Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 review

The Xiaomi juggernaut now includes fitness bands, earphones, air purifiers, and more, but of course smartphones are its real stars. The company had a great 2016 in India selling over 3.6 million units of the Redmi Note 3, and crossing $1 billion in revenue in the country for the first time.

Now, it is time for the successor of that bestselling device. The Chinese OEM would like to continue the momentum with the Redmi Note 4, the company’s first launch of the year in India. The affordable smartphone market in India is very crowded, and Xiaomi wants to ward off multiple threats based on pricing or the specifications sheet by offering three variants of the Redmi Note 4 with different memory configurations.

For this review, I took the top variant of the Redmi Note 4, the one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, for a spin. While the Chinese version of the Redmi Note 4 packs in a MediaTek SoC, this one – the India variant – has a Qualcomm chip.Show More

Will the Redmi Note 4 help Xiaomi with its dream run in the Indian market or is it just another run-of-the-mill budget smartphone? Let’s find out in our detailed review!

Design

Unlike its predecessor, the Redmi Note 4 sports an all-metal chassis. There’s a 2.5D curved-edge glass up front with chamfered edges for better ergonomics. The device fits very well in the palm and one-handed usage isn’t an issue.

At the back, there are antenna lines running across the top and bottom which break up the design while improving signal reception. The speaker grilles are at the bottom this time around instead of being at the back, and although the device packs in a single speaker, there are two sets of grilles for the sake of symmetry.

At 8.3mm, the Redmi Note 4 is slimmer than its predecessor, but a tad heavier. The additional heft though isn’t an issue and the weight is distributed quite well, so you really don’t feel any discomfort using it for an extended time. It feels sturdy, and I can’t put my finger to it, but it feels nicer, more solid than the Redmi Note 3.

The Redmi Note 4’s design is anything but revolutionary and there are only subtle changes from its predecessor. Yet the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and in the end, we have a nicely designed budget smartphone that feels great to use.

Display

The Redmi Note 4 sports a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display – the 1080 x 1920 resolution translating to a pixel density of 401ppi. It boasts of a 2.5D curved glass up front that feels good to use.

The display is same as its predecessor, but it is definitely brighter than the one last time around, and hence the sunlight legibility has improved. The color accuracy is better too. For a budget device, the display is quite good, really. The text and images are razor sharp and the colors are quite vivid. The display is a tad reflective, although the viewing angles are great.

Xiaomi also offers a Reading Mode with a blue light filter that makes it easier to read text at night.

There’s one thing though that I wished would have gone away with the latest iteration. There’s a black border running around the display. While it’s minimal, it is very apparent specially when the face of the smartphone is white.

Performance

In the affordable smartphones category, Xiaomi has always tried to pack in a punch in terms of hardware, and the Redmi Note 4 is no different. Powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 (MSM8953) processor clocked at 2GHz and an integrated Adreno 506 GPU, the Redmi Note 4 comes in three RAM configurations – 2GB, 3GB, and 4GB – with 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.

The Redmi Note 3 was powered by the Snapdragon 650 chipset, but the Redmi Note 4 is not really a downgrade as the naming convention indicates. Unlike the 28nm Snapdragon 650, the Snapdragon 625 is built on the 14nm architecture and offers better energy efficiency. It might not be the powerhouse as the 650 is, but the mid-range SoC chugs along nicely through everyday tasks.

It is able to handle almost everything I threw at it. There is no lag switching between apps and while multi-tabbed browsing – granted I was on the top end variant with 4GB of RAM, but I don’t think the 3GB variant would stutter by any means. A slight performance degradation is expected, but nothing that could be a showstopper. The 2GB variant though could be a tad rough for a power user, but would be good enough for a casual user.

Multi-tasking on the Redmi Note 4 is a breeze, and it can handle graphic-intensive games without breaking a sweat. Essentially, the top variant of the Redmi Note 4 can handle everything with aplomb and is arguably the best performing smartphone in its category.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 packs in a 4100mAh non-removable battery. The large capacity combined with software optimizations and the power efficiency of Snapdragon 625 makes it a battery powerhouse. I was able to squeeze in two days of battery life – one-and-a-half in case of heavy usage – and it lasted over 15 hours in my continuous video playback test.

