Huawei P10 Lite is official — launching Mar. 31 for £299

Affordable version of Huawei’s latest flagship will arrive on EE, Vodafone and at Carphone Warehouse.

Huawei has today expanded its P10 series with a new mid-priced model, the P10 Lite. Pre-orders kick off today at Vodafone, EE and Carphone Warehouse ahead of the March 31 street date.

The P10 Lite sports a double-sided glass design built around a metal frame, with a 5.2-inch 1080p display and Huawei’s latest mid-range processor, the Kirin 658. (An octa-core chip that appears to be a higher-clocked version of the Kirin 655.) That’s backed up by 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and microSD expandability. That’s powered by a 3,000mAh internal battery with 9V/2A quick charging. Camera-wise, you’re looking at a 12-megapixel (1.25-micron pixel) rear camera, likely the main camera from the Mate 9 and other handsets, and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.

All that’ll set you back £299 outright. A quick glance at on-contract price reveals monthly prices starting at £28, with no upfront cost.

See at EE

Gmail for desktop now lets you stream video attachments

You no longer have to download video attachments to view them.

If you’ve ever received a video attachment in Gmail, the only option was to download the file to view it. That’s changing today, as Google is now rolling out the option to stream video attachments from the Gmail desktop client.

The feature relies on the same infrastructure as that powering YouTube and Google Drive previews, allowing Google to deliver the video at “optimal quality and availability.” When you click on a video thumbnail, you’ll now see a YouTube-style player in the window, with options to adjust playback speed and audio levels. However, the feature doesn’t seem to work just yet, as I got the following error when I tried playing a video:

Gmail’s attachment limits apply to videos as well, which means that individual file sizes are still restricted to 25MB (50MB if you’re sending from another mail provider). That said, the ability to stream videos directly from the browser makes it more convenient to view video attachments. Google is gradually rolling out the feature, with all users expected to receive it within 15 days.

India’s leading mobile wallet Paytm heads to Canada to facilitate bill payments

Paytm lets Canadian customers make bill payments.

After crossing 200 million customers in India, the country’s leading mobile wallet Paytm is now making its way to Canada. The app allows customers to pay for utility, cable, and cell phone bills, with the platform supporting thousands of service providers. Customers will also receive a bill reminder option ten days before a bill is due, followed by periodic reminders as the due date draws near. The app promises “100% Service Assurance,” stating it will only debit money from your account after the bill is paid.

Interestingly, the app also lets customers pay for Indian utility bills as well as mobile bill payments with Canadian credit or debit cards, a move clearly designed with Indian expats in mind. The app’s description on the Play Store notes that bills for Canadian bills payments will be processed within 24 to 48 hours, whereas Indian mobile bill payments will be cleared within 2 to 3 hours.

The decision to launch in Canada was an easy one for the company seeing as how it has an office based out of Toronto. Paytm mentions that it will add more features to the Canadian version of the app in the coming months.

Where to buy the Huawei P10 + P10 Plus in the UK

Huawei’s latest flagship phone is available to pre-order in the UK!

The P10 is Huawei’s best mainstream flagship yet, available in 5.1- and 5.5-inch flavors. It packs Huawei’s latest Kirin 960 processor, up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (in the P10 Plus), and the company’s best Leica-branded camera yet. (Check out our review for more on what’s great — and not so great — about the phones.) The street date for all P10 models in the UK is March 31, but we’re already seeing pre-order links cropping up at some of the major operators.

Huawei P10

EE has the P10 in black and silver, with plans starting at £40.99 per month for a 5GB/60Mbps data bucket. For EE’s fastest speeds, you’ll need to step up to the £45.99 per month, 15GB plan.

See at EE

Vodafone has a wide range of plans going all the way up to 30GB at the high end, which will set you back £48 per month, with a £10 upfront charge for the phone. That’s bundled with unlimited calls and texts, 4GB of roaming data, and a free Spotify, Sky Sports Mobile or NowTV subscription. A similar deal at £42 gets you all of the above, but with 24GB of UK data and 2GB roaming.

See at Vodafone

Carphone Warehouse is offering the P10 in black and gold, and right now it’s the only outlet listing a SIM-free price for the P10 — £569.99. As always, Carphone has a wide range of plans across various operators; in the case of the P10, it’s Vodafone, EE and O2. The cheapest price plans for an almost-free P10 include a £48 per month, 10GB deal on O2 (£29.99 upfront).

See at Carphone Warehouse

O2 and Three will also be ranging the Huawei P10, but don’t have pre-order pages live just yet.

