Technology

Fujifilm has announced the newest addition to the Instax Mini line of instant cameras, the Mini 40. Much like the Instax Mini 11, which was released last March, the Mini 40 is an entry-level instant film camera with only two settings and two buttons. But what sets this camera apart is its vintage film camera look, complete with a plastic faux leather body and metallic-looking plastic rails. It’s a $100 toy camera that instantly creates printed memories — and of course, it’s a blast to play with. Beyond the vintage camera look, the Mini 40 has the same mechanics as the $70 Mini 11. Pushing the large silver button under the lens compartment will pop the lens out and turn the camera on. Selfie mode is activated by pulling the outermost part of the lens out about half an inch more. And when yo...

Swedish electric performance automaker Polestar says it will build the world’s first truly zero-emissions vehicle without relying on carbon offsets, which it described as a “cop-out.” The company, which was spun out of Volvo and Volvo’s parent company Geely, framed its effort to cut carbon emissions by changing the way its cars are made as a “moonshot goal” that would result in the world’s first carbon neutral vehicle by 2030. Carbon offsets, like tree planting, have become a standard way for car companies and other businesses to write off their carbon emissions by investing in renewable energy or conservation projects aimed at bolstering forests’ ability to naturally store carbon. But there’s growing evidence that offsets haven’t succeeded in slowing global warming and have instead given ...

Sennheiser is introducing some new mics for creators to use on consumer-level cameras and phones, including an update for its popular camera-mounted MKE 400 shotgun microphone and new phone-friendly lavaliere microphones. The updated MKE 400 shotgun microphone looks to be an upgrade in many ways from the previous version — it’s got a new design, which incorporates a windscreen (it also comes with a furry wind sock), a built-in headphone port, and, blessedly, can automatically turn on or off with your camera. It also now comes with a free wind blocker for when it gets really breezy. That should help reduce the number of times you finish recording, only to realize that you didn’t actually capture the audio you were hoping for (something I’ve absolutely done before). The updated MKE 400, with...

A pair of Microsoft support pages have appeared for the unannounced Surface Laptop 4, suggesting a launch may be imminent. One is a placeholder for an AMD version of the laptop, while the other is for an Intel model. Both were spotted by WalkingCat, an often reliable source of gadget leaks, who speculates that we might see them launched at a Surface event as soon as next week. The Microsoft support page doesn’t give many more details on the laptop, but a report from WinFuture last month fills in the details. The AMD processors used will reportedly be from its 4000 mobile series, and will include the Ryzen 5 4680U and the Ryzen 7 4980U. That’s a step up from the 3000-series chips used in 2019’s Surface Laptop 3, but anyone hoping to see AMD’s brand new Ryzen 5000 mobile processors here migh...

eBay has announced a new addition coming to its mobile app: soon, you’ll be able to scan trading cards from popular games like Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and Yu-Gi-Oh! to more easily sell them on the online auction site. The new card scanning feature is set to arrive at the end of April, but it’ll only support Magic: The Gathering when it launches. Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! are planned to be added in May, with sports cards and “other collectible card games” on the docket for later in the year. Using the new scanning option, sellers will be able to just scan a card, at which point eBay will use the card’s details to help automatically build the listing. Sellers will still have to add additional information, like photos of the actual card, its condition, the price they wish to sell it for, a...

Nvidia is launching its latency-reducing tech, Reflex, for anyone who has a Nvidia graphics card and plays the PC version of Overwatch. The company tested the feature in Overwatch’s PTR servers in March, but now Reflex is live and theoretically available for competitive play. Nvidia claims Reflex reduces the time between pulling the trigger in Overwatch and the game rendering the shot on screen by as much as 50 percent, and now you can easily test that. Latency can be caused by a variety of things (internet speed can be a big factor in competitive play) but Reflex is focused on reducing latency caused by computer hardware. The longer the delay between a click and the game reacting, the better chance whatever the player was responding to is already out of frame. In this case, Nvidia’s tech ...

