Apple : The best cheap 4K TV deals and sale prices in the US - April 2019 |
- The best cheap 4K TV deals and sale prices in the US - April 2019
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S5 release date, news and rumors
- OnePlus 7 release date, price, news and rumors
- Save $100 on Dyson vacuum cleaners at Walmart and Amazon
- Samsung Galaxy Fold launch officially delayed – no release date in sight
- The Blink XT home security camera gets a $50 price cut at Amazon
- OnePlus 7 Pro confirmed to have a 'super-smooth' display and 5G, but cost more
- iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S4: what’s the best premium tablet available now?
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| The best cheap 4K TV deals and sale prices in the US - April 2019 Posted: 22 Apr 2019 01:12 PM PDT We've gone through top retailers such as Amazon and Walmart to find the best cheap TV sales and deals that are currently going on (we've also got a roundup of UK retailers). You can find Black Friday like prices on a variety of best-selling 4K TVs from brands such as Samsung, Sony, LG and more. You'll find discounts on 4K TVs, smart TVs, different model sizes, and a variety of prices that will fit any all TV viewing needs. Whether you want a small TV with a price tag to match or something to show all the colors of the rainbow (and a few million more) with HDR, we've found plenty of options. Read on to find the TV you want at a great price!
TechRadar's cheap TV deal of the weekCheap TV deals (40-49 inch)Cheap TV deals (50-59 inch):Cheap TV deals (60-85 inch):More cheap TV sales:Not found the right cheap TV for you today? Or maybe you'd prefer to directly browse the TVs at your favourite retailers instead of our highlights of the best cheap TV deals? We're updating this page on a regular basis, so you may have better look another day. If you want to take a look for yourself now though, here are the direct links to a the full collection of TV deals at multiple stores. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S5 release date, news and rumors Posted: 22 Apr 2019 12:45 PM PDT Samsung Galaxy Tab S5 leaks and rumors are already starting to circulate, and we may be several months away from the announcement of the new tablet. Before that day comes, we want to keep track of all the bits of information we've heard and all of the hopes and expectations we have for the future Galaxy Tab S5. It's been less than a year since Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab S4, so it may still be early to start wishing for a Galaxy Tab S5. To hold us over, Samsung did launch a more budget-focused Galaxy Tab S5e back in February, though the new tablet has taken more than two months to actually release in stores. It's also worth noting that the Galaxy Tab S5e isn't the full Galaxy Tab S5we're expecting. It offers a slimmer, lighter design and can come configured with up to 6GB of RAM, but it has no S Pen and uses a mid-tier chipset. That may be why the Galaxy Tab S4 still costs over 50% more than the Galaxy Tab S5e. So, with the Galaxy Tab S5e not serving as a true successor to the Tab S4, here's what we want to see from the real heir to the Tab S family throne. Cut to the chase
Price and release dateWe've only got a little to go on in this department, but history can be a decent indicator. The Galaxy Tab S4 launched alongside the Galaxy Note 9 in August 2018. So, the new tablet will presumably launch alongside a new phone once again. We anticipate an August launch for the Galaxy Note 10, and therefore expect the Galaxy Tab S5 in August as well. In terms of price, the Tab S5 will likely launch in the ballpark of $650 (£599) at a minimum. This was the launch price of the Galaxy Tab S4. But, if Samsung includes some of the upgrades we hope to see in the Galaxy Tab S5, the price could go up a considerable amount.
Image Credit: TechRadar Some screen upgradesSamsung's Galaxy Tab S4 did upgrade the display from the Tab S3, but the Tab S5 could stand to go even further. The Tab S4 has a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED displays with 2560x1600 resolutions.For the front of the Galaxy Tab S5e, Samsung managed to stuff that same 10.5-inch display from the Galaxy Tab S4 into a frame that it smaller in every dimension. That makes them plenty sharp, and in that regard, the Galaxy Tab S5 doesn't really need to make any improvements to still offer excellent visual clarity. But, even with the newly reduced bezels on the Galaxy Tab S5e, there's still a considerable amount more needless black border on the 2018 tablet than on Samsung's new, premium smartphones. With the Galaxy Tab S5, it would be exciting to see a bit more screen filling the space. Samsung could theoretically fit an 11.5-inch display in the same form factor as the Galaxy Tab S5e, and that would leave almost no bezel. A bezel-free Galaxy Tab S5 would also help resolve one of our main complaints with the Tab S5e, its bland design. And, while Samsung's at it, the in-screen fingerprint scanner from the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus would be nice to see. Support for new HDR standards, pleaseWhile this is technically still a matter of the screen (to a degree), we feel the high dynamic range on the Galaxy Tab series should be explained more clearly. Samsung doesn't provide many details when it comes to HDR on its tablets. Sure, they get sharp, Super AMOLED displays that can display great visuals, but as more and more content is getting the HDR treatment, it would be good to see a full commitment to new HDR standards from Samsung on some of its biggest OLED displays. That Galaxy Tab S4 has a screen that Samsung lists as "HDR-ready," and the Tab S3 product page listed HDR support but only for video on the Amazon app. The Galaxy Tab S5e having what appears to be the same display as the S4 is presumably also HDR-ready, but what this means for users is unclear. If you go to the main product pages for the Tab S5e, you won't find any mention of HDR for the display, and the Tab S4 doesn't say anything more than HDR-ready. Meanwhile, if you check Samsung's latest phones' product page, you'll see clear certification for HDR10+ on all four models. The large tablet display of the Galaxy Tab S5 would make it an ideal platform for content consumption, and official support for the new standards in HDR like HDR10+ or even Dolby Vision would be an excellent improvement. Better still if that support isn't limited to just a few apps.
Image Credit: TechRadar The latest Qualcomm chipsetWe've already seen a leak suggesting that the Galaxy Tab S5 will get the Snapdragon 855 chipset that powers the new Galaxy S10 phones and Galaxy Fold. Here's to hoping that rumor is true. When the Galaxy Tab S4 launched, it didn't get the latest chipset at the time, opting instead for the Snapdragon 835 over the the Snapdragon 845. For a tablet that could be used for productivity, seeing an outdated chipset is not exciting, as it just means everything will be that little bit slower. And, the Galaxy Tab S5e didn't even get a high-end chipset, with Samsung going for the mid-tier Snapdragon 670 instead. So, for the Galaxy Tab S5, we hope the Snapdragon 855 will be powering everything. And, in the tablet form factor, maybe an advanced cooling solution can be applied to help the CPU run even faster than it does in phones, perhaps by means of overclock as the Asus ROG Phone does. Topping it off with 8GB of RAM would also be helpful for multitasking. The Snapdragon 855 chipset would also open up the door for a number of other features, like an in-screen fingerprint scanner, HDR10 video capture, HDR10+ video playback, 10-bit color, and support for dual-4K external displays. The return of S Pen and DexThere are two features we fully expect to see come back with the Galaxy Tab S5. Samsung's S Pen is a staple of the tablet family, yet it was excluded from the Galaxy Tab S5e. Not only was it not included with purchases of that tablet, but it isn't supported for users who buy it separately. For the Galaxy Tab S5, we believe the S Pen will be back with some new flourish. The Galaxy Tab S4 launched alongside the Galaxy Note 9 with upgrades to the S Pen, if the Galaxy Tab S5 indeed launches alongside the Galaxy Note 10, the pair may tout even more S Pen upgrades, like a built-in camera. We also expect Samsung's Dex feature to come back with the Tab S5. It was also excluded from the Tab S5e, but for a more premium device like the Galaxy Tab S5, Samsung should include its desktop-like Dex experience for users that want to be productive on their tablet. Wireless PowerShareThe Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus have considerably large batteries for smartphones, so Samsung included a nifty feature first introduced by Huawei: the ability to wirelessly share your phone's battery. Samsung calls it Wireless PowerShare. Given that the Galaxy Tab S5 will have a substantially larger battery than Samsung's phones, it could make sense to offer that same feature here. This would let the the Tab S5 serve as a tablet and on-the-go wireless battery bank.
Image Credit: TechRadar 5G and Wi-Fi 6Connectivity is seeing some big shifts right now, and it would benefit customers to get a little future-proofing from their premium tablet in that regard. Wi-Fi 6 is a new standard for connectivity that supports higher performance, faster speeds, and more connected devices. With networks are becoming more congested, it only makes sense for the Tab S5 to be prepared for the latest network standard. On that note, 5G may also be a smart optional feature, even if it's only for Samsung to get 'first 5G tablet' bragging rights. Not everyone is going to need 5G in 2019 or even 2020, but as mobile carrier's roll-out of the new technology you may benefit from the extra bandwidth – eventually. If Samsung includes the Snapdragon 855 chipset, it could also include a 5G modem. As with most other tablets, adding a cellular connectivity option tends to bump the price up, and a 5G option would likely be a considerable bump compared to just 4G LTE connectivity. But, it may be worth it for some.
