Outgoing BT CEO delivers positive final results

Outgoing BT CEO Gavin Patterson says he is handing over the reins to a business with “good momentum” behind it following better than expected figures for Q3.

Delivering his final set of results before stepping down as CEO tomorrow, Patterson revealed strong progress in rolling out ultrafast broadband and reiterated the wider group’s plans for launching 5G later this year.

Openreach has now covered 1.7 million premises with G.Fast, which speeds up copper connections, and 900,000 with Fibre to the Premise (FTTP). More than 2.6 million properties can now receive ultrafast services, bringing BT closer to its target of 5.7 million by the end of the decade. Meanwhile 5G will go live in parts of 16 cities in 2019.

BT Q3 results

But investors will be pleased at quarterly revenues of £5.98 billion – down one per cent – as continued growth in its consumer division offset declines elsewhere. Earnings fell by three per cent to £1.88 billion, but both these figures were more than what was expected.

“We have continued to deliver consistently against our strategic objectives in a tough market, resulting in another sound quarter of operational and financial performance,” declared Patterson. “I am handing over the business with good momentum behind its ongoing transformation programme and wish my colleagues all the best for the future.”

Patterson’s handover marks the end of 15 years’ service to the company. He assumed the role of chief executive in 2013 and oversaw the launch of BT Sport and the £12.5 billion acquisition of EE.

However, an accounting scandal at BT Global Services’ (BTGS) Italian division, declining business revenues and spats with regulator Ofcom were regarded as contributing factors to his departure.

His successor, former Worldpay co-CEO Phillip Jansen, has spent the past month working alongside Patterson in order to get to grips with the business. He formally assumes control tomorrow, tasked with implementing Patterson’s restructuring of the company, including job cuts, and the launch of new network services.

There’s also the issue of Brexit, although BT says it has contingency plans for the event of a ‘no-deal’ that will focus on delivering uninterrupted services to customers and to ensure it is able to transfer data to and from the EU.

It does however admit there could be a damaging impact on consumer and business confidence, the extent of which is difficult to predict.

• Check out our guide to the best broadband deals for January 2019

January 31, 2019 at 05:33PM
Steve McCaskill

PlayStation Plus subscribers now get 100GB of cloud storage space

It's a big month for PlayStation Plus subscribers, as Sony's PS Plus service is going through some big changes from February 2019 onwards.

We already knew that, after February 2019, PlayStation Plus subscribers would no longer be getting free PS4 and PS Vita games as part of their monthly subscription packages. And Sony has now announced the final games coming to those consoles as part of the deal. Seeing the PS3 element of PS Plus off in style, you'll be able to download Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to your PlayStation 3 this month, along with Divekick. Gunhouse and Rogue Aces will both also hit PS Vita and PS4.

So, with the older consoles being removed from the service, what's Sony offering to balance out the difference? 100GB of cloud storage for game saves. It's a considerable jump from the 10GB currently offered.

It's a useful tool, but unless you've got multiple consoles dotted around your home, are expecting your PS4 to die, or load up saves on a friend's console regularly, we can't imagine it exciting too many players. 

February 2019 PS4 games on PS Plus

Still, if you are a PS4 owner, when taking into account the above plus the PS4 games being delivered this month, it's a bumper offering.

As well as all the items listed previously, you'll also be getting stealth murder simulator Hitman: The Complete First Season, and medieval hack-and-slash-athon For Honor, where knights, vikings and ninjas go toe-to-toe in multiplayer melee combat.

The PS4 games will be available until 5th March, while the PS3 and Vita titles get extra send off time until March 8.

The removal of games will undoubtedly anger some players – it'll be interesting to see if Sony does anything else to appease them.

• The cheapest PlayStation Plus prices: get on the subscription service for less

January 31, 2019 at 05:14PM
Gerald Lynch

LG G8 release date, news, price and leaks

Criterion's streaming service for film buffs is relaunching in April

Who needs new content? Criterion, the online streaming service for classic films, is relaunching in the US and Canada on April 8.

Criterion offers a curated library of over 1,000 classic movies - including the works of Hitchcock, Bergman, and Jean-Luc Gogard, among many others - for $10.99 a month, or $100 for the year.

The select few of you with a Charter Pay TV subscription, however, will still be able to view one free movie each week offered through the Criterion platform. The entire Criterion catalogue will also form part of the incoming Warner Bros. streaming service set to launch later in 2019.

Criterion will be available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV devices, Roku streaming sticks, and both iOS and Android.

Black and white

With a selection of over 1,000 classic movies, including the likes, Criterion is looking to keep a foothold in a burgeoning market for online TV and film production.

Netflix is a notable example, as a streaming platform that spent literally billions producing its own in-house content throughout 2018. More and more services are cropping up as companies look to host their own properties, such as Disney+ and DC Universe, and the rush to offer new and relevant titles may mean that older classics are often left behind.

If you're looking to keep your classic film knowledge alive, then, Criterion may offer something different enough to keep you interested.

• Disney+ explained: everything you need to know about Disney's upcoming streaming service

Via Engadget

January 31, 2019 at 05:03PM
Henry St Leger

Google+ will start shutting down on February 4

Google has announced its timeline for closing its social network Google+, and the process is starting very soon. For example, if (for some reason) you were thinking of signing up to experience the ailing social network before it's gone for good, you'll have to do it before February 4, when Google will remove the ability to create new profiles, pages, communities and events. 

The Google+ comment feature will disappear from Blogger on February 4, and Google+ comments on all sites will begin vanishing into the ether on April 2. Google+ sign-in buttons will also vanish from sites over the coming weeks (being replaced by regular Google login buttons in some cases). 

You can download your own Google+ data using Google Takeout, which lets you grab your personal information from all of Google's sites and services. If you're a community owner or moderator, you'll also be able to grab the author, body text and photos for every community post from early March.

On April 2, the doors will close for good, with all accounts and pages shutting down. Google will begin deleting content from accounts, including photos and videos from users' Album Archive and Google+ pages. Anything you've backed up to your Google Photos account will be safe.

Insert heading here

Google announced the impending demise of Google+ in October 2018, seven years after it first launched.

The decision followed a catastrophic data breach, which left the personal data of 500,000 users exposed to third-party app developers. The bug was patched in March 2018, but after the discovery of another security flaw later in the year, the company decided to shut the service down.

Despite the bugs, Google has said that it found  “no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API” and that is has “found no evidence that any Profile data was misused”. 

Via Android Police

• How to back up to Google Photos

January 31, 2019 at 04:59PM
Cat Ellis

Unloved Windows 10 October 2018 Update installed on only 12.4% of PCs

It looks like Microsoft is having problems getting people to install the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, with a recent report suggesting that it’s only installed on 12.4% of PCs.

The number comes courtesy of AdDuplex, which found that out of 100,000 PCs surveyed, only 12.4% were running Windows 10 October 2018 Update at the end of January 2019. 

While this is an improvement on December’s numbers, where it was on only 6.6% of PCs, it’s a long way off the previous major update, the April 2018 Update, which is installed on 80.2% of PCs.

While this is only a small sample, we’re not too surprised by these findings, and it’s likely that it reflects the general unpopularity of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

Bad start

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update has been plagued by problems since it launched late last year. A number of serious issues, including reports of the update deleting users’ files, meant the update was delayed until December.

The almost constant stream of bad news about the update is very likely the reason why people have been putting off installing the update.

With the Windows 10 April 2019 Update coming soon, we might see many people skip the October 2018 Update altogether and simply wait for the next update. The April 2019 Update should bring all of the features (and hopefully none of the problems) that came with the October 2018 Update.

