Category: Tech News

Happy Plugs Protects The Younger Generation From Hearing Loss By Launching Play

Happy Plugs is proud to announce Play, youth headphones that perfectly blends youngster’s entertainment needs with parents’ safety and quality expectations. Play is a wired and wireless experience specifically designed for the younger audience of ages 3 to 15 with a maximum enjoyment at safe volume levels for their delicate ears.

Prolonged listening at high volumes can over time even lead to noise-induced hearing loss. Play protects our next generation’s hearing by limiting harmful volumes by following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation of an 85dB-limited volume range. A recent study by the WHO showed that 19.5%, nearly 1 in 5 children between 12 and 19 years old suffer from hearing loss.

Play comes with Biomaster® antimicrobial technology, an incredibly effective way to reduce the growth of unwanted microbes that can cause degradation, discoloration, staining, and odors by up to 99.99%, The additive works 24/7 to protect the product surfaces, the inbuilt antimicrobial protection is effective for the lifetime of the product with no harmful effects*.

“We’re excited to reinvent how headphones are designed for the younger audience. The headphone industry has focused on meeting adult preferences and the younger user has often fallen short of the same high quality experience. Play is made for youngsters so that they can experience entertainment, while giving parents peace of mind in safety”, says Andreas Vural, founder of Happy Plugs.

“As CEO of a headphone company and a parent of a 4-year-old I see it as my duty to supply the global youngsters with safe listening. On top of protecting their hearing we add on unparalleled design, antibacterial technology and vegan friendly material to the global audience of almost 2 billion children below 15 years old” says Tobias Ekman, CEO of Happy Plugs

Happy plugs black
Happy plugs Pink gold
Happy plugs white



Play delivers 25 hours of listening time for music, video and games. A 10-minute recharge extends the experience with another 5 hours. Play is equipped with a microphone for calls or online video classes.  Additionally, it comes with instant audio sharing to share music or a movie together with a friend’s headphones via the USB-C or 3.5mm AUX output. Play also comes with an up-to-date design, soft high-end 100% vegan friendly leather and offers 82% Passive Noise Cancellation.

The Happy Plugs Play, retailing for just USD $79.99, EUR €79.99, GBP 69.99 and available in three colorways – White, Black, Pink Gold. Play will be available at Happy Plugs’ worldwide retail accounts and shipping from happyplugs.com, July 27. For more information, please visit www.happyplus.com.

ZTE Launches Its New-generation Under-display Camera Smartphone Axon 30

ZTE Corporation a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise, and consumer technology solutions for the mobile internet, today launched its new-generation under-display camera smartphone the ZTE Axon 30 in China.

ZTE has been proven to be the full-screen trendsetter by creating the new under-display camera smartphone segment. By virtue of the upgrades of its leading under-display camera technologies, the company has further accelerated the commercialization process of the under-display camera smartphone. The ZTE Axon 30 will bring an unprecedented new experience to its users.

Ni Fei, Senior Vice President of ZTE Corporation and President of the Mobile Device Division, said, “Screen and photography are the two development directions of future smartphone evolution. Today, we bring our new-generation under-display camera smartphone ZTE Axon 30. With further reinforced performance and comprehensive upgrades, the ZTE Axon 30 proves a leap-forward improvement and brings our users a revolutionary full-screen visual experience compared to the previous generation.”

Full-screen Trendsetter towards Future

To achieve the best balance between the display performance and the screen form, ZTE has overcome numerous technical challenges and brought about a qualitative leap in the front camera invisibility and the display performance, powered by its continuous innovation and upgrades in the six core technologies, including the special pixel matrix, unique driver circuits, independent display chip, front camera, in-house selfie algorithm, and larger light-sensitive 4-in-1 2.24um equivalent large pixel camera.

The under-display camera area screen is the first one worldwide, with a high pixel density of 400 PPI. This can provide better display performance while maintaining high transmittance and an improved visual integration with the screen as a whole. Its ingenious circuit arrangement enables the synchronization between the front camera and the conventional display area, thus promising the more natural transition between them. The new device is equipped with an independent display chip, which makes the display more accurate and synchronized, through intelligent pixel enhancement and intelligent display optimization. 7 layers of highly transparent materials and 3 special processing technologies are used to make the under-display camera area more light-transmissive. Combined with the larger light-sensitive 4-in-1 2.24um equivalent large pixel camera, it creates an excellent light environment for shooting.

