DigiTech Geeks

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 leaked by retailer – but will it disappoint? Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go 2 could be on the cusp of arriving, going by a retailer listing for the device that briefly appeared online. The Verge spotted that a Korean retailer posted a product page for the Surface Laptop Go 2, spilling the spec details, but that listing has since been taken down as is usually the case when such leaks are reported. This tells us – tentatively – that it looks like Microsoft could be about to introduce a sequel to the laptop , with the listing indicating that pre-orders would open on June 2, in just a couple of days. The spec details, if correct, show that Microsoft has decided to run with an 11th-gen Intel Core i5 CPU for the Go 2 – the Core i5-1135G7 to be precise – alongside up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There’s also mention of a better webcam for this model, and a claimed battery life of up to 13.5 hours (that’s a touch more than the 13 hours claimed for t...

The Google Pixel Tablet could offer a key iPad feature Much to everyone’s surprise, Google recently teased a new Pixel Tablet – one which we probably won’t see until next year. But one of the most exciting possible features wasn’t included in the tease. That feature is a stylus, which is something there’s now significant evidence we might see included with the slate. Why? Because – as spotted by tech blog NuGiz – a Google tablet codenamed Tangor has been certified by the Universal Stylus Initiative (USI). Of course, it’s possible that Tangor is a different device to the Pixel Tablet, but given that we’re only aware of one tablet being worked on by Google, that’s unlikely, and this certification all but confirms an upcoming Google slate will have stylus support. That still leaves some questions though, such as whether a stylus will be included with the tablet or whether you’ll have to buy one separately, and whether stylus support will be a key focus for Google or just a handy ex...

Here's why an Amazon Fire tablet, not an iPad, should be your Prime Day buy People often use our Amazon Prime Day list of the best iPads to buy a brand-new Apple tablet. The slates are often so expensive that even a slight discount can result in lots of money saved. There's a lot to be said for purchasing an iPad – they're popular, powerful and pretty, and so it isn't surprising to find a number of iPad models sitting on our list of the best tablets .  But you could save yourself huge sums of money if you pushed Apple's super-expensive slates and bank-breaking accessories from the forefront of your mind, and instead looked at the other end of the price spectrum. Amazon's Fire tablets The Amazon Fire range of slates are the epitome of what you'd class as " cheap tablets ". They come with tacky-feeling plastic bodies, weak chipsets, and software that's so full of pre-loaded apps that most people don't even realise that, at its core, t...

A new Kindle update means I don't need to rely on my PC any more Like all Kindle owners, I like reading on my Kindle Oasis , but I have to admit that I use my PC a lot more than I'd like. It's simply easier to browse the library and pick up books on a browser than it is with the ereader's built-in store. A new Kindle update seeks to fix that though, as it brings a few changes to the Kindle Store to make it much easier to find a new book to buy. According to Amazon, this update will give you more access to filters and collections, will let you change between grid and list views, and will let you see more of your most recently read books. The company also seems to be integrating the Kindle Store into the Kindle's home screen more. It's not exactly clear what's new design-wise from the last Kindle home screen redesign, which rolled out at the beginning of 2022, but with the update arriving "over the coming weeks," according to the company, we sh...

Barnes & Noble's new Nook ereader is cheaper but with tradeoffs Barnes & Noble is still in the ereader game, and is going after fresh recruits with a much more affordable NOOK GlowLight 4e. This new model , which is a follow-up to last year's GlowLight 4 , drops the price $30 to a more attractive $119.99. Still, the savings do come with a performance cost. Mid-tier eReader The gap between the GlowLight 4 and 4e isn’t all that wide. For starters, the new model still has a 6-inch E Ink screen that is resistant to scratches and annoying glare. The ‘GlowLight’ in the name refers to GlowLight Illumination which is the backlight that is powerful enough to support reading in bed without an overhead light or to counter the bright light of the sun, according to Barnes & Noble. Continuing with its similarities, the GlowLight 4e also sports physical buttons on the side to turn the on-screen page, Wi-Fi connectivity, and access to B&N Readouts which is a library fill...

Amazon's new cheap Fire tablet brings low-key but important software upgrades Amazon's new cheap tablet is here, with the Amazon Fire 7 (2022) being the newest refresh of the company's smallest and most affordable line of slates – but it brings a few more upgrades than you may expect. The headline changes here from the Amazon Fire 7 (2019) are upgrades to the performance and battery life, and that's not exactly a major revolution, but there are actually some more changes that are all down to the software. The Amazon Fire 7 tablet comes with the Fire OS 8 software, which is based on Android 11 – Amazon hasn't updated the software its tablets use since 2019, when it rolled out Fire OS 7, which was based on Android 9. This is all detailed in Amazon's developer blog . So the new slate gets the first major software update in several years, and that means there are a few great features that you can access on the new Fire 7 that you couldn't on older tablets...

