Tech Ghost

Apple could be buying cobalt from mining companies directly    TechCrunch Apple is trying to lock down battery components before electric carmakers get them    The Verge Electric car boom prompts Apple to get serious about securing cobalt    Ars Technica Apple in Talks to Buy Cobalt Directly From Miners    Bloomberg Full coverage from Technology - Google News http://ift.tt/2GzYTB0 via Technology

Now You Can Earn In Game Items For Watching The Overwatch League    Cinema Blend Twitch to Give Away In-Game Skins, Emotes to 'Overwatch League' Viewers    RollingStone.com Blizzard using in-game rewards to promote Overwatch League streams on Twitch    Gamasutra Blizzard is streaming a puppy version of Overwatch on Twitch    VentureBeat Full coverage from Technology - Google News http://ift.tt/2CEs0Ri via Technology

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 RS launched at Rs. 2.75 crore    Team-BHP The Most Expensive Porsche 911 GT3 RS Costs $253240    Motor1.com Carrara White 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring Package Has This Awesome Vanity Plate    Brinkwire (press release) Full coverage from Technology - Google News http://ift.tt/2sMsapP via Technology

Microsoft is offering a solid discount on its latest Surface Pro. The official listing reveals a price cut of $200. The discount is available on Core i5/4GB/128GB model as well as Core i5/8GB/256GB models, bringing their price down to $799 and $1,099, respectively. The promo runs through February 24 (coming Saturday). For more info, head to the Source link below. Source from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2CcjHA6 via IFTTT

Huawei sub-brand Honor has started pushing out a new update to its Honor 9 Lite smartphone. The OTA update brings along the much requested Face Unlock feature, making the handset the latest Honor smartphone (after the Honor 7X and View 10) to sport it. The roll out has just begun, so it may take time for the update notification to pop up on your unit. Officially, Honor has said the roll out process will complete by early next month - March 5 to be precise. Via from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2BKf9jJ via IFTTT

LG will be unveiling 2018 editions of its K8 and K10 midrange smartphones at the MWC which kicks off this weekend in Barcelona. Both of these models are planned to roll out in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Last year, LG announced its K10 (2017) at CES. However, this year's it didn't happen at CES 2018. The decision to announce it at MWC is one that makes more sense considering that the US isn't a major market for LG's midrange smartphones. LG says its K10 smartphones will have quicker focus speeds thanks to Phase-detection autofocus, and improved noise reduction in... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2EJ7jcG via IFTTT

Snapchat has announced that it was partnering with Giphy to provide clippable GIFs to adorn the Snaps that users send to friends or post to public Stories. This happened not too long after Snapchat came under heavy criticism for its new confusing interface after a recent update. Interestingly, Instagram was first one to offer insertable GIFs into Instragram Direct messages and Instagram Stories. What makes it even more interesting is that Giphy will provide these GIFs for Snaps, which is exactly the same provider for Instagram's Stories' GIFs. This move just screams "me too". Snapchat... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2op2DO1 via IFTTT

These days, the smartphone is an important tool. It keeps us connected to our friends and family, our passions, our memories, and for some it lets us connect to our means of making a living. These things have become extensions of ourselves to the point of ingraining behavioral patterns, particularly in the younger generation of smartphone users that grew up in a digitally connected world. Motorola has hosted a study with Dr. Nancy Etcoff, expert in Mind-Brand Behavior and the Science of Happiness at Harvard University. Dr. Etcoff is also the Psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2HBrDuv via IFTTT

Tax season is in full effect here in the United States where millions of Americans are getting their tax returns. Many folks take advantage of this extra money to stimulate the economy by upgrading their smartphones. T-Mobile will start running a promotion on Friday that will give $200 off to those who pay full price for an iPhone X on an EIP (Equipment Installment Plan). This $200 giftcard (via mail-in rebate) will be given to customers who trade-in eligible smartphones as a bonus for trading in these smartphones. Eligible phones for the trade-in include: Apple iPhone 6S Apple... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2EHWreY via IFTTT

Motorola's G6 family started leaking in January, and hasn't stopped since. The company might unveil the G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play at MWC this weekend, in fact. Until that happens, though, let's feast our eyes upon another leaked image of the G6 Plus. This one shows all of the phone's color versions, and it's a bit surprising that they're this many. As you can see, it will be offered in silver, gold, white, blue, and cyan, though do expect much more exciting official names for these. One past rumor talked about exquisite-sounding monikers like Deep Indigo, Nimbus, and Dark Lake. You can try... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2FnKlFa via IFTTT