The battery life on the Redmi Note 4 is impressive, and it hurts that there is no support for quick charging – even more important in smartphones with large battery capacity.

Hardware

The Redmi Note 4 features a hybrid SIM tray, so you can either use two SIMs or one Nano-SIM and one microSD card. You might want to keep this in consideration when making a choice between the 32GB and 64GB variant if you want to use two SIM cards. The Redmi Note 3 supported microSD cards of up to 32GB only which was a bummer. Thankfully, that’s taken care of now and you can put in those 128GB microSD cards as well.

I’m slightly disappointed to find a microUSB port in a smartphone released in 2017. I would’ve liked a Type-C port instead, although I’m sure not many people will have an issue with it. Also, just like its predecessor, the Redmi Note 4 too gives NFC connectivity a miss.

The fingerprint scanner on the Redmi Note 4 is mounted on the rear just below the camera unit. It’s always on, so you can unlock your phone directly from sleep. While the accuracy of the fingerprint sensor is pretty good, it takes a while for the phone to wake up and unlock. It’s not the fastest fingerprint scanner out there clearly. Also, on a few occasions the detection would fail if the finger is slightly wet.

Camera

The Redmi Note 3 disappointed many in the camera department, and Xiaomi has focused on improving the camera on this year’s model. The 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 lens is a testament of that.

In well-lit conditions, it can take some great landscape shots. When shooting close-ups of objects or macro shots, the color reproduction is quite good and there are plenty of details. Sharpness is a mixed bag though. The camera focuses quickly, which is also great for taking some fine shots of moving subjects. If you’re shooting in HDR, you’ll manage to squeeze in more details, although it takes slightly longer to shoot the photos.

In low-light though, Xiaomi has still a lot to do. If you put in some effort, you would manage to get some decent shots, but once you zoom in, you’d find a lot of graininess.

The 5MP front camera sports a f/2.0 lens and most selfies in well-lit conditions come out well with good color accuracy and details. Indoors or in low-light though, it’s a hit-or-miss, which is pretty much the case with most smartphones in this price segment.

In terms of video recording, the rear camera can record videos at 1080p resolution and the quality is good enough. The video recording on front camera is now downgraded to 720p compared to 1080p on its predecessor and it fails to impress in terms of details.

The camera app on the Redmi Note 4 includes a variety of modes, including a manual mode that lets you tweak the ISO, white balance, and exposure settings, and a wealth of other options.

Software

The Redmi Note 4 runs MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The company is testing a Nougat preview of MIUI, and will be rolling it out in the coming months. MIUI 8 is one of the popular Android customizations, and although it’s quirky and can be frustrating to use at times, it packs in a lot of features and has its share of fans.

And it has gone better. On Redmi Note 4, MIUI 8 is quite smooth and polished. With the internals it packs, the smartphone just breezes with MIUI 8, and even the usual culprits like system animations are a user experience delight.

One of the highlights of the MIUI 8 is the focus on privacy with Dual Apps and Second Space. While the Dual Apps feature allows you to create two instances of any app (so for example, you can use two WhatsApp accounts on the same phone), the Second Space feature allows users to separate personal and business information on the same device.

While the MIUI 8 has an improved dialer app, it also boasts of a caller ID feature with information about the delivery staff of online stores and local on-demand services. The Messages app bundles similar messages into folders so texts from banks, service providers, online stores, etc. don’t clog up your inbox. These are very useful, and unique, features that Xiaomi has specifically introduced for the Indian market.

MIUI 8 includes a one-handed mode, which is accessible with a left-to-right swipe gesture across the navigation keys. You can shrink the screen size down to 4.0 inches, 4.5 inches, or 3.5 inches, making it more convenient to use the phone one-handed. There’s also the Quick Ball feature that lets you access shortcuts with ease – first introduced with the large-sized Mi Max phablet.

The Redmi Note 4 has a bunch of preloaded apps, and they can’t be uninstalled in case you don’t need any of these. That’s double whammy, really.

