News
Motorola Announces the ‘Transform the Smartphone’ Challenge in EMEA
Motorola Mobility, a Lenovo company, is giving start-ups, developers, and creators the opportunity to break the limitations of smartphones and present their ideas at Viva Technology 2017. Billed as the world’s ‘rendezvous’ for game-changers, Viva Technology, also known as VivaTech, is an international innovation showcase taking place in Paris on June 15-17, 2017.
Bringing together thousands of the brightest entrepreneurs and most imaginative start-ups, alongside top investors, developers and opinion leaders, VivaTech provides a platform for participants from over 200 countries to find inspiration, generate new contacts and accelerate their business growth. Attendance at this year’s event is expected to surpass last year’s 50,000 visitors.
As part of VivaTech 2017, Motorola has extended its ‘Transform the Smartphone’ challenge, to encourage developers, startups, and other creators to break the limitations of what a smartphone can be. The challenge provides an opportunity for participants to demonstrate their creative skills, while adding their expertise and vision to the Moto Mod universe.
Participants will also get the opportunity to present their Moto Mod campaign on the IndieGogo Crowdfunding platform. This gives Moto Z customers the chance to fund participants’ projects, while also providing early access to new Moto Mods when they become available.
Moto Mods snap easily onto any Moto Z phone. They fit perfectly and securely to transform your smartphone and provide users with unlimited possibilities! The concept of the Moto Mods is simple: They can be just about anything you can dream up. Whether it’s a film projector, a top-of-the-line speaker or even a blood pressure monitor – the possibilities are endless.
The ‘Transform the Smartphone’ challenge gives developers, creators, and startups the chance to contribute to the creation of the next generation of Moto Mods. Motorola wants to harness their creativity to imagine smartphone features that have never been possible, and add these to the ever-growing list of Moto Mods.
To participate in the Transform the Smartphone Challenge, submissions must be completed online by May 25, 2017. Pitch candidates will be selected by June 5, and a jury at VivaTech will choose the top five pitches. Each of the five top teams will receive the Moto Z and Moto Mods Development Kit, to create their prototype and mount a crowdfunding campaign with IndieGogo.
The final winner will be invited to present their Moto Mod to a group of executives and developer teams at Motorola Mobility’s Chicago headquarters, and they will be considered for the worldwide accelerator program. All information about the challenge and the registration can be found here on the VivaTech page.
Gadgets
Huawei to Launch Next-Generation Foldable Smartphone at Dubai Launch Event
Huawei is set to host a highly anticipated launch event in Dubai this December, where the company will unveil several innovative products that promise to redefine the tech landscape. The event marks a pivotal moment for the brand, unveiling groundbreaking products like the HUAWEI Mate X6, HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4, and HUAWEI nova 13 Series. The new products will set new benchmarks for design, functionality, and user experience in the mobile and audio markets.
As Huawei continues solidifying its position as a leader in the tech industry, this launch will underscore the company’s expanding influence in international markets. Huawei’s latest flagship foldable, the HUAWEI Mate X6, will be unveiled during the Dubai launch. The phone is expected to redefine the future of foldable smartphone technology. It is among the company’s most advanced foldables to date. The Mate X6 is expected to take mobile photography to new heights, building on Huawei’s legacy of pioneering smartphone cameras of the Mate Series.
Besides the Mate X6, Huawei will unveil its next-generation audio products, including the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4. These earbuds will be the first to feature HUAWEI SOUND, offering an immersive audio experience. They will also include AI-driven noise reduction technology, designed to isolate the wearer’s voice during calls while eliminating environmental noise. This feature significantly enhances call quality, particularly in noisy environments.
Consumers can also look forward to the launch of the HUAWEI nova 13 series, a new midrange smartphone that brings a unique interweaving design and an array of exciting features. The nova 13 series offers significant upgrades over its predecessors, including enhanced camera capabilities, a performance boost, and more. The new HUAWEI MatePad 11.5 will also deliver a paper-like experience, perfect for light office productivity, efficient learning, and everyday tasks.
The Dubai event, scheduled for the 12th of December, will mark the global unveiling of Huawei’s several innovative products. The MEA market is one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic regions for technology, and Huawei is committed to strengthening its regional presence. By continuing to introduce groundbreaking products, Huawei is positioning itself to shape the future of mobile technology while reinforcing its role as a global tech powerhouse.
News
The Browser Company Unveils Dia, Its AI-Powered Browser
The Browser Company, known for its Arc Browser available on desktop and mobile, has unveiled its upcoming web browser called Dia, which focuses heavily on AI tools. Having previously launched Arc on Mac and Windows, and Arc Search on iOS and Android, the company is now working on a new product aimed at a broader audience.
Scheduled for an early 2025 release, Dia promises to bring a host of innovative features. The company recently launched a new website showcasing a video about Dia and listing various open roles within the company. The website states, “AI won’t exist as an app. Or a button. We believe it’ll be an entirely new environment — built on top of a web browser.” This vision for an integrated AI environment is a key component of Dia’s development.
In a video presentation, CEO Josh Miller demonstrated some of Dia’s early prototypes. One tool operates at the insertion cursor, aiding users in writing the next sentence or retrieving facts from the internet about topics such as the original iPhone’s launch and specifications. Additionally, the tool can fetch Amazon links opened in the browser to include in emails with basic descriptions.
Another feature allows users to type commands into the address bar to perform various actions, such as fetching documents, sending emails through the preferred email client, and scheduling meetings using natural language prompts. While some of these features may seem similar to existing browser-based writing and calendar tools, the true uniqueness and usefulness of Dia will only be known upon its release.
A more ambitious demo showcased Dia’s ability to perform actions on the user’s behalf, such as adding items from an email to an Amazon cart. In the demo, Dia browses Amazon, finds the specified items, and adds them to the cart autonomously. Another example demonstrated Dia’s capability to email participants listed in a Notion table for a video shoot. The Browser Company is not alone in envisioning an AI assistant capable of understanding interfaces and executing tasks. Many startups have showcased similar concepts and demos of AI models and tools designed to control users’ screens.
In a recent video, Miller hinted at developing new products for a wider audience while assuring current users that Arc’s design and functionality would remain largely unchanged. He acknowledged that although Arc has a dedicated and growing user base, its complexity might not appeal to everyone. The challenge for the company will be to create a browser with AI features that work seamlessly and potentially generate revenue.
Apps
Google Maps Integrates Waze Incident Reports for Enhanced Navigation
Google Maps has started to display Waze incident reports during navigation, allowing users to contribute by confirming road conditions via prompts. This integration follows Google’s July announcement that both apps would share more data, including Waze-sourced road closures, construction updates, speed cameras, and police presence information.
Over the holiday weekend, a Reddit user shared a screenshot of a prompt indicating “Police reported ahead” based on Waze driver reports, as reported by 9to5Google and Android Authority. Users can update these reports to reflect current conditions, similar to other incident notifications in Google Maps.
This is the first confirmed sighting of the feature in action, but more reports are expected. Despite merging the teams behind Maps and Waze, Group Project Manager Can Comertoglu told The Verge that the apps will continue to operate separately. Waze’s 500,000-plus contributors prefer some features of Waze over Google Maps, and vice versa.
This new feature enhances Google Maps’ functionality by leveraging Waze’s real-time incident reporting, providing users with more comprehensive and up-to-date information on their routes.
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