The ZTE Axon 30 is also the first under-display camera smartphone, with a screen of 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate. The ZTE Axon 30 is also equipped with a 6.92-inch AMOLED screen and a 20.5:9 cinema-grade screen ratio while combined with DTS:X® Ultra immersive 3D audio technology. The smartphone brings its users a high-quality movie viewing experience. The screen covers 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and supports 10-bit color depth and 1.07 billion colors.

It is the first smartphone across the globe to be authorized with the three authoritative eye protection certifications, covering TUV, SGS and UL. The ZTE Axon 30’s screen can effectively reduce blue light radiation, protect eyesight, and support DC dimming to reduce visual fatigue caused by screen flicker, providing multiple features for its users to care for their eyes.

Revolutionary User Experiences Powered by Strong Performance

In terms of performance, the ZTE Axon 30 is equipped with the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 870G mobile platform with a “1+3+4” octa-core design and a maximum core frequency of 3.2GHz. This perfectly supports a professional-class gaming experience with its computing, graphics rendering and networking capabilities. The new device adopts the self-developed memory fusion technology, using part of the free storage space to expand the running memory by up to 5GB.

The powerful photography features have recently become a key part of ZTE Axon series. The ZTE Axon 30 continues this trend equipped with the AI quad-camera, including a 64 megapixel main camera, a 120-degree wide-angle camera, a 3cm macro lens and a depth-of-field lens. Thus, it can allow users to easily play around with various shooting scenarios. It can also support multi-camera simultaneous shooting, providing users with a variety of shooting perspective options. Furthermore, it includes the Super Night Mode function of the camera that can suppress night noise through an AI algorithm that retains more charming night colors for users.

The new camera comes with a variety of classic filters and supports 3D Lut filters for users to customize as they like. Its magic color change function also allows you to choose a single color in the image, while offering more options to change the area you want to change with a different color of your choice. More personalized camera shooting modes continue with the

 

ZTE Axon series by unlocking a wonderful and colorful world of images for users.

The ZTE Axon 30 supports dual-way video stabilization for the main camera and wide angle camera that can intelligently correct video shooting jitter in motion and make dynamic video shooting more clear and stable. The phone’s VLOG intelligent short video functions support Hitchcock zoom, pull focus effects, built-in fast playback, slow motion and rewind. It is also equipped with dynamic, artistic and multiple sets of cool filming templates to support users easily filming in a variety of different styles.

In terms of 5G experiences, the ZTE Axon 30 provides seamless connectivity. The Axon 30 features the 5G super antenna 3.1 that is equipped with a “anti-lock” antenna system and a dual Wi-Fi antenna. Regardless of vertical grip or horizontal grip, it can prevent hands from blocking the antenna and improve the signal transmission capabilities by 100%. Its unique network detection algorithm can help the phone intelligently identify the best network and realize seamless switching and intelligent acceleration of 5G/Wi-Fi1/Wi-Fi2 channels to ensure quick and stable internet experiences all the time.

ZTE AXON 30

Sleek Design and Sustained Power

The ZTE Axon 30 adopts an ultra-thin body design with a thickness of only 7.8mm and a weight of 189g. This matches the ultra-narrow bezel, double waistline and dynamic streamline aesthetic design to allow the whole device’s appearance to be avant-class, in line with current aesthetic trends.

The new camera area on the back of the device features an iconic LABEL design by creating a unique image fusion technology label. The rear shell is made of 3D composite polymer material with nano-level glow texture overlaid. Its illusion holographic effect can bring a rich light and shadow change with a dazzling beauty of colors. The new device has two colorways: Black and Aqua, for users to choose from, giving them a unique option to match their preferences.

The ZTE Axon 30 is also equipped with a 4200mAh battery and 55W fast charging. The triple ice cooling system, consisting of a large VC liquid cooling plate, thermal gel, and graphene copper-based composite material, can guarantee the continuous high performance.

In the wave of technological innovation, The ZTE Axon 30 is on a continuous exploration of under-display camera technology. The new iteration of its product strength will bring consumers a new experience beyond their imagination. Model versions and price information to be added as updates come in.

