Dell Alienware m15 first impressions: refreshed so soon

For Dell, Computex 2019 was its biggest set of announcements in many years. Typically, the company makes its biggest reveals at CES in Las Vegas, but Computex 2019 saw some pretty exciting announcements as well. One of these announcements is the new Alienware m15 and the Alienware m17, both of which now carry the designation R2.

The most striking change to the new m15 and m17 laptop happens to be its upgrade to the Legend design. Alienware had debuted their new industrial design nicknamed Legend at CES 2019, with the Area 51m being the first machine to sport it. CES 2019 was also when the company launched the new m15 and m17 laptop, the company’s smallest and lightest gaming laptops in their respective sizes. We reviewed the m15 and for the most part, recommended, save for some heating issues.

The Alienware m15 R2 with its Legend design comes with honeycomb cutouts for improved airflow

At the launch, we caught up with Joe Olmsted, Director Gaming Products, Alienware and asked him why Alienware would release a redesigned m15 so quickly. To this, he said that Alienware wanted to introduce the new Legend Design and for that, the Area 51m was the perfect candidate. It is understandable that the company would want something iconic looking in the market to go with a stand-out machine. On being asked if this would upset buyers, he assured that Alienware would maintain both the Alienware m15 R1 and R2 in the market. When asked why anyone would want to go with the R1 over the R2, he said “well, for one, it’ll be cheaper,” further adding that the m15 R1 supports up to 32GB RAM with SODIMM slots while the m15 R2 supports a maximum of 16GB RAM that is soldered onto the board.

While the R1 will also get an update to Intel’s 9th generation Core processors, the real differentiator between the two generations really is the design. But it isn’t just a cosmetic thing. Measuring a little under 20mm at its thickest, the Alienware m15 R2 also features a completely redesigned keyboard. Olmstead reveals that Alienware designed the keys and switches from the ground-up, emulating the curve of desktop mechanical keys on the laptop. While definitely not a mechanical keyboard like experience, the new keys do feel al whole lot better to type on than those on the m15 R1. Lastly, Olmstead says the cooling on the m15 R2 has been improved, to allow for 10-30 percent better airflow.

The all-new keyboard on the Alienware m15 R2 offers an excellent typing experience

New Alienware Headsets

The new Alienware m15 and m17 R2 laptops were also joined by two new Alienware branded headsets, the Alienware AW510H and the Alienware AW310H. The former is a 7.1 surround sound headset while the latter is a stereo sound headset. At the event, Wee Kee Yeo, Vice President and General Manager Client Peripherals was nice enough to answer a few questions. He highlighted the sheer amount of attention to detail Alienware put into creating the two new headsets, saying that the 50mm drivers were very specifically tuned for gaming. Additionally, the choice of materials for the inner cup along with the diameter of the cup itself was very carefully chosen to meet the expectations of delivering pin-point accuracy for gamers. He also reassured us that both the headsets have undergone extensive testing, especially with regards to their durability. The headsets are tested for stretching of the headband from prolonged use, as the company doesn’t want the headset to get loose over prolonged usage.

First Impressions

The new Alienware m15 R2 is definitely a striking redesign. The upgrade to the Legend theme is definitely working in the new machine’s favour, making it look slimmer than it actually is. The new honeycomb cutouts that are a part of the Legend design also aid in better airflow simply by virtue of being there, but the bigger fans on the inside are expected to definitely help with thermals. The two new headsets that debut at under $100 are also promising devices, especially at the price point they’ve been launched. Dell is yet to give any official word on when the new Alienware portfolio will come to India.

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Apple steps closer to foldable future with latest patent grant

The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Apple a patent for a foldable screen that could be used on iPhones and other devices. According to Patently Apple, the patent is for an electronic device with a display and cover that are flexible or bendable. The flexible cover layer may be formed from materials like glass, strengthened glass, sapphire or zirconia to provide protection to the flexible display from potential damage. This layer may also provide structural support for the display.

The latest patent differs from the one that was granted to Apple earlier this year. Two parts hinged together with a foldable panel fixed on top were depicted in that patent. The new patent shows a foldable phone that wraps around the outside of the device. It should be noted that companies, including Apple, often patent ideas that never get transformed into a product or a service. It could also be that Apple is experimenting with different designs to get one right for foldable iPhones to come. Reports of bendable iPhones have been doing the rounds since 2016 and Apple has been rumoured to be in talks with Samsung, LG and BOE for foldable displays in the past. So the Apple wagon is certainly moving towards some form of foldable device in the future.

While Samsung and Huawei picked up on the foldable phone trend this year, Apple still finds itself on the other side of the fence. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, however, is on a sticky wicket after several reviewers reported issues with the display and Samsung delayed the launch of the phone. Huawei is yet to launch its Mate X foldable device which is slated for a July debut. Samsung's bendable flagship could arrive alongside the Mate X in July unless the company hits any further hardware snags. 

