May, 2018

• 9 May

  Ricoh Theta V is ready to take on your Google VR Tours

  

  Google announced the browser-based Tour Creator, for roll-your-own VR walkthroughs, at its Google I/O developer conference this week.  But if you want to create your own 360-degree content, you’ll need a camera that works with it. Out of the gate, Ricoh says it’s ready for you with its Ricoh Theta V, an existing 360 camera …

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• 9 May

  Google Lens is turning into what Google Glass never was

  

  Years ago, Google Glass was pitched as a magic eye on the real world. I wore one. It never did what people really thought it could do. The crazy thing is, Google is getting to that magic world fast… through phones. The latest updates to Google Lens — demoed at this week’s Google I/O developers conference, and coming soon to …

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• 9 May

  Here’s how Qualcomm

  

  If a new Apple Watch debuts this fall, Google is likely to have a major new smartwatch (or watches) debuting right alongside it, powered by Qualcomm chips. Pankaj Kedia, senior director and business lead for Qualcomm’s Smart Wearables Segment, said as much yesterday in a story reported by Wareable. But I sat down at Google’s I/O developers conference with Kedia and …

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• 9 May

  Google’s Wear OS watches get serious about better battery life

  

  Odds are, the next big wave of Google smartwatches are coming later this year. In the meantime, Google’s updating Wear OS (formerly Android Wear) with a few key upgrades. In addition to a better on-board Google Assistant, Google’s added battery-saving functions to the new developer build of Wear OS, the company announced Wednesday. The key parts of that involve re-enabling …

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• 9 May

  Pokemon Go’s maker wants to crowdsource a 3D map of the world

  

  Pokemon Go’s maker, Niantic, has ambitions to build a three-dimensional map of the world by crowdsourcing the cameras on players’ phones, CEO John Hanke told Reuters. Pokemon Go was a breakout hit two years ago, a mobile game phenomenon that familiarized millions of consumers with the concept of augmented reality, a technology that overlays digital images on the real world.  …

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• 9 May

  Walmart snags majority of India’s Flipkart for $16 billion

  

  Walmart’s making another big bet on e-commerce, agreeing on Wednesday to shell out $16 billion for a majority of India’s Flipkart. Flipkart — which sells electronics, large appliances, mobile phones, apparel and more —  has the largest e-commerce players locally since its launch in 2007, with local rivals like Snapdeal helping draw more customers into online shopping. The deal for …

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• 9 May

  TPG Mobile wants to lure you with free unlimited data for 6 months

  

  TPG wants to be Australia’s big new mobile telco, and it’s offering free unlimited data to convince you. The TPG Mobile Network will launch within months (it’s given a date of between July and December), offering the first customers to sign up unlimited data for free for six months. From then, it will charge AU$9.99 a month. TPG says this …

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• 9 May

  Duplex, Android P and Assistant: Everything important from Google I/O

  

  Microsoft Build 2018 started Tuesday and is still ongoing, but now Google is competing for your future attention with its own annual Google I/O developers conference. Unlike the hardware-centric announcements of last October, I/O focuses mostly on software and how to to get the most out of those devices. Before the conference started, Google announced it had rebranded its Google …

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• 9 May

  Apple lands on Jet.com with deals on MacBooks, iPhone X, Watch

  

  The higher-tech retail arm of Walmart, Jet.com, is celebrating its entry into the Apple authorized reseller program with sales on accessories when you buy a handful of Apple products. The deals don’t look too amazing, though, since they don’t seem to be covered by Jet.com’s dynamic pricing engine. MacBooks, iPhone and Watch are all regular price, same as the Apple Store, …

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• 9 May

  Black dot bug hits iPhone: How to fix if this emoji breaks your iMessages

  

  If you thought emojis were harmless, well, this one can freeze your iPhone’s ($285 at Amazon) messaging app. A new iMessage bug involving a string of text and the black dot emoji (⚫️) can overload iMessage if sent to your iPhone. The bug was spotted by YouTuber EverythingApplePro, who frames it as a prank to freeze people’s phones. Watch him explain …

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