LG has found it difficult in the last several years to compete in the high-end smartphone market as both Samsung and Apple have created devices that consumers want more. Details of a new mid-range LG smartphone called the LG Velvet 5G have now leaked, and the device appears to be an interesting mid-range smartphone.

What we know is that the LG Velvet 5G will measure 167.1 x 74 x 7.85mm and weigh 180 grams. One tidbit that hasn't surfaced in the leaks is precisely how large the screen will be. Considering the measurements, scuttlebutt suggests somewhere around the 6.7-inch mark.

Rumors suggest that the screen will have a 21:9 aspect ratio and use OLED technology. Resolution is expected to be somewhere around the same 2460 x 1080 offered in the LG V60 ThinQ. Power is listed in the leak as coming from a 4300mAh internal battery. The device is also said to be IP68 rated to survive water exposure. The chipset is said to be a Snapdragon 765, which supports 5G connectivity in all bands.

Much of the business world has seen business plummet during the coronavirus pandemic. Some segments of the technology world have seen business boom. Among the technology businesses that are growing rapidly with coronavirus are instant messaging and videoconferencing companies. Many schools and businesses around the US, and the world, have turned to videoconferencing and instant messaging to keep groups working from home.

Instant messaging service Telegram has announced that it has 400 million monthly active users. The company gained 100 million active users since October 2019. The company announced to the SEC via a disclosure in October that it had 300 million active users. Telegram founder Pavel Durov says the service is adding about 1.5 million users each day.

Durov says that the app is the most downloaded social media application in over 20 countries. Telegram is also working on upgrades to its application to allow it to be more useful to those trying to work and learn from home during the coronavirus pandemic. One of those features is the addition of a secure video call feature that the company intends to roll out this year.

Today marks launch day for the all-new and highly anticipated iPhone SE. Those needing a new smartphone have been holding out for something that wouldn't break the bank will want to check out a deal that Visible has going right now. At Visible, the normal price for the 64 GB Apple iPhone SE 2020 is $384. Currently, some versions of the device appear to be sold out, which is not uncommon on launch day for an Apple device.

If you purchase the base version, it's currently available in white or red colors, and the $384 purchase price represents a slight $16 discount off the MSRP. The big savings comes in that when you purchase the phone and port number to Visible; you also get a $200 prepaid MasterCard. The prepaid card brings the total purchase price of the phone down to $184, which is a smoking deal.

If you want more storage, the $200 prepaid MasterCard deal is good on the 128 GB and 256 GB smartphones as well. The catch is that the 128 GB model is sold out. However, the 256 GB version is available in white or red for $528. That means you can get the biggest 256 GB version for a bit less than the regular MSRP for the 64 GB smartphone after the card.

A report has surfaced that claims Amazon tech workers are calling in sick in protest of the company's treatment of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the protesters are taking the social distancing and rules concerning how many people can gather once seriously, they are hosting a series of live-streamed speakers virtually rather than a physical rally, a sort of virtual walkout. The protest is reportedly a response to Amazon allegedly firing six workers in recent weeks who have called for improved safety precautions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Among those allegedly terminated for calling for improved safety precautions were two long-time user experience designers with the company. Both of the terminated workers are said to have been prominent members of the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice and had publicly voiced support for improved warehouse conditions. The two workers are called Maren Costa and Emily Cunningham.

Both of those women were allegedly fired shortly after a colleague sent an email inviting employees to an online event that featured warehouse workers speaking about their experience. Over 1500 Amazon employees had registered to attend the event, which is said to have been deleted from calendars along with the email. Costa says that she was fired for violating the company's non-solicitation policy during a short video call with an HR representative.

So, NVIDIA is making something on a fresh new 5nm node -- ordering TSMC to make it for the GeForce giant.

Digitimes is reporting from its "industry sources" that NVIDIA is tapping TSMC's fresh new 5nm process node -- and it won't be for NVIDIA's next-gen Ampere GPU architecture or the GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3070 graphics cards.

