Category: Gadgets
Who are Xiaomi and can they really threaten Apple and Samsung in 2019?
Chinese technology manufacturer Xiaomi is not a name many smartphone users in the UK will yet know, but that is likely to change in 2019. The company launched its first devices to British consumers in November – including its Mi 8 Pro flagship phone – and opened a physical store in London’s Westfield Shepherd’s Bush…
How to ensure gadgets are safe for children this Christmas
Ghislaine Bombusa, head of digital for Internet Matters, a not for profit organisation set up to improve children’s safety online, shares tips for parents to ensure their children can enjoy their new gadgets safely. Children across the country will unwrap a vast range of electronic gifts this Christmas – raising safety concerns for parents. Smartphones,…
Twitter now allows you to see most recent tweets first – again
Twitter has added an icon to its mobile app which enables users to switch back to its old system of showing the most recent tweets first. The social media platform changed its timeline algorithm in 2016, introducing a feed that showed a mixture of the most recent tweets alongside those the site’s algorithms believed were…
Amazon Alexa user given access to stranger’s conversations
A user of Amazon’s Alexa smart voice assistant was sent audio files from a stranger after requesting access to his own recordings. According to a report in German technology magazine C’t, the user – who is based in Germany – made a request to Amazon under the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to access…
Court ruling could see sales of older iPhones halted in Germany
An iPhone 7 (Yui Mok/PA) A court in Germany has sided with chipmaker Qualcomm in a patent dispute with Apple that could see sales of older iPhone models halted. The Munich regional court ruled that Apple and its subsidiaries had breached a European patent held by San Diego-based Qualcomm. The court…
Classic PC game Lemmings returns as a free game for mobile devices
Popular retro PC game Lemmings has made a surprise comeback as a free mobile game for iOS and Android. The game has been redesigned to suit mobile touchscreens, with the levels of the game played out in portrait mode, which developers Sad Puppy said was the easiest way to play one-handed on a phone. The game…
Rudolph and friends now being tracked using GPS!
Image: Press Association Rudolph and friends no longer need to rely on the famous reindeer’s red nose to avoid getting lost. Now they have wireless technology. To keep track of their animals in Lapland, Northern Finland’s vast and remote snow-covered forests, reindeer herders are turning to technology by fitting them with…
Big Ben brought back to life by Snapchat augmented reality
The front-facing camera will also add a virtual hat onto users (Snap/PA) Big Ben is making an early comeback this Christmas thanks to Snapchat’s latest augmented reality feature, which sees the scaffolding around Elizabeth Tower fall away inside a life-size snow globe! Snapchat’s latest AR Lens works when users hold their…
Elon Musk unveils The Boring Company’s traffic-busting underground tunnel
Image: Press Association Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has unveiled his ground-breaking underground transportation tunnel, which he hopes will provide an answer to “soul-destroying traffic” across the world. Reporters and invited guests took some of the first journeys in the subterranean tube system beneath the surface of Los Angeles, which could…
Mobile coverage still limited in many rural areas, says Ofcom
Half of premises in remote locations across the UK still have “patchy or unreliable” mobile reception, despite wider improvements to mobile coverage across the country. According to Ofcom’s annual report, reliable voice calls are now available to 97% of premises in urban homes and offices from all operators, while 83% have access to complete 4G…
