes to software updates, but at least the flagship Moto Z and Z Force have benefitted from a relatively speedy upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat. And aside from the usual laundry list of software improvements, Moto Z owners have more than most to get excited about, as the phone inherits Daydream VR support along with the new Android platform version and numerous other improvements.

The Moto Z gets Daydream VR support along with Android 7.0.

Moto’s software has never diverged from “stock” Android too much, and so you’re still getting a relatively Nexus-like (though not Pixel-like) experience on a freshly upgraded Moto Z. The manufacturer has tuned up performance though, and information density enthusiasts will appreciate the option to adjust the new display scaling option, which lets you see more on-screen.

As for Daydream, the general consensus seems to be that although it offers an experience superior to Google Cardboard on the Moto Z, the motion tracking isn’t quite as slick as on Google’s Pixel phones.

It’s still early days for Nougat on Moto phones, but we want to know how you’re getting on with the Moto Z and Moto Z Force with the latest updates. Which phone are you using, and on which carrier? Have you tried Daydream View with the latest update? And how are you liking the various changes and improvements in Android 7.0?

Hit the comments and let us know your thoughts. And for even more in-depth discussion, you’ll want to head over to our Moto Z and Moto Z Force forums, where community members are already chatting about the phones and their latest software upgrades.

Android Nougat

• Android 7.0 Nougat: Everything you need to know
• Will my phone get Android Nougat?
• Google Pixel + Pixel XL review
• All Android Nougat news
• How to manually update your Nexus or Pixel
• Join the Discussion

Moto Z, Moto Z Force and Moto Z Play

• Our Moto Z review!
• Moto Z Play preview
• The Hasselblad True Zoom is a Mod to remember
• Moto Z specs
• Moto Mods custom backs
• The latest Moto Z news
• Discuss in our Moto Z forums

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Watch a man perfectly recreate a car from memory in Tilt Brush

Wow.

Tilt Brush was our VR app of the year for a reason: Google’s HTC Vive-exclusive toolkit is innovative, exciting and relatively easy to use, even for newcomers.

That’s no better conveyed than in this ad for the Nissan Micra, in which the car company tasked Britain’s Stephen Wiltshire, who has a photographic memory and a knack for detail, with recreating the car in the eponymous VR game after seeing it for only 60 seconds.

Yes, it’s an ad, but it’s a good one. And it shows off why, despite the attraction of mobile VR solutions like Daydream and Gear VR, there are still many reasons to think about upgrading to the Vive or Oculus.

And if you’re looking to do just that, our friends at VRHeads have you covered!

Save $90 on these awesome weather-proof Bluetooth Earbuds

It’s that time of the year where people are setting grand fitness goals for the new year. While you might regret declaring your newfound dedication to getting fit in front of all your friends and family, only to abandon said goals (as usual) in a flurry of pizza and ice cream. Or maybe this will be the year.

Either way, one thing you certainly wouldn’t regret is jumping on this great deal on these FRESHeBUDS Pro Magnetic Bluetooth Earbuds. Available for just $29.99, you’ll be impressed with the features jammed into these little buds.

These Bluetooth buds are connected by a wire so you won’t lose one if it pops out of your ear during a workout. They’re sweat and water resistant and designed to fit snuggly in your ear, with a battery that takes 90 minutes for a full charge that lasts for 10 hours of playback. But what really sets these apart from other Bluetooth earbuds are the magnetic features that keep them secure around your neck, and automatically connects to your phone via Bluetooth when you disconnect them.

Get great new earbuds for just $29! Learn more

The only thing that’s cooler than these headphones is the price — at $29.99, you’re saving 75% off the regular price of $119.99, it’s quite the deal.

3 essential privacy tips for your new Android phone

Your digital life is only as private as you make it.

Android phones are awesome and make for pretty great holiday gifts. They’re also different than most other types of phones, and there’s a learning curve. It’s cool — all great stuff takes a bit of time to master.

If you were gifted an Android and it’s your first time using one, or if you’ve been doing the Android thing a while and just want to do a quick privacy checkup, here are three simple things you should do that help keep all your personal information away from anyone who shouldn’t have it.

Enable the lock screen

A password, PIN or pattern or any other tools that your phone might have to make sure you’re the only person who can see what’s there is the first thing you need to enable. These can be made more efficient using a fingerprint, but there’s always some sort of password behind it.

This sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many folks just don’t bother. Without any type of protection on your phone’s lock screen, anyone who picks it up can look at your photos, your texts, chats, and everything else. Even worse, they can get access to your Google account through the Gmail app with that they have your entire internet history, too.

More: Best Password Managers for Android

This is easier than you might think. Typing out a long password on a phone keyboard can be a pain, but chances are your new Android phone came with a fingerprint sensor that can be setup to unlock everything with only the fingers you choose. Take the time to go through and protect yourself.

We’re not suggesting this so you can keep secrets from your family and friends (though I’m the only person who can unlock my phone). Just that who can see your digital life should be people you choose and not anyone. Especially the person who might find your phone if you lose it.

Don’t pirate apps

There are several good reasons why you shouldn’t pirate apps for your phone, and one very important one is malware.

You might have heard about malware on Android phones. It makes for an interesting and scary story. It’s not nearly as bad as some people want you to think, and almost all of it comes from downloading apps somewhere besides the official store(s) that came with your phone. the Google Play store has over a million apps and it’s patrolled for bad apps by Google. You might have an app store from the people who made your phone, like Samsung or LG. Those are safe, too. Stick to what’s there and you won’t have any troubles.