• Want to test the next big Windows 10 (19H2) update? You can sign up now

Via WinCentral

January 31, 2019 at 04:59PM
Matt Hanson

Lumix S1R and Lumix S1 specs and prices leaked

With an official announcement expected imminently, core specs and prices for the full-frame Lumix S1R and S1 have been leaked online. 

The Lumix S1R will be Panasonic's flagship full-frame model, and will feature a 47.3MP sensor without a low-pass filter. As we've reported, it will also have a high-resolution photo mode that captures 187MP (16,736 x 11,168 pixels) images.

The ISO has an extended range of 50-51,200 (with a native ISO ceiling of 25,600), while supporting this is a 5-axis image stabilization system with up to 5.5 steps and the ability to shoot 4K video at up to 60/50p. 

Burst shooting tops out at 9fps, but for continuous AF this is capped at 6fps, and as it's a Panasonic camera there's also a 6K photo mode that sees 30fps shooting, and a 4K photo mode at 60fps.

The viewfinder looks like it will have the highest resolution of any camera out there, at 5.76 million dots, while rumors suggest that the magnification can be adjusted from 0.78x to 0.74x or 0.7x – although we can't work out why you'd want to reduce the magnification. There's also a movable rear display (we're assuming this will offer touchscreen functionality) with a 2.1-million dot resolution. 

Weighing in at 898g and measuring 148.9 x 110.0 x 96.7mm, the Lumix S1R will be priced at £3,399 (about $4,370 or AU$6,150), or £4,199 (about $5,400 or AU$7,600) with the standard zoom kit lens.

Lumix S1 spec and prices

The Lumix S1 has a 24.2MP sensor, and like the S1R has a high-resolution mode, which in this case can produce 96MP (12,000 x 8,000 pixels) images. The ISO range is a bit broader than the S1R's, thanks no doubt to the less densely populated sensor, with an expanded range running from ISO50 to 204,800 (the maximum standard ISO is 51,200).

The body-only price is expected to be £2,199 (about $2,830 or AU$3,970), while the standard zoom kit will be £2,999 (about $3,850 or AU$5,420).

• Panasonic Lumix S1R and S1: everything we know so far

January 31, 2019 at 04:56PM
Phil Hall

Ruark’s R5 Hi-Fi Music System promises superior sound and sophisticated design

British audio company Ruark has launched its latest product, the R5 High Fidelity Music System, in an effort to appeal to music and design enthusiasts alike. 

Designed to act as an all-in-one music system, the Ruark R5 features a multi-format CD player, DAB/FM and internet radio tuners, as well as support for aptX HD Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi streaming. You can even hook it up to your turntable thanks to a dedicated RIAA turntable input, or charge your devices using the USB playback/charging port.

Like previous Ruark devices, the top of the music system features a ‘Rotodial’ controller, which allows you to control playback. It also features an remote control that’s identical to the inbuilt Rotodia controller, so you can control your music without having to get out of your seat. you don’t even have to point the remote at the system as it works via radio communication. 

You can control the R5 uses Ruark’s ‘LINK’ app, which is free to download on iOS and Android devices.

Style and substance

The Ruark R5 promises to deliver a fantastic level of audio quality, thanks to Class A-B amplifiers in a 2:1 stereo configuration. The speakers use a neodymium magnet system – that's the most powerful naturally occurring magnet in the world  - allowing for potent drivers that displace a large volume of air when they vibrate. This means the R5 should deliver powerful bass frequencies, particular when coupled with the systems built in long-throw subwoofer.

The cabinet that houses all this audio tech is similarly designed to provide a high level of sound quality, having been specially tuned and damped. It’s not all about the audio though; thanks to its gently curved shaped and fabric grille, the R5 has a mid-century quality to it that should look super stylish in the home. 

It comes in two finishes, a ‘Rich Walnut’ wood design or a more modern-looking ‘Soft Grey’ lacquer (both look great, but we like the look of the wood/fabric combination best). There’s no word yet on an official release date, but Ruark says the R5 will be available to buy in the next few months for £999 (around $1300 / AU$1800 based on current conversion rates.)

• Best stereo speakers: the best bookshelf, floor, and Hi-Fi speakers in 2019

January 31, 2019 at 04:56PM
Olivia Tambini

LG G8 and LG V50 ThinQ could both land at MWC 2019, one with 5G

We were expecting LG to launch the LG G8 at MWC 2019 in late February, but it now seems that might not be the company’s only flagship on show, as a report claims that the LG V50 ThinQ will also be announced.

That’s according to ETNews, which adds that the LG V50 ThinQ will support 5G, while the LG G8 won’t. The site also says to expect a Snapdragon 855 chipset, a 4,000mAh battery, a 6-inch display and a vapor chamber (to keep the phone cool) in the V50 ThinQ.

The LG V50 ThinQ will apparently also have a new gesture-based interface and is said to go on sale in Europe and the US in March, with Sprint listed as one of the network partners. That makes sense as we'd previously heard that LG's first 5G phone would be a Sprint-exclusive in the US.

However, if you want to buy it you might want to get saving, as the report also says to expect a price of between 1.3 million won (around $1,170/£890/AU$1,600) and 1.5 million won (roughly $1,350/£1,025/AU$1,850).

Two become one

The idea seems to be to give customers the choice between a super-premium 5G handset in the form of the V50 ThinQ, and a more conventional, affordable flagship in the form of the LG G8, which will apparently get a wider, global launch.

Moving forward though LG might look to ditch the G range according to this report, and roll it into the V series. That could happen soon, with the LG G8 potentially being the last in the range, but this is just a rumor for now, so we’d take it all with a pinch of salt.

Still, with LG also seemingly looking into foldable phones, it might make sense to combine its V and G series, rather than adding a third premium option to the mix.

• Here's all the 5G phones we're expecting in 2019

Via Phandroid

January 31, 2019 at 04:51PM
James Rogerson

Returns misery? How IT can underpin a seamless January returns process

Recent research has revealed that one in four Christmas gifts will be returned early this year, worth around £4.8 billion of the estimated £19 billion in online sales over the festive period, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.  

Barclaycard research suggests a quarter of retailers (26 per cent) have seen a rise in returns in-store and online since 2016, with the number of returned items up by 22 per cent on average.  

Returns put a significant amount of pressure on retailers, resulting in reduced revenue alongside the challenge of stock management. Siloed IT systems between applications, branches and warehouses can result in a disjointed approach to inventory reporting, negatively impacting the customer experience and potentially harming sales and customer loyalty.   

2018 was a challenging year for retailers, with sales at brick-and-mortar retail stores falling 1.9 per cent in December on a like-for-like basis – the worst year-on-year monthly sales fall in over a decade.  

With economic growth flat-lining - alongside Brexit on the horizon - markets are as uncertain as they’ve ever been. Consumers are being cautious with their spending, seeking the best deals where they can find them, driving up competition.   

With that in mind, the customer experience is as critical as a retailer’s pricing strategy. Connected data, up-to date stocklists and a quick and seamless purchasing process must all be staples in any retailer’s diet.  

The returns challenge

There is no shortage of tech applications and systems in the market today to support retailers. Any store - digital or physical - could be managing a multitude of IT systems from physical in-store point-of-sale (POS) systems, e-commerce platforms and warehousing applications to billing, customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource management (ERP) solutions. Yet for a business to fully harness the potential of these systems and applications - and deliver a first-class customer experience - they must be able to talk to each other, share data and help the business glean better intelligence into its customer-base.  

Cloud-based integration platforms provide a simple, user-friendly way to integrate applications and data without the cost and complexity of clunky solutions that require custom coding. Retailers will benefit from a platform that can connect any combination of best-of-breed cloud applications with legacy on-premise systems (and with each other) - transforming themselves into more transparent, experience-driven organisations focused on delivering a superior customer journey.

