Today's Top News: Avis Manages Waymo's Driverless Fleet, Apple Goes with Hertz, Volvo to Offer Level 4 by 2021
There was big news today from Google, Apple, Volvo, and Nvidia regarding their self-driving efforts.
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News: Forget CNN or FOX, WhatsApp Is Now a Popular News Source
According to a new study from the Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford, people are getting their news from ... unexpected sources. Put away your CNN app and stop checking the New York Times because a familiar app is now keeping you up to date on current events: WhatsApp.
News: Are You on Virgin Mobile? Your Next Phone Will Have to Be an iPhone
Virgin Wireless, perhaps best known for Sir Richard Branson and all of his antics, is an affordable cellular option here in the US. Virgin customers can enjoy — if that's the right word for it — Sprint's cellular service, at a discounted rate, however, there are usually some compromises for that. Now, there will be yet another compromise for Virgin customers who don't like iPhones — Virgin will now only carry Apple's phone on their network.
No Excuses Now: Uber Introduces a Tipping Feature in Their App
Uber drivers do a lot for us. They sit through traffic, make conversation, put on our favorite tunes, drive us however far we need to go, and they work long hours. Some even have to deal with people who may have had too much to drink, which we all know can be obnoxious. So yeah, we'd say that it's about time for Uber to include a tipping feature in their app.
Brief Reality: Meta, Penrose Named Technology Pioneers for Work with Augmented Reality
While two augmented reality companies were recently recognized for their innovative technologies, other companies have turned to augmented reality to innovate in their respective fields. Over the past week, use cases have ranged from selling snacks and video games to raising awareness for public health issues.
News: New Apple Update Brings Collaboration Features to Pages, Keynote & Numbers Apps
With the hype surrounding the iPhone 8, Apple's announcement that it's developing driverless software, and the new iOS 11 beta out, it seems like the tech giant is constantly in the news. Today, Apple's continuing this streak with updates for its iWork app suite on iOS and macOS.
News: Lenovo Releases Image Hinting at Moto Z2 Announcement This Month
Right off of the unveiling of the Moto Z2 Play, it looks like Lenovo is gearing up to announce the highly anticipated Moto Z2.
News: In a Rare Moment, Pixel's Sales Figures Are Revealed
Savor this moment: we've got a confirmed number of sales for the Google smartphone. We say this because unlike most hardware manufacturers, Google refuses to share official sales numbers for their phone. Instead, during earning reports they simply bundle the product under Alphabet's "Other Revenues", leaving us in the dark about how successful the product is.
News: Google Launches 'Android Excellence' to Compete with Apple's App Store Revamp
Meet Android Excellence, Google's latest platform with the ability to showcase the highest quality apps and games on a quarterly basis. Sound familiar? It should.
News: Snap Could Be Including Augmented Reality Features in New Spectacles
According to a source at TechCrunch, a new version of Snap's 'Spectacles' could include augmented reality.
The Clone Wars: The Russians Flirt with Instagram & Fake Follower Vending Machines
From Instagram bot farms in China all the way to vending machines in Moscow that promise to sell you fake followers — the Facebook-owned empire is attracting the attention of the world around. When it comes to Russia especially, the country seems to be developing a little crush on the glorious IG queen.
News: One Step Closer to the Mainstream: Delphi and Transdev to Develop Driverless Cars
Delphi Automotive PLC has announced it is partnering with Transdev Group to develop on-demand driverless transportation systems, a deal that shows promise for autonomous development on a global scale.
News: All That Glitters Is Gold … & Blue and Gray According to Leak Revealing Moto E4 & E4 Plus
A new leak by frequent tipster Roland Quandt appears to reveal the renders of Motorola's next budget smartphones, the Moto E4 and E4 Plus.
News: You Can Finally Hail and Share NYC's Iconic Yellow Taxis with Apps
New York City may not be the friendliest city, but with the apps Via and Curb now letting users ride-share in the city's yellow taxis, New Yorkers can expect to snuggle up close in the back of a cab next to complete strangers. That's right, get ready to feel the love.
News: Epson Adds Two New Moverio Augmented Reality Headsets
At the 2017 Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara today, smartglasses maker Epson introduced two new augmented reality headsets from its Moverio line of products.
News: Paula the AR Salesperson Is Ready to Take Your Order
German tech store Saturn is experimenting with an AR alien called Paula to push their products ... That's a sentence I never thought I'd write.
News: Snapdragon 660 Benchmarked Not Far Below the Galaxy S8+
Someone out there is testing an unknown mid-range phone codenamed "Heart," and it has a 16% lead in speed on the Oppo F3 Plus and is just 15% shy of the Samsung Galaxy S8+, according to GSM Arena.
News: Samsung Creates World's Most Breakable Phone Then Wraps It with Protection
After SquareTrade tested out the Samsung Galaxy S8 and found it to be the first phone to shatter on all sides after only one drop, it's nice to know we may have a solution for this $500 problem.
News: Watch the Red Bull Air Race in a Whole New Way with Flight Deck on HoloLens
At Vision Summit 2017, UK-based Rewind, one of the recent additions to the Microsoft HoloLens Agency Readiness Partner Program, showed off a HoloLens application called "Flight Deck" that genuinely blew me away. The idea of watching a live-action sports experience on a coffee table has been explored and mocked up, but Rewind not only has done it, they will be releasing it later this year.
News: Fly Lufthansa? Snapchat Will Introduce You to Your Flight Crew
What companies do you think have a unique and compelling take on social media? Wendy's is certainly confident, to say the least. But Lufthansa Airlines is taking a different approach than most — and it seems to be working — as they give passengers a look behind the scenes through Snapchat Stories.