Huawei P10 Plus

The bigger, beefier P10 Plus will be offered on EE, Vodafone, Three and Carphone Warehouse. It’s listed as “coming soon” at EE, but the other operators don’t have it listed at present. The UK will be getting the P10 Plus with 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, with a SIM-free price of £649.99.

More: Huawei P10 + P10 Plus review

Nanoleaf Aurora review: The coolest lights on the whole damn planet

It turns out the smart lights I’ve wanted all along aren’t lightbulb shaped.

I’ve been thoroughly invested in smart lighting for a while now. Several rooms in my house have been fully converted, fully connected to Google Home for voice control, and so far I’m pretty happy with the setup. Smart lighting is absolutely the way forward for me, especially as costs come down and more options become available. Combining convenience with a familiar form factor is exactly what I thought I wanted, but these new lights from Nanoleaf have me questioning that last part.

Instead of making another lightbulb with smarts, the Nanoleaf Aurora is a modular solution that makes the lights part of the decor. It sounds a little crazy, and has a price tag to match, but these lights are seriously changing how I think about smart lighting in my home.

Every Nanoleaf Aurora setup is a little different, which is fantastic.

Every Nanoleaf Aurora setup is a little different, which is fantastic. You open the box and find nine triangles and a wire for power. These triangles can be assembled in whatever array you choose, as long as one of the sides is able to touch another triangle side.

A simple connector attaches each triangle, sharing power and network information along the chain. When you have the triangles mounted the way you want, you can pick where the power cable gets attached so you can discretely hide the cable however you want. It’s a simple, elegant setup that allows you to expand by buying more triangles to add on to the kit. You can have up to 30 triangles attached to a single Aurora, so there’s a lot of flexibility here.

It’s not hard to imagine an Aurora panel completely replacing the lights in a decent-sized room.

Once everything is connected and powered up, you head to the the Nanoleaf app and set the lights up however you want. The app is aware of where each of the triangles is positioned as soon as it connects to the hardware, and from there you can either choose individual colors for each triangle or adjust the whole array as a single bulb.

If you’re using this to light a room, the lights get plenty bright — roughly 100 lumens per panel — and you have fantastic control over the light temperature as you set things. If you’re using this as an accent, the lights can also be set to rotate through a palette of colors in several different patterns. The most impressive part of this whole experience is the way Nanoleaf’s app is aware of how your array is set up, adjusting the app to match.

Nanoleaf hasn’t quite worked out the whole “talk to literally everything” functionality that Philips has with the Hue bulbs yet, but what exists right now is a solid start. You can connect to IFTTT, and there’s some basic Amazon Echo integration, but a full open API and Google Home support is planned for later this year.

These lights are becoming more common as accent lighting for a lot of environments, but it’s not hard to imagine an Aurora panel completely replacing the lights in a decent-sized room. The panels mount anywhere, and as long as you can make the wire disappear these lights are an amazing alternative to LED strips or recessed lighting in many environments.

Naturally, the big question here is price. The Nanoleaf Aurora starter kit isn’t cheap — those nine starter panels will run you $200. If you want to expand, each three triangle kit will run you an additional $60. What you get in exchange is arguable more functional and undeniably more attractive than your average Wi-Fi connected lightbulbs though, and that’s significant. These lights become a totally personal way to illuminate your space, and the end result rarely disappoints.

See at Best Buy

Best Phones to use with Mint SIM

• Best overall
• Best value
• Best for less

Best overall

Google Pixel

See at Google

When buying an unlocked phone to use with a prepaid carrier, our recommendation is unchanged from our overall best Android phone pick: it’s the Google Pixel. Google’s first own-branded phone is absolutely hit, from its understated hardware design to its lightning fast performance, full-day battery life and of course its top-of-the-line camera.

The Pixel simply does everything faster than the competition, and does so while integrating with all of Google’s excellent services and no extra bloat. It’s also going to be the most up-to-date in terms of software, getting monthly security updates and also being at the front of the line for big platform jumps.

You’ll pay for the privilege, but if you want the slickest and cleanest Android phone that you can buy unlocked and bring to a prepaid carrier, the Pixel is the way to go.

Bottom line: For the fastest, simplest and best-supported experience, you can’t go wrong with Google’s own phone.

One more thing: You can opt for the 5.5-inch Pixel XL if you want more screen to work with and longer battery life.

Why the Google Pixel is best

After years of Nexus phones that didn’t quite hit the mark of being high-end phones, Google’s Pixel finally feels like a complete thought. It all starts with the sleek and understated hardware that doesn’t have tons of flair but feels great and is extremely sleek. Underneath that skin is all of the top-end specs you want, from a Snapdragon 821 processor to available 128GB of storage.

