Bloomberg Worldwide delivery service DHL is deploying artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles and product-picking robots at its warehouses in North America to help handle the surge in e-commerce demand. The US unit of Deutsche Post AG will spend $300 million on its plan to equip 350 of its 430 facilities with new technology that includes autonomous trolleys that shadow human workers ...
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Amazon letting Apple Music onto Alexa home speakers
Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. opened up its popular home speakers to Apple Inc.’s music service, a new step in the nascent cooperation between the two tech rivals. Beginning from December 17, Apple Music will be available on Amazon’s Echo devices, according to a statement on Amazon’s blog. Music has always been one of Alexa’s most popular features, Amazon said. And Apple’s ...
Read More »iDreamSky attracts Sony, JD.com to $200mn IPO
Bloomberg iDreamSky Technology Holdings Ltd., a Chinese game distributor, has attracted Sony Corp. and JD.com Inc. as cornerstone investors for its planned Hong Kong initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Shenzhen-based company plans to start taking investor orders on Monday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The firm ...
Read More »Philippines mall to start rolling out robots in 2019
Bloomberg The Philippines’ richest man Henry Sy will start rolling out robots next year to help customers navigate his massive shopping malls. Initially three androids will be deployed in the first quarter of 2019 in SM Megamall, the nation’s second-biggest shopping centre, said Steven Tan, chief operating officer for the shopping malls of SM Prime Holdings Inc. The talking bots ...
Read More »GameStop to sell its AT&T wireless stores for $700mn
Bloomberg GameStop Corp., the video-game retailer, agreed to sell its AT&T wireless stores to Prime Communications LP for $700 million, exiting a business that the company once viewed as a key source of future growth. The sale of Spring Mobile, with 1,289 stores, is expected to close by the end of January, Grapevine, Texas-based GameStop said. Proceeds from the sale ...
Read More »Tesla buys trucking firms for deliveries
Bloomberg Elon Musk is apparently charting his way out of what he’s referred to as “delivery logistics hell†by making acquisitions and lining up contracts with trucking haulers. The Tesla Inc. CEO tweeted that Model 3s ordered in the US by the end of the month will be delivered by year-end. He wrote that using trucks instead of rail shaves ...
Read More »Google plans high-flying balloons to provide internet in Africa
Bloomberg Bringing fast, widespread internet to rural Africa has proven vexing for companies that have tried—and largely failed—with strategies ranging from drones to satellites. Now, a sister company of Google says it has the answer: balloons. Loon, spun out of the search giant’s X innovation lab in July, is teaming up with Telkom Kenya Ltd. to build a network of ...
Read More »VW to roll out $21,000 e-car to challenge Tesla
Bloomberg Volkswagen AG plans to add a subcompact crossover costing about 18,000 euros ($21,000) to its all-electric I.D. range, expanding its lineup of zero-emissions vehicles that are more affordable than those of Tesla Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The entry level vehicle may be built at VW’s factory in Emden, Germany, said the people, who asked not ...
Read More »Some iPhone X units have faulty touch screens: Apple
Bloomberg Apple Inc. disclosed a pair of issues affecting two of its more popular products: the iPhone X and the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant said the screen on some iPhone X units doesn’t respond or responds intermittently when touched. The company also said some units could have displays that react even when they aren’t touched. The ...
Read More »Dyson to develop air purifier-headphone combo
Bloomberg Dyson is considering developing a wearable air purifier that could double as a pair of headphones, hoping to tap demand from pollution-choked cities in Asia, people with knowledge of the project said. The UK company submitted patents for a “wearable air purifier†this year, according to filings to the UK Intellectual Property Office. The gadget is primarily an air ...
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