The country is set to go officially crazy for Super Bowl 50 on February 7. If you’re not among the 75,000-odd lucky fans who get to watch the game in person at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium, you’ll probably be among the 110 million-plus people watching it on a TV. Here’s how to make that TV …
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How to find, share your custom Snapchat URL
The Next Web recently uncovered what’s perhaps the easiest way to share your Snapchat account with friends and family members. Sure, the service has long had unique Snapcodes users could share and scan to add someone, but the process required extra steps. Now, each Snapchat users has his or her own unique URL. When shared, a user can open the …
Read More »Forget the pricey router
How do you sell something that people already own? You make it smarter. You make it prettier. You let people control it from their phone. That was the formula that made the $250 Nest thermostat so successful, and other companies have been aping it ever since. These days, you can even buy home security cameras and door locks that have …
Read More »Can Rihanna rescue Tidal?
Ten months ago I heard snippets of an unreleased Rihanna song that was, presumably, one of the tracks on her upcoming, yet-to-be-announced album. Her raw, scratchy vocals evoked a sadness uncharacteristic of the exceptionally GIF-able songstress. The lyrics, which extol the virtues of musing over an old lover while drinking whiskey, drown the listener in a morose vulnerability usually expected …
Read More »Apple may switch up iPhone charging with wireless tech
iPhone chargers, be gone. We’d love to ditch you, and it looks like Apple might too. The Cupertino, California-based company is developing new wireless charging tech for iPhones that could be ready as soon as 2017, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with Apple’s plans. Wireless charging technology isn’t new. Several iPhone rivals have incorporated it, allowing people to …
Read More »Oppo launches new camera
On Thursday Oppo revealed it had sold 50 million smartphones in 2015, with a good deal of those units coming out of South Asia. It’s not so surprising, then, to hear that the Chinese smartphone maker is launching a new line of smartphones designed for India. The camera-focused F1 was released in the populous country on Thursday, with Oppo announcing …
Read More »I switched from Android to iPhone for two months. Here’s what I learned
Android users are embracing the iPhone. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, 30 percent of new iPhone buyers had switched from an Android device in the July-to-September 2015 quarter. And this week, Cook reiterated that the trend is accelerating, saying: “We were blown away by the level of Android switchers that we had last quarter [October through December]. It was …
Read More »Alphabet? Google? Either way, it’s ready to rumble
When Larry Page charges at you with a hockey stick, he doesn’t talk trash. Known for being the silent type, Page is quiet and focused and lets his brother-in-arms, Sergey Brin, do the whooping. That was the dynamic between the duo whenever they played roller hockey, a favorite pastime. But it’s also what defines Google, the company they co-founded in …
Read More »Your parents are about to join Snapchat (if they haven’t already)
Snapchat is getting old. Literally. In hindsight, there were so many warning signs. First, the Wall Street Journal – a digital newspaper that has an average readership age of 51 — claimed a spot on Snapchat Discover, nestling itself among brands like DailyMail, Vice, and Buzzfeed, who use the platform to target coveted millennials. Then came the White House. On …
Read More »Cricket launches budget
The ZTE Grand X 3 went on sale at Cricket Wireless on Friday. First introduced at CES earlier this month, the handset is a big screen, budget-friendly affair with a $130 retail price. On paper, the ZTE Grand X 3 is not all that extraordinary. Indeed, it runs an older version of Android, 5.1 Lollipop, and features run-of-the-mill internal hardware. …
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