Robot vacuums like the new Roborock Qrevo Curv are now impressively automated. They vacuum and mop. They clean up after themselves.
And they navigate your furniture and your pets with advanced autonomous vehicle technology. Read more in my latest column in the Tech section of USA Today.
For all the noise this summer surrounding data table formats, Apache Iceberg is still number one. And that’s not going to change.
What might change? Read my take on what happens next, in CIO Magazine.
The latest Apple, Google and Samsung smartwatches are now available, and they’ve all got a little something new in store for anyone who’s in the market. For my take on the latest smartwatches, check out my column in the Tech section of USA Today HERE.
Samsung became the first big-brand electronics maker to introduce a smart ring, and the only one with both smart rings and smart watches. Find out what that means for your health and wellness in my USA Today Tech column HERE.
The new Microsoft Copilot+ AI laptops – all built around Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X-Series processors – are sleek and light, snappy and responsive. And they run for a really long time between charges.
Could they be the MacBook Air for Windows systems that the ecosystem has been craving? Read my take in MarketWatch!
Apple’s overdue answer to generative AI finally came this week in the form of Apple Intelligence, an elegantly packaged collection of features that will come to new iPhones in the fall. Is it a me-too offering? Or something special?
Actually, the answer is yes. To both questions. Read my take in my latest MarketWatch column.
Yes, Intel has more than enough performance from the super-efficient AI processor inside its new PC offering, codenamed Lunar Lake. The built-in graphics accelerator also has plenty of TOPS, the industry metric for AI performance.
Add a few more TOPS from the main processor complex, and the company says Lunar Lake is better equipped than any other AI PC offering for whatever AI tasks developers throw at it.
Here’s my take on Intel’s presence and relative positioning from Computex, the big PC trade show held in Taiwan each year. Read on!
For his first-ever keynote at Computex, the big PC show held each June in Taipei, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon brought reinforcements: a parade of executives from seven laptop makers. The OEMs launched a combined 22 laptops built around Microsoft’s Copilot+, the first-ever on-device AI platform on PCs.
And for the next few months at least, the only Copilot+ laptops will be based on Snapdragon X-Series processors. Which helps explain why partner Pavan Davuluri, head of Windows at Microsoft, was also there to support the launches.
Davuluri wasn’t in Taipei just to support the new Windows AI platform. A couple of those 22 X-Series laptops are his: Surface Pro 11th Edition and Surface Laptop 7th Edition.
I was also there! Here’s my take – straight from Taipei.
Digital packrats, rejoice! Generative AI is here to help.
This week, Microsoft unveiled Copilot+, one of the first GenAI apps built to help us get more out of our piles of digital stuff. For example, Copilot+ will be able to help you cull duplicate photos from your library or find snapshots with specific people or specific scenes. It could also help round up your best work for a job application. All without leaving your laptop.
For the time being, at least, laptops with optimized AI performance that Copilot+ needs are built solely with Qualcomm Snapdragon X-series processors.
Laptop makers are offering innovative new ways to pack desktop-sized displays into portable form factors. Find out why – and how. Read my latest column in the Tech section of USA Today.
It’s not just about whether you win or lose. It’s not even just about how you play the game. For a growing number of educational institutions, esports can be another way to reach prospective applicants and enrich the quality of campus life.
Esports programs can take many shapes on campus, from casual clubs to competitive varsity teams. And Lenovo Esports Solutions for Education has helped a number of higher-education institutions tailor their programs to best serve their campus culture.
Find out about three universities developed their esports programs – and how Lenovo has helped them get off the ground and continue to prosper. Download the latest FeibusTech report HERE.
For AI to be truly everywhere, it needs to collect data and develop insight far beyond our smartphones and laptops. Which is exactly what Qualcomm is trying to enable with two new products it just announced at Embedded World in Germany.
Find out more. Read my take at the DataDrivenInvestor.
For all the cost, efficiency and predictability benefits the enterprise has enjoyed from device-as-a-service (DaaS) offerings, providers have not yet been able to fulfill enterprise IT’s ultimate request: maximize employee productivity at the lowest possible cost.
Generative AI is about to change all that. Read about it in my new report, DaaS in the Generative AI Era. Download it HERE.
It’s clear that 2024 will become the year of the AI smartphone, and Samsung kicked it off with the unveiling of the Galaxy S24-series devices. With the help of partners Google and Qualcomm, the electronics giant has put together a smartphone that makes a lot of things easier, like speaking with folks who don’t speak the same language and searching for answers to questions from visual prompts.
Samsung pointed much of the new AI horsepower squarely at the camera, as you’ll read in my latest column for the Tech section of USA Today. It’s entitled “Not Gonna Miss My … Shot! Samsung’s new Galaxy phones make a good picture more of a sure thing.” Check it out!
If you have a fast broadband connection that doesn’t feel fast, then take a moment to read my latest column in the Tech section of USA Today. I tested eero’s new Max 7 mesh router, and was pretty impressed. Read on to find out why!
Amazon has eliminated plastic packaging in an automated US fulfillment center, an early milestone for the company’s plans to replace plastic with paper across all its domestic centers.
How should we perceive this development in the face of its long-term sustainability goals? Read my take in MarketWatch.
The new Google Pixel Watch 2 with Fitbit is available today. I’ve been evaluating it since it was announced a week ago in New York City. In fact, I’ve also been putting the latest Apple Watch and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch through their paces since they were unveiled in September and July, respectively.
So what do the country’s three most popular smartwatch brands have to offer with this year’s models? Read my take in the Tech section of USA Today.
CEOs are worried about generative AI. Not because of any of the doomsday stuff in the press. Rather, they are worried that they won’t be able to deploy it as effectively and as safely as their competitors.
