Technology News And Gadgets

Volkswagen's ID.3 rollout might have hit a snag. Germany's Manager Magazin sources claim the EV's underlying software has been rushed and rife with bugs, including dropouts and other issues. Test drivers are supposedly finding up to 300 errors per... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/vw-id-3-software-trouble-rumor/

It's almost a cliché to say that Apple and Samsung dictate the tempo of the smartphone market, but there's now more evidence to support that claim. Counterpoint Research has calculated that nine out of the top ten smartphones sold worldwide i... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/top-selling-smartphones-2019-apple-samsung/

Byte, the short-form video platform created by Vine cofounder Dom Hofmann, will soon start giving early creators a cut of its ad revenue. The company first revealed its plans for a Partner Program last month, publishing initial details of how it'll p... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/byte-partner-program-launch/

The FDA is determined to step up the pace of coronavirus testing in the US to cope with the recent coronavirus outbreak, and it's willing to greenlight technology at an early stage to make that happen. The regulator said it will allow new diagnostic... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/fda-allows-early-coronavirus-testing-tech/

Wear OS is struggling, in no small part due to its so-so health features -- there's a good reason Google bought Fitbit. However, Google has hinted that it intends to catch up. Droid Life has learned that an ongoing User Experience Research survey t... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/google-wear-os-health-tracking-survey/

Samsung isn't the only Korean tech giant grappling with coronavirus infections. LG Display has temporarily halted work at a smartphone screen factory in Gumi, South Korea after a bank worker near the facility tested positive for COVID-19. The compa... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/lg-display-shuts-factory-over-coronavirus/

You may have to be pickier about your choice of phone if you're a mobile photography enthusiast. Moment has stopped working on its Pro Camera app for Android due to a lack of "engineering bandwidth" (read: enough available staff) to develop the soft... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/moment-stops-work-on-android-app/

Boeing Starliner's first unmanned flight failed in December, because the aerospace giant divided its tests in small chunks instead of conducting longer tests that simulate the whole process from launch to docking. Starliner program manager John Mulho... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/boeing-starliner-failed-first-flight-report/

Electric cars tend to handle well thanks to a low center of gravity and instant torque, but they aren't usually light on their feet and can be harder to drift unless they're appropriately tuned. Audi, however, believes it can bring back that livelin... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/audi-e-tron-s-tri-motor/

Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/hitting-the-books-Angel-and-the-Assassin-Nakazawa-Ballantine/

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. 5G is here, and to be honest -- I don't get it. I lived through the 4G wars with LTE vs. WiMax, and before that, it was the bad old days of HSPA+, EV-DO and Edge... but now I can't tell mmWave from mid-band. Luc... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/s20-ultra-morning-after/

FCC chairman Ajit Pai has been pressing for an auction of "mid-band" wireless spectrum that could be useful for expanding the reach of 5G, and on Friday the commission voted to approve rules for just such a redistribution. The rules cover "C-Band" sp... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/fcc-5g-auction/

On Thursday YouTube TV announced that subscribers would lose access to Fox regional sports networks and the YES network because it couldn't reach a new deal with their owner, Sinclair Broadcasting (they got there as a part of Disney's deal to buy Fox... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/29/fox-rsn-youtube-tv-sinclair/

Some significant changes are coming to Cortana. Starting this spring, Microsoft said it plans to make productivity the focus of the digital assistant. As part of the shift, Cortana will lose some of its more consumer-facing features, such as the abil... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/microsoft-removing-cortana-android-launcher/

SpaceX has won the contract for NASA's Psyche mission, and it's using the Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the spacecraft and ferry it to its target asteroid. NASA first approved plans to visit Psyche back in 2017 before finalizing them last year. source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/nasa-psyche-asteroid-mission-spacex/

The holiday season may be over, but that doesn't mean the parties (and party games) have to stop. Jackbox Games unveiled this week that the seventh generation of its annually released Party Packs will arrive this fall. Today, the company released a t... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/jackbox-quiplash-3/

After one big name participant after another (Facebook, Sony, Microsoft, Amazon) announced it would not send people to the show over concerns about the spread of coronavirus, GDC 2020 organizers have announced the event is off. It was scheduled to ta... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/gdc-2020-coronavirus/

