The delayed 5G BlackBerry phone is dead, OnwardMobility has confirmed on its website.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that OnwardMobility will be shutting down, and we will no longer be proceeding with the development of an ultra-secure smartphone with a physical keyboard,” OnwardMobility said in a message posted Friday, as spotted earlier by CrackBerry. “Please know that this was not a decision that we made lightly or in haste. We share your disappointment in this news and assure you this is not the outcome we worked and hoped for.”

Android Police and CrackBerry originally reported earlier in February that the phone had been canceled. Texas-based startup OnwardMobility, which sought to revitalize the iconic BlackBerry brand through an Android-based, next-gen Wi-Fi device, lost the license from BlackBerry Ltd. to use the name, the outlets said.

OnwardMobility didn’t expand on why it’s shutting down and canceling production of the phone.

Read more: Best 5G phones for 2022

BlackBerry ended service for its legacy devices in early January, and OnwardMobility promised an update about the phone in a blog post last month titled Contrary to popular belief, we are not dead.

Before OnwardMobility picked up the license, Chinese manufacturer TCL was the most recent maker of BlackBerry-branded phones. It released the BlackBerry KeyTwo in 2018, along with other devices that ran on Android. However, TCL has since moved on to releasing its own midrange phones.

BlackBerry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The post BlackBerry’s 5G Phone Is Officially Dead first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

ExpressVPN is used to outpacing most of its competitors. Muscling its way ahead of the virtual private network pack, the company has gone head-to-head with several industry leaders in our reviews and has once again found itself besting a well-known brand in Norton Secure VPN.

Here’s how one of the tech world’s legacy brands stacked up against ExpressVPN on speed, security and price in our reviews. 

Read more: The best VPN service of 2022

Editors’ note, Feb. 9, 2022: The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past few months, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major changes in corporate ownership. In December, ExpressVPN announced that it had officially joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February, NordVPN and Surfshark announced the two companies were merging, though they’ll continue to operate autonomously. We’re in the process of reevaluating all of our top picks in light of these changes. We will update our reviews and, if necessary, our rankings to account for this new competitive landscape. 

Norton

Norton Secure VPN

Slower, less secure

There are few more familiar names in information security than Norton and LifeLock. But with limited server options and a few deal breaker security issues, it’s clear that the Norton Secure VPN from NortonLifeLock still has some work to do before it can meet the high standards set by its sibling security products. 

In terms of speed, Norton’s are on par with other midtier VPNs: During my testing, it achieved only about 43% of the average 187-megabits-per-second speed achieved on a 1-gigabit-per-second-capable fiber connection during testing, while still maintaining an average of around 81Mbps globally. But unlike many other VPNs, Norton doesn’t allow you to choose the city you connect to — only the country. Norton’s Hong Kong servers dragged down overall speed scores, averaging just 6Mbps. So if you’re looking for a VPN to use while traveling in China, you may want to consider a different option.

Norton offers what it calls bank-grade encryption — standard AES-256 — but offers no kill switch, which would prevent network data from leaking outside of its secure VPN tunnel in the event the VPN connection fails. I’d generally consider a lack of kill switch a deal breaker. Norton also didn’t mask my IPv6 address, and I experienced DNS leaks during testing — major security red flags from a product that is supposed to mask your browsing activity. 

This also led to difficulties accessing Netflix. So if you’re looking for a VPN that will allow you to access your normal media subscriptions while traveling, we recommend seeking a different VPN for now. We likewise recommend looking elsewhere if you want a VPN that allows torrenting, can be used on a wide variety of devices, or can be paid for in Bitcoin.

Norton Secure VPN is only available on the four main platforms — Windows, Android, Mac and iOS. Depending on your subscription, you can opt for one, five or 10 simultaneous connections. The least expensive plan is the $5 monthly plan, which allows only one device at a time. The most expensive is the 10-device annual plan for $40. That’s more than you should be paying for something that doesn’t disguise your location, doesn’t support Netflix, and drags on speed. 

On the plus side, the application comes with a built-in ad-tracking blocker.

Read our Norton Secure VPN review.

$40 at Norton

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

Faster Speeds

No matter how fast the service, a secure VPN will always slow your connection speeds. Combine that with the sluggish speeds of most public Wi-Fi (when you need your VPN the most) and speed moves to the forefront as a crucial feature for many VPN shoppers.

Enter ExpressVPN. This lightning-fast British Virgin Islands-based service offers more than 3,000 servers in 160 locations and 94 countries, compared to Norton Secure VPN’s 1,500 servers in 29 countries, and outperformed Norton’s 2019 speed scores a second time in my 2020 speed tests.

ExpressVPN muscled its way ahead of the VPN pack last year and has been hard to beat ever since, offering outstanding speeds and a reputation for reliability and security. Its easy-to-navigate interface makes it an apt choice for newcomers just learning about VPNs, and its multiplatform compatibility expands its value to a wide base of consumers. These factors more than justify ExpressVPN’s slightly higher-than-average prices, starting at $6.67 a month (with three months free). It does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can pay with credit card, PayPal or Bitcoin.

