Business Articles

Nikon today confirmed that it will buy cinema camera maker RED. The new subsidiary could give Nikon access to a whole host of new camera tech and video capabilities, including global shutter tech and RED's compression codecs and video expertise.

Microsoft has outlined the date of its next launch event, where it will principally focus on Copilot and Windows. However, the company will also use the March 21 event to showcase new Surface devices, which are not anticipated to be the rumoured Surface Laptop 6 or OLED display-bearing Surface Pro 10.

At the end of December 2023, Steam tested some new features designed to make buying games on the platform even more convenient. The new features have left the beta phase and are now available to all players.

To ensure a successful energy transition, more and more large-scale solar farms are being installed around the world at a rapid pace. However, solar power generation is a huge space-intensive process. For example, an area the size of 550 football pitches is needed for a current 200 megawatt project. Landscape architects and designers are getting creative and using brownfield sites, such as car parks and landfill sites, to create photovoltaic installations without taking up valuable space.

The Twitch mobile app is all set to get a major overhaul later this year. The update will introduce new user experience along with a bunch of new features.

Despite ramping up production to over 15,000 cameras per month, Fujifilm has confirmed that it will be months before it completely catches up on the overwhelming pre-orders for the X100VI.

In the dynamic landscape of modern technology, the power of going mini has emerged as a transformative force, unleashing Azulle, a brand of mini PCs as the power behind everyday technology like digital signage screens, IoT in smart cities, self-service kiosks, and more.

The European Commission has imposed a fine on Apple totalling €1.8 billion for alleged 'abusive App store practices'. Not only does Apple plan to appeal, but it has aimed its sights at Spotify in a blistering response.

Of all companies currently in the smartphone chipset game (which include Apple, Google and Unisoc), MediaTek was found to have shipped the most units in the last quarter of 2023 (4Q2023) and to have had one of the best rates of year-on-year (YoY) growth, with rivals such as Qualcomm and Samsung flat or flagging by comparison. Then again, the Taiwanese OEM was not the one that made the most money in that time.

Five LG RG Series ProBeam projectors have been officially announced. The models are suited to conference rooms and commercial spaces, with the range-topping BU60RG featuring a 4K resolution and up to 6,000 ANSI lumens brightness. Other features include multiple aspect ratios, advanced image-perfecting tools and Crestron RoomView compatibility.

Despite a moderate reliability rating, Tesla slid down the Consumer Reports overall car brands rankings slightly, while Rivian came in fifth from the bottom, thanks to an abysmal reliability rating. Legacy car brands, like Kia, Hyundai, and BMW seem to fare better in terms of EV reliability and overall impression.

Microsoft has already announced in 2022 that a new Age of Empires spin-off for smartphones will be released. Now the release is just a few months away. However, there are indications that significant progress in the game will only be possible against payment.

While tweeting from space for the first time, the download speed of the Starlink satellite direct-to-cell service has been tested. Elon Musk bragged that SpaceX managed to more than quadruple the promised data speed range.

Apple has just uncharacteristically given up on its foray into automobiles, as reported earlier. Its inaugural Car had once been touted as capable of shooting straight to the forefront of the most advanced class of vehicles possible. Now, however, more potential insight into the reasons why the Cupertino giant failed where other OEMs such as Xiaomi prevailed has emerged.

Leica Camera USA has announced that it will cut the ribbon on its latest flagship brick-and-mortar Store later in March 2024. The space, located in a famously trendy area of New York City, will also integrate the brand's latest dedicated Gallery on one of its floors as well as function as the destination for a boutique DSLR, lens or equipment buying experience.

Volchar's latest contribution to the electric vehicle (EV) charging market comes in the form of its up-to-9.6 kilowatt (kW), 240V outlet for the home. It is UV-resistant and NEMA 4-rated "for maximum protection from harsh weather". The charger has universal EV compatibility in the US - except for Teslas, of course.

Mate Rimac, the brains behind the Rimac Nevera, has responded to Elon Musk's Roadster acceleration claims with some of his experience from running Tesla's fastest EV competitor, Rimac, as well as the legendary Bugatti. Elon Musk recently claimed the next-generation Tesla Roadster would arrive with 0–60 mph acceleration of under one second.

Embracer Group's alleged sale of Gearbox Software looks to be coming to a close by next month as news breaks that Knights of the Old Republic's Saber Interactive looks to go private. The news comes amid a new wave of lay-offs and studio closures from the likes of Sony Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and Riot Games.

Klarna's AI chatbot takes over more than 700 jobs from full-time employees. The company is hoping a ChatGPT-inspired bot will generate $40 million in profits this year - in return, the buy-now-pay-later pioneer is foregoing new hires. Having spoken to OpenAI's Sam Altman, the company has even decided to double its AI-powered operations.

A Qualcomm executive confirmed the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be unveiled in October. It will feature the company's in-house Oryon CPU cores and a new NPU.

Yuzu, an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator, has been sued by Nintendo. The company claims it encourages piracy by allowing users to "circumvent the technological measures on the Nintendo Switch console" and cites the recent The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as an example.

Customers who pre-ordered the Fujifilm X100VI are already boasting about having received their compact APS-C cameras, despite initial availability originally slated for March.

The new Fiat Panda concept reimagines the brand's classic family hatchback as a modular EV that will serve as the backbone for Fiat's future endeavours. The first production model is expected to be announced by July 2024, and three new models will follow in 2025 and 2026.

