Lenovo recently announced a new home assistant that seems more like a kitchen appliance to commence a revolutionization of home assistants offered by Google.
Before now, home assistants and many other virtual assistant hardware usually were wired to receive information, interact, and communicate with users using voice only. Now, through Lenevo, Google is bringing its new ‘Smart Display’ initiative to life with the Lenovo Smart Displays the pioneering device.
With the Lenovo Smart Display, Google is giving the audio virtual assistant found in many phones and home assistants a display, a face and more features to change the home virtual assistant game.
The Lenovo Smart Display has actually been dubbed “a Google Home with a screen” and try be told, that isn’t totally far from what the device is actually is. Basically, the Lenovo Smart Display is a Google Home speaker with a screen, an eye, and more control options. And albeit, this is the first from Google, this isn’t the first of its kind, the Amazon Echo released as far back as 2016 is.
The Lenovo Smart Display is Google’s break-in device into the “smart speaker with display” ecosystem. Before segueing into more details on what the Lenovo Smart Display can do as well as pictures, let’s have a look a some of its specifications shall we?
Lenovo Smart Display: Specifications Dimension: 6.85 x 5.36 x 12.26 inches (173.87 x 136.02 x 311.37cm; W x D x H) Weight: 2.6 pounds (1.2kg) Display: 8-inch or 10-inch FHD+ display Chipset: 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 624 (quad-core ARM Cortex A53) RAM: 2GB Storage: 4GB eMMC Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi (2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth LE 4.2 Camera: 5MP wide-angle shooter Design and Appearance
On first glance, the product seems as though a tablet is attached to the left of a rectangular Google Home Speaker. The speaker is relatively loud (Google Home-loud) but said to sometime produce distorted sound. The bezels around the display are thick but it really doesn’t matter since the device isn’t designed to be operated in the hands like a tablet.
At the top-right corner of the display is a 5-megapixel camera for video calling purposes. The Smart Display comes with the Google Duo App which is the only app that uses the front camera. For privacy purposes, Lenovo embedded buttons at the right-hand side of the device which allows users turn the camera on and off. When off or deactivated, a red laser beam comes on at the camera spot.
Image credit: DigitalTrends
Volume adjustment keys and microphone on/off switch are located at the top of the device. You should know that visual smart home assistant has a fixed horizontal display orientation which can only be rotated vertically during Duo video calls.
On the rear, the speaker protrudes to the rear and doubles as a permanent kickstand to rest the device either horizontally or vertically. The Smart Display is available on two colour option; a bamboo-textured panel (for 10-inch version only) and gray plastic panel (for 8-inch version only).
DisplayThe Lenovo Smart Display comes in two different variants on the basis of display size: 8-inch and 10-inch. The smaller variant has a lower high definition (HD) display resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels while the bigger 10-inch variant come with a better and clearer full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,200 pixels).
Image credit: DigitalTrends
The screen comes with certain functions like swiping up from the bottom brings up a settings menu where you can make changes to brightness and other stuff. Swiping from the left edge to the right takes you from the current page to the previous; more like a back/return button would.
The introduction allows more to be done. For example, you ask the smart display for a location, not only will it read about details of the location (like the Google Home Speaker does), it will also display map location, directions, and pictures of the place on the screen. When you say “Hey Google, how can I fix your Vacuum cleaner”, it brings up a couple of YouTube videos on how to fix the appliance.
Microphone
The Smart Display comes with two microphones which do well in picking up and recognizing users voices. However, in loud environment like when you have your music playing loudly, the device might have a hard time picking up voices.
What can you do with the Lenovo Smart Display?The number of things you can do with the Lenovo Smart Display visual home assistant are in their thousands. You can:
Say “Good morning” to the Smart Display to turn on your smart air conditioner or smart light bulbs, turns on the smart coffee maker, read out the morning news and do anything else you customize the device to do at that command. Control over 5,000 different smart home devices. Play music Listen to a podcast or radio Look up the meaning of a word Create and add items to your shopping list Use as a kitchen assistant by watching/reading recipes or video tutorials on the display PricingThe 8-inch gray coloured version of the Lenovo Smart Display with plastic panel retails for $200 while the bigger 10-inch version with bamboo-textured panel sells for an additional $50. Both version have similar functionality with the display size, colour and resolution being the distinguishing properties.
The Lenovo Smart Display is the first Google Visual assistant to enter the market. Before the year runs out, we expect more to flood the market from other Google partners like LG, Sony, and JBL.
The post Lenovo Smart Display: A Google Home Assistant with a Screen appeared first on Nigeria Technology Guide.
