If you've ever struggled to pair your phone with a Bluetooth speaker or set up a wireless printer, you know that it's often easier to connect to a server halfway around the world than to a gadget across the room. That's a problem as we increasingly use our phones to pay for stuff, unlock doors, and control everything from televisions to thermostats. No one wants to wait for coffee because the cash register can't detect their phone, or shiver in the cold because their watch is trying to connect to their neighbor's door lock instead of their own. Multiple wireless technologies have emerged in recent years to tackle this problem, including Bluetooth, LoRa, and NFC. These technologies are all based on radio frequencies. But a growing number of businesses, from Ticketmaster to Google to nuclear-power plants, are turning to a simpler solution: sound.

Amazon and Google are both leading the charge in the smart home speaker market, with Apple expected to follow suit. Now, it looks like Facebook will also be joining those companies with its own device called Portal. Portal is said to be a direct competitor to the Amazon Echo Show. The upcoming Facebook device will allow users to control it through voice commands, and it is designed to work indoors. It will also come equipped with a camera with wide-angle lens and will be able to recognize people's faces and link them directly to their Facebook account, according to an exclusive report from Cheddar. The major difference between the Echo Show and the Facebook Portal is that the latter is designed to connect families and friends.

Inc.'s Alexa voice-activated virtual assistant will be added to some Toyota and Lexus vehicles this year, advancing Amazon's ambitions to expand its speech platform beyond the home. Alexa will let drivers and passengers get directions, control entertainment features, get the news and perform other functions in the car via voice command, the companies said Tuesday at the CES consumer electronics conference in Las Vegas. Alexa in cars can also be synced with smart home devices to control thermostats while on the road. "It's still really day one for us in terms of what we can do with Alexa in the vehicle," said John Scumniotales, head of products for Alexa's automotive efforts, onstage at an event at CES. The world's largest online retailer is seeking to remain in constant contact with customers by making its Alexa platform and Echo digital assistants as ubiquitous as possible.

A host of top computer manufacturers are adding Amazon Alexa capabilities to their core models. HP, ASUS, and Acer all made announcements at CES 2018 that they'd be adding Alexa to select desktops and laptops. While these firms are the first to make formal announcements, the trend of manufacturers adding Alexa to their machine is likely to continue, as noted by Larry Dignan on our sister site ZDNet. Alexa making its way onto machines made by these brands could win it some favor among professionals, and the integration of Alexa for Business could help further its business appeal by helping with meetings, calendar management, and more. HP is bringing Alexa to the desktop with its Pavilion Wave 600-a010t PC, the firm announced in a Monday press release.

Because most Windows tablets have settled upon the 12.1-inch display size, an increase is unexpected. The significant improvement over the 12-inch, 2160x1440 IPS display in 2017's second-generation X1 Tablet may boost Lenovo's standing. Though I consistently come away impressed by Lenovo's tablet offerings, it still tends to fall a bit short compared to similar products by other vendors. Otherwise, Lenovo has retained the best bits from its earlier ThinkPad X1 tablets. Inside it is a Core i7-8650U, a member of the new Kaby Lake R family of 8th-generation Core chips. The 2018 version of Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Tablet ships in March for a starting price of $1,599, but expect that price to jump if you opt for the larger memory and storage configurations.

If victory belongs to whoever's virtual assistant can interact with the most unlikely range of household appliances, then Amazon has already won. The firm's voice-activated digital helper has been added to a bathroom mirror that can - via cloud service Kohler Konnect - pass commands to smart kitchen taps, a shower system and even a smart toilet. "That means'Alexa, ask Kohler to flush my toilet' is something you might end up saying in the near future," mused Blair Hanley Frank at news site Venturebeat. Who needs a copy of Reader's Digest when Alexa is free for a chat, instead? In all seriousness, the battle to be your smart home's virtual butler is hotly contested and a huge range of gadgets on show at the latest CES tech show in Las Vegas now boast ways for users to interact with them via assistants including Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri and others.

Amazon's Echo Buttons are somewhat bizarre devices that allow you to add a game show element to playing trivia with Alexa. Now, it looks like the online retail giant has larger plans for the device. "I think you'll see a lot more games come out this year that take advantage of the buttons," Steve Rabuchin, the vice president of Amazon Alexa, told TechCrunch this week at CES. The plan is to launch more of these gadgets in 2018. Specifically, Amazon discussed Alexa Gadgets back in December, which are its line of connected home products and developer tools that will allow third parties to take advantage of these new devices. The idea, Rabuchin told TechCrunch, is that Amazon builds the hardware, and then allows the larger developer community to expand and innovate upon it.

First impressions matter, and nothing makes a better dating-profile impression than a great photo. As you set up your profile, take your time choosing shots that show off your looks and hint at your personality. At the very least, you need a couple establishing shots that potential matches can use to recognize you when you finally meet up in person. Look for at least one good close-up of your face and one more distant snap that shows a fuller view of your body. In these photos, your features should be clearly visible, so avoid images where sunglasses cover your face or you have completely different facial hair.

A number of Chinese mobile applications have been shut down after it was revealed women on their platforms were actually automated robots, it's reported. According to the Modern Express newspaper, police have closed down mobile apps associated with 21 companies and arrested more than 600 suspects operating across 13 provinces, after discovering that messages from some women were being automatically generated by computer programmes. Police in southern Guangdong province began investigating in August 2017, after suspecting one app of fraudulently charging visitors to view pornographic videos which did not exist. Further investigation found that technical personnel from at least one company had created fake "sexy girl" accounts. They wrote computer programmes which generated greeting messages and compliments from fake accounts, and targeted these at newly registered users.

Alexa really could soon be everywhere - including your car. At the annual Vegas tech gathering CES dozens of firms have revealed the smart assistant is coming to everything from dashboards to power chargers, bringing the smart assistant war to cars. Amazon's new Alexa Onboard technology will let users access the Alexa voice assistant through their car's infotainment system. That means drivers or passengers can play music, ask for directions or get other information simply by speaking to the car's audio system. Several firms also revealed Alexa'dongles', many that double as chargers, at CES.