Gigarefurb Refurbished Laptops News

An iPhone 8 case is crucial for protecting your new phone, as glass-backed handsets won’t always survive a drop without cracking or smashing. Given the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were Apple’s first smartphones to have such a build, if you’ve got one you’ll want to make sure it’s protected.

A good case can keep your smartphone protected from scrapes and drops, so it can last as many years as you need it to. Some even pack extra features like power banks, covers to give the screen some extra protection and more.

Just to be clear, we haven’t tested out these iPhone 8 cases and can’t guarantee all will protect (or look cool) to the same degree. But the list includes many that come highly-rated by users, or from reliable brands that we have tested products from before and some look pretty sharp. 

These are products that we haven’t had in our test labs, but based on our experts’ opinion and knowledge of the most reputable brands around, we think these are worth looking at.

Our selections, ranked from cheapest to most expensive, take into account online reviews, brand reputation, product capability and unique features, to help you pick through the maze of choices available to you.

•  Looking for the best iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max cases? How about iPhone X cases? 
• We’ve got iPhone 11 cases and iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max cases too

Best iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus cases at a glance

• Torras Slim Fit iPhone 8 Case
• JETech iPhone 8 clear case
• Spigen Touch Armor case for iPhone 8
• Matone Crystal Clear case
• Speck Presidio Grip case
• X-Doria Defense Clear case
• MNML Thin case for iPhone 8
• Tech21 Pure Clear case
• iPhone 8 Official Silicone case
• Mujjo Leather case
• iPhone 8 Official Leather case
• LifeProof Fre case
• Otterbox Defender case
• Spigen Slim Armor CS case
• Caseology Parallax case
• Otterbox Strada case for iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 8 faux leather wallet folio case

Best iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus cases

The Torras Slim Fit case is perfect for those who want a simple, inexpensive case that won’t glitz up their iPhone 8. It won’t have the multi-stage protection of an OtterBox, but buying one of these is certainly better than keeping your phone naked, and this is the next closest thing: aside from a 1mm lip around the camera, the Torras Slim Fit is only fractionally larger than the phone itself. 

This is the case for those who want a no-frills case that will fit in pockets and small bags. Get it for $11 (£8, AU$15) on Amazon here.

JETech’s iPhone 8 case is also its iPhone 7 case (it fits both), which tells you a lot about the design: it fits, it works, it’s not complicated. This crystal-clear case should protect against basic drops, scratches and scuffs.

In other words, don’t expect phenomenal protection from this case, but it’s an extremely functional choice for someone who doesn’t want to spend much or just needs a quick fix before upgrading to a pricier case.

You can get the JETech Case for under $8 (£6, AU$11) on Amazon here.

Spigen releases Tough Armor cases for plenty of phones, and this iPhone 8 case is much like them: improved protection over basic cases for a bit higher price, but nowhere near as expensive as others in this list.

The case has a flexible TPU body wrapped in a polycarbonate back, providing a little extra cushion between the ground and your phone than simple plastic cases. Plus, it’s got a little kickstand if you enjoy watching media on your iPhone 8.

The Spigen Tough Armor iPhone 8 case is just under $16 (£12, AU$22) and available on Amazon here.

Matone’s Crystal Clear case is a simple solution for protecting your iPhone 8 Plus. It’s a basic, soft TPU bumper case that goes around the edges and back of the phone to absorb shock when dropped.

It comes in four colors, but all of them are see-through, so you’ll still be able to show off the full appearance of your phone. And, of course, with simplicity comes a low price tag.

See this iPhone 8 Plus case at Amazon here.

Looking for a simple protective cover that will help you grip your iPhone 8? This option from trusted case manufacturer Speck is basic, but does exactly what you need it to.

It won’t protect the screen of your phone, but the grip material at the back will help you keep hold of your phone when you really need to. 

Protection for your pricey iPhone 8 can come at a high cost, but it doesn’t have to. The X-Doria Defense Clear case costs less than most ruggedized cases.

One understated feature this one boasts is that it tucks the iPhone 8’s screen under a bit of its lip so as to avoid scratching it on a table if you like to set your phone face down. This case is no frills, but if all you’re looking for is protection on the cheap, look no further.

If you’re looking for a case, but don’t want to add any heft or thickness to the iPhone 8, this is the one you’re after.

MNML makes, you guessed it, cases with minimal aesthetic. They are cheap and come in a variety of colors. Better yet, they’ll work on your iPhone 7 as well, should you have one laying around.