Online growing pains

The growth in online shopping - alongside this deluge of on and offline returns - has put extra strain on retailers, with limited time in order to process orders, track refunds and update stocklists to ensure accurate and up-to-date listings. January always sees a peak in shoppers, whether they’re buying or returning gifts - and retailers must ensure their online sites are ready for this surge in visitors, with their teams and IT systems also able to scale quickly to support changes in demand. 

We’ve already seen examples of online retailers being struck down during crucial times for their customers. Recently, during its famed Amazon Prime Day, Amazon was hit by stark technical glitches that could have cost the company around $90m. Argos also saw its website go down shortly before the launch of its Black Friday sale in 2016, with the UK retailer citing “high demand” as a factor contributing to the outage.

Delivering in an omni-channel era 

Such outages and IT failures can have a clear impact on customer loyalty, as well as the immediate loss in sales, with a whole host of rivals ready to step in at any given moment. Whether it’s the website going down, unavailable stock or a poor user experience, all of these aspects can affect customer allegiance. After all, why would you go back to a store when you’ve received a below par service?  

With online and mobile shopping expected to rise again this year, ensuring a seamless customer experience that’s channel-agnostic is even more key for retailers seeking to transform a good experience into a great one.  

Linking multi-channel orders and customer records together - to bring a single view to marketing and support services - enables retailers to deliver more personalised experiences for their customers. They can also deliver accurate, real-time inventory data across ecommerce and physical stores to influence online purchasing and help ‘save sales’. With automated updates, shoppers aren’t left disappointed by incorrect stock displays causing delays, late deliveries or even missing out on products they want.  

In fact, the provision of live visibility into inventories enables retailers to significantly enhance demand planning and streamline stock replenishment processes – keeping more accurate tabs on what’s selling and what needs a promotional boost.

While a large amount of festive gifts will be returned this year, ensuring people, processes and data are integrated is key for retailers seeking to deliver a seamless, connected customer experience. Those most connected of retailers will be best placed to ride out the storm.

Derek Thompson, VP of EMEA, Dell Boomi

• We've also highlighted the best e-commerce platforms

January 31, 2019 at 04:30PM
Derek Thompson

PlayStation Plus subscribers now get 100GB of cloud storage space

It's a big month for PlayStation Plus subscribers, as Sony's PS Plus service is going through some big changes from February 2019 onwards.

We already knew that, after February 2019, PlayStation Plus subscribers would no longer be getting free PS4 and PS Vita games as part of their monthly subscription packages. And Sony has now announced the final games coming to those consoles as part of the deal. Seeing the PS3 element of PS Plus off in style, you'll be able to download Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to your PlayStation 3 this month, along with Divekick. Gunhouse and Rogue Aces will both also hit PS Vita and PS4.

So, with the older consoles being removed from the service, what's Sony offering to balance out the difference? 100GB of cloud storage for game saves. It's a considerable jump from the 10GB currently offered.

It's a useful tool, but unless you've got multiple consoles dotted around your home, are expecting your PS4 to die, or load up saves on a friend's console regularly, we can't imagine it exciting too many players. 

February 2019 PS4 games on PS Plus

Still, if you are a PS4 owner, when taking into account the above plus the PS4 games being delivered this month, it's a bumper offering.

As well as all the items listed previously, you'll also be getting stealth murder simulator Hitman: The Complete First Season, and medieval hack-and-slash-athon For Honor, where knights, vikings and ninjas go toe-to-toe in multiplayer melee combat.

The PS4 games will be available until 5th March, while the PS3 and Vita titles get extra send off time until March 8.

The removal of games will undoubtedly anger some players – it'll be interesting to see if Sony does anything else to appease them.

• The cheapest PlayStation Plus prices: get on the subscription service for less

January 31, 2019 at 05:14PM
Gerald Lynch

LG G8 release date, news, price and leaks

PlayStation Plus subscribers now get 100GB of cloud storage space

It's a big month for PlayStation Plus subscribers, as Sony's PS Plus service is going through some big changes from February 2019 onwards.

We already knew that, after February 2019, PlayStation Plus subscribers would no longer be getting free PS4 and PS Vita games as part of their monthly subscription packages. And Sony has now announced the final games coming to those consoles as part of the deal. Seeing the PS3 element of PS Plus off in style, you'll be able to download Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to your PlayStation 3 this month, along with Divekick. Gunhouse and Rogue Aces will both also hit PS Vita and PS4.

So, with the older consoles being removed from the service, what's Sony offering to balance out the difference? 100GB of cloud storage for game saves. It's a considerable jump from the 10GB currently offered.

It's a useful tool, but unless you've got multiple consoles dotted around your home, are expecting your PS4 to die, or load up saves on a friend's console regularly, we can't imagine it exciting too many players. 

February 2019 PS4 games on PS Plus

Still, if you are a PS4 owner, when taking into account the above plus the PS4 games being delivered this month, it's a bumper offering.

As well as all the items listed previously, you'll also be getting stealth murder simulator Hitman: The Complete First Season, and medieval hack-and-slash-athon For Honor, where knights, vikings and ninjas go toe-to-toe in multiplayer melee combat.

The PS4 games will be available until 5th March, while the PS3 and Vita titles get extra send off time until March 8.

The removal of games will undoubtedly anger some players – it'll be interesting to see if Sony does anything else to appease them.

• The cheapest PlayStation Plus prices: get on the subscription service for less

January 31, 2019 at 05:14PM
Gerald Lynch

LG G8 release date, news, price and leaks

Criterion's streaming service for film buffs is relaunching in April

Who needs new content? Criterion, the online streaming service for classic films, is relaunching in the US and Canada on April 8.

Criterion offers a curated library of over 1,000 classic movies - including the works of Hitchcock, Bergman, and Jean-Luc Gogard, among many others - for $10.99 a month, or $100 for the year.

The select few of you with a Charter Pay TV subscription, however, will still be able to view one free movie each week offered through the Criterion platform. The entire Criterion catalogue will also form part of the incoming Warner Bros. streaming service set to launch later in 2019.

Criterion will be available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV devices, Roku streaming sticks, and both iOS and Android.

Black and white

With a selection of over 1,000 classic movies, including the likes, Criterion is looking to keep a foothold in a burgeoning market for online TV and film production.

Netflix is a notable example, as a streaming platform that spent literally billions producing its own in-house content throughout 2018. More and more services are cropping up as companies look to host their own properties, such as Disney+ and DC Universe, and the rush to offer new and relevant titles may mean that older classics are often left behind.

If you're looking to keep your classic film knowledge alive, then, Criterion may offer something different enough to keep you interested.

• Disney+ explained: everything you need to know about Disney's upcoming streaming service

Via Engadget

January 31, 2019 at 05:03PM
Henry St Leger

Criterion's streaming service for film buffs is relaunching in April

Who needs new content? Criterion, the online streaming service for classic films, is relaunching in the US and Canada on April 8.

Criterion offers a curated library of over 1,000 classic movies - including the works of Hitchcock, Bergman, and Jean-Luc Gogard, among many others - for $10.99 a month, or $100 for the year.

The select few of you with a Charter Pay TV subscription, however, will still be able to view one free movie each week offered through the Criterion platform. The entire Criterion catalogue will also form part of the incoming Warner Bros. streaming service set to launch later in 2019.

Black and white

With a selection of over 1,000 classic movies, including the likes, Criterion is looking to keep a foothold in a burgeoning market for online TV and film production.

Netflix is a notable example, as a streaming platform that spent literally billions producing its own in-house content throughout 2018. More and more services are cropping up as companies look to host their own properties, such as Disney+ and DC Universe, and the rush to offer new and relevant titles may mean that older classics are often left behind.

If you're looking to keep your classic film knowledge alive, then, Criterion may offer something different enough to keep you interested.

