Nokia launches hole-punch display-toting X71

Nokia is taking on the hole-punch display trend with its newest Android One phone. The brand’s licensee HMD Global just launched in Taiwan the X71. Aside from the new 6.39-inch display, the X71 is a camera-centric phone with a Zeiss-branded triple-camera system. It has a 48-megapixel main sensor, 8-megapixel wide sensor, and 5-megapixel depth sensor. The hole-punch houses a 16-megapixel selfie shooter. It runs on a Snapdragon 660 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of expandable storage, and a 3,500mAh battery.

It’s priced at around US$385 (around CA$510) and pits it against the $490 Huawei Nova 4 and $203 Redmi Note 7 Pro, which both carry the same Sony 48-megapixel sensor. It’s rumoured to be getting a global release under the name Nokia 8.1 Plus.

Source: Engadget

Volkswagen calls its full-size electric SUV concept the ID ROOMZZ, because why not?

Volkswagen is going to be showing off its new electric car concept at the Shanghai Motor Show. And we’re sure you’ll remember it for its name. The car maker teased its sixth all-electric car and they’re calling this full-size electric SUV concept the ID ROOMZZ (yes, with two zeds). It’s in good (?) company when it comes to interesting names. The ID ROOMZZ follows the ID, ID Crozz, ID Buzz, ID Vizzion, and ID Buggy. Clearly, someone at VW loves to press the “z” key when they think up names for its all-electric concepts.

The name refers to the new seat configuration in this vehicle. According to VW’s Chief Designer Klaus Bischoff, “The ID ROOMZZ shows us what we can expect from full-size electric SUVs in the future.” The ID ROOMZZ offers case level 4 autonomy, which means it can drive itself “without an active driver.” It’ll also reportedly deliver “high-quality materials” and “customizable light.” A production-ready version is expected to debut in China by 2021.

Source: Top Gear

Google quietly takes out Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL from its store

While the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL might be available through third-party retailers, Google is no longer offering the two phones in its store. It no longer shows up in the Phones section of the site. And when you try to compare the three Pixel phones, only the Pixel 3 has a Buy button. Google did the same thing with the original Pixel at around the same time last year. The company’s strategy for its smartphones seems to be taking out the phones after it’s been out on the market for 18 months. So, if you’ve been waiting on getting the Pixel 3, at least you have some sort of timeline to think about until you might not have access to the device anymore.

Source: Engadget

Facebook considers launching ‘high-quality news tab’

Facebook might be looking to take on Apple again. This time, in the news department. In a conversation about journalism and social media with former journalist and prominent European publisher Mathias Döpfner, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the social network is thinking of having a separate news tab on the site dedicated to news. But it would feature only “high-quality” articles. Users will get access to it for free, while publishers will be paid if their stories are featured. They are mulling over the idea of either directly paying them or giving them a share of the advertising profits.

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