Asus reveals lightest 14-inch laptop in the world – could it take on Dell and HP? Asus has revealed a pair of fresh Expert Series laptops over at Computex 2022 , including the lightest 14-inch notebook in the world. That featherweight offering is the Asus ExpertBook B9, a 14-inch business laptop which weighs just 880 grams thanks to a magnesium-alloy chassis. The ExpertBook B9 (product code B9450CBA) may be highly portable – it’s also 14.9mm thin – but Asus promises that it doesn’t cut corners in terms of the hardware inside, and the performance it’s capable of. To that end, you get the latest Alder Lake (12th-gen) Intel silicon, up to Core i7 vPro models (with integrated Iris Xe graphics), and two SSDs in RAID configuration (tailored to either performance, or for redundancy) with up to 4TB in storage possible. Naturally, those working on the go will also expect a good level of battery life, and longevity extends to 16 hours according to Asus. (Image credit: Asus) The Ex...

Soon you won't be able to buy books on these older Amazon Kindles If you have one of Amazon's older ereaders, then you might want to check out our list of the best Kindles so you can order a new one – because five older devices are losing a key bit of functionality. As spotted by GoodEreader , Amazon has been emailing people who own an old Kindle to tell them that their device soon won't have access to the Kindle Store anymore. These devices are the basic Kindles from the second- to fifth-gen models (which includes the Kindle Keyboard), as well as the Kindle DX. The Kindle Store is the onboard library that lets you buy, download and borrow books straight from the device – in other words, it's a pretty integral part of the Kindle experience. This isn't the first bit of bad news for owners of these devices either, as the phasing out of 3G networks means lots of them recently lost the ability to connect to the internet outside of Wi-Fi spots. If you have one of...

Corsair’s first gaming laptop is powerful, thin, and comes with a surprise up its sleeve Corsair has announced a new gaming laptop over at Computex , marking the first time that the hardware maker has dipped its toes in notebook waters. Corsair’s Voyager a1600 AMD Advantage Edition runs with all-Team Red hardware as you might expect given the name, utilizing Ryzen 6000 mobile CPUs in combination with Radeon RX 6800M graphics. Aimed at gamers, along with streamers and content creators, there are two models of the Voyager a1600, the more affordable one running with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS processor, 32GB of Corsair DDR5 system RAM , and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. The difference with the higher-tier model is that it ups the CPU to a Ryzen 9 6900HS, and the RAM loadout to 64GB, with a 2TB PCIe SSD. Otherwise, these Voyager models are the same, and both are equipped with an AMD Radeon RX 6800M GPU, along with a 16-inch IPS screen that offers a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 (and a 240Hz refr...

Google Pixel Tablet: everything we know so far Google IO 2022 was full of surprises, because along with the expected announcements the company also teased the likes of the Pixel 7 and even a new Pixel Tablet. This came as a complete surprise, as other than a job advert there had been no previous sign that Google was working on a new slate. But not only has Google now confirmed that it is working on one, it’s even shown images of the Pixel Tablet, and shared the first details. Below, then, you’ll find everything we’ve heard so far about the Google Pixel Tablet. Currently that’s basically just what Google has told us, but we’d expect leaks and rumors will start rolling in soon, and well add them to this article once they do. Cut to the chase What is it? An upcoming tablet from Google When is it out? 2023 How much will it cost? No idea yet Google Pixel Tablet release date and price Google has confirmed that it’s aiming to launch the Pixel Tablet sometime in 2023, so there...

Amazon Fire 7 is now more expensive – but why? The bar for bargains has been raised. Amazon's new Fire 7 tablet is, at $59.99 / £59.99 (around AU$105), a good deal, but its predecessor was an arguably better one. What just happened? There were few better gadget deals than Amazon's 7-inch Fire tablet . For years and through various updates, it's sold for just $49.99 – a just-blow-$50 Android wonder that was the perfect tablet gift for children and family members who might not treat their gadgets with the utmost care. For a time, Amazon was selling them in bundles , like a carton of eggs, so you could quickly replace a broken egg... er... tablet with a fresh one. The specs were never stellar. A relatively low-resolution 1024 x 600 7-inch touch-screen, a 1.3GHz Mediatek CPU, 16GB of storage, a gig of RAM, and a pair of 2MP cameras for the front and back. But it had all that many people need for basic tablet activities: lightweight gaming, browsing, email, reading, and wat...