• Disney+ explained: everything you need to know about Disney's upcoming streaming service

Via Engadget

January 31, 2019 at 05:03PM
Henry St Leger

Google+ will start shutting down on February 4

Google has announced its timeline for closing its social network Google+, and the process is starting very soon. For example, if (for some reason) you were thinking of signing up to experience the ailing social network before it's gone for good, you'll have to do it before February 4, when Google will remove the ability to create new profiles, pages, communities and events. 

The Google+ comment feature will disappear from Blogger on February 4, and Google+ comments on all sites will begin vanishing into the ether on April 2. Google+ sign-in buttons will also vanish from sites over the coming weeks (being replaced by regular Google login buttons in some cases). 

You can download your own Google+ data using Google Takeout, which lets you grab your personal information from all of Google's sites and services. If you're a community owner or moderator, you'll also be able to grab the author, body text and photos for every community post from early March.

On April 2, the doors will close for good, with all accounts and pages shutting down. Google will begin deleting content from accounts, including photos and videos from users' Album Archive and Google+ pages. Anything you've backed up to your Google Photos account will be safe.

Insert heading here

Google announced the impending demise of Google+ in October 2018, seven years after it first launched.

The decision followed a catastrophic data breach, which left the personal data of 500,000 users exposed to third-party app developers. The bug was patched in March 2018, but after the discovery of another security flaw later in the year, the company decided to shut the service down.

Despite the bugs, Google has said that it found  “no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API” and that is has “found no evidence that any Profile data was misused”. 

Via Android Police

• How to back up to Google Photos

January 31, 2019 at 04:59PM
Cat Ellis

Unloved Windows 10 October 2018 Update installed on only 12.4% of PCs

It looks like Microsoft is having problems getting people to install the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, with a recent report suggesting that it’s only installed on 12.4% of PCs.

The number comes courtesy of AdDuplex, which found that out of 100,000 PCs surveyed, only 12.4% were running Windows 10 October 2018 Update at the end of January 2019. 

While this is an improvement on December’s numbers, where it was on only 6.6% of PCs, it’s a long way off the previous major update, the April 2018 Update, which is installed on 80.2% of PCs.

While this is only a small sample, we’re not too surprised by these findings, and it’s likely that it reflects the general unpopularity of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

Bad start

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update has been plagued by problems since it launched late last year. A number of serious issues, including reports of the update deleting users’ files, meant the update was delayed until December.

The almost constant stream of bad news about the update is very likely the reason why people have been putting off installing the update.

With the Windows 10 April 2019 Update coming soon, we might see many people skip the October 2018 Update altogether and simply wait for the next update. The April 2019 Update should bring all of the features (and hopefully none of the problems) that came with the October 2018 Update.

• Want to test the next big Windows 10 (19H2) update? You can sign up now

Via WinCentral

January 31, 2019 at 04:59PM
Matt Hanson

Lumix S1R and Lumix S1 specs and prices leaked

With an official announcement expected imminently, core specs and prices for the full-frame Lumix S1R and S1 have been leaked online. 

The Lumix S1R will be Panasonic's flagship full-frame model, and will feature a 47.3MP sensor without a low-pass filter. As we've reported, it will also have a high-resolution photo mode that captures 187MP (16,736 x 11,168 pixels) images.

The ISO has an extended range of 50-51,200 (with a native ISO ceiling of 25,600), while supporting this is a 5-axis image stabilization system with up to 5.5 steps and the ability to shoot 4K video at up to 60/50p. 

Burst shooting tops out at 9fps, but for continuous AF this is capped at 6fps, and as it's a Panasonic camera there's also a 6K photo mode that sees 30fps shooting, and a 4K photo mode at 60fps.

The viewfinder looks like it will have the highest resolution of any camera out there, at 5.76 million dots, while rumors suggest that the magnification can be adjusted from 0.78x to 0.74x or 0.7x – although we can't work out why you'd want to reduce the magnification. There's also a movable rear display (we're assuming this will offer touchscreen functionality) with a 2.1-million dot resolution. 

Weighing in at 898g and measuring 148.9 x 110.0 x 96.7mm, the Lumix S1R will be priced at £3,399 (about $4,370 or AU$6,150), or £4,199 (about $5,400 or AU$7,600) with the standard zoom kit lens.

Lumix S1 spec and prices

The Lumix S1 has a 24.2MP sensor, and like the S1R has a high-resolution mode, which in this case can produce 96MP (12,000 x 8,000 pixels) images. The ISO range is a bit broader than the S1R's, thanks no doubt to the less densely populated sensor, with an expanded range running from ISO50 to 204,800 (the maximum standard ISO is 51,200).

The body-only price is expected to be £2,199 (about $2,830 or AU$3,970), while the standard zoom kit will be £2,999 (about $3,850 or AU$5,420).

• Panasonic Lumix S1R and S1: everything we know so far

January 31, 2019 at 04:56PM
Phil Hall

Ruark’s R5 Hi-Fi Music System promises superior sound and sophisticated design

British audio company Ruark has launched its latest product, the R5 High Fidelity Music System, in an effort to appeal to music and design enthusiasts alike. 

Designed to act as an all-in-one music system, the Ruark R5 features a multi-format CD player, DAB/FM and internet radio tuners, as well as support for aptX HD Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi streaming. You can even hook it up to your turntable thanks to a dedicated RIAA turntable input, or charge your devices using the USB playback/charging port.

Like previous Ruark devices, the top of the music system features a ‘Rotodial’ controller, which allows you to control playback. It also features an remote control that’s identical to the inbuilt Rotodia controller, so you can control your music without having to get out of your seat. you don’t even have to point the remote at the system as it works via radio communication. 

You can control the R5 uses Ruark’s ‘LINK’ app, which is free to download on iOS and Android devices.

Style and substance

The Ruark R5 promises to deliver a fantastic level of audio quality, thanks to Class A-B amplifiers in a 2:1 stereo configuration. The speakers use a neodymium magnet system – that's the most powerful naturally occurring magnet in the world  - allowing for potent drivers that displace a large volume of air when they vibrate. This means the R5 should deliver powerful bass frequencies, particular when coupled with the systems built in long-throw subwoofer.

The cabinet that houses all this audio tech is similarly designed to provide a high level of sound quality, having been specially tuned and damped. It’s not all about the audio though; thanks to its gently curved shaped and fabric grille, the R5 has a mid-century quality to it that should look super stylish in the home. 

It comes in two finishes, a ‘Rich Walnut’ wood design or a more modern-looking ‘Soft Grey’ lacquer (both look great, but we like the look of the wood/fabric combination best). There’s no word yet on an official release date, but Ruark says the R5 will be available to buy in the next few months for £999 (around $1300 / AU$1800 based on current conversion rates.)

• Best stereo speakers: the best bookshelf, floor, and Hi-Fi speakers in 2019

January 31, 2019 at 04:56PM
Olivia Tambini

LG G8 and LG V50 ThinQ could both land at MWC 2019, one with 5G

We were expecting LG to launch the LG G8 at MWC 2019 in late February, but it now seems that might not be the company’s only flagship on show, as a report claims that the LG V50 ThinQ will also be announced.

That’s according to ETNews, which adds that the LG V50 ThinQ will support 5G, while the LG G8 won’t. The site also says to expect a Snapdragon 855 chipset, a 4,000mAh battery, a 6-inch display and a vapor chamber (to keep the phone cool) in the V50 ThinQ.

The LG V50 ThinQ will apparently also have a new gesture-based interface and is said to go on sale in Europe and the US in March, with Sprint listed as one of the network partners. That makes sense as we'd previously heard that LG's first 5G phone would be a Sprint-exclusive in the US.

However, if you want to buy it you might want to get saving, as the report also says to expect a price of between 1.3 million won (around $1,170/£890/AU$1,600) and 1.5 million won (roughly $1,350/£1,025/AU$1,850).

