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  • Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Gen Vs. Echo Dot With Clock Review

    Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Gen Vs. Echo Dot With Clock Review

    The two popularly known intelligent speakers in the market are Echo Dot and the Echo Dot with Clock. Amazon launched new models of both Alexa-powered speakers recently this week: Echo (3rd generation) and Echo Dot with Clock. But, which one should you go with, the Amazon Echo Dot or Amazon Echo Dot with Clock? Which device is the best? Let’s take a look at the Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Gen Vs. Echo Dot With Clock battle.

    Echo Dot 3rd Gen
    Echo Dot 3rd Gen

    Both Amazon’s devices have the same array of microphones, the same design, and dimensions and similar colours. Both the speakers are designed to detect your voice from all angles of your room. Except for ample similarities, they share a significant difference also. I will break it down for your understanding of the Amazon Echo Dot versus Amazon Echo Dot with the clock.

    Before we discuss this, first, let’s talk about Alexa.

    Alexa On Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Gen Vs. Echo Dot With Clock

    Both the speakers are accompanied by Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant. You can instruct Alexa to read the news, resolve the problem of arithmetic, to forecast the weather, play music, trigger the lights, and much more. You can even develop your skills with Alexa Blueprints on the Echo Dot or the clock devices. Nevertheless, Alexa still has new features. With Alexa Guard, Alexa can hear hazardous sounds. Alexa will speak to your visitors with a new feature called “doorbell concierge” if you have a smart ring doorbell.

    Echo Dot 3rd Gen Features
    Echo Dot 3rd Gen Features

    Alexa is the wake word that defiantly controls these devices. If you want the voice assistant to bear another name, you can change the wake word. Both the devices are designed to hear you everywhere in the room with a 4-far field, 360-degree omnidirectional microphones. Are you a music lover who plays music every day? Don’t worry. Alexa will tell you about your fluttering choice regardless of whether you have the Echo Dot or the Dot with the clock.

    These days, there are many intelligent technology alternatives in the market consistent with Amazon’s Echoes’. You can monitor your smart home technologies directly through your Echo speakers or the Alexa App, from Honeywell thermostat to the Philips Hue lighting systems. More than 85,000 smart home products are compatible with Alexa.

    Echo Dot 3rd Gen Voice Control
    Echo Dot 3rd Gen Voice Control

    Features Of Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Gen Vs. Echo Dot With Clock

    • Size, Looks, And Portability

    There is no difference between both the devices in terms of size, weight, and even the look. Both the speakers share the same size and the weight, i.e., 1.6″ and 10.6 oz, respectively. If you take a first glance at both the devices, you can hardly find any difference. You can carry them in your bag when going for parties or make room in your home even if you don’t have a lot of storage space for smart home devices. Hence, in terms of portability, both the Echo Dots’ are rated with five stars.

    Echo Dot With Clock Feat
    Echo Dot With Clock Feat
    • Quality Of Sound

    Both the devices have Echo, which has a more prominent, more powerful 360-degree speaker, although both systems have built-in microphones. Both the speakers have upgraded music streaming and can pair with multiple devices for stereo sound. You can also make free audio calls to the US, Mexico, and Canada.

    • Aesthetics

    Are you curious about which one is going to fit in best with the current furniture and equipment in your home? If we talk about options in colours, the 3rd-gen Echo Dot is accessible in 4 colours, charcoal, heather grey, plum, and sandstone. You would certainly have no difficulty finding one that suits your home décor with a wide variety of styles. You can also choose to have the Echo Dot with Clock, which comes in only one colour, sandstone.

    Echo Dot With Clock
    Echo Dot With Clock
    • LED Screen

    There is no doubt that Echo Dot with Clock is a better iteration than the previous models as you would no more have to see the boring screen all the time. The Echo Dot with Clock has an LED display that is integrated behind the fabric of the device. It displays you the time, temperature, and count downs of any timers you set on the device. However, the Echo Dot 3rd gen doesn’t own this prominent feature.

    Echo Dot 3rd Gen 1
    Echo Dot 3rd Gen 1
    • Price

    Price is one of the main factors that many customers consider when deciding which Amazon Alexa product to buy. It’s no more a hassle to choose between the two. With only paying $10 more, you can easily buy the Echo Dot, integrated with an LED screen. Hence, there is not much difference between the price of the two speakers.

