Peruvian chanteuse Yma Sumac is the latest famous figure to get the Google Doodle treatment, with the search giant celebrating the career of the 1950s performer on its homepage. Sumac was born Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo in the early ’20s, although there’s some debate over exactly where, and whether she was born on …

Claw arms hardly make a drone look less terrifying, but they could make it more useful. That’s the promise of Prodrone’s latest hoverbot, the snappily-named PD6B-AW-ARM. This claw-handed drone can fly up to 6 km per hour and stay in the air for 30 minutes. Using its two five-axis robotic arms, it can lift a whopping 22 pounds, which is …

Simplistic wearable gadgets such as fitness bands are triumphing over more sophisticated smartwatches in the wearable war, analysts say. Gadget-maker Fitbit’s “dominance remains unchallenged” in the wearable industry, according to IDC, which says the wearable market overall grew 26.1 percent between April and June this year. It’s “basic wearables” such as affordable exercise trackers that are flourishing however, accounting for …

Quaking in your boots is about to take on a whole new spin, with Bluetooth-enabled walking gear that vibrates your feet to let you know which way to turn. Built by Dutch sportswear maker Hi-Tec, the boldly named Navigator boots connect to an app on your phone, where you can enter your walking destination. Insoles in the boots contain buzzing …

British audio company Bowers & Wilkins has crafted a wireless version of its P7 luxury headphones — but you’ll need deep pockets to afford them. The P7 Wireless, on sale as of today, will set you back $400, or £320 (we don’t have Australian price information, but that converts to roughly AU$527). For your cash you get a chunky set …

Samsung says it’s putting a cap on preorder stock of its new Galaxy Note 7 phone in Europe, citing “unprecedented” demand for its new mobile. As preorder sales of the company’s 5.7-inch gigantophone go live across the continent, Samsung says stock will be limited — a move that it says will ensure there are enough phones left to fill shop …

Tech fans in Europe and Canada only have to put up with boring regular reality for another month or so, as Oculus has confirmed its Rift headset will be hitting those regions on 20 September. Preorders in those regions kick off from today, following on from a US release earlier this year. In the UK and Europe the Rift has …

UK residents must have access to better banking apps, a regulatory body has said. In a new report published today, the Competition and Market’s Authority says that big UK banks aren’t doing enough to compete for customers’ business, and orders a “revolution” in banking mobile tech. That would see new apps released by early 2018, with banks forced to share …

Those shelling out for Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 7 will be treated to a “Game Pack” bundle of mobile goodies, including several that will make use of the phone’s support for Vulkan API, software that promises to soup up your game’s graphics and playing performance. Visually intense slasher Hit is one of those Game Pack titles — another is Need …

In a month’s time you’ll need a TV licence to watch iPlayer, as the BBC prepares to lock down a legal loophole that let Brits watch catch-up programming for free. From 1 September, anyone watching iPlayer will need to have paid the £145.50 annual licence fee, the BBC reports. Previously a legal loophole meant that only live TV on iPlayer …