ExpressVPN only offers five simultaneous connections compared to Norton Secure VPN’s 10 (if you opt for Norton’s most expensive package), but it earned high marks in our list of the best mobile VPN services for 2020, thanks in part to its hyperflexible platform compatibility. You can use it on Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows, Mac, Linux, PlayStation and Xbox. If it’s something you surf on, ExpressVPN is probably going to work with it. 

The best part? ExpressVPN’s fast speeds don’t require the kinds of privacy sacrifices you often see with other stress-tested, high-speed VPNs. While the British Virgin Islands is a UK territory, it isn’t explicitly subject to UK data retention laws nor does it participate in intelligence-sharing agreements. Sure, its status as a UK territory gives me pause when considering the potential privacy exposure if political pressure is ever applied. But right now, I’m feeling the island breeze.

Read our ExpressVPN review.

$7 at ExpressVPN

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The post Norton Secure VPN vs. ExpressVPN: Security, speed and price compared first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

Editors’ note, Feb. 9, 2022: The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past few months, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major changes in corporate ownership. In December, ExpressVPN announced that it had officially joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February, NordVPN and Surfshark announced the two companies were merging, though they’ll continue to operate autonomously. We’re in the process of reevaluating all of our top picks in light of these changes. We will update our reviews and, if necessary, our rankings to account for this new competitive landscape. 

What makes the competition between Surfshark and ExpressVPN most noteworthy is all that the two virtual private network options have in common. The two VPNs are known for their private, no-logs services featuring competitive encryption and fast speeds. And more pointedly, they’re both headquartered in the privacy-friendly British Virgin Islands.

When it comes to a privacy starting point, you want to look for a VPN headquartered or owned by countries outside of the US. While the British Virgin Islands is a UK territory, it isn’t explicitly subject to UK data retention laws nor does it participate in intelligence-sharing agreements. Sure, its status as a UK territory gives us pause when considering the potential privacy exposure if political pressure were ever to be applied. But right now, we’re feeling the island breeze.

Most recently, ExpressVPN just spent the better part of the past year battling for NordVPN’s spot at the top of the VPN industry food chain, but now relative newcomer Surfshark is looking to eat ExpressVPN’s lunch. Here’s how the two island services stack up when it comes to speed, security and cost.  

Read more: The best VPN service of 2022

Surfshark

Surfshark

Better features, lower cost

It won’t be long until big-name VPNs realize what kind of threat Surfshark really is: It’s faster than a VPN of its size should be, has stronger security than you’d expect, offers a suite of impressive features and has cutthroat prices to go with its unlimited simultaneous connection allowance. During our 2020 testing, Surfshark has given even our most highly recommended VPNs a run for their money on speed, security and cost. 

You want to watch Netflix from any country? Surfshark’s watertight DNS features make that possible. You want to torrent quickly and privately? Surfshark routes you to its own P2P-configured servers out of the US. You want to block fingerprinting trackers, use a private search engine and camouflage your traffic so it looks completely normal with the assurance of a kill switch? Surfshark’s CleanWeb ad-blocker, Blindsearch search engine and on-board obfuscation covers you. 

Read more: How we evaluate and review VPNs

With more than 3,200 servers in 65 countries, we lost less than 17% of average internet speeds during our most recent speed tests. That’s faster than the 27% speed loss we saw in previous tests, and pushes it ahead of ExpressVPN to be the current front-runner in our speed comparisons. 

Surfshark is currently living up to its name with an aggressive pricing scheme. Right now, it’s offering an 83% discount, bringing costs down to $2 a month for a two-year plan ($48 billed every two years). ExpressVPN isn’t going to get anywhere near those prices right now. 

Read more: Surfshark VPN review: A feature-rich service with blazing speeds and a security focus

Read our Surfshark VPN review.

Surfshark VPN

• Market-leading speeds
• Doorbuster pricing
• Multihop VPN

83% off with 24-mo plan (+3 free months)

$2.21/mo at Surfshark

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

Tried and true privacy

No matter how fast the service, a secure VPN will always slow your connection speeds — usually by 50% or more. Combine that with the sluggish speeds of most public Wi-Fi (when you need your VPN the most), and speed moves to the forefront as a crucial feature for many VPN shoppers.

Enter ExpressVPN. This British Virgin Islands-based service offers more than 3,000 servers in 160 locations and 94 countries but it just couldn’t quite catch Surfshark. While ExpressVPN muscled its way to the head of the VPN pack in 2019 fueled in large part by its unbeatable 2% speed loss, the speed demon slowed down in 2020 tests, delivering a 52% speed loss. Meanwhile, Surfshark got faster, jumping from 27% to just 17% speed loss. 

Read more: All the VPN terms you need to know

Just because Surfshark beat it to the finish line this time, it doesn’t mean ExpressVPN is at all sluggish. It still flies, and most people will have no problems gaming, streaming or even torrenting heavily. In a test round where non-VPN speeds averaged 193 Mbps, ExpressVPN’s overall global average speed was 93 Mbps and it hit peaks of 157 Mbps. 

ExpressVPN’s easy-to-navigate interface makes it an apt choice for newcomers just learning about VPNs, and its multiplatform compatibility expands its value to a wide base of consumers. These factors more than justify ExpressVPN’s slightly higher-than-average prices, starting at about $7 a month (with three months free). It does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can pay with credit card, PayPal or Bitcoin.

