IF / News

Chipsets

[CES 2017] Intel, BMW, and MobilEye expect to test autonomous cars on roads sometime in 2H17. About 40 modified BMW 7 Series sedans will start roaming American and European streets as part of a global trial. (CN Beta, Engadget, Intel)

[CES 2017] Intel announced the powerful Go computer with up to 28 Xeon chips so self-driving cars can cruise the streets safely. Beyond Xeon, Go will also be available with either next-generation Atom chips or 5G connectivity. (CN Beta, PC World, Intel, Bloomberg, 163)

[CES 2017] Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced that the company is planning to take its all-in-one Project Alloy VR headset into productization by end of 2017. To do so, it’s working with some of its “top OEM partners”. (Engadget, Uncova, Barron’s)

[CES 2017] Intel CEO Brian Krzanich confirmed that the company will be releasing their newest architecture “Cannon Lake” within 2018. Better battery life, less power consumption, less heat, and better performance are on the way with Cannon Lake, Intel’s first 10nm architecture. (CN Beta, PC World, SlashGear)

[CES 2017] Intel has announced its 5G modem, which according to the company, the modem is the first to enable 5G trials anywhere in the world. The modem also integrates with Intel’s 28GHz 5G Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), as well as its 4G XMM 7360 LTE modem for 4G/5G interworking. Intel will will start shipping its first 5G modem for testing in 2H17. (EE Times, PC World, ZDNet, Laoyaoba)

[CES 2017] MediaTek announced that British Telecom (BT) has selected MediaTek’s Adaptive Network technology (powered by MT762 + MT7615 + MT7615) to power their Whole Home Wi-Fi solution, delivering full-coverage wireless connectivity that is simple to set up and guarantees a stable signal throughout the home. (Laoyaoba, Telecom Lead, Yahoo)

[CES 2017] MediaTek announced the availability of MT2533D, a highly integrated chipset for smart, connected headphones, headsets, earpieces and hands-free systems. (Laoyaoba, PR Newswire, MediaTek, TechOne3)

[CES 2017] Nvidia is partnering with Audi to develop AI for a new generation of self-driving cars. Both companies plan to bring the autonomous car to the road by 2020. (Barron’s, Nvidia, Uncova, TechRadar, My Drivers)

[CES 2017] Automotive engineering firm ZF Group unveiled the first serial production electronic control unit (ECU) with artificial intelligence software built specifically for self-driving vehicles, ProAI. The ProAI computer comes from a collaboration between ZF and Nvidia, and the system is built on Nvidia’s high-performance Drive PX 2 platform. (Sina, Digital Trends, Tom’s Hardware)

[CES 2017] The all-new, SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle, developed on a Lincoln MKZ car model, was realized through close collaboration between Renesas Electronics and its partners: AutonomouStuff, Cogent Embedded, PolySync, QNX, NewFoundry, eTrans, and University of Waterloo. (Laoyaoba, Berry Reporter, Business Wire, Street Insider, 163, Sohu)

Touch / Display

[CES 2017] OLED microdisplay maker eMagin announced the company started to ship 2k×2k OLED microdisplays “as part of an agreement with a Tier-One company”. eMagin also announced today that it signed a second partner (or customer) and expects to sign more such agreements in 2017. (OLED-Info, eMagin, 87870)

The European GLADIATOR project, led by the Fraunhofer Institute, developed a functional flexible OLED lighting panel based on graphene electrodes. This new panel is 2×1 cm in size. (OLED-Info, AZONano, Xincailiao, East Day)

[CES 2017] Kopin unveiled its first OLED microdisplay called the Lightning, which features a 2048×2048 resolution (2k×2k) at 1” diagonal and a fast refresh rate of 120 Hz. Kopin specifically targets VR applications for this new microdisplay. (OLED-Info, Yahoo, 87870)

Memory

[CES 2017] Western Digital (WD) announced its fastest, high-capacity USB flash drive to date with the launch of its high-performance 256GB* SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive. (CN Beta, Beta News, Legit Reviews)

Sensory

[CES 2017] ChangHong H2 is the first smartphone to use the Scio molecular identification technology developed by Consumer Physics, which uses spectroscopy sensing techniques as well as cloud computing to identify objects. Analog Devices (ADI) and Consumer Physics have worked to miniaturize the Scio sensor for integration into a wide variety of connected devices. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, TMCNet, Yahoo, VentureBeat)

Battery

Samsung SDI is reportedly to continue supplying its battery for Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone Galaxy S8. (Korea Herald, 163)