Talking about Apple's stake in the market, Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, told CNN Business., "They're [Apple] well behind Samsung when it comes to foldable phones. But one advantage is that Samsung's Galaxy Fold has had technical issues as well as expensive pricing.”

Apple has also filed patents for a flexible display with touch sensors and portions, as well as a flexible iPhone that can fold in half and grip a person's clothes.  It has been reported that the Cupertino-based company will launch a foldable phone in 2020. “Foldable phones and 5G represent the next generation of smartphones in the coming years,” Ives added. Maybe Apple will have that chunk of the pie after all. 

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2VVIfml

PUBG Mobile players on emulator can get 3850 UC, Scar-L skins and more as rewards

While a smartphone might be your device of choice for playing a round of the uber-popular battle royale title PUBG Mobile, some players prefer the keyboard-mouse experience. For such players, Tencent has an official emulator called the Tencent Gaming Buddy and one can download and install it to play PUBG Mobile on a PC. The game developer is now offering additional credits, weapon skins and more for emulator using players as a reward under an ongoing event. Under the event, a player gets three chances to participate in a lucky draw thrice and there are a total of seven rewards.

One can win three out of these seven rewards, which consist of 3850 UC, a rename card, permanent Dcamo Scar-L Skin, Nightmare Enforcer Set for 30 days, Emperor Penguin suit for 7 days, 128 BP coins or 2 x BP Card for 3-days. One apparently needs to log into the Tencent Gaming Buddy Emulator with Facebook to get the option of participating in the lucky draw. As per a report, one would get three lucky draws everyday till the event is happening and clicking on the redeem button that pops up to enter their player ID and redeem code to get the reward. 

In  case you are interested in getting the rewards and/or playing PUBG Mobile on your PC, you can do so by installing the emulator. One needs to download and install official Tencent Gaming Buddy Emulator and run it to download PUBG Mobile. The software downloads game files on its own and one will just need to change its language, if required. After that’s done, one simply needs to run PUBG Mobile, which will download additional game files and that’s it. One is ready to go get some chicken dinners. However, if you still have some doubts, you can check out our detailed guide on how to install and play PUBG Mobile on PC here. 

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2KdOK1B

OnePlus 7 goes on sale on June 4 starting at Rs 32,999

The recently launched OnePlus 7 (First Impressions) will go on sale at 12:00 PM on June 4. The device will be available via Oneplus.in, Amazon.in (only for Prime customers) and at all OnePlus exclusive offline stores. At all partner retail outlets, pre-booking for the OnePlus 7 will begin on June 7 and the sales commence on June 14. The OnePlus 7 was launched along with the OnePlus 7 Pro on May 14, and it features a design similar to its predecessor, the OnePlus 6T.

The OnePlus 7 will be available in Mirror Grey colour and in 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variants. The Red colour variant will only be offered in 8GB RAM + 256GB local storage model. The device will be available starting at Rs 32,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant and Rs 37,999 for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model.

OnePlus 7 Specifications:

The OnePlus 7 doesn’t get a full-screen display design like the OnePlus 7 Pro and features a waterdrop notch display like the OnePlus 6T. It sports a 6.41-inch Full HD+ Optic AMOLED display with 60Hz refresh rate. The display sports pixel density of 402 PPI and has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. Under the hood, the OnePlus 7 ships with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 mobile platform. As mentioned, the phone will be available with 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM, and 128GB/256GB UFS 3.0 storage. Just like the Pro variant, the OnePlus 7 also gets dual stereo speakers.

The smartphone features a dual camera setup on the back with a 48MP Sony IMX586 main sensor. It is paired with a lens having an aperture of f/1.7. This main sensor supports Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) and Phase-detection autofocus (PDAF). There is also a 5MP secondary sensor, and the lens with this sensor has an aperture of f/2.4. The setup is assisted by a dual LED flash. On the front is a 16MP Sony IMX471 secondary sensor with the lens having an aperture of f/2.0. It is equipped with a 3,700mAh battery with fast charging support (5V/4A), and the phone features an in-display fingerprint sensor.

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99 PUBG Mobile players banned for a decade for cheating

PUBG Mobile is one of the most famous battle royale games available right now, alongside Fortnite and the soon to be launched Call of Duty: Mobile. The title rose to fame with its unique gameplay style and new content that the developers keep adding to it from time to time. It’s no surprise that people would try and get a leg up in the competition via unfair means but this mars the experience for honest players. PUBG Mobile is now cracking down on such players who use unfair means to gain an advantage. It has posted a partial list of 99 players that have been banned from the game for 10 years for cheating or using unauthorized 3rd party app to “dishonestly assist their game play in a match.”