Overall, the overall software experience on the Redmi Note 4 is great, and there are a bunch of useful features that you’d only appreciate once you start using it. I’m not a big fan of MIUI’s aggressive memory management, but that apart, there are no complaints really if you warm up to it.

Specifications

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

After the massive success of Redmi Note 3, the Redmi Note 4 had tough shoes to fill. And looks like we’ve got another winner on our hands. The Redmi Note 4 is definitely the new benchmark for other budget smartphones launching in 2017 to match up to. It’s not really an unknown territory for the Chinese company to find itself in.

The Redmi Note 4 is definitely the new benchmark for other budget smartphones launching in 2017 to match up to.

The Redmi Note 4 is not perfect – the camera still misses the beat – but it is a well-rounded package that one wouldn’t hesitate to recommend – especially if one needs a big screen and long battery life. Packed in a neat chassis, the smartphone performs great and is a compelling smartphone that gets a direct entry into any best-of lists. Interestingly, there’s nothing revolutionary in the Redmi Note 4, yet it’s a nice progression from the predecessor that fixes most of latter’s flaws and presents itself as a fantastic value-for-money device.

In India, the base model comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage and retails for ₹9,999 ($145). Unless you’re a basic smartphone user, you might want to skip it and go for the other variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage that is available for ₹10,999 ($160). Of course, if you don’t mind spending more, picking up the top variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage for ₹12,999 ($190) is a no-brainer.

Time flies, or at least floats, with Flyte’s levitating story clock

Why it matters to you

The clock’s distinctive design is sure to make guests’ jaws drop.

Flyte, the startup company that already created a floating light bulb and a floating planter, recently launched another project on Kickstarter. Its new campaign is for the Story Timepiece, a levitating clock that uses magnets to guide a chrome ball around a wooden base.

What’s so special about the Story clock? Well, aside from the fact that it levitates horizontally, vertically, or at a 60-degree angle — which means you can lean it against a stand, hang it on your wall, or display it flat on a table — it also has other cool features.

More: The 6 best alarm clocks of 2016

The clock has three modes: journey mode, clock mode, and timer mode. In journey mode, you can set the clock to a certain date, like a birthday or anniversary, and the Story clock will hit the 12-o’clock position when that dates arrives. Basically, it serves as a count down until your special event. In clock mode, the chrome sphere will float around each hour of the day; and, in timer mode, you can set the levitating clock for an hour, for instance, and it will make one full revolution during that hour time frame.

In addition to its modes, the clock also has an LED display that shows digital time in the center of the clock. The Story clock’s backlight allows you to take advantage of its extended features. If you connect it to the mobile app, the clock will illuminate real time meteorological data. The backlight can mimic things like the moon’s phases, a sunrise and sunset, and temperature.

The floating clock is gaining a great deal of crowdfunding support. The campaign already raised nearly $250,000 from more than 550 backers, which is more than three times its $80,000 all-or-nothing goal amount. With 42 days left until its April 1 campaign deadline, the project is seeing huge success.

The clock costs a small fortune, when you compare it to other plain wall clocks. You’ll pay between $399 and $499, depending on how early you pledge and the color you choose.

As with all crowdfunding projects, before you pledge your hard earned money, it’s wise to use caution and conduct research. Backing a project on a crowdfunding site is not the same as buying an item at a store, even if it’s from a company like Flyte, that has a history of making other cool products.

Nolo is an inexpensive motion tracking system for mobile and SteamVR play

Why it matters to you

The HTC Vive is very expensive, and if you want to get your hands on immersive game play for less, the Nolo might be a good alternative.

Who says virtual reality has to be virtually inaccessible? Certainly not Nolo, the company behind a motion tracking system created for mobile VR gaming that is trying to bring down the often astronomical price tag associated with headsets so that more people are able to enjoy the experience.

While VR has certainly proven popular, particularly within the gaming community where immersive experiences are key, enjoying the experience has been pricey, to say the least. The HTC Vive, after all, costs $799. The Nolo? Just an eighth of that price.

The Nolo tracking system is comprised of a base station, a headset marker, and two controllers that promise to work seamlessly with your mobile device. “Our team created Nolo with a vision to make the benefits of technology available to all walks of life,” the team notes on its website, “We believe that mobile VR is the perfect platform because of its affordability and ease of use.”