ExpressVPN only offers five simultaneous connections compared to Surfshark’s unlimited allowance, but it earned high marks in our list of the best mobile VPN services for 2020, thanks in part to its hyper-flexible platform compatibility. Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox — if it’s something you surf on, ExpressVPN is probably going to work with it. By contrast, Surfshark runs on Linux, Windows, Android, MacOS, iOS, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV.

Read more: ExpressVPN review: A VPN speed leader with a secure reputation

Read our ExpressVPN review.

ExpressVPN

• Competitive speeds
• Solid security suite
• Company is based in privacy-friendly jurisdiction

49% off with 12-mo plan (+3 free months)

$6.67/mo at ExpressVPN

Read more: What’s the best cheap VPN? We found 3 good options  

The post Surfshark vs. ExpressVPN: VPN speed, security and price compared first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

When you put two well-known VPN brands in a head-to-head battle, you expect a competitive showing out of both. That just wasn’t the case with Norton Secure VPN and NordVPN. Despite worldwide brand recognition and a lengthy company history, NortonLifeLock just hasn’t put its best foot forward with Norton Secure VPN. It’s got a long way to go before it can best a heavyweight VPN like NordVPN. The two are still worth comparing, however, due to their dominance in the VPN market. 

Here’s how these two VPNs stack up when it comes to security features, speed and price.

Editors’ note, Feb. 9, 2022: The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past few months, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major changes in corporate ownership. In December, ExpressVPN announced that it had officially joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February, NordVPN and Surfshark announced the two companies were merging, though they’ll continue to operate autonomously. We’re in the process of reevaluating all of our top picks in light of these changes. We will update our reviews and, if necessary, our rankings to account for this new competitive landscape. 

Norton

Norton Secure VPN

Slower and less secure

There are few more familiar names in information security than Norton and LifeLock. But with limited VPN server options and a few dealbreaker security issues, it’s clear that the Norton Secure VPN from NortonLifeLock still has some work to do before it can meet the high standards set by its sibling security products. 

In terms of speed, Norton’s are on par with other midtier VPNs: During my testing, it achieved only about 43% of the average 187 megabit-per-second speed achieved on a 1 gigabit-per-second-capable fiber connection during testing, while still maintaining an average of around 81Mbps globally. But unlike many other VPNs, Norton doesn’t allow you to choose the city you connect to — only the country. Norton’s Hong Kong servers dragged down overall speed scores, averaging just 6Mbps. So if you’re looking for a VPN to use while traveling in China, you may want to consider a different option.

Norton offers what it calls bank-grade encryption — standard AES-256 — but offers no kill switch, which would prevent network data from leaking outside of its secure VPN tunnel in the event the VPN connection fails. I’d generally consider a lack of kill switch a deal breaker. The Norton VPN also didn’t mask my IPv6 address, and I experienced DNS leaks during testing — major security red flags from a product that’s supposed to mask your browsing activity. 

This also led to difficulties accessing Netflix. So if you’re looking for a VPN service that will allow you to access your normal media subscriptions while traveling, we recommend seeking a different VPN provider for now. We likewise recommend looking elsewhere if you want a VPN that allows torrenting, can be used on a wide variety of devices, or can be paid for in Bitcoin.

Norton Secure VPN is only available on the four main platforms — Windows, Android, Mac and iOS. Depending on your subscription, you can opt for one, five or 10 simultaneous connections. The least expensive plan is the $5 monthly plan, which allows only one device at a time. The most expensive is the 10-device annual plan for $60. That’s more than you should be paying for something that doesn’t disguise your location, doesn’t support Netflix and drags on speed. 

On the plus side, the VPN application comes with a built-in ad-tracking blocker.

Read our Norton Secure VPN review.

$60 at Norton

NordVPN

NordVPN

Better speed and privacy features

This heavy-hitter stays on our list of the best mobile VPNs for many reasons, including its status as the reigning champion of the value-for-money ratio. Hands-down, you aren’t going to get a VPN anywhere else that can do more than NordVPN does, as cheap as NordVPN does it. Despite a security breach reported last year, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another VPN that can do what NordVPN does at all. 

Sure, NordVPN could offer a little more privacy if it boosted the number of servers it owns, but I’m talking about 5,000-plus servers in 60 countries, a strict zero-log policy and a jurisdiction in Panama. It’s an encryption powerhouse that recently switched to RAM-disk mode, and has a feature that allows you to VPN into Tor. It’s available for not only iOS and Android, but also Windows Phone and even BlackBerry. 

In our most recent speed tests, NordVPN’s performance was on par with many of its competitors, reducing our speeds by 53% on average (which is slower than the 32% loss measured in previous speed tests). We found NordVPN’s speeds were reliably fast. There were never any sudden dips or service interruptions, and where we expected the VPN to underperform, it proved itself up to the task. 

For all that, how much are you paying? The company’s two-year VPN subscription plan currently costs $3.67 a month ($99 billed at once). That price is lower than most contenders, but creeps up for the one-year plan ($4.92 a month or $59 total) and the monthly plan ($11.95 a month). And yes, the VPN company also has a full 30-day refund policy if you aren’t happy with the service. 

