Andrew Barclay is a tech reporter with Abacus. A self confessed gadget nerd, he likes writing about the intersection of technology, culture and business. If he's not at the office, he's probably eating ramen. He has previously worked at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
5G is the name of the next-generation wireless technology that promises far faster internet access than 4G. Experts predict it will begin to take off in 2019, enhancing communications among IoT devices.
Based in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, Hisense is the world’s third largest TV maker -- trailing behind Samsung and LG. Besides selling its own TVs, the company also holds a major stake in Toshiba’s TV business.
Founded in 2009, Vivo is one of the top smartphone brands in China -- and a sister firm of Oppo. Their most famous handsets include the super-thin X1 and the Nex, which has a pop-up camera.
Founded by Lei Jun in 2010, Xiaomi prides itself on its “ecosystem” strategy -- selling not just smartphones but also a variety of gadgets and household products. It began expanding into western Europe in 2017.
More companies are bringing Android Go phones to the US. The latest from Asus has 1GB RAM and 16GB storage -- not bad for a budget smartphone. But what's more surprising is that it also features a face unlock feature in lieu of a fingerprint sensor.
Bigger is better, according to Huawei's budget brand Honor. Their latest smartphone has a massive 7-inch screen -- larger even than the rumored Plus version of the next iPhone. But what's more impressive is that it also packs the Kirin 970 chipset seen in Huawei's flagship smartphones -- but in a more affordable model.
Of course, the cost to doing business in China is that you will likely be doing business on China's terms. Airlines found this out the hard way when authorities objected to their web forms listing Taiwan as a separate country.