Nintendo has announced Pac-Man 99, a new multiplayer game that’ll be included with its Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. Like Tetris 99 and the recently departed Super Mario Bros. 35, the game pits dozens of players against each other in a battle royale-style fight to the end. The game looks similar to the classic arcade original Pac-Man, but you can make it more difficult for opponents by munching on power pellets, eating ghosts, and sending “Jammer Pac-Man” over to their screens. There are eight different preset strategies you can use to screw with other players, for example by speeding up their game. Pac-Man 99 also has various themes available for purchase that change up the music and visuals based on other Namco games like Galaga, Xevious, and Dig Dug. There are 20 in total...

NIU, maker of popular, affordable electric mopeds, showed off its first-ever electric kick scooter. The new two-wheeler will be available starting this summer in China, Europe, and North America. The NIU Kick Scooter will come in two variants, Pro and Sport. In the US, the Pro scooter will have a top speed of 19.8mph, while the Sport version will have a top speed of 17.4 mph. In Europe, both versions will have a regulated top speed of 25 km/h (15.5 mph). The Pro will have a range 31 miles (50 km) on a single 7.5-hour charge, while the Sport will have a range of 25 miles (40 km) on a single 5.5-hour charge. The NIU Kick Scooter will come in two variants, Pro and Sport For the drivetrain, NIU is offering a 350W motor and 486Wh lithium-ion battery pack for the Pro kick scooter, while the Spor...

Lenovo’s next gaming phone has leaked, with a design that looks like a Michael Bay Transformer and a gaming PC merged together. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen on a phone before. I’m not sure if I like it. Pictures of what appears to be the phone were shown on the social media service Weibo recently, and I am speechless. Specifically, the dual-camera setup is located at the dead center of the phone, and there’s a built-in active cooling fan. It reminds me a lot of a Transformer, as you can see from the photo below. Grid View Image: Weibo Image: Weibo Now, Lenovo is not the first company to stick a cooling fan in a gaming smartphone. In 2019, Nubia’s Red Magic 3 had a cooling fan placed inside of the device. The Black Shark FunCooler Pro is an external cooling fan designed for people ...

Trade-in provider Gazelle exited the online trade-in business back in February, and now the company says it’s changing its mind. Gazelle is back to accepting online trade-ins of iPhones, Samsung phones, Google Pixel devices, and iPads and other tablets on its website, the company confirms to The Verge. The program resumed accepting new offers on April 5th, a Gazelle representative clarified. “Earlier this year, we announced that we will no longer be offering our trade-in option on Gazelle. After careful consideration, including feedback from customers like you, we have decided to keep Gazelle Trade-In going. Today, we are happy to say, ‘We’re back, baby!’” reads an email Gazelle sent to prospective customers and shared with The Verge. “Gazelle Trade-In is a pioneer of the electronics trade...

As we approach Google I/O 2021, the rumor mill has started pointing to new hardware, including a Pixel 5A and Pixel Buds A, a lower-cost set of true wireless earbuds that would slot in below the company’s main pair. Google seems to have gotten ahead of itself, however, as, according to 9to5Google, a new email contains an image of olive green Pixel Buds that aren’t part of the current lineup. The interior of the case is also color-matched to the buds, which isn’t the case with the second-gen Pixel Buds. Another clue that these are new is that the inside-facing part of the earbuds is also the same green. So with those things considered, we’re likely seeing the upcoming Pixel Buds A in this image. They look practically identical to the regular Pixel Buds, though the second LED inside the char...

Jimmy Fallon streamed Among Us on Twitch with a star-studded group in his debut on the platform Tuesday evening. The stream lasted about an hour, and near the end, more than 125,000 people were watching live. Fallon was joined by The Roots’ Questlove, Tariq Trotter, and Kirk Douglas; Stranger Things stars Noah Schnapp (who plays Will Byers) and Gaten Matarazzo (who plays Dustin Henderson); streamers Sykkuno and Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter; YouTuber Corpse Husband; and Among Us developer InnerSloth’s community director, Victoria Tran. Parts from the stream will air on The Tonight Show next week, according to IGN. You can catch a replay of the stream on Fallon’s Twitch channel: [embedded content] Fallon also raised money for Feeding America during the stream. Donations from viewers totaled ...