The latest foldable smartphones from market leader Samsung are now available – and they’re better than ever. But are they good enough to keep the growing stable of competitors at bay? Read my take in the Tech section of USA Today.
Rogue workloads are the bane of most CIOs’ existence. They can blow through your cloud budget in a weekend. And they can sap available resources, threatening SLA commitments that can cut into revenues and send customers looking elsewhere.
If you’re on the Cloudera Data Platform, or CDP, there’s now an advanced toolset that can help CIOs optimize the performance of all their compute and storage assets, whether that’s in the major cloud services or on-premises datacenters. The next-gen observability toolset, appropriately enough, is called Cloudera Observability.
Read more in my column on DataDrivenInvestor’s Medium publication.
The European Commission has just proposed tearing down the existing convention for issuing standard-essential patents, or SEPs. In its place, Commissioners propose a system that awards royalties in favor of a start-from-scratch methodology that strips away a tried-and-true process that’s taken decades and a world of governments to build.
And for what? “Transparency.” Whatever that means.
Yes, there’ve been some improvements in sound quality, call quality and battery life. And yes, we’ve seen a few new features crop up. But by and large, last year’s wireless earbuds did more or less the same as what came out the year before. And the year before that.
Finally, electronics makers are injecting some fun along with new Bluetooth technology into this year’s models. Check out my USA Today column to find out what you’re likely to find on store shelves – and why.
Are generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, the most disruptive innovation to hit the writing profession since the typewriter, a friend or a foe? In a word, yes.
Indeed, opportunities and threats abound. Learn how you can boost your odds of success in the creative internet age. Read “AI is no Shakespeare,” my latest column, in the Tech section of USA Today.
Paper or plastic? When it comes to which packaging option is easier on the environment, many people assume the answer is paper. Turns out it’s not so clear.
In my latest MarketWatch column, I explain why. And I provide some insight into new technology that could shift the balance down the road. Check it out!
With its industry-leading 200-megapixel camera, the S23 Ultra is taking mobile photography to the next level. But can it also perform after dark?
Find out. Read my latest in USA Today.
Big Tech is not only siphoning ecosystem profits for its own. It’s also depressing innovation in this country, and creating opportunities for American rivals. Here’s a commonsense approach to leveling the playing field so innovation can thrive again.
CIOs enjoy an enviable luxury in the data center: climate-friendly options that also save money. It’s a rare combination in the ESG world.
In my latest CIO Magazine column, I talk about five ways to do both. Read that HERE.
It might sound counterintuitive, but Arm is suing to block Qualcomm’s upcoming Arm-based laptop processors from shipping. That’s right, the company that will collect royalties on each processor, which Qualcomm dubbed Oryon this week at its Snapdragon Summit, is trying to snuff out the new chips.
Yes, it’s strange. Read my take in the tech section of USA Today HERE.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see other licensees follow Qualcomm’s lead and design their own Arm-compatible processors. Read why in my analysis published in the Ojo-Yoshida Report.
The new smartwatches from Apple, Fitbit and Samsung are available now. How do they stack up? My roundup in the tech section of USA Today:
Like the t-shirt workout, which prioritizes exercises that boost appearance over conditioning, OnePlus has blended some outwardly sexy marquee specs with subtle cost-cutting to come up with its new 10T 5G smartphone. Is the unique approach enough to help revive the ailing mid-priced smartphone market?
To find out, I’ve been testing the 10T, which is available starting today (Sept 29) in the US through Amazon, Best Buy, OnePlus and T-Mobile. Here’s what I found:
Chest and Biceps
There’s no denying that the latest from the fast-growing nine-year-old smartphone maker is a head-turner. The OnePlus 10T 5G is long and lean, with a big, bright display, a beefy battery and the brawniest chipset around, the just-released Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. In addition to its veritable six-pack abs, the smartphone also ships with a supercharger so fast that watching the 10T 5G charge is actually not like watching paint dry.
Taken by themselves, the 10T specs fill out a t-shirt so well they telegraph a premium smartphone in the $1,000 range. Consider that it includes:
But spend a little time with the 10T, which starts at $649, and you’ll see where OnePlus cut its proverbial workout short to hit the lower price point.
Scrawny little legs
Some of the cost cutting moves might make you wonder why others haven’t tried the same approach. Despite the uber-fast charging, for example, the USB-C port into the 10T is compatible with USB 2.0, not 3.x like most smartphones today. That translates into much slower data transfers over cable, should you ever decide to do that.
The 10T also lacks wireless charging, which could cramp your style if you’re accustomed to dropping your phone on a Qi charger.
As well, the new phone is rated IP54, which means it will operate in dusty areas, but it’s not dustproof. And while it can handle splashes, it is not built to be submerged. Most premium phones are rated IP68, which means they’ll survive a fall into shallow water. And they’re dustproof.
But perhaps the most consequential shortcut is that it only supports sub-6GHz 5G spectrum, not mmWave. Sub-6GHz channels offer much better range than mmWave, but at much slower speeds.
The 10T works on all three major networks. But it’s a particularly good fit today with the T-Mobile network, which is predominantly sub-6GHz . And over time, all carriers will offer a mix of both sub-6GHz and mmWave to get the best of both. Which means that the 10T will start showing its age sooner than premium smartphones that support both bands.
Swipe left or right?
So is the OnePlus 10T 5G full of fatal flaws? Or is there enough eye candy to make up for some tolerable shortcomings you can live with?
I found it to be the latter. I like the 10T. It looks and acts like a premium smartphone today. But without full 5G support, the skinny little legs that are easy to overlook today may start to become more prominent a few years down the road. On the other hand, you did save a few hundred dollars today.