Amazon’s new Fire 7 launched as a super-cheap alternative to an iPad mini Amazon has finally upgraded its Fire 7 tablet, having just announced a new model for the first time in three years. The new slate – simply called the ‘all-new Fire 7 tablet’ – starts at just $59.99 / £59.99 (around AU$105). That makes it one of the very cheapest tablets you can buy, and vastly more affordable than the similarly small iPad mini (2021) . That said, it’s actually a $10 / £10 price rise on the previous model, but that’s not so bad given the three-year gap between them. For your money you get a tablet with twice as much RAM as the Amazon Fire 7 (2019) , at 2GB, plus the promise of 40% longer battery life, at up to 10 hours. Its 2GHz quad-core chipset is also supposedly 30% faster, so performance should be getting a serious upgrade. The new Amazon Fire 7 also has a 7-inch screen, as the name suggests, with a 1024 x 600 resolution, and it has proven twice as durable as the iPad mini (2021) in tumbl...

Acer's updated ConceptD range is fantastic news for content creators Acer has announced that its ConceptD range of laptops and computers will be getting refreshed to include the latest generations of hardware from both Nvidia and Intel.  The range primarily targets creative professionals who have higher-than-average hardware requirements for their work or hobbies, including powerful graphics cards and high-performance processors to work through tasks like 3D rendering. Updated versions of both the ConceptD 5 and ConceptD 5 Pro laptops will be equipped with a 16-inch OLED display and a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, as well as a choice between either an Nvidia RTX A5500 or Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics card. They also include up to 32GB of fast LPDDR5 memory and up to 2TB of M.2 SSD storage. These laptops will have the Nvidia Studio badge to readily identify them as creative workstation devices, and that also means they'll already be equipped with plenty of bene...

Acer gaming laptop offers glasses-free 3D powered by an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU Acer has revealed a smart new gaming laptop which boasts a neat trick in terms of a 3D screen that doesn’t require any clunky glasses, with a bunch of titles that’ll be supported by the hardware out of the gate. The Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition was shown off at the next@acer event, and it offers glasses-free 3D gaming using the SpatialLabs TrueGame app. How does it work exactly? SpatialLabs utilizes an eye-tracking solution, along with a stereoscopic 3D screen, and real-time rendering tech, with pre-configured profiles for different games to help realize the required three-dimensional experience. Over 50 PC games will be supported in 3D mode at launch – these will be a mix of contemporary and classic offerings – with more to come down the line. In terms of the actual hardware, that screen is a 15.6-inch 4K display with a liquid crystal lenticular lens optically bonded on top of it to create th...

Apple previews new iPhone and Mac accessibility features that could seriously change lives Apple has revealed a clutch of fresh innovations for its hardware which pushes forward strongly on the accessibility front, capabilities that’ll arrive later in 2022 courtesy of software updates. The new software features, which have been developed using machine learning, include Door Detection for blind or low vision users, as well as a system of Live Captions for the deaf or those with hearing loss, and Apple Watch Mirroring which gives those with physical and motor disabilities the ability to control the smartwatch via an iPhone. Let’s take a more in-depth look at these capabilities, starting with Door Detection, which as the name suggests allows for iPhone and iPad users to locate a door when arriving at a new place. The feature, which uses LiDAR, so will require a device equipped with the LiDAR Scanner ( iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 – both Pro and Pro Max – handsets, and various iPad Pro...

Apple's iPod touch sells out for the last time, because it's still awesome It didn't take long for Apple's remaining iPod touch to sell out. Consumers anxious to own what's now a part of mobile technology history cleared out every color and storage option for the 7th generation of Apple's portable music and media player. There are still some iPod touch devices available on other online retail sites. Best Buy , for instance, still has the blue and black 128 GB models, but the rest of the color options appear sold out. In case you missed the news, Apple without much fanfare quietly sunsetted the iPod line on Tuesday by announcing that it was selling the iPod touch "while supplies last." The company that launched a mobile music revolution never explicitly said the iPod line was dead, but the implication was clear enough. Buying these devices is far from a fool's game. The iPod Touch 7th generation is, for all intents and purposes, an iPhone 7 ...