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| OnePlus 7 release date, price, news and rumors Posted: 22 Apr 2019 11:59 AM PDT The OnePlus 7 release date is expected in the next few weeks, and due to all of the rumors, we know so much about this phone and the OnePlus 7 Pro already. New OnePlus 7 leaks point to at least two phones that will compete with the best smartphones – especially the best Android smartphones – with a gaming-ready silky smooth screen that has a 90Hz refresh rate. OnePlus has even told us one core feature about its next handset: the OnePlus 7 will be one of the first phones to support 5G. But it may not arrive on its own, with rumors pointing to a OnePlus 7 Pro as well as the standard OnePlus 7. Update: OnePlus 7 will have a 'super-smooth screen, according to its CEO, which hints at the 90Hz refresh rate. The phone may also come with a gradient color scheme. Below you'll find everything that we've heard so far, and we’ll be sure to add any leaks and rumors on the OnePlus 7 to this page when we hear them. Cut to the chase
OnePlus 7 release date and priceThe OnePlus 7 will probably land sometime in the middle of 2019. The OnePlus 6 was announced on May 16, 2018, so a OnePlus 7 launch date of May 2019 is a possibility. That fits nicely with a OnePlus 7 launch date leak which pegs the device's arrival for May 14. That's a date that we've now heard more than once, even if the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 3 arrived in June of their respective years. There's no word on the OnePlus 7 price, but the OnePlus 6T - the most recent handset from the firm – launched at $549 / £499 / AU$599 and prices have been gradually creeping up since the range began, so we’d expect the OnePlus 7 will cost at least that much if not more. If you want 5G though you might have to pay more. OnePlus has confirmed that it's working on a 5G phone and while it's not known whether the OnePlus 7 will support 5G, the company's CEO has said that its 5G handset will cost between $200 and $300 more than its next 4G device. The 90Hz refresh rate and 5G capabilities are where the OnePlus 7 Pro may come into place. We know the company is working on both a 5G and a 4G phone, so you should be able to get a OnePlus 7 4G phone if you're not up for paying so much. And in the US you might be able to buy it from a carrier, as this is something OnePlus has said it's looking into again. Last year's OnePlus 6T was available through T-Mobile if you didn't want to pay for the entire phone upfront and unlocked.
Image Credit: TechRadar OnePlus 7 news and rumorsWe've seen numerous images seemingly showing the OnePlus 7, with the clearest look coming from the renders below, which show an almost bezel-free screen with a pop-up selfie camera, while the back has a triple-lens camera. You can also see this design in some renders from a case-maker. The pop-up selfie camera isn't visible, but a cut-out in the cases to make space for it is. These images can be seen below. That same design was suggested in leaked photos too, some of which show an all-screen design with no visible selfie camera, and one of which shows a raised section slightly above the screen, which could be part of the mechanism for a slide-out camera. Since then we've seen other photos, but these supposedly show the 'OnePlus 7 Pro', which according to another source is one of three upcoming models - the other two being the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro 5G. The photos of the OnePlus 7 Pro can be seen below, showing a curved screen and no top bezel. The images also list the phone as having a 6.67-inch screen, a Snapdragon 855 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and three cameras, with 48MP, 16MP and 8MP lenses.
Image Credit: IT station (Weibo) It seems that all of the images showing a phone with a pop-up camera might actually be the OnePlus 7 Pro though, according to a recent leak, which included renders supposedly showing the standard OnePlus 7. You can see these below. They look a lot like the OnePlus 6T, with a teardrop notch rather than a pop-up camera and two rather than three rear cameras, though unlike the 6T the flash is inside the camera block, and the screen is apparently 6.2 inches (where the 6T is 6.41). Since then we've heard more details about the possible specs of the OnePlus 7 Pro. According to a reliable source, the OnePlus 7 Pro has a QHD+ Super AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. That makes it higher resolution than any current OnePlus handset and with a higher refresh rate than most phones from any company. A high refresh rate can make interactions feel smoother. While this is the first we've heard of such a high refresh rate, it looks likely to be the case, as the CEO of OnePlus has also tweeted a teaser saying that the next product from the company will not just be fast but also smooth. The same source as those screen details above came from also says that the OnePlus 7 Pro has dual speakers, a 4,000mAh battery with 30W Warp Charge (a speedy charging tech), and a triple-lens rear camera, including both a telephoto lens and a wide-angle one. And another source has outlined some of the possible differences between the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro. They say that while the OnePlus 7 has a 6.4-inch flat screen, the 7 Pro has a 6.64-inch curved one, and that as the pictures above show the OnePlus 7 has a teardrop notch, while the Pro has a pop-up camera and no notch. They also say that there are two rear cameras on the OnePlus 7, with one of them being 48MP. The OnePlus 7 Pro also apparently has a 48MP lens, but joined by two others - a telephoto one and an ultra-wide one. They also mention the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, which sounds to have the same specs as the standard Pro model, just with 5G on board. That's believable, as the company has previously claimed that it will launch one of the first 5G phones this year. The OnePlus 7 isn't named, but that's possibly what they're talking about (though the company's first 5G-capable phone might end up being the next one released, the OnePlus 7T). Likewise, the company announced it will release the first 5G phone in Europe. OnePlus is partnering with the UK network EE to bring said phone to the UK at some point in 2019. A prototype of that phone has been shown off, complete with a Snapdragon 855 chipset and what appears to be a 21:9 screen - though elsewhere there are reports that the final device won't have a 21:9 screen, and nor will it have wireless charging. But it's entirely possible that the OnePlus 7 won't be the 5G-connected phone the company has been talking about. Sources said that the 5G device will be the first in an entirely new line, and another rumor hinted that it may start at $649 (or $100 more than the 6T). That said, as noted above, more than one source reckons the 5G phone will be called the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, suggesting it will be a version of the OnePlus 7. We've also seen possible case renders for the 5G model, which you can see below. We'd take these with a huge side of salt though, as they look more like the OnePlus 6T than most of the OnePlus 7 leaks we're seeing. They do look similar to some renders above, supposedly showing the standard OnePlus 7, but we'd expect the 5G model to be more in line with the OnePlus 7 Pro. We also have an idea of what colors the OnePlus 7 Pro at least might come in. Most images has shown it in black, which is very likely to be one option, but a couple of case renders have shown it in gradient color schemes. You can see these below - one goes from green to black to blue, while the other shifts from pink to black to purple. We'd take these with a pinch of salt, but they'd certainly help it stand out. Beyond all this, all models of the OnePlus 7 will probably have a glass back, since OnePlus only recently switched to glass with the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T. It’s likely to also have an alert slider, since previous handsets in the range do, and it’s sure to have the best Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset available - the Snapdragon 855. The OnePlus 7 is sure to also have loads of RAM. The OnePlus 6T tops out at 8GB and the company has also launched OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition which has 10GB of RAM, so the OnePlus 7 may well match that. Don’t expect a microSD card slot though based on past form and the screen resolution is very much a question mark – OnePlus has consistently stuck with Full HD resolutions, but that’s feeling ever more dated so sooner or later we’d expect a switch to QHD or higher. Since the 6T got rid of the headphone jack, it's likely OnePlus won't bring it back for the 7. What we want to seeWe don’t know anything much about the OnePlus 7 yet but based on the OnePlus 6 and what’s going on in the rest of the phone world we know what we want from it. 1. A QHD screen
The OnePlus 6 has a good screen, but it could stand to be sharper OnePlus always packs its phones full of cutting-edge specs and features, yet it always sticks with a Full HD screen, which isn’t a match for most of the top-end flagships. That may well be keeping costs down, but it’s time the range made the jump to QHD, especially given that its screens are getting bigger, so we want to see that happen for the OnePlus 7. 2. A microSD card slotYou can get a decent amount of storage in the OnePlus 6 but you don’t get a microSD card slot, so if the amount it ships with isn’t enough you’ll have to start deleting things. That’s not ideal and while the 256GB top size should be plenty for most people it won’t be for everyone – especially those who plan to pack their phone full of music, films and games. So adding a slot into the OnePlus 7 would be much appreciated. 3. Proper water resistance
The OnePlus 6 should survive a spill, but we want more of a guarantee from the OnePlus 7 The OnePlus 6 has some water resistance, but it doesn’t have an IP rating. So it should be able to survive a splash if you dry it off quickly but can’t really be put in the water. Not that we’d advise doing that in general with most phones, but knowing that it would survive if you did – or if you use it in heavy rain - could give some real peace of mind that you don’t get with the OnePlus 6, so we’d like to see this improved for the OnePlus 7. 4. Stereo speakersThe OnePlus 6 has just a single speaker, and its placement at the base of the phone makes it easy to muffle, so we’d like to see it ideally moved and definitely doubled up for the OnePlus 7, with a second speaker allowing for loud stereo sound. Sure, you’ll probably mostly use headphones anyway, but having a quality speaker setup can make all the difference when you just want to watch a YouTube video or listen to a podcast without plugging in. 5. No notch
For the OnePlus 7 we want no notch and no bezels The OnePlus 6T is one of many recent phones to get a notch, and while it can be hidden if you prefer, what we’d really prefer for the OnePlus 7 is no notch at all. But we don’t want a return to big bezels either. We’re starting to see phones like the Vivo Nex and Oppo Find X which have almost no bezel at all and we’d like the OnePlus 7 to join them. This isn’t out of the question, especially as Oppo is heavily linked with OnePlus. In fact, current leaks point in this direction. 6. Wireless chargingDespite having a glass back, the OnePlus 6 doesn’t support wireless charging, which seems like a major omission for a flagship phone. This is probably a cost-cutting measure and, in a sense, seems reasonable, since we doubt wireless charging is a heavily used feature, but it would be nice to have. 7. An in-screen cameraAlong with an all-screen design we’d like the OnePlus 7 to have an in-screen camera. Most leaks point in the direction of a pop-up solution, but an in-screen one would be so much more elegant. We don't think this is likely for the OnePlus 7, but you never know. After all, just such a camera has been rumored for at least one phone.