LG has in the past years struggled in the smartphone scene and with the not too successful LG G6 last year, here is the year’s follow up. The LG G7 ThinQ is their new flagship with the latest tech and trends like a number of other flagship this year. While the ThinQ added might sound out of place, it signifies the presence of LG’s AI platform. Similar to some flagships recently launched, the phone has a notch on top and a peculiar premium glass build. Does it provide good competition against the likes of Samsung Galaxy S9, Huawei P20 Pro, Google Pixel 2 and iPhone X.
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The LG G7 ThinQ is a flagship and it does look the part but that is about just what it does. Clasped by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides that tapers into the curve of the corners, The dual cameras are arranged at the upper center half of the rear with the flash is vertically placed at the side in a similar way to the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the fingerprint reader below the camera. Facing you is a notch that can be hidden placing black bars around it and a chin at the bottom that is a bit too obvious sort of defeating the purpose of the notch. At the left side, there is a button that automatically launch Google Assistant and when pressed twice opens Google Lens.
Its display prowess is evident the moment the screen lights up with a perfect colour balance and an average maximum brightness of 500nits. However, there is a Super Bright feature that takes brightness up to a staggering 1000nits but only for 3 minutes. Size is also no issue as that of the smartphone extends up to 6.1-inch and resolution at 1440 x 3120 pixels.
Battery and CameraOn paper, the battery is somewhat on the low side and definitely doesn’t sound like much considering the display size and high resolution. However, the processor inside has proven to be a power efficient one and coupled with LG’s power conserving implementations you would be able to get enough time from the 3, 000mAh battery. There would also be Qi wireless charging on board and Quick Charge 3.0 too, although the latter is definitely faster than the former.
Not much change is seen in the camera structure on the smartphone with just about the same dual rear camera as before. Up in the notch, there is a single 8MP camera with an f/1,9 aperture and wide angle lens suitable for taking both selfies and wefies. On the other hand, you’ve got two 16MP cameras each having an f/1.9 and f/1.6 with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) alongside PDAF.. Artificial intelligence is the buzz word when it comes to photography nowadays and as a flagship it does have one come with an AI Cam that has 19 scene recognition. According to each scene, it applies some changes to the settings of the camera to soothe the scene being captured.
Hardware and SoftwareIn the aspect of hardware, this is what really makes a flagship and the LG G7 ThinQ has the most powerful Qualcomm chipset available. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor keep things running smoothly no matter what you throw at the smartphone without any glitch at all. There’s also the ‘Boom box’ sound system where the whole phone resonates the sound rather than the mono speaker at the bottom only.
The rest of the picture includes a 4GB RAM and 64GB built-in storage model as well as a more premium 6GB RAM variant that has 128GB of storage space. Storage can be increased to 512GB and runs Android 8.0 Oreo on the two models.
LG G7 ThinQ Pricing and AvailabilityThe price is to be around the region of 240, 000 Naira on online stores and smartphone retail centres around you depending on the deal.
Here are a few specs of the LG G7 ThinQ:
General Features Platform: Android 8.0 Oreo Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 GPU: Adreno 630 Memory: 4GB/6GB RAM Colours: Platinum Gray, New Aurora Black, New Moroccan Blue, Raspberry Rose Dimension: 153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm Weight: 162g SIM Type: Nano SIM SIM Count: Dual SIM Display Display: 6.1-inch, IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1440 x 3120 pixels (564 ppi) Screen Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Camera Rear Camera: Dual 16MP + 16MP camera, 2160p Video@30fps 1080p Video@30/60fps Rear Camera Features: Autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama Front Camera: 8MP camera, 1080p Video@30fps Storage Built-in Storage: 64GB/128GB Memory Card Support: Yes, up to 512GB Bundled Cloud Storage: – Network Support 2G GSM: Yes 2G CDMA 1X: – 3G WCDMA: Yes 3G CDMA EVDO: – 4G LTE: LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 28(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500) – G710EMW, G710EAW1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12,13,17,20,25,29,30,38,41,46,66 Internet & Connectivity GPRS: Yes EDGE: Yes 3G/WCDMA/HSPA: Yes HSPA+: Yes CDMA EVDO: – 4G LTE: LTE-A (3CA) Cat 16 1024/150Mbps or Cat 15 800/150Mbps (region dependant) WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA Wi-Fi Hotspot: Yes Bluetooth: Yes, v5.0 with A2DP, LE, aptX HD NFC: Yes Infrared Blaster: – USB Port: USB Type-C 3.0 Messaging SMS/MMS: Yes Instant Messaging: Yes Push Emails: Yes Email Protocol: – Entertainment Music Player: MP4/DviX/XviD/H.265 player Video Player: MP4/DviX/XviD/H.265 player FM Radio: Yes Loudspeaker: Yes 3.5mm Jack: Yes Navigation Navigation: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS Maps: Yes Sensors & Control Digital Compass: Yes Accelerometer: Yes Proximity Sensor: Yes Light Sensor: Yes Barometer: – SpO2: – Pedometer: – Heart Rate Monitor: – Gyroscope: Yes Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, (rear) Iris Scanner: – Face Unlock: Yes Intelligent Digital Assistant: Yes Motion Sensing / Gesture Control: – Voice Control: – Other Features Video Streaming: Yes Active Noise Cancellation: Yes Wireless Charging: Yes Built-in Mobile Payment: – Water Resistant: Yes Dust Resistant: Yes Image Editor: Yes Video Editor: Yes Document Viewer: Yes Document Editor: Yes Battery Battery: 3, 000mAh non removable Li-Ion battery Talktime: – Standby Time: – Fast Charging: Yes
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After releasing smartphones into the mid-range and flagship category, LG has recently put forth its entry level LG K11 Plus which has modest specs in an average looking body. The smartphone was launched in Chile along with a more modest version called LG K11a. The features offered on the smartphone are conventional budget specs part of which include 4G LTE, Fingerprint sensor and an HD screen. As much as the tall slim style of making smartphones is seen in budget smartphones, the LG K11 Plus comes with the 16:9 aspect ratio from the days of yore and an outdated OS.