The global version is coming soon on the ZTE official website.

imoo Launches New Smartwatch for Child Safety – imoo Watch Phone Z1

imoo, the world leading brand in the kids smartwatch market, has just announced the global launch of their new device. The new device is called imoo Watch Phone Z1 and is made for children ages 5-12. With an emphasis on safety and security, the IoT wearable technology promotes freedom and independence of children while allowing parents to keep track of their children. Through a suite of fun and innovative built-in features parents and children can enjoy features like video calling, audio messaging, location tracking, photo sharing and much more. The imoo Watch Phone Z1 will be available for open sales starting from July 26th. Special offer starts from July 26th to August 11th with discounted price starting at $99 /￡99 /A＄139 /€99.

Smart 4G Watch Phone with Powerful Video Call

An important goal of the imoo Watch Phone Z1 is its ability to provide easy and accessible communication for children. This is achieved with a mature high-speed 4G network that includes 4 modes and 13 frequency bands to ensure every ongoing communication is quick and stable. Not only can parents have a real time HD video call with their child, knowing where they are, but also can recognize clearly the surrounding environment with only a few simple touches to start calling. The imoo app’s chat features include privacy and security to make communication safe and more engaging for children when connected to the network at any time.

Safe And Secure Always Come First

With a safety tested and quality assured build,  the imoo Watch Phone Z1 adopts skin-care and anti radiation materials to avoid any health concerns. After many rounds of rigorous testing, the imoo Watch Phone Z1 also meets product safety and data security standards with the German TüV SüD WT-Mark safety certification. 

AI Precise Positioning

Thanks to the advanced GPS and its best-in-class GDPR compliant location-based services with a reliable 4G LTE data connection, Z1 always keeps parents up to date with GPS locating to let them know the whereabouts of their children through the precise tracking functionality on their own Android or iOS devices even without the need of a video call.

Wide Angle Camera For Video Calls And Photo Adventure

The front camera setup offers high quality HD video calls either by WiFi or 4G at any time. The 2MP 79° wide angle, f/2.4 camera supports fast auto focus, producing high quality video and images with 2 modes, Ultra HD and HD. It is a great opportunity to capture your relationship while taking a selfie to get into an adventure with sharing the photos between friends.

HD Retina Eye-Friendly Screen

Considering the eye safety, Z1 utilizes TFT and Super Retina Display, offering more refined resolution with richer and more accurate colors that is more friendly to children’s eyes.

IPX8 Water Damage Protection

Its water resistant outer shell fully protects the inside of the device with an impressive IPX8 water resistance rating along with an anti-fall protection.

Class Mode 0% Distraction, 100% Concentration

Parents can have children focused on study time by simply setting a designated schedule through the imoo app to restrict a child’s use during designated times, making sure their children won’t be distracted in the class.

Battery Power And Stand-By

With a capacity of 740 mAH on a single charge it can last up to 2-3 days and also triangulates location using GPS, cellular networks and Wi-Fi hotspots for the most accurate positioning.

 

Pricing and Availability

As announced initially, imoo global’s open sales at the price of GBP 99/EUR 99/AUD 139 will be officially available starting from July 26th, and end on August 11, 2021. Enjoy our Open Sales offers now and join the imoo Official Website.

 

Shipping countries and regions:

  • Europe: European Union, Australia and the United Kingdom

Kefron survey reveals majority of businesses planning for a partial return to office

Leading Irish document and information management provider, Kefron, today announced the results of its ‘2021 Smarter Office Survey’, revealing how Irish businesses are navigating the challenges of adapting their offices to the realities of the post-COVID environment.

The survey carried out in May of this year revealed that 79% of businesses were planning for only a partial return to the physical office in the recovery phase of the pandemic, with only 2 in 10 businesses currently seeking to fully return to the office in the coming months. When reflecting on the experience of a year of remote working, 38% of business reported seeing no change in productivity, 36% seeing an increase and 26% seeing a decrease.

In light the continuing demand for flexible working arrangements post-COVID, almost three-quarters of respondents agreed that accelerating the move to a smarter office, which enables employees to work from home or in-person, will be crucial to their organisation’s future success.

According to the new survey, the main obstacles facing businesses in reframing the role of the office this year include a continued leadership focus on mitigating the short-term challenges posed by the pandemic (35%), outdated work practices (23%), an absence of a digital strategy (12%) and a lack of in-house skills and expertise” (8%).

In embracing the potential of the smart office, business leaders expressed a range of priorities for the remainder of 2021. 28% of respondents agreed that maintaining a connected workforce will be their top priority, while 26% said that simplifying processes and work practices within the office will be the number one concern. This was followed by driving business efficiencies (13%) and improving productivity (12%).