Durabook has announced that its latest rugged, industrial-grade tablets are ATEX-certified to withstand use in the presence of risks such as live electrical wires, fire and even lightning. The Alder Lake slates also feature the same wide range of connectivity options as many new laptops, optional mobile data up to 5G included, with up to 10 hours of (replaceable) battery life in the U11I-EX.

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it has laid off 900 people from its global workforce, or 8% of all employees worldwide. This includes the entirety of its London studio, which was largely focused on virtual reality titles.

Two days after it debuted globally, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra looks to already be massively outselling its predecessor, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. It's a similar case with the vanilla Xiaomi 14, which has been confirmed to be selling six times what the Xiaomi 13 managed at the same point.

AGM Mobile has arrived at the MWC Barcelona 2024 event with a new tablet. The Pad P2 has the same SoC as its predecessor - however, it upgrades to a high-res rear camera and runs the latest version of Android out of the box. It is accompanied by the H6 Lite, a new budget version of one of AGM's rugged smartphones.

HMD has unveiled the plans for its "evolution" into a "multi-brand" tech OEM at MWC. They involve a summer of 2024 full of new releases, that for the next Nokia smartphone and "iconic device" included. The company also has something "for Barbie fans of all ages" in the works.

Major players in the IT industry, including Jeff Bezos and Nvidia Corp., have reportedly invested in Figure AI Inc., a startup creating human-like robots. The company is seeking to raise approximately $675 million in a funding round. The move comes as part of a rush to discover new uses for artificial intelligence.

German camera manufacturer Leica achieved record sales for the third year in a row for the 2022/2023 financial year. Owing to the Leica M11 in particular, the company was able to turn over almost half a billion euros. While the partnership with Xiaomi barely gets any mention, Leica hints at a next-generation Leitz Phone.

An atonishing success: Apple's iPhone now ranks in the top seven places of the world's top 10 best-selling smartphones. Apple's fiercest competitor, Samsung, only made it into the top 10 with three Galaxy A series smartphones, while Xiaomi, Transsion and other smartphone brands are not included.

The heavyweight chipmaker Nvidia saw a spectacular boost in its stock market valuation on Thursday, setting a record for a single day's surge. Expectations were exceeded by the company's quarterly report, which sparked a rally fueled by hope for artificial intelligence.

The Fujifilm X100VI seems to be a smash hit, as pre-orders for the new rangefinder-style mirrorless camera are setting new records for Fujifilm. The sky-high popularity of the X100VI means we could see a repeat of the shortages and scalping that plagued the X100V, with some listings already appearing on sites like eBay for as much as $4,800.

The U.S. Govt has reportedly stopped local firms from supplying to Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC). Reuters claim that the new rules have come into effect following the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro last year.

Video game developers had a lucrative year creating and distributing games on Roblox, raking in a record $740.8 million payout from the online video game platform.

Although brands like Sony and LG are not easy prey, Samsung made it look so by achieving a 30.1% share in the global TV market last year. Since 2006, Samsung managed to sell enough TV sets to get the golden crown every time. In 2023, the brand's QLED lineup achieved an impressive 8.31 million units sold.

Nio's ET9 will feature the brand's SkyRide chassis system, the capabilities of which it demonstrated in a recent video wherein the car shook off a layer of snow like a puppy playing in a water fountain.

Qualcomm has announced that it will bring its first ever "Automotive Grade" Wi-Fi 7 access point to MWC 2024. The new addition to the Snapdragon Auto Connectivity platform is thus touted to bring cutting-edge bandwidth, interference-free reception and potentially super-fast data transfer rates to the next generation of vehicles.

Nokia has announced that its extended detection response (XDR) software for telecomms service provider and/or enterprise customers is to be augmented by generative AI. It will come in the form of an "assistant" based on Microsoft Azure LLMs trained on Nokia's 5G security and technology expertise, backed to make the OEM's current threat detection and resolution twice as fast as it is now.

Once among the best-known mobile device names in its native China, Meizu has now decided that it is time to "go All in" on AI, thereby finally leaving "traditional" smartphones behind. The OEM has unveiled plans for projects such as replacing the anticipated 21 Infinity flagship with its first "AI device" by the end of 2024 and taking brands such as PANDAER along for this new ride.

Showering and flushing are not wastes but valuable resources. The company Epic Cleantec shows how wastewater can be used in a climate-friendly way to heat buildings, to brew beer and to produce a compost-like soil conditioner.

Samsung has announced that Arm's future Cortex-X CPU cores will use Samsung Foundry's 2 nm GAAFET node. The company claims it will "revolutionize" the future of generative AI on mobile devices.

Sharge's fastest and "coolest" power bank started out as a crowdfunding reward; however, it is now "finally" available to buy as a retail product. The Shargeek 170 is still rated to deliver an estimated 24,000mAh of power at up to 140W via USB-C, just at a new recommended price. It comes back down under $150 for limited time with an introductory discount, however.

As per Walmart’s latest announcement, the company is looking forward to acquiring Vizio for $2.3 billion.

With no less than six wins, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 by Insomniac Games was closely followed by Baldur's Gate 3, which managed five wins during the 27th edition of the D.I.C.E. Awards. This video game industry awards show debuted in 1998 as the "Interactive Achievement Awards" and changed its name in 2013.

For the second time, Open AI has been reminded of its poor choice of name for its chatbot. Despite the argument that the general meaning of ‘GPT’ was too esoteric for the general public, the US PTO was quick to deny Open AI's trademark application.