Geek News

When Huawei unveiled its first true laptop barely a year ago, it was a slightly more useful MacBook lookalike . While the MateBook X looked a lot like Apple's device , it offered some minor changes that alleviated common grievances, including the MacBook's solo USB-C port and its barely-there key travel. At MWC this year, Huawei is unveiling the next generation of the series, called the MateBook X Pro. It's a larger, more powerful notebook with a better display and impressive audio tech, but one quirky new feature could prevent it from being a good option for professionals. Huawei moved the webcam from above the screen and hid it in the keyboard, primarily to tackle privacy concerns. Instead of integrating shutters like Lenovo and HP have done, Huawei's solution to the sticky-note-over-the-camera situation is to embed it inside a key. Push down the spring-loaded middle button of the top function row, and up pops a 1-megapixel webcam with a light next to it indica...

Although CES 2018 has almost every electronics company in the world announcing new devices, most phone makers are saving their big reveals for the upcoming Mobile World Congress in February. It's no surprise, then, that Alcatel didn't have new devices ready to unveil. But the company did give us a preview of the low-cost handsets it plans to give more details about later this year. The new phones will not only use (parent company) TCL's screens with 18:9 aspect ratios and feature sleek designs, but also use a simplified naming system. We saw prototypes of the Alcatel 1x, 3v and 5 -- which are potential models of the sub-$100, sub-$200 and sub-$300 series respectively. For a sub-$100 phone, the 1x felt surprisingly luxurious. It has a soft, almost sandpaper-like texture on its curved back that makes it feel like an unfinished pebble. There was also a fingerprint sensor below the rear camera on our preview unit, which is a nice amenity at the price. Beyond those two phys...