More: Windows 10’s popularity among Steam gamers drops back below 50 percent in January

Better still, Nolo says that it is fully compatible with SteamVR, which means that in theory, you could access the entirety of Vive’s content library for a fraction of the price. The headset marker can sit atop any smartphone-containing VR device (such as a Gear VR, Google Daydream, or Cardboard), while the base station claims to have a 100-degree field of view.

As it stands, the Nolo setup is compatible with Android devices, though the company says it will work with iOS at a later date. And while the SteamVR compatibility is probably the biggest draw for folks interested in Nolo for now, the team says that the device can also be used with native mobile VR games.

With three weeks still left in the Kickstarter campaign, Nolo has already raised nearly $190,000 from more than 1,300 backers. But don’t get too excited too soon — as Upload VR points out, Nolo’s wireless setup needs you to stream content from a PC over the Riftcat and VRidge apps, which will come with latency issues. While Nolo supposedly can keep the delay to under 20 milliseconds, even if they’re off by a minute amount, it could make gameplay near impossible. But hey, maybe you’ll have  a chance to test it out for yourself to see.

Sources: TAG Heuer to launch a new connected watch in mid-March

Tag Heuer Connected Modular to appear March 14, fully customizable and convertible.

Back in January 2017, TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said the company wanted to release a successor to the $1,500 TAG Connected in May 2017 during an interview with Swiss paper Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Android Central has learned some details about the coming TAG wearable from one of those people “familiar with the matter.”

Our sources tell us the Tag Connected Modular will arrive March 14, 2017, and have a unique set of features that make it a true one-of-a-kind Wear 2.0 smart watch. The TAG Connected Modular will feature fully customizable lugs complete with a choice of straps and clasps to swap at your convenience. A custom automatic watch head module will allow the wear to switch between the digital connected Android Wear 2.0 body and a more traditional automatic movement.

TAG Heuer considers the original TAG Connected a successful product citing strong initial sales that exceeded the original goal of moving 20,000 units of the expensive wearable. Biver noted that TAG considers smart watch technology to still be in “the stone age” and there is plenty of future potential in the market. TAG wants to be part of that future.

We understood that TAG Heuer planned to leverage its strength as a traditional watchmaker by offering to accommodate the variety of styles and wrist sizes found in the different markets it services. A modular customizable timepiece meets and exceeds those goals. With no word on the pricing, we expect this one to be a wearable we can long for and admire from afar. We’ll know more come March.

Now Microsoft’s Twitch competitor has an Xbox One app

Microsoft bought livestreaming service Beam last August to fold its advanced viewer interactions with its gaming services on Windows 10 and Xbox. They finally opened testing up to select users at the end of January, but today, they’re taking the next step in competing against Twitch by launching the Beam app for Xbox One. As with the previous trials, only certain members of the Xbox Insider Program get first crack at it, but you’ll now be able to watch our favorite streamers right from your console.

After downloading, hit the Guide button and find the Beam menu icon to start broadcasting. Standard options for toggling on and off microphone, camera and chat, as well as camera position and overlay options, are right in the settings.

Of course, Xbox Insiders who made it into late January’s tests could already stream from their console — the app lets you watch and interact with channels you follow “in near real-time.” Viewing in the Xbox One app also generates the service’s Sparks currency and XP, just like the desktop version. Beam’s promising other ways to interact with streams, which they plan to announce at GDC 2017 in a couple weeks.

Source: Xbox Newsroom

Sprint reportedly now interested in merging with T-Mobile

Why it matters to you

SoftBank, Sprint’s parent company, wants to merge with T-Mobile. That would leave mobile customers in the U.S. with three choices.

If you thought Verizon’s new unlimited data plan was earth-shattering, you haven’t heard about Sprint’s merger plans. According to a Reuters report on Friday, Sprint parent company SoftBank is prepared to cede control of Sprint to T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, as part of a proposed merger of the two U.S. carriers.

It’s not a done deal. SoftBank hasn’t broached the subject with Deutsche Telekom executives, reportedly because strict U.S. Federal Communications Commission rules prohibit rival carriers from colluding during ongoing airwave auctions. But the two plan to meet in April.

