Microsoft Surface Book 2 review: The 2-in-1 powerhouse gets 15-inch upgrade February 8, 2018 The Microsoft Surface Book 2 looks a lot like the original Surface Book, which is great news for those who fear change. It’s still got that vast 3:2 ratio screen, above a great slab of a base that looks like it could have been hewn from a single cuboid of brushed metal Microsoft discovered [...]
UK fintech VC investment hit a record in 2017 as China falls behind February 7, 2018 Investment into UK fintech by venture capitalists hit a record high in 2017 bucking a global downturn and grew at a faster pace than rivals, new figures reveal, shaking of concerns of a Brexit slowdown. The year saw $1.8bn (£1.3bn) of cash flow into startups working on innovative financial technology, a rise of more than [...]
Amazon overtakes Google as world’s most valuable brand February 1, 2018 Amazon has overtaken Google as the world's most valuable brand in the latest tussle of the tech giants. The retail and technology behemoth which just yesterday announced a move into healthcare, is valued at $150bn (£106bn), new research reveals, a rise of more than 40 per cent which helped it leapfrog Google. Apple maintained its [...]
The UK is leading the way in crowdfunding and P2P lending as the rest of Europe plays catch-up, says University of Cambridge data January 22, 2018 The UK has helped to prompt a boom in European crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, according to new research from the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School. While the UK remained the largest alternative finance market in Europe by far, at €5.6bn (£4.9bn), the rest of Europe began to play catch-up as it grew its [...]
London foodie startup Grub Club acquired by VizEat and rebranded EatWith in social dining startup deal January 22, 2018 An app for finding pop-ups and super clubs to eat at across London has been acquired by a larger rival. The UK's Grub Club, founded by food friends Olivia Sibony and Siddarth Vijayakumar in 2013, has been snapped up by VizEat for an undisclosed sum. VizEat operates in 130 countries and is backed by several [...]
Open Banking explained: Everything you need to know about the initiative but were afraid to ask January 12, 2018 You'll be hearing a lot of talk about Open Banking, which is set for take off this Saturday. Here's everything you need to know about it but were afraid to ask. What exactly is Open Banking? The markets watchdog told nine of the biggest banks that they must open up the information they hold so [...]
Beats Studio3 Wireless review: The W1 powered Apple headphones mark a coming of age for Beats December 20, 2017 Since being taken under the protective wing of Apple’s hardware team, hippity-hoppity cool-person company Beats has become the official high-end headphone of iOS. And with that came a number of critical changes. The Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones use the same W1 chip found in the AirPods, meaning they seamlessly pair with iOS devices without [...]
Open Banking: Here’s what fintech startups think of delays after HSBC, Barclays and more given deadline extension from CMA December 20, 2017 Entrepreneurs at fintech startups have been left little surprised after more than half of the UK’s banks revealed they would miss a deadline for Open Banking – but how they implement it is of more concern. Nine banks have been forced to make their data open to third parties – many of them fintech startups [...]
Nest Thermostat 3rd Generation review: An improvement on a winning formula December 20, 2017 Every tech company wants to be “the Apple of X”. Nest – which was bought by Google in 2014 for $3.2bn – is the Apple of “really boring stuff ”. Smoke alarms. Doorbells. Thermostats. But in the same way Apple convinced millions of people that they really, really wanted to put their entire music [...]
Blue Satellite headphones review: Great sound, but these cans will leave you feeling Blue December 20, 2017 Beginning life as a manufacturer of high-end equipment for audio professionals, Blue has been tentatively easing its way towards the lucrative consumer market for some time. Its new Satellite headphones are its most high street-friendly pair yet, but it still has some way to go to bridge the gap between studio and sidewalk. Compared [...]