Paul Kearns, Managing Director of Kefron said: “Our survey findings indicate that the Irish business landscape is going through a major transitional moment, especially with regard to how organisations think about the physical office. With the vast majority of businesses preparing for a partial, rather than full, return to the office, it’s now clear that the office will no longer confined to just four walls. It is becoming a hybrid space where employees can access information from any location securely so they can do their best work. At Kefron, we believe we are seeing the emergence of a smarter office fit for the future.  

“Business leaders voiced a number of concerns about the future of a smarter office, especially as it relates to employee collaboration and the threat of cyber-attacks. Going forward, the challenge for organisations of all sizes will be to develop robust systems that increase efficiency, reduce environmental damage, meet the needs of employees and customers alike, and protect their data from various existing and future risks. These concerns should be at the heart of each business’s plan as they embrace the smart office in 2021 and beyond.”

Other key findings of the survey include the following:

  • 78% of respondents said they were “more concerned” about the risk of fraud and cyber-crime since embracing remote work arrangements. 12% said they were directly affected by fraud incidents in the last 12 months.
  • 4 in 10 respondents said that their digital documentation and record systems were inadequate at the beginning of the pandemic.
  • 1 in 4 respondents agreed that “access to documents and information” proved to be a challenge during the pandemic.

Further details on the ‘2021 Smarter Office Survey’ can be found on: https://kefron.com/blog/smarter-office-survey/.

How Schema can Radically boost your Click Through Rate

Although this is somewhat morbid, there’s an on-going joke amongst SEO experts that the second page of Google would be an incredibly effective place to hide a dead body. And it’s true. Think about it: when was the last time you looked beyond the first page when you were conducting a Google search? We’re willing to bet it was a while ago.

So, if you have a well-designed website that has been populated with high-quality copy and content but you still aren’t getting many visitors, you probably aren’t securing enough organic traffic from search engine results pages (SERPs).

Research is constantly telling us that pages that rank higher on SERPs are also securing more click-throughs. For example, the number one organic result is securing an average click-through rate (CTR) of just over 31%. This top-ranking organic result is also approximately ten times more likely to secure a click than the tenth organic result.

But this clearly isn’t the only factor contributing to CTRs. In fact, Google has made a point to integrate a variety of features into SERPs that also secure clicks and one of these is rich snippets. Structured data or schema markup is also playing a central role but it’s something that is simply being overlooked by too many businesses.

What is Schema Markup?

Google wants to understand both the content and context of every webpage to ensure that it is consistently providing its users with search results populated with high-quality, relevant content. Schema markup can be used to provide Google with important information about a webpage in a standardised format. 

As Paul Morris, MD at Bristol based, Superb Digital, states “Structured data is also useful for removing ambiguity. With structured data in place, an online grocery store selling apples won’t show up in the search results for resellers of Apple consumer electronics.”

A recipe page is the example that Google uses to explain structured data. So, a recipe page may use structured data to explain the ingredients, method, calories, and cooking time to help Google properly classify the page content.

But how does this translate into SERP information?

Let’s conduct a Google search for “best movies 2020”. The SERP we are presented with contains a carousel right at the top, which features images of movies that Google considers to be 2020’s best movies. These images are clickable and will take users wanting more information about a particular movie to more in-depth SERPs.

This is just one example of an interactive infobox that can appear at the top of SERPs for relevant queries. As these infoboxes sit above organic search results, securing a place within them can by-pass search engine optimisation (SEO) altogether.

What exactly does Schema Markup do?

Essentially, schema markup will allow you to provide additional information within your search results. This will ensure you take up more space in SERPs and can provide an enhanced user experience by letting visitors know what they can expect from your content when they decide to click through.

There are a variety of different types of information you can use structured data to communicate, including:

 

1. Reviews

Incorporating reviews from your existing customers in your search snippets can demonstrate to new leads that you are a reputable and authoritative business within your niche. Plus, the orange stars are instantly eye-catching!

2. Location Information

As local search becomes increasingly prominent, showcasing the precise address of your business within SERPs can help you to boost footfall and entice new customers into your store.

3. Contact Information

Similarly, structured data can be used to make it incredibly easy for potential customers to get in touch. This will reduce the number of steps they will need to take to contact you, thereby increasing the likelihood that you will hear from them.