Two become one

The idea seems to be to give customers the choice between a super-premium 5G handset in the form of the V50 ThinQ, and a more conventional, affordable flagship in the form of the LG G8, which will apparently get a wider, global launch.

Moving forward though LG might look to ditch the G range according to this report, and roll it into the V series. That could happen soon, with the LG G8 potentially being the last in the range, but this is just a rumor for now, so we’d take it all with a pinch of salt.

Still, with LG also seemingly looking into foldable phones, it might make sense to combine its V and G series, rather than adding a third premium option to the mix.

• Here's all the 5G phones we're expecting in 2019

Via Phandroid

January 31, 2019 at 04:51PM
James Rogerson

Returns misery? How IT can underpin a seamless January returns process

Recent research has revealed that one in four Christmas gifts will be returned early this year, worth around £4.8 billion of the estimated £19 billion in online sales over the festive period, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.  

Barclaycard research suggests a quarter of retailers (26 per cent) have seen a rise in returns in-store and online since 2016, with the number of returned items up by 22 per cent on average.  

Returns put a significant amount of pressure on retailers, resulting in reduced revenue alongside the challenge of stock management. Siloed IT systems between applications, branches and warehouses can result in a disjointed approach to inventory reporting, negatively impacting the customer experience and potentially harming sales and customer loyalty.   

2018 was a challenging year for retailers, with sales at brick-and-mortar retail stores falling 1.9 per cent in December on a like-for-like basis – the worst year-on-year monthly sales fall in over a decade.  

With economic growth flat-lining - alongside Brexit on the horizon - markets are as uncertain as they’ve ever been. Consumers are being cautious with their spending, seeking the best deals where they can find them, driving up competition.   

With that in mind, the customer experience is as critical as a retailer’s pricing strategy. Connected data, up-to date stocklists and a quick and seamless purchasing process must all be staples in any retailer’s diet.  

The returns challenge

There is no shortage of tech applications and systems in the market today to support retailers. Any store - digital or physical - could be managing a multitude of IT systems from physical in-store point-of-sale (POS) systems, e-commerce platforms and warehousing applications to billing, customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource management (ERP) solutions. Yet for a business to fully harness the potential of these systems and applications - and deliver a first-class customer experience - they must be able to talk to each other, share data and help the business glean better intelligence into its customer-base.  

Cloud-based integration platforms provide a simple, user-friendly way to integrate applications and data without the cost and complexity of clunky solutions that require custom coding. Retailers will benefit from a platform that can connect any combination of best-of-breed cloud applications with legacy on-premise systems (and with each other) - transforming themselves into more transparent, experience-driven organisations focused on delivering a superior customer journey.

Online growing pains

The growth in online shopping - alongside this deluge of on and offline returns - has put extra strain on retailers, with limited time in order to process orders, track refunds and update stocklists to ensure accurate and up-to-date listings. January always sees a peak in shoppers, whether they’re buying or returning gifts - and retailers must ensure their online sites are ready for this surge in visitors, with their teams and IT systems also able to scale quickly to support changes in demand. 

We’ve already seen examples of online retailers being struck down during crucial times for their customers. Recently, during its famed Amazon Prime Day, Amazon was hit by stark technical glitches that could have cost the company around $90m. Argos also saw its website go down shortly before the launch of its Black Friday sale in 2016, with the UK retailer citing “high demand” as a factor contributing to the outage.

Delivering in an omni-channel era 

Such outages and IT failures can have a clear impact on customer loyalty, as well as the immediate loss in sales, with a whole host of rivals ready to step in at any given moment. Whether it’s the website going down, unavailable stock or a poor user experience, all of these aspects can affect customer allegiance. After all, why would you go back to a store when you’ve received a below par service?  

With online and mobile shopping expected to rise again this year, ensuring a seamless customer experience that’s channel-agnostic is even more key for retailers seeking to transform a good experience into a great one.  

Linking multi-channel orders and customer records together - to bring a single view to marketing and support services - enables retailers to deliver more personalised experiences for their customers. They can also deliver accurate, real-time inventory data across ecommerce and physical stores to influence online purchasing and help ‘save sales’. With automated updates, shoppers aren’t left disappointed by incorrect stock displays causing delays, late deliveries or even missing out on products they want.  

In fact, the provision of live visibility into inventories enables retailers to significantly enhance demand planning and streamline stock replenishment processes – keeping more accurate tabs on what’s selling and what needs a promotional boost.

While a large amount of festive gifts will be returned this year, ensuring people, processes and data are integrated is key for retailers seeking to deliver a seamless, connected customer experience. Those most connected of retailers will be best placed to ride out the storm.

Derek Thompson, VP of EMEA, Dell Boomi

• We've also highlighted the best e-commerce platforms

January 31, 2019 at 04:30PM
Derek Thompson

Google+ will start shutting down on February 4

Google has announced its timeline for closing its social network Google+, and the process is starting very soon. For example, if (for some reason) you were thinking of signing up to experience the ailing social network before it's gone for good, you'll have to do it before February 4, when Google will remove the ability to create new profiles, pages, communities and events. 

The Google+ comment feature will disappear from Blogger on February 4, and Google+ comments on all sites will begin vanishing into the ether on April 2. Google+ sign-in buttons will also vanish from sites over the coming weeks (being replaced by regular Google login buttons in some cases). 

You can download your own Google+ data using Google Takeout, which lets you grab your personal information from all of Google's sites and services. If you're a community owner or moderator, you'll also be able to grab the author, body text and photos for every community post from early March.

On April 2, the doors will close for good, with all accounts and pages shutting down. Google will begin deleting content from accounts, including photos and videos from users' Album Archive and Google+ pages. Anything you've backed up to your Google Photos account will be safe.

Insert heading here

Google announced the impending demise of Google+ in October 2018, seven years after it first launched.

The decision followed a catastrophic data breach, which left the personal data of 500,000 users exposed to third-party app developers. The bug was patched in March 2018, but after the discovery of another security flaw later in the year, the company decided to shut the service down.

Despite the bugs, Google has said that it found  “no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API” and that is has “found no evidence that any Profile data was misused”. 

Via Android Police

• How to back up to Google Photos

January 31, 2019 at 04:59PM
Cat Ellis

Unloved Windows 10 October 2018 Update installed on only 12.4% of PCs

It looks like Microsoft is having problems getting people to install the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, with a recent report suggesting that it’s only installed on 12.4% of PCs.

The number comes courtesy of AdDuplex, which found that out of 100,000 PCs surveyed, only 12.4% were running Windows 10 October 2018 Update at the end of January 2019. 

While this is an improvement on December’s numbers, where it was on only 6.6% of PCs, it’s a long way off the previous major update, the April 2018 Update, which is installed on 80.2% of PCs.

While this is only a small sample, we’re not too surprised by these findings, and it’s likely that it reflects the general unpopularity of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

Bad start

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update has been plagued by problems since it launched late last year. A number of serious issues, including reports of the update deleting users’ files, meant the update was delayed until December.

The almost constant stream of bad news about the update is very likely the reason why people have been putting off installing the update.

With the Windows 10 April 2019 Update coming soon, we might see many people skip the October 2018 Update altogether and simply wait for the next update. The April 2019 Update should bring all of the features (and hopefully none of the problems) that came with the October 2018 Update.

• Want to test the next big Windows 10 (19H2) update? You can sign up now

Via WinCentral

January 31, 2019 at 04:59PM
Matt Hanson

Lumix S1R and Lumix S1 specs and prices leaked

With an official announcement expected imminently, core specs and prices for the full-frame Lumix S1R and S1 have been leaked online. 