More: T-Mobile, Sprint merger delayed: May not happen before September

Complicating matters somewhat is Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Tim Hoettges’ insistence that the company’s not willing to part with T-Mobile. “We are not in the mood of selling the business,” Hoettges told investors last November.

But SoftBank’s hoping the new strategy gets the ball rolling.

A merger, if successful, would put an end to years-long efforts by Sprint and rival carrier AT&T to purchase T-Mobile. Two years ago, SoftBank offered Deutsche Telekom a minority stake in an acquisition deal estimated in the billions, but walked away in the face of opposition from U.S. antitrust regulators at the FCC and U.S. Department of Justice.

It’s trying again, however, out of “frustration” with its inability to “grow significantly” in the United States, according to Reuters. Rivals Verizon and AT&T have been recording profits magnitudes higher than Sprint and T-Mobile. And forthcoming fifth-generation wireless upgrades, or 5G, are expected to cost billions of dollars.

More: T-Mobile makes it easier to donate to Red Cross Louisiana flood relief

If SoftBank moves forward with the proposed merger, it will face a much different situation than existed two years ago. T-Mobile’s market value now stands at $50 billion, or about $20 billion higher than its 2014 value. And it has overtaken Sprint as the third-largest wireless carrier in terms of number of subscribers (at the end of 2016, T-Mobile had an estimated 71.5 million compared to Sprint’s 59.5 million).

The rumored deal is expected to face scrutiny. In 2011, AT&T, like SoftBank, was deterred by Justice Department regulators from pushing through a $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile.

In a December note to investors, Barclays analysts wrote that “it is not imminently clear […] that the various regulatory agencies would reverse course having already blessed the outcome of [the current wireless] market.”

More: Is a Sprint and T-Mobile merger still possible? Softbank’s CEO thinks and hopes so

But a favorable administration could help grease the wheels. In a meeting with then President-elect Trump in early December, SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son pledged to invest $50 billion and create 50,000 jobs in the United States.

“We may buy, we may sell,” Son told analysts on the company’s latest quarterly earnings call earlier this month. “Maybe a simple merger, we may be dealing with T-Mobile, we may be dealing with totally different people, different company.”

Weekly Rewind: AI at our jobs, Toyota’s green revolution, the world’s first flavored bottle

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from the return of the Nokia 3310 to how we can prevent AI from stealing our jobs — it’s all here.

Robots and AI are coming for our jobs. Can augmentation save us from automation?

Augmentation was the running theme of this year’s Bodyhacking Conference in Austin, Texas. Attendees lined up for RFID implants, speakers demonstrated bionic body parts, grinders exhibited artificial senses, and an entire fashion show put “smart” apparel on display. Incidentally, most of the augmentations were idiosyncratic and wouldn’t make a potential employee more competitive in the future job market. With this in mind, we explored the ways in which augmentation may safeguard us from automation.

Read the full story here.

Nokia announces the return of the legendary 3310

Readers of a certain age might recall the Nokia 3310, the 2000-era cell phone successor to the popular Nokia 3210. By today’s standards, it wasn’t particularly noteworthy. True to mobile handsets of its time, it featured physical number buttons, a tiny monochrome screen, and a durably bulbous design. This didn’t stop it from breaking sales records, however. With 126 million units sold worldwide, it’s one of the most successful phones ever made. And that goodwill is the reason why Nokia celebrated the 3310 with a live video tribute on Wednesday.

Read the full story here.

Toyota hits a green milestone with its 10 millionth hybrid sale

Sales of Toyota’s hybrid cars show no sign of hitting the brakes as the Japanese car giant announced this week that it’s now sold more than 10 million of its environmentally friendly motors worldwide. The company reached the milestone at the end of January, nearly 20 years after it first deployed the technology in the Coaster Hybrid EV minibus in August, 1997.

Read the full story here.

Pioneer unveils the first Lightning earphones that let you charge and listen

When Apple released the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack, it was the end of an era. Like it or not, it’s doubtful the company will re-introduce the headphone jack in the future. Headphones with Lightning connectors are gaining in number, but many introduce another problem in that you cannot charge and listen at the same time. With its new Rayz Plus earphones, Pioneer lets you do both.

