Google announces strategic partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, invests $550 million

Google today has announced a new strategic partnership with JD.com; Chinese leading e-commerce companies. As part of this partnership, Google will be investing $550 million in JD.com with an aim to accelerate how retail ecosystems deliver consumer experiences that are helpful, personalized and offer high-quality service in a range of countries around the world, including in Southeast Asia. Google will be exploring a new way for consumers to make shopping effortless for their consumers, giving them the power to shop wherever and however they want. The company also announced that as a part of this partnership, JD.com would also join Google Shopping and bring a selection of their high-quality products to consumers in multiple regions around the world. Google and JD.com will engage in joint development of retail solutions in a range of regions around the world. Under the agreements, Google will receive 27,106,948 newly issued JD.com Class A ordinary shares at an issue price of $20.29 per share, equivalent to $40.58 per ADS, based on the volume-weighted average trading price over the prior ten trading days. JD.com’s Chief Strategy Officer Jianwen Liao said: This partnership with Google opens up a broad range of possibilities to offer a superior retail experience to consumers throughout the world. This marks an important step in the process of modernizing global retail. As we ...

LG’s first Android One phone with 5.5-inch FHD+ display, Android 8.1, Hi-Fi Quad DAC surfaces

Google's Android One program piloted back in 2014 but hasn't seen the hype which the company hoped for. Now it seems like LG is prepping its own first Android One smartphone that might be exclusive to T-Mobile in the U.S. The device is code-named “cv5a” with the carrier “tmo,” country code “us.” Evidence also showcases "sprout” codename which is usually used to signify an Android One device. However, the "sprout" codename isn't present on the other regional models such as the one for NTT DoCoMo in Japan (dcm_jp), South Korea (lgu_kr, skt_kr, lgu_ldu), or the international variant (lao_com). As for the rumored specifications, LG's first Android One phone will be modern; it is expected to sport a 5.5-inch FHD+ (1080×2160) display with 18:9 aspect ratio and will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 32-bit Octa-Core SoC. It will most likely have 2-3GB RAM with 32/64GB storage options. Details regarding the camera optics remain a mystery for now. It will have a HiFi ES9218P audio DAC that is used in the LG V30. It packs 3000mAh battery and a USB Type-C port. All these specifications are similar to the LG Q7+ smartphone that was unveiled last month and went on sale in Korea last week. We should know more details soon. Source

Apple appoints Alphabet’s Jaime Waydo for Self-Driving Car Project

Apple has made a high-profile hiring for its Self-Driving Car Project; the company has hired Alphabet’s Jaime who previously worked as a senior engineer at Google's Waymo. A spokesperson at Apple has confirmed the same but declined to provide more details about how the company is aiming at using the new appoint.  Waydo served as head of systems engineering at Google's Waymo and former colleagues describe him as very "instrumental." She was in charge of verifying the safety of Waymo's prototypes and provided input on when it was safe enough to launch on-the-road tests in Phoenix in 2016. Going back in time, Waydo was a senior engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for more than a decade before joining Waymo. At NASA she helped develop a rover vehicle that has driven on Mars. Cut to the chase, Apple's hiring of Waydo indicates that it might be progressing towards launching a prototype vehicle, but the report also says that the car project continues to suffer from a "lack of communication among teams." Apple initially had many ambitious self-driving vehicles plans which also included a fully autonomous vehicle, but somehow those plans were scaled back and Apple shifted focus to autonomous driving software. Apple has been testing the Lexus vehicles equipped with ...

Gmail V8.6 for Android hints at priority-based notifications, email bundling; adds unsubscribe tips

Google is rolling out a new update to Gmail which brings the version number to V8.6. This update finally adds the unsubscribe suggestions and this will make it easier to keep your mail a bit cleaner. It also hints at high-priority notification filter and a limited test of email bundling.  With the new unsubscribe tips which is a feature of Inbox, If you receive an email from sites or services that are not important or you never read, Gmail can now offer helpful suggestions to unsubscribe from those mailing lists with the tap of a button. This setting can be found on the bottom of your account settings screen under the heading 'Inbox Tips settings.' Moving to the things that are present underneath, Google is preparing priority-based notifications, and limited email bundling functionalities. With priority-based notifications, Google is building on a way to notify you only when you receive important emails; meaning users will get the option to limit notifications to just high-priority messages. Gmail for iOS has just received this feature a couple of days ago, so it's safe to say that it will also arrive on Android in the same form. Email bundling is a feature of Inbox and it looks like this feature might be coming ...

Instagram usage insights tool with reminders, priority notifications surface

Instagram CEO Kevin recently confirmed that the company is working on a usage insights tool within the Instagram app. While the company is still perfecting the feature for the official roll out, the screenshots of the tool in action have now surfaced, thanks to Jane Manchun Wong's APK digging skills.  This unreleased feature will of Instagram will offer a daily tally of the time spent on the app. It also offers the ability to set a time spent daily limit and will throw a reminder once they exceed it. The feature will also let you manage Instagram’s notifications, so the app is less interruptive. The company is also testing a new hamburger button that opens a slide-out navigation menu on the profile; this might be where the usage insights show up. To be clear, Instagram won't lock down the app, since it might have an impact on business and advertisers, it will instead, offer a handy way to monitor your usage and make users more productive. Instagram has already started phasing out “You’re all caught up” notice when you’ve seen everything in your feed and should stop scrolling. This is an indirect use of usage insights behavior. If Instagram manages to push out the update ...

Sony MHC-V81D Bluetooth Speaker Review

Turntables to boomboxes, home theatres to bookshelves and now party speakers, Sony has an audio product for everyone. Never to miss out on a trend, the Sony MHC-V81D is the company's effort to enter the party speaker category. So what exactly is a party speaker? Something that goes loud, provides oodles of bass and if Sony is to be believed, enough blingy lights to trigger an epileptic seizure. Jokes aside, this thing could absolutely replace your neighborhood DJ for that crazy birthday party you were  planning out. Sounds interesting? Check out our Sony MHC-V81D Bluetooth Speaker review below. There's no pretense of holding back here. The Sony MHC-V81D is a loud, in-your-face piece of kit that looks like something that would be right at home in a club or block party. If you're building out an elegant looking media room, the V81D is certainly not going to fit in nor is it the right speaker for it. The Sony MHC-V81D is, simply put, a giant tower of speakers, no kidding! Clocking in at 3.5 feet, this is not your run of the mill Bluetooth speaker. Being cylindrical, the speaker can be stowed away in a corner thanks to the built-in handle and ...

Apple expects to sell more 6.1-inch LCD iPhones in 2018, could release at least one LCD model in 2019: Report

Apple post the release of iPhone X faced criticism from a section of users for its price tag. Following the backslash, Apple said to be developing production plans for its next iPhones stressing cheaper liquid-crystal display based on the consumers’ sensitivity to the price of smartphones, according to a latest report from WSJ. Apple is hoping that the LCD models would make up for the majority of the iPhone sales that would be releasing this fall. It is rumored for quite some time that Apple is prepping a low-cost 6.1-inch iPhone model for price-sensitive markets. But the new interesting thing is, Apple is, in fact, preparing a larger portion of the models than analysts had anticipated. Interestingly, Apple is said to use the displays next year as well, according to sources involved in the matter. Production planning suggests that the transition to OLED panels is likely to be slower than many in the industry believed a year ago, and according to analysts, the iPhone X with OLED display demand was weaker than their initial forecasts and is mainly due to its price tag at $999. Apple's top-selling models still pack LCD panels which include the iPhone 7, iPhone 8 starting at $699, and the 8 Plus ...