“We take this issue very seriously; as such, each account in violation has received a 10-year ban. We would like to remind all players about the importance of fair play, and thank you for keeping PUBG MOBILE fair and fun. We will continue to enforce stringent discipline against cheaters and publish the IDs of confirmed cheaters. Thank you for helping us make PUBG MOBILE a better game,” reads a PUBG Mobile blog post. The game devs are serious about such offences as the list of players banned by them partially reveals their ID and account numbers. 

Back in December 2018, PUBG implemented new anti-cheating system on PC, Xbox, and PS4. This resulted in banning of over 30,000 players and 16 professional players who were reportedly using radar hack. In January this year, PUBG banned four professional players for three years as they were first suspected of employing unauthorised software for winning games and after an investigation, it was confirmed that these players were indeed cheating. As a result, pro-PUBG players Christian “Cuhris” Narvaez, Liam “Liammm” Tran, Tyler “DevowR” Sti and Mark “Tefl0n” Formaro have been banned from participating in all official esports competitions for three years, starting December 31, 2018. 

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OnePlus 66T get OnePlus 7 Pros Zen Mode, Screen Recorder in latest OxygenOS beta update

Earlier this month, OnePlus announced that it will trickle down the Zen Mode and Screen Recorder features to the OnePlus 6 and the OnePlus 6T smartphones. The company has now delivered on its promise and has released open betas for both these devices bringing the above-mentioned features in last year’s flagship devices. For OnePlus 6 it’s an OxygenOS Open Beta 19, and for the OnePlus 6T, the update is Open Beta 11. Apart from these, OnePlus has also rolled out fixes and improvements in other areas as well.

The Zen Mode in OnePlus 7 Pro is basically a “stricter” version of Google Wellbeing. It helps users to stay away from their phones for a certain period of time. When the feature is turned on, the user won’t get any notifications, calls, or messages for 20 minutes straight. What’s interesting is that a user who has opted to enable this mode, there is no turning back. Once you’ve chosen to enter into the ‘Zen Mode’, no matter what you do (even restart the phone), you cannot exit the mode for 20 minutes. Users, however, can make emergency calls and click images.

The second feature, called screen recording, essentially records what you do on your screen. This is not a new feature because OEMs like Apple and Huawei have already offered it in their phones. Google is expected to bring this feature natively in Android Q. According to the changelog on OnePlus forum, the company has also fixed the bug where Facebook messenger pops up notifications when in gaming mode. The update also brings an improved smooth-scrolling experience to the device. The PIN-TO-TOP feature for notification category has also been rolled out to users only in India.

People who have enrolled for Beta testing will receive the new build as an OTA. Those who have migrated to the beta testing will continue to receive Open Beta OTAs, but won’t receive the regular Official Stable OTAs. If you want to move back to the Official OTA path from the Beta path, you will require a full install and clean flash.

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RedmiBook 14 notebook announced with up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 Processors, Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU

Redmi recently launched its new flagship smartphone, the Redmi K20 Pro in China, along with the Redmi K20. At the launch event, the company also announced a new laptop called the RedmiBook 14, which is the company’s first notebook. At first glance, the device’s design resembles a MacBook but the specs are different from what Apple offers on its laptops. The new RedmiBook 14 comes with up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 Processors and gets an Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU. The laptop is said to weigh around 1.5kg and deliver up to 10 hours of battery life on a single full charge. 

RedmiBook 14 specifications

The new RedmiBook 14 falls under the thin and light category of laptops. As mentioned, it is powered by up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processors and features the discrete Nvidia Geforce MX250 GPU. Equipped with a 14-inch 1920 x 1080p display, the device sports 8GB RAM that is coupled with 512GB of SSD storage, and comes with an ‘efficient’ cooling system. The laptop is touted to deliver DTS surround sound and is said to deliver up to 10 hours of usage on a single full charge. 

The RedmiBook 14 features a full-size keyboard with 19mm wide keys that have a travel distance of 1.3mm. Its touchpad also supports multitouch gestures. In terms of connectivity, the laptop features an HDMI port, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB 2.0 port. The laptop includes a genuine Microsoft Office Home and Student editions. 

RedmiBook 14 pricing

The base variant of the RedmiBook 14 is priced starting at CNY 3,999 (Rs 40,300 approx). It comes equipped with the Intel Core i5 processor and 256GB of SSD storage. The 512GB SSD variant of the laptop is priced at CNY 4,299 (Rs 43,300 approx), while the top-end Intel Core i7 model with 512GB SSD is priced at CNY 4,999 (Rs 50,400 approx). There is no info on whether the device will make it to India or not. In China, it will be available for pre-bookings from 12 AM  local time on June 1 and go on sale starting June 11.

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