There is absolutely nothing else to this news other than Digitimes reporting that its sourcesh ave told them, that NVIDIA is making something new and mysterious on TSMC's new 5nm process node. It could be something for the Tegra side of things, or here's a wild rumor -- so prepare your salt shakers peeps -- the Nintendo Switch 2 SoC. Just throwing that out there.

Intel has just gone to the oven to check on its new Ponte Vecchio GPU, with 'momomo_us' spotting the Ponte Vecchio Xe graphics card has turned up in add-in card (AIC) form.

The news is coming from a new listing with the Eurasian Economic Commission, with the Intel Ponte Vecchio graphics card turning up in 3 different forms alongside a normal AIC form factor card. As for what to expect from Intel and its Ponte Vecchio graphics cards, is that the company designed them for exascale computing.

Intel will see its new Ponte Vecchio graphics cards making their big debut inside of the Aurora Supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory next year in 2021. The first wave of Ponte Vecchio will be on the 7nm node, with Intel using 6 of them with HBM, 2 x Sapphire Rapids CPUs in each node, as the exciting new Xe Link fabric that binds them to a central Rambo Cache.

NVIDIA and AMD are both ramping up into the world of 7nm GPUs with the companies buying up the spare capacity of 7nm at TSMC for next-gen GPUs and graphics cards.

Digitimes is reporting that a "ramp-up in short lead-time orders placed by AMD and NVIDIA will allow TSMC to post relatively strong results compared to other foundries in the first half of 2020, according to industry sources". Yes my fellow nerds and gamers, NVIDIA and AMD are ramping up for next-gen graphics cards.

NVIDIA is expected to unleash its new Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card later this year, where a recently-delayed Computex 2020 in September would make sense for Ampere's big reveal for next-gen GeForce.

Tech titan Intel reports strong Q1 results thanks to growth in all segments from data center to PC gaming.

Today Intel announced its Q1'2020 results for the period ending March 31, 2020, and they're quite good. The chip-maker earned $19.8 billion in total net revenues across all segments, up 23% year-over-year, driven by strong adoption of its new Xeon processors in the Data Center Group segment. Operating income, or revenues generated from operations, was up a staggering 69% YoY to $7 billion, and total profits for the quarter jumped by a whopping 42% from last year to $5.7 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) was up a tremendous 51% to $1.31 in the quarter.

Intel's important segments rose quite a bit during Q1. The PC gaming Client Computing Group, which makes the lion's share of Intel's earnings, jumped by a healthy 14% to $9.8 billion thanks to hardware purchases and the release of Intel's latest 10th-gen H-series chips in newer gaming notebooks.

Sony's latest heat sink patent just went public, and it could hint at the PlayStation 5's powerful cooling solution's capabilities.

The latest heat sink patent from Sony outlines a solution that's noticably different than the PS4's current design, and could lay out part of the PlayStation 5's cooling system. The patent describes a heat sink with internal conduction paths that allows heat to pass directly from the SoC to the dissipation system. This will ensure optimum cooling without dramatically transforming the console's shape.

The other half of the heat sink design is similar to the Xbox One X. The heat sink has conductors that pass through holes on the PCB and connect to another thermal solution on the other

Red Dead Redemption 2's arrival on Xbox Game Pass next month is a strategic move from Rockstar Games.

Microsoft just announced 2018's blockbuster hit Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming to Xbox Game Pass on console on May 7. The service gives you instant and unlimited access to a pool of more than 100 games for $10 a month, but RDR2's arrival comes with a huge $1 trial promo for Game Pass Ultimate (Game Pass + Xbox LIVE Gold). This is a big tactical move from Rockstar.

The idea here is simple. Rockstar is using the Game Pass Effect to do two things: Sell more copies of RDR2, and hopefully boost Red Dead Online's numbers and microtransaction spending.