Technology

  JAKARTA / AP The waste from discarded electronic gadgets and electrical appliances has reached severe levels in East Asia, posing a growing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm. China was the biggest culprit with its electronic waste more than doubling, according to a new study by the United Nations University. But nearly every ...

  Bloomberg Nintendo Co.’s new Switch gaming console is off to an underwhelming start. The new machine, a tablet-sized device with wireless controllers that can be used anywhere but also connects to TVs, will go on sale March 3 at a price of $300, with a brand-new Zelda game as its launch title. None of that, however, was enough to ...

  Emirates Business The Middle East is one of the leading markets for smartphones and countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia boast over 90% smartphone penetration – among the highest in the world. Smartphone manufacturers are well aware of this and top brands such as Apple and Samsung now have just one year upgrade cycles on their flagship ...

  Bloomberg Just over two years after leaving Google, Andy Rubin is preparing to take on the smartphone industry he helped create. Rubin, creator of the Android operating system, is planning to marry his background in software with artificial intelligence in a risky business: consumer hardware. Armed with about a 40-person team, filled with recruits from Apple Inc. and Alphabet ...

  Bloomberg Google is rolling out a real world application for its most ambitious virtual reality effort: letting shoppers see what they might buy without leaving home. The Alphabet Inc. unit introduced two new retail partnerships, with BMW and Gap Inc., deploying its 3D-scanning project called Tango. The technology uses cameras and sensors in mobile devices to overlay digital images ...

  Bloomberg After a tough 2016, Fitbit Inc. has a plan to keep users hooked to its devices for the new year. Taking cues from the addictive nature of Facebook and other networks where people connect with friends, Fitbit is rolling out new social features on its app, including a news feed where users can share exercise summaries, read health-related ...

  Reuters Facebook Inc’s Instagram is bringing more than 30 advertisers into one of its fastest-growing features, Instagram Stories, in a bid to boost advertising revenue, the company said. The social media company will become a more important player in maintaining Facebook’s growth in advertising revenue in 2017. During the last two earnings calls, Facebook executives said they may soon ...

  Bloomberg In Chicago, not far from Lake Michigan, the driver of a Caterpillar Inc. bulldozer looked left, right and forward to maneuver the 230,000-pound (104-metric-ton) machine through a desert obstacle course of sand mounds and old tires. But for all his effort, he didn’t go anywhere. Instead, as he sat inside a stationary box lined with video screens at ...

  Reuters Shopping from the steering wheel will become possible this year as Ford Motor Co. begins taking Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa digital assistant along for the ride. The second largest US automaker said it will begin offering “Alexa in the car” this summer on vehicles equipped with its Sync 3 infotainment system. An automotive version of Amazon’s popular voice-activated Echo ...

  Bloomberg A withering factory town in Japan’s Rust Belt is looking for revival through a dose of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “robot revolution.” Kadoma’s population has declined 13 percent as the nation ages, prompting mergers among elementary schools and emergency services departments. Factories can’t find enough people to run assembly lines, further threatening an industrial base that includes titan ...