A newly published patent reveals Apple could be working on a strap design for the Apple Watch that will let wearers add extra functions to their device through modular links that connect together... More
Archive: Technology
Mobile marketplace offers African farmers promise of richer, cashless harvest
Thousands of small-scale farmers across East Africa will soon be using their feature phones to buy, sell and receive payments for their goods through a mobile app and SMS service developed by Mastercard... More
Huawei installs Amazon Alexa on flagship smartphone for US market
Chinese mobile phone giant Huawei is to pre-load Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant on its flagship Mate 9 smartphone, which has now launched in the US, as Amazon bids for a leading role in the emerging voice-activated services market... More
Asus unveils smartphone that supports AR and VR
Asus has announced the first smartphone to support both Google’s Tango 3D augmented reality and Daydream virtual reality technologies... More
62% of US consumers own IoT device
A study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) shows nearly two-thirds (62%) of American consumers own at least one Internet of Things (IoT) connected device, while 65% of them say they are willing to receive ads on IoT screens... More
Resellers expect strong IoT revenue growth
A survey from data management company Dell EMC has found 60% of resellers expect revenue from Internet of Things (IoT) devices to rise 30% in 2016, Computer Weekly reports... More
Smart machines to enter mainstream in five years
Smart machines incorporating cognitive computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning will enter mainstream adoption by 2021, with 30% adoption by large companies, a report from Gartner says... More
Amazon trials drone delivery system in UK
Online retail giant Amazon has begun trials in the UK of a package delivery system using autonomous drones, which aims to deliver goods to customers within 30 minutes... More
Google unveils updated Android for Internet of Things
Google has unveiled Android Things, an update to its Internet of Things (IoT) developer platform, which it says will make it “faster and easier to create smart, connected products” powered by Android’s operating system and secured with updates directly from the internet giant... More
46bn IoT devices by 2021 as sensor market surges, research says
The number of connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors will reach more than 46bn by the year 2021, a 200% increase from 2016, with the global sensors market generating revenues of US$162.36bn on its own by 2019, two research reports from Juniper Research and Frost and Sullivan reveal... More
Google’s browser connects with BLE
The latest version of Google’s Chrome browser allows websites to interact with Bluetooth Low Energy devices... More
Royal Mint to develop blockchain for gold trade
The UK’s Royal Mint is working with derivatives marketplace CME Group to develop a new gold trading system using blockchain technology... More
Battery-less smartwatch powered by body heat
Devices such as smartwatches could be powered by little more than the heat of the wearer’s body, if the promise of a California-based startup is delivered, EE Times reports... More
Dutch bank in logistics blockchain project
Dutch bank ABN Amro is working with Delft University of Technology and 14 other partners to launch a two-year project to apply blockchain technology to the logistics sector... More
Text messages via household chemicals could lead to harmless medical nanotechnology
A machine that translates digital messages and transmits them using household chemicals could provide low-cost, self-powered nanotechnology devices that could travel around the human body harmlessly... More
R3 investment details take shape
Blockchain consortium R3 has reduced the amount it aims to raise from bank members in its first large round of equity funding to US$150m from US$200m, Reuters reports... More
US researchers claim discovery of ‘missing link’ for internet of things
A miniature, self-sufficient WiFi device which uses virtually no energy has the potential to be the “missing link” for the internet of things, its developers at Stanford University in the US claim... More
Intel aims for ‘merged reality’ experience
Chip giant Intel is developing a virtual reality headset based on ‘merged reality’, with users able to see the real world even while wearing a full headset, The Verge reports... More
Abu Dhabi schools in talks to pilot BLE school bus project
UAE-based startup Smart Navigation Systems (SNS) is in talks with “several schools” in Abu Dhabi to begin piloting School Bus Application, a service that notifies parents of the safety of their children when travelling to school using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons on buses... More