Tech21 offers a great protective case here that will ensure the back or edges of your phone won’t get scratched and will hopefully be able to take a bit of the brunt when you next drop your iPhone 8.

There’s no front to this case, so you may want to buy a screen protector, but this see through option may be a good idea if you want to be able to see your phone while it’s protected.

Apple makes its own official cases for the iPhone 8, and unsurprisingly they’re worthy of inclusion in this list. This one is made from a silicone material that should feel comfortable in your hand.

But perhaps the best element is the color choices on offer here. You have the choice of nine colors, including bright red, so you can make your phone look like the red iPhone 7.

If style is your modus operandi, this leather case by Mujjo should fit your tastes nicely. In terms of its looks, it’s reminiscent of Apple’s own leather case, but it’s going for the much cheaper rate of about $38 (around £28, AU$47).

It likely won’t be the most protective case, given that it doesn’t look to hug the camera unit closely, so it’s probably not the wisest choice for those who like to take their phone out in the elements. That said, if you biff, you’ll really be going down in style.

This is another choice you can buy directly in the Apple Store when you grab your iPhone 8, but we really like the leather version of Apple’s official case.

Apart from the material it’s made of, the design is very similar to the silicone version up above and it comes in a great variety of colors too including pink, brown and bright red.

If protecting your phone is your number one priority when investing in a case, LifeProof’s signature offering looks to fit the bill with its colorful suite of cases.

By hugging around the back and securely over the iPhone 8’s front, it protects its fragile glass build materials on every front. 

While the phone looks as much like an iPhone 6 as it does an 8 while covered, at least you’ll still be able to take advantage of all the new features, like wireless charging and the improved camera. The big downside is that this ruggedized case is nearly $100.

Otterbox’s Defender Series of cases is the perfect choice for anyone who wants to ensure their iPhone 8 is safe from just about anything. This case offers multi-layer protection for the front, back and sides of the phone. An attachable clip can even help you keep it easily accessible without making it more prone to falls.

Spigen’s Slim Armor CS is a handy case for the iPhone 8. It not only protects your phone with a two-layer combination of soft TPU and hard PC, but it also lets you store two card inside. Throw a credit card and license in there, and you’re set for a night on the town. 

Caseology’s Parallax iPhone 8 case has a stylish design combining a soft shell with a 3D effect on the back and a hard shell for extra reinforcement.

While it might cover up most of the iPhone 8’s own design, the Parallax case’s look is interesting enough that you might not even mind. Plus, there are plenty of color combinations to choose from.

See the Caseology Parallax iPhone at Amazon here.

Otterbox makes great cases, and the Strada series for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus sticks to that trend. The case features mutli-layer protection for your phone. And, thanks to its folio style, it can protect your screen as well.

It may be pricey, but it’s a lot cheaper than a serious repair. It also has room for a credit card, so you can store one in your case if you don’t like bringing your wallet everywhere.

See the Otterbox Strada case for iPhone 8 at Amazon here.
See the Otterbox Strada case for iPhone 8 Plus at Amazon here.

• We’ve also made a list of the best iPhone apps

This folio-style wallet is great for anyone who doesn’t want to bring their wallet along with their phone. Its faux-leather looks nice (in photos, at least), comes in multiple colors and has three pockets for cards or cash.

It may be a bit cumbersome for frequent texters, but it will keep your phone’s front screen a bit more protected from damage. Pick up this iPhone 8 faux-leather wallet case on Amazon here for $19 (£15, AU$26).

Go to Source

The next version of Google Messages could add in a much-wanted security upgrade that offers its users extra protection, reports have claimed.

The APK Insight team at 9To5Google recently got wind of a new  preview build of Google Messages v6.2, and among several changes in the new version was the mention of end-to-end encryption via RCS.

While RCS messaging has often been touted as the answer to iMessage, it had one critical flaw: the lack of end-to-end message encryption, which gives users confidence that their messages are truly secure. The upcoming version of Google Messages appears to have solved that problem: the APK Insight team’s exploring unearthed no less than 12 new strings of code in the “dogfood” app preview build that make references to end-to-end encryption, or ‘e2ee’. 

• Apple reversed plans for fully encrypted backups
• Millions of websites put at risk after encryption fault
• What telco cloud services need to know about encryption

Google Messages update

As of now, there is no further information about the exact requirements for using end-to-end encryption.

What we do know is that for an RCS message, both the sender and receiver need to have a good internet connection. Should this not be the case, the app offers SMS or MMS as fallbacks.

