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Lilbits 399: Huawei’s chips, OnePlus x-ray cam, and Facebook gets GIPHY

Earlier this week the US government extended its order prohibiting US companies from using telecommunications equipment from Huawei or ZTE by another year. Now the Trump Administration has introduced a new executive order that could make things even more difficult for Huawei. US companies were already blocked from selling equipment and intellectual property to the […]

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Huawei’s new phones cost up to $2300, ship without Google Play

Huawei’s latest smartphones feature impressive hardware, design, and software. But one thing they don’t feature? Google Mobile Services. While Google’s Android operating system is open source, the company’s Google Mobile Services which includes Search, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and the Google Play Store are not. And due to US trade restrictions, Huawei wasn’t able to […]

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Huawei’s hardware challenges stack up as company explores software options

When US hardware and software companies started severing ties with Huawei this week, I figured that would be tough on the Chinese company’s smartphone division, but it wouldn’t necessarily  be the end of the world. After all, Huawei is one of only a handful of phone makers that designs its own chips. So even if […]

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So… now might not be the best time to buy Huawei phones, tablets, or laptops

As you may have heard, this weekend Google severed its business dealings with Chinese electronics company Huawei in response to US trade restrictions announced last week. That means if nothing changes (and there’s a chance it might), future Huawei smartphones and tablets won’t support the Google Play Store or key Google apps such as Gmail, […]

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Maybe US sanctions will put ZTE out of business after all (or maybe not)

The fate of Chinese electronics company ZTE is still up in the air. After imposing a trade ban that would have prevented US companies from selling goods to ZTE… which would have made it very difficult for the company to survive, earlier this month the US Commerce Department announced it had reached a settlement that […]

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ZTE suspends “major operating activities” following US trade ban

A few weeks after the US Department of Commerce blocked US companies from supplying Chinese electronics company ZTE with components, ZTE has issued a notice to investors stating that the company is pretty much on life support while it challenges that action. ZTE says “the major operating activities of the company have ceased,” but that […]

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ZTE still hopes to reach a deal to avert US trade ban (and to survive)

This week the US Department of Commerce announced that it was banning US companies from selling goods to ZTE, a China-based company that sells smartphones and other items in the US and around the world. Now ZTE has issued a response which basically boils down to a few points. First, the company insists that it’s […]

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US export restrictions could force ZTE to find new chips

Chinese phone maker ZTE may be using fewer components from Qualcomm, Broadcom, and other US companies in the future. Reuters reports that the US Commerce Department plans to restrict exports of US goods to ZTE over allegations that the company violated US rules regarding shipments of products to Iran. If the restrictions stay in place, it […]