While a two-year plan is a big commitment to make to any service provider in the privacy field, NordVPN has developed a reputation for offering fair refunds, and it’s currently running a buy-one-get-one deal.

Read our NordVPN review.

$126 at NordVPN

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The post Norton Secure VPN vs. NordVPN: Speed, security and price compared first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

Editors’ note, Feb. 9, 2022: The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past few months, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major changes in corporate ownership. In December, ExpressVPN announced that it had officially joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February, NordVPN and Surfshark announced the two companies were merging, though they’ll continue to operate autonomously. We’re in the process of reevaluating all of our top picks in light of these changes. We will update our reviews and, if necessary, our rankings to account for this new competitive landscape. 

Committing to a multiyear subscription with a virtual private network can mean dropping hundreds of dollars. Before you sign on the dotted line, I’ve got a side-by-side comparison to help you weigh the pros and cons of two of the most popular VPNs on the market, ExpressVPN and IPVanish. IPVanish‘s fun user interface encourages you to get under the hood and learn the mechanics powering the technology. Meanwhile, ExpressVPN‘s speed is quickly developing a reputation for being unbeatable. 

Which software has the advantage? Here’s our breakdown on each VPN’s strengths and weaknesses. 

Read more: The best VPN services for 2022

IPVanish

IPVanish

Better interface

A big win for IPVanish is its fun, configurable interface, which makes it an ideal client for beginners who are interested in learning what a VPN does under the hood. In terms of user experience, our only complaint is that IPVanish’s desktop clients have been known to get stuck in a loading loop. This occurs in both the Windows and Mac version of the app, and IPVanish’s site advises a reinstall. Otherwise, this has become one of our favorite user experiences with a VPN client. 

IPVanish’s multiplatform flexibility and 40,000-plus IP addresses are also ideal for people focused on finding a Netflix-friendly VPN. It’s compatible with iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux, routers, Amazon Fire devices, and any Android-based media device. 

Compared to VPN speed-leaders like ExpressVPN, it’s tempting to paint IPVanish’s speeds as sluggish. In our speed tests, ExpressVPN reduced our speeds by less than 2% compared to IPVanish, which reduced our speeds by about 65%. But IPVanish regularly gives high-profile players such as NordVPN a run for its money in the thrice-daily tests conducted by ProPrivacy. And IPVanish is reaching those speeds with just 1,300 servers in 60 locations, compared to ExpressVPN’s 3,000-plus server fleet in 160 locations. 

While I appreciate that IPVanish comes with a standard kill switch feature, I always retain some caution when a VPN is headquartered in the US, and reserve our higher recommendations for those outside of international intelligence-sharing rings such as Five Eyes. I’m also not as confident in IPVanish’s leak security as I am with other VPNs, after reviewers at CNET’s sister publication ZDNet detected a partial DNS leak during testing. I’m also still hoping to see an independent third-party audit of its operations. 

At $3.99 per month and $48 for a year, IPVanish is obviously trying to move you towards its yearly program. ExpressVPN can’t beat that price.  It also recently changed its policy to offer a full 30-day money back guarantee. That said, the company gets kudos for its recent increase from five to 10 simultaneous connections. 

IPVanish review: This speedy VPN has a great user interface.

See at IPVanish

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

Faster speeds

No matter how fast the service, a secure VPN will always slow your connection speeds. Combine that with the sluggish speeds of most public Wi-Fi (when you need your VPN the most), and speed moves to the forefront as a crucial feature for many VPN shoppers.

Enter ExpressVPN. Offering more than 3,000 servers in 160 locations and 94 countries, this lightening fast British Virgin Islands-based service has more servers than IPVanish, is in a greater number of countries, and outperformed IPVanish in my most recent speed tests.

ExpressVPN muscled its way ahead of the VPN pack last year and has been hard to beat ever since, offering outstanding speeds and a reputation for reliability and security. Its easy-to-navigate interface makes it an apt choice for newcomers just learning about VPNs, and its multiplatform compatibility expands its value to a wide base of consumers. These factors more than justify ExpressVPN’s slightly higher-than-average prices, starting at $6.67 a month (with three months free). It does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can pay with credit card, PayPal or Bitcoin.

ExpressVPN only offers five simultaneous connections compared to IPVanish’s 10, but it earned high marks in our list of the best mobile VPN services for 2020 thanks in part to its hyper-flexible platform compatibility. You can use it on Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows, Mac, Linux, PlayStation and Xbox. If it’s something you surf on, ExpressVPN is probably going to work with it. 

The best part? ExpressVPN’s fast speeds don’t require the kinds of privacy sacrifices you often see with other stress-tested, high-speed VPNs. While the British Virgin Islands are a UK territory, they aren’t explicitly subject to UK data retention laws nor do they participate in intelligence-sharing agreements. Sure, their status as a UK territory gives me pause when considering the potential privacy exposure if political pressure is ever applied. But right now, I’m feeling the island breeze.

ExpressVPN review: A VPN speed leader with a secure reputation.

