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Smartphones and other portable media players allow us to take our music, videos, and games anywhere, and having a good pair of earbuds is vital for getting the most out of our entertainment when we’re on the move. Unfortunately, many stock earphones are cheaply made and utilize undersized drivers that deliver tiny highs and a lackluster bass response. While there are many high-end earbud models available today, you don’t have to break the bank to get quality sound with budget-friendly options like the $8  Panasonic ErgoFit in-ear headphones . The ErgoFit earbuds utilize generously-sized 9mm neodymium drivers. These are larger than those found in similar in-ear headphones, giving you improved sound with a frequency response of 10Hz to 24Hz. This wider frequency response offers crisp treble and heavier bass so you don’t have to sacrifice sound quality when listening to your music, playing games, and watching videos on your mobile device. More:   The best iPh...

Last year, Google introduced  local search ads and promoted pins  to wring a few extra dollars out of Maps. By extra, I mean potentially an additional  $1.5 billion in 2017  alone. Maps inherently have local intent; local intent has a high likelihood for conversion. No surprises there. But ads run counter to a quality user experience. We as advertisers can perform all the mental gymnastics we want, but the truth is, ads are a nuisance. Especially on maps. When you’re looking for a location, the last thing you want to see is a map resembling a pincushion or a shotgun’s scatter pattern. Striking the right balance between organic and paid listings is critical. Unfortunately, as the screen size shrinks, the challenge of balancing paid and organic gets magnified on the map. On desktop, there aren’t so many paid ads that you can’t find organic listings. In fact, it’s almost a happy compromise. You get to use Google’s mapping services...

Despite slumping sales, Sony says they're still on target for an operating profit. 2016 was not a good year for Sony's smartphone division. The company  closed out the third quarter of its financial year by shipping 5.1 million Xperia smartphones — down from 7.6 million in 2015 over the same quarter. Sony CFO Kenichiro Yoshida explained this 35% decrease in year-on-year sales was due to weaker sales in Europe, which is typically one of the more popular markets for Sony smartphones. In response, the company has downwardly revised its annual smartphone unit sales forecast by 2 million units. Image credit: Xperiablog Sony ended the quarter generating 249 billion yen (US$2.1 billion) in sales — down from 385 billion (US$3.4 billion) in 2015. But while sales and revenue income were down, the impact was partially offset by cost reductions in unprofitable markets such as Latin America and the Middle East, along with a positive impact from foreign exchange rates. As such, ...