Current News/Innovations

  A decision by London's transport regulator to strip Uber Technologies of its licence to operate in the city was "disproportionate" and has put thousands of jobs at risk, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday. "Yes there are safety concerns and issues for Uber to address, but what I want to see is a level playing field between the private firms and our wonderful London taxis, our black cabs, our great national institution," May said in an interview with the BBC. "I want to see a level playing field. I think a blanket ban is disproportionate," she said. Regulator Transport for London (TfL) deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service on September 22 and decided not to renew its licence to operate when it expires on Saturday, citing the firm's approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. The US ride services company could be driven out of one of its most imp...

The top US communications regulator urged Apple Inc  on Thursday to activate FM radio chips in iPhones that would allow Americans access to life-saving information when a natural disaster takes out wireless networks, but the company said its newer models do not have the chips. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said Apple was the one major phone manufacturer that has not activated the chips. "I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria," Pai said in a statement. But Apple, in its own statement, said newer iPhone 7 and 8 models do not have FM chips "nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products." The company added that it has "engineered modern safety solutions into our products. Users can dial emergency services and access Medical ID card information directl...

  Apple Inc has received more than four times as many national-security related requests from the US government in the first half of this year versus a year ago, according to a company report on Thursday. Apple said it had received between 13,250 and 13,499 national security requests affecting between 9,000 and 9,249 users. That compares with a range of 2,750 and 2,999 requests affecting between 2,000 and 2,249 users in the first half of 2016. The requests come in the form of so-called National Security Letters, or NSLs, and requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Apple and other companies report ranges because government rules prevent disclosing precise numbers. Apple declined to comment beyond the figures it released. The disclosures are voluntary, and firms like Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc have yet to report any figures for 2017. In the past, those companies have issued more detailed reports, for example separati...

US-based technology company GoPro on Thursday unveiled HERO6 Black - what it calls the most powerful GoPro yet - that comes with custom-designed GP1 processor and shoots videos in 4K60 and 1080p240 quality. Alongside, the company put its Fusion camera up for pre-orders, and added new features to its Karma drone. The GoPro HERO6 Black price in India is Rs. 45,000, whereas in the US it has been priced at $499 (roughly Rs. 32,700). It is now available via GoPro.com and select retailers across the world. The company claims the has the most advanced video stabilisation ever achieved in a GoPro, the company said in a statement. "HERO6's next-level image quality, video stabilisation and three times faster QuikStories performance makes it a powerful storytelling extension of your smartphone. It's never been easier to live it, and then share it using a GoPro," said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro's founder and CEO. With 4K60 (4K video at 60 frame...

After pushing out its iOS 11.0.1 update just recently, Apple has now made the first public betas for iOS 11.1, tvOS 11.1, and macOS 10.13.1 available for download. The public beta follows the developer beta release from earlier this week. Notably, the first betas do not introduce any major user-facing features or even the support for Apple Pay Cash service, which was earlier expected to come with the update. The Apple Pay Cash feature is expected to be launched with iOS 11.1, if the 'late October' mention on the Apple Watch Series 1 page is to be believed, as per a report by 9To5Mac. However, if that turns out to be true, the support might be added with a future update for the platform. However, the first iOS 11.1 beta does enable Apple Watch owners to update to watchOS 4.1 beta, as per the report. The watchOS 4.1 beta introduces support for streaming from Apple Music and a new Radio app, but it is currently available only to registered deve...

  Global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei on Thursday announced that the companys R&D centre in Bengaluru has emerged as largest among all overseas R&D centres of the company. The Bengaluru R&D facility is now a key platform, component and solutions development and delivery centre for global markets, and has end-to-end ownership of all software platforms, components and products being developed at the centre, the company said during the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2017 in New Delhi. "Innovation is at the heart of everything we do and Huawei continues to maintain steady growth amid complex competition in the global ICT industry. Globally, we invest over 10 percent of our annual revenue in R&D, with total R&D investment over the past decade exceeding $46 billion," said Jay Chen, Chief Executive Officer, Huawei Telecommunications (India) Co. Also see Huawei Says It Aims to Mak...

Apple may not be ready to completely ditch LCD screens just yet, if numerous reports are to be believed. The Cupertino-giant, which recently made the switch to OLED screen on an iPhone model with the iPhone X, is planning to purchase advanced LCD screens from Japan Display, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Several other reports have corroborated some of these claims. The advanced LCD screen, dubbed Full Active by Japan Display, offers a range of improvements over LCD screens in current generation smartphones and on some capabilities, they are just as good as their OLED counterparts at an affordable price point, the company was quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal. An interesting feature of Full Active screen is, the report said, it can have very narrow bezel - down to 0.5mm for several millimetres. OLED displays, with inbuilt lighting, do not need the backlighting circuitry LCD displays require, which is the pri...

One of the most highlighted features of iOS 11 has been the Files app, which is a file manager. After Dropbox announced its integration last week, it was Google's Drive turn to announce support. Google on Thursday announced "full integration of the Drive app with the Files app on devices running iOS 11." The Files app on iOS 11 lets users access files stored on the iPhone or iPad as well as on cloud storage services like iCloud Drive, Dropbox, and Drive, all in one place. Google says that the new version of the Drive app will let users access and manage documents and photos stored in Drive just by opening up the Files app on iOS device. The latest Google Drive app version for iOS is now available on the App Store. "If you have Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides apps installed as well, tapping on any Google document, spreadsheet, or presentation in the Files app will open the app of the associated Google editor. You can a...