See at ExpressVPN

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The post ExpressVPN vs. IPVanish: Security, speed and price compared first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

Surfshark might be newer to the VPN scene than its more well-known rivals, but its feature-rich applications and unlimited simultaneous connections make it a tempting offer for VPN users. As Surfshark races to lead the VPN pack, should industry titan NordVPN be worried? 

Both VPN providers are excellent choices, but the best way to pick the right one for you is to do a VPN comparison and slice up their speed and price. Here’s how Surfshark stacks up in 2022 against one of the biggest VPN brands out there. 

Read more: Fastest VPN of 2022

Editors’ note, Feb. 9, 2022: The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past few months, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major changes in corporate ownership. In December, ExpressVPN announced that it had officially joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February, NordVPN and Surfshark announced the two companies were merging, though they’ll continue to operate autonomously. We’re in the process of reevaluating all of our top picks in light of these changes. We will update our reviews and, if necessary, our rankings to account for this new competitive landscape. 

Surfshark

Surfshark

Better features, faster

Although Surfshark is newer to the VPN scene than its big-name peers, it’s faster than a VPN of its size should be, has stronger security than you’d expect, a suite of impressive features, and cutthroat prices to go with its unlimited simultaneous connection allowance. During our testing, Surfshark gave our most highly recommended VPNs a run for their money on speed, security and cost. 

You want to watch Netflix from any country? Surfshark’s watertight DNS features make that possible. You want to torrent quickly and privately? Surfshark routes you to its own P2P-configured servers out of the US. You want to block fingerprinting trackers, use a private search engine and camouflage your traffic so it looks completely normal with the assurance of a kill switch? Surfshark’s CleanWeb ad-blocker, Blindsearch search engine and on-board obfuscation covers you. 

Read more: How we evaluate and review VPNs

With more than 3,200 servers in 65 countries, we lost less than 17% of average internet speeds during our most recent speed tests. That’s faster than the 27% speed loss we saw in previous tests, and pushes it ahead of both NordVPN and ExpressVPN to be the current front-runner in our speed comparisons.

Surfshark is currently living up to its name with an aggressive pricing scheme. Right now, the VPN provider is offering an 81% discount, bringing costs down to $2.49 a month for a two-year plan ($60, billed every two years). That offer stands up easily to NordVPN’s two-year plan at $3.67 a month ($99, billed every two years), and offers unlimited simultaneous connections compared to Nord’s six-device limit. The Surfshark VPN is also available for Linux, Windows, Android, MacOS, iOS, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. 

Read more: Surfshark VPN review: Competitive pricing and blazing speeds from this VPN service

Read our Surfshark VPN review.

Surfshark VPN

• Market-leading speeds
• Doorbuster pricing
• Multihop VPN

83% off with 24-mo plan (+3 free months)

$2.21/mo at Surfshark

NordVPN

NordVPN

More established

This heavy-hitter stays on our list of best mobile VPNs for many reasons, including its status as the reigning value champion. Hands-down, you aren’t going to get a virtual private network anywhere else that can do more than NordVPN does, as cheap as the VPN company does it. Despite a security breach reported last year, you’ll be hard pressed to find another VPN that can do what NordVPN does at all. 

Sure, NordVPN could offer a little more privacy if it boosted the number of servers it owns, but we’re talking about 5,000-plus servers in 62 countries, a strict zero-log policy and jurisdiction in Panama. It’s an encryption powerhouse that recently switched to RAM-disk mode, and has a feature that allows you to VPN into Tor. It’s available for not only iOS and Android, but also Windows Phone and even BlackBerry. 

Read more: All the VPN terms you need to know

In our most recent speed test, NordVPN’s performance was on par with many of its competitors, reducing our speeds by 53% on average (which is slower than the 32% loss measured in previous speed tests). We found NordVPN’s connection speed was reliably fast. There were never any sudden dips or service interruptions, and where we expected the VPN provider to underperform, it proved itself up to the task.

For all that, how much are you paying? The company’s two-year plan is currently $3.67 a month ($90 billed every two years). That price is lower than most VPN contenders, but creeps up for the one-year plan ($4.92 a month or $59 total) and the monthly plan ($11.95 a month). But it does have a full 30-day refund policy. And yes, NordVPN also has a full 30-day refund policy if you aren’t happy with the VPN service. 

Read more: NordVPN review: Still the best value for security and speed

Read our NordVPN review.

NordVPN

• Reliable, competitive speeds
• RAM-disk servers
• Feature-rich software

62% off with 24-mo plan

$3.99/mo at NordVPN

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The post NordVPN vs. Surfshark: VPN speed, security and price compared first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

Before you shell out your hard-earned cash and commit to a two-year subscription with a VPN, or virtual private network, read our side-by-side VPN comparison on two of the most popular VPNs on the market. Compared to its peers, IPVanish has one of the best VPN user interfaces, encouraging you to get under the hood and learn the mechanics powering the technology. Meanwhile, NordVPN has a reputation for its reliable connection speed and unbeatable pricing. 

Here’s the breakdown on each one’s strengths and weaknesses. 