The Lumix S1R will be Panasonic's flagship full-frame model, and will feature a 47.3MP sensor without a low-pass filter. As we've reported, it will also have a high-resolution photo mode that captures 187MP (16,736 x 11,168 pixels) images.

The ISO has an extended range of 50-51,200 (with a native ISO ceiling of 25,600), while supporting this is a 5-axis image stabilization system with up to 5.5 steps and the ability to shoot 4K video at up to 60/50p. 

Burst shooting tops out at 9fps, but for continuous AF this is capped at 6fps, and as it's a Panasonic camera there's also a 6K photo mode that sees 30fps shooting, and a 4K photo mode at 60fps.

The viewfinder looks like it will have the highest resolution of any camera out there, at 5.76 million dots, while rumors suggest that the magnification can be adjusted from 0.78x to 0.74x or 0.7x – although we can't work out why you'd want to reduce the magnification. There's also a movable rear display (we're assuming this will offer touchscreen functionality) with a 2.1-million dot resolution. 

Weighing in at 898g and measuring 148.9 x 110.0 x 96.7mm, the Lumix S1R will be priced at £3,399 (about $4,370 or AU$6,150), or £4,199 (about $5,400 or AU$7,600) with the standard zoom kit lens.

Lumix S1 spec and prices

The Lumix S1 has a 24.2MP sensor, and like the S1R has a high-resolution mode, which in this case can produce 96MP (12,000 x 8,000 pixels) images. The ISO range is a bit broader than the S1R's, thanks no doubt to the less densely populated sensor, with an expanded range running from ISO50 to 204,800 (the maximum standard ISO is 51,200).

The body-only price is expected to be £2,199 (about $2,830 or AU$3,970), while the standard zoom kit will be £2,999 (about $3,850 or AU$5,420).

• Panasonic Lumix S1R and S1: everything we know so far

January 31, 2019 at 04:56PM
Phil Hall

Ruark’s R5 Hi-Fi Music System promises superior sound and sophisticated design

British audio company Ruark has launched its latest product, the R5 High Fidelity Music System, in an effort to appeal to music and design enthusiasts alike. 

Designed to act as an all-in-one music system, the Ruark R5 features a multi-format CD player, DAB/FM and internet radio tuners, as well as support for aptX HD Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi streaming. You can even hook it up to your turntable thanks to a dedicated RIAA turntable input, or charge your devices using the USB playback/charging port.

Like previous Ruark devices, the top of the music system features a ‘Rotodial’ controller, which allows you to control playback. It also features an remote control that’s identical to the inbuilt Rotodia controller, so you can control your music without having to get out of your seat. you don’t even have to point the remote at the system as it works via radio communication. 

You can control the R5 uses Ruark’s ‘LINK’ app, which is free to download on iOS and Android devices.

Style and substance

The Ruark R5 promises to deliver a fantastic level of audio quality, thanks to Class A-B amplifiers in a 2:1 stereo configuration. The speakers use a neodymium magnet system – that's the most powerful naturally occurring magnet in the world  - allowing for potent drivers that displace a large volume of air when they vibrate. This means the R5 should deliver powerful bass frequencies, particular when coupled with the systems built in long-throw subwoofer.

The cabinet that houses all this audio tech is similarly designed to provide a high level of sound quality, having been specially tuned and damped. It’s not all about the audio though; thanks to its gently curved shaped and fabric grille, the R5 has a mid-century quality to it that should look super stylish in the home. 

It comes in two finishes, a ‘Rich Walnut’ wood design or a more modern-looking ‘Soft Grey’ lacquer (both look great, but we like the look of the wood/fabric combination best). There’s no word yet on an official release date, but Ruark says the R5 will be available to buy in the next few months for £999 (around $1300 / AU$1800 based on current conversion rates.)

• Best stereo speakers: the best bookshelf, floor, and Hi-Fi speakers in 2019

January 31, 2019 at 04:56PM
Olivia Tambini

LG G8 and LG V50 ThinQ could both land at MWC 2019, one with 5G

We were expecting LG to launch the LG G8 at MWC 2019 in late February, but it now seems that might not be the company’s only flagship on show, as a report claims that the LG V50 ThinQ will also be announced.

That’s according to ETNews, which adds that the LG V50 ThinQ will support 5G, while the LG G8 won’t. The site also says to expect a Snapdragon 855 chipset, a 4,000mAh battery, a 6-inch display and a vapor chamber (to keep the phone cool) in the V50 ThinQ.

The LG V50 ThinQ will apparently also have a new gesture-based interface and is said to go on sale in Europe and the US in March, with Sprint listed as one of the network partners. That makes sense as we'd previously heard that LG's first 5G phone would be a Sprint-exclusive in the US.

However, if you want to buy it you might want to get saving, as the report also says to expect a price of between 1.3 million won (around $1,170/£890/AU$1,600) and 1.5 million won (roughly $1,350/£1,025/AU$1,850).

Two become one

The idea seems to be to give customers the choice between a super-premium 5G handset in the form of the V50 ThinQ, and a more conventional, affordable flagship in the form of the LG G8, which will apparently get a wider, global launch.

Moving forward though LG might look to ditch the G range according to this report, and roll it into the V series. That could happen soon, with the LG G8 potentially being the last in the range, but this is just a rumor for now, so we’d take it all with a pinch of salt.

Still, with LG also seemingly looking into foldable phones, it might make sense to combine its V and G series, rather than adding a third premium option to the mix.

• Here's all the 5G phones we're expecting in 2019

Via Phandroid

January 31, 2019 at 04:51PM
James Rogerson

Moto G7 Plus spy shots out 27W fast charging and OIS support

Last week nearly all the specifications for four new Moto G7 phones were leaked, and now the high-end variant - the Moto G7 Plus - has been spotted in the wild. 

Images of the Moto G7 Plus surfaced on a closed Facebook group for Brazilian Motorola fans, and revealed some interesting features for the smartphone. 

Courtesy of the upper-plastic layer of the phone's display, it can be confirmed that the Moto G7 Plus will have Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for its 16MP primary camera. The G7 Plus is rumoured to have twin cameras on the back, the second one being the 5MP depth sensor.

TurboPower fast charge to get a boost

Another interesting tidbit that we can gather from the leak is that the G7 Plus supports 27W TurboPower fast charging. Usually, OEMs provide a 15W fast-charging adapter with the phones in-the-box but it seems that is getting bumped up to the 27W adapter.

Other specifications of the phone such as the 6.2-inch Full HD+ (2270 x 1080 pixels) display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor were also confirmed with the latest leak. The octa-core CPU is clocked at 1.8GHz and come with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM backed by 64GB internal storage.

For selfies, the Moto G7 Plus is expected to have a 12MP camera on the front.

The Moto G7 with G7 Plus, G7 Play and G7 Power will be released in the coming weeks as we head into the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019. 

• Moto G7 Plus release date, price, news and leaks

January 31, 2019 at 04:08PM
Siddharth Chauhan

Want to test the next big Windows 10 (19H2) update? You can sign up now

Microsoft has opened the doors for those Insiders who want to ‘skip ahead’ and go straight to early testing of the next big update of Windows 10 which is due to land in late 2019 (19H2).

This isn’t surprising, considering earlier this week, we heard that Microsoft is preparing to roll out 19H2 builds of Windows 10 to testers in just a few weeks (and indeed an internal build – version 18823 – was spotted recently, too).

Current testing is on 19H1, the update due to arrive in the first half of this year – probably April – and those skipping ahead to test the next major Windows 10 upgrade can expect to encounter lots of bugs early on, as ever.

If you wish to skip ahead to 19H2, you better get on board now, as places are limited and they tend to disappear quickly. You can opt-in following the instructions as tweeted by Microsoft below.