    Wrapping Up

    Essentially, apart from the size, look, features, and cost, the LED display is the only difference between the two products. Amazon has already made the choice easy for the customers who wish to have the latest features of the Echo Dot family. The new Echo Dot with clock picked up all the features of the previous Echo Dot 3rd generation along with the latest LED screen and is only priced $10 more than the Echo Dot.

     

  • Nokia 400 4G Feature Phone To Come With Google’s GAFP OS

    Nokia 400 4G Feature Phone To Come With Google’s GAFP OS

    In 2017, Nokia returned to the smartphone space with Android One smartphones with solid specs. Even when the company was unable to license smartphones (until 2017), it never lost faith in its feature phones. After HMD Global took ownership of Nokia’s smartphone segment, the company has made efforts to push better feature phones. The Classic Nokia 3310 4G was one of the first feature phones to launch and was instantly a hit. Now, they have come up with the Nokia 400 4G.

    Nokia 400 4G Feature Phone
    Nokia 400 4G Feature Phone

    The company has been in the dark for a while. However, it is now gearing up to launch a new feature phone dubbed ‘Nokia 400 4G.’ Besides the high-speed 4G connectivity, we expect to see it come with upgraded hardware and Google’s new GAFP OS – which is a software tailor-made for feature phones. The smartphone has a TA-1208 model number, and recently got an approval from the Wi-Fi Alliance, and also Bluetooth Certifications. The documents reveal some key details about the phone.

    It will feature Bluetooth 4.2, and support LTE. It will also feature a Unisoc processor, and the SC234X component will facilitate fast Wi-Fi. What’s worth noting is that the 400 4G will be the first handset to come with Google’s GAFP OS out of the box. GAFP OS is a special version of Android made explicitly for feature phones. Some more details of the handset will inevitably surface in the coming days. All the certifications hint at an imminent launch, and we’re just waiting for confirmation from the company.

  • OnePlus 8Pro Reportedly Supports Wireless Charging

    OnePlus 8Pro Reportedly Supports Wireless Charging

    Reputed tipster Max J recently shared an image of a smartphone charging on a mat wirelessly. The picture was captioned ‘charge like a pro.’ Interestingly, the phone in the image exactly matches the leaked renders of the OnePlus 8Pro. The punch-hole design, the placement of the volume and power buttons, and the signature alert slider are all there, which suggests that the upcoming OnePlus phone will support wireless charging technology.

    If the image is accurate, the OnePlus 8Pro will be the first OnePlus smartphone to come with wireless charging support. OnePlus has always avoided using wireless charging technology since the charging speed is inferior when compared to wired charging, and wireless charging also has overheating issues. The Shenzhen-based tech giant seems to have mastered the technology and ironed out all the concerns and is finally gearing up to enable wireless charging on its phones, starting with the OnePlus 8 Pro.

    OnePlus 8Pro
    OnePlus 8 Pro

    Wireless charging support

    With the wireless charging support, the flagship killer phone series will become more competitive against high-end $1,000 handsets. According to tip-offs and leaked renders, the OnePlus 8Pro will feature a quad-lens rear camera, a built-in MEMC chip for content upscaling, a 120Hz 2K AMOLED screen, and an in-display fingerprint sensor.

    The phone will swank a flagship-tier Snapdragon 865 processor, and will presumably feature 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. If the company sticks to its bi-annual release cycle, we shall see the OnePlus 8 series launch sometime around May-June.

  • Mi A3 To Finally Get Android 10 In February

    Mi A3 To Finally Get Android 10 In February

    Xiaomi’s customer support confirmed that the Mi A3 would get the Android 10 update in mid-February. The announcement comes just a few days after the Mi A2 began to receive the update to the latest version of Android. The situation is confusing, and Xiaomi is taking too long to update an Android One device – whose main selling point is fast updates. Android 10 launched in September. Generally, when companies begin to roll out updates to their phones, the newer phones get the update first. But this is not the case with the Mi A3.

