Daily Tech Headlines – January 31, 2018
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| Daily Tech Headlines – January 31, 2018 | |
| Number | 428 |
| Broadcast Date | JANUARY 31, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 3:57 |
| Hosts | Sarah Lane |
Fujifilm to take control of Xerox, Google Flights now predicts flight delays, send SMS using Alexa.
Headlines
- Samsung had record Q4 profit of $14.15B driven by chip sales, which now gives it the distinction of world's largest chipmaker above Intel. Samsung cited strong demand for its memory chips that are used in data centers and smartphones. However, its mobile business saw a 3.2% YoY profit decline to ~$2.25B.
- South Korea’s finance minister Kim Dong-yeon says the government has no plans to shut down cryptocurrency trading, saying instead the government’s priority is to regulate exchanges. The government previously said it considered shutting down local cryptocurrency exchanges but appears to have backed off that strategy. Earlier today South Korea's customs announced it had uncovered illegal cryptocurrency foreign exchange trading worth nearly $600 million.
- Amazon's launching a new messaging feature for Alexa devices in the U.S. that will allow you to send SMS messages to contacts using your voice. Depending on the contact, the assistant will decide how to route your message – using either the previously launched Alexa messaging system, or via SMS. The feature currently works only for sending SMS messages to Android phones, and doesn't currently work with 3rd party smart speakers.. Amazon introduced free calls and messaging last year, but the feature only worked in between Echo devices.
- Spotify released an Android app called Stations, which lets users stream Pandora-style curated music stations without having to pay for a Spotify Premium subscription. The app, which Spotify describes as an experiment, is only available in Australia for now.
- In other earnings news, Nintendo beat market expectations in its third quarter, and also increased the sales forecast for its Switch console. Revenue was 482.97 billion yen ($4.44 billion) which is more than than a 177% year-on-year rise, and also the highest quarterly revenue figure since Nintendo's quarter ending December 2009.
- Google has two new features for its flight-booking search service. Google Flights will now use historical flight status data to help predict when flights will be delayed and why. Google said that it only flags potential delays when it’s around 80 percent confident in its predictions. The service will also now tell you which amenities are not included in a basic economy fare... for example, having to pay extra for luggage. Google Flights launched in 2011 after the company bought flight data startup ITA Software for $700 million.
- Xerox is ceding control to Fujifilm in a deal that creates an $18 billion combined company. Xerox will first merge with a joint venture it already operates with Fujifilm in Asia. Current Xerox shareholders will receive a cash dividend of $9.80 per share. And then Fujifilm will ultimately own 50.1 percent of the combined entity, which will encompass all of Xerox’s operations.
- Uber is partnering with JUMP on a bike-sharing service next week called Uber Bike. JUMP recently received San Francisco's first permit to operate dockless bike-sharing through the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Uber customers will be able to book JUMP bikes within the Uber app, although unlike Uber's ride hailing service, riders will have to go to the location of the bike on their own.
Links
| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – January 30, 2018" |
Daily Tech Headlines – January 31, 2018 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – February 1, 2018" |