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| Save $100 on Dyson vacuum cleaners at Walmart and Amazon Posted: 22 Apr 2019 11:26 AM PDT Spring is officially here, and for most of us, that means beautiful weather, vacations and the inevitable spring cleaning. To help you with this daunting task, retailers like Walmart are slashing the prices on top-brand cleaning appliances that can normally be quite pricey. Right now you can get the Dyson DC33 Upright Vacuum on sale for $179.99. That's a $100 discount and the best price we've seen for the bagless vacuum. The Dyson vacuum cleaner works on all indoor surfaces so you can seamlessly clean your carpets, tile and wood floors without having to switch inputs or change the vacuum head. The powerful DC33 features root cyclone technology and a lifetime HEPA filter to capture dirt and microscopic particles and remove allergens and bacteria from your home. Because this vacuum is bagless, the dirt is stored in a hygienic bin that's conveniently released with a push of the button. The Dyson DC33 includes a wand and hose that releases in one smooth action and includes tools to help clean hard to reach areas such as curtains, stairs, ceilings and more. Dyson vacuum deals:If you're interested in a cordless vacuum cleaner, Amazon has the best-selling Dyson V6 Motorhead Vacuum on sale for $149.99. The powerful V6 offers 75% more brush bar power than the V6 Cord-free vacuum and the motorized head can clean any floor type. If you want to shop other Dyson vacuum sales, see our best cheap Dyson deals and offers that are currently available. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Samsung Galaxy Fold launch officially delayed – no release date in sight Posted: 22 Apr 2019 10:25 AM PDT Update: Samsung has officially announced it's delaying the Galaxy Fold, specifically pointing to feedback from early reviewers that showed the device "needs further improvements." Initial findings, the company wrote, suggested the impact on top and bottom of the hinge might have lead to issues with the display, as well as substances that filtered into the device. Samsung didn't state how long the launch would be delayed, only that they'll announce a new release date "in the coming weeks." The Galaxy Fold is malfunctioning, according to a handful of tech journalists, and that's been enough for Samsung to delay the planned April 26 launch by a least a month, according to The Wall Street Journal. Sources told the publication that they haven’t decided on a specific launch date for the Fold, but said that the revised rollout window should be in the “coming weeks.”
This news comes a day after another report claimed the Galaxy Fold launches had been delayed in China, but was still scheduled for April 26 in the US. Assumedly, the Wall Street Journal's story suggests a larger global launch delay in a rush to fix the issues that have called the Galaxy Fold’s durability into question. Fixing the foldSeveral tech outlets and online reviewers who got an early look at the device – which was slated to be the world’s first mainstream foldable phone to hit stands –innocuously peeled off what looked to be a screen protector covering the unfolded inner screen. This caused the inside display to malfunction and, in some cases, stop working entirely. At least one other reporter, who didn’t remove the inner screen protector, tweeted that one side of the display started flickering after a few days of basic wear and tear. Another said in a tweet that one side was responding faster than the other, resulting in a “jelly” problem. Those half-dozen reports quickly sent Samsung into damage control mode, assuring that the company was investigating these instances. We’ll have to see if these reported delays indicate a more serious problem in the Galaxy Fold’s design and durability, or if there are quick and lasting fixes for the first big attempt to launch a flagship foldable phone. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Blink XT home security camera gets a $50 price cut at Amazon Posted: 22 Apr 2019 08:45 AM PDT If you're looking for a cheap and easy-to-install home security system, then you've come to the right place. Amazon has the wireless Blink XT home security kit on sale for just $79.99. That's a $50 discount and the lowest price we've found for the best-selling one-camera system. The Blink home security camera is battery powered and includes two AA lithium batteries that offer an impressive two-year battery life. The weatherproof security camera can be used for indoor and outdoor use and features infrared night vision so you can monitor your home in the dark. The Blink camera also includes a built-in motion sensor that sends alerts to your smartphone or tablet when motion is detected. There's no monthly subscription fee with Blink, and you can even stream a live HD video from the camera with the compatible app. The Blink XT also works with Amazon Alexa so you can control your entire home security system with the command of your voice. Like we mentioned above, this is the best price we've seen for the top-rated Blink XT, so if you've wanted to add security to your home - now is a perfect time. If you're interested in a two-camera kit, Amazon has the Blink XT home security system on sale for $139.99. That's a $90 discount and the best price we've found for the two-camera security kit. You can find more home security sales with the best cheap home security camera deals that are currently available. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| OnePlus 7 Pro confirmed to have a 'super-smooth' display and 5G, but cost more Posted: 22 Apr 2019 08:07 AM PDT Your decision between the forthcoming OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro just a little bit easier to make, thanks to fresh specs confirmed by the company's CEO today. The OnePlus 7 Pro will feature a new display that 'stunned' CEO Peter Lau, who has described it as "super-smooth and very crisp," according to an interview with The Verge.
Previous rumors suggest that the OnePlus 7 Pro display will sport a 90Hz refresh rate, and that appears to be exactly what Lau is translating in this interview. The piece also indicates that 5G will be offered by the OnePlus 7 series, making it one of the first 5G phones in the world, though it also tempers 5G expectations. That's very not different from many of the first 5G phones we tested. Two reasons the OnePlus 7 Pro display mattersWe've seen smartphone screens with higher-than-60Hz refresh rates before: 90Hz from the Asus ROG Phone and even 120Hz from the Razer Phone and Razer Phone 2. They are silky smooth when gaming and even when scrolling a webpage. However, if the OnePlus 7 Pro indeed has a 90Hz refresh rate, it'll be the first inside of a more mainstream phone, not a gaming-centric handset for a niche audience. That's an important development that could push Samsung and Apple to finally adopt similar screen technology. But, equally important is how it'll effect the price. The OnePlus interview suggests that the company is paying three times as much for the cutting-edge display in the OnePlus 7 Pro. For OnePlus fans used to a cheap phone with flagship-level specs, this is going to be a different sort of game changer. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S4: what’s the best premium tablet available now? Posted: 22 Apr 2019 07:00 AM PDT Some people want a tablet as a cheap laptop-lite, but others are looking for a processing powerhouse with an impressive display and other cutting-edge features, and both Apple and Samsung have this corner of the market covered with the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, two top-end tablets. Both companies have designed devices that could easily trump many laptops in terms of specs and design, but they also sit at the top of the food chain in terms of price, and you’ll have a hard time spending more on a slate than you can on these two tablets.
But which premium tablet is the best you can buy right now, the Android or iOS powerhouse? We put the two head-to-head to figure it out. PriceOne massive difference between the iPad Pro 12.9 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is the price. The Galaxy Tab S4 comes in two variants, one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which will set you back $650 / £509 / AU$979 for a Wi-Fi-only connection or $730 / £559 / AU$1,179 for LTE, and another with 256GB storage which costs $750 / AU$1,179 for Wi-Fi and AU$1,379 for LTE – this larger size isn’t available in the UK or with cell connection in the US. You can buy the iPad Pro with four different amounts of memory – 64GB, 256GB, 512GB, and a massive 1TB model – and after that you can choose Wi-Fi-only or LTE, and on top of that the Apple Pencil ($129 / £119 / AU$199) and Smart Keyboard ($169 / £169 / AU$299) aren’t included, whereas the S Pen is for the Galaxy Tab S4, which will all add up quickly. For a full breakdown of all the iPad Pro 12.9 prices check out the graph below, but just know you could be spending between $999 / £969 / AU$1529 and $2,197 / £2,157 / AU$3,367 depending on the size of the tablet and how many peripherals you include – that’s a considerable amount more than the Galaxy Tab S4.
The iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) image prices. Image credit: TechRadar DisplayThe iPad Pro 12.9 has a significantly bigger display than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, which at 10.5 inches is closer in size to the aging iPad Pro 10.5. The iPad Pro 12.9 has an LCD display with Apple’s ‘Liquid Retina’ LCD tech, which is nearly as sharp and colorful as a typical OLED display, and colors shown on it were bright and clear, although black wasn’t exactly as dark as it would be on an OLED screen. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 has an AMOLED display, which displays colors just that little bit better, and has a higher max brightness as well. However, you’re getting 2.4 inches less of that high-quality display than the iPad Pro, and pixel density is similar, with the 1600 x 2560 Tab S4 coming in at 287 pixels per inch, while the iPad’s 2048 x 2732 screen is 265 pixels per inch, so it’s up to you which is better for content and work. DesignWith a bigger screen comes a bigger body, and fittingly the iPad Pro 12.9 is a much bigger tablet than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. With a 280.6 x 214.9 x 5.9mm body, the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) is very wide, although it’s actually thinner than the Galaxy Tab S4, which has dimensions of 249.3 x 164.3 x 7.1 mm, though 7.1mm is still thin as handheld devices go. There’s a big weight difference though – while the iPad Pro 12.9 weighs 631g for the Wi-Fi model and 633g for LTE, the Galaxy Tab S4 is much lighter at 482g and 483g respectively. In terms of overall appearance, though, the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) and Galaxy Tab S4 are probably the most similar an iOS and Android tablet have looked – they both have button-less fronts with screens that go nearly to the edge, and they both have rears that are rather clean save for a camera (the Galaxy Tab S4 has one that’s central, whereas the iPad Pro’s is in a corner). One difference that may make a difference to some is regarding headphone ports – the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) doesn’t have one and you’d have to use an adaptor with its USB-C port if you want to use wired headphones, whereas the Galaxy Tab S4 comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack alongside its USB-C connector. PeripheralsBoth the iPad Pro 12.9 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 have a pen and keyboard peripheral to change how you use the tablet. You can get the S Pen, the Galaxy Tab S4’s stylus, included with the tablet, however the Apple Pencil for the iPad Pro costs $129 / £119 / AU$199. We found the S Pen great for purpose – unlike the Apple Pencil it doesn’t require charging, has a holster on the keyboard, and has a protrusion on the side so it doesn’t roll away, so it’s probably the better tablet stylus. You have to buy both the Smart Keyboard ($169 / £169 / AU$299) for the iPad Pro and the Book Cover Keyboard ($150, roughly £115, AU$210) for the Galaxy Tab S4, but we found the latter too fiddly, with loads of unnecessary buttons, and it slowed down our workflow, so we can’t recommend it as a useful addition. Battery lifeThe iPad Pro 12.9 has a 9,720mAh battery while the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4’s power pack is only 7,300mAh – on the surface it would seem that the former would last far longer, but that’s not necessarily the truth. The iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) didn’t feel optimized for everyday use, and it lost charge rather quickly for its battery size, whereas the Galaxy Tab S4 seemed to last a lot longer in our experience. When we put them both through our battery test, in which we play a 90-minute video at full brightness with Wi-Fi on and accounts syncing in the background, the iPad Pro lost 22% charge while the Galaxy Tab S4 only dropped 12% – that shows the latter is optimized a lot better for media use, and can play games or stream content for longer.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. Image credit: TechRadar Charging was quicker on the iPad Pro though, as it took two and a half hours to charge to full instead of three and a quarter. Neither supports wireless charging, which is a shame because of how convenient the feature is, but also understandable given the confusing logistics of balancing a tablet on a wireless charger. FeaturesThe biggest difference between the two tablets is that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 runs the Android 9 operating system whereas the iPad Pro 12.9 runs on Apple’s iOS 12 – both have fans and people who dislike them, but ultimately they run rather similarly. In terms of specs, the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) knocks its competitor out of the water. While the Galaxy Tab S4 runs on a mid-to-high range Snapdragon 835 chipset, and has 4GB of RAM, the iPad Pro has the superior A12X Bionic processor with 4GB of RAM (unless you get the 1TB version with 6GB). This extra processing power gets you a faster framerate in games, quicker video rendering, and a whole other range of features.
