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CNET UK podcast 494: Samsung limits Note 7 preorders, killing the headphone port and a rump-shaped airship

Samsung says it underestimated its new phone's Euro-appeal, as we argue whether the venerable headphone jack deserves to die.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway
2 min read
Sarah Tew/CNET

Samsung is going to limit preorders of the Note 7 in Europe, in a bid to still have some phones to sell when it goes on general release. The South Korean mobile-maker reckons demand for its 5.7-inch stylus-wielding wonderphone has far outstripped its expectations. On this week's edition of the UK's best tech podcast we ponder whether Samsung could be artificially creating scarcity to drum up public interest, or whether it has genuinely misjudged demand -- a mistake that can prove costly.

After that, any illusions of genuine friendship among the podcast crew fall away as Luke and Andy row bitterly over whether it's time to scrap the decades-old 3.5mm headphone jack, as Apple is rumoured to be doing for the iPhone 7, and which Intel also suggested doing this week.

Meanwhile Uber isn't happy about TfL demanding drivers take an English-language test, Oculus Rift gets a release date in Europe (where it'll arrive with a hefty £549 price tag), the US prepares to hand over power of the Internet's naming system and the world's largest offshore wind farm is set to be built in the North Sea.

Oh, and did we mention the bum-shaped blimp? The Airlander 10 is the world's largest aircraft, and just completed a historic flight over Bedfordshire.

Watch this: Should Apple kill the headphone jack?

Life, Disrupted

When you're done with this week's podcast, make sure you check out Road Trip 2016, CNET's annual feature that this year takes a look at the global refugee crisis, and finds out how tech is helping migrants fleeing war in their home countries, if it's helping at all.

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