Furthermore, the app will have extra protections in place. Users will be able to set whether other Android apps with pre-existing permission to view their messages can also view encrypted messages. Moreover, users will be reminded that messages are encrypted while sharing locations.

It will be some time before we know more, but the news seems to indicate that Google is making a push to seriously compete with iMessage through Google Messages, both in terms of features as well as security concerns.

• Best encrypted instant messaging apps 2020 for Android

Via: 9to5Google

Go to Source

We’re seeing cheap laptop deals offering discounts on everything from super low cost machines all the way through to high-end machines with powerful configurations. That means you’ll find the best laptop deals right here, for whatever you’re shopping for this week. If you need a cheap laptop for everyday web browsing, for example, we’ve scoured the web for all the latest sales coming in under £200, but if you’re looking for a new work from home machine, you’ll find plenty of mid-range laptops reduced this week as well. For media editing or heavier duty computing, we’ve also sourced a range of laptop deals offering big discounts on more premium models. 

We’ve brought all your favourite retailers together for the very best cheap laptop deals this week, and listed each machine by price. Not only that, but we’ve compared all the specs and features to weed out all those overpriced models that aren’t worth your time. 

If you’re after a cheap laptop for everyday browsing, streaming, and lighter work, you’ll be able to get away with spending less than £300. However, once you push past £400, you’ll open yourself up to machines that can run higher performance programs with far better specs to support them. For you Apple fans, you might be interested in our MacBook prices and deals page too.

If you’re from the States or Down Under, be sure to check out our selection of the top laptop deals in the US or Australia.

Cheap laptop sales and deal highlights

• Here’s an extensive selection of cheap gaming laptop deals

We’ll continue adding the best cheap laptop deals in the latest sales as we find them. Up next, you’ll find the latest prices on some of the most popular laptops around along with a list of retailers who often have a great selection of laptop sales if nothing else takes your fancy here.

• Amazon: retail giant is often the cheapest in the UK.
• John Lewis: models come with at least two-year guarantee.
• Very: Often surprises with cheap prices on electronics.
• Laptops Direct: specialist UK store has a huge selection of laptop deals.
• ebuyer: the UK computing specialists have some great promotions.
• Currys: the retailer that’s seemingly always having a laptop sale.
• AO: lots of cheap laptops at this growing electronics specialist.
• Argos: home delivery or pick up a cheap laptop locally today.
• Dell: get a great laptop deal direct from Dell.
• Apple: MacBooks aren’t exactly cheap, but they’re excellent workstations

Cheap laptops can often lure shoppers in with a sub-£200 price tag, but unless you’re picking up a Chromebook you’re unlikely to get your money’s worth with these particular models. Chromebooks largely run on Chrome OS, which means they rely less on more expensive components and more on cloud-based services provided by Google Chrome. That means you’ll regularly find cheap laptops under £200 that are well worth your cash – provided they were built with this functioning in mind. 

It’s worth looking out for cheap laptop deals that offer a Windows 10 operating system, but only 16 or 32GB of storage space. You’ll likely speed through those gigabites faster than you’d think, and storing those hefty Windows 10 updates often presents a new challenge in its own right. That means the smallest we would recommend on this page is a 64GB hard drive if you’re running a Windows 10 or 10s operating system. 

Cheap laptops can also come with the caveat that they don’t offer an operating system at all. These FreeDOS laptops can sometimes be appealing (and if you’re up for installing your own copy of Windows or Linux, they often are), but it’s important to check that incredible spec and low price for this before you buy. We do feature the odd freeDOS laptop on this roundup, as they can prove cost effective, but we’ll make sure you know when we do. 

Cheap laptop deals on these popular picks

On release, the Chromebook Flip reached new heights for the Windows-free laptops as it came rocking a proper Intel Core processor along with a HD screen. Most models nowadays come with 64GB of storage instead of the 32GB which is plenty for running apps and storing regular documents and a fair few media files – you can always use a USB drive for more space. For most users, the newer PixelBook is what we’d call ‘overkill’, not to mention considerably more expensive, so we’d recommend this model if you just need something for work, browsing the net and so on. The Chrome OS works beautifully in this 2-in-1 laptop’s tablet mode too.

A sturdy choice for a study laptop for school/college/uni. The HP Pavilion 15 has plenty of power for the average student’s needs while keeping the costs sensible. There are plenty of configurations available too. Some favour speedy SSDs, while others go for larger regular hard drives, so it all depends on what you’re going to need more really. Faster loading or more space for storing media files and downloads.