Read more: The best VPN services for 2022

Editors’ note, Feb. 9, 2022: The VPN industry has undergone significant change in the past few months, with all three of our top VPN choices announcing major changes in corporate ownership. In December, ExpressVPN announced that it had officially joined Kape Technologies, a company that already owns several other VPNs and has raised privacy concerns in the past. In February, NordVPN and Surfshark announced the two companies were merging, though they’ll continue to operate autonomously. We’re in the process of reevaluating all of our top picks in light of these changes. We will update our reviews and, if necessary, our rankings to account for this new competitive landscape. 

IPVanish

IPVanish

Better interface

A big win for IPVanish is its fun, configurable interface, which makes it an ideal client for beginners who are interested in learning what a VPN does under the hood. My only complaint is that IPVanish’s desktop clients have been known to get in a loading loop. This occurs in both the Windows and Mac version of the VPN app, and IPVanish’s site advises a reinstall. Otherwise, this has become one of my favorite user experiences with a VPN client. 

IPVanish’s multiplatform flexibility and 40,000-plus IP addresses are also ideal for people focused on finding a Netflix-friendly VPN. It’s compatible with iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux, routers, Amazon Fire devices, and any Android-based media device. 

Compared to high-profile VPN speed players like ExpressVPN, it’s tempting to paint IPVanish’s speeds as sluggish. But the IPVanish VPN regularly gives NordVPN a run for its money in the thrice-daily tests conducted by ProPrivacy, and was outpacing NordVPN in that race at the time of this writing. And IPVanish is reaching those speeds with just 1,900-plus servers in 75-plus locations, that’s about a third of Nord’s VPN server count. 

While I appreciate that IPVanish comes with a standard kill switch security feature, I always retain some caution when a VPN service provider is headquartered in the US, and reserve my higher recommendations for those outside of international intelligence-sharing rings such as Five Eyes. I’m also not as confident in IPVanish’s leak security as I am with other VPNs after reviewers at CNET’s sister publication ZDNet detected a partial DNS leak during testing. I’m also still hoping to see an independent third-party audit of its operations. 

At $11 a month and $90 year ($45 for the first year), it’s obviously trying to move you towards its yearly program. The VPN provider also offers a full 30-day money back guarantee. That said, the VPN company gets kudos for its increase from 10 simultaneous connections to unlimited devices. 

Read more: IPVanish review: This speedy VPN has a great user interface

Read our IPVanish review.

IPVanish

• Competitive speeds
• Interface encourages learning
• Unlimited simultaneous connections

63% off with 12-mo plan

$3.33/mo (69% off with 12-mo plan)

NordVPN

NordVPN

Better speed and privacy features

This heavy-hitter stays on our list of the best mobile VPNs for many reasons, including its status as the reigning champion of the bang-for-buck ratio. Hands-down, you aren’t going to get a VPN anywhere else that can do more than NordVPN does, as cheap as NordVPN does it. Despite a security breach in 2019, you’ll be hard pressed to find another VPN that can do what NordVPN does at all. 

Sure, NordVPN could offer a little more privacy if it boosted the number of servers it owns, but I’m talking about 5,200-plus servers in 60 countries, a strict zero-log policy and a jurisdiction in Panama. It’s an encryption powerhouse and has a feature that allows you to VPN into Tor. It’s available for not only iOS and Android, but also Windows Phone and even BlackBerry. 

With all that security, NordVPN has no business being as fast as it is. In my speed tests, NordVPN performed admirably, cutting our internet speed by about 32% on average (compared to about 65% speed loss with IPVanish), where most VPNs can reduce speeds by half or more. I found NordVPN’s speeds were reliably fast; There were never any sudden dips or service interruptions, and where I expected the VPN to underperform, it proved itself up to the task. 

For all that, how much are you paying? The VPN company offers a one-year subscription plan for $4.92, but a two-year plan is $3.67 a month, or $99, billed at once. While the two-year price is lower than most other contenders, it’s still higher than IPVanish’s single-year plan, and Nord’s month-to-month price of $12 is at the high end of its spectrum. And yes, NordVPN also has a full 30-day refund policy if you aren’t happy with the service. 

While a two-year plan is a big commitment to make to any service provider in the privacy field, NordVPN has developed a reputation for offering fair refunds.

Read more: NordVPN review: Still the best value for security and speed

Read our NordVPN review.

NordVPN

• Reliable, competitive speeds
• RAM-disk servers
• Feature-rich software

62% off with 24-mo plan

$3.99/mo at NordVPN

More VPN recommendations

• Best Mac VPN in 2021    
• What’s the best cheap VPN? We found 3 good options  
• Fastest VPN 2021

The post IPVanish vs. NordVPN: Side first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

BlackBerry users are in mourning just a few days into the new year. Support for BlackBerry 10 devices and devices on BlackBerry 7.1 OS or an earlier software ended on Jan. 4, according to the company. This means the beloved phones for many Gen Xers and older millennials will no longer use data, make phone calls, send text messages or make emergency calls. 

Here’s what you need to know about the services ending, what still works and where to go if the news left you stranded. 

What BlackBerry services are ending? 

The service termination applies to devices running BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software and BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier software. Support for those devices ended Jan. 4.