iPad Pro 12.9 (2018). Image credit: TechRadar Other than that, the tablets run in pretty similar ways – both support face recognition to unlock, both can support split-screen modes so you can run multiple apps at the same time, and both are just as useful as media players as they are work tools. VerdictThe biggest thing to decide if you’re split between an iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) or a Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is the price – the cheapest iPad Pro model costs quite a bit more than the Galaxy Tab S4, and the most expensive model costs a lot more. Whether the extra price will provide extra value depends on what you’re looking for in a tablet – the extra screen space, better specs and access to iOS (which, if we’re being honest, is a little better suited to tablets) is a blessing, but if you just want a ‘big phone’ you don’t need to shell out that much. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The best WordPress hosting 2019 Posted: 22 Apr 2019 06:42 AM PDT Getting started with WordPress website hosting doesn't have to be expensive, after all the 15-year old WordPress is free (and open source). Even the cheapest shared hosting plan usually comes with a one-click WordPress installer, allowing the greenest of blogging newbies to have their first post ready in less than 60 seconds (we tried it). Managing a blog over time is much more challenging, though. You'll need to find your own themes and plugins. And also keep them, and WordPress itself, up-to-date (although you can even get that done automatically). Blogs are often targeted by malware, so it's important you have some way to detect and remove any threats, and you'll want regular backups to help get a broken blog working again. There's a long list of hosting companies offering WordPress plans, but we've picked out five of the best to point you in the right direction. Whether you're a first-time user or a big business, there's something for you here, and with prices starting at around a pound per month, it's well worth taking the time to find out more.
These are the best WordPress hosting services of 2019
Image Credit: Bluehost Budget WordPress hosting can have a lot of appeal, but it usually won't deliver the features, performance or reliability that high traffic sites need. If you're the demanding type, opting for a premium hosting plan will give you much better results.
Bluehost has created its own VPS-based architecture to deliver optimum WordPress performance via NGINX, a custom PHP-FPM setup and intelligently allocated resources through KVM hypervisor. (If you're not a hosting geek, this just means Bluehost has taken the time to optimize the low-level setup of its platform for WordPress, rather than simply making do with a standard configuration.) The company doesn't waste time by pretending to offer ‘unlimited’ resources, and instead tells you exactly what you're going to get. For the WP Standard plan, this means 30GB storage, 1TB bandwidth, and key resources – 2GB RAM, two CPU cores – which are allocated to you, and not shared with anyone else. Premium features include SiteLock Pro to keep your website malware-free, SiteLock CDN to optimize performance, a dedicated IP, and the ability to manage multiple sites with the excellent ManageWP. New Bluehost accounts will also get a free service called Blue Spark, which is designed to help newcomers with everything WordPress related. This isn't cheap, with even the baseline Standard plan costing $19.99 (£15.20) a month for the initial term, rising to $39.99 (£28.60) afterwards. But you are getting a lot for your money, and if you're more interested in power than price, Bluehost has even more available. The top-of-the-range Ultimate plan, for instance, gives you four CPU cores, 8GB RAM, 240GB storage and a monster 4TB bandwidth. SiteLock Enterprise handles all your security and CDN needs, and there's a wildcard SSL thrown in. Ultimate costs $49.99 (£35.70) a month initially, $129.99 (£93) after that, but that's a fair price for this spec, and Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you feel the service doesn't deliver. There are also shared WordPress hosting plans available with fewer features and lower performance but they are cheaper, starting at $2.95 ($7.99 on renewal) per month. Furthermore, a managed hosting solution called WordPress Pro that has been optimized for WordPress websites is also available, with prices starting at $19.95 per month.
Image Credit: Tsohost Managed WordPress packages can often feel overpriced. Many hosts charge significant premiums for impressive sounding claims – optimized servers, malware scanning – that are difficult to evaluate or confirm. The UK-based Tsohost isn't interested in any of that, instead focusing on providing the core WordPress essentials at a very fair price. The baseline Startup plan gives you a free domain name, will migrate your existing site, includes Let's Encrypt SSL support and has no limits on bandwidth. You get daily backups and can restore any of the last 30 days with a click. There's 24/7 support via ticket and email, and phone and live chat is available from 7am to midnight. You get a hundred 200MB mailboxes, and the plan restricts you to 15GB storage and 100,000 page views a month. If that's enough for you, the plan costs ~$4.15(£3.16) a month paid annually, or ~$3.8(£2.92) if you pay for two years upfront. If that's just too underpowered, opting for the Business plan gets you 50GB of storage, 100x1GB mailboxes, and up to 500,000 page views over a maximum of eight websites. That's significantly more capable, yet still very reasonably priced at ~$11.50(£8.78) a month, ~$9.62(£7.33) a month paid annually or ~$8.65(£6.59) a month paid biennially. The ~$31.50(£23.98) a month (~$26.20 a month paid annually or ~$23.60 a month paid biennially) eCommerce plan supports 100GB storage, 1,000,000 page views and unlimited 10GB mailboxes. Tsohost doesn't offer all the frills and extras you'll get with some products. There's no talk of SiteLock malware protection, optimized WordPress add-ons or a custom CDN. But it's hard to complain at this price, and Tsohost is still delivering a capable service with more than enough power for smaller sites.
Image Credit: Inmotion Hosting Most web hosts offer only a few WordPress plans, and even these might be set up to point you in a particular direction. You'll often see an underpowered plan, an overpriced one, and a special deal on the mid-range plan they really want you to buy. That makes it easy to decide, but it also limits your upgrade options if your site grows over time. InMotion Hosting is unusual in offering six WordPress plans, covering everything from small personal blogs to resellers and big business. Figuring out which is the best product for you will take a little more thought, but at least there's room to upgrade – or downgrade – if your circumstances change. Better still, InMotion hasn't artificially limited the low-end plans by removing key features. Even the baseline WP-1000S plan – which costs $6.99 (£5.3) a month initially (1-year plan), $9.99 (£7.70) on renewal – gives you 40GB storage, unlimited bandwidth and email addresses, preinstalled WordPress, SSL, backups, automatic updates, SiteLock security, cPanel site management, and extras like BoldGrid and WP-CLI. The only significant issue is InMotion's suggestion that the plan works best for blogs with up to 20,000 monthly visits, and even that won't be a problem for many smaller sites. Upgrading your plan gets you some extras – premium themes and plugin subscriptions, a dedicated IP address, support for hosting more sites – but it's mostly about giving you more resources. For example, the top-of-the-range WP-6000S plan supports 1,200,000 monthly visitors across up to 20 sites for $114.99 (£87.6) a month initially (1-year plan), $142.99 (£110) on renewal. There are cheaper deals around, but in previous reviews we've found InMotion to be reliable, professional and honest, and any price premium is likely to be worth paying. You don't have to take our word for it, though – an exceptional 90-day money-back guarantee gives you plenty of opportunity to find out for yourself.