    Xiaomi Mi A3
    Xiaomi Mi A3

    The Mi A2 has received the Android 10 upgrade, and the A3 will get it over a month after the A3 (if it doesn’t get delayed). The reason for the delay is processor-related. Google’s partners get access to Android’s code whenever a new version is released.  Smartphone manufacturers can’t do much until the chipset maker updates the binaries for that particular chipset.

    Xiaomi’s Android One smartphones get updates later than usual because the phones typically come with a Snapdragon 600-series chipset. Qualcomm prefers to update the binaries on the Snapdragon 800-series first, and the binaries for the 600-series are second priority. The Mi A3 is eligible to receive the Android 11 update later this year, and the Android 10 upgrade will not be the last major software update for it.

    However, for now, fans have their fingers crossed and are hoping that the update does not get delayed again.

  • US Legislation To Fund Huawei 5G Alternative

    US Legislation To Fund Huawei 5G Alternative

    New legislation introduced in the US Senate in January aims to create a viable alternative to Huawei Technologies and undercut China’s dominance in 5G networks. One of the biggest problems in the bid to counter Chinese strength in 5G networks is the lack of global alternatives to Huawei. The US does not have a viable competitor as of now. At the same time, technologies from Sweden’s Ericsson, Finland’s Nokia, and even South Korea’s Samsung are no match to the attractive financing and complete technological package that Huawei offers.

    Huawei 5G Alternative
    Huawei 5G Alternative

    The bill attempts to address that gap. If the bill is passed, the Senate would spend more than $1 billion to bolster Western competitiveness, allocate a new spectrum, and support research and development of more modern technologies like 5G in the telecommunications industry. The sponsor of the bill, Senator Marco Rubio, stated that the country is at a critical point for defining the future of its relationship with China and that the Senate cannot allow the Chinese telecommunications companies to surpass American competitors.

    Rubio added that the Washington Senate’s efforts at convincing foreign allies to ban Huawei from their networks had been hampered by a lack of affordable, viable alternatives. He fears that malign state-directed telecommunications companies pose a clear, growing threat to the national and economic security of the US and its allies. A day earlier, Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, echoed the senators’ concerns and contended that excluding Chinese carriers from 5G systems in the West was essential.

     

  • Japanese Smartphone Market: Xiaomi To Enter Japan

    Japanese Smartphone Market: Xiaomi To Enter Japan

    Xiaomi, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer, intends to enter the Japanese market in 2020.

    Steven Wang, the general manager of Xiaomi in East Asia, announced that Xiaomi would enter the Japanese Smartphone Market during a news conference in Tokyo.

    Xiaomi must market their phones aggressively since iPhones are particularly popular in Japan. Though the company is late to the party, the timing of the move may end up working out well for the Beijing-based firm. The Japanese mobile market has been undergoing some changes as of late. The regulations implemented in October could turn out to be disadvantageous for expensive premium smartphones. Xiaomi is known for producing cost-effective electronics. The company has entered more than 90 markets across the globe and has started taking orders online for the Mi Note 10 smartphone series.

    The Note 10 series is Xiaomi’s latest range of high-end smartphones.

    The phone is equipped with five cameras and a 108-megapixel image sensor. Shipments are due to begin later this month. The company also revealed the prices of the two phones. Wang did not provide sales channel details, other than the information about online sales, which leaves us wondering whether the company plans to sell them via Japanese carriers. The company has established itself as one of the leading smartphone brands globally. Xiaomi opened its doors to customers in 2010. According to market research firm IDC, Xiaomi boasts a global market share of 9.1% as of the third quarter of 2019.

    The Note 10 series Xiaomi - Japanese Smartphone Market
    The Note 10 series Xiaomi

    Samsung Electronics Co. held a 21.8 percent market share, Huawei Technologies Co. held 18.6 per cent market share, and Apple Inc. held a 13 percent market share. The Japanese market, on the other hand, has a different power balance – Apple’s iPhones are immensely popular in the country. In the first half of 2019, Apple’s smartphone share in Japan overwhelmed rivalling companies with a whopping 44.6 per cent local market share. Sharp Corp. held a 12.3 per cent market share, and Samsung held a 10.2 per cent market share.