The changes also apply to users with BlackBerry hosted email addresses or if you’re receiving redirected mail from a BlackBerry hosted email address on another platform. Enterprise customers with an Enhanced Sim Based License, or ESBL, or Identity Based License, or IBL, will also be impacted.

If you have a BlackBerry Android device, everything should still work — unless you’re receiving redirected mail from a BlackBerry hosted email address, or have an ESBL or IBL.

BBM Enterprise and BBM Enterprise for Individual Use will continue to work on other platforms.

What happens to my BlackBerry data?

Any data stored with BlackBerry that’s no longer necessary or relevant will be deleted, destroyed, erased or anonymized, according to the company’s FAQ. You can also reach out to privacyoffice@blackberry.com to ask for immediate data removal. 

In terms of migration, BlackBerry’s FAQ suggests a new device and email address (if you have a BlackBerry hosted email or receive redirected mail from a BlackBerry hosted email address). Enterprise customers on BES5 should also move to the new BlackBerry Unified Endpoint Management product and new BlackBerry Suites, according to the FAQ. If you’re using an ESBL or IBL, you’ll need to get a standard license.

If you want to back up your device’s media, you choose which software your device used — BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 or BlackBerry PlayBook 2.1 OS and earlier – and select which device you have. BlackBerry’s website will break down the steps for individual devices. 

If you used 7.1 OS or earlier, your BlackBerry Password Keeper data is stored locally. If you used BlackBerry 10, here’s a step-by-step guide. 

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Best phones of 2021

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My device no longer works. What do I do now? 

The BlackBerry was a well-loved, iconic phone. It’s okay to take some time to grieve. Once you’re ready to move on to a newer device, check out CNET’s list of the best phones to buy in 2022. The biggest choices you’ll have to make are whether you want an iOS or Android device and exactly how much money you want to invest in your new device. But the good news is that you can find iOS and Android phones at a range of prices 

The post So long, BlackBerry. It’s been real first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

BlackBerry phones have been declared dead many times over since falling from the height of their popularity more than a decade ago, but the company is finally ending service for its legacy devices this week. 

Starting Jan. 4, phones running BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry 7.1 software or earlier will “no longer reliably function” on carrier networks or over Wi-Fi, the company said in a support FAQ. This means the phones will no longer be able to use data, make phone calls, send text messages or make 911 emergency calls. 

To be clear, the BlackBerry phones impacted are old. BlackBerry 10, the last version of mobile OS released by RIM, came out in 2013. RIM discontinued its BlackBerry line in 2016 and shifted its focus to security software under the name BlackBerry Limited. 

In 2016, Chinese manufacturer TCL picked up the license for the BlackBerry Mobile brand and released the BlackBerry KeyOne and BlackBerry Key2. These phones, which run Android, aren’t impacted by end of service for legacy BlackBerry software and services. TCL, however, stopped making BlackBerry phones in 2020 and said it would support devices until August 2022. Security startup OnwardMobility then picked up the BlackBerry Mobile brand, saying it would release a new 5G BlackBerry Android phone in the first half of 2021. That phone has yet to materialize. 

You can find more information on BlackBerry’s FAQ page about the end of life for its legacy software and services.

The post Almost a decade later, BlackBerry ends support for its classic phones first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

For over two years, TCL has been showing prototypes of possible foldable phones to reporters. One had a 10-inch screen that bent into thirds. Another featured a screen that wrapped around the wrist. Yet another had a large screen that closed like a book, one featured a screen you pulled out to expand it into a tablet and a more futuristic model included foldable and rollable displays in the same device.  

And then there was a clamshell model that looked a lot like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip and Motorola’s Razr. That device, codenamed the Chicago Project, is the one TCL planned to launch early in the fourth quarter. It aimed to sell the phone for less than Samsung’s $1,000-and-higher foldables and Motorola’s $1,400 Razr. The Chinese giant had the foldable nearly done — and this week even shipped CNET one of the nearly finished prototypes to prove it was real — but ultimately decided to scrap it and start over. 

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Now TCL won’t launch its first foldable for at least 12 to 18 months, Stefan Streit, TCL’s chief marketing officer, said in an interview ahead of Friday’s announcement. And when it introduces the device, it won’t be Chicago but a revamped product. For now, hopes for a lower-cost foldable device will have to wait. 

“We could finish this product and bring it to the market, but this felt somehow … not right,” Streit said. “For us, this category is really, really important. We will bring products. We will bring a number of products.” Just not the first device TCL thought it’d launch. 

While TCL has sold phones under the low-cost Alcatel brand for years — and for a brief period under the BlackBerry name — it has only been selling devices under its own TCL branding since early 2020. It’s among the top players in televisions, but TCL doesn’t have the recognition needed in mobile to pull in people willing to try a new product category like foldables. Even Samsung, the world’s biggest phone maker, is still in the early days of getting consumers to trust that foldables are durable enough to withstand normal daily use. 

See also

• With Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3, Samsung’s doing all the right things. But it may still struggle
• TCL experiments with foldable, rollable displays in the same mobile device
• This new foldable phone design makes the Galaxy Fold look downright boring

TCL decided to cancel the introduction of its first foldable because of several “commercial” factors — weakness of its brand, expensive components because of the pandemic and lack of carrier support, Streit said. 