Image Credit: 1&1 IONOS Web giant 1&1 IONOS seems to have a hosting product for every possible need, and WordPress is no exception. Novice users can try out its service for a nominal $1(£0.75) a month over the first six months ($9 or £6.90 afterwards), yet the plan still outperforms many competitors. The bundled 25GB of storage means you won't be running out of space in a hurry, for example. There are no bandwidth or visitor limits, and you can set up as many email accounts as you need. 1&1 IONOS offers the core WordPress management functions that you would expect: a setup wizard, preinstalled plugins, automatic updates and 24/7 support (including by telephone). Also, you get a personal consultant free of charge. All this is built on a capable platform – NGINX, PHP 7.2, OPcache, up to 2GB RAM guaranteed – to enhance your blog's performance. There's SSL included and even a free domain thrown in, which is ridiculously good value at this price. If you're a WordPress novice, it might be worth taking out the plan for an initial year, claiming your free domain and taking the time to learn how the blog works. When you time is up, renew if you're happy, or if you're not, use your knowledge and experience to find a better plan. 1&1 IONOS isn't just about newbies, though: there's value for more demanding users, too. In particular, the Pro plan gives you 5 managed Wordpress sites, 200GB SSD storage space, 50 databases (1GB max), and 500 email accounts. Bonus features include a CDN and SiteLock malware scanning, as well as RailGun content delivery network, and the price looks good at $1(£0.75) a month for the first six months, $15(£11.50) on renewal.
Image Credit: HostGator Choosing the best WordPress hosting package can seem like a complicated business, with a stack of low-level details and issues to consider. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you don't have special requirements then opting for a reliable web hosting company will get you capable mid-range products that can handle everything most users need. HostGator generally delivers powerful hosting plans for a fair price, and its managed WordPress range is no exception. Its Starter product may only cost $5.95 (£4.25) for three years, $9.95 (£7.10) afterwards, but you still get a free site migration, an SSL certificate, automatic malware detection and removal, unlimited email addresses and unmetered storage and bandwidth, and it can handle up to 100,000 visits a month. Ramping up to the high-end Business plan gets you more CPU power, support for up to three sites and 500,000 visits a month, yet still costs only $9.95 (£7.10) a month initially (first three years), $22.95 (£16.40) a month afterwards. Smart caching and a CDN are on hand to enhance your website's performance, 24/7 support helps keep your site up and running, and surprise bonus features include free domain privacy to protect from identity theft and reduce annoying spam. We've had good experiences with HostGator's service, but if you're not so lucky, there's a generous 45-day money-back guarantee. As with other hosting companies, this won't cover any domain registration fees, but it's still a better deal than you'll often find elsewhere. You might also want to check out our other website hosting buying guides:
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| UK government adds 12,000 snippets of info to Alexa and Google Assistant Posted: 22 Apr 2019 06:30 AM PDT The more precise Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant can be, the more useful they are – and with that in mind the UK government has added a hefty 12,000 pieces of information to the digital assistants. That means not only can you ask your smart speaker how the weather forecast is looking or how tall the Tower of London is, you can also ask when the next bank holiday is scheduled for or what the current minimum wage is. The data also covers questions like "what age can I retire?" and "how do I apply for a passport?" – all the sort of stuff you might search a government website for (the Gov.uk sites are the primary source for the new data).
"This is all about making life easier for people who need to access information about government services," Minister for Implementation Oliver Dowden said in a press statement. "And with millions now using smart speakers, I want government to keep up and work smarter too." More on the wayThe new information data dump is the result of six months of testing, planning and preparation, and should be live now on devices enabled with Alexa or Google Assistant – there's no need to run a manual update. Government agencies say more information is on the way too, and smart speakers could soon be able to give you details of how to get married and how to renew your car tax. It's more evidence of the growing intelligence of these smart assistants, which to begin with could run basic web searches for data and that was about it. Nowadays they're far more nuanced and comprehensive – but the most accurate and useful results come when information is specifically organised and added, as is the case with the UK government here. Via Android Police This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Realme 3 Pro vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro Posted: 22 Apr 2019 06:09 AM PDT Celebrating its first anniversary, Realme Mobiles unveiled their top-of-the-line Realme 3 Pro that is going to take on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro in India. In just a short span of one year, the company has managed to take the fight to mid-range champions. Realme 3, which was launched just last month, has sold more than 600,000 units and has garnered a positive response. On the other side, we have Xiaomi’s crown jewel in the mid-range market, the Redmi Note 7 Pro which is the best phone one can get under Rs 15,000 in India. So, does the Realme 3 Pro manage to do one better than the Redmi Note 7 Pro? We find out in our specifications based comparison of both the phones. Price and availabilityRealme 3 Pro and Redmi Note 7 Pro are priced at the same mark- Rs 13,999 with 4GB RAM and Rs 16,999 with 6GB RAM. While the Redmi Note 7 Pro is selling like hot cakes both offline and online, Realme 3 Pro is set to go on its first sale on April 29 on Flipkart and Realme India Store. Design and DisplayBuilt out of polycarbonate, the Realme 3 Pro is 8.3 mm thick while the Redmi Note 7 Pro beats it at 8.1 mm even after having a glass built. There’s a layer of Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back of the Note 7 Pro, while the Realme 3 Pro has it on the display. The Redmi Note 7 Pro comes in three gradient color options- red, blue and black while the Realme 3 Pro will be available in grey, blue and purple hues. Both the phones have a 6.3-inch IPS display with Full HD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) resolution, topped with Gorilla Glass 5. The two phones implement a similar u-shaped notch design, giving the screen a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Given the asking price, the display on the Redmi Note 7 Pro is just good, as we noted in our review. CameraRealme 3 Pro brings the Sony IMX519 sensor with its dual camera setup. There’s a primary 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture which is assisted by a 5MP depth sensor. Redmi Note 7 Pro has a dual camera setup on the rear which consists of a primary 48MP sensor and a 5MP secondary camera for depth-sensing. On the front, the Realme 3 Pro sports a 25MP snapper whereas the Note 7 Pro has a 13MP selfie camera. The phones pack in really advanced photography hardware and we really impressed by the Redmi Note 7 Pro during our time with it. As for the Realme 3 Pro, we will be using its camera for some more time to have a verdict. Performance and batteryPowered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, the Realme 3 Pro has an octa-core CPU and Adreno 616 as its graphics processor. The Snapdragon 710 is usually found on phones priced upwards of Rs 20,000 but the Realme 3 Pro brings it down to the mid-range segment. Under the hood, Redmi Note 7 Pro is powered by Snapdragon 675 chipset with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 612. Both the phones are offered in two variants- 4GB RAM with 64GB storage and 6GB of RAM with 128GB onboard storage. Realme 3 Pro has a 4,045mAh battery which supports fast charging via VOOC 3.0 charging solution. The VOOC 3.0 20W adapter is provided in-the-box and can charge the battery upto 50% in around 30 minutes. The Note 7 Pro is fitted with a 4,000mAh battery and supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 but the fast charging adapted isn’t provided in-the-box and has to be purchased as a separate accessory. We’ll be using the Realme 3 Pro and will update this comparison with our overall experience soon.
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| Posted: 22 Apr 2019 06:00 AM PDT Handling employee paperwork can be a nightmare maze of tax and legal compliance issues. It's time consuming work that offers little obvious reward, and takes your attention from simply growing your business. For small business owners, it can be an welcome headache to tackle it directly, but even with larger businesses this means having to invest in HR managers and software which may not necessarily seem cost-effective, especially in the short-term. Luckily, there are a number of HR outsourcing options available. Some are full service providers, and cover everything from recruitment to payroll, to tax deductions and legal compliance. This can be especially beneficial for businesses that lack HR expertise or might find it expensive to build and accommodate their own HR team. Outsourcing allows another company to deal with all those complexities and liabilities for you. Others providers allow you to pick and choose which HR service you'd like to outsource. This is especially the case where a business may want to provide extra support for its existing HR department. After all, HR isn't all about tax and insurance, but also about employee recruitment and providing training provision. Third parties may be able offer these services to add another layer of expertise without having to introducing an administrative burden on your business. Some HR outsourcing companies are certified by the IRS or accredited by the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC), which can provide guarantees to the level of service, not least for avoiding double-taxation penalties. This can be especially important for large businesses. However, smaller HR outsourcing companies may not come with either credentials, but that doesn't mean they may be any less capable, especially when dealing with less complex small business needs. To help you choose between HR outsourcing providers, we've featured the five best below.
Image Credit: ADP ADP Comprehensive Services is designed for larger businesses that want to focus more on strategy, or else could benefit companies undergoing a merger or acquisition. The Comprehensive Services package allows a business to outsource either all of its HR services to ADP, or just selected HR services. The services available include employee recruitment, retention, and engagement, with performance management and compensation benchmarking. ADP can also handle all aspects of benefits administration, from carrier connections and eligibility reporting, to open enrollment administration, as well as new hire and life event enrollments, and all administrated under COBRA guidelines. ADP can also ensure compliance with legal frameworks, not least ACA and FMLA. Of course, ADP can also take on board payroll administration to reduce compliance risk, not least in dealing with managing time and attendance, but also with regards to federal and state tax changes, as well as offering proactive guidance on best practices. Overall, ADP is one of the biggest names in HR outsourcing, yet the Comprehensive Services package for HR outsourcing is designed for businesses with anywhere between 1-1000+ employees.
Image Credit: G&A Partners G&A Partners' Full-Service HR Solution provides an outsourced alternative for businesses to manage and administrate HR services, payroll, and employee benefits. They run this using their own HR technology platform, Worksight, which offers SaaS (Software as a Service) that works with SSO (Single Sign On) technology. Using Worksight, G&A are able to cover all aspects of recruitment, onboarding, time and attendance, performance management, benefits enrollment, and performance management. For recruitment, G&A use an applicant tracking system (ATS) which allows them to search online applicant databases in order to create job descriptions and compensation packages suitable to the post. G&A can screen applicants, and allow them to communicate through the recruitment process. The Worksight platform allows all employment forms to be signed and stored directly in the system, and provides real-time updates on the employee onboarding process. The time and attendance system allows for employees to clock in digitally, and also manage all aspects of creating and managing schedules, as well as vacations and sickness. G&A Partners also provides expert guidance on a range of other issues, not least safety at work compliance, healthcare reform, and benefits administration tailored to weighting these to the most needed positions as required. Overall, G&A Partners provides a wide range of services, which can be packages together as a single solution or worked with individually depending on which actual HR services you need.