Andy Rubin's Essential Phone has definitely had a bumpy ride so far, with less than 100,000 units sold last year. But the startup is still supporting its first smartphone, even though it decided against releasing a 'stable' Android 8.0 Oreo update for it. The company is now working on Android 8.1, of which a first beta became available for eager testers exactly one week ago. And starting today there's a much easier way than before to get it. Up until now, if you wanted a taste of the Essential Oreo update, you had to manually sideload it to your phone. That's not something everyone... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2ogSkfL via IFTTT

Two weeks ago Google announced that Nest is joining its hardware team, the one responsible for products such as Chromecast, Google Home, and the Pixel smartphones. This made us look forward to more integration between Google and Nest products, and today the first step has been made. The Nest Cam IQ indoor is officially getting Google Assistant through a free software update. Once you receive it, you'll be able to talk to the camera just as you would to a Google Home. Simply say "OK Google" or "Hey Google" followed by your command or query, and it will respond. According to Nest,... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2EIw4BQ via IFTTT

BLU has announced and released a new smartphone today, the Vivo X. It comes with a 6-inch 1,440x720 18:9 touchscreen (that can achieve 520 nits of brightness), covered in Gorilla Glass 3. It has an 80% screen-to-body ratio. The phone has four cameras. The dual system on the back comprises of a 13 MP + 5 MP arrangement with f/2.0 aperture, while for selfies you get 20 MP + 8 MP sensors (also with f/2.0 aperture) capable of 120-degree wide-angle shots. It's powered by MediaTek's Helio P25 chipset, which has a 2.6 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU. This is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2EX5O9S via IFTTT

Today Google has launched a new program called Android Enterprise Recommended. It's a way for businesses to easily choose Android devices to deploy for their employees. To be Android Enterprise Recommended, a handset has to adhere to a strict set of rules. It must run Android 7.0 Nougat or later, offer zero-touch enrollment with bulk deployment to employees, get the latest security patches within 90 days of their release for a minimum of three years, be available unlocked, and offer a consistent app experience in managed profiles and on managed devices. Furthermore, it must come with a... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2CCwCHh via IFTTT

It's been a while since Samsung launched a high-end tablet, but the wait could be almost over. A couple of days ago an upcoming slate from the Korean company was spotted in a benchmark and based on its model number it's assumed to be the Galaxy Tab S4. Now it's been caught in another benchmark, HTML5Test, where its screen aspect ratio is confirmed as being 16:10. That's a bit odd considering that the Galaxy Tab S3 from last year used the 4:3 aspect ratio. It looks like Samsung decided it was time for a change. When you look at the screenshot above, keep in mind that HTML5Test... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2sJGtvp via IFTTT

A week ago Qualcomm leaders met with Broadcom to discuss the $121 billion acquisition offer. While the results of the meeting were not announced publicly, Broadcom has a new offer - $117 billion. Wait, what? In early February Broadcom upped its offer to $82 per share to try and entice the reluctant Qualcomm stockholders - they refused. Now the offer is $79 per share - $57 in cash, $22 in Broadcom shares. The reason is that Qualcomm increased its offer for the acquisition of NXP to $44 billion. The major shareholders of NXP support this new deal and it's almost approved by 8 out of 9... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2BJ9p9V via IFTTT

Qualcomm unleashed a pack of announcements that paint a fast, wireless picture of the future of digital tech. Wi-Fi 802.11ax It introduced the first integrated 802.11ax solution for smartphones and computers. An advancement over Wi-Fi ac, it will double the network speed while using up to 67% less power. The module, named WCN3998, features 2x2 antennas and implements a pre-standard implementation (the Wi-Fi Alliance is still tweaking details). It will work with pre-draft 11ax access points due to hit the market later this year and in early 2019. Qualcomm's new module also... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2EJwPOU via IFTTT

The OnePlus 5T Lava Red edition hit Europe and the US in the beginning of February. Now the phone, endorsed by model and actress Emily Ratajkowski, will be given away to five lucky couples in North America during a raffle that is ending tomorrow, provided all required steps are done. OnePlus gives away five bundles of a Lava Red 5T for her and a Midnight Black 5T for him (or vice versa) in a celebration of love for tech. Users are required to tag their SO in the Facebook comments in the Source link we provided below and explain in a creative way why they should win. There are also... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2EVXjff via IFTTT

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will be unveiled this Sunday and they may be on store shelves less than a month later. Korean publication The Investor cites sources who claim that pre-orders for Korea's major carriers will start on February 28 - the Wednesday after the Samsung Unpacked event. Global sales are set to start on March 16, though those who've pre-ordered will probably get it the week before (that's for Korea, it's not clear if the global pre-orders will ship before the 16th). There's no new info on the pricing - last we heard, it would start at €910/£740 for the Galaxy... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2EFIOco via IFTTT