Realme's new trio of devices might rank among the best cheap phones and tablets It’s a busy week for phone news, as we’ve already had the Sony Xperia I IV and Google IO 2022 , and now Realme is here with a launch of its own, but this one is aimed at the low end of the market. The company has unveiled the Realme 9, the Realme 9 5G , and the Realme Pad Mini, all of which have temptingly low prices. Starting with the Realme 9, this is a 4G smartphone with a 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen packing a 90Hz refresh rate. It also has a Snapdragon 680 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging. The camera is a triple-lens one, with a 108MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro snapper, and the phone also has a 3.5mm headphone port, and an under-display fingerprint scanner – which can also measure your heart rate. The Realme 9 comes in a choice of gold, black or white, and it costs just £249 (around £305 / AU$440). Then there’s the Real...

This could be the year I give up my iPad Pro - and it's all thanks to Android 13 While I'm not an Apple fan, with my Android phone , compatible smartwatch and Windows PC, my one exception to that is my trusty iPad Pro which I still use almost daily. I use this tablet for gaming, for writing, for editing videos, for streaming movies in bed, for scrolling through social media and much more - though I've tested loads of Android tablets that I really want to love, I always fall back on the iPad as my go-to tablet. But two key pieces of news, one at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 launch at the beginning of 2022 and another at Google IO 2022 , have made me think that Android tablets could go from being my side piece, to my main slate. The problem with Android tablets I've never been a fan of the software on Android tablets - I think Google's own-built software has never really suited, or made the most of, the larger screen size. This is best exemplified with the menu...

A brand-new Google Pixel Tablet is coming, and it looks like a Home Hub let loose Google is, for the first time in many years, launching a new Android tablet . It confirmed this at its Google IO 2022 conference, after showing off the Pixel 6a , Pixel 7 , Pixel Watch and Android 13 . There's a catch here though: this isn't coming soon. Google confirmed that it'll be arriving at some point in 2023, though we hope to see more of it before then. Not much about the tablet was shown off, other than the image you can see above (as well as a few other glimpses of it). To our fresh eyes, it looks a lot like a Google Home Hub that someone took off its stand, though with slightly different-looking software. The bezels around the screen are quite big, leading some in the TechRadar team (including this author) to think this could be a mid-range tablet, instead of a premium one. We did hear that it'll use Google's own Tensor chipset too, though if it's coming in 2023,...

Android tablets might finally get that iPad-beating update If there's one common gripe we have with Android tablets , it's the software - we commonly complain about how stock Android just doesn't work well for big screens, not like iPadOS does for iPads . But that could be about to change. At Google IO 2022 , an annual conference for... well, everything Google, the company announced that Android 13 will bring a huge redesign of how the company's software works on big-screen devices. We didn't hear when this update will roll out, but hopefully soon - at least in beta form. Expect new tablets from Samsung, Lenovo and more to come with it soon - those brands were name-checked on stage. So what's new? The biggest main change is a redesign for the tablet software home page, to make apps fit together better without wasting space. Widgets sound redesigned for the same purposes too. Multi-tasking has seen an update, so it's super convenient to place two apps...

Here's what Apple's former design chief thinks you should buy Apple’s former Chief Design Officer Jony Ive shared the twelve most important tools that he uses when creating, measuring, or jotting down. His choices come from the latest issue of ‘ How to Spend It ’, a series from The Financial Times where the publication takes a well-known public figure and asks them for recommendations on what people should buy. If you don’t know who Jony Ive is, as Apple's former design lead, he gave the world some of the company’s most iconic products, designing the original iMac, iPod, and iPhone, just to name a few. Full list of gadgets Going down the list, Jony Ive’s choices are ostentatious, to say the least. Most are either expensive versions of common household items or some kind of specialty tool. The list is as follows: Ive doesn’t say why he choose so many different types of tools for his eclectic collection, but in a related “How to Spend It” piece , he gives some indi...

AMD’s rumored Smart Access Storage could speed up your gaming laptop’s SSD AMD is planning to bring in new tech which is apparently called Smart Access Storage, and so is presumably some kind of storage speeding innovation, although the rumor mill is especially vague on any details here. This comes from VideoCardz which claims to have received info (via Disclosuzen) on said Smart Access Storage, but as noted, there are no details provided as to exactly what this feature might be – so we’re left to speculate on that score (which we’ll do very shortly). What we do know, or at least what this nugget from the grapevine tells us, is that a Corsair gaming laptop will be the first device to come with Smart Access Storage on-board – and that’s scheduled to launch in June. So it’s a pretty fair bet that AMD will reveal this storage innovation at Computex 2022, at the end of May, although remain skeptical about all of this, naturally. Analysis: What will Smart Access Storage be, exactl...