Why taking a selfie is going to start costing you money as MasterCard brings “selfie pay”, its facial recognition payment software, to the UK February 22, 2016 Now there's a less vain reason to take a selfie: MasterCard is bringing facial recognition payment services, dubbed "selfie pay", to the UK. The company has already trialled the technology in pilot schemes in the US and Netherlands, ahead of a launch in 14 other countries this summer. (Rumours Kim Kardashian was the first person [...]
Apple iPhone sales fell for the first time in history, Gartner figures reveal February 18, 2016 Sales of Apple's iconic iPhones have fallen for the first time in history, analysts say. Global sales of the device declined 4.4 per cent at the end of last year, with 71.5m handsets sold in the last quarter of 2015. Apple sparked fears that the world has reached "peak Apple" in January when it revealed sales had fallen to [...]
Mobile World Congress 2016: What to expect – biometrics, virtual and augmented reality and Chinese smartphone brands February 16, 2016 Mobile World Congress 2016 always brings with it a flurry of new mobile gadget announcements – here are some of the trends to expect. The smartphone is quickly becoming an integral part of a bigger continuum of devices and smart objects as users increasingly live their lives in a "device mesh." This is an environment, [...]
Underwater cities and 3D printed homes – Here’s how houses of the future will look in 100 years’ time February 15, 2016 Prepare yourself for underwater cities, super-tall skyscrapers – and homes simply printed out on-demand thanks to 3D printing technology: these are just some of the ways we will live in a century's time. There'll also be colonies on the moon and eventually Mars and beyond, while personal drones will let us transport our home to any holiday spot. The [...]
Storm Imogen is playing havoc with drivers – but companies like Samsung, Google and Bosch are showing how technology can make roads safer February 8, 2016 Storm Imogen has landed and, as with the other storms this winter, is already causing problems for many road users, with strong winds hitting London and the rest of the UK. When the weather’s harsh, conditions for pedestrians and cyclists get worse and there’s no let-up in particular for those whose job depends on being on the [...]
Warren Buffett values companies with strong brands: Should you? February 5, 2016 Coca-Cola, American Express, Heinz, Warren Buffett is a well-known advocate of buying and holding familiar companies with strong brands. “The dynamics of capitalism guarantee that competitors will repeatedly assault any business ‘castle’ that is earning high returns,” he wrote in 2007. “Therefore a formidable barrier such as a company being the low-cost producer or possessing [...]
Nokia’s fall after the patent license arbitration with Samsung shows investors overreact wildly to intellectual property news February 4, 2016 When Nokia released information about the outcome of its patent licensing arbitration with Samsung, its share price fell by over 10 per cent within hours. This is not the first time that stock prices have reacted in an unpredictable fashion to intellectual property (IP) news. The poster child for this mispricing was when GoPro stock [...]
Made In Taiwan: As China’s growth slows, promising stocks lie across the Formosa Strait February 2, 2016 As China's earthquake rumbles on, the regional trading partners which have depended on its double digit growth for three decades are feeling the shocks. The Malaysian and Indonesian economies have suffered, but the manufacturing sectors in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are also inextricably tied to that of Asia’s largest economy. Exports account for 70 per [...]
Sony is in line for its biggest profit in eight years thanks to revenues from PlayStation Four and Spectre January 29, 2016 Strong PlayStation 4 (PS4) sales helped Sony to beat expectations in its third quarter results, for the three months ending December. The figures Sales in the three months to the end of December were ¥2.58 trillion (£14.9bn), up 0.5 per cent, and ahead of analysts' expectations of ¥2.53 trillion. Operating profits also beat expectations of ¥173.6bn, coming [...]
This is how much money Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter make every second January 28, 2016 Earnings season is upon us, and it's been a mixed bag: Facebook announced its revenues increased 51.7 per cent in the three months to the end of December, while Apple said its sales growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. It can be hard to keep track of it all, cutting through the hype [...]