The Apple Watch will arrive in April. CNET Though many third-party bling-purveyors have transformed iPhones and iPads into gold-slathered objects of desire, the upcoming 18-karat-gold Apple Watch will represent a new level of official luxury within actual Apple Stores. At least one Apple observer thinks the gold watch could sell for up $5,000. That’s not …
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WhatsApp begins rollout of voice call functionality
WhatsApp Instant messaging service WhatsApp has seemingly begun a slow rollout of its anticipated voice-calling feature to its users in India, as reported by GSM Arena. Reddit user Pradnesh Patil aka pradnesh07 posted screenshots and a video of a WhatsApp voice call in action. According to Patil, he was able to access the long-rumoured feature by sideloading the latest WhatsApp …
Read More »Marriott drops its fight to block Wi
Marriott will no longer pester the FCC over the issue of blocking Wi-Fi hotspots. Marriott has fully given up its fight with the FCC for the right to block, under certain circumstances, Wi-Fi hotspots set up by its guests. Last year, the hotel chain got itself into trouble with the Federal Communications Commission when it used “containment features of a …
Read More »The people have spoken. And they want bigger phones (Smartphones Unlocked)
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (right) dwarf the 4-inch iPhone 5S (left). Sarah Tew/CNET Apple said that it would never make a large-screen phone. Instead, it made two. That double-down investment has now paid off in spades. This fall’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus together didn’t only sell well for Apple because the iPhone is a popular device …
Read More »New Samsung Galaxy flagship phone expected to be unveiled 1 March
Samsung will host its next Unpacked event in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung The next Samsung flagship device is set to be unveiled on 1 March. Samsung has licked the envelopes and sent out invitations to journalists for Galaxy Unpacked, the regular event at which its new devices take their first steps. The tantalising all-black invitation reads “What’s Next” and hints at …
Read More »How to enable Smart Lock for Google Apps accounts
Smart Lock setup on a Chromebook. Jason Cipriani/CNET Google recently launched its Smart Lock feature on Chromebooks, where a user can unlock his or her laptop simply by having an Android device nearby. The feature was easy to setup on Gmail account, but as noted in this guide walking users through the setup process, my Google Apps account was lacking …
Read More »Xprt provides free tech support on your iPhone
An Xprt chat, trying to help me setup Gmail on Outlook. Jason Cipriani/CNET I think it’s safe to say we’ve all come across a tech-related issue that’s completely stumped us. Search efforts were futile, calling the family nerd resulted in a miffed response and a trip to visit the Geek Squad would be overkill. A new iPhone app called Xprt …
Read More »FCC makes push for more local broadband services
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is flexing his regulatory muscle with a plan to strike down parts of two state laws that make it difficult for communities to get fast broadband. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler with his latest push: more local broadband services. Screenshot by Marguerite Reardon/CNET Wheeler on Monday said he will circulate a proposal later this week …
Read More »Raspberry Pi 2 runs free Windows 10, costs $35
The Pi 2 packs much more power, its creators say. Luke Westaway/CNET Microcomputing fans take note — there’s a new Raspberry Pi in town. The all-new board brings a host of new hardware, including a Broadcom 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor and 1GB of RAM. Those upgrades, the Raspberry Pi Foundation says, make the Pi 2 Model B a much …
Read More »Build your own home media center: Customising Kodi
Kodi Last time, we introduced the open-source media player software Kodi and went through the install process and hardware setup. Now that your media center PC is up and running, here’s how to get everything just the way you like. Adding files to Kodi To add your video files to Kodi, it’s as simple as selecting the appropriate section (say, …
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