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Razer built an insane gaming laptop with 3 screens

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projvalerie
Project Valerie is the coolest laptop... ever.
Photo: Razer

CES2017 Razer’s gaming laptops are some of the finest you can get your greasy mitts on, but none of them compare to the insane prototype the company teased today at CES in Las Vegas.

Dubbed “Project Valerie,” it’s the world’s first laptop with three screens — two of which gracefully slide away when you don’t need them.

This music service uses science to give you an edge [Deals]

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Let these scientifically curated music streaming channels help you stay focused and on task.
Let these scientifically curated music streaming channels help you stay focused and on task.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

There you are, sitting at your computer, flicking between GIFs and Facebook feeds instead of doing your work. Our computers are supposed to be productivity machines, but too often serve as distraction machines. Focus@Will aims to change that, streaming scientifically curated music to your ears specifically designed to help you stay focused on the task at hand. And right now, you can get 2 years of Focus@Will for $49.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

App Store made $240M on New Year’s Day to shatter sales records

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You don't need to go through the App Store to install apps now.
The App Store continues to impress.
Photo: Apple

The App Store opened 2017 with a massive bang by shattering sales records. New Year’s Day was its single busiest day ever, with $240 million raised from app purchases.

The record caps an incredibly successful 2016 for iOS developers, who earned a whopping $20 billion last year — up over 40 percent from 2015.

Apple yanks The New York Times apps in China

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China iPhone sales
Apple's relationship with China is complicated.
Photo: Apple

iPhone users in China are no longer able to download the app for the most popular newspaper publisher in the U.S.

Chinese government officials reportedly demanded that Apple remove all of The New York Times apps from the App Store in China, blocking access to one of the few channels the paper has to reach readers in mainland China.

Big-league sports photog talks going pro with iPhone

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Sports photographer Brad Mangin gets a lot of assignments these days to shoot with his iPhone.
Sports photographer Brad Mangin gets a lot of assignments these days to shoot with his iPhone.
Photo: Martha Jane Stanton

Sports photographer Brad Mangin used to rush to an airport after a big game to get several rolls of film on the next flight to New York for processing and editing. He never saw what he shot until it was on the cover or a two-page spread in the latest Sports Illustrated.

Now his colleagues with their heavy DSLR cameras, lenses, and a laptop to transmit photos laugh when they see Mangin with his gear – an iPhone and maybe an external battery.

Still using an original iPhone? We want to know.

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A shot of the battered original iPhone belonging to a member of the design team.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Next week marks 10 years since Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone, blowing our collective minds regarding the possibilities that smartphones presented.

Coming up on a decade later, if you’re still using the first-gen iPhone on a regular basis, we want to hear from you!

Apple invests $1 billion in world’s biggest tech fund

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tim cook in a car
Apple invested $1 billion in Didi Chuxing last year.
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Apple confirmed today that is getting into the venture capital game by investing in one of the world’s largest tech funds.

SoftBank’s new Vision Fund received $1 billion from Apple, according to a company spokesperson that revealed the company is investing in the $100 billion fund to gain access to future technology.

Sleek iPhone 7 case puts the headphone jack back where it should be

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The biggest problem with the iPhone 7 has been solved.
The biggest problem with the iPhone 7 has been solved.
Photo: Incipio

CES2017 iPhone 7 users no longer must choose between charging their device or listening to headphones, thanks to a new case that restores the headphone jack to its rightful place.

Getting a headphone jack back on the iPhone 7 comes at the cost of some serious bulk, but with Incipio’s new OX case, at least you won’t have to carry around a dongle anymore.

Floodlight Cam combines all-in-one security with simple setup

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Ring Floodlight Cam
Floodlight Cam does it all.
Photo: Ring

CES2017 Step up your home security with the new Ring Floodlight Cam.

Making its debut at CES 2017 in Las Vegas this week, the Floodlight Cam keeps an eye on your property with 1080p video recording, motion detection and the loudest siren available on an outdoor camera. What’s more, it’s incredibly easy to install.

