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Latest by Andy Boxall

lonely planet guides app news

Lonely Planet mixes Maps-style POI with its amazing local knowledge in new Guides app

Lonely Planet has released Guides, a new app that combines a handy map with points-of-interest for a city you're visiting, with it's cool insider knowledge of the best places. Best of all, it's completely free.
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Just $400 buys you the ridiculously thin Zenfone Zoom, with its 3x optical zoom

It has been more than a year since we first saw the Asus ZenFone Zoom, but the exciting phone is available to buy for $400.
robot human jobs softbank pepper

Pepper the robot gets sales training, ready to sell phones in its own store

Pepper the robot is keen to show how well it can read people's emotions, and will put its skills to the test in its own phone retail store, which will be staffed entirely by Pepper 'bots. It's a world-first, and opens in Japan for a limited time soon.
Oppo R7 Plus

This Chinese brand is chasing down LG after selling 50 million phones in 2015

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo sold 50 million phones in 2015, a nearly 70-percent increase over the year before, and putting in the world's top ten manufacturers according to research. What's more, it's chasing down better known companies, including LG.
cheap vr stationary bike build news group exercise

For $40, you can add virtual reality to boring stationary biking

This cool VR app and headset means you'll never have to stare at the sweaty back of another gym-goer while you're on a stationary bike ever again. Best of all, it doesn't cost thousands of dollars.
samsung gear s2 software update h

See how eye-tracking may make your smartwatch easier to use in the future

A clever eye-tracking tech called Orbits shows us how smartwatches may be easier to use in the future. Developed by a team at Lancaster University, it works by tracking moving objects on the screen to activate functions.
Phones in crowd

Jennifer Lawrence is wrong: Smartphones do not stop us from ‘living in the moment’

Jennifer Lawrence captured headlines for chiding a reporter staring at his phone for not being "in the now." It's the latest example of phone users being accused of not living in the moment. Turns out, people have got it all wrong.
hp titan smartwatch news juxt

HP and Titan reveal the Juxt, an analog watch with smart features

HP has partnered with India-based watchmaker Titan to produce the Juxt, an analog watch with smart features.
hatsune miku project mirai dx review

Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX review

Project Mirai DX is a rhythm game featuring virtual pop star Hatsune Miku for the Nintendo 3DS. It’s a lovingly treated conversion from the Japanese original, but is it accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they’re Miku devotees or not?
candel phone case kickstarter campaign news light

This phone case lights up in time to music, ready to annoy everyone behind you at concerts

Smartphones are now so common at concerts and festivals, we may as well make them standout as much as possible. That's the idea behind the Candel, a case with a light up rear panel that flashes in time with music.
freedompop global hotspot news novatel mifi 2 wireless

This mobile hotspot costs $50, and comes with 200MB of international roaming data for free

FreedomPop is best known for its free monthly mobile network, and it's now bringing a similar deal to mobile hotspots, then making the free data available for use in more than 25 countries around the world.
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Your OnePlus phone will be delivered in an hour, or it'll cost you absolutely nothing

OnePlus has teamed up with Henchman in London, to provide a one-hour delivery service in the city for anyone ordering a OnePlus 2 or a OnePlus X. In addition to the chance of a free gift, if the phone is even a single minute late, it'll cost you nothing at all.
friends reunited social network to close group gathering

Social network Friends Reunited is set to close down

One of the first hit online social networks, Friends Reunited, will close in the near future, after opening its doors back in 2000. The site has changed owners several times, and had new features introduced, but has never regained its initial popularity.
Sony Xperia Z5

Sony’s got new mobile tech to show at MWC 2016

Sony will reveal new mobile hardware at Mobile World Congress 2016, at an event to be held on February 22. The company's not hinting at what's to come, but some of its older products are due an upgrade.
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Microsoft’s Hololens headset may need charging every couple of hours

Microsoft's augmented reality headset, Hololens, may only last for around 2.5 hours on a single battery charge, if you use it for power-intensive tasks. The news, along with several other new features, has been revealed by a Microsoft technical evangelist.
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British Telecom’s $19m deal to buy the UK’s largest 4G mobile network has been approved

British Telecom's acquisition deal with Orange France and Deutsche Telecom to buy the EE network in the UK has been approved. The deal is worth around $19 billion, and will close at the end of January.
best chinese smartphones xiaomi redmi note 3