The Pixel’s display is the best we’ve seen from a Google-backed device, and even gives the likes of Samsung a run for their money in overall quality. The camera is also leading the industry in terms of speed, photo quality and stabilized video.

This is what Alex Dobie had to say in our complete Pixel review:

The Google Pixel and Pixel XL deliver what we’ve always wanted from a Google Android experience: an attractive design, lightning-fast performance and unique Google features you won’t find on any other phone. Meanwhile the Pixel nails the essentials, with good “all-day” battery life, cameras that go toe-to-toe with the high-end competition, and update support unrivaled in the Android space.

The Pixel (or, if you need a big screen, Pixel XL) really is the complete package from Google, and if you’re going to be buying unlocked it’s the best available option today. The pricing has definitely taken a jump from Nexus devices that came before it, but we think it’s worth the hefty price tag.

Best value

OnePlus 3T

See at OnePlus
See at Amazon

Going with a prepaid carrier like Mint SIM is all about value, and chances are you may be looking to get a great deal in your phone as well as your service — this is where the OnePlus 3T really excels. At $439 it won’t break the bank, but gives you most of the top-end features the competition offers while absolutely nailing the core experience.

You get a solid (albeit not flashy) metal exterior, a great one-touch fingerprint sensor, a solid 5.5-inch display and flagship-level 16MP f/2.0 camera. Inside there’s a Snapdragon 821 processor, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage (128GB optional), dual SIM slots, USB-C and Dash Charge fast charging. The software is slick and fast with subtle but useful customizations and absolutely zero extra bloatware.

Bottom-line: The OnePlus 3T offers an amazing value, giving you most of a flagship experience for hundreds less.

One more thing: The Dash Charge fast-charging solution is incompatible with other fast-charging standards like Quick Charge 3.0.

Best for less

Moto G4 Plus

See at Amazon

The Moto G4 Plus won’t blow you away with striking design or materials, but it’s all about getting a great experience for the money. Starting at $229 ($20 off it’s original MSRP) you get a 5.5-inch 1080p display, solid 16MP camera, good battery life and a fingerprint sensor. Moto’s software is always a fan favorite, and performance is solid enough from the older Snapdragon 617 processor.

The phone is very capable in its default configuration with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, but if you want something more approximating what you get from the next tier up in phones consider buying the higher-end G4 Plus with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Just be aware that the Moto G5 and G5 Plus will be launching soon to replace these nearly year-old models!

Bottom-line: For an inexpensive phone to go prepaid with that gets the basics right, the Moto G4 Plus is an awesome choice.

One more thing: If you can wait for a little bit longer, you should hold off until the Moto G5 goes on sale in the U.S.

Conclusion

Google’s first own-branded phone isn’t perfect, but it absolutely offers the best overall Android phone experiences available today. There’s something to love about it for everyone, from power users to Google fans to average no-frills consumers.

Best overall

Google Pixel

See at Google

When buying an unlocked phone to use with a prepaid carrier, our recommendation is unchanged from our overall best Android phone pick: it’s the Google Pixel. Google’s first own-branded phone is absolutely hit, from its understated hardware design to its lightning fast performance, full-day battery life and of course its top-of-the-line camera.

The Pixel simply does everything faster than the competition, and does so while integrating with all of Google’s excellent services and no extra bloat. It’s also going to be the most up-to-date in terms of software, getting monthly security updates and also being at the front of the line for big platform jumps.

You’ll pay for the privilege, but if you want the slickest and cleanest Android phone that you can buy unlocked and bring to a prepaid carrier, the Pixel is the way to go.

Bottom line: For the fastest, simplest and best-supported experience, you can’t go wrong with Google’s own phone.

One more thing: You can opt for the 5.5-inch Pixel XL if you want more screen to work with and longer battery life.

Huawei P10 Lite promises flagship thrills at bargain prices

Huawei has released a new Lite handset, this time piggybacking on the recently-announced Huawei P10 flagship. 

The new Huawei P10 Lite adopts some of the P10’s design principles, with a narrow bezel and compact body carrying a 5.2-inch full HD display. It is finished in gold or black, with the promise of more colours in the future.

It’s powered by a mid-range Kirin 658 chipset but offers 4GB RAM and there’s a fingerprint scanner to security and convenience.

There’s only a single rear camera on this model, however. The camera offers a 12-megapixel sensor with 1.25µm pixels, while there’s an 8-megapixel front camera, promising to give you great selfies. We’d expect both cameras to offer a full range of Huawei’s camera functions.