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It is quite easy to confuse the LG K11 Plus for a smartphone made last year instead of a recent launch. One of the reason is that there is a chunk of bezel around the display, especially the one below which does not contain any button whether physical or capacitive. The back cover has the characteristic top central positioned camera with fingerprint reader below. It is available in Moroccan Blue and Terra Gold but this does not have any effect on the unappealing design.
Taking a look at the front of the smartphone, there is a 5.3-inch screen on a space that can comfortably take a 5.5-inch display. I should also point out that it is in 16:9 aspect ratio and with an LCD screes too. As a result of its entry-level status, there is only an HD resolution display here with a 277 ppi pixel density.
Battery and CameraIf you are asking how long the battery will last? The answer to that will be not too long. Inside the LG K11 Plus, there is a mediocre 3, 000mAh battery which works hand in hand with the other budget features. For that, there should be enough time at least till the end of the day as they are less demanding on the battery. Another missing feature is fast charge but that is pardonable in the category the smartphone is in.
Picture quality is sub-par and just about okay in bright lit environment but much worse in dim lit conditions. The main camera is a single 13MP sensor while on the selfie end there is a 5MP camera both with f/2.2 aperture.
Hardware and SoftwareTaking charge of operations on the inside is a MediaTek chipset which handles normal tasks well enough. The MediaTek MT6750T handles all the tasks on the smartphone but will certainly show glitches when carrying heavy tasks as well as the Mali-T880 GPU during gaming.
In addition, there is 2GB RAM and a beefier 3GB RAM if you want both coming with 32GB of internal storage space. However, available space will be a bit lesser, taken up by the system software and other files although you can still expand this up to 512GB using a memory card. Instead of the latest OS, you have Android 7.1 from last year.
LG K11 Plus Pricing and AvailabilityThe smartphone is quite expensive at the price of around 100, 000 Naira depending on the location.
Here are a few specs of the LG K11 Plus:
General Features Platform: Android 7.1 Oreo Processor: Octa-core MediaTek MT6750W GPU: Mali-T880 MP2 Memory: 2GB/3GB RAM Colours: Moroccan Blue, Terra Gold Dimension: 148.7 x 75.3 x 8.7 mm Weight: – SIM Type: Nano SIM SIM Count: Dual SIM Display Display: 6.0-inch, IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1280 x 720 pixels (277 ppi) Screen Protection: – Camera Rear Camera: 13MP camera, 1080p Video@30fps Rear Camera Features: Autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama Front Camera: 5MP camera, 720p Video@30fps Storage Built-in Storage: 32GB Memory Card Support: Yes, up to 512GB Bundled Cloud Storage: – Network Support 2G GSM: Yes 2G CDMA 1X: – 3G WCDMA: Yes 3G CDMA EVDO: – 4G LTE: Yes Internet & Connectivity GPRS: Yes EDGE: Yes 3G/WCDMA/HSPA: Yes HSPA+: 42.2/5.76Mbps CDMA EVDO: – 4G LTE: LTE-A (2CA) Cat 6 300/50Mbps WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Hotspot: Yes Bluetooth: Yes NFC: – Infrared Blaster: – USB Port: MicroUSB 2.0 Messaging SMS/MMS: Yes Instant Messaging: Yes Push Emails: Yes Email Protocol: – Entertainment Music Player: MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player Video Player: MP4/H.264 player FM Radio: Yes Loudspeaker: Yes 3.5mm Jack: Yes Navigation Navigation: Yes, with A-GPS Maps: Yes Sensors & Control Digital Compass: Yes Accelerometer: Yes Proximity Sensor: Yes Light Sensor: Yes Barometer: – SpO2: – Pedometer: – Heart Rate Monitor: – Gyroscope: – Fingerprint Scanner: Yes (rear) Iris Scanner: – Face Unlock: – Intelligent Digital Assistant: – Motion Sensing / Gesture Control: – Voice Control: – Other Features Video Streaming: Yes Active Noise Cancellation: – Wireless Charging: – Built-in Mobile Payment: – Water Resistant: – Dust Resistant: – Image Editor: Yes Video Editor: Yes Document Viewer: Yes Document Editor: Yes Battery Battery: 3, 000mAh non removable Li-Ion battery Talktime: – Standby Time: – Fast Charging: –The post LG K11 Plus Specs and Price appeared first on Nigeria Technology Guide.