Read the full story here.

The workplace of the future tracks your every move, whether you like it or not

Access control is nothing new in the office world, where keys slowly migrated over to smart key cards. However, several new startups now aim to give employers a more vivid picture of their office environment by tracking everything their employees do — save for visiting the restroom — via smart sensors and new technologies. One of the most sophisticated companies in this brave new world is Enlighted, an IoT company whose goal is no less than “redefining smart buildings.”

Read the full story here.

Weekly Rewind: AI at our jobs, Toyota’s green revolution, the world’s first flavored bottle

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from the return of the Nokia 3310 to how we can prevent AI from stealing our jobs — it’s all here.

Robots and AI are coming for our jobs. Can augmentation save us from automation?

Augmentation was the running theme of this year’s Bodyhacking Conference in Austin, Texas. Attendees lined up for RFID implants, speakers demonstrated bionic body parts, grinders exhibited artificial senses, and an entire fashion show put “smart” apparel on display. Incidentally, most of the augmentations were idiosyncratic and wouldn’t make a potential employee more competitive in the future job market. With this in mind, we explored the ways in which augmentation may safeguard us from automation.

Read the full story here.

Nokia announces the return of the legendary 3310

Readers of a certain age might recall the Nokia 3310, the 2000-era cell phone successor to the popular Nokia 3210. By today’s standards, it wasn’t particularly noteworthy. True to mobile handsets of its time, it featured physical number buttons, a tiny monochrome screen, and a durably bulbous design. This didn’t stop it from breaking sales records, however. With 126 million units sold worldwide, it’s one of the most successful phones ever made. And that goodwill is the reason why Nokia celebrated the 3310 with a live video tribute on Wednesday.

Read the full story here.

Toyota hits a green milestone with its 10 millionth hybrid sale

Sales of Toyota’s hybrid cars show no sign of hitting the brakes as the Japanese car giant announced this week that it’s now sold more than 10 million of its environmentally friendly motors worldwide. The company reached the milestone at the end of January, nearly 20 years after it first deployed the technology in the Coaster Hybrid EV minibus in August, 1997.

Read the full story here.

Pioneer unveils the first Lightning earphones that let you charge and listen

When Apple released the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack, it was the end of an era. Like it or not, it’s doubtful the company will re-introduce the headphone jack in the future. Headphones with Lightning connectors are gaining in number, but many introduce another problem in that you cannot charge and listen at the same time. With its new Rayz Plus earphones, Pioneer lets you do both.

Read the full story here.

The workplace of the future tracks your every move, whether you like it or not

Access control is nothing new in the office world, where keys slowly migrated over to smart key cards. However, several new startups now aim to give employers a more vivid picture of their office environment by tracking everything their employees do — save for visiting the restroom — via smart sensors and new technologies. One of the most sophisticated companies in this brave new world is Enlighted, an IoT company whose goal is no less than “redefining smart buildings.”

Read the full story here.

Weekly Rewind: AI at our jobs, Toyota’s green revolution, the world’s first flavored bottle

A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from the return of the Nokia 3310 to how we can prevent AI from stealing our jobs — it’s all here.

Robots and AI are coming for our jobs. Can augmentation save us from automation?

Augmentation was the running theme of this year’s Bodyhacking Conference in Austin, Texas. Attendees lined up for RFID implants, speakers demonstrated bionic body parts, grinders exhibited artificial senses, and an entire fashion show put “smart” apparel on display. Incidentally, most of the augmentations were idiosyncratic and wouldn’t make a potential employee more competitive in the future job market. With this in mind, we explored the ways in which augmentation may safeguard us from automation.

Read the full story here.

Nokia announces the return of the legendary 3310

Readers of a certain age might recall the Nokia 3310, the 2000-era cell phone successor to the popular Nokia 3210. By today’s standards, it wasn’t particularly noteworthy. True to mobile handsets of its time, it featured physical number buttons, a tiny monochrome screen, and a durably bulbous design. This didn’t stop it from breaking sales records, however. With 126 million units sold worldwide, it’s one of the most successful phones ever made. And that goodwill is the reason why Nokia celebrated the 3310 with a live video tribute on Wednesday.

