Technology

  Bloomberg Earlier this month, Apple Inc. poached the chief of Amazon’s Fire TV unit to run its television operations. Timothy D. Twerdhal brings hardware and content experience to his new gig, and his hiring suggests a renewed focus on the Apple TV set-top box. Twerdhal’s arrival comes as the company tests a new, fifth-generation Apple TV that it may ...

  Bloomberg Fitbit Inc.’s fourth-quarter revenue fell 19 percent, hurt by fading consumer demand for its once-popular wearable fitness trackers. Revenue in the quarter — which includes the holiday shopping season — dropped to $573.8 million, the company said in a statement. Fitbit in January had forecast sales of $572 million to $580 million. Before then, analysts had been predicting ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The latest version of LG Electronics’ (LG) webOS 3.5 Security Manager smart TV platform has been certified for its effective cybersecurity capabilities by UL, the world’s foremost expert in safety and sustainability, a first in the smart TV category. Following in the footsteps of its expertise in smart TVs, LG intends to expand this level ...

  DETROIT / AP Technology glitches including Bluetooth phone pairing and misunderstood voice commands put a dent in car and truck reliability scores in a major survey of automobile owners. Lexus and Porsche tied for the top spot, leading all brands for dependability in the survey released Wednesday by the consulting firm J.D. Power. But electronic problems caused trouble across ...

  Bloomberg A London-based stock exchange that was on the ropes a year ago is getting a lifeline from algorithmic traders drawn to its efforts to blunt the advantages of raw speed. Though still small, Aquis Exchange Ltd. has seen its share of European trading more than double in the past year. Part of the reason is firms like XTX ...

  Bloomberg International money transfer service TransferWise Ltd. has announced an integration with Facebook Inc.’s Messenger that will let people set up foreign exchange transactions over the chat service. London-based TransferWise launched the technology as a bot — a piece of automation software that understands natural language — baked within Messenger. The bot, which is free to use and doesn’t ...

  Bloomberg Snap Inc. so far hasn’t been able to tamp down investor concern about user growth. When asked about a slowdown in new users on its Snapchat photo-sharing mobile app in the fourth quarter, the company blamed a product issue with its Android version, according to investors who attended the company’s initial public offering roadshow presentation in New York. ...

  MOUNTAIN VIEW / AP For its next trick, an internet-beaming balloon factory spun out of Google believes it can outmaneuver the wind. In doing so, the 4-year-old “Project Loon” says it will be able to bring remote parts of the world online more quickly with a smaller fleet of the balloons than it previously thought. Engineers involved in the ...

  Bloomberg In the shadows of the Alps, Swiss companies are confronting a new reality: They won’t be adding manufacturing jobs in the country anytime soon — not for humans, anyway. Faced with an unsinkable franc and among the highest average annual wages in the world, Swiss companies looking to expand face a simple choice: add robots or leave. Fragrance-maker ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business The GCC is on course to rapidly evolve into one of the most sustainable and technologically advanced regions in the world due to smart technology, and given this trajectory, there is anxiety that people would become more overwhelmed with keeping up with technology and neglect their personal relationships. However, if used correctly, smart technology improves ...