Image Credit: Insperity Insperity offers HR outsourcing solutions according to two main plans: the first being 5-149 employees, and the second for 150-5000 employees. Both cover all the HR basics, not least HR admin and payroll, risk-management and compliance, benefits, as well as employee training and management. The main difference between the programs is a case of where the put the focus of the service, and of course the price. The first plan for small businesses is a full-service solution focused on providing a strong, stable, and supported HR management plan in the first place, while being able to offer insurance benefits normally expected with a Fortune 500 company. Insperity also uses its own software platform to manage all aspects of payroll, accounting, and cost administration, not to mention tax filing. As expected, they also provide support and advice for compliance and liability issues, as well as performance management. The second plan for medium to large businesses provides the same services while putting the focus on productivity and profitability, not least to work to prevent IT sprawl and inefficiencies that necessarily plague business systems the larger they get. The aim is to provide detailed cost inventory and manage them to ensure budget certainty. This is especially relevant where a business may be involved in a merger or acquisition and needs to integrate employees from different payroll systems into one. In all, Insperity provide a wide-ranging solution, and although two different plans have been mentioned, Insperity also provide individual HR services as required.
Image Credit: Paychex Paychex offers both human resources consulting as well as HR outsourcing and PEO services. This means you can look at different levels of service according to your business needs, from simply asking for guidance on how to better streamline your existing HR workflows, to completely outsourcing all of your HR and employment needs to Paychex. As expected, Paychex provides all the expected services in terms of HR management, payroll and benefits administration, as well as compliance and legal services. Where Paychex differs from the competition is its focus on digital streamlining where possible, in order to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity in all aspects of human resources management. For example, with Paychex Flex you can easily manage your business health insurance, section 125 plans, 401(k) and other employee benefits from a single online platform. Changes can be made in real-time, and set up so that employees can easily access the information without having to ask for it. The whole process means less time is spent on low-value administrative tasks, while streamlining existing procedures. Additionally, it's also easier to search for actionable insights to improve efficiency, with analytics automated to work through the Paychex HR management system to reveal trends and provide custom reporting. Altogether, Paychex is another strong company with a strong suite of services, and even better in that you can easily select the right level of service for your business.
Image Credit: TriNet TriNet offers a range of HR services, including HR consultancy, benefits management, payroll services, risk mitigation, all run through a single software platform. They can also provide mobile apps for employee expenses, time management, wages and benefits statements. These services can be taken packaged together, as individual outsourced services, or even a full-service PEO (Professional Employer Organization) as required. What makes TriNet standout a little more from its competition is that its advisers have specialist industry experience, not least in architecture & engineering, consulting, financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, marketing, retail, technology, and nonprofits. The aim is to make sure this expertise translates into actionable insights specific for your business, and therefore help improve some aspect of efficiency, workflows, or productivity. Another advantage of TriNet is that it charges on a per-employee basis, rather than as a percent of payroll. This means your HR costs are predictable and consistent, which can be especially advantageous to small businesses who need to have a very clear idea of costs. TriNet is also able to work comfortable with businesses of different sizes, tailoring plans accordingly, though some services may require an employee minimum to make them financially worthwhile. Overall, TriNet is a flexible provider that could offer industry insights while providing a comprehensive range of HR outsourcing services. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 22 Apr 2019 05:15 AM PDT Getting hold of an email account is easy. Sign up with an ISP and you’ve got one account for starters. Creating an account with Google and other big names will get you more. Buy a decent web hosting package and you'll probably get enough email addresses to power a large business, all for no extra charge. Getting the right email account is more difficult, as there's a lot to consider. What are the spam filters like? How easy is it to keep your inbox organized? Can you access the account from other email clients? And what about using the service with a custom domain and address of your own (yourname@yourdomain.com)? Keep reading and we'll highlight some of the best email providers around. All have decent free services, perhaps with ads and some limits, but we'll also talk about their business-friendly commercial products which deliver the power, functionality and enterprise-level extras that demanding users need.
The best email services of 2019 are:
Image credit: Proton Technologies Signing up with an email provider will often involve some privacy compromises. Yahoo Mail asks for your name and mobile number, for instance. Gmail and other services might scan your messages to carry out useful actions (such as adding events to calendars), and just about everyone serves you with ads. ProtonMail is a Swiss-based email service which focuses on privacy above all else. You can sign up anonymously, there's no logging of IP addresses, and all your emails are end-to-end encrypted, which means there's no way ProtonMail (or anyone else) can read their contents. Also, address verification (which allows you to be sure you are securely communicating with the right person) and full support for PGP email encryption is available. There are some significant limits. The free product has a tiny 500MB storage space, only supports sending 150 messages a day, and is distinctly short in terms of organizational tools (no folders, labels or smart filters). As the end-to-end encryption is specific to ProtonMail, it also ensures that you can't use the service with other email clients. Still, it seems a little unfair to complain about a service which is no-strings-attached free, and doesn't even show ads. In reality, ProtonMail is a specialist tool which is intended for use alongside services like Gmail – not to replace them – and overall it performs its core tasks very well. If you do need more, ProtonMail's $5 (you can choose to pay in USD, Euro and CHF) a month (or $48 yearly) Plus account gives you 5GB storage, a 1,000 message-per-day allowance, custom domains (you@yourdomain.com) and support for folders, labels, filters as well as some addition features like contact groups. A further Professional plan brings more storage, email addresses and a second custom domain, as well as adding a catch-all email address and multi-user support. It's priced from $8 per month per user (75$ yearly), which is reasonable if you need ProtonMail's security, although it's also notably more expensive than the business accounts of the big-name competition.
Image credit: Google First released back in 2004, Google's Gmail has become the market leader in free email services with more than a billion users across the globe. Gmail's stripped-back web interface is a highlight. Most of the screen is devoted to your inbox, with a minimum of toolbar and other clutter. Messages are neatly organized via conversations for easier viewing, and you can read and reply to emails with ease, even as a first-time user. There's plenty of power here. Dynamic mail makes Gmail more interactive, with the ability to take action directly from within the email, like filling out a questionnaire or responding to a Google Docs comment. Messages can be automatically filtered into tabbed categories like Primary, Social and Promotions, helping you to focus on the content you need. Leading-edge spam blocking keeps your inbox free of junk, you can manage other accounts from the same interface (Outlook, Yahoo, any other IMAP or POP email), and there's 15GB storage for your inbox, Drive and photos. You can also access Gmail offline, although you'll need Google Chrome for that to work. Furthermore, there is a neat snooze feature that allows you to, well, snooze an email for a specified amount of time (it also automatically labels that email as important). Other features are more questionable. Instead of organizing messages into folders, for instance – a simple metaphor which just about every user understands – you must filter them using a custom labelling system. This works, and has some advantages, but isn't popular with all users. Still, Gmail is an excellent service overall, and a good first choice for your email provider. Google makes a paid business-oriented version of Gmail available in the shape of its G Suite product. This more professional product drops the ads and allows using a custom email address on your domain (yourname@yourcompany.tld). Business-oriented migration tools can import mail from Outlook, Exchange, Lotus and more. Storage space doubles to 30GB on the Basic plan, and you get unlimited group email addresses, 99.9% guaranteed uptime and 24/7 support. G Suite is Google's answer to Microsoft Office, so of course you also get apps for working with documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Shared calendars keep you better organized, there's video and voice conferencing for online meetings, and again, there’s 24/7 support to keep your system running smoothly. This more Office-like power makes for a more expensive product than the email-only competition, with prices starting at $6 a user for the simplest plan. You're getting a lot for your money, though, and if you'll use G Suite's features then it could be a smart choice. A 14-day free trial provides an easy way to help you find out.
Image credit: Microsoft Outlook's web interface follows the same familiar style as its desktop incarnation, and most other email clients: folders and organizational tools on the left, the contents of the current folder in the center, and a simple preview pane on the right (with adverts in the case of the free account). A toolbar gives you speedy access to common features, and right-clicking folders or messages shows you just about everything else. If you've ever used another email client, you'll figure out the key details in moments. Despite the apparent simplicity, there's a lot going on under the hood. The service automatically detects important emails and places them in a Focused Inbox, keeping any distractions out of sight. Events including flights and dinner reservations can automatically be added to your calendar. It's easy to share that calendar with other Outlook.com or Office 365 users, or you can save your events to a Family calendar that everyone can access. Excellent attachment support includes the ability to directly share OneDrive files as copies or links. You can also attach files directly from your Google Drive, Dropbox and Box accounts, and a chunky 15GB mailbox allows storing plenty of files from other people. This all worked just fine for us, but if you're unhappy with the service defaults, there's a chance they can be tweaked via Outlook.com's Settings dialog. This doesn't have quite as many options as Gmail, but they're well organized and give you plenty of control over layout, attachment rules, message handling and more. If that’s still not enough, Microsoft offers a bunch of app-based integrations to take the service further. You get built-in Skype support via the beta, and apps give you easier access to Evernote, PayPal, GIPHY, Yelp, Uber and more. Upgrading to Office 365 gets you an ad-free inbox, 50GB mail storage and a vast 1TB of OneDrive storage. Extras include offline working, professional message formatting tools, phone or chat-based support, file recovery from malicious attacks like ransomware and more. Oh, and the latest versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. All this can be yours for the equivalent of $7 a month on the single user Office 365 Personal plan or you can pay 70$ for a year.