4. Events

If your business has an upcoming event, highlighting this information within your search snippet using event schema can help you to secure additional attendees. Even if a potential customer doesn’t want to attend this specific event, it will still demonstrate that you are an active business that is eager to host interesting events and engage your audience in meaningful ways.

5. Product Information

We all know that marketplaces are competitive and if your search snippet contains even just the smallest amount of additional information, you’re far more likely to secure a click over your competitor brands. You’re aiming to provide ‘just enough’ information to out-do your competition and appeal directly to your target audience.

It is possible to use schema markup to display specific product prices in the SERPs which can be beneficial but requires testing to make sure. This can be very valuable if your offering has a lower price than everything else on that SERP but likely won’t work if your offering has a much higher price tag. If the latter is the case, you might find it more valuable to use price range schema which will use a price indicator, such as £ for affordable offerings or £££ for more premium offerings.

It is also possible to use schema markup to display the availability of a particular product. This can be beneficial if you’re offering an in-demand product with limited availability because it can create an instant sense of urgency. It is unlikely to be beneficial if key items are currently out of stock as this will likely result in a sudden reduction in the CTR for that result.

What do I need to know about Schema Markup?

Arguably most importantly, you need to know precisely what your ideal audience is searching for and the intent that sits behind that search to ensure that your search result is perfectly pitched to capture their attention.

In addition to capturing their attention and securing their click, it is also imperative that the page they land on contains the information they were promised. Don’t forget, failing to fulfil your promise will impact your overall image and make it impossible for your target audience to view you as a trustworthy operation that can enhance their lives.

Schema markup implementation is a technical process that requires in-depth HTML, coding and SEO knowledge, so this isn’t beginner’s stuff and it pays to work with a reputable SEO agency, who have case studies and a proven track record (like Superb Digital who we mentioned above). 

Dell Technologies Helps GOAL Support Global Emergency Response During Pandemic #Dell #GOAL

Dell Technologies today announced its work with global humanitarian non-profit, GOAL Global,  developing an IT strategy that allows the continuation of life-saving global operations during the pandemic. GOAL used Dell Technologies expert services to strategize and deploy an architecture that empowers GOAL’s employees around the world to continue delivery response during the pandemic and minimize disruptions to its technology infrastructure.

As a first responder to humanitarian crises for more than 40 years, GOAL is committed to working with vulnerable communities to help them survive crises and support them on the road to recovery. Its frontline staff of 2,400 employees across 14 countries operate in environments where poor network connectivity and frequent power outages are the norm. They rely on IT to manage logistics – including access to food, shelter, and healthcare – mobilize an integrated response through collaboration, collect local data that informs a response, as well as analyze and report on how donor funds are spent. This reliance became even more critical as the pandemic shut down travel and supply chains early last year.

GOAL worked with Dell Technologies to help it quickly move forward with planning and implementing an all-digital approach to boost connectivity, efficiency, provide agility, and ensure its data is safe.

“GOAL believes in a world where poverty no longer exists and we work with vulnerable communities to help them respond to and recover from humanitarian crises,” said Janet Humphreys, CIO of GOAL. “During the pandemic, our humanitarian aid became even more critical. Dell Technologies offered our organization a lifeline through its expert advice on moving to a hybrid computing model, supporting us in the migration and educating our staff on how to use it. Today, we’re more connected than ever and equipped to continue our journey in providing aid to others.”

GOAL believed this approach was necessary to increase connectivity. Dell Technologies ProConsult Advisory Services conducted detailed analysis of GOAL’s IT infrastructure and barriers to success. It  provided a comprehensive assessment of GOAL’s current state along with a strategy to move forward, which included a hybrid computing recommendation.

The non-profit’s frontline workers are often dispersed in areas with poor connectivity. They often don’t have the needed bandwidth to share data between their localized environments and GOAL’s centralized environment. Dell Technologies and GOAL defined an architecture that makes it easier for frontline staff to work on local copies and upload/download, while other teams work online. With Dell Technologies’ migration expertise, GOAL was able to maintain emergency response and program delivery during the transformation as well as increase the number of people served by one million – from five to six million – around the world.

Dell Technologies Employee Experience Measurement Services were also delivered to measure and analyse IT sentiment so GOAL could strategically prioritize where to focus on improvements, create action plans, and measure change over time. Dell Technologies’ counsel around best practices for change management, user adoption and training improved IT experience scores by 30% in subsequent measurements. GOAL also achieved efficiency and scale by replicating solutions across the 14 countries that the frontline operates.