The enrolment process actually went live late yesterday, which again underlines the urgency with which you’ll need to move if you want to get in.

Bug ahead

That said, apparently when the gates were officially opened, a bug was present that meant plenty of folks couldn’t see the option to sign up for ‘skip ahead’. At the time, Brandon LeBlanc, Senior Program Manager on the Windows Insider team, acknowledged there was a problem and said Microsoft was looking into it.

Shortly after, however, he said the issue was resolved, so all should hopefully be fine by now. If you’re still not getting the option to join ‘skip ahead’, you could always try rebooting (that age-old solution to everything).

Mind you, the bug just might have worked in some people’s favor, in terms of slowing down the number of testers who have managed to subscribe in the last 12 hours, and maybe giving you a better chance of getting in today.

• Some of the best laptops of 2019 run Windows 10

Via Windows Central

January 31, 2019 at 04:06PM
Darren Allan

Samsung Galaxy Sport smartwatch close to launch as it's certified... again

Samsung is heavily rumored to be introducing a new smartwatch alongside the Galaxy S10, and now we've seen even more evidence that this will be the case as a device codenamed Pulse has been spotted going through the certification process in Taiwan.

Following on from US and South Korean certification we've previously seen, the latest evidence for an impending launch comes from a Taiwanese NCC listing that includes the device.

We've seen the codename Pulse a lot in Samsung documentation, where it refers to a wearable device from the company, and this device is currently rumored to be launching as the Samsung Galaxy Sport or possibly the Galaxy Watch Active.

Another Galaxy

There's no clear sign of what specs and features the watch will include from the listing, but we've previously heard that it's set to sport all of the same tech as the Samsung Galaxy Watch, such as GPS, NFC and other connectivity options, as well as Tizen software.

It will likely come in four colors - those are black, silver, green and gold - as well as including 4GB of storage for apps and music. There's also rumored to be more advanced Bixby support than what we saw on last year's Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Alongside this, we're also expecting to hear about two new Samsung Galaxy Fit fitness trackers soon and perhaps even four versions of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 line of phones.

Samsung is hosting an event on February 20 in San Francisco so we may hear about the Samsung Galaxy Sport there, or we may have to wait a few more days for MWC 2019 at the end of February.

• Samsung Galaxy Sport - what we know so far

Via DroidShout

January 31, 2019 at 04:04PM
James Peckham

Returns misery? How IT can underpin a seamless January returns process

Recent research has revealed that one in four Christmas gifts will be returned early this year, worth around £4.8 billion of the estimated £19 billion in online sales over the festive period, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.  

Barclaycard research suggests a quarter of retailers (26 per cent) have seen a rise in returns in-store and online since 2016, with the number of returned items up by 22 per cent on average.  

Returns put a significant amount of pressure on retailers, resulting in reduced revenue alongside the challenge of stock management. Siloed IT systems between applications, branches and warehouses can result in a disjointed approach to inventory reporting, negatively impacting the customer experience and potentially harming sales and customer loyalty.   

2018 was a challenging year for retailers, with sales at brick-and-mortar retail stores falling 1.9 per cent in December on a like-for-like basis – the worst year-on-year monthly sales fall in over a decade.  

With economic growth flat-lining - alongside Brexit on the horizon - markets are as uncertain as they’ve ever been. Consumers are being cautious with their spending, seeking the best deals where they can find them, driving up competition.   

With that in mind, the customer experience is as critical as a retailer’s pricing strategy. Connected data, up-to date stocklists and a quick and seamless purchasing process must all be staples in any retailer’s diet.  

The returns challenge

There is no shortage of tech applications and systems in the market today to support retailers. Any store - digital or physical - could be managing a multitude of IT systems from physical in-store point-of-sale (POS) systems, e-commerce platforms and warehousing applications to billing, customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource management (ERP) solutions. Yet for a business to fully harness the potential of these systems and applications - and deliver a first-class customer experience - they must be able to talk to each other, share data and help the business glean better intelligence into its customer-base.  

Cloud-based integration platforms provide a simple, user-friendly way to integrate applications and data without the cost and complexity of clunky solutions that require custom coding. Retailers will benefit from a platform that can connect any combination of best-of-breed cloud applications with legacy on-premise systems (and with each other) - transforming themselves into more transparent, experience-driven organisations focused on delivering a superior customer journey.

Online growing pains

The growth in online shopping - alongside this deluge of on and offline returns - has put extra strain on retailers, with limited time in order to process orders, track refunds and update stocklists to ensure accurate and up-to-date listings. January always sees a peak in shoppers, whether they’re buying or returning gifts - and retailers must ensure their online sites are ready for this surge in visitors, with their teams and IT systems also able to scale quickly to support changes in demand. 

We’ve already seen examples of online retailers being struck down during crucial times for their customers. Recently, during its famed Amazon Prime Day, Amazon was hit by stark technical glitches that could have cost the company around $90m. Argos also saw its website go down shortly before the launch of its Black Friday sale in 2016, with the UK retailer citing “high demand” as a factor contributing to the outage.

Delivering in an omni-channel era 

Such outages and IT failures can have a clear impact on customer loyalty, as well as the immediate loss in sales, with a whole host of rivals ready to step in at any given moment. Whether it’s the website going down, unavailable stock or a poor user experience, all of these aspects can affect customer allegiance. After all, why would you go back to a store when you’ve received a below par service?  

With online and mobile shopping expected to rise again this year, ensuring a seamless customer experience that’s channel-agnostic is even more key for retailers seeking to transform a good experience into a great one.  

Linking multi-channel orders and customer records together - to bring a single view to marketing and support services - enables retailers to deliver more personalised experiences for their customers. They can also deliver accurate, real-time inventory data across ecommerce and physical stores to influence online purchasing and help ‘save sales’. With automated updates, shoppers aren’t left disappointed by incorrect stock displays causing delays, late deliveries or even missing out on products they want.  

In fact, the provision of live visibility into inventories enables retailers to significantly enhance demand planning and streamline stock replenishment processes – keeping more accurate tabs on what’s selling and what needs a promotional boost.

While a large amount of festive gifts will be returned this year, ensuring people, processes and data are integrated is key for retailers seeking to deliver a seamless, connected customer experience. Those most connected of retailers will be best placed to ride out the storm.

Derek Thompson, VP of EMEA, Dell Boomi

• We've also highlighted the best e-commerce platforms

January 31, 2019 at 04:30PM
Derek Thompson

Moto G7 Plus spy shots out 27W fast charging and OIS support

Last week nearly all the specifications for four new Moto G7 phones were leaked, and now the high-end variant - the Moto G7 Plus - has been spotted in the wild. 

Images of the Moto G7 Plus surfaced on a closed Facebook group for Brazilian Motorola fans, and revealed some interesting features for the smartphone. 

Courtesy of the upper-plastic layer of the phone's display, it can be confirmed that the Moto G7 Plus will have Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for its 16MP primary camera. The G7 Plus is rumoured to have twin cameras on the back, the second one being the 5MP depth sensor.

TurboPower fast charge to get a boost

Another interesting tidbit that we can gather from the leak is that the G7 Plus supports 27W TurboPower fast charging. Usually, OEMs provide a 15W fast-charging adapter with the phones in-the-box but it seems that is getting bumped up to the 27W adapter.

Other specifications of the phone such as the 6.2-inch Full HD+ (2270 x 1080 pixels) display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor were also confirmed with the latest leak. The octa-core CPU is clocked at 1.8GHz and come with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM backed by 64GB internal storage.

For selfies, the Moto G7 Plus is expected to have a 12MP camera on the front.

The Moto G7 with G7 Plus, G7 Play and G7 Power will be released in the coming weeks as we head into the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019. 