About three weeks ago (July 2018), Microsoft officially announced a new hardware addition to its ‘Surface’ line of product. The device is the Microsoft Surface Go; a watered down version of the Microsoft Surface Pro. The Surface Go officially go on sale tomorrow, August 2 but before then, we bring to you an overview of some major specifications, features, pricing, and availability of the device.
Microsoft Surface Go: Design and Overall AestheticThe older processor of the Surface Go all had fantastic aesthetic properties. The Surface Pro, for one, is a sleek and flexible innovation. The new Surface Go on the other is all the things that the Surface Pro is, but also brings portability and affordability on board.
Microsoft Surface Pro (left) and Microsoft Surface Go (right)
The Surface Go is a tablet that aims to rival Apple’s iPad. One of the many features that the Surface Go boasts of is its portability andand featherlight weight. With a dimension of 9.65″ x 6.90″ x 0.33″ (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm) and 1.15 lbs (approx. 522 grams) weight, the Surface Go is the perfect mobile workstation for individuals who love to work on the go, travellers, communters, and the average individual.
When the Surface Pro was launched, it was accepted as an interesting innovation as a PC, but too bulky a tablet; the Surface Pro 12.3-inch display isn’t exactly suitable for one-hand operation. The new Surface Go, however, is like the everyday 10-inch tablet (but sleekier) and interestingly, the attachable keyboard accessory converts it to the perfect regular PC.
On the left side, all the ports of the Surface Go are situated. The available ports include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB-C port, and Surface Connect port.
The right side of the tablet PC is blank but servss as the attachment point for the Surface Pen. On the rear, there is a built-in kickstand which allows for adjustment of up to 165° with enough friction level. The built-in kickstand is one of the many feature that makes the Surface Go trump Apple’s iPad.
Accessories Attachable Keyboard
The attachable type cover keyboard is a Surface Go accessory that has to be purchased separately as it doesn’t come with the tablet PC. Depending on if the intend to use the Surface Go for casual and business or school purposes, the type cover keyboard is actually an important accessory which will definitely come in handy.
The Surface Go” type cover keyboard comes with a track pad, a feature iPads’ attachable keyboards lack.
Surface Pen
The Surface Pen is a stylus pen for the Surface Go. It is also an optional accessory and it attaches magnetically to the left hand side of the Surface Go.
Surface Connect/ Surface DockThe Surface Connect port is used to charge the Surface Go and also, used to connect the tablet to other devices (like 2K monitors and USB sticks) using the Surface Dock accessory.
Microsoft Surface Dock
Internal configuration
On the inside, the Surface Go will be powered by an dual core Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y processor. The device will be launched in different variants on the basis of storage. A model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage will be the basic model while there will be other models with double storage capacity (8GB RAM and 128GB SSD). There will also be a variant with up to 256GB SSD.
Microsoft also says that upon launch, only the Wi-Fi-only variant of the Surface Go will be available for purchase as the LTE version will come at a later date.
The Microsoft Surface Go will come out of the box with running the Windows 10 operating system in “S Mode”. This means unless users opt-out of the S mode, they will be able restricted to downloading apps from the Microsoft Store only. Opting out of the S mode is easy and comes at no charge.
BatteryWhile usage intensity and manner will vary significantly among users, Microsoft assures that the Surface Go’s battery can supply up to 9 hours of on-time.
Pricing
The basic model of the Microsoft Surface Go will sell for $399 while other variants with bigger storage properties will cost more. “Eligible” teachers, students, military personnels, and parents can get the product at a discounted price of $379.05. You can check your eligibility for the price discount HERE.
The Surface Pen and Type Cover Keyboard are sold for $100 each.
The Microsoft Surface Go is a perfect tablet choice to cater for all your daily tasks while also rendering laptop performance. The cost effectiveness (read: affordable), portability, fantastic accessories and other features are some of the edges the tablet has over Apple’s iPad. In the coming months, the performance and overall acceptance of the Surface Go will reveal how much of a threat the device is to the iPad.
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