News: Uber Goes North to Expand Driverless Program
Oh, Uber. It's not often to hear your name in the news and have it mean something good. You're being sued, you're crashing, your driverless program is falling behind. But I have to hand it to you; when the world is crumbling around you, you continue to fight against it. You've even made it to Canada.
How To: Speed Up Browsing in Google Chrome with Kernel Adiutor
The Google Chrome browser does mostly everything well and integrates nicely with other Google services, but it's not exactly renowned for speed. With a rooted device and the aid of an app called Kernel Adiutor, however, you can make Chrome as nimble as some of the fastest browsers on the market.
News: Here's How Apple Is Training Their Self-Driving Car Engineers
Apple staff will be put through their paces now that the company's "Automated System" for driverless cars is in motion.
News: Facebook Introduces AR Platform at F8
During his opening address on April 18 at F8, Facebook's developer conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched the company's augmented reality platform centered on artificial intelligence-powered cameras.
News: AR Makes Its Broadway Debut on Makeup App
The Broadway musical War Paint is teaming with augmented reality cosmetics app YouCam Makeup to promote the show on iOS and Android devices. The musical, which centers on the famous rivalry between Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, two cosmetics industry pioneers, has been the talk of Broadway since its premiere in March 2017.
News: Andre Iguodala Leaks Magic Leap Details—A Possible 'Siri' Bouncing in Your Hand
NBA star Andre Iguodala, of the Golden State Warriors, got to try out a Magic Leap demo in Florida and started dishing out some pretty revealing details about the upcoming mixed reality headset to CNET's Brian Tong.
News: A 22-Year-Old May Be About to Disrupt the Entire LiDAR Industry
Uber has been in the hot seat for awhile now, for many reasons, especially for being sued by Waymo over stolen LiDAR designs. But now, perhaps the attention will be taken off both Uber and Waymo as a new contender enters the LiDAR arena; A small, independent company called Luminar has finally let the world in on what it has been cooking up.
News: Qualcomm's Patent Strategy Results in an $814.9 Million Payout to BlackBerry
Although John Chen of BlackBerry still sees Qualcomm as a partner, the chip maker and telecommunications company has just been given a preliminary order to pay BlackBerry $814,868,350 in royalty overpayments.
News: iPhone 8 May Release on Time After All, Just Without a Key Feature
As with any new smartphone (but especially with Apple), the iPhone 8 is generating rumor after rumor. This newest rumor, however, rocks the boat a bit, as BGR reports that the iPhone 8 may release at Apple's standard time in the fall, but the 3D camera will be pushed to the 8s.
News: Yo! Flash Back to the '90s with Pasted's New Collage App
Here's another workday distraction for all you social media lovers out there: Pasted, launching out of beta today on iOS, is a simple collage and photo editing app mixing iconic '90s imagery with a love of the The Shins.
News: Samsung Anticipates Strongest Profits in Years Despite Note7 Debacle
It looks like Samsung is stronger than ever, as evidenced by their quarterly forecast, which suggests a global profit of $8.8 billion, the company's highest mark in three years. Impressive, considering the spectacular failure of the Note7, Samsung's last flagship prior to the new Galaxy S8.
News: Snapchat Has Made This App Explode
Bitmoji has experienced explosive success this year thanks to Snapchat. The app allows users to create their own personal emoji and send responses to other friends, and even though it's only two and a half years old, this customizable emoji app is growing at an impressive pace.
News: HTC Rumored to Reveal Snapdragon 835 Flagship with Touch-Sensitive Frame
HTC is working on another flagship device that's expected to be released in mid-April. After the disastrous reception of the recently released HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, this new model could be the true HTC 10 successor we've all been waiting for.
News: The Fake Review Saga Continues—Gmail & Messenger Latest in Google Play's 5-Star Spam
Earlier last week, there were a number of fake five-star WhatsApp reviews to be found on the Google Play Store. Now, Gmail, Chrome, Messenger, and Firefox are all the latest victims to be saturated in five-star spam that wrongly refers to the word "game" in reference to non-game apps.
News: WhatsApp Receives Thousands of Fake 5-Star Reviews After Months of Ranking Below Average
During the last few months, WhatsApp's Google Play Store ratings have been tanking—all the way down to an average of 3.4 stars from the instant messenger's usual average of 4.1. Within the last week, though, WhatsApp has received thousands of seemingly fake 5-star reviews that have bumped up the company's overall average to a 4.4.
News: Please, Montana, Don't Legalize Raw Milk
Some Montana inhabitants have been making impassioned pleas to legalize raw milk this week. The debate took place during a hearing on House Bill 325, which was held by the Senate Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation Committee on Tuesday, March 21.
News: 'Hackers-for-Hire' Attempted to Steal Baidu's Self-Driving Car Secrets
Baidu Inc, the "Chinese Google" search engine and technology company, which has been actively pursuing self-driving cars, reported that a gang of hackers recently attempted to steal its driverless car technology.
News: Apple Granted Patent to Make Augmented Reality Maps—Hinting at a Cool, Futuristic Version of Our Well-Worn Maps App
Apple recently scored a patent (number 9,488,488) to create augmented reality maps, hinting at possible AR integration into the iOS Maps application for iPhone. Does this mean we'll be seeing super visionary projections of places in the app in the near future? Maybe.
News: Intel Steps Up to Driverless with $15 Billion Acquisition of Mobileye
In a race to make self-driven cars mainstream, Intel announced today that they've bought Israeli microchip technology company Mobileye for $15.3 billion, setting the stage for Intel to dominate a large portion of the driverless market.
News: Bosch Wants to Speed Up AR Adoption in the Auto Industry
While there are many uses for augmented reality in the automotive industry, adoption has been slow. With the plethora of makes and models on the road today and rolling off assembly lines tomorrow, developing and deploying knowledge bases that utilize augmented reality to dealerships and garages can be costly and difficult to scale.