CES 2019: Lenovo's X1 Yoga is first ThinkPad to receive aluminum enclosure

As competition in the premium laptop and notebook segment heats up, it is not enough for manufacturers to rely on processor and performance upgrades, bezel-reduced displays and thinner form factors to remain competitive. Lenovo gets this and has imbued its ThinkPad X1 Yoga line with aluminum enclosures. ThinkPads are premium devices and usually come with metal frames but polycarbonate plastic enclosures which, while sturdy, felt less than completely premium.

The skinny ThinkPad X1 PCs are the first aluminum ThinkPads which is quite surprising since there are more premium models geared towards enterprise that could have used the upgrade. 

“Creating the 2019 ThinkPad X1 Yoga required us to completely go back to the drawing board and develop all new approaches,” said Jerry Paradise, vice president, Commercial Product Portfolio. “The challenge of reimagining our engineering, design and materials while achieving the reliability, quality, and usability required of a ThinkPad was massive, but the end result will provide a delightful customer experience.” 

Source: NeoWin

Apple starts charging sales tax in Canada on Apple Music subs and iTunes purchases

Apple has confirmed that it is charging Canadian customers sales tax on purchases of TV shows, movies, music, audiobooks in Canada. In a statement to iMore, Apple reps stated tha the changes in Canadian legislation have required the company, which considers itself the world's biggest taxpayer, to collect sales tax on digital items and subscriptions sold.

The statement from Apple is as follows, "As the world’s largest taxpayer, we respect the important role taxes play in society. Due to recent changes in Canadian legislation and the growth of our business, sales tax will now be charged on purchases of TV, movies, music, and audiobooks. Apple has been operating in Canada for 38 years and we are proud to deliver the best products and services in the world to our customers here.”

Source: 9to5Mac

CES 2019: HP's latest Spectre 15 x360 is first to feature AMOLED display

HP is kicking off the International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2019 in grand fashion with a slew of exciting new hardware. Top of the list is the innovative Spectre 15 x360 premium laptop that is the first to feature an AMOLED display.

With no pricing and availability date in sight, the Spectre 15 is a device to aspire for. HP says the AMOLED display sports a 100,000 to 1 contrast ratio, wide viewing angles, and support for 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut, with 33 percent more colors than sRGB. The non AMOLED variant costs $1,300.

The laptop features Thunderbolt 3, USB Type-C and Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, a headset jack, and a microSD card reader.

CES 2019: Google Assistant to power one billion devices

"Ok, Google, how many devices are you going to be on?"  The answer to that question is a stunning 1 billion devices by 2019. Google wasn't the first to come out with a smart assistant for consumers (that honour goes to Apple's Siri, which is sadly an also-ran in the current race).

Amazon's Echo has exploded thanks to their line of Alexa powered devices numbering 100 million, but it seems Google is set to dominate since Google Assistant is in Chromebooks, Android and iOS devices, Android Auto car infotainment, myriad smart-speakers, smart TVs, plugs, bulbs, doorknobs...you name it. 

The big difference for Google Assistant is its language support. It was the first smart assistant with full French Canadian support from the get go (no surprise there, parts of the OS and hardware were developed in Canada).  

To date, you can parlez with Google Assistant in 30 languages and in 80 countries, talk about world domination. Active Google Assistant users have grown four times over the past year and as announcements out of International CES 2019 show, Google Assistant is being bundled in all sorts of cool and weird products.

Source: Engadget