Facebook introduced 3D posts earlier, but today the social network is rolling out gITF 2.0 compliance to support high-quality 3D content. The biggest beneficent are owners of Xperia smartphones with Android Oreo and 3D Creator app, who get easy sharing of their 3D art. Objects from Oculus Medium can also be posted with no hassle. Compliance with gITF 2.0 brings support for textures, lighting, and realistic rendering techniques. The 3D portraits and objects are available both in the desktop version and the regular app, but Facebook Lite users will miss on the experience. Web... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2sLV0GW via IFTTT

Apple's AirPlay 2 went MIA in the latest developer beta releases. For those of you who've been following our recent first look at AirPlay 2 in the iOS and tvOS 11.3 betas, you may have to wait a little longer. In the latest developer iOS and tvOS 11.3 versions released yesterday, there is no sign of AirPlay 2 functionality. In our recent hands-on AirPlay 2, when working, delivered as promised. Allowing us to reliably stream to two Apple TV's from our iPad Air 2. However, it was clear that this was still work in progress and this may have caused Apple to take pause while it addresses any... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2CBtGe5 via IFTTT

Tired of cases and 3D renders of the Galaxy S9? Well, the floodgates have opened now and hands-on photos of the actual device were inevitable. The photos show the front of the upcoming flagship as the phone boots up as well as the back with the redesigned camera/fingerprint reader assembly. There wasn't any doubt on the matter, but you can see the Bixby button on the side - it hasn't gone anywhere. Leaked Samsung Galaxy S9 hands-on photos This is the Black color option, one of four color options to be available at launch. Source (in Chinese) | Via from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2BEECe2 via IFTTT

A second flagship Sony Xperia with a Snapdragon 845 has visited Geekbench. The model number is different, but the specs are the same - the chipset, the Android 8.0 Oreo, the 4GB of RAM. These are either different variants of the same model - perhaps, the Xperia XZ2 - or one is the big unit (5.7" screen, allegedly) and the other is the Xperia XZ2 Compact (5" screen). These two should bring a new era in Sony's design language. Sony will unveil the next-gen Xperia phones on Monday, but since its official teasers are vague, we have to rely on rumors for a preview. Source | Via (in... from GSMArena.com - Latest articles http://ift.tt/2Cbpje0 via IFTTT

President Trump declared on Tuesday that he has been “much tougher on Russia” than President Barack Obama, despite evidence that the opposite is true. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2EJlVsA via Latest News

After a lengthy court battle over gerrymandering, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court redrew the state's districts . MSNBC's Steve Kornacki explains how the new map could prove to be a big win for Democrats. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2olhRnf via Latest News

Student survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who are taking the fight for gun control to the state and national level don’t appreciate seeing their organizing efforts being labeled as a left-wing conspiracy. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2GtWMhN via Latest News

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner doesn’t want to give up the interim security clearance that gives him access to highly classified information, even though his current duties likely don’t require him to view top-secret material, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2Gvghqh via Latest News

A video of a man cutting his semi-automatic weapon in half has gone viral following last week's mass shooting at a Florida high school, prompting a social media movement decrying easy access to high-powered assault rifles. Scott Pappalardo of New York state is the star of a clip posted on Facebook that had been shared more than 360,000 times as of Tuesday afternoon. It shows him taking a power saw to the barrel of an AR-15 assault rifle, saying he wanted to make sure it would never be used in a massacre like the one in Florida that killed 17 students and faculty last week. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2sDfOAc via Latest News

Rachel Maddow reviews recent Ukrainian political history by way of explaining new charges in Robert Mueller's Trump Russia investigation against a lawyer who is also the son-in-law of a Ukrainian-Russian oligarch, Alex van der Zwaan. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2C9yf3L via Latest News

A gun-owning Dallas politician said he won’t support the National Rifle Association holding its annual convention in his city this year after last week’s Florida school shooting unless the group will discuss gun law reform. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2GqrfgP via Latest News

On 'Hannity,' Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, and Fox News national security strategist Sebastian Gorka discuss the Mueller indictments and the potential legal ramifications for Hillary Clinton. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2olVj6T via Latest News

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A Republican congresswoman from upstate New York said Wednesday that "many" people who commit mass murder turn out to be Democrats. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2CBGD7X via Latest News

President Trump turned his Twitter attention Tuesday to previously disclosed claims by Rachel Crooks, who says he forced himself on her at Trump Tower in 2006. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2Gx0Wpd via Latest News

David Hogg, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, has been the target of conspiracy videos spreading on YouTube. An aide to a Florida lawmaker was fired after falsely suggesting that student survivors of the mass shooting in Parkland were “actors”, repeating a conspiracy theory that has been used to harass victims. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2EI1b4e via Latest News

Republican efforts to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s insurance reforms continued Tuesday, when the Trump administration proposed regulations that would make it easier for health insurers to sell cheap, short-term policies that leave out key benefits and are available only to people in good health. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2EDkQCq via Latest News

