And global broadband from SpaceX |
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Today we've got an all-star lineup of articles -- including an update on when Starlink broadband internet will be globally available, a piece on TCL's wild new wearable display glasses, and some interesting insights from Amazon's recently concluded Prime Day. Enjoy! |
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SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell says the company expects to achieve global coverage with its Starlink internet service by around September this year. But she added that although it may have the capability to provide a worldwide service at that time, SpaceX will still need to gain approvals from national regulators to launch Starlink in each country.
SpaceX is building out its Starlink service using thousands of small satellites that it's been sending into low Earth orbit in batches of 60 in regular rocket launches since May 2019. The main focus of the multi-billion-dollar initiative is to provide broadband services to unserved or underserved communities around the world, but the company is also seeking to offer its services to businesses such as airlines for in-flight Wi-Fi.
With nearly 2,000 Starlink satellites already in orbit, SpaceX was able to launch a beta service in 2020 that's gradually expanded to 11 countries. In the U.S., Starlink users are required to pay a one-time fee of $499 for the Starlink kit and then $99 per month for the broadband service. Shotwell said Starlink currently has "almost 100,000" customers, adding that "half a million people" want to sign up for the service. |
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Modern phone screens can look amazing, but there's no getting away from the fact they're usually quite small, especially for comfortably watching a lengthy video. TCL Communications has the answer with the TCL NXTWear G, a wearable display that puts a 140-inch equivalent screen right in front of your eyes.
The NXTWear G have a sunglass-like design, and are fairly lightweight at about 100 grams, so wearing them for the duration of the average movie shouldn't be a problem. You stare at dual Sony OLED screens each with a Full HD resolution, which gives the impression of looking at a 140-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio screen. TCL says the NXTWear G will show both 3D and 4K resolution video, and because the glasses understand the position of your body, you can watch standing up, sitting down, or laying down and the screen will always stay in front of your eyes.
Worried about battery life? Don't be, because there isn't a battery inside. Instead, the NXTWear G takes power from the device it's connected to by a USB Type-C cable. It links to your smartphone, tablet, Windows PC, or Mac's USB Display Port and effectively mirrors what you'd normally see on the screen. You can watch video from your phone, or make video calls from your computer, for example. Because the NXTWear G doesn't cover your entire face like a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, you should still see the device, desk, or keyboard to work as normal. |
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Prime Day is over for this year, but now that the dust has settled, Amazon has released a slew of stats showing how we shopped during its latest two-day mega sale. For Prime Day 2021, which took place earlier this week, Amazon said more than 250 million items were purchased by Prime customers globally.
Prime members in 20 countries "shopped more this Prime Day than any previous Prime Day," according to the e-commerce giant. It said the most popular purchase during Prime Day 2021 was Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote, which sold for $40 instead of the usual $50. The company didn't reveal how many sticks it sold, saying only that shoppers bought "more Fire TV 4K streaming media players on Prime Day this year than any previous Prime Day."
Other top-selling tech products worldwide for Prime Day 2021 included the iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum and the Keurig K-Slim Coffee Maker. |
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TIPS, TRICKS, & TECHNIQUES |
by Josh Levenson and Tyler Lacoma |
Within the last couple of years, Apple's true wireless earbuds have revolutionized the way we listen to music. And with the introduction of Airpods 2 and then the AirPods Pro, the company has improved many of the original model's shortcomings.
The bad news, however, is that even with all the improvements Apple has made over the years, the company hasn't made it any easier to keep track of your AirPods case or prevent it from breaking. The same goes for the earbuds themselves.
Thankfully, replacing broken or lost AirPods, AirPods Pro, or their charging case isn't as tough as it may seem. Here's what you need to know. |
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