• Moto G7 Plus release date, price, news and leaks

January 31, 2019 at 04:08PM
Siddharth Chauhan

Moto G7 Plus live images spill out 27W fast charge support and OIS

Motorola's upcoming G7 series has been subjected to numerous leaks and rumours from the past couple of months. Earlier last week, nearly all the specifications of the G7 smartphones were leaked on the Internet and now the high-end variant Moto G7 Plus has been spotted in the wild. 

Live images of the Moto G7 Plus surfaced on a closed Facebook group for Brazilian Motorola fans, which reveal some interesting features of the smartphone. Courtesy of the upper-plastic layer of the phone's display, it can be confirmed that the Moto G7 Plus will have Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for its 16MP primary camera. The G7 Plus is rumoured to have twin cameras on the back, the second one being the 5MP depth sensor.

TurboPower fast charge to get a boost

Another interesting tidbit that we can gather from the leak is that the G7 Plus supports 27W TurboPower fast charging. Usually, OEMs provide a 15W fast-charging adapter with the phones in-the-box but it seems that is getting bumped up to the 27W adapter.

Other specifications of the phone such as the 6.2-inch Full HD+ (2270 x 1080 pixels) display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor were also confirmed with the latest leak. The octa-core CPU is clocked at 1.8GHz and come with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM backed by 64GB internal storage.

For selfies, the Moto G7 Plus is expected to have a 12MP camera on the front.

The Moto G7 with G7 Plus, G7 Play and G7 Power will be released in the coming weeks as we head into the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019. 

• Moto G7 Plus release date, price, news and leaks

January 31, 2019 at 04:08PM
Siddharth Chauhan

Want to test the next big Windows 10 (19H2) update? You can sign up now

Microsoft has opened the doors for those Insiders who want to ‘skip ahead’ and go straight to early testing of the next big update of Windows 10 which is due to land in late 2019 (19H2).

This isn’t surprising, considering earlier this week, we heard that Microsoft is preparing to roll out 19H2 builds of Windows 10 to testers in just a few weeks (and indeed an internal build – version 18823 – was spotted recently, too).

Current testing is on 19H1, the update due to arrive in the first half of this year – probably April – and those skipping ahead to test the next major Windows 10 upgrade can expect to encounter lots of bugs early on, as ever.

If you wish to skip ahead to 19H2, you better get on board now, as places are limited and they tend to disappear quickly. You can opt-in following the instructions as tweeted by Microsoft below.

The enrolment process actually went live late yesterday, which again underlines the urgency with which you’ll need to move if you want to get in.

Bug ahead

That said, apparently when the gates were officially opened, a bug was present that meant plenty of folks couldn’t see the option to sign up for ‘skip ahead’. At the time, Brandon LeBlanc, Senior Program Manager on the Windows Insider team, acknowledged there was a problem and said Microsoft was looking into it.

Shortly after, however, he said the issue was resolved, so all should hopefully be fine by now. If you’re still not getting the option to join ‘skip ahead’, you could always try rebooting (that age-old solution to everything).

Mind you, the bug just might have worked in some people’s favor, in terms of slowing down the number of testers who have managed to subscribe in the last 12 hours, and maybe giving you a better chance of getting in today.

• Some of the best laptops of 2019 run Windows 10

Via Windows Central

January 31, 2019 at 04:06PM
Darren Allan

Samsung Galaxy Sport smartwatch close to launch as it's certified... again

Samsung is heavily rumored to be introducing a new smartwatch alongside the Galaxy S10, and now we've seen even more evidence that this will be the case as a device codenamed Pulse has been spotted going through the certification process in Taiwan.

Following on from US and South Korean certification we've previously seen, the latest evidence for an impending launch comes from a Taiwanese NCC listing that includes the device.

We've seen the codename Pulse a lot in Samsung documentation, where it refers to a wearable device from the company, and this device is currently rumored to be launching as the Samsung Galaxy Sport or possibly the Galaxy Watch Active.

Another Galaxy

There's no clear sign of what specs and features the watch will include from the listing, but we've previously heard that it's set to sport all of the same tech as the Samsung Galaxy Watch, such as GPS, NFC and other connectivity options, as well as Tizen software.

It will likely come in four colors - those are black, silver, green and gold - as well as including 4GB of storage for apps and music. There's also rumored to be more advanced Bixby support than what we saw on last year's Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Alongside this, we're also expecting to hear about two new Samsung Galaxy Fit fitness trackers soon and perhaps even four versions of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 line of phones.

Samsung is hosting an event on February 20 in San Francisco so we may hear about the Samsung Galaxy Sport there, or we may have to wait a few more days for MWC 2019 at the end of February.

• Samsung Galaxy Sport - what we know so far

Via DroidShout

January 31, 2019 at 04:04PM
James Peckham

Want to test the next big Windows 10 (19H2) update? You can sign up now

Microsoft has opened the doors for those Insiders who want to ‘skip ahead’ and go straight to early testing of the next big update of Windows 10 which is due to land in late 2019 (19H2).

This isn’t surprising, considering earlier this week, we heard that Microsoft is preparing to roll out 19H2 builds of Windows 10 to testers in just a few weeks (and indeed an internal build – version 18823 – was spotted recently, too).

Current testing is on 19H1, the update due to arrive in the first half of this year – probably April – and those skipping ahead to test the next major Windows 10 upgrade can expect to encounter lots of bugs early on, as ever.

If you wish to skip ahead to 19H2, you better get on board now, as places are limited and they tend to disappear quickly. You can opt-in following the instructions as tweeted by Microsoft below.

The enrolment process actually went live late yesterday, which again underlines the urgency with which you’ll need to move if you want to get in.

Bug ahead

That said, apparently when the gates were officially opened, a bug was present that meant plenty of folks couldn’t see the option to sign up for ‘skip ahead’. At the time, Brandon LeBlanc, Senior Program Manager on the Windows Insider team, acknowledged there was a problem and said Microsoft was looking into it.

Shortly after, however, he said the issue was resolved, so all should hopefully be fine by now. If you’re still not getting the option to join ‘skip ahead’, you could always try rebooting (that age-old solution to everything).

Mind you, the bug just might have worked in some people’s favor, in terms of slowing down the number of testers who have managed to subscribe in the last 12 hours, and maybe giving you a better chance of getting in today.

• Some of the best laptops of 2019 run Windows 10

Via Windows Central

January 31, 2019 at 04:06PM
Darren Allan

Samsung Galaxy Sport smartwatch close to launch as it's certified... again

Samsung is heavily rumored to be introducing a new smartwatch alongside the Galaxy S10, and now we've seen even more evidence that this will be the case as a device codenamed Pulse has been spotted going through the certification process in Taiwan.

Following on from US and South Korean certification we've previously seen, the latest evidence for an impending launch comes from a Taiwanese NCC listing that includes the device.

We've seen the codename Pulse a lot in Samsung documentation, where it refers to a wearable device from the company, and this device is currently rumored to be launching as the Samsung Galaxy Sport or possibly the Galaxy Watch Active.

Another Galaxy

There's no clear sign of what specs and features the watch will include from the listing, but we've previously heard that it's set to sport all of the same tech as the Samsung Galaxy Watch, such as GPS, NFC and other connectivity options, as well as Tizen software.

It will likely come in four colors - those are black, silver, green and gold - as well as including 4GB of storage for apps and music. There's also rumored to be more advanced Bixby support than what we saw on last year's Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Alongside this, we're also expecting to hear about two new Samsung Galaxy Fit fitness trackers soon and perhaps even four versions of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 line of phones.

Samsung is hosting an event on February 20 in San Francisco so we may hear about the Samsung Galaxy Sport there, or we may have to wait a few more days for MWC 2019 at the end of February.

• Samsung Galaxy Sport - what we know so far

Via DroidShout

January 31, 2019 at 04:04PM
James Peckham