“GOAL is like many global non-profit organizations grappling with a number of challenges – dispersed workforces in remote locations, small budgets, no scope for downtime – that require them to work smarter when it comes to digital transformation,” Bertrand Lalanne, vice president EMEA presales at Dell Technologies. “GOAL’s success proves that organizations, no matter their challenges, are able to move to hybrid computing approach with the right guidance, support and technology. Dell Technologies is uniquely equipped to support organizations from all sectors and sizes, at any point in their digital modernization journey, allowing those in some of the toughest environments to flourish.”

With Dell Technologies’ commitment to help 1,000 non-profit organizations on their journey to digital transformation by the year 2030, this is an example of how the company is working with customers to support shared social impact goals. Technology is crucial to keeping GOAL operational and employees connected and the success of its mission.

You can now ask Alexa about the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games #Tokyo2020 #TokyoOlympics

As athletes and fans across the nation prepare themselves for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and tomorrow’s Opening Ceremony, Amazon’s Alexa has been learning facts to give customers quick and easy access to Great Britain and Ireland’s latest news and successes throughout July and August.

Following the Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday 23rd July, Alexa will give customers the low down on Team GB, Team Ireland, ParalympicsGB and Paralympics Ireland athletes competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games this year. When asking questions such as “Alexa, what’s the Olympics update?” or “Alexa, what’s the Paralympics update?” customers will hear an update every day throughout the Games, with the latest news from Tokyo.

Additionally, as the athletes compete in their chosen sports, fans will be able to follow along with the successes of the teams from Great Britain and Ireland by asking for updates such as “Alexa, what’s Paralympics Ireland’s update?” to hear a daily summary of the team’s progress.

Alexa’s new knowledge can help fans become an expert on the athletes competing in events from the comfort of their own homes. Customers can ask “Alexa, who is the athlete of the day?” to hear a short biography of a chosen athlete.

To stay up to speed on the medals table using just their voice, customers can also ask “Alexa, which country has the most gold medals?”, or ask for team specific updates such as, “Alexa, what’s Team Ireland’s medal count?.”

Questions that customers can ask Alexa about the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games include:

 

  • “Alexa, what’s the Olympics update?”
  • “Alexa, what’s the Paralympics update?”
  • “Alexa, what’s Team Ireland’s Olympics update?”
  • “Alexa, what’s Team Ireland’s Paralympics update?”
  • “Alexa, which country has the most gold meals?”
  • “Alexa, what’s Team GB’s medal count?”
  • “Alexa, what’s Team Ireland’s medal count?”
  • “Alexa, who is the athlete of the day?”

Dropbox’s New Features Simplify Remote Work and Personal Organisation

Dropbox is unveiling new updates to its product suite, as it continues to invest and build tools that support distributed teams and simplify collaboration.
When they introduced new features for distributed teams last year, many were already feeling the boundaries between work and home begin to blur. Since then, the future of work has been transformed forever – and when offices eventually start to reopen and communities return to “normal” – users will need tools to support them, both at home and at work.
To support users in staying organised at home by centralising, organising, and protecting personal content, they launched updates to:
Camera uploads: 
  • Significantly improved camera uploads to make its performance faster and more reliable. Starting today, camera uploads is available to all Basic users.
    • Automatically back up photos and videos from your mobile device to Dropbox, and access them on any device
    • Back up specific albums and customise how your photos and videos are saved (now available for iOS and coming soon to Android)
    • Save space on your phone by safely removing photos after backing them up

Dropbox Passwords:
  • They are now introducing several updates to make it even easier to store, sync, and share passwords:
    • Passwords browser extension: Capture and fill in logins and passwords as you perform online tasks
    • Passwords sharing: Securely share passwords and payments and stay on top of who has access to what accounts
    • Support for credit and debit cards: Save time by managing payments from your web browser and mobile devices
Dropbox is also creating a simpler experience that allows for quick access to content and workflows, with updates to the suggested folders, file conversion, a new navigation on the web and a simplified system tray.
More background on all of the latest features can found on their blog here

Evernote Launches New Features and New Plans for Personal and Professional Productivity

Evernote, the productivity app that helps you remember everything and accomplish anything, today unveiled a line-up of new features and repackaged subscription plans that make it easier than ever for users to effectively manage their workflows and organise their lives. The introduction of Tasks, Google Calendar in Evernote and new Home widgets to the app’s core note-taking capabilities acts as a force-multiplier, creating context for whatever needs to get done. Notes become more actionable, deadlines and to-dos become easier to track, and important information is surfaced in a neat, organised view.

