Xiaomi has just challenged its fans to a selfie contest over on its official forum. The Chinese company wants to see how much you love to take selfies. And to reward you, it’s offering three prizes: a Mi Box set top box, a Mi Camera Lens accessory for your smartphone, and a Mi Bunny mascot, in the 30cm iteration (which you can see in the photo below this paragraph).

All you have to do is go to this forum thread and post a selfie of you or your friends. The image should (obviously) include your face or your friends’ faces, but also things related to Xiaomi and MIUI, its Android overlay. So for example you can hold a Xiaomi product or a piece of paper on which you’ve written the company’s name. Read more »

The last thing Microsoft had to present to the world today has to do with augmented reality. Following a growing trend in the tech world, the company has announced its own entry into the VR headset space, which is called HoloLens. And it comes with some additional features compared to its competitors.

The HoloLens, which you can see above, has see-through holographic lenses that superimpose “holograms” onto the world that’s actually around you, combining the physical with the digital. Read more »

Samsung took the wraps off a pair of decidedly futuristic-looking wireless speakers. Samsung WAM7500 and WAM6500 will be showcased during CES 2015 in Las Vegas next week.

The WAM7500 is a stand-type model. Its WAM6500 relative on the other hand is easily movable. Read more »

You will soon be able to control you Nest thermostat from Google Now. The functionality is already baked into the search giant’s virtual assistant, though it is yet to go live.

If you ask Google Now on your device to “set Nest to 70 degrees,” it will try and complete the task. Read more »

Today Google has announced “guest mode” for its Chromecast HDMI streaming dongle. This new functionality lets people connect to your Chromecast without having to also be on the same Wi-Fi network as the dongle.

Previously, anyone who wanted to send stuff to a Chromecast had to have their mobile device connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the streaming device. Not anymore, though. Read more »

Xiaomi has announced a new air purifier for homes. Called, well, Mi Air Purifier, the tiny tower takes up about A4 paper size space on your floor and costs just $150.

The Mi Air Purifier has two fans and four air ducts. It can produce 10,000 liters of clean air per minute and the 3 layer filter removes 99.99% of PM2.5 particles. PM2.5 particles are the ones that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers and contain dust , dirt, soot, smoke and liquid particles and are harder to filter and usually cause the most damage to lungs. Read more »

It took a while, almost a year and a half since it was announced in the US, but the Google Chromecast is finally coming to India.

The multimedia streaming device will be available exclusively through Snapdeal.com for a price of Rs. 2,999 ($48). Read more »

The Samsung Gear VR is available now online from AT&T so be sure to act quickly before it is all gone!

The Samsung Gear VR is perhaps one of the most interesting smartphone-based hardware kits ever, not to mention the trendiest at the moment. With all the hype Oculus VR has been causing lately with its Oculus Rift kit and recent Facebook acquisition it seems that virtual reality is making a huge comeback, only now it is more real than ever. Read more »

Sony is working on an e-paper display. Called the FES Watch, the watch is one of the things under the FES group of devices with e-paper displays.

The unique thing about the FES Watch is that the entire surface is actually an e-paper display. You can change the patterns on the display to change the look of the watch. Read more »

Today Verizon has announced the LG GizmoPal, a specialized wearable band for children. If it looks familiar, that’s because it’s basically nothing but a rebranded LG KizOn – which was made official in South Korea in July.

Verizon will start selling the GizmoPal online tomorrow, in blue and pink, and it can be yours for $79.99. In stores, it will first be available in select locations in the Midwest, followed by a proper nationwide launch on December 11. Read more »

Xiaomi has launched yet another Mi Power Bank. This time around the portable charger has 5,000 mAh capacity and boast small and lightweight body as well as fast replenishing time.

Xiaomi has already introduced a big fat 16,000 mAh Mi Bank, as well as smaller 10,400mAh and 5,200mAh capacities for some markets. Read more »

This week, during the launch of the latest installment of the iconic TT Coupe, 115 Audi Centers all around UK will offer a unique virtual reality experience. Thanks to the power of the Samsung Gear VR headsets and Oculus technology showroom goers will be able to explore and experience Audi’s new lineup in action.

The demonstration itself is held entirely in virtual reality, thanks to Oculus coupled with the stunning Super AMOLED display of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. In it Juergen Loffler, TT designer, offers a personal guided tour around all of the design and technological features of the car and tops it of by giving you the chance to go around the famous Neuberg race track. Read more »

According to the latest rumors out of China, Xiaomi has a new product in the pipeline, though this isn’t a smartphone as you may expect. Apparently the company wants to get into the action cam market, for whatever reason.

So it will make such a device, one to rival GoPro’s offerings, but perhaps also the recently unveiled HTC Re camera. Read more »

Not convinced to stop experimenting by its less than stellar Fire phone sales, Amazon has introduced a new product today. It’s called Echo, and it’s a Bluetooth speaker, which also packs Siri, Google Now, or Cortana-like personal assistant functionality.

That’s definitely a combo no one’s ever tried before, though we may soon find out that there might have been a reason for that. Anyway, you can’t say Amazon isn’t trying to come up with new product categories. Read more »

Google has today announced it’s started supporting a new type of two-factor authentication for its websites, as long as you use its Chrome desktop browser. The existing 2-step verification system is based on you entering your password followed by a six-digit code that you either receive via SMS or get from a special mobile app.

The new system replaces the code-entering with inserting a physical USB device into your computer, then tapping its sole button when prompted to do so. Read more »