Sunday, 01 October 2017 12:51
Consumer-grade robots have potential beyond trivial tasks
Consumer-grade robots have much more potential beyond trivial tasks around the home, according to a recent study from the User Experience Strategies (UXS) services at Strategy Analytics. The study, which investigated the needs, behaviors and expectations of consumers regarding consumer-grade robots, found that a broader range of movement and the addition of features such as arms and hands and modular elements to enhance task flexibility, will allow robots to become true assistants in users’ lives. “Robots that are modular can…
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Thursday, 14 September 2017 11:39
Apple’s latest smartwatch is LTE-enabled
Apple launched the latest Apple Watch on September 12 at the grand unveiling of its new products at the newly inaugurated Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. While most of the attention at the launch was on Apple’s iPhone anniversary device, the iPhone X, the Californian tech giant’s Apple Watch Series 3 is impressive. The new smartwatch has cellular capability allowing you to stay connected, make calls, and receive texts, without pairing with an iPhone. The third generation Apple Watch…
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Sunday, 10 September 2017 08:14
Xiaomi maintains lead in wearables for second quarter
Chinese firm Xiaomi maintained its lead in wearables for the second quarter of 2017, as the worldwide wearables market once again showed positive growth as shipments grew 10.3 percent year-on-year, reaching 26.3 million, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. The second quarter of 2017 marked a turning point in the market as wearables (those that do not run third party apps) declined for the first time with annual growth of -0.9 percent, IDC said.…
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Monday, 04 September 2017 11:54
Fitbit launches first smartwatch packed with capabilities
California-based wearables company Fitbit has launched its first smartwatch called Fitbit Iconic – a health and fitness platform, offering a highly personalized experience. It features a SpO2 sensor, making it possible to track deeper health insights like sleep apnea in the future, as well as advanced GPS, on-device dynamic workouts, improved heart rate tracking, and water resistance up to 50 meters. Fitbit Iconic also features contactless payments, on-board music, smart notifications, and a variety of popular apps and clock faces…
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Sunday, 03 September 2017 12:07
Facebook file patent application for its development of futuristic ‘smart glasses’
Social networking colossus Facebook has announced that it is attempting to make a ‘technical ‘breakthrough in relation to developing and manufacturing futuristic ‘smart glasses’ specifically designed to allow you see to see virtual objects in the real world. It has emerged that Facebook published a patent application for a ‘waveguide display with two-dimensional scanner’ which was compiled by three members of its advanced research division of Facebook’s VR subsidiary Oculus. It has been reported that the display may augment views…
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Sunday, 03 September 2017 08:33
Chinese firm DPVR overtakes HTC’s leading VR spot in China
Chinese firm DPVR overtook HTC as the top virtual reality (VR) headset vendor in China in Q2 2017, according to Canalys research, shipping 18,000 headsets, resulting in a 30 percent quarter-on-quarter increase. HTC, whose only product is the HTC Vive basic headset, suffered a 6 percent sequential decline, shipping 14,000 units. Sony took third place in China, according to the research, shipping 9,000 PlayStation VR headsets. According to Canalys estimates, the overall VR headset market in China grew 25 percent…
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Monday, 14 August 2017 12:47
Samsung and Live Nation to broadcast first live virtual reality concert
Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Live Nation Entertainment will broadcast the first live virtual reality concert. Coldplay’s “A Head Full of Dreams” will broadcast from Chicago’s Soldier Field to fans around the world to experience it in an immersive perspective. The live broadcast will be available on Samsung Gear VR powered by Oculus through the Samsung VR service on August 17, starting at 8:30 pm CT. “Through our industry-leading VR hardware and platform ecosystem, we are thrilled to offer Samsung…
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Thursday, 10 August 2017 10:05
Xiaomi becomes world's no.1 wearables vendor in Q2 2017
Xiaomi captured 17 percent of the global wearables marketshare in Q2 2017 and became the world’s largest wearables vendor for the first time ever, overtaking Fitbit and Apple, according to Strategy Analytics research. Global wearables shipments reached 22 million units in the quarter. Steven Waltzer, Industry Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global wearables shipments reached 21.6 million units in Q2 2017, rising 8 percent annually from 20.0 million in Q2 2016. Strong demand for low-cost fitness-bands in China and premium…
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Sunday, 06 August 2017 11:03
Facebook chatbots shut down after AIs develops unique language
Facebook had to shut down its chatbot experiment after two AIs (artificial intelligence) developed their own language to communicate. Researchers at the Facebook AI Research Lab (FAIR) were experimenting with teaching two chatbots, Alice and Bob, how to negotiate with one another. The researchers soon found that the chatbots had gone off script and were creating their own unique language without any human input. “Our interest was having bots who could talk to people,” Mike Lewis of Facebook’s FAIR program…
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Monday, 31 July 2017 13:16
Intel’s new Xeon Scalable processors will ‘drive industry megatrends’
Intel launched its new Intel Xeon Scalable processors on July 26. The product provides businesses with “breakthrough performance” to handle tasks such as real-time analytics, virtualized infrastructure and high-performance computing. Half a million of the processors have already been sold to AT&T and others. The processors will drive “megatrends” such as cloud, analytics and 5G, said Firas Alfanney, Intel’s Data Center Group Sales Director for ME, Turkey, Africa and Russia, at a press conference in Dubai. “All of these trends…
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Wednesday, 26 July 2017 11:19
UK government to introduce drone registration and safety awareness
The UK government says it will introduce drone registration and safety awareness courses for owners of small unmanned aircraft (drones). The policy will affect all those who own a drone which weighs more than 250 grams (8oz). Drone maker DJI has spoken out in support of the new measures. However, details of how the registration process will pan out have not yet been released, and the Department of Transport said “the nuts and bolts still have to be ironed out.”…
Wednesday, 26 July 2017 11:01
Study says VR needs to fit easily into people’s lives to succeed
Research by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) claims virtual reality systems need to fit easily into people’s lives if the technology is to be successful, and need to be as simple and intuitive as watching television. As younger audiences move away from traditional media, the BBC justifies its increasing involvement with VR because it must ensure that it has the expertise in new mediums that young people will move to. The BBC says it wants to provide younger audiences with…
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