Xiaomi gives the Redmi Note 3 a boost with more megapixels and a Snapdragon chip

Xiaomi announced the Redmi Note 3 in November, and has since announced a Pro variant that offers a Snapdragon processor and higher megapixel camera.
bluboo xwatch smartwatch news android wearable

This cool circular smartwatch runs Android, isn’t ugly, and may cost only $100

You won't have heard of the manufacturer, but the Xwatch is a smartwatch you'll want to know more about. It looks great, has a circular screen, a metal body, runs Android, and should cost just $100.
huawei honor 7 review front hand

Huawei Honor 7 review

The Honor 7 has a great camera, a beautiful screen, and a strong attractive body, but there isn’t enough power inside for it to play the best, most up-to-date mobile games. If that’s your thing, the phone’s not for you.
google street view miniatur wunderland video news cam road

Google shrunk its Street View cameras to give us a close look at this stunning model world

Using specially built tiny cameras, the Google Street View team has given us a glimpse of life inside a stunning model railway display, which captures life around cities, towns, and landmarks in Germany.
new balance digital sport android wear watch news 3d printed shoe

New Balance joins up with Intel and Google for its first smartwatch, due later this year

Fitness brand New Balance is following in Nike and Adidas's footsteps, and has announced the formation of a Digital Sport division to explore wearable tech. Its first product will be an Android Wear smartwatch.
LG V10

LG’s feeling playful, sends its MWC 2016 event details out early

LG has announced it'll hold an event on February 21, just one day before MWC 2016 opens its doors, where it'll reveal something new. The only clue we have so far says the announcement will be "playful."
e ink rimowa luggage prototypes news tag mem 2

An E-Ink screen replaces disposable paper tags on this smart luggage

Luggage company Rimowa is about to launch a suitcase with a built-in E Ink screen. After seeing the case, we got to check out a few more E Ink prototypes.
alton towers galactica vr roller coaster news face

This insane new roller coaster will use VR to make the ride even more stomach-churning

UK theme park Alton Towers has announced Galactica, the world's first roller coaster to be synced with an entire virtual reality experience. Riders will be shot into space, and around the galaxy during the two-minute ride, which opens in April.
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Hands on: Macate Gatca Elite with secure Codetel software

Creating a super secure Android phone is in vogue -- especially for small companies. The latest is the Gatca Elite with cool security software from Codetel.
Speck Pocket VR with CandyShell Case

Here are our choices for the five best smartphone cases at CES 2016

Smartphone case manufacturers took over a large section of a massive hall at CES 2016, so we scoured the huge booths to find our favorite new cases.
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Hugs on with the Parihug Bear

Giant consumer electronics shows are often lonely places. It's good we stumbled across the Parihug team, and hugged a very cute bear that hugged us back.
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We got a sneak peak at the latest underground tech from Samsung’s C-Lab

We tried out three of the latest and most advanced prototypes from Samsung's C-Lab, where employees are encouraged to develop their own tech projects.
TAG Heuer Watch Faces

Tom Brady turns Android Wear watch face designer for TAG Heuer

TAG Heuer has persuaded Tom Brady, Jeremy Lin, and Giancarlo Stanton to design personalized faces for its Carrera Connected Android Wear smartwatch.
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Hands On: Tobii's eye-tracking camera can handle work, but is best at play

Tobii makes eye-tracking hardware, and wants to change the way we interact with our computers, from unlocking and navigating the desktop, to playing the latest games. We gave it a try.
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Hands on: L’Oréal My UV Patch

L'Oréal has made an ultra-thin stretchable skin patch with NFC connectivity to do exactly that. Not only is the tech cool, but it's going to be free.
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Hands on: Letv Le Max Pro

The Letv Max Pro is the first phone to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip and ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Here are all the specs and our impressions.
Yezz Sfera

Hands on: Yezz Sfera

Smartphone company Yezz has come up with the Sfera, a wacky smartphone that has a camera capable of taking 360-degree photos and video, which can be viewed on the phone or with Google Cardboard.
moshi ionbank helios avanti accessory news backpack series featured

Moshi brings vegan-leather battery packs, backpack, and headphones to CES 2016

New IonBank battery packs lead accessory manufacturer Moshi's CES charge, where they're joined by a new set of Avanti headphones and two Helios backpacks.