Tesla has started mass production of lithium-ion battery cells at its gigafactory in Nevada along with Japan’s Panasonic. The cylindrical “2170 cells”, which will be used to power Tesla’s energy storage products and the new Model 3 sedan, have been jointly designed by Tesla and Panasonic. (CN Beta, MSN, USA Today)

Connectivity

AT&T announced it will test a 5G wireless service to deliver its new DirecTV Now streaming TV service to select homes in Austin, Texas, in 1H17. (CNET, Yahoo, Techspot)

[CES 2017] AT&T announced it would bring its 4G LTE connectivity to Honda vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. AT&T also announced it is working with Delphi and Ford to develop a new platform for “Vehicle-to-Anything”(V2X) communications. (Digital Trends, ZDNet)

Smartphones

[CES 2017] The outlook for the technology market looks weaker in 2017, said Steve Koenig, director of research at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Overall unit volumes will be flat, while revenues will hit USD929B in 2017, down 2% from USD950B in 2016. Smartphones account for 47% of global consumer tech spending. We can expect to see USD441B in revenues in 2017, flat compared to a year earlier. (CN Beta, VentureBeat)

Apple has confirmed its USD1B investment in SoftBank’s USD100B SoftBank Vision Fund. Softbank first announced plans in Oct. 2016 to launch a USD100B fund dedicated to “investments in the technology sector globally”. (CN Beta, USA Today, WSJ, Apple Insider, CNN)

A Malaysian distributor Avaxx has made a presentation about upcoming Nokia Android Phones. One of the slides from its presentation and now posted on Facebook reveals that 6-7 phones may be launched in 2017. (Softpedia, Nokia Poweruser, CN Beta)

Samsung is reportedly planning to manufacture 10M Galaxy S8 units for its launch in Apr. 2017. (Android Headlines, ET News, Sohu)

[CES 2017] Samsung announced Samsung NEXT (formerly known as Samsung Global Innovation Center) with USD150M fund. David Eun, President and Founder of Samsung NEXT, said that “Samsung continues to embrace entrepreneurship at all levels and this Fund shows our unwavering commitment to support great startups worldwide”. (Android Headlines, CNET, Samsung, CNII)

[CES 2017] TCL detailed its forward-thinking plans to introduce to the market an “industry-first brand portfolio business model”. A portfolio which will be partly spearheaded through their agreement to distribute BlackBerry smartphones going forward. The company will continue to expand into IoT and other emerging areas of technology. (Android Headlines, Newswire, PR Newswire)

[CES 2017] ASUS ZenFone AR is announced supporting Tango and Daydream – 5.7” QHD Super AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, rear TriCam (23MP + motion tracking + depth sensing) + 8MP cameras, 8GB RAM, Android 7.0. (Android Authority, Android Central, The Verge, GSM Arena)

[CES 2017] ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom is announced – 5.5” FHD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, rear dual 12MP OIS EIS PDAF – 12MP 2.3x optical zoom + front 13MP cameras, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, Android 6.0, 5000mAh battery. (Engadget, The Verge, Phone Arena)

[CES 2017] ZTE Blade V8 Pro is announced with dual-camera – 5.5” FHD 2.5D curved display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, dual rear 13MP-13MP + 8MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, Android 6.0, 3140mAh battery, USD230. (Engadget, Digital Trends, Android Community, Pocket Now)

Wearables

[CES 2017] Casio WSD-F20 smartwatch is announced with dual-layer display (switch between monochrome clock mode and Android Wear), GPS functionality and running Android Wear 2.0, 50m water-resistance rating. (Digital Trends, Android Authority, Tencent)

[CES 2017] Lixin Cheng, chairman and CEO of ZTE USA, confirmed that the company already has a US carrier on board to help sell the under-developing Android Wear LTE smartwatch and that it would be released later in 2017. (Android Authority, CNET)

[CES 2017] Ricoh announced the industry’s first camera capable of delivering up to 24hr of fully spherical, 360° live video streams in 2K resolution at 30fps. The camera and related technology will be sold as the Ricoh R Development Kit, available in spring 2017. (Android Central, Pentax Forums, CNET, Photography Blog)

[CES 2017] The CT Band is a smart band for watch from French startup RIFFT, which has a 14×7mm OLED display, 3-axis accelerometer, a heart-rate sensor, Bluetooth and a mic. It comes in 7 colors of leather (stitched or unstitched) and 11 colors of silicone. There are 3 widths — 18mm, 20mm, and 22mm — which will fit most watches. Price starts at EUR149. (CN Beta, CNET, Wearable Insider)

