Hasta La Gadget!

Nothing has only been around a few years, racking up successes in that time frame, and now the company is launching a sub-brand dedicated to affordability. Speaking during the company’s latest community update video, CEO Carl Pei announced CMF by Nothing, which promises “a new range of products that make better design more accessible” via low pricing.

CMF stands for “Color, Material and Finish” and already has a couple of products in the works, including a smartwatch and a pair of earbuds. Both items are set to arrive later this year, with actual details promised for the coming months. Pei says that CMF will set itself apart from its parent brand by focusing on “clean design” that’s “accessible,” whereas Nothing prioritizes a “premium” feel and “design innovation.”

Pei also noted that CMF is being run by a different team, so it won’t take too much attention from the primary brand’s line of smartphones, earbuds and thingamajigs. This is not the CEO’s first rodeo in the world of affordable sub-brands. Back when he was with OnePlus, Pei kickstarted the Nord sub-brand, which is still around and regularly releases budget-friendly smartphones, earbuds and smartwatches.

It’s worth noting that Nothing already wades in the waters of affordability. The Nothing Phone 2 is $600, which is much lower than rival flagship offerings, and the Ear 1 earbuds originally launched for $100, before the price raised to $150 due to increased material costs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nothing-announces-budget-friendly-sub-brand-readies-new-smartwatch-183712114.html?src=rss

A transcript reveals that former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer said the opposite of what Republicans claimed he said.

After a months-long investigation, the FCC has decided to go ahead with its proposed record-setting $300 million fine against “the largest illegal robocall operation” the agency has ever encountered. This is the heftiest fine ever issued by the FCC, due to the massive scope and illegality of the robocalling operation.

The agency issued the fine to an “international network of companies” that executed a scheme to make more than five billion robocalls to 500 million phone numbers during a three-month span in 2021. There are only 330 million people in the USA, so it’s likely you received one or many of these auto warranty scam calls. Additionally, the FCC concluded that the criminal enterprise violated federal spoofing laws by using more than a million different caller ID numbers to trick victims into answering the phone. In related news, answering the phone sucks.

The list of violations keep coming. The operation, run by Roy Cox, Jr. and Michael Aaron Jones via their Sumco Panama company, skirted prohibitions by sending pre-recorded voice calls to mobile phones without consent, placing telemarketing calls without consent and even dialing numbers included on the National Do Not Call Registry. The nefarious group also failed to identify callers at the start of conversations and voice messages and refused to provide call-back numbers to allow consumers to opt out of future communications. They basically turned 500 million smartphones into scam machines.

The FCC originally proposed the monumental fine because the robocalling met the criteria for “egregious violations” of current laws. Consumers have described the calls as “incessant” and “harassment.” To that end, Sumco Panama even participated in practices like calling health care workers from spoofed hospital numbers. It also changed its name when needed, to keep the subterfuge going, using company monikers like Virtual Telecom, Davis Telecom, Geist Telecom, Tech Direct, Posting Express and many more. 

As previously mentioned, the enterprise had been selling fake auto warranties since 2018. In addition to the fine, Cox and Jones were issued lifetime bans against making telemarketing calls. Last year, the FCC directed all United States voice service providers to cease carrying traffic associated with the pair and its entities. The agency gave the parties a chance to defend themselves, but they haven’t responded. If they don’t pay the gigantic fine in a timely fashion, the whole matter will be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fcc-issues-record-300-million-fine-for-auto-warranty-robocallers-171431348.html?src=rss

Designed with a handle for easy gripping, this kitchen cleaver iPhone case is perfect for letting people know you’re not to be approached while on a call. For sale on Amazon (affiliate link), the case is available for 15 different iPhone models, with either a black or silver blade finish. I’m going to get the silver finish for extra realism. Plus, maybe add a little blood splatter.

Of course, the knife isn’t really a knife; it’s just plastic, so you don’t have to worry about losing a toe in the event you drop a call. That’s a relief because I’m rarely not dropping my phone. Or throwing it in frustration. Online gambling was a terrible invention.

Sure, it won’t conveniently fit in any regular pants pocket or small purse, but I think we can all agree that’s a small price to pay for what is arguably the best iPhone case to ever grace the market. The butcher’s market, just to be clear.

The nurse has a suitable mobile phone. pic.twitter.com/PJWd81THxr

— Sharing Travel (@TripInChina) July 14, 2023

The base model of Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip has returned to a record low of $949 at B&H Photo and Best Buy. The price has dipped this far before, but this is still a rare sale — and a good buy as the 13-inch Air is our current favorite Apple laptop. The list price for this configuration is $1,099 (Apple dropped the MSRP by $200 when the 15-inch MacBook Air came out earlier this summer), making this a tidy, $150 discount. You get 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD and Apple’s latest M2 system-on-a-chip, which improves both the machine’s speed and battery life. The discount applies to all four colorways, instead of just one or two.   

While the M2 chip is currently Apple’s latest processor, it’s worth noting that new M3-equipped Macs will probably debut this fall, along with the expected iPhone 15, both of which we anticipate hearing about in September. As the company has done in the past, Apple will likely keep the M2 machines in its lineup, though the price may come down even further. That said, if you’re in the market right now for a solid ultraportable for college or nomadic work, this is a good deal. 

Despite the release of the 15-inch MacBook Air, we still think the 13-inch model is the best Apple laptop for most people, and it’s the top recommendation in our guide. Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar gave it a high score of 96 in his review, praising it’s speed and versatility. The quad speakers can fill a room without distortion and the three-mic array does a good job of clearly picking up your voice on calls. The M2 chip makes it plenty fast enough to handle streaming and cloud gaming and does a great job with Apple Arcade games. 

Despite being less than a half-inch thick, the M2 MacBook Air retains its headphone jack, provides two Thunderbolt ports and a MagSafe connector for charging. And the battery lasted for 16 and a half hours in our rundown tests. We think it’s a great laptop for everyday use and standard productivity, though if you want to do intensive video editing, you may want to step up to a Pro model. The base model of that machine is $200 off at B&H Photo, but will still run you $1,799. 

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-macbook-air-m2-drops-back-to-a-record-low-of-950-161530350.html?src=rss