Tangle Tech

Where were you when the first iPhone went on sale back in 2007? I remember clearly that I was working for Phones4U — a third-party phone reseller in the UK — and the iPhone launch completely decimated the business, as suddenly Phones4U wasn't a reseller of the most popular phone on the market. The same existential threat applied to all carriers except AT&T and O2, which had exclusive launch rights to the iPhone in the US and UK, respectively. Fast-forward 19 years, and Apple has repeatedly proven that the iPhone's popularity gives it considerable power over its carrier partners — customers are no longer loyal to the carrier providing the mobile service, but to the brand behind their favorite phone. Apple's newest commercial venture, the Apple Upgrade program — which was announced earlier this year and is, at the time of writing, still only available in the US — is the latest dagg...

Mozilla accused Microsoft of using Windows, Edge, Bing, and Copilot to steer users toward Edge Firefox maker claims stricter EU regulations force fairer browser choice than elsewhere Browser competition increasingly overlaps with the fight for AI distribution and user reach Mozilla has accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant position wherever it can to push people towards Edge, and away from other browsers . The company framed the story as if it wants “better for the people”, while Microsoft only does it when it’s forced to, but is that really the case? In a newly released blog , Mozilla noted it has now been 100 days since it published Over The Edge 2.0, a report from “leading experts on deceptive design Dr. Harry Brignull and Cennydd Bowles on how Windows, Edge, Bing, and Copilot are designed to steer people away from the browser they choose.” Better for the people In the report, Mozilla said...

Sony ULT Tower 5 review The Sony ULT Tower 5 is one of the stand-out audio products I've reviewed in 2026. In many ways, it defies belief. Despite being pretty small for a traditional party speaker, it produces almighty audio, with the sort of bass you’d expect from a model twice its size. And, what’s more, it's pretty affordable. Sony has made a bunch of changes to its new ULT range, and they appear to have paid off. Perhaps the highest-profile change is the shift towards newly developed rounded woofers, marking a departure from the almost rectangular X-Balanced woofer units seen on previous ULT models. The tech giant told me that this was in an effort to maximize deep bass — something that’s crucial for a party environment. And this, in my view, was a great choice. As with all of the best Bluetooth speakers in this size-class, the ULT Tower 5 plates up incredibly powerful yet regimente...

Oscal Pilot 8: 30-second review Rugged phones usually make one promise: they will survive. Everything else after that tends to be an afterthought or, on some devices, even a distraction. The Oscal Pilot 8 tries to change that narrative somewhat, while remaining reasonably tough. It uses a new Qualcomm Dragonwing QCM6690 chip instead of the usual MediaTek SoC. It includes a 6.83-inch AMOLED screen, WiFi 7, and a 10,000mAh battery. But its best trick is fitting all that tech into a body just 17.9mm thick and weighing just 389g. That makes for a practical, rugged design that fits in a normal pocket, and with a 108MP primary camera, it can capture detailed images and 4K video at up to 60fps. Given these mostly positive aspects, it's reasonable to expect a high price, but the quoted launch price was just $356.99. That was a special offer, and the retail cost is higher, but it still isn’t expensive...

Watch 49ers vs Seahawks on 5 (UK) / Virgin Media Play (Ireland) Unlock your stream with IPVanish (save up to 83%) 49ers vs Seahawks kick-off: Sun, Oct 11 at 4.25pm ET / 9.25pm BST / 7.25am AEDT (Mon) The 49ers vs Seahawks is the game of Week 5 and arguably the game of the 2026 NFL season so far. Not only are they fierce NFC West rivals, but San Francisco are the league's joint-second top-scorers, while Seattle have conceded fewer yards and passing yards than anyone else. Simply put, if there's a defense that can stifle the 49ers' red-hot Brock Purdy-led offense it's the Seahawks', and if there's an offense that break through Seattle's vaunted lines it's San Fran's. And then there are the coaches. Kyle Shanahan and Mike Macdonald took no time to forge a mutual aversion, and it's the Seahawks coach who's just about had the upper hand. He was on the los...

HP EliteBook X G2i: 30-second review The EliteBook X G2i is deceptively lightweight due to the magnesium alloy that’s been used to make the outer casing, and as I’ve seen before with this material when it’s used in laptops, whilst the material itself is exceptionally strong, there is quite a bit of flex to it, which could be mistaken for a cheaper design. However, the aesthetics back up the premium pricing of this business-focused laptop, and with its 14-inch screen and weight that comes in just below a kilo, it’s the perfect partner for anyone who travels frequently and needs a high-powered laptop to keep up with all their business dealings. Inside is the latest Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU, which is coupled with Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics, and of course there’s also an integrated NPU to enhance all the AI potential from Copilot and other applications. This laptop is obviously business-f...