    Although the timing may seem right, Xiaomi is likely to have a tough time winning the hearts of iPhone users in Japan. The Japanese government has made it mandatory for carriers to separate data fees from handset prices to enable users to be aware of what exactly they are paying for. The government also ordered carriers to cut down cancellation fees on two-year contracts to ¥1,000 from about ¥9,500.

    The new rules also put a cap on handset discounts, limiting discounts to ¥20,000 to avoid excessive price cuts on specific devices.

    Xiaomi intends to swoop in with its cost-effective smartphones. The Mi Note 10 models cost about half of the latest iPhone models. The firm in 2019 declared that it would cap its net profit margin from hardware products to 5 percent. Wang said that the company can still make profits due to economies of scale in addition to its online businesses. Xiaomi will also roll out some non-smartphone products in Japan this month, including a smart wearable device and a rice cooker.

  • Google Desktop Search: Google Is Rethinking How It Shows Favicons

    Google Desktop Search: Google Is Rethinking How It Shows Favicons

    Google is working on bringing a more colourful and vibrant design for its Desktop Search. It is said that this effort is inspired by a similar mobile UI. Some have criticised the new design for using favicons, which draws a very subtle distinction between the content and the adverts. Following this, Google has now removed favicons from the design. It plans to work on the Google Desktop Search a bit more.

    Google Search interface

    Just last week, Google launched a more colourful interface for its desktop users. The company says that the new design has been created specifically to make it easier for the users to understand what sites they are clicking and heading into. Once it was released and more users started using it, another issue came up. This was that the distinction between ads and content was not very distinctive.

    Google 's New UI
    Google ‘s New UI

    The bold AD label helped a lot. However, the UI was not very clean. The latter led to tons of confusion and very tough navigation. Most users were not very happy with this design. Google has apparently worked with this design option in an attempt to increase its ads business. The idea behind this was that users would click on more ads where previously they wouldn’t have. If we have caught it correctly, it does seem a bit sneaky and underhand way of doing things.

    Favicons

    The new design was a bit strange and different from Google’s usual UI. The additional header text, favicons, and the cluttered visual space all made it a not-so-happy experience. It made the entire space look and feel like ads. So, that begs the questions, if that’s what Google wants and intends? Regardless of that, Google has taken the criticism in its stride and plans to test more iterations of the interface. The desktop search will undergo more design changes and iterations until a product emerges which suits the users and Google itself.

    Google Desktop Search
    Google Desktop Search

    Currently, Google has removed the favicons following unpopular reviews from its users. The more colourful design has also been scrapped. While this has been the interface on mobile for quite a few months now, users just were not happy to see it replicated on to their desktop search. Google tweeted, “Last week we updated the look of Search on the desktop to mirror what’s been on mobile for months. We’ve heard your feedback about the update. We always want to make Search better, so we’re going to experiment with new placements for favicons….”

    Google’s Explanation

    Google explained its tweets in detail later on. The company wanted to improve the desktop search experience. In an attempt to do so, the company started working on a new design. They basically simply tried to replicate the mobile interface. While users were happy with the design on their mobile screen, it just didn’t work out well on the desktop. Early response was positive, but later on, the criticisms started flowing in. After that, Google removed the favicons and is now working on iterations to create a better design.

  • When will my phone get Android 10 Update?

    When will my phone get Android 10 Update?

    Android 10 has been out for some time now. With many features, Google’s latest update has something for everyone. It could be that you are eager to see its new permission settings for apps or the sophisticated dark mode, there is much to experience. However, there is always that long waiting period between when Google releases its final build and the moment when your phone receives the update. In this post, we will be looking at the different OEMs and which devices are slated for an Android 10 update in 2020.

    Google Pixel

    Google’s Pixel phones will naturally be among the first models to receive the Android 10 update. The devices that will receive the update this year includes Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel, and Pixel XL.

    Google Pixel Android 10 Update
    Google Pixel

    Samsung

    Samsung is one of the largest and most popular smartphone manufacturers. The Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e, Galaxy Note 10, Note 10+, and Galaxy Note 9 have all received the update. Android 10 for Galaxy S9 and S9+ is still in the works, but the company is hoping to release it soon enough. Older devices like Galaxy S8 or Note 8 are not likely to receive the update at all.