Read the full story here.

Toyota hits a green milestone with its 10 millionth hybrid sale

Sales of Toyota’s hybrid cars show no sign of hitting the brakes as the Japanese car giant announced this week that it’s now sold more than 10 million of its environmentally friendly motors worldwide. The company reached the milestone at the end of January, nearly 20 years after it first deployed the technology in the Coaster Hybrid EV minibus in August, 1997.

Read the full story here.

Pioneer unveils the first Lightning earphones that let you charge and listen

When Apple released the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack, it was the end of an era. Like it or not, it’s doubtful the company will re-introduce the headphone jack in the future. Headphones with Lightning connectors are gaining in number, but many introduce another problem in that you cannot charge and listen at the same time. With its new Rayz Plus earphones, Pioneer lets you do both.

Read the full story here.

The workplace of the future tracks your every move, whether you like it or not

Access control is nothing new in the office world, where keys slowly migrated over to smart key cards. However, several new startups now aim to give employers a more vivid picture of their office environment by tracking everything their employees do — save for visiting the restroom — via smart sensors and new technologies. One of the most sophisticated companies in this brave new world is Enlighted, an IoT company whose goal is no less than “redefining smart buildings.”

Read the full story here.

Apple’s new iPad ads remind us of the Mac vs. PC era

Why it matters to you

If you’re an iPad user, Apple has a few ads that will make you feel better about your purchasing decision.

Apple generated a fair amount of controversy when it announced the “post-PC” world during its presentation of the original iPad. The idea was simple — the tablet made “real” PCs obsolete, and from then on out everyone would be ditching their Windows and OS X machines for the iPad.

Of course, while PC sales have been stagnant, they haven’t actually gone away. Meanwhile, iPad sales have cratered, and today’s Windows 10 PC ecosystem is arguably stronger than ever, at least in terms of the number of excellent notebook options available to buyers. Now, it seems that Apple is feeling some pressure, and the firm has responded with a set of iPad ads aimed directly at PCs, as MSPU reports.

More: How Ultrabooks challenged the MacBook Air – and won

The first ad highlights “PC viruses,” and claims that the iPad doesn’t have any. That’s true by definition, of course — PC viruses only run on PCs.

In an era where “fake news” is such a hot topic, is Apple’s claim legitimate? Given that the iOS App Store is a walled garden with significant controls over which apps are installed by the typical user, it’s probably safe to say that iPad viruses are rare compared to PCs, but they do exist. Interestingly, Apple doesn’t specify which kind of PC it’s talking about, Windows 10 or MacOS, and given that more malware is being created for Apple’s own PC platform all the time, that’s an interesting omission.

The next video asserts that the iPad Pro is “better than a computer.” Again, that’s an interesting assertion — an iPad is a “computer,” even if it’s not technically what’s commonly referred to as a “personal computer.” In any event, Apple makes the claim that the iPad Pro is “faster than most laptops” and has a touchscreen that can be written on.

Whether an iPad is “faster” than a notebook, though, is a debatable proposition. An iPad Pro doesn’t run the same kind of extensive, feature-rich applications as “real” PCs, and so it’s likely a fair enough claim that it can run lighter mobile apps faster than many notebooks can run something like the full version of Adobe Premier. Of course, plenty of Windows 10 2-in-1 machines have touchscreens and active pen support, and so the iPad Pro can’t really claim those features as a unique strength.

The final video says that you can “do more with Word” on an iPad Pro. Of course, Microsoft’s cross-platform strategy has been a relative success, with millions of users on iOS — and Android — running the Office Mobile suite of applications. It should be noted, of course, that the Word 2016 application on Windows 10 and MacOS is a bit more feature-complete than Word Mobile, and the same can be said for the rest of the Office suite and the universe of “real” PC applications in general.

Apple is likely preparing for its expected announcement of new iPad devices in the relatively near future. It’s not really a “post-PC” world yet, which Apple has essentially confirmed by releasing ads that expressly compare its iPad tablet to PCs.