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US wireless carriers pledge to suspend cancellations amid outbreak

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At the moment, approximately 70 companies have agreed to honor the pledge. The list includes all four of the big wireless carriers — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) — as well as internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast and Google Fiber.

“As the coronavirus outbreak spreads and causes a series of disruptions to the economic, educational, medical and civic life of our country, it is imperative that Americans stay connected,” said Chairman Ajit Pai. “Broadband will enable them to communicate with their loved ones and doctors, telework, ensure their children can engage in remote learning, and — importantly — take part in the ‘social distancing’ that will be so critical to limiting the spread of this novel coronavirus.”

For some companies like Comcast and AT&T, the pledge is something they’ll do in addition to previous measures they’ve announced. Comcast, for example, said on Thursday it would increase broadband speeds for low-income customers from 15 Mbps down to 25 Mbps down, and maintain those speeds moving forward. While it’s not part of the pledge, the FCC says Chairman Pai pushed the companies he spoke to over the phone to relax their data caps, as well as waive long-distance calling and overage fees.

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The best deals we found this week: Mario games, iPad mini and more

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iPad mini 5

apple ipad mini

Apple’s iPad mini 5 remains on sale at Amazon and Best Buy. Now you can get a 64GB Wi-Fi iPad mini 5 for $350 at both retailers, which is roughly $50 off its normal price of $400. We gave the iPad mini 5 a score of 85 for its solid performance, good battery life, and support for the first-generation Apple Pencil. At Amazon, you’ll only see the discounted price at check out when you select “Free No-Rush Shipping.” At Best Buy, you must be a My Best Buy member to see the discounted price and get the deal. Thankfully, you can sign up for My Best Buy for free.

MSI PS42 Modern gaming laptop

MSI PS42 Modern gaming laptop

Newegg still has a sale on the MSI PS42 Modern gaming laptop, slashing its price to $830. This deal is two-fold: we don’t often see MSI laptops on sale for less than $1,000, and this machine would make a good entry-level gaming laptop or a solid productivity laptop with extra graphics chops. It has an 8th-gen Core i7 processor, a 14-inch 1080p display, 16GB of RAM, 256GB storage and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q GPU.

XBox One X bundle

Xbox One X

B&H still has a deal that lowers the price of an Xbox One X bundle to $250, which is much lower than what Microsoft originally charged for the console alone. This particular bundle includes NBA 2K19, and while it might not be the game at the top of your to-buy list, the $250 price would be great even if it didn’t include the game. You’ll want to grab this bundle today because B&H shuts down on Saturdays and there’s no guarantee that the sale price will still be around after the weekend.

New deal additions

Blue Yeti microphone podcaster bundle

Those new to podcasting will want to consider Newegg’s deal that bundles a Blue Yeti microphone with Hindenburg Journalist, an audio processing software. Use the code BLUMC47A to get this bundle for $127, which is more than $30 off its regular price of $160.

We recommend Blue Yeti microphones for beginner podcasters because the sound quality they provide is much better than that of the internal mic on your computer. Blue Yeti mics are generally easy to use, thanks to their USB connection to your computer, and are well worth the investment if you’re looking to up your audio game.

Amazon Music HD 90-day free trial

Amazon Music HD is the higher-quality version of Amazon Music Unlimited. Like any other music streaming service, you can listen to millions of songs whenever and wherever you like—but the “HD” means that those will be high-definition, lossless audio tracks. The bitrate for HD tracks is up to 850kbps, which is more than double the standard bitrate of other, regular streaming services.

Normally, Amazon Music HD costs $15 per month ($13 for Prime members), so you’ll save $45 with this 90-day free trial. Only new Music HD subscribers can take advantage of this deal, and after the trial, you’ll pay the standard price each month.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active

The Microsoft online store has the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active smartwatch for $137. While this isn’t the newest model, it’s more than $100 cheaper than the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and has most of the same great features. The biggest differences between the two are the Watch Active 2’s touch-sensitive bezel, slightly larger display, and a few upgraded sensors. Nevertheless, we gave the Watch Active a score of 83 and we still think it’s a good smartwatch to get, especially if you’re looking for a more affordable option.

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An improved MacBook Air could debut as early as next week

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With that said, there are a few other areas that could get updates. The CPU is the most obvious candidate — 10th-generation low-power Core processors that would work in the Air have been available for a while. The speakers might get a boost as well. And there’s little doubt that the memory and storage options are dated — could Apple finally boost the Air’s base storage beyond 128GB this year?

We’d take the rumor with a grain of salt. Don’t plan your shopping around it. However, there might be data to back up the claims. Apple has delivered hardware updates in March for the past five years, and the coronavirus outbreak might not deter the company from breaking with its recent habits. Also, historically accurate Ming-Chi Kuo recently said he expected updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models in the second quarter of the year. It’s a little early for that, but there’s certainly some wiggle room.

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Instagram cracks down on coronavirus AR effects

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As the coronavirus epidemic has spread around the world, a number of coronavirus-themed AR filters have sprung up on Instagram. The user-generated effects depict face masks and animated virus particles, as well as “What are you” style filters that “quiz” users on whether or not they have coronavirus, or what brand of toilet paper they should “panic buy.”

Additionally, Instagram will place messages linking to information from the World health Organization at the top of users’ feeds in countries where there have been confirmed cases COVID-19. These notices will be appearing over the next couple weeks, according to the company.

The updates are the latest way that Instagram has sought to prevent misinformation about the coronavirus from spreading. The app has previously cracked down on hashtags used to spread false information and has promoted the WHO and other official health organizations in search results.



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Grab an Xbox One X bundle for $250 at B&H

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If you’d really rather have another game, you can snag the Gears 5 Limited Edition bundle for $299. There’s also supposed to be a sale on the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order bundle, but the retailer has already run out of stock.

