Technology

Bloomberg Talk of a Twitter Inc. buyout has been rampant in recent days, with companies including Salesforce.com Inc., Walt Disney Co., and Google all reported to be considering bids. While the search giant hasn’t officially confirmed its interest, analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. say Google’s the best of the likely buyers. Calling Google parent Alphabet Inc. “the one acquirer …

  Bloomberg Does your home really need a “smart speaker” that can answer questions, call you an Uber, turn off the lights or play music when you ask? You may be about to find out. Two years ago, Amazon introduced the Amazon Echo, an unassuming, $180 cylinder that sits atop a kitchen counter or bookshelf, acting as a personal assistant …

  Bloomberg If allowing your smartphone to run out of power during the day doesn’t make you feel silly enough, consider this: Every hour it’s idle in your pocket or bag, the sun is bathing the earth in enough energy to run the world economy for a year. The obvious fix here is to turn every square inch of your …

  Chicago / AFP A US flight was evacuated prior to takeoff when a passenger’s Galaxy Note 7 — reportedly a replacement in Samsung’s global recall — caught fire, landing the company in new controversy. Samsung has been struggling with a recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 handsets due to complaints of exploding batteries, a problem the replacement phones …

  AFP A shiny new cohort joined the workforce in Taiwan on Thursday — a troop of mini robots all going by the name “Pepper”, enlisted to entertain customers and give them the hard sell. Chinese-speaking Pepper was introduced into two banks and an insurance company in the capital Taipei, dancing to music, playing with children in lobbies and leading …

  Bloomberg Google published research this week detailing how its software enables robots to learn from one another. To demonstrate, the company’s scientists showed videos featuring robotic arms whirling inside its labs. Google’s robotics group built those machines and wanted to sell them to manufacturers, warehouse operators and others. However, executives at Google parent Alphabet Inc. nixed the plan because …

Bloomberg Google is embarking on a wholesale revamp of its mobile phone strategy, debuting a pair of slick and powerful handsets that for the first time will go head-to-head with Apple Inc.’s iconic iPhone. Alphabet Inc.’s Google on Tuesday unveiled the Pixel and larger Pixel XL, the first phones that were conceptualized, designed, engineered and tested in-house. The Pixel handsets …

  Relaxnews In the two years since Amazon.com Inc. released its Echo speaker, the household device has become a surprise hit — and a surprise threat to Google, as users turn to the Echo for information from the web. Now Google is trying to strike back. On Tuesday, the internet search giant introduced Google Home, a voice-controlled wireless speaker that …

  Bloomberg Google has released a virtual reality headset that’s cheaper than other options in the market. During an event in San Francisco, the Alphabet Inc. unit introduced Daydream View, a headset and controller for viewing virtual reality media with a smartphone. At $79, the price is well below products from HTC Corp. and Facebook Inc.’s Oculus, which cost hundreds …

  Bloomberg Kong Tse has seen first-hand how the global uproar over flammable Samsung Note 7 smartphones is playing out with consumers. The 26-year-old, who hawks devices in the warrens of Hong Kong’s Wanchai Computer Center, says sales of the company’s handsets have tumbled 30 percent since the controversy began, including the high-end S7 Edge. “Once betrayed, eight times avoided,” …