Since rebuilding the platform in September 2020, Evernote has delivered a steady succession of new features and product improvements, from the launch of Home in January to Tasks in Early Access in June. Today’s official release of Tasks, Google Calendar integration and expanded Home capabilities as part of the company’s repackaged plans makes it easy for anyone to create the right Evernote for them – no matter what they need to get done.

“While today is another significant step forward in delivering on our mission, together, these new features and plans represent a bigger shift: an expanded definition of Evernote’s fundamental value,” said Ian Small, CEO of Evernote. “To fulfil our original promise to become your external brain, we’re moving forward in a way that helps you make valuable connections between information you want, when you want it and what you need to do with it. We will continue to partner in your process, amplifying the way you like to work and helping you focus on what’s needed to achieve your unique goals.”

Tasks in Evernote

By allowing users to create actionable tasks directly inside their notes, and also to manage them all from a unified view, Evernote bridges the gap between what users need to do and the information they need to do it. As part of today’s launch, Tasks can now be assigned to other Evernote users and soon to anyone with an email address – whether they use Evernote or not. Initially rolled out as an Early Access release in June, Tasks is now available as a general release across all devices.

Google Calendar in Evernote

Users can now connect Evernote to their Google Calendar accounts, making it seamless to create, link, and find notes for meetings and other events. With Google Calendar in Evernote, notes linked to events paint a more complete picture of what happened, when, and why. Ideas, decisions, and action items stay connected to the people, places, and activities that sparked them, without any extra effort. And, the customisable calendar widget in Home helps users stay in the zone without leaving Evernote, while making it easy to create and access relevant notes.

Home in Evernote

Introduced in January, Home is a one-stop dashboard that puts the information users need front and centre so they can stay on top of their day without feeling overwhelmed. Today, new customisation options for Home offer users a refreshed Evernote experience from the minute they open the app. This includes new widgets for Tasks and Google Calendar, as well as the ability to add multiple pinned notes and scratch pads (and change their pads’ colour and title), so Home can be optimised to fit the ways individuals work and think.

New Subscription Plans

As part of today’s announcement, four redesigned subscription plans arrange Evernote’s features and capabilities – both new and old – in easy-to-understand packages:

  • Evernote Personal: The least expensive paid offering for individual power users was crafted with Evernote Premium as the foundation, but includes new ways for users to bring order to their days. With full-featured Tasks, new widgets for Home and the ease that comes from connecting a Google Calendar account, Evernote Personal helps users stay focused on the activities and information they need for themselves, their homes and their family.
  • Evernote Professional: Designed for the higher-end power user, the new Professional plan embraces the “whole person” model of an Evernote user – a busy professional who juggles information overload both at work and home. In addition to everything Evernote Personal has to offer, Evernote Professional adds Assignable Tasks, multiple Google Calendar accounts, deeper Home customization and new, advanced search capabilities that amplify productivity at work and at home and deliver a feature-rich experience.
  • Evernote Teams: Formerly known as Evernote Business, Teams is designed for groups of people at work who need to collaborate and share knowledge in one convenient place. Every new feature being introduced today has been automatically added to Evernote Teams, creating new, immediate value to Evernote Business customers’ existing experiences.
  • Evernote Free: Evernote’s incredibly powerful and highly-valued free option retains the original mission of remember everything by enabling users to collect and manage everything important. Evernote Free will continue to incorporate smart, tailored experiences that help new customers onboard quickly and existing customers do even more.

“Everyone is wired to do things differently, and our recent momentum and evolving mission has provided us the opportunity to address that,” said Michele Don Durbin, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Evernote. “The new plans ensure there’s something for everyone – whether you’d like to feel more organized and keep better track of important information, bring order to the chaos of your day, or ramp up your workplace efficiency, Evernote’s new plans are yet another step towards helping you find your productivity happy place.”

To access new Tasks, Home and Google Calendar capabilities, users need to update to the latest version of Evernote on their devices. Evernote Premium users paying current subscription rates will automatically migrate to the new, more richly featured Evernote Personal offering at the price they are paying today.  Basic and Business customers will remain on their newly renamed plans at the same price they pay today. Plus and legacy-priced Premium customers keep their current existing plans without any price increase.