Perhaps most of all, the move by TCL is an acknowledgement that foldables may not be ready for mainstream users — at least not in huge volumes and at low prices. 

Foldables remain a tiny part of the overall smartphone market. This year, vendors should sell about 7 million such devices, according to Strategy Analytics, while companies will sell 1.35 billion regular smartphones. That estimate from last month included potential TCL sales.

It’s not until Apple introduces its first foldables, possibly in the second half of 2023, that the devices start selling in higher numbers, Strategy Analytics analyst Ken Hyers said in August. His firm expects about 15 million foldables to be sold around the world in 2023 and more than double that amount the following year. In 2026, the number of foldables sold across the globe should hit nearly 170 million, Strategy Analytics said. 

TCL had aimed to launch a fully featured foldable by the end of 2021 that cost less than the devices from Samsung, but the lowest price it could reach with its first device was $800, Streit said. Samsung’s new Z Flip 3 starts at $1,000, while its Z Fold 3 retails for $1,800. 

“If somebody can spend $800, he can also spend $1,000,” Streit said. “Probably, he will go for the brand he knows for many years and trusts more.”

Competing with the Z Flip 3

At the same time, some of Chicago’s specs aren’t as high-end as those in the Z Flip 3. The two devices look similar, but TCL’s foldable is a little thicker, a little wider and a little heavier. And the front screen is smaller at 1.1 inches diagonally versus 1.9 inches for the Z Flip 3. The interior screens are about the same size: 6.67 inches diagonally for TCL and 6.7 inches for Samsung.

Chicago isn’t water resistant like the Z Flip 3, and it’s likely not as sturdy, Streit said. It uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G processor, which isn’t as fast or as powerful as the Z Flip 3’s Snapdragon 888. Chicago also has a slower version of 5G and couldn’t be used on Verizon’s ultra-wide-band network. Its fastest download speed is 2.7 Gbps versus the Snapdragon 888’s peak of 7.5 Gbps. 

Chicago would have been available in one color, “Pastel Gold,” which looks like a peach-color matte plastic body with gold metal detailing on the sides and edges of the hinge. When displayed next to Samsung’s cream-color Z Flip 3, it’s sometimes difficult to tell the devices apart. 

One area where Chicago could have had an advantage over the Z Flip 3 is the part of the interior display where it folds in half. The crease in the prototype sent to CNET is less pronounced — both visually and when touching the display — than on the Z Flip 3. CNET’s Patrick Holland, who reviewed Samsung’s foldables, said the Z Flip 3’s crease doesn’t bother him, though it is noticeable when interacting with the middle of the screen. 

Enlarge Image

TCL decided to cancel Chicago before Samsung’s August Unpacked event, Streit said. But seeing the Z Flip 3 cemented its decision, even though Chicago was finished except for tweaks to features like the software and the hinge. 

“I’m using it every day,” Streit said of Chicago. “Nothing has changed” about how much TCL believes in foldables, he said, but market conditions need to improve before it launches a consumer device. For now, TCL has already started working on the foldable it hopes to actually sell. 

That device, while similar to Chicago, will be thinner and sturdier, Streit said, but it will likely still be a clamshell, high-tech flip phone design. 

“It’s … the most natural step from where we are coming from,”  he said. 

The hope is that in late 2022 or early 2023, the market will be ready for a lower-cost foldable, Streit said. Component prices will likely be back to normal, TCL’s brand will be stronger, 5G will be broadly deployed so carriers can support other phones, consumers will be looking for new types of devices and prices will finally be low enough for wide adoption, he said. 

“We feel like this … is the better time for TCL to then launch something which … hopefully brings it into more mass market segments,” Streit said.

For all of you curious about what might have been, here are the key specs: 

Dimensions and weight

• Unfolded: 164.8 mm x 78.1 mm x 7.35 mm 
• Folded: 86.5 mm x 78.1 mm x 17.9mm 
• Weight: 204.5 grams

Interior display

• 6.67-inch AMOLED, DOTCH display 
• Resolution: FHD+ (1080 x 2400)
• Screen-to-body ratio: 84.6%
• Aspect ratio: 20:9
• Pixel density: 395 PPI, 16.7M colors 
• Brightness: 700 nits (peak), 420 nits (normal) 

Front display

• 1.1-inch AMOLED screen

Memory

• 6 GB RAM and 128 GB flash memory

Battery and charging

• Battery capacity: 3,545mAh 
• Wired charging speed: Up to 18W Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
• Wireless charging speed: Up to 10W wireless charging Connections: Type-C 
• USB-C 3.1 

Rear camera

• 48-megapixel primary camera with optical image stabilization, Sony IMX582 sensor, 0.8μm pixel size
• 16MP ultra wide-angle camera
• Video capture: 4K at 30 frames per second, 720p and 1080p at 30/60 frames per second
• Video playback: 4K at 30 frames per second, 720p and 1080p at 30/60 frames per second

Front camera

• 44-megapixel front camera
• Video capture: 4K at 60 frames per second, 720p and 1080p at 30/60 frames per second

The post Here’s the affordable TCL foldable phone that could’ve been first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.