Samsung foldable smartphone

Samsung's foldable phone may finally come to market this year

Gear up on five IoT news bites for Thursday

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Folding Samsung Samsung is fast-tracking a smartphone with a folding screen, reportedly releasing the device in the third-quarter of this year. So says a report from The Korea Herald, which describes the device as a fold-out phone, with the screens on the outside that open into a tablet. But whether the smartphone comes out this year may be an issue of cost. Samsung is starting to crawl out from its Galaxy Note 7 debacle—where devices caught fire without notice and were banned on flights. The Federal Aviation Administration just lifted the requirement that flight attendant announce the ban. Announcements, however, were on flights as recently as last weekend. A folding device—one where the screen bends—would likely go a long way to feeding consumer interest in the Samsung brand, which currently is feeling a sting.

Nintendo Switch Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch start Friday at the Rockefeller Center store in New York at 9 am ET. For all those who aren't gaming (yes, we know you exist), Switch is Nintendo's new console that has detachable controllers. Hype around the device, expectedly, is huge. Nintendo has only leaked a three-minute trailer about the launch, and this was back in October. More details will be announced this week about pricing and presumably games.

Free Fly-Fi JetBlue's free wi-fi service is now running on all its flights—and even at the gates. Fly-Fi is more, though, than an Internet connection. The airline also pushes out free movies, DirectTV and SiruisXM radio. More airlines are giving passengers to free on-demand entertainment. But free wi-fi is still not the norm.

Uber Date Uber not only knows where you're going because you tell it—the app can also read your calendar. Have a dinner scheduled after a work meeting? Uber may suggest a shortcut to the next event just by tunneling into your calendar app. Yes, you have to give the app permission—you also have to make use of that little field in your calendar called "location." But if you're an iOS user (sorry Android) you can make use of the feature starting now.

LeEco Review In the market for an affordable Android? (Sure, we know they're all pretty much affordable.) We took a look at LeEco's Le Pro 3—and let's just say, camera aside, it's got potential.

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