The next time you fly out of JFK, you may notice a self-driving wheelchair race past you as you make your way to your departure gate. British Airways shared today that it has been testing autonomous electric wheelchairs at the country's sixth-busiest... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/british-airways-whill-wheelchair-jfk-trial/

The rumors were true: the FCC wants to fine major carriers for their approach to selling phone location data. The regulator has proposed a total of $208 million in fines against the top four US carriers for reportedly selling access to location info... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/fcc-proposes-carrier-fine-over-phone-location-data/

At this point, it's safe to say Google's Stadia streaming service hasn't had the smoothest launch. Between missing features and less than stellar performance, the platform is, at the moment, more about future promise than current potential. However,... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/google-stadia-apk-teardown-free-trials/

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of Nintendo's most anticipated games of 2020. We've seen plenty of the game's content from Nintendo Direct streams, but this weekend, fans are getting their first hands-on experience with Nintendo's island life si... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/animal-crossing-new-horizons-pax-east/

The annual Game Developers Conference just lost another big-name tech company due to coronavirus worries. Amazon Web Services has pulled out of the 2020 show in response to "continued concerns over COVID-19." In its place, Amazon is planning a "gl... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/amazon-pulls-out-of-gdc-over-coronavirus/

Etsy is once again in hot water for its latest attempt to boost sales. This week, the company introduced a new "risk-free" offsite advertising service in which it plans to enroll some of its sellers automatically. Under the new system, Esty says it w... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/etsy-new-offsite-ad-policy/

A little more than a month ago, one of the biggest esports leagues in the world -- the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in China -- was forced to go on hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak. Understandably, all matches were postponed and the Engli... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/league-legends-lpl-online-china-coronavirus/

Facebook's 3D photos are now available to a lot more people. The feature, first introduced in 2018, adds a 3D effect so image subjects appear to "move" independently of the background as you scroll past in your News Feed. But, until now, it's only be... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/facebook-converts-3D-photos-without-portrait-mode/

If you've decided to take the plunge and buy a new mirrorless camera, possibly ditching your DSLR, you now have another decision: What lenses do you need? That decision could have a large impact on how your photos or videos look and what kind of shoo... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/mirrorless-camera-lens-buying-guide/

Andrew Walz isn't a real person. A high school student from upstate New York created the fake congressional candidate -- complete with website, AI-generated photograph and Twitter account -- to test the social media platform's verification system. Ac... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/twitter-verified-fake-congressional-candidate/

You have until March 6th to try and nab a working Nintendo PlayStation prototype -- one of the rarest relics of lost gaming history -- and it'll only cost you a few hundred thousand dollars. The current high bid for this retro prototype at auctio... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/how-much-would-you-pay-for-the-fabled-nintendo-playstation-proto/

This week, it's all about Samsung's chonky boi, the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Cherlynn gives us a preview of her review for the new flagship phone -- including its 5G performance in NYC and its "100X" camera -- while Devindra wonders what's the point of an i... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/podcast-review-samsung-galaxy-s20-ultra/

Hillary Clinton is launching her own podcast. The former Senator and US secretary of state has teamed up with iHeartMedia, confirming an earlier report from Politico. It's yet another example of how big and influential podcasts have become in recent... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/hillary-clinton-podcast/

Amazon has revealed that Prime Video's upcoming sci-fi series Tales from the Loop will premiere on April 3rd -- and it has bundled that announcement with a trailer. The eight-episode show is based on the paintings of Swedish artist Simon Stålen... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/amazon-tales-from-the-loop-trailer/

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. These days, the internet community experience centers around social networking apps. But some of us recall the old days when it was weird to talk to strangers online, whether via BBS, IRC or Kris Holt's preferre... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/citroen-ami-morning-after/

As more and more gargantuan data centers come on line, environmentalists have been concerned about massive increases in electricity consumption and pollution. However, according to a new study published in Science, that simply hasn't happened. While... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/cloud-computing-more-energy-efficient-than-thought/

Like Mobile World Conference and Facebook's F8, the 2020 Geneva Motor Show has been definitively canceled and will not take place this year. The Swiss government has imposed a ban on public gatherings of over 1,000 people that will go in effect immed... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/geneva-motor-show-canceled-over-coronavirus-fears/