OWC’s gigantic dock adds more ports to the new MacBook Pro

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OWC's dock adds serious bulk to the MacBook Pro.
OWC's dock adds serious bulk to the MacBook Pro.
Photo: OWC

CES2017 MacBook Pro owners that wish Apple included more ports alongside the Touch Bar can now have the best of both worlds — if they don’t mind slapping a huge dock on their machines.

OWC teased a new accessory called the DEC dock for MacBook Pro at CES, the monstrous gadget show happening in Las Vegas this week. The dock is comically large, but it adds a bevy of new features to the MacBook Pro, including extra storage.

Fisher-Price bike helps iPad-addicted toddlers get exercise

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Fisher-Price-Smart-Cycle
The Smart Cycle comes with games that require peddle power.
Photo: Fisher-Price

CES2017 Many of today’s toddlers are addicted to tablets, which means they like to sit around for hours on end playing games and watching videos. Fisher-Price wants to make this activity a little less sedentary with the Think & Learn Smart Cycle.

Unveiled at CES 2017 in Las Vegas this week, it’s a stationary bike for kids with a built-in tablet stand that lets them cram in some much-needed exercise while their little minds remain focused on other things.

Galaxy S8 could use same battery supplier as explosive Note 7

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Galaxy Note 7 that exploded while charging.
The Note 7 was one of last year's big debacles.
Photo: Mr NiBaidu

Samsung threw away millions of dollars and took a hefty PR hit thanks to its exploding Galaxy Note 7, which it wound up recalling at great cost last year.

However, it seems that Samsung’s not ready to give up on the controversial batteries used in the smartphone, but will instead continue using Samsung SDI batteries for its upcoming Galaxy S8 flagship device.

Get the down low on developing for iOS [Deals]

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This bundle of lessons will give you the skills you need to start developing for iOS 10.
This bundle of lessons will give you the skills you need to start developing for iOS 10.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Developing for iOS is one of the most lucrative skills you can have. If you want in on the iOS development boom but don’t know where to start, look no further than this lesson bundle. It’s packed with over 250 hours of instruction that’ll get you busy under the hood of a range of iOS apps, interfaces, games, tools, and more. And right now you can get the whole 2017 iOS 10 Complete App Builder Bundle for $59.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Thunderbolt 3 Dock helps you get the most out of your MacBook Pro

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Screen Shot 2017-01-04 at 14.56.11
Coming soon to a MacBook Pro near you.
Photo: Elgato

CES2017 Accessory maker Elgato unveiled its new Thunderbolt 3 Dock at CES, offering a way for users to connect a pair of 4K displays to their new MacBook Pro, in addition to plenty of other legacy connection options.

Costing $299, it promises to stand in for the plethora of dongles you’ll need as the tech world makes the jump to Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C.

Smart hairbrush tells your iPhone if you’re not brushing properly

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You're brushing it wrong!
Photo: Withings/L’Oreal

CES2017 Every year at CES, there’s one gadget that epitomizes the crazier side of Silicon Valley’s “connected tech” smart devices mania.

In 2017, that prize may well belong to Withings and L’Oreal’s newly unveiled smart hairbrush — a device that critiques your hair-brushing technique, then feeds the results back to your smartphone.

Kevin Hart gets toned in new Apple Watch Nike+ ad series

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Nike
The Apple Watch Nike+ comes with a hipster beard, apparently.
Photo: Nike

Kevin Hart goes on an epic (and fictitious) 700-mile run through the desert in a great new set of Apple Watch Nike+ ads.

Focusing on the fitness-tracking aspects of the device, the creative spots chronicle the comic actor’s quest to get in shape. Apple and Nike never ran into trouble getting high-profile celebrities to endorse their products, but Hart is certainly one of the funniest spokesmen in recent memory.

Watch the Nike ads — which tell the story of “The Man Who Kept Running” — below.

iPad art graces cover of latest New Yorker

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Jorge Colombo drew the New Yorker cover on iPad Pro.
Jorge Colombo drew the New Yorker cover on iPad Pro.
Photo: The New Yorker

Want proof you can get “real” work done on the iPad Pro? Look no further than the latest cover of The New Yorker.