Emergency teams on Wednesday began recovering bodies from a plane crash in Iran's Zagros mountains but the operation had to be suspended due to bad weather, officials said. Search helicopters located the crash site after a break in the weather on Tuesday at a height of around 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) in the Dena range. Helicopters were unable to land but officials said a recovery operation had begun on Wednesday, with emergency personnel carrying bodies on their backs to a road at the foot of the mountain. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2FlnoCs via Latest News

Officer Justin Billa, a former officer of the month, was fatally injured in the city of Mobile, after trying to detain a man wanted in connection with a murder. The dead officer joined the force in January 2016 and won the Mobile Police Department’s Officer of the Month award in June 2016, Mobile Police Department Chief Lawrence Battiste told reporters, according to the Associated Press. The suspect was identified as Robert Hollie. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2HA6xwn via Latest News

Local leaders in Starkville, Mississippi, denied a request to host what would have been the town’s first gay pride parade. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2CezIWc via Latest News

The strikes in Syria demonstrate to Iran, Assad, Hezbollah and any other anti-Israel party that Israel has red lines it will enforce. During a trip to the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights on February 6—after commiserating with the Israeli military officers defending the frontier and inspecting the equipment—Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a warning through the press to the Iranians, the Assad regime, Hezbollah, the Islamic State and any other actor on the Syrian battlefield that sought to challenge the Jewish state. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2ERbCC3 via Latest News

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The eruption of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung that shot ash 5 kilometers (3 miles) high also blew away much of the mountain's summit. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2ocwfPj via Latest News

The relationship between Donald Trump and Mitt Romney — who has been criticized for having particularly malleable positions — has followed a long and tortuous path, and more twists and turns likely lie ahead. Here is a timeline of the more head-snapping reversals in recent years. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2EFIydp via Latest News

Need some travel inspo for your upcoming beach vacation? from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2CdVBoA via Latest News

Archaeologists exploring the world's biggest flooded cave in Mexico have discovered ancient human remains at least 9,000 years old and the bones of animals who roamed the earth during the last Ice Age. A group of divers recently connected two underwater caverns in eastern Mexico to reveal what is believed to be the biggest flooded cave on the planet, a discovery that could help shed new light on the ancient Maya civilization. The Yucatan peninsula is studded with monumental relics of the Maya people, whose cities drew upon an extensive network of sinkholes linked to subterranean waters known as cenotes. Researchers say they found 248 cenotes at the 347-km (216-mile) cave system known as Sac Actun, near the beach resort of Tulum. Of the 200 archaeological sites they have discovered there, around 140 are Mayan. This mask of the Mayan god of trade is just one of the artefacts uncovered at the huge underwater Sac Actun cave in Quinta Roo state, Mexico Credit: HO/AFP   Some cenotes acqu

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he would extend the tour of duty of the country's police chief "a little bit longer" to carry out reforms in a law enforcement agency at the forefront of his war on drugs. Ronald dela Rosa, director-general of the Philippine National Police (PNP), was supposed to step down upon reaching the retirement age of 56 in January but Duterte had asked him to stay on for three more months until April. "I still have to institute continuing reforms with the police, and police has always been a problem," Duterte said in a speech at an event with businessmen. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2EKo9Uk via Latest News

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2EWqejq via Latest News

David Hogg, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, speaks at a rally calling for more gun control three days after the shooting at his school. On Tuesday on CNN, Parkland survivor David Hogg was asked by Anderson Cooper about the plethora of right wing websites and social media accounts spreading conspiracy theories about him. In response, Hogg said: “I’m not a crisis actor. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2ogwd9b via Latest News

A key hospital in Syria's rebel-held Eastern Ghouta was put out of service on Tuesday, a medical group said, with a monitor blaming Russian air strikes. "The Arbin hospital was hit twice today and is now out of service," said Moussa Naffa, country director in Jordan for the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), which supported the clinic. The news came as the United Nations said six hospitals had been hit in Eastern Ghouta in the past 48 hours, in addition to the one reported by SAMS. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2od74MG via Latest News

MONTREAT, N.C. (AP) — As a young man, he practiced his sermons by preaching to the alligators and birds in the swamp. At his height years later, he was bringing the word of God into living rooms around the globe via TV and dispensing spiritual counsel — and political advice — to U.S. presidents. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2EIZu2C via Latest News

Bobsledders from Nigeria and Jamaica made history at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Tuesday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2EG5HfI via Latest News

Former Google employee files lawsuit alleging the company fired him over pro-diversity posts    The Verge A software developer says Google fired him because he spoke out against harassment    Business Insider Ex-Google engineer's lawsuit says liberal views got him fired    CNET Full coverage from Technology - Google News http://ift.tt/2EIB8pP via Technology