Home » Gadgets and Gaming » Page 57

Gadgets and Gaming

vivo to Launch Two New Devices in South Africa

vivo Mobile has announced that it will be extending its offering in South Africa with the introduction of two new handsets. The Y12 and Y30, both evolutions in the Y-series will enter ahead of 5G towards the end of 2020. vivo CEO, Jeff Cao says that the company plans to sit rank the top tier segment of cell phone brands in the country within the next three years. “vivo plans to provide South African consumers with a user experience beyond expectations through technology and innovative, trendsetting products,” adds Cao. Here’s a closer look at vivo’s new devices: vivo Y12 The vivo Y12 is available in Aqua Blue or Burgundy Red and requires just one hand to work as it’s specifically designed for gesture controls. It sports an AI Super-Wide-Angle Camera on the back while the front is fitted wi...

New Device Uses Shadows to Generate Electricity

Sourced from Royal Society of Chemistry, Singapore. In an interesting twist in emerging technologies and the energy sector, a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has created a device called the Shadow-Effect Energy Generator. The device is able to create an electrical charge using the contrast between shadow and light. It sounds like something out of a science-fiction novel, Yahoo News reports that the team behind the device capitalised on the illumination contrast caused by shadows as an indirect source of power. “The contrast in illumination induces a voltage difference between the shadowed and illuminated sections, resulting in an electric current. This novel concept of harvesting energy in the presence of shadows is unprecedented,” says research team lea...

Windows is Getting A New Apple-Like Upgrade

Sourced from The Sun UK. Windows search is getting a massive upgrade in the guise of Mac’s Spotlight search function with a tool called PowerToys Run. Launched this past Tuesday and still in a very early stage. CNN calls the new feature “promising”, a search box that could put the Start Menu and Windows key-R shortcuts out of business. The new tool was announced at Build, Microsoft’s annual developer event. It was held virtually this year for the first time in its history because of the coronavirus pandemic. Other highlights included new Google Docs-like features for Office and some Edge browser updates. The new search tool pops up in the middle of your screen, spurred forth by an Alt-Space shortcut, and is incredibly fast at finding files, programs and other items. It’s much faster than t...

Apple May Delay its iPhone 12 Announcements Even Further

Sourced from Computerworld California-based tech giant Apple may delay its iPhone 12 announcement event, expected for September, due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The company had delayed the launch of its new iPhone 12 by over a year into 2021 when the pandemic first began affecting tech companies across the globe. Now, Apple is considering pushing the announcement into October to avoid a gap between the event and handsets reaching store shelves – the iPhone maker will have more stores reopened by that point, according to Jon Prosser, a reliable Apple insider. Prosser, who correctly reported the release date of the iPhone SE, says that there is also the possibility that a later iPhone 12 launch event could allow more reporters and analysts to attend in person. WeeklyVoice.com reports...

Samsung Introduces the New Galaxy A31

Samsung has officially introduced the new addition to the Galaxy A series – the A31. According to the smartphone giant, this device has been designed for a generation that wants to express themselves to the world and look good doing it. “The Galaxy A Series has always stood for value. The Galaxy A31 embodies this in a big way, through its premium features offered at an affordable price. We designed the device with bigger screens, powerful batteries and cutting-edge cameras – to bring A new world to life,” says Justin Hume, Director of Integrated Mobility at Samsung South Africa. The Galaxy A31 – which is available in Prism Crush Black and Prism Crush Blue – is equipped with an immersive Infinity-U display and a powerful 5,000 mAh all-day battery. Its advanced Octa-core processor and 4GB of...

Minecraft Maintains its Incredible Popularity as Sales Top 200-Million

Sourced from Stuff. Despite being 11 years old, Minecraft sales have officially topped 200-million copies, with a total of 126-million people playing the game monthly. Microsoft is detailing the latest sales figures just as Mojang Studios celebrates 11 years since the first Minecraft alpha build was originally released. Microsoft has also seen a big increase in Minecraft usage during the pandemic. Minecraft saw a 25% increase in new players last month and a 40% spike in multiplayer sessions. The Verge reports that in 2016, Minecraft sales topped 100-million, and the game hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. A surge in interest from YouTubers and nostalgia-induced playing saw Minecraft at the top of YouTube’s viewership stats last year. With developers Mojang acquired by Microsoft in 201...