Making its debut in a Lite model is Knuckle Sense, the system that will let you tap and draw with a knuckle on the display.

The phone will run on Android with Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 system lathered over the top. 

Perhaps the most promising thing about the P10 Lite is the price. At £299, the P10 Lite is affordable and offers respectable spec for the cash. It will be available from 17 March at Carphone Warehouse, EE and Vodafone.

• Huawei P10 review: Android’s iPhone-killer, or flawed imitator?

What Philips Hue smart bulbs are there and which should you buy?

The Philips Hue smart lighting system has grown dramatically in the last few years, in both popularity and number of available products.

And from April, a new Philips Hue Candle bulb will join the fray, fleshing out the product range of connected LED lighting to fit just about every socket you could possibly think of.

That’s why we’ve put together a quick, handy list of the current Philips Hue bulb line-up, including the new Candle, to give you an idea of how you can add colour and ambience into your life.

We haven’t included the other Hue products and controllers from Philips, just the bulbs themselves.

Pocket-lint

What is Philips Hue?

Philips Hue is a lighting system that works in conjunction with iOS and Android applications in order to change colour or white levels depending on your mood. It can also be linked to other Internet of Things devices to switch on, off or change the lighting style through your home network.

It works in conjunction with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Nest, Samsung SmartThings and many other smart home devices. You do not need any of them to use Philips Hue lighting though.

There are multiple bulbs and lighting products in the range, and they are all linked to your network through a Philips Hue Bridge – a small, connected hub that is wired to your router and controls the lights wirelessly. This is often found as part of a starter kit.

There are different styles of bulbs, which also fit into two lighting categories: white and colour ambience, which can display millions of colours, and white ambience, which can be set to a wide selection of warm or cool white lighting options.

• Eight lighting tips for your home: An expert shares her design secrets

What Philips Hue bulbs are available?

There are bulbs in the range for all manner of fittings and styles, that offer white ambience or white and colour ambience. Here is the range that you can get at present, plus the new Philips Hue Candle that’ll ship from the end of April.

Remember, you will need the Philips Bridge to control these bulbs, hence they are generally “extension” devices.

Philips claims all its bulbs will last up to 25,000 hours each – around eight-and-a-half years if you have the bulb switched on eight hours a day every day of the year.

Philips Hue white ambience E14 Candle

Philips

The new bulb comes with an E14 screw fitting and has a 6W LED output that is equivalent to 40W. The candle form factor is otherwise known as B39.

It is capable of more than 50,000 shades of white, from warm to cool white.

Philips Hue white and colour ambience E14 Candle

Also with an E14 screw fitting and B39 form factor, the colour version of the Candle has an LED power output of 6.5W. It has the same lumen output though, of 470lm at 4000K.

It is also capable of more than 50,000 shades of white, but adds 16 million colours to the mix.

Philips Hue white extension bulb A19/E27

Philips

The most commonly used bulb in many households, the A19/E27 screw fitting light has a power output of 9.5W and A60 form factor.

Its light output is 806lm and is smart but doesn’t change colour or white tone. That means it will stay the same colour temperature of 2,700K (warm white), but can be dimmed and switched on and off remotely.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £14.95

Philips Hue white ambience extension bulb A19/E27

Philips

Similar to the above but with a flatter form factor, the white ambience version with A19/E17 screw fitting has a 10W power output. Its brightness is up to 800 lumens at 4000K.

It is capable of more than 50,000 shades of white and is dimmable via Hue compatible devices down to one per cent.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £24.99

Philips Hue white and colour ambience extension bulb A19/E27

Philips

The exact same form factor as the white ambience version, this A19/E27 screw fitting bulb is capable of slightly brighter output, at up to 806 lumens at 4000K. It is a 10W LED bulb.

It has all shades of white plus 16 million colours. A newer version was released in recent times, with a richer colour palette.

If you have an older Hue system you might find some of the colours do not match the first generation bulbs.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £49.99

Philips Hue white ambience extension bulb B22

Philips

Commonly known as a bayonet fitting, this white only bulb is the same as the A19/E7 version although it is slightly brighter, capable of up to 806 lumens at 4000K.

It can be set at more than 50,000 shades of white.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £24.95

Philips Hue white and colour ambience extension bulb B22

Philips

Again, similar to the A19/E17 version of the colour bulb above, the B22 comes with the bayonet fitting instead. It only goes up to 600 lumens at 4000K in brightness however.

It offers all shades of white and 16 million colours.