[CES 2017] Fitness tracker Garmin has announced 3 more smartwatches in its Fenix range, led by the Fenix 5 series – Fenix 5, 5S, 5X GPS. The watches all include a 3-axis compass, gyroscope, barometric altimeter, and GPS / GLONASS support. Water-rated to 100m. Priced from USD600. (Apple Insider, CN Beta)

[CES 2017] New Balance launching Android Wear smartwatch RunIQ. It is powered by Intel Z34XX processor, featuring built-in GPS, a heart rate monitor, and will come with functions such as a lap button, intervals. (CN Beta, Ubergizmo, New Balance, Phone Arena)

[CES 2017] President and COO of Samsung Electronics America Tim Baxter revealed that Samsung has shipped more than 5M units of its Gear VR headset till date since launched in Aug. 2016. (GSM Arena, Sam Mobile, Android Headlines, Leiphone)

[CES 2017] TCL announces MOVEBAND BT featuring Bluetooth 4.2, IP67 certified, and embedded with a number of gestures that works on user’s slight movements, and compatible with Android and iOS. (StarTLR, Mobile Scout, CC Time, Huanqiu)

[CES 2017] Auduze’s new VR headphones are part of its iSine product line, which first debuted as a non-VR option that claimed to be the first in-ear headphones with planar magnetic drivers. This works with Oculus Rift’s proprietary connection and HTC Vive’s standard 3.5mm input. It is priced at USD400. (Android Headlines, Aduze, Road to VR, 91.com, VRRB)

[CES 2017] HTC unveiled 2 accessories for the Vive system, a Vive Tracker that lets user attach other physical peripherals or controllers so they can be tracked in the VR world, and a new head strap with integrated audio for a more comfortable fit. (CN Beta, Road to VR, Gizmodo)

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. Google introduced two new retail partnerships, with BMW and Gap Inc., deploying its 3D-scanning project called Tango. (CN Beta, Financial Post, Daily Mail)

Internet of Things

[CES 2017] Whirlpool and Amazon have teamed up to connect Alexa with Whirlpool’s next line of smart home appliances. (Engadget, Whirlpool, Sohu)

[CES 2017] LG has introduced a new kind of refrigerator, called Smart InstaView that is embedded with an array of convenient features provided by Amazon Alexa Voice Service and powered by LG’s own webOS smart platform. (Android Central, Android Headlines, 163)

[CES 2017] An Internet of Things manufacturer Sen.se announced 2 new products, the SleepPeanut smart tag for tracking sleep cycles and the MedPeanut sensor for medication tracking, both are priced at USD29.99. (Android Headlines, Digital Trends)

[CES 2017] ASUS unveils a Wi-Fi router system with HiveSpot and HiveDot that allows multiple routers to work together in order to provide a strong wireless signal throughout a home. (Liliputing, ASUS, Fashaoyou)

[CES 2017] LG introducing new SJ series SJ9 and SJ8 soundbars with hi-resolution audio and Google Chromecast built-in. (Android Authority, LG, Sina)

[CES 2017] TCL launches LIFE Home Monitoring Kit aiming to make smart-home technology more accessible by being affordable and user-friendly, which includes LIFE Cam, LIFE Sense, and LIFE Detect. (StarTLR, Mobile Scout, CC Time, Huanqiu)

[CES 2017] Ring Floodlight Cam is a combination of a security camera and motion-sensitive outdoor light, which can be used to monitor an area remotely via a mobile app or a computer, alerting users if suspicious activity is detected nearby. (CN Beta, ZDNet, Apple Insider, Yahoo)

[CES 2017] Toyota showed off its Concept-i vehicle. It comes with a little AI robot-like companion named “Yui”, which can measure driver’s heart rate, knowing the time of day or where the car is going, it might inquire whether a driver is hungry or whether they are happy. (CN Beta, USA Today, CNN, Forbes)

[CES 2017] Bose demonstrates a simulated autonomous vehicle equipped with Bose Ride suspension seating — its patented personal suspension technology that isolates passengers from road vibrations, shaking and unwanted motion. (Engadget, Yahoo, Tencent)

[CES 2017] Google announced that it is bringing Google Assistant to TV, as well as Android Wear smartwatches and in-car entertainment systemsThe feature will become available in the coming months in the US on devices like the Nvidia Shield, Xiaomi Mi Box, and Android TVs like Sony’s Bravia screens. (CN Beta, Digital Trends, The Next Web)