Google announces that 10 million Cardboard VR viewers have been shipped

Google is largely responsible for the rise of super affordable VR headsets – they literally made one out of cardboard! While they are the simplest form of VR you can get, they have become a hit with consumers. Google announced that it has shipped 10 million units while the app boasts 160 million downloads.

No, there’s no error. The 10 million is only for official Google Cardboard viewers, there have been many, many copies and alternatives. If the app download numbers are anything to go by, more people have a Cardboard at home than either a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

VR apps have also…

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Google Home arrives in UK as early as this summer

The battle between Amazon Echo and Google Home will spread across the United Kingdom this summer. The smart assistant by Google will be available for shipping in the second quarter of the year, a spokesperson from the company confirmed.

Rick Osterloh, Google Hardware SVP told BBC reporter Rory Cellan-Jones that Google Home would come to the UK in Q2. He also claimed the AI skills and access to the search engine would help beat Amazon Echo over the Atlantic. The Echo, voiced by Alexa is already on sale in the UK since September 2016 which gives Amazon a slight head start when the…

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Sony might be legally bound to disable the fingerprint readers on its US phones

The fingerprint reader issue is one of those long-standing problems that can make any Sony fan shrug. If you are only hearing about it now, it basically boils down to this – ever since the Xperia Z5 family, a number of Sony devices have featured a fingerprint reader, embedded in the power button on the side. However, those same devices ended up with a disabled reader on the US market.

Now the brand new XZ Premium and XZs are also joining the same group and are said to omit the biometric security measure in the US as well. When previously asked to comment on the matter, the Japanese…

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Xiaomi unveils Redmi 4X with faster LTE, Snapdragon 435

China will be getting an upgraded version of the Redmi 4 – Redmi 4X – with Snapdragon 435 chip and faster LTE speeds.

Today Xiaomi’s may have focused the spotlight on its first homebrew chipset – the Surge S1 – and the Mi 5C, but the manufacturer had one more announcement before calling it a day. Xiaomi used its official Weibo account to introduce the Xiaomi Redmi 4X for the Chinese market.

The Redmi 4X looks identical to the Redmi 4, has the same 5″ 720p display, but comes with a newer Snapdragon 435 chipset (Redmi 4 has S430). There is the same octa-core 1.4GHz A53 processor…

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Fossil will update all of its smartwatches to Android Wear 2.0 next month

Did you score a Fossil Q Founder for $132? If you did, you’ll be pleased to know that the company will release the Android Wear 2.0 update for all of its smartwatches in mid-March.

That’s great to hear when certain manufacturers (cough) have decided to skip on the update. Anyway, the Valentine’s day promo is over, a Gen 1 Q Founder will set you back $190 with a leather band and $205 with a steel band. The Gen 2 model is $300, same as a Gen 2 Fossil Q Wanderer or Q Marshal.

Here’s a list of smartwatches on the Wear 2.0 update list.

Source | Via

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Here’s what’s inside the Sony Xperia XZ Premium

Along with the traditional design showcase, we get to experience at MWC, this year the Barcelona venue also offered a few intriguing tours of device internals. We already saw the LG G6 get disassembled on camera and now Sony has decided it wants to show off as well.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium

Frankly, it was high time all the hard-working hardware engineers got some appreciation for the work they’ve done under the hood on stage. There is an amazing amount of effort that goes into component design, especially for modern flagships. But even if you are not the type to really…

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Raspberry Pi Zero W adds Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to the tiny computer board

A new Raspberry Pi has been served – a Pi Zero W. It expands the original Pi Zero capabilities by adding Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. More specifically, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. This led the price to double, but since the original was so cheap, we’re still talking $10/£9.60 .

It’s all good, though. Like the original Zero, you can score a free Raspberry Pi Zero W if you subscribe for The MagPi magazine (in print for 12 months).

The wireless tech is based on the same Cypress CYW43438 chip as the Pi 3 B, which should make it easier for developers. Besides its new-found wireless…

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