Image credit: Yahoo Yahoo Mail doesn't make the headlines so much, these days, but its latest version is a polished and professional service which stands up well against the top competition. The well-designed interface resembles Gmail, at least initially, with a large view of your inbox, one-click filters for common messages and content (Photos, Documents, Travel), and easy browsing of all the emails in a conversation. But you can also organize mails into custom folders, and the layout can be tweaked to display a message preview in a couple of clicks. Mobile users have some additional features like the option to unsubscribe to newsletters and such, without ever leaving the Yahoo Mail inbox. A powerful underlying engine can integrate with Facebook, supports sending SMS and text messages, is accessible via web, POP and (in some situations) IMAP, and can forward email to another address. Valuable extras include disposable email addresses to protect your privacy, and a mammoth 1TB of mailbox storage means you can keep just about everything you receive, for a very long time. Demanding users might find issues, over time. Mail organization can't quite match the flexibility of Gmail's labelling scheme, for instance, and there aren't nearly as many low-level tweaks, settings and options as you'll often see elsewhere. But overall, Yahoo Mail is an appealing service which needs to be on your email shortlist. As with other providers, Yahoo offers a Business Mail plan with more features. The highlight is an option to use the service with a custom domain (yourname@yourdomain.com), although there are other advantages, too. The service can import contacts from Facebook, Gmail, Outlook and more. You can view all your mailboxes on the same screen, and there are all the usual business-friendly productivity tools (multiple calendars, document handling, analytics and more). Prices start from $3.19 per mailbox per month, billed annually, and they drop as you add mailboxes – $1.59 for 5, $1.19 for 10, and for 20+ you'll need to contact them. Additionally, another pricing plan called Yahoo Mail Pro is available at $3.49 per month. This gives you ad-free inbox, priority customer support and additional features. There's even a free domain name included, and not just the initial registration: Yahoo will also renew it for as long as your subscription is active.
Image credit: Zoho Zoho Workplace is a business-oriented email service which throws in an online office suite, document management, and a host of collaboration tools and other extras. Zoho's free plan supports up to 25 users, although there's an extra 25 available if you can refer others to the service (update: Zoho is currently remodeling the referral program so this isn't available at the moment), each with 5GB of mailbox storage, and can be used with one domain of your own. These are features you'll normally only find in commercial products, and when you factor in the spreadsheet, word processor, presentation and other tools, it looks like a real bargain. The email service is easy-to-use, and provides a decent set of features to help organize your emails: folders, tags, filters, smart searches, and more. The free plan is still a little basic. It gives you web access only, for instance, and there's no support for email forwarding. Fortunately, the Zoho Standard plan fixes that. A mere $3 per user (paid annually) gets you IMAP and POP access, email forwarding, active sync, multiple domain hosting, domain aliases, 30GB storage, a 30MB attachment limit (up from 25MB with the free plan) and some major improvements elsewhere (the ability to send cloud files to non-Zoho users, for instance). You also have Lite plan which is a cheaper Standard plan ($1 per user) with less features, and a Professional ($6 per user) plan which adds more features. A number of these features are available elsewhere for free, of course, but businesses or anyone who will use the custom domain support or Office tools will find a lot to like here. Well worth a closer look.
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| Don't get fooled by scammers sending WhatsApp verification messages Posted: 22 Apr 2019 05:08 AM PDT The Telecommunications Authority of the UAE has issued an advisory on Twitter for WhatsApp users and warned that they should not reply to code verification messages unless it is triggered by the subscriber. Many WhatsApp accounts have been hacked through this method. Nicolai Solling, Chief Technology Officer at security solutions provider Help AG Middle East, told TechRadar Middle East, that this is a widespread phenomenon and it is known as “social engineering”. “Scammers have hacked many accounts globally and their main intention is to gain control over WhatsApp accounts. What the scammer does is that he or she sends you a code on WhatsApp and tells the user to reply by clicking a link to verify the phone number,” he said. Normally, when you install WhatsApp on a device, WhatsApp sends a verification code to check if you are the owner of the phone number and it is done automatically. However, in this case, the scammer is sending you a WhatsApp code and a link. “If you click the link, you are confirming that it is you on behalf of the scammer. By that way, the user can lose control of the WhatsApp messages and the scammer can read and send messages on your behalf." If a user hasn't requested for a WhatsApp code, they should not click on any conformation links on WhatsApp. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Huawei Band 4 Pro: what we want to see Posted: 22 Apr 2019 04:00 AM PDT The Huawei Band 4 Pro is likely to land later this year and it could shake up the fitness tracker scene by providing a plethora of features at a budget price. At least, it has got the potential to if it builds on what the Huawei Band 3 Pro offers without building on the price too much. For now we don’t know much about it, but we’d expect rumors to start rolling in soon and will add them to this article as soon as they do. And in the meantime we’ve come up with a list of features and improvements that we want to see, along with educated guesses at when it might land and what it might offer. Cut to the chase
Huawei Band 4 Pro release date and priceThe Huawei Band 3 Pro was announced in October 2018 so there’s a fair chance we’ll see the Huawei Band 4 Pro in or around October of this year (2019), especially as the Huawei Band 2 Pro landed in the second half of 2017 – so there was roughly a year between the previous two wearables. There’s no news on exactly when the Huawei Band 4 Pro might be announced, but with the Band 3 Pro being unveiled alongside the Huawei Mate 20 range we might see the Band 4 Pro alongside the Huawei Mate 30 range. We don’t know what it will cost either, but the Huawei Band 3 Pro retails for $69.99 / £79.99 / AU$110, so we’d expect the Band 4 Pro would cost at least that much.
Image Credit: TechRadar Huawei Band 4 Pro news and rumorsThere aren’t any Huawei Band 4 Pro rumors yet, but we’ll be sure to update this article as soon as we hear anything credible about the wearable. We can take an educated guess at some things though. For example, it will almost certainly sport full GPS, a heart rate monitor, water resistance and a reasonably low price, given that the Huawei Band 3 Pro has all those things. What we want to seeBelow you’ll find the main things that we’d like to see from the Huawei Band 4 Pro. Some may well happen, others are less likely, but we want them all. 1. A comfier fit and a sleeker design
The Band 3 Pro is a bit bulky. Image Credit: TechRadar The Huawei Band 3 Pro isn’t a bad looking wearable. In fact, with its glass and metal build it’s arguably quite nice, but it’s rather chunky, which isn’t ideal, especially for something we’d be working out while wearing. More problematic though is how it feels on the wrist, as in our review we found that it’s just not quite as comfy as some rival bands like the Fitbit Inspire HR, so we’d like to see both the size and comfort improved for the Huawei Band 4 Pro. 2. A breathing modeA breathing mode on a fitness band is almost a standard feature at this point, but it’s one that the Huawei Band 3 Pro didn’t have (despite the fact that the Huawei Band 2 Pro does have one). So for the Band 4 Pro we’d like to see it reinstated, and if they can improve it – by adding multiple different guided breathing exercises for example – then all the better. 3. Slicker GPS
We don't want to wait to work out. Image Credit: TechRadar Getting full GPS at all in budget fitness bands is far from guaranteed, but we’re almost certain the Huawei Band 4 Pro will have it since the Band 3 Pro does. However, the Huawei band 3 Pro’s GPS takes longer than average to lock on in our experience, so we’d like to see it work faster on the Huawei Band 4 Pro. After all, if you’re trying to work out the last thing you want is to be left standing around. 4. Auto brightnessThe Huawei Band 3 Pro has a bright, colorful screen, but late at night or when in the cinema you don’t necessarily want it to be bright, and while the brightness can be adjusted this has to be done manually – there’s no auto brightness. It’s an obvious feature that we’d really like to see added to the Huawei Band 4 Pro. 5. Wireless chargingThe Huawei Band 3 Pro has a clip-on charger like many wearables, but for the Band 4 Pro we’d like to see support for wireless charging, and not of the proprietary kind. Not only would that be convenient, but that way if we need to juice it up when we don’t have the charger with us there’s a solid chance someone will have a wireless charger we can use. 6. More watch faces
The Band 3 Pro doesn't have many faces. Image Credit: TechRadar The Huawei Band 3 Pro only comes with a selection of three different watch faces. Now, by fitness tracker standards that’s not awful, but given that many smartwatches give you thousands to play with we’d like to see a greater selection offered on the Huawei Band 4 Pro. That way you’d be better able to tailor it to your style. 7. An ECGThis is one of our more unlikely hopes for the Huawei Band 4 Pro, but with the Apple Watch 4 and Withings Move ECG sporting an ECG (electrocardiogram) it’s not totally out of the question. This feature goes beyond merely monitoring your heart rate and can potentially detect some serious heart issues, such as atrial fibrillation, so it would be great to see it on more devices.