The Asus Transformer Mini series is one of the most reliable brands of 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrids on the market. This upgrade includes a fingerprint sensor and double the RAM at 4GB for speedier performance compared to the older models. For your money, this is one of the most impressive two-in-one transformer models out there. Available in orange/white as seen above, or in a traditional grey steel colour.

Ready to stretch that budget a bit (ok, maybe a lot) further? Then be sure to check out our selection of the very best laptops money can buy as we’ve used our dedicated price comparison technology to find the cheapest prices for them too. You can always come back to this page if they seem a bit overpowered (and over-expensive) for what you need.

• Best Laptop 2020: our pick of top 15 laptops on the planet

Go to Source

Realme has already announced a couple of flagships and budget smartphones for the year. With the launch of the Realme X3 SuperZoom, its mid-premium X series finally gets its long due refresh.

The Realme X3 SuperZoom made its global debut in Europe today. However, there was no word on availability in other countries such as India, or on the other devices in the X3 series. The Realme X3 SuperZoom is the new affordable flagship from the brand, and its first with a periscopic camera.

Realme spent a good chunk of the keynote talking about the camera capabilities and features of the X3 SuperZoom. It has a quad-camera array on the back, starting with a 64MP primary camera, followed by an optically stabilized 8MP f/2.2 periscopic 5x telephoto lens, a macro shooter and an ultra-wide lens with a 115-degree field-of-view. It is packed to the brim with shooting mode options including Nightscape 4.0, Nightscape Pro mode, Ultra Nightscape and Tripod mode. 

A starry turn from the camera

Perhaps the most interesting feature is the new Starry mode, which lets you try astrophotography via your phone. It can be triggered via the primary as well as the telephoto lens, and implements software-level optimisations to get the desired image. The process starts with the camera shifting focus to infinity, and shooting more than ten shots over a period of 4 minutes when mounted on a tripod. After the image is captured,  the stars are brightened during the processing, intelligently aligned to compensate for the Earth’s rotation and then undergoes multi-frame noise reduction for a clean result. 

There are two cameras on the front, with a 32MP Sony IMX616 primary selfie camera along with an 8MP ultra-wide shooter with a 105-degree field-of-view. Nightscape is available for selfies as well. Video shooting modes include slow-motion, bokeh, ultra image stabilisation, and UIS Max.

On the inside, the Realme X3 SuperZoom is powered by the last-gen Snapdragon 855+ chipset with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. Realme claims that this is the fastest Snapdragon 855+ phone in the world, with a peak core frequency of 2.96GHz. There’s also a vapour cooling chamber for better thermal management.

It has a 6.5-inch LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. The refresh rate varies according to apps and content to be battery efficient. The peak brightness is 480 nits, and the display is protected by 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5.

The Realme X3 SuperZoom houses a 4,200mAh battery and supports 30W Dart charging over USB Type-C. It can take the battery from empty to full in less than an hour. Other hardware features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, 1216 super linear speakers and dual-channel GPS (L1 + L5).

The Realme X3 SuperZoom is currently available only in Europe, for a price of €499 (~Rs 41,000). Colour options include Arctic White and Glacier Blue. There’s no word on if this phone will launch in India, but considering that Madhav Sheth has already talked about its camera capabilities, we can be hopeful. The same event also saw the unveiling of the Realme 6s, which looks like a rebranded Realme 6.

• Realme X2 review
• The Redmi 10X Pro marks the start of a new affordable series of 5G smartphones
• Everything we know about the Realme X3 series

Go to Source

New figures from Gartner have provided further evidence that the coronavirus pandemic will result in a major decline in smartphone sales and delay the impact of 5G handsets this year.

The analyst firm is predicting the mobile phone market will contract by 14.6 per cent this year, as restrictions on movement and an economic slowdown cause delayed or cancelled purchases of new devices.

Globally, the month of February and the first quarter of 2020 saw the biggest contractions in market history.

• Smartphone sales hit ten year low
• What is 5G? Everything you need to know
• Foxconn resumes production

Gartner smartphones

The disruption exacerbated existing difficulties. After many years of explosive growth in the early 2010s, the smartphone market has contracted over the past few quarters. Market saturation, a perceived lack of innovation, and the increasing cost of handsets have all been cited as contributory factors.

It had been hoped the arrival of 5G networks would reverse this trend but the pandemic means this will not be the case, at least in in 2020. Gartner says 5G handsets will represent just 11 per cent of total shipments this year, boosted by sales in China.