    LG

    Of late, LG has become known for its slow updates. Today, only LG G8 and G7 One have received the update. However, other phones expected to receive the Android 10 update include

    LG K50 Android 10 Update
    LG K50

    Huawei

    Huawei’s Huawei P30 series, Huawei Mate 20 series and Huawei Mate 10 series have all received the EMUI 10/Android 10 update. Other models expecting the update include the following.

    Since the upcoming phones from Huawei will not have any Google services, it is not yet clear how the company plans to handle this issue.

    Motorola

    Motorola is a popular smartphone brand which has been lagging the past few years. However, the company still is providing the update to a decent number of devices.

    Nokia 3.2
    Nokia 3.2

    Nokia

    Nokia devices that are already running on Android 10 includes Nokia 6.1, Nokia 6.1 Plus, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 7.1, Nokia 8.1, and Nokia 9 PureView. Nokia phones slated for the update include the following devices.

    • Nokia 2.2
    • Nokia 3.1 Plus
    • Nokia 3.2
    • Nokia 4.2
    • Nokia 1 Plus
    • Nokia 5.1 Plus
    • Nokia 8 Sirocco
    • Nokia 2.1
    • Nokia 3.1
    • Nokia 5.1
    • Nokia 1

    OnePlus

    OnePlus is among the manufacturers that are known to provide the fastest updates. OnePlus 5 or 5T users will receive the update in the second quarter of 2020. This is the list of OnePlus phones already running on Android 10.

    If you own one of these phones, keep an eye out for the updates. The time is not too far away!

  • Sony Xperia 2 Will Likely Be The Company’s First 5G Phone

    Sony Xperia 2 Will Likely Be The Company’s First 5G Phone

    According to My Drivers, a new Sony flagship is about to be launched, most likely to be named the Xperia 2. Sony will have a press conference at the MWC. During this time, the phone could be exhibited as well. Following the trend of 2020 flagships, the Xperia 2 will probably run on Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip as well. The SoC will be paired with the Snapdragon X55 modem for 5G connectivity. If this happens, the Xperia 2 will be Sony’s first-ever 5G smartphone.

    Sony Xperia 2

    The smartphone could come with a 4K HDR OLED panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio similar to its predecessor, the Xperia 1. This will make Xperia 2 one of the first 4K phone by Sony to support the next-gen internet connectivity. The screen is believed to be quite large at 6.6-inches. With regards to the camera, the Xperia 2 will have four cameras at the rear. Rumours abound, with some claiming that the primary unit will be a 48-megapixels sensor and others believing it would be a 64-megapixels sensor.

    Sont Xperia 5G
    Sony Xperia 5G

    Besides the main sensor, the camera unit will have a 12-megapixels ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 12MP telephoto unit with 3x optical zoom. Sony’s 2020 flagship is also expected to feature the Time Of Flight sensor for portrait shots. The phone is also likely to have 8K video shooting capabilities.

    Other features of the Xperia 2 includes IP68 protection against water and dust and fast charging. It will have also NFC, making contactless payment possible. While there is a chance that the company might name this upcoming flagship Sony Xperia 2, there is also a chance it might not. If it does not, other possible names include Xperia 1.1, Xperia 1 Premium, Xperia 0, or Xperia 5 Plus.

    Sony’s 2020 flagship

    According to several reports, the Xperia 2 (we will continue calling it that for now!) will have an 8-megapixels selfie shooter. With regards to speakers, it will sport dual front-firing ones. The dimensions of this smartphone are 168.2 x 71.6 x 8.1mm. The camera unit at the back does give way to a slight bump, but it is nothing very jarring. One thing that Sony has decided to retain is the physical fingerprint reader. Where most other companies have discarded the physical scanner on their flagships in favour of the in-screen fingerprint reader, Sony has decided to stick to the original option.

    Sony Xperia 5G
    Sony Xperia 5G

    The phone is expected to run on a near-stock version of Android 10. It will also continue to have the 3.5mm headphone jack. While the price tag is hefty which is nothing surprising. It is because it is supposed to be a high-end flagship. It is still more affordable than other 5G models that are currently in the making right now. If the phone is well received, it could gain more popularity thanks to its affordable price tag and high-end features. It would also be a huge relief to Sony which has not had a break in the smartphone market for quite some time now.