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| Realme 3 Pro and Realme C2 launched to take on Xiaomi Redmi 7 series in India Posted: 22 Apr 2019 02:35 AM PDT Realme Mobiles has announced its latest smartphone, the Realme 3 Pro in India on Monday. It was the much-awaited phone from the company as it aims to take on the mid-range smartphone segment competing with the likes of Redmi Note 7 Pro. Alongside the Realme 3 Pro, the company also announced a budget phone, the Realme C2 in India. Realme 3 Pro: specifications, price and availabilityRealme 3 Pro features a 6.3-inch Full HD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) IPS panel which is topped by 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5 for added protection against regular wear and tear. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 616 as the graphics processor. This is backed by 4GB/6GB of RAM with 64GB/128GB storage. There's an option to increase the storage via microSD card by upto 256GB. Under the hood, the phone runs on Android 9.0 Pie with ColorOS 6.0 interface. Coming to the camera, the Realme 3 Pro sports two sensors on the rear. The dual camera setup consists of a 16MP primary camera powered by Sony IMX519 sensor with an f/1.7 aperture along with a 5MP snapper with f/2.4 aperture that will assist in depth sensing. On the front, the Realme 3 Pro sports a 25MP selfie camera with an aperture of f/2.0. The Realme 3 Pro has a 4,045mAh battery which supports 20W fast battery charging via VOOC 3.0 adapter provided in-the-box. Realme 3 Pro starts at Rs 13,999 for the variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage and goes up to Rs 16,999 for the model with 6GB RAM + 128GB onboard storage. Realme Mobiles will host the first sale of Realme 3 Pro on April 29 at 12 noon on Flipkart and Realme India Store. In addition, the company is also hosting its first pop-up store on April 27 at Pacific Mall, New Delhi from 4:30 PM IST, where attendees can get a chance to experience the Realme 3 Pro before making a buying decision. Realme C2: specifications, price and availability
Image Credit: Realme Mobiles Along with the Realme 3 Pro, the company also announced the Realme C2 in India. It features a 6.1-inch HD+ (1560 X 720 pixels) display with a waterdrop notch on the front and is powered by MediaTek Helio P22 chipset. The rear panel of the C2 has diamond-cut design and house dual camera system. It consists of a primary 13MP camera assisted by a 2MP depth-sensor. Additionally, there's a 5MP selfie camera housed within the waterdrop notch. It runs on Realme's custom UI ColorOS 6.0 which is based on Android 9.0 Pie. Realme C2 has a 4,000mAh battery to boot which, given its pricing, is more than what one could ask for. The C2 will be available in two variants- either with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage or with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. This can further be expanded by upto 256GB using a microSD card. Realme C2 with 2GB of RAM is priced at Rs 5,999 while the 3GB model will be up for grabs at Rs 7,999. The first sale is scheduled for May 15 at 12 noon on Flipkart and Realme India Store. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Samsung reportedly puts its Galaxy Fold launch events on hold in China Posted: 22 Apr 2019 02:30 AM PDT Samsung is reportedly pushing back its planned Galaxy Fold launch events in China this week – and though a last-minute hitch with venues is being blamed by insider sources, it also gives Samsung a little more time to investigate screen issues with the device. As SamMobile reports, several events have been postponed, including ones in Shanghai and Hong Kong, although Samsung is promising that the April 26 Fold launch in the US will go ahead as planned. In response to a number of press review units developing glitches around the display hinge, Samsung previously said it was ready to "thoroughly inspect" the broken units to see what had gone wrong.
Some of the problems seem to have stemmed from the removal of a protective plastic layer on the display – it may look like an optional screen protector but it's actually essential to the smooth operation of the folding screen. Fold on hold?Perhaps a few extra days will give Samsung chance to make it clearer that the screen cover shouldn't be removed under any circumstances (don't forget this if you're planning to pick up a Galaxy Fold of your own). After unveiling the innovative folding phone, Samsung said it had undergone rigorous testing, and that the handset was ready to withstand 200,000 folds – or around five years of regular use. We'll have to wait and see what Samsung's investigation turns up, but as yet there's no indication that the phone won't go on sale across the world as originally planned. The Galaxy Fold retails for $1,980 in the US, €2,000 in mainland Europe and £1,799 in the UK. It's just one of several foldable phones we're expecting to see on the market in the next few years. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| How to watch Game of Thrones season 8, episode 2 stream online from anywhere Posted: 22 Apr 2019 12:48 AM PDT We suppose you could say that it's still the Game of Thrones calm before the ultimate storm, but things are certainly going in the right direction. With conflicts between pretty much every character you can think of being set up, the second episode is now ready for you - and you can see your options to watch Game of Thrones season 8, episode 2 online. Luckily for you, you're in the right place for all your how to watch Game of Thrones episode 2 know-how. We've tracked down the streaming services, costs and times for the second episode so you can be ready with your bowl of popcorn before it starts - you can find a full guide for several countries down below. We would attempt to catch you up on seasons 1-7 in preparation for the new episode but considering there's 2 days, 15 hours and 30 minutes worth of content...it might take us a while. Just know, this season is going to be big! So with the first episode now live and the second imminent, this is the place to be to see how to watch Game of Thrones season 8, episode 2, no matter where you live. Watch Game of Thrones episode 2: stream from outside your countryWant to watch Game of Thrones season 8, episode 2 in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, UAE or New Zealand? We've found all of your best options and listed them below. But, if you find yourself in the unfortunate circumstances where you've booked a holiday over the air time of the first episode, then things get a bit more difficult. For those unlucky fans, all hope isn't lost yet. You will find that watching it won't be an option thanks to geo-blocking. This means that broadcasters do tend to try and stop you from watching in other countries, putting up some virtual roadblocks. But, thanks to a little bit of working around, there is still a way to catch all the episodes while you're away. By using a VPN, you will still be able to catch up on the show by changing your IP address to a location back where you live, allowing you to watch that important first episode (assuming that doesn't breach any TS&Cs, of course) - and that's without finding some dodgy stream on Reddit.
Watch Game of Thrones episode 2 online in the USA
Watch Game of Thrones episode 2 online in the UK
Watch Game of Thrones episode 2 online in Canada
Watch Game of Thrones episode 2 online in Australia
Watch Game of Thrones episode 2 online in New Zealand
Watch Game of Thrones episode 2 online in India
Watch Game of Thrones episode 2 online in the UAE
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| 5G deployment will be the hottest topic of discussion at ITU conference in Egypt Posted: 21 Apr 2019 11:46 PM PDT New frequency bands for 5G deployment will be the hottest topic of discussion when ITU (International Telecommunications Union) members meet at the World Radio Communication Conference (WRC) 2019 in Egypt. The WRC takes place between October 28 to November 22 and is organised by the ITU to review and revise radio regulations. Tareq Al Awadi, Executive Director for spectrum management at the TRA and chairman of Arab Spectrum Management Group, told TechRadar Middle East that WRC is an important event for the industry where regulators decide on allocating spectrum around the world and who gets to use what frequencies- including satellite operators and broadcasters. The vital C-bandMuch of the focus will be on the C-band (3.3GHz-3.8GHz), where satellite operators use these frequencies, apart from the higher frequency bands, also known as millimetre wave. The millimetre wave operates within the 24.25GHz to the 86GHz range and most of it are not used by satellites. ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said that the conference will fix the basic standards and the spectrum for 5G and “we can have a much better idea on how to fix the rules and other issues.” The ITU hopes that satellite operators will cooperate in moving from analogue to digital in a bid to free up any unused spectrums as digital occupies less radio spectrum. “We encourage satellite operators to have good cooperation and coordination with the ITU as the satellite providers have made huge investments since the 1970s,” he said. Al Awadi said that satellite operators in the UAE such as Thuraya and Yahsat have some difficulties in the C-band but have made technical arrangements to protect their air stations. “We don’t have much problem in the UAE. Even in the Arab group, C-band has been assigned for any 5G deployment by 2020. Some countries have issues with 3.4GHz and 3.8GHz but the frequency bands for both the telecom operators in the UAE have been allocated in the C-band. Moreover, he said that TRA has already assigned a number of frequency bands for 5G last year in the C-band and port operators such as DP World are currently using 100Mhz in the C-band. “By the end of this year or beginning of 2020, port operators will have between 200MHz and 250MHz in the C-band. Revenue potential with 5GAccording to a recent report by Swedish telecom company Ericsson, Telecom operators in the UAE stand to gain an additional $3.3 (Dh12.1) billion in revenues by 2026 from the digitalisation of industries with 5G technology. The report states that growth potential in the UAE is being driven by the digitalisation of the manufacturing sector, expecting it to contribute 18% of the potential revenues by 2026, followed by energy and utilities with 16% and public safety by 12.5%. Al Awadi said that the 5G business model is completely different from 3G/4G and the UAE is ready for the fourth industrial revolution. “Some countries have already started at 700MHz for lower bandwidth and some countries, including the Arab countries, are also interested in the L band (1-2GHz),” he said. In the next two to three years, he said that the UAE will start 5G in mobile and fixed-line businesses and that is where the devices will be available. “The devices for verticals such as manufacturing, utilities, healthcare, retail, agriculture and Automotive, etc. are not yet ready but the network will be ready. These new use cases are the ones which will make 5G a success. 5G will be available initially in certain hotspots and will take years to have full coverage” he said. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| APC's May 2019 issue is on sale now! Posted: 21 Apr 2019 09:34 PM PDT
Microsoft's latest Windows 10 update is packed with irresistible enhancements. Take a tour of them all in the new issue of APC, and learn how to get your PC running just the way you like it. Gunning for the best in gaming laptops? APC has the newest Nvidia RTX-powered machines in the Labs in a quest to find the ultimate gaming laptop. Get into Linux with APC's Getting Started Guide, covering all the major distros, their history and which one could be best for you. This is the perfect time to get Linux running, perhaps on a second PC and discover the joys of this powerful and affordable OS. The May issue of APC is on sale from Monday, April 22 at all good newsagents. Grab your copy today!
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Contact APCGot a question for the APC editorial team? You can get in touch with us by sending an email to apcmag@futurenet.com. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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