Now that we're well into 2020, it's about time Vivo gave us its annual update on the APEX concept line which, in its past two generations, had given us a taste of what was to come in the smartphone world -- namely in-display fingerprint reader, pop-u... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/vivo-apex-2020-gimbal-camera-zoom/

BMW plans to have a million EVs on the road by the end of 2021 and one of the key vehicles is in that plan is the iNext crossover. The automaker has teased new images of a camouflaged iNext test mule taking part in hot-weather trials in the Kalahari... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/bmw-inext-ev-hot-weather-testing-africa/

The US Senate has unanimously approved a bill that would give rural carriers access to a $1 billion fund meant to help them remove and replace Huawei gear. According to The Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch, the Senate has voted to send the bill to... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/28/senate-approves-1-billion-budget-to-help-rural-carriers-replace/

Citroën has launched a new electric vehicle that's a tiny car and an enclosed scooter at the same time. It's called the "Ami," a two-seater vehicle made for city transportation that's so small, it doesn't even require a license. That is, so long... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/citroen-ami/

It's been a few years since Crossy Road updated the Frogger formula to create a popular mobile game, and now developer Hipster Whale has returned with Crossy Road Castle. The Apple Arcade-exclusive title is available across iOS, iPadOS, macOS and tvO... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/apple-arcade-crossy-road-castle/

One of the most vehement arguments against Clearview AI's practice of scraping billions of photos from millions of public websites to build its facial recognition database was that the company's data storage and security protocols were both untested... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/clearview-ai-leak-businesses-facial-recognition/

With the launch of iPadOS, Apple's tablet has become more of a conventional computing device than ever. As such, it makes sense that the line between iPad Pro and laptop could become even more blurred. A rumor from The Information claims Apple is gea... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/ipad-pro-trackpad-smart-keyboard/

A trip to IKEA isn't complete without a plate of Swedish meatballs. While the company offers a vegetarian version of its iconic meal, the veggie meatballs don't taste much like meat. Joining the trend set by fast food chains like Burger King and KFC,... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/ikea-vegetarian-meatballs/

It's been years since Apple and Beats introduced the Powerbeats3, a $200 set of wireless headphones with ear hooks and a cable connecting the two earpieces together. Since then, Beats released the excellent, totally wireless Powerbeats Pro, but it lo... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/apple-beats-powerbeats4-fcc-filing/

The newest Timex Ironman smartwatch, the R300 GPS, bundles the workout essentials -- on-wrist heart rate monitoring, guided coaching, a range of performance metrics and water resistance up to 30 meters -- and avoids adding unnecessary extras that som... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/timex-ironman-r300-smartwatch-fitness-tracker/

Even as TVs and game consoles and cable boxes pack in more and more features, the best way to access all your favorite streaming content continues to be a Roku. These streaming sticks and boxes include the most popular apps, and it's super cheap to a... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/roku-ultra-user-reviews-wanted/

Altice One's cable offerings are now available on Apple TV 4K. Optimum and Suddenlink subscribers can access their favorite cable content directly through the Altice One app on Apple TV 4K. This is good news if you want to watch TV beyond your offici... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/altice-one-app-apple-tv-4k/

If you use Instagram on your Windows 10 PC, you may notice a subtle change the next time you open the app. Instagram has updated its Windows software to make it into something called a progressive web app (PWA). What this means is that you're effecti... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/instagram-adds-direct-messaging-windows-10/

Before social networks took over the internet, message boards were perhaps the most essential way for people to come together online and talk about whatever was on their minds. Our discussion spaces have evolved dramatically, though -- message boards... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/internet-forums-dying-off/

Samsung's Galaxy S20 is not even on the market yet, but reviewers from publications including PC Mag have already experienced bugs with the cameras. Samsung has now responded, saying that it's working on a fix. "The Galaxy S20 features a groundbreaki... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/samsung-galaxy-s20-ultra-camera-issues/

Uber is introducing a couple of new features designed to make ride pickups easier for both drivers and passengers. Firstly, the app interface has had a refresh to put more focus and transparency on ride arrival status, and secondly, a new translation... source https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/27/ubers-app-update-offers-message-translations-and-makes-pickups/