It is also a “richer colour” bulb so might not match older models.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £49.99

Philips Hue white ambience extension bulb GU10

Philips

Designed for spot lights the GU10 form factor has two locking pins and generally sits recessed into a ceiling or spot lamp. This bulb has 5.5W of maximum power output and a brightness of up to 300 lumens at 4000K.

It too offers more than 50,000 shades of white, from warm to cold colour temperatures. And it can be dimmed through Hue compatible devices down to one per cent.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £24.99

Philips Hue white and colour ambience extension bulb GU10

Philips

The exact same form factor as the GU10 above, but with 6.5W of maximum output power. It has less brightness though, at up to 250 lumens at 4000K.

It adds 16 million colours to the numerous shades of white that can be achieved.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £49.95

What Philips Hue starter kits are available?

As we say above, you will need a Philips Hue Bridge to connected your Hue bulbs to a home network. These often come as part of a starter kit with two or three bulbs included.

Here are the starter kits we recommend if you don’t already have Philips Hue lighting in your home.

Philips Hue white starter kit A19/E27

Philips

This comes with the Philips Bridge 2.0 and two 9.5W white bulbs with A19/E27 screw fittings as detailed above. They have a fixed white colour but it is the cheapest way to get into Philips Hue.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £59

Philips Hue white ambience starter kit A19/E27

Philips

This contains the Philips Hue Bridge 2.0, two A19/E27 white ambience bulbs capable of more than 50,000 shades of white and a wireless dimming switch.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £99.99

Philips Hue white and colour ambience starter kit A19/E27

Philips

In this pack you get the Philips Hue Bridge 2.0 and three A19/E27 white and colour ambience bulbs capable of 16 million colours. They are the richer colour variants.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £149.99

Philips Hue white and colour ambience starter kit B22

Philips

Essentially exactly the same as the kit above, except you get three B22 bayonet fitting versions of the bulbs with the Philips Hue Bridge 2.0.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk here

Philips Hue white and colour ambience starter kit GU10

Philips

Another kit that offers three of the multicolour connected bulbs, except in the spot light GU10 form factor. You also get the Philips Bridge 2.0 hub with this set.

• You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £149.95

Netflix is swapping star ratings for thumbs up and thumbs down

When you finish watching something on Netflix, do you rate it? Maybe you’ll sit (or stand) there, with all of that responsibility on your shoulders, for much longer than you need deciding whether that movie or TV show really deserves the coveted five stars. In the coming weeks, there will be a little less pressure on you to perform, because the streaming giant is scrapping the time-tested classification in favour or something a little more familiar: the thumbs up.

Variety reports that Netflix first introduced the new thumbs up and down ratings with hundreds of thousands of subscribers in 2016. The A/B tests showed that the new classification got 200 percent more ratings than the star-based system. Although they’ll no longer be visible, the metadata from past star ratings will continue to be used to personalize viewing profiles (Netflix has already registered over 10 billion five-star ratings after all).

The reason behind the switch is two-fold: subscribers who regularly score movies and TV shows have already done a pretty good job of helping Netflix learn what users are interested in. The other is relevancy: Netflix VP of Product Todd Yellin told Variety that viewers would often rate documentaries higher than funny movies, but watch comedies more regularly than other high-rated content.

The end result is a system that users are intimately familiar with. Two of the biggest websites — Facebook and YouTube — both allow users to ‘like’ posts and uploads with a thumbs up. “We made ratings less important because the implicit signal of your behavior is more important,” Yellin said.

Image credit: Variety.

Source: Variety

Lyft will settle California drivers’ lawsuit for $27 million

It’s final: Lyft will have to pay $27 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit filed by drivers in California. The ride-sharing company originally agreed to pay $12.5 million, but US District Judge Vince Chhabria felt that it was too small and that it short-changed the plaintiffs. Drivers who’ve put in the least amount of time (around 30 hours) for the company would’ve only received $1,000 under the original terms. The same judge has now given the higher amount his final approval.

The California drivers filed the lawsuit for the right to be classified as employees, but they unfortunately failed to achieve that goal. Lyft claims a recent survey revealed that 80 percent of its drivers prefer to be independent contractors due to the flexibility it allows. But the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, because as employees, Lyft would have been required to pay for their gas and vehicle maintenance. As Judge Chhabria said, “The agreement is not perfect. And the status of Lyft drivers under California law remains uncertain going forward.”

They get some degree of protection, though, thanks to some of the settlement’s terms. Lyft can’t drop them unless it’s for one of the company’s list of predetermined reasons, such as low passenger ratings. They’ll also get bonuses if they consistently perform well.

Source: Reuters