Google is venturing into Asian e-commerce with the help of a local powerhouse. The company said Monday it will invest $550 million in JD.com, a leading Chinese e-commerce company also known as Jing Dong, to provide consumers easier options to shop online and tap into the Southeast Asian market. “The Asia-Pacific region is one of …
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The ability to book a ride with Uber disappeared from the Android Google Maps app with no explanation; it still gives you estimates and displays the available cars but now provides an “open app” button to perform the transaction. Google gave no explanation, just a throwaway bullet point in its Request a Ride help section for Google Maps. This brings …
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Pretty much everybody else is now happy with a single Bluetooth or sound bar speaker, but stereo speakers are still the choice for audiophiles. I get it: One speaker takes up half the space of two and costs roughly half as much, but I’d be derelict in my duties if I failed to mention what’s lost with a single speaker. …
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A little less noise, a little more signal. That’s what Google hopes to deliver to G Suite (business) Gmail users on iPhones and iPads with its support for high-priority email notifications. The feature is rolling out over the next few days but its arrival may be subject to your corporate administrative process before you see it. Android users will be …
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I’m as scared as anybody that all of my oh-so-personal data is being turned into a giant dossier that’ll help companies and governments target me in all kinds of seminefarious ways. Shadow profiles and the like. But if Google’s just revamped Ad Settings tool is any indication, those potentially privacy-penetrating algorithms are still pretty dumb. So dumb that I’m happy …
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Snapchat wants to take over on your smartphone. Snap on Thursday launched Snap Kit, a platform for developers that’ll let them integrate Snapchat’s experiences into other apps. This means you can expect to start seeing filters, bitmoji and stories outside Snapchat, a Snap spokesperson said in a release. Like Snap’s recent expansion of friendmoji, it’s yet another move by the …
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Sales are off to a brisk start for OnePlus‘ latest flagship phone. The Shenzhen-based phone manufacturer announced today it has sold more than one million units worldwide of its OnePlus 6 within 22 days making it the company’s fastest-selling device to date. By comparison, it took the OnePlus 6’s predecessors, the 5 and 5T, 3 months each to hit that …
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Look at this picture. Now imagine you’re holding a laptop that — instead of a keyboard — has a second screen. Like something out of Westworld. Swiping might be a tad easier than typing, yes? Microsoft-owned SwiftKey was one of the first virtual keyboards to offer intelligent, predictive swipe-typing on Android and iOS phones, and now Microsoft has announced that …
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The latest buzz on Samsung’s rumored foldable phone? It may cost you the thick end of $2,000, if the latest analyst speculations are to be believed. According to the Korea Times, analyst Park Hyung-woo from Shinhan Financial predicts initial parts suppliers will start production in November in time for a 2019 launch. And Kim Jang-yeol from Golden Bridge Investment speculates that the …
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Samsung’s making another big bet on artificial intelligence. The company on Wednesday said its Silicon Valley-based Samsung NEXT business has launched a new fund to invest in early-stage startups “solving AI problems, as well as those using AI to solve computer science problems.” The Q Fund doesn’t have a cap, but it falls under Samsung NEXT’s overall $150 million investment …
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