There are a few caveats. You’ll want to act quickly, for a start. B&H closes its site on Saturdays, and there’s no guarantee the bundle will still be available when the site is back. Enthusiasts will also point out that the Xbox Series X launch is several months away, so there’s not as much incentive to buy if you aren’t in a rush. Unlike what you’ve seen with past console launches, though, the Xbox One X should still have plenty of useful life in it after launch. Microsoft has stressed that at least some early Series X games will be playable on earlier consoles — you may not have to think about upgrading for a while.

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Nintendo prevails in lawsuit over Switch console and JoyCon design

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The US Patent and Trademark Office filed a “termination decision document” on its database this week that explains why it ruled in Nintendo’s favor. The biggest factors seem to be Gamevice’s use of a flexible bridge to connect the pair of controllers, plus the fact that each controller has to be fitted to a tablet or smartphone. These facets are in contrast to the Switch’s wireless connectivity and its lock-on technology.

It’s not surprising that Nintendo won this lawsuit. The technology of the Switch and Gamevice’s controllers may bear a passing resemblance to one another, but at their core, they’re completely different. But to be fair, the concepts shared between the two companies are close enough that it’s clear that Gamevice wasn’t simply acting as a patent troll.

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Grubhub waives fees for independent restaurants impacted by COVID-19

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Today, the company announced that it is temporarily suspending its commission fees (up to $100 million) for independent restaurants nationwide. According to CNBC, those restaurants sometimes pay commission fees as high as 30 percent on orders delivered by third-party companies like Grubhub.

It makes sense from a business perspective. Independent restaurants drive more than 80 percent of Grubhub’s orders. If they are forced to close because they lose customers during the coronavirus pandemic, Grubhub will lose restaurants to serve. Some estimates predict dine-in traffic will slow up to 75 percent over the next few weeks. Pickup and delivery orders could help restaurants stay in business and prevent them from laying off staff.

“Independent restaurants are the lifeblood of our cities and feed our communities,” Grubhub Founder and CEO Matt Maloney said in a statement. “They have been amazing long-term partners for us, and we wanted to help them in their time of need. Our business is their business — so this was an easy decision for us to make.”

Grubhub has also created a fund that will allow proceeds from its Donate the Change program to go toward charities supporting restaurants and drivers impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Diners who round up the change on their orders will be able to donate it to the Grubhub Community Relief Fund. The company will match donations from Grubhub+ and Seamless+ members, and it will work with local city officials to select organizations that can use the funds.

“Banding together during hard times, putting people over profit, and supporting our local businesses is a model we should all follow, and I thank Grubhub for leading the way,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Grubhub and other third-party food delivery services have begun offering no-contact delivery options, and they’re sharing health and safety guidelines with drivers and diners. Other delivery and gig economy businesses, including Instacart, Lyft, Postmates and Uber, are considering ways to compensate drivers affected by the virus.

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YouTube rolls out Explore tab to expand your video recommendations

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It took a couple of years, but YouTube is finally ready to replace the familiar Trending tab with a more comprehensive (and hopefully more useful) section. The company is rolling out a new Explore tab on Android and iOS that not only shows what videos are hot on YouTube at this moment, but might make it easier to discover new clips. You can tap buttons at the top to browse categories like fashion, gaming and news, while more conspicuous “artist on the rise” and “creator on the rise” areas may help you find a musician or vlogger you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.

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NBC News will host four short-form shows on Quibi

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The two weekday shows may be ideal for the daily commute. Morning Report will be a fast-paced recap that brings viewers up to speed on the latest news and Evening Report will have deeper analysis on current stories. Saturday Report will profile the people who are driving current events, and Sunday Report will take a deep dive into a single critical issue, similar to the main section of Last Week Tonight. This strategy does seem to align with how today’s viewers want to digest news quickly, and it may provide deeper insights than the often high-level blurbs found on social media.

NBC News’ programs will be joined by about 170 additional shows planned for Quibi’s first year of service. The mobile platform has plenty of industry backing, as well as buy-in from directors like Guillermo del Toro and Steven Spielberg. One of its central features is called Turnstyle, which allows the viewer to watch a show in either portrait or landscape mode — and switch between the two on-demand. Engadget found the technology to be surprisingly effective at CES earlier this year, and turned some mild skepticism into excitement.

A company called Eko is suing Quibi over allegations the service used stolen trade secrets to develop Turnstyle. “Our Turnstyle technology was developed internally at Quibi by our talented engineers and we have, in fact, received a patent for it. These claims have absolutely no merit and we will vigorously defend ourselves against them in court,” a Quibi spokesperson told Engadget. If — and how — this lawsuit affects Quibi and its shows remains to be seen.

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Canon confirms that it’s 8K EOS R5 camera is not ‘a fantasy’

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Canon confirmed that the EOS R5 would shoot 8K video at 30 fps using the full (not cropped) sensor, beating any other mirrorless camera in terms of resolution and depth of field. It added a bit more detail too, saying that “in all 8K modes the EOS R5 will support Canon’s renowned Dual Pixel CMOS AF (autofocus) system.”

The EOS R5 will also be “a beast for subject detection and tracking performance for animals and people,” Canon said in the press release. The system will recognize dogs, cats and birds, tracking the animals’ eyes, but also the face and body when the eyes aren’t visible.

Other specs remain as promised before, including 12 fps and 20 fps burst speeds with the mechanical and electronic shutter, respectively, in-body stabilization that works in concert with stabilized lenses, automatic image transfers from the device to Canon’s new image cloud platform and dual card slots. We’re still missing key information like the sensor resolution, price and release date, but that will no doubt come in due time.

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