Carpool Karaoke:The Series coming to Apple Music on August 8

From late show segment to global cultural sensation Carpool Karaoke is coming to Apple Music subscribers starting on August 8. While Apple Music is primarily a music streaming service, it has been known to produce and present shows (see 808). 

Carpool Karaoke: The Series for Apple Music will welcome a different group of superstars every Tuesday, with new episodes available exclusively to Apple Music subscribers in more than 100 countries. Celebrity pairings include Will Smith and James Corden; Miley, Noah, Billy Ray and the entire Cyrus family; Shakira and Trevor Noah; Game of Thrones stars Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams; Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith; John Legend, Alicia Keys and Taraji P. Henson; LeBron James and James Corden; and many more.

The father of Android stages a comeback with the Essential Phone

Andy Rubin is considered the father of Android, being the originator what is now the leading mobile platform. Well, after some years in the wilderness, Rubin is back with the Essential Phone. Basically a QHD 5.7-inch edge-to-edge display wrapped around a titanium and ceramic back, powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage plus a 3040 mAh battery.

This device will cost $700, is available in the US for now and is out to challenge the top tier smartphones of 2017. How will the Essential Phone fare against present and upcoming competition? That depends on various things like availability, its ability to differentiate itself in the market and whether or not consumers will find it an attractive option.

Review: BlackBerry Mobile KEYone

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

It’s mid-2017 and there’s a BlackBerry smartphone that’s turning heads and making waves. The Android powered KEYone brings BlackBerrys bag of tricks to a new form factor, and possibly, a new generation of users.

With sterling build and materials, legendary security and encryption, as well as a surprisingly capable 12-megapixel camera, this is a messaging tool that merits notice.

Like many, I approached the news of the KEYOne with great skepticism. BlackBerry, after all, no longer makes smartphones. They’ve licensed the brand and intellectual property to other companies and TCL's track record with the uninspiring DTEK smartphones cast doubt they could offer anything compelling. Earlier models from this licensee, after all, were rebadged Alcatel smartphones. BlackBerry handsets seemed to be all but lost.

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Mixer is Microsoft's answer to Twitch and YouTube gaming

Microsoft has renamed Beam to Mixer and it is now its next-gen streaming service, including co-Streaming, a new mobile Create app for mobile broadcasting and the addition of Channel One, a new page on the Xbox dashboard and much more.

"We’re thrilled to see developers and community members using Mixer’s interactive tools in such creative ways and can’t wait to see what other imaginative ideas creators will bring to life building on our Interactive 2.0 development kit," Microsoft explains.