Asda owner Walmart goes head-to-head with Amazon as it requests permission to test drones for delivery October 27, 2015 Could your next Asda shop be delivered by drone? The supermarket's parent company, Walmart, has entered the drone wars, it's been reported, applying to US regulators to request permission to test out drones for delivery. Reuters reported that the company hopes to use drones for "home delivery, curbside pickup and checking warehouse inventories". That pits Walmart [...]
What to expect from Google: More than just devices October 4, 2016 Dubbed by Google as the biggest event since the "birth" of its Android operating system (OS) in 2008, the company's latest launch will reveal new smartphones, the marriage of its two operating systems and updates to its Chromecast entertainment streaming service. Fuelled by some rather transparent teasers, Twitter is rife with speculation and expectation. What can [...]
£4bn UK music industry calls for Brexit protection September 12, 2016 Music contributed £4.1bn to the UK economy last year, a new report has found. Calling for the industry to be protected after the UK’s Brexit vote, research by UK Music also revealed that exports generated £2.2bn in revenue in 2015. The report estimated that export revenue in live music grew by an estimated 35 per [...]
This new proptech startup wants to help generation rent buy their first home September 22, 2016 Zoopla and top investor Robin Klein are backing a new property technology venture designed to help first time buyers hop on to the incredibly difficult first rung of the property ladder. Wannabe homeowners can invest in a property Isa with Bricklane.com which launches today. Cash will go into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which will invest in rental [...]
The government needs a robot strategy October 12, 2016 The government needs a robot strategy to unpick the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) will have on society, including the loss of jobs, a group of leading MPs have warned. The UK's reputation as a world leader in the field of robotics and AI technology should position the UK as a leader in examining the social and [...]
Amazon, Google and Microsoft’s share prices go crazy on opening after posting strong results October 23, 2015 Amazon, Google (aka Alphabet) and Microsoft's share prices all jumped as US markets opened today, reacting to strong results posted overnight. Amazon's share price opened nine per cent up, while Google's stock soared 11.7 per cent and Microsoft's shares rose 10.2 per cent. Results posted yesterday showed online retail giant Amazon's net sales rose 23 per cent to $25.4bn (£16.5bn) in [...]
Flop Gear? The viewing figures for the new Top Gear are in May 30, 2016 The BBC's revamped Top Gear featuring new presenters Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc pulled in 4.3m viewers for its first episode on Sunday evening. The official overnight figures include those who watched as it aired, but not those who may watch on the BBC's iPlayer or catch up on the recorded show, however, the ratings represent the [...]
Internet of Things, digital assistant and 3D tablets: Four projects Amazon’s Lab 126 is secretly working on August 27, 2015 They may be laying off “dozens” of engineers, but Amazon’s labs are still working on some pretty interesting projects. After the company’s anticipated “iPhone killer”, the Fire, failed to deliver, it was reported today that engineers will be laid off after Amazon decided to retreat from smartphones – and from several other consumer hardware products. Read [...]
The entrepreneur space race: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos takes on Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt in the fight for space exploration September 16, 2015 A new kind of space race has taken off, and this time it involves entrepreneurs eager to dominate commercial spaceflight. Yesterday, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, a key player in the field, announced his latest endeavour – his startup Blue Origin is investing more than $200m (£129m) in building rocket manufacturing facilities in Florida and [...]
Sir Stuart Rose, chairman of Dressipi: The next revolution in retail is data-based, personalised services, and the UK is at the vanguard November 14, 2016 THE DEMISE of BHS and Austin Reed, as well as gyrating retail sales figures, has again highlighted the variety of headwinds facing the retail sector, particularly on the high street. These include: the threat from companies such as Amazon, increasing costs, squeezed margins, keeping brands fresh or even the good, old-fashioned unpredictable British weather. The [...]