IFA 2020 will be an invite-only event observing strict attendee limits

Photo courtesy of IFA

IFA 2020 in Berlin will be the first tech conference to take place after the COVID-19 pandemic put to a halt any large in-person gatherings. The event will take place from September 3 to 5. In April, the organizers teased a conference that would take on an "innovative new concept" as the government of the city of Berlin banned events with over 5,000 participants until at least October 24. And so, IFA 2020 will be closed to the public. It'll be invite-only and split into four smaller events, with no more than 1,000 attendees allowed for each experience every day. 

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Sony commemorates 40th anniversary of the Walkman with this limited edition device

It looks like the portable music player some of you (including me) grew up with. But it isn't exactly that. In honour of the 40th anniversary of the Sony Walkman, the company unveiled at IFA 2019 a limited edition Walkman. It's called the wordier NW-A100TPS, and it features the look of a classic Sony Walkman. Upon closer inspection, the tape seen on the NW-A100TPS is simply a graphic on a 3.6-inch display. This digital music player has 16GB of storage capable of holding thousands of songs. And this time you don't need to buy spare batteries, the built-in rechargeable one has 26-hour battery life.

The NW-A100TPS runs on Android and has the S-Master HX digital amplifier for high-resolution audio. For a bit more nostalgia, the device even comes with a vinyl processor. This processor allows tracks to sound like they're being spun on turntables. It's going on sale in November for around £400 (around CA$650).

Source: NME

Samsung launches first commercially available 8K TVs

While 4K might be all the rage now, we have also for a while heard of 8K TVs. And now Samsung is bringing its first line of 8K TVs to the market. The Q900R QLED 8K TV was unveiled at IFA in Berlin and comes in 65 inches, 75 inches, 82 inches, and 85 inches. Why would you even want to consider one? It’s definitely brighter and can produce even better image quality. It has as many as 16 times more pixels than the standard HD TV and is capable of 4,000 nit peak brightness. At the moment, Samsung’s Q9 series 4K QLED TVs can reach 1,700 nit peak brightness. It also offers high-dynamic range to provide deeper blacks and more vivid colors. 

Content will always be the main issue here and there aren’t a lot of 8K content available yet. But just like what’s been done with 4K TVs, Samsung also includes its unique upscaling technology. This makes use of artificial intelligence to improve picture quality of what you’re watching—whether this comes from a streaming set-top box, game console, or even mirrored content from your smartphone or other mobile devices. Samsung hasn’t released pricing for this just yet but if you compare it with the top-of-the-line Q9 series QLED 4K TVs start at US$3,300 for the 65 inches (approx. CA$4,300) so expect the 8K model to be quite expensive. 

Source: Business Insider 

BlackBerry teases first look of KEY2 LE

The BlackBerry KEY2 LE looks to have a similar textured back as the KEY2

TCL Communications’ BlackBerry is set to unveil the low-end successor to the KEY2 at the upcoming IFA 2018 in Berlin, Germany. And the company just released the first official teaser for the KEY2 LE, showing off what we assume is the rear of the device. It looks to have a textured, polka dot-like back and comes in a grey black colour that seems like a nod to its more expensive brother. Some of the rumoured specs of the device include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, 4GB RAM, and either 32GB/64GB internal storage. Battery is expected to be on the smaller side at 3,000mAh.

Almost time for a new introduction. #IFA18 pic.twitter.com/9KPX5GrgvY

— BlackBerry Mobile (@BBMobile) August 24, 2018

Source: Deccan Chronicle