Huawei Y7p – South Africa’s 1st HMS Device

Image sourced from Huawei Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Huawei has recently launched the Y7p smartphone to the South African market. The Huawei Y7p is available in Midnight Black and Aurora Blue from around R3,995 and is available through most major retailers. Thoughts on the Huawei Y7p The device is sleek and stylish. In classic smartphone fashion, the Huawei Y7p is a rectangular slab complete with rounded corners and slim but accessible buttons along the right side. It’s fitted with an impressive fingerprint sensor and triple-camera setup on the back while the front sports a powerful 8MP selfie camera. Before purchasing this device, it’s important to note that it is the first phone in South Africa to come with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), Huawei’s new ecosystem. And while HMS lo...

This App Helps Parents Control How Much Time Their Kids Spend on their Phones

Sourced from Microsoft Microsoft is launching a new app called Family Safety – created to make a difference in how you monitor your family’s, and your own, screen time. Designed primarily to manage the screentime and app usage of children. “Protect what matters most with physical and digital safety,” is how Microsoft describes the app on its official website. The electronics juggernaut announced in a blog post on Monday that the app is available now in preview form on both Android and iOS. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_157.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_157.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Microsoft says in the announcement that “With families working and learning from home, many of us are spending more time on our computers and phones. Microsoft Family Safety helps you to facili...

Tokyo Game Show 2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19

The organisers of the Tokyo Game Show have announced that this year’s event has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TGS 2020 was scheduled to take place from 24 to 27 September at the Makuhari Messe convention centre just outside of Tokyo, Japan. Now, the organisers are planning to host an online event instead. The Verge reports that this is the first-ever time TGS has faced cancellation since the convention began in 1996. Sadly, this news won’t come as a surprise to anyone. Almost every in-person gaming event this year has been struck from the calendar, including E3 and Gamescom, the biggest shows in the US and Europe respectively. TGS 2020 was likely to have gained a great deal of attention this year in comparison to an average year because of its status as the last major trade ...

‘Animal Crossing’ Boosts Nintendo’s Profits as Videogame Demand Soars

Sourced from WccfTech. The success of the Nintendo Switch during the worldwide pandemic has propelled Japanese entertainment company to a stand-out year. Nintendo says that it had made 352-billion yen ($3.3-billion) in operating profit for the fiscal year ending in March – a 41% surge from a year ago. Profit in the three months leading to March more than tripled compared with the previous quarter. Sales were driven in a large part to the massive success of the Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons – a game set on an island utopia where players can interact online and visit each other’s island. During the first six weeks of the game’s release, the company sold more than 12-million units of the game. Animal Crossing and the hardware it runs on, the Nintendo Switch game console, have been ...

Microsoft Introduces New Surface Devices

Microsoft has introduced its latest Surface range which includes the new Surface Go 2, Surface Book 3, Surface Headphones 2 and Surface Earbuds. The tech goliath says that this range was designed to help users navigate the current environment which sees more people turning to Windows PCs than ever. In fact, over 4 trillion minutes are being spent on Windows 10 a month, a 75% increase year on year. “The way we work, connect and learn continues to change right in front of us. Our devices have become our window to the world – our office, our school and our social space,” says Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer for Windows and Devices at Microsoft. “It’s not just the pull of the larger screen and better keyboard, but the versatility of a device that runs the software we need and games and ente...

EA Racks Up Higher than Expected Revenue as Gamers Stay Indoors

Sourced from Electronic Arts Inc. One of the world’s largest and most successful video game publishers, EA (Electronic Arts Inc) forecasts a full-year adjusted revenue above estimates projected for it by WallStreet. Experts believe this is because the company has been riding on the broader surge in videogame sales as people shelter at home due to the worldwide pandemic. Reuters reports that videogame sales in the US have surged in the last two months as the country was shut down by COVID-19 – sales in March managed to hit their highest in over a decade. Analysts expect the extended stay-at-home orders to further boost sales and user engagement for videogames across all platforms. Even with successful projections for the rest of the year, EA’s shares went down about 5% in extended trading. ...