Technology

Bloomberg Now that Microsoft has restored some of its former glory, the company is going for an even more unlikely comeback: rewriting the history of its much-maligned phone business. Three years after retreating from the smartphone business, Microsoft took the wraps off the Surface Duo, a dual-screened handheld computing device coming in time for Christmas 2020. Yes, it makes phone ...

Bloomberg A British company says it’s building the world’s first “vertiport” for electric aircraft in Singapore, an early step towards a global network for flying taxis. Essex-based Skyports Ltd plans to show off the vertical take-off and landing station at Marina Bay during the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress from October 21-25. Germany’s Volocopter GmbH will bring along its electric ...

Bloomberg One of Huawei Technologies Co’s biggest trade war headaches has just gotten worse, as an unofficial workaround to the Trump administration ban on using Google apps and services has been quashed. Security researcher John Wu published an illuminating post that explained how users of Huawei’s Mate 30 Pro were able to manually download and install Google apps, despite a ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc defended the privacy features of its Alexa digital assistant — and introduced some new tools to reassure users — following months of debate about the practices of the technology giant and its largest competitors. “We care about this,” Dave Limp, leader of the company’s devices business, said at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. “Privacy is absolutely foundational to ...

Bloomberg EHang, one of China’s largest drone makers, has made a confidential application for an initial public offering with Nasdaq Inc, according to people with knowledge of the matter. EHang plans to float 10 percent to 15 percent of its shares, with the company’s valuation not yet set due to volatile market conditions, said one of the people, who asked ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc is trying to broaden its virtual horizons. The company’s virtual reality unit Oculus announced Facebook Horizon, described as “an ever-expanding VR world” where people can interact with others as digital avatars. Users will be able to add features and elements to the world, which Facebook said will be “constantly growing with extraordinary creations made by Horizon citizens.” ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc’s Alexa has mastered Hindi in just a few years. The voice assistant introduced to India in 2017 gets a major local makeover for one of the largest retail markets. Amazon launched a version that now speaks Hindi and Hinglish — a unique blend with English. It can also switch automatically between all three. The new, improved Alexa ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc upgraded its Portal video chat devices, with a new model for TVs and lower prices. It also said users can opt out of the company accessing voice recordings collected by the hardware. With the new products, called Portal TV, Portal, and Portal Mini, Facebook is trying to break into the crowded smart speaker and connected living room ...

Bloomberg Glencore’s agriculture unit has become the latest trading house to join an initiative to modernise the way grain and oilseed transactions are handled. The group, which includes Archer-Daniels-Midland Co, Bunge Ltd, Cargill Inc, Louis Dreyfus Co and Cofco International, is working on a new platform in an effort to make global trading faster and more efficient. The platform, which ...

Bloomberg The owners of software maker TeamViewer are seeking to raise as much as $2.54 billion in Germany’s biggest technology initial public offering in almost two decades. Private-equity firm Permira plans to sell as many as 84 million shares for 23.50 euros to 27.50 euros apiece via holding firm TigerLuxOne, the company said in a statement. TeamViewer stock is expected ...