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Controversy Amidst Tech Giant

7/23/2018

Recently, a Chinese tech company by the name of Huawei has come under even more controversy as security officials from the United Kingdom claim that Huawei phones could pose a risk to national security. In terms of everyday electronics, Huawei is known for its smartphones and laptops. Although not popular in the United States, Huawei is extremely popular in other countries - and the company itself is very successful. The main reason they are not popular in the United States is because of statements in February by US intelligence chiefs discouraging citizens from using Huawei’s gadgets. Their reasoning was that it is not safe to trust a company attached to a foreign government. Using their phones allows Huawei to gain power in our telecommunications infrastructure, which allows them to modify or steal information. After these statements came out, Huawei phones became locked out of the USA, as stores stopped selling them. One of their most recent smartphones, the P20 Pro, is actually very highly acclaimed, and reviews show that it is comparable to the Samsung S9 and Google Pixel 2, if not better.

Source: NDTV Gadgets (gadgets.ndtv.com)

While Huawei phones are somewhat common in the United Kingdom, they may not be for long. As stated earlier, security officials in the UK say that Huawei phones may not be completely safe for national security. A recent report showed that “Huawei’s engineering processes have exposed new risks in the UK telecommunication networks”, meaning that Huawei has posed risks in the telecommunication networks of the UK. In response to this, a Huawei spokesperson stated that they will work on improving their engineering processes. In another year, another report will show any new findings. It will be interesting to see if any stores or phone providers in the UK will stop selling Huawei phones, or if the nation will not take any precautions prohibiting the sales of these devices. If this does turn out to be more serious, we could see huge declines in Huawei’s success. For now, however, while Huawei has good phones, its best to stay away from them.

Source: Huawei (huawei.com)

Author: Ritik Sinha

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The Best $400 Laptop?

7/16/2018

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With back to school emerging, we are seeing new and interesting products being released that are targeted towards students. One such product is Microsoft’s new Surface Go, which is a laptop designed for everyday tasks. It brings the functionality of a laptop with excellent portability, as it has a small 10-inch display and its keyboard can detach to make it a touchscreen tablet. The Surface Go is planned to be released on August 2 and is currently available for preorder online. It has a relatively low price when compared with its brothers, the Surface Pro, Surface Book, and Surface Laptop, as the price for the base model is only $400.

Image Source: Microsoft (microsoft.com)

What differentiates itself from the other Surface models is its price tag and specs. While the other Surface models have nice features and specs, they also have quite a big price tag which makes them not suitable for small, everyday tasks. The cheapest Surface model besides the Surface Go is the Surface Pro, which starts at $749. Although it is inexpensive, the Surface Go does not have specs that are that bad. Its graphics processing unit is decent for the price point, and it has a good amount of memory as well. Besides that, most of the other features are average or subpar. The specs are good enough for students, and its touchscreen and ability to fold and detach makes it a good product for graphic designers as well. Unfortunately, one drawback is its $399 price is a bit of a ploy by Microsoft. Most users will opt for the $549 model instead, as the $399 model has an eMMC drive, which is quite slower than the SSD included in the more expensive version. Additionally, the keyboard for the Surface Go is not included with the device, so consumers will have to pay at least an additional $99 to buy it as well. A mouse and stylus are also not included, so that may be an additional cost for users who want those as well. Overall, the Surface Go is a great and unique device for students and designers, but its seemingly low price does not include additional expenses that could make this device quite more expensive. Will you order one for yourself?

Image Source: CNET (cnet.com)

Author:
Ritik Sinha

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