Long-time art editor Jorge Colombo drew the latest cover using the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the app Procreate. It’s not the first time art created on the iPad has been featured by the popular magazine, but it’s certainly the best looking one yet.

Even better, you can watch Colombo draw the cover.

New case lets photographers mount ZEISS lenses on iPhone 7

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ExoLens, which partnered with ZEISS for a pro line of iPhone lenses last year, will soon offer a protective case for the iPhone 7 to accommodate the lenses.
ExoLens, which partnered with ZEISS for a pro line of iPhone lenses last year, will soon offer a protective case for the iPhone 7 to accommodate the lenses.
Photo: ExoLens

When lens maker ZEISS partnered with ExoLens to bring pro optics to the iPhone, mobile photographers had to make a choice between having great lenses or a protective case for the phone.

Now ExoLens has solved that, at least for the iPhone 7, with a protective case that will accommodate the ZEISS line of lenses. The new ExoLens Case will be on display at CES in Las Vegas this week and will be available for purchase within the next couple of months.

Retro gaming on the go, laser keyboards and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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Crowdfund Roundup
Help turn these awesome ideas into reality!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Incredible new gadgets often go unnoticed on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We round up the best ones each week to help them get the funding they need to become reality.

This week, we’ve got an awesome handheld emulator that lets you play your favorite retro games on the go, a laser keyboard that’s super-versatile, a tiny device that adds Bluetooth connectivity to your existing headphones, and more!

Get the touchscreen MacBook that Apple will never make

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Stop waiting for Apple to put a touchscreen on the Mac.
Stop waiting for Apple to put a touchscreen on the Mac.
Photo: Neonode

CES2017 MacBook Air owners patiently waiting for Apple to come out with a touchscreen laptop can now take matters into their own hands: A new product called AirBar turns the laptop’s display into a touchscreen.

Neonode, the company that created AirBar, unveiled the new sensor — which is specifically designed for the 13-inch MacBook Air — at CES, the world’s largest electronic show taking place in Las Vegas this week.

Apple celebrates Chinese New Year with free Beats headphones

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Great offer, you think? Sadly you (probably) won't be able to participate.
Photo: Apple

Apple will celebrate Chinese New Year by giving away pairs of Beats Solo3 headphones in its Product (RED) variant — which just so happens to also be a color associated with good luck and prosperity in various Asian cultures.

Unfortunately, if you’re reading this in the U.S., the giveaway isn’t available to you — but rather to customers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. Which we guess makes total sense, given the occasion!

Get your old devices working on your new MacBook [Deals]

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Make your new MacBook useful for your old peripherals with this sleek, 5-port hub.
Make your new MacBook useful for your old peripherals with this sleek, 5-port hub.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals.

So you’ve got the brand new MacBook. Congrats! Now all your non USB-C peripherals (which is probably all of them) are obsolete. Apple’s solution is to have you buy a bunch of adapters, but HyperDrive has a seamless solution that expands the new MacBook’s single port into five of the most-familiar, most-used formats.

The HyperDrive 5-in-1 Hub is a great alternative to a computer bag full of dongles, and right now you can get it for $39.95 at Cult of Mac Deals.

More evidence that Apple plans to make iPhones in India

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
Designed in California, made in India.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly planning to start manufacturing its iPhones in India, and — right on cue — a new report claims that Apple supplier Wistron has applied for fast-tracked approval to expand its factory in the Indian city of Bengaluru.

“Wistron has approached us to expedite certain clearances with regards to the augmentation and expansion of its existing unit,” said a high-ranking regional government official, who declined to be identified.

New security chip combines fingerprints with facial recognition

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Some selfies are harmless.
Unlock your phone by snapping a quick selfie!
Photo: Per Gosche/Flickr CC

Leading human interface solution developer Synaptics has announced a new “multi-factor biometric fusion” security system for mobile devices and PCs, built around a combination of both fingerprint and facial recognition.

The system would allow users to either set up extra secure logins requiring multiple forms of biometric ID, or have devices which could intelligently choose the most convenient mode for an occasion — such as opting for facial recognition when a person is likely wearing gloves.