As the initial epicentre of Covid-19, China was the first country in the world to impose restrictions on citizen movement and activity in a bid to contain the virus’s spread. However lockdown measures are now easing and the government has made 5G leadership a priority. Sales in the country rose by 14.2 per cent in April, providing hope to other markets that recovery is around the corner.

“While users have increased the use of their mobile phones to communicate with colleagues, work partners, friends and families during lockdowns, reduced disposable income will result in fewer consumers upgrading their phones,” explained Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at Gartner. “As a result, phone lifetimes will extend from 2.5 years in 2018 to 2.7 years in 2020.”

However the trend towards remote working saved the PC market from collapse. Sales will fall by a tenth in 2020 but this would have been worse without purchases of laptops and Chromebooks to support people working from home during the pandemic.

“This trend combined with businesses required to create flexible business continuity plans will make business notebooks displace desk-based PCs through 2021 and 2022,” added Atwal.

• Check out our list of the best business smartphones for 2020

Go to Source

Over the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion of flashy, bold and creative businesses. Companies that have made their mark with brightly colored business apps, wacky user interfaces and millennium filled marketing campaigns. The era of the brash business strategy has arrived, and there’s a lot to be said for such an approach. It’s not only caused more established businesses to wake up to changing customer demands, it’s also delivered countless innovations to markets suffering from stagnation.

Digital transformation has been the figurehead for most of the progress seen, but now we’ve had the excitement, we should focus on being boring. Now it’s time to focus on the day job, ensuring the business is running to the required demands, and making sure that software developments are rolled out on a continual basis, rather than in fits and starts.

Business development

In the past, IT has been the cause of many bottlenecks within business development. It took years to deliver on projects, at high cost, and with a fraction of the long-ago promised features. Plus, systems would often go down or perform poorly during an initial launch phase. 

Most IT organisations still run this way, especially the larger more established organisations that have years of legacy IT systems. But an emerging cohort of high-performing companies have perfected how IT builds and delivers software. 

Software release cycles should now be weeks and sometimes days, rather than years and months. By accelerating these cycles and how software is used, new business value is created more steadily, and organisations are kept alive and thriving. 

The software tends to work better under such circumstances too. A result of these daily or weekly software release cycles, apps incremental changes and are hopefully unnoticed by the majority of users – the opposite of a big rollout that completely overhauls the existing apps creating confusion by trying to change too much at once Delivering a stream of small changes may seem boring, but they are also fundamental to development and growth.

Boring is reliable

For a business to be boring in the current climate may seem like a risk. But boring is safe. It’s reliable, it’s comfortable and it’s secure. For everything that new upstart businesses have, the market and customers ultimately love stability and reliability. Boring doesn’t mean relying on legacy IT systems to conduct “business as usual”. 

If anything, boring means a business is using the cutting edge of technology to implement its small, software release cycles that go unnoticed. The cloud services technology epitomizing the exciting, cutting edge, yet boring, is Kubernetes. Joe Beda, one of the pioneers of Kubernetes said at KubeCon back in 2017 that “boring is good”. 

A recent report found that two-thirds of respondents (64%) are using Kubernetes to run on-premises. These respondents’ businesses are using Kubernetes operations in environments that they operate today, with their deployments aimed at their existing IT infrastructure. 

This brings immediate benefits to the business and helps to modernize those legacy IT systems to hopefully prove less disruptive to operations in the future. Benefits were found to be improved resource utilization (56%) and shortened development cycles (53%) – the ideal target for the modern day, boring enterprise.

Continuous development

By implementing continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipeline, businesses can shorten their application release cycles by automatically building and kicking off test automation. By working on smaller development and release cycles, the scope of things that could, or will, go wrong is reduced. 

If these smaller projects form part of a wider, overall project and are rolled out in a short, sequential waterfall approach, it is often likely that the small changes will go unnoticed by the majority of users. This might seem like not much happening to the average everyday user but in reality, small changes added together to make a big difference overall. While there might be the perception of boring, behind the scenes it is far from the truth. 

Businesses need to be focusing on how they can ensure they are delivering services to their customers to exceed those of their competitors. To thrive in today’s business environment, competition is a must. Innovation is key to maintaining a competitive edge and constant innovation is central to delivering business performance. Whether it’s through CI/CD principles, agile software development, or Kubernetes, software developments need to be delivered regularly and on time to create a safe, stable and reliable business. 

Now, the twist to all of this is that when most of your IT stack is boring, you free up time to reliably work on the part that helps your business the most: the apps you’re developing. You want IT to be as “boring” as possible so that you can make your business exciting.

• We’ve featured the best ITSM (IT service management) tools.

Go to Source