Alibaba moves into smartphone market with £400m investment February 9, 2015 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has bought a $590m (£388m) minority stake in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu. The move signals Alibaba’s first major foray into smartphone hardware as it looks to build a platform for its YunOS mobile operating system. In a joint statement, the two companies said they will collaborate “to achieve [...]
Be careful what you say, your TV may be listening February 8, 2015 The Capitalist is often on the look out for the latest tech, and the new smart TV from Samsung is certainly attention grabbing. It comes with on-demand TV, mobile applications and a screen resolution four times higher than average HD. The problem is that you may just have caught its attention too. The device’s voice [...]
Samsung admits its Smart TV will capture your personal conversations and send it to third parties February 8, 2015 Samsung’s Smart TV is a pretty swish product. It comes with on-demand TV, mobile applications and a screen resolution four times higher than average HD. The one setback? You just need to make sure you don’t hold any private conversations in front of the internet-connected TV, as its voice recognition technology will record your [...]
Total Amateur: Boost your mobile photography and video skills with these super-snappy camera gadgets February 4, 2015 iBlazr £29.99 Ever wanted to take a selfie in the dark? With most smartphones it’s impossible, as the flash only works for the camera facing away from the screen. The multifunctional Iblazr flash can help. Four LEDs plug into the headphones jack and can be synced with iOS or Android smartphones and tablets using the [...]
Apple overtakes Android in US smartphone sector for first time in three years February 4, 2015 Apple is on a roll. After posting record profits that put it in the history books and following that up with an all-time high share price, you might be thinking so what. But much of Apple's success in the three months to December 27 came from China, where revenues grew 70 per cent, [...]
Film review: Kingsman recalls the days when spy movies were fun January 30, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★★ Kingsman is the best Bond film Roger Moore never made. Gentlemen spies in immaculately tailored suits battling flamboyant villains bent on global destruction; the plot is pure Moonraker, albeit with an origin story, class warfare, better jokes and flashier production values. The team behind Kick Ass have created a pop-culturally literate, [...]
Decamp to a serviced residence: Cheval apartments are a homely alternative to long hotel stays January 29, 2015 There’s an undeniable glamour to hotels, but staying in them for prolonged periods can leave you craving home comforts; a kitchen, a living room – something more permanent than a box with a bed. That’s where the idea of serviced apartments comes in. Whether its business or pleasure, those facing long spells away can look [...]
Fitbug share price jumps 67 per cent on Jawbone deal January 29, 2015 Fitbug's share price jumped higher today, after the company's digital weight-loss programme was chosen for a new marketplace by another wearable device maker Jawbone. Shares in the Aim-listed company, which makes wearable fitness trackers, jumped as much as 68 per cent to nine pence in late afternoon trade. Jawbone marketplace will offer Fitbug's Slim + Trim [...]
2015 ticks off to a good start January 28, 2015 Richemont’s finest came to SIHH with some horological humdingers Wandering the lofty, beige halls of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) inside Geneva Airport’s cavernous Palexpo complex – “probably the most luxurious trade fair in the world” – the seeming neutrality of its colour-scheme belies the horological hierarchy at play here. Unlike the [...]
Fifa could lose up to £50m as three sponsors sever ties January 23, 2015 Three sponsors of Fifa during the 2014 World Cup have decided against renewing their contracts with football’s under-fire governing body. Castrol, Continental Tyres and Johnson & Johnson have followed the lead of Sony and Emirates in cutting ties with the organisation by not renewing their deals. As “second tier” World Cup sponsors, each [...]