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have officially been released in India by Apple and Jio at an event in Mumbai, which Apple CEO Tim Cook joined via video link. The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will go on sale at 6pm IST on Friday in the country, and will be up for purchase via both online and offline channels. There are several deals available to buyers that will lower the iPhone 8 price in India by a significant margin if you have a phone to exchange and use select credit or debit cards. If you are indeed planning to buy iPhone 8 in India, here's what you need to know, including price, offers, where to buy the handset, etc. iPhone 8 price in India Shortly after the iPhone 8 unveiling , Apple announced that the 64GB and 256GB variants of the handset will cost Rs. 64,000 and Rs. 77,000, respectively. Similarly, the iPhone 8 Plus 64GB is priced at Rs. 73,000, while the 256GB variant will cost you Rs. 86,000. Both the iPhone 8 and i...

  iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus may not be the top-of-the-line models in Apple's portfolio, but that doesn't mean the two smartphones will not get the same treatment. The new models launch in India on Friday, September 29 at 6pm IST, and both the handsets cost relatively less than the iPhone X , the flagship model in Apple's lineup. Though iPhone 8 price in India can be reduced further if you pair up the offers Jio is providing to customers as part of its pre-booking deals. In fact, a page on Amazon India says the Jio deals bring down the "net value after offers" of iPhone 8 64GB to Rs. 18,788. At an event in Mumbai where Jio and Apple officially released the new handsets in India, the telco also revealed the terms and conditions attached with its pre-bookings and the offers it is providing. Scroll down to check out everything the operator announced. iPhone 8 pre-booking via Jio The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus can be pre-booked from ...

Roku completed a public offering this morning, raising $252 million in an IPO that valued the company at $2 billion. It will trade on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol ROKU. The company makes streaming sticks that allow you to watch streaming video on your television. It also makes software that is baked right into new TV sets from a range of well-known manufacturers. Investors sent shares surging on the first day, betting the company can fend off larger rivals. The cash Roku raised today will be used to compete against a host of tech giants. Apple, Amazon, and Google are all selling streaming hardware, and both Amazon and Google have partnered with TV makers to get their software operating systems on brand-new sets. Roku claims to have just over 15 million active accounts, which made just under $400 million in revenue in 2016. But it also burned more cash than the year before, reporting a net loss of $42.6 million for the year. Roku’s advantage is that it doesn’t...

15 ZTE is apparently working on a new flagship smartphone called the Axon M, with the unique headline feature of dual screens that can unfold into a combined 6.8-inch display, according to  Android Authority . The new phone was rumored early in September by  Evan Blass over at  VentureBeat , who provided the additional details that the new device would feature a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 3,120mAh battery, and a single 20-megapixel camera. Photo:  Android Authority But the biggest feature is still the form factor: two 1080p displays that make up the front and back of the device, which can unfold with a centrally located hinge to create one tablet-sized screen that’s twice as wide. According to  Android Authority , the two screens will also be able to run two different apps at once, for expanded multitasking beyond what’s currently capable even in Android Oreo. It’s worth pointing out that the Axon M isn’t th...

Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images The European Union is once again asking Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other web companies to crack down on hate speech and speech inciting violence and terrorism — but this time, it’s taking things a step further. The European Commission has  issued guidelines for web companies to follow, and it’s warning the companies that, if they don’t comply, the Commission may pass legislation. And that legislation, of course, could lead to some huge fines. There are a handful of guidelines so far. The Commission recommends that web companies appoint a dedicated point of contact, who law enforcement can contact when illegal content is discovered. It wants web companies to allow third-party “trusted flaggers” with “specific expertise in identifying illegal content” to come in and monitor potentially illegal posts. And it asks web companies to invest in technologies that can automatically detect potentially illegal posts and speech. It sounds like a...

Alcatel showed off a phone called the Idol 5  earlier this month at IFA . Now it's bringing that device to the US with slight spec boosts. It’s only available through Cricket Wireless. It comes out on October 27th alongside a new VR headset call the Uni360. The Idol 5 isn't all that exciting, other than the fact that it only costs $199. That price gets you: Android Nougat (with no public plans on an Oreo update), a 5.2-inch Full HD display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, 8-megapixel front-facing camera, USB-C, and a MediaTek Helio P20 processor. The battery is also compatible with Fast Charging. Alcatel says it can reach full charge in 100 minutes. The front of the US device varies from the EU / global version of the phone: the US release includes dual speakers that you'll immediately notice. The phone also has Alcatel's signature launch button built in, which you can configure to launch your camera, VR app, or whatever e...

Lego’s hometown of Billund, Denmark, is about to see a huge boost in tourism. Set just 10 minutes away from the airport,  Lego House  is a new 12,000-square-meter playhouse for Lego fans of all ages, including AFOLs (that’s “Adult Fans of Lego,” according to the company’s own lingo). The building, made to look like 21 Lego bricks stacked on top of each other, is topped by a 2x4 Lego block keystone. Seven years in the making and designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, the facade is comprised of clay tiles, to enhance the illusion of a giant house made of Lego. But that’s just the outside; the inside houses a store, two exhibition areas, three restaurants, four color-coded play rooms, and 25 million Lego bricks. The red, blue, green, and yellow play areas are each supposed to represent aspects of play and learning: creative, cognitive, emotions, and social skills, respectively. There’s also two outdoor play areas for physical play and spatial awareness. Take a loo...