Supercharge your laptop’s sound with the ALO Island headphone amplifier

The ALO Island is a USB-powered digital audio converter/headphone amplifier, and it’s a honey! Functionally, it’s not so different than many of the other USB digital converter/amps I’ve covered on this blog, but it’s a bit bigger. The others are about the size of a thumbdrive; the Island is a 1.25×1.25×3.25-inch aluminum “brick,” but it’s …

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Samsung Galaxy phones dial up record £6bn profit

Samsung smashed moneymaking records once again this summer, raking in £5.9bn profit thanks largely to the lower-priced footsoldiers of the Samsung Galaxy smart phone army. Samsung did boffo business once again this Q3, the three months up to September, with continued strong smart phone sales and decent performance from the part of the business that makes memory chips. Revenue hit …

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iPad mini UK price and release date

The new Apple iPad mini is on sale in Britain in late November, costing between £320 and £659. The UK price comes straight from Apple, with the exact UK release date to be confirmed. Where can I buy the iPad mini? EE and Vodafone have confirmed they will sell the new iPad mini and iPad Air on 3G and 4G …

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Truck containing 22,500 LG G2 phones goes missing

Talk about your hot phone. A truck containing 22,500 LG G2 smartphones was stolen on the way to its destination in Louisville, Ky., CNET has learned. The phones were on their way to Sprint, which is expected to launch its version of the G2 early next month. Related stories TV in the Bathroom: Technically Doable but a Very Bad Idea …

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Tizen tablet is a first step for Samsung’s Android rival

The first device powered by Samsung’s Android-rivalling Tizen software has emerged blinking into the daylight. Making its debut at Japan’s Smartphone & Mobile Expo gathering, the Tizen tablet is built by Systena and is the first public outing for new operating system Tizen. The as-yet-unnamed tablet sports a 10.1-inch high-definition screen with a 1,920×1,200 resolution. Under the screen is a …

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Google Nexus 10 alleged official picture revealed

Is this our first look at the new Google Nexus 10? With the Google Nexus 5 and new Android KitKat software just around the corner, we could be set for a streamlined 10-inch Google tablet too. Pictured above on the left is the current Nexus 10, and on the right is an alleged press snap of the Google Nexus 10, as shared with …

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iPad Air, mini, Nexus 7, Tesco Hudl and more: UK prices compared

Apple has two new tablets for your consideration — the wafer-thin iPad Air, and the high-resolution iPad mini with retina display. Tim Cook and pals have also dropped the price of the original iPad mini to start at £249, so how do Apple’s tablets stack up against the Nexus 7, Tesco Hudl, Amazon Kindle Fire HDX and Microsoft Surface 2 …

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Hudl half

This week has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous — from the sublimely high-end new iPad Air, Nokia Lumia 2520 and Microsoft Surface 2, to the ridiculously cheap Carphone Warehouse Avoca 7, costing just £50. You read that right: a 7-inch Android tablet for £50. Carphone Warehouse has slashed the price of the Avoca 7, usually £100, to fire back …

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Latest report pins Nexus 5 debut on October 31

Anticipation is building over when Google will finally release the LG Nexus 5 with Android 4.4 KitKat. It will make its formal debut on Thursday to US customers through the Google Play store, according to a source close to Canadian tech blog MobileSyrup. Related stories Nexus 5: What we expect Nexus 5 could be the new Android phone to beat …

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Off

Cricket customers waiting for the iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C can stop twiddling their fingers and start reaching for their wallets. The prepaid carrier announced on Friday that the 16GB versions of Apple’s latest crop of smartphones is on sale. Following the trendy new sales structure, Cricket offers two ways to pay. You can buy the iPhone 5S for $599.99 …

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Samsung eyes smartphone

Samsung has its sights set on new wearable technology, according to a recent patent filing in Korea. Samsung has registered a design patent for eyewear that connects to a smartphone, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The eyewear includes earphones that allow people to listen to phone calls or music. According to the Journal, the eyewear shows information on the …

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Samsung Galaxy S3 outpaces iPhone 5S, 5C in touch accuracy

Apple’s iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C have a bit of improving to do on the touch-accuracy front, according to new data from OptoFidelity, a Finland-based tech test and measurement company. OptoFidelity said that it used its own Touch Panel Performance Tester to measure the iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, and Samsung Galaxy S3. The device uses a robot to “touch” exact …

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YouView and live Premier League games coming to Plusnet

BT Sport and YouView are coming to Plusnet. The Internet service provider kicks off BT Sport’s live Premier League games next month, with YouView to follow. Plusnet is holding trials over the next few months of YouView, the online-connected set-top box that puts catch-up and on-demand viewing into your telly alongside your regular channels. YouView is currently given away free …

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Qualcomm adds new high

AMSTERDAM — Electrical wires hardly have the glamor of 4G mobile networks or invisibly small microchip transistors. But Qualcomm hopes a faster new version of technology called HomePlug will breathe new high-tech life into homes’ old wiring. Qualcomm’s Atheros division makes processors that let devices such as set-top boxes and wireless network range extenders communicate over power lines using HomePlug. …

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