It’s easy to pirate apps on Android. It’s almost as easy to drop a bit of malware into an app before it’s uploaded. There are other safe places to get apps — F-Droid and Amazon come to mind — but while you’re learning the ropes you’re better off sticking to the app stores that comes on your phone.

Read those boring privacy policies

Any app that holds any of your data should have a privacy policy available to read right from its app store page. It’s the most important thing on that page and the last thing you should read before you hit the install button.

I know they’re boring. Some of them are hard to understand and make your brain hurt. Mine, too. But it’s also the only way to know what the people who made an app want to do and are allowed to do with any of the information you give them. Complaining when a company does something you don’t like with your data does no good if you agreed to let them. And companies are getting better at writing a policy that is easy to read and sounds friendly.

We’re not suggesting that everyone in the world is out to steal all your data. Companies, both big and small, who try to get squirrelly with our information don’t escape the limelight and wrath of the internet. But things that might be OK for others might not be OK for you. The only way you’ll know is to read exactly what you going to be using.

Google’s privacy policy

Android Central’s privacy policy

The phones we use and the people who make them aren’t going to try and be harmful with your personal stuff. Neither is Google. But they do use your data in certain ways so a lot of it is collected on your phone. Keep it safe and decide who gets to use it on your terms.

This holiday, Apple beat Samsung but Android trounced iOS

Looking at the numbers.

It’s an annual tradition in the tech news space that, after a shop-heavy holiday like Black Friday or Christmas, mobile analytics companies regale us with layman’s explanations for the data they accrued.

One such company is Yahoo-owned Flurry, which posted this week about how, as usual, “Holiday Shoppers Invest in Apple.” By its count, taken from deals with app developers across iOS and Android, Apple’s iPhone achieved 44% of the total device activations this year, followed by Samsung at 21%, and Huawei and LG following at a scant 3% and 2%, respectively.

The data is meant to show that Apple dominated the U.S. smartphone market this holiday, as it has done every year for the past half-decade. Samsung did inch up 1% compared to 2015, and Huawei went from practically nothing to third place, but the story is, of course, spun to make it look like the iPhone won Christmas. And perhaps it did in a way, since more iPhones were activated than Galaxy devices, and for many people Samsung’s Galaxy line is Android. But 44% of the activations leave, well, more than half unaccounted for, and you can bet your bottom dollar that after Samsung’s 21% and the 13% that comprise Huawei, LG, Amazon, Oppo, Xiaomi and Motorola, there are a a bunch of trailing one percents, and they all have the word Android attached somewhere.

While Flurry’s numbers were comprised of app and device activations from the U.S. and beyond, it’s interesting to see how it mirrors existing U.S. smartphone market share: typically, Apple controls around 44% of the U.S. smartphone market, while Samsung, owns around 28%. That number is very different in most parts of Europe and Asia, where Android share numbers in the 80-90% range.

The number of activations for the Korean giant were presumably down because it lacked a fall flagship, but it’s unclear how many people went with an iPhone instead or decided to go with, as the chart shows, a Huawei, LG, Xiaomi or Oppo device. If anything, it shows the growing importance of the Chinese market in worldwide smartphone activations, since three of those four companies have a near-zero presence in the U.S.

Flurry’s numbers go on to say that the Pixel, Google’s flagships, were largely left out of the conversation this fall, despite what we believe are respectable numbers from Verizon and, to a lesser extent, the Google Store. But Google has had tremendous trouble filling demand for the Pixels, which were out of stock for much of November and early December, and the launch has been very U.S.-heavy, which also could have contributed to the lack of worldwide market penetration.

All this is to say that numbers can be interpreted in a bunch of ways, but the one major takeaway is that the Note 7’s absence clearly hurt Samsung very much.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

• Galaxy Note 7 fires, recall and cancellation: Everything you need to know
• Survey results: Samsung users stay loyal after Note 7 recall
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
• The latest Galaxy Note 7 news
• Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!

Snag the iOttie Easy One Touch 2 for its lowest price yet!

Right now you can pick up the iOttie Easy One Touch 2 for just $12.79, which happens to be the lowest price we’ve seen on it. It has a new telescopic arm which adds two additional inches to allow for closer viewing, and you can lock and release the phone with just a single finger. The sticky gel pad sticks well to most surfaces and is able to easily be removed and installed in a different vehicle.

Whether you spend a lot of time or just a little in the car, you should have a safe place to keep your phone. If interested, be sure to grab one of these now, as this deal is only good for today, December 28.

See at Amazon

Samsung’s robotic vacuum takes Amazon Echo voice commands

Samsung has revealed Powerbot VR7000, a robotic vacuum you can control with your Amazon Echo. The company says that, in fact, all of its WiFi-enabled Powerbot vacuums will work with Alexa, including, presumably, current connected models like the Powerbot WiFi. It didn’t say what you can command your bots to do, but the Neato Botvac (which beat Samsung to the punch by adding an Alexa “Skill” last month) basically just lets you start and stop cleaning.

The 20 watt robo-vac is considerably smaller (28 percent) than past models, Samsung said, helping it more easily duck under couches or beds. It can also get as close as a half inch (15mm) to a wall and avoid objects as small as a quarter inch, thanks to the front placement of the wide 11-inch brush and “FullView Sensor 2.0.” Other features include a self-cleaning brush, room contour mapping, adjustable suction levels depending on the surface and full remote control with a smartphone (via WiFi).

Samsung didn’t mention the price or availability, but it will show off the Powerbot VR7000 at CES 2017, which starts on Tuesday, January 3rd (yep, that’s in just six days). Since we of course want to command our robot servant to get cleaning, preferably while we sip a Mai Tai, we’ll try to get a closer look during the show.

Source: Samsung