TREND REPORTS
Amazon’s Global Smart Speaker Share Falls Below 50% in Q1 2018 as Competition Heats Up
[Product]
2018/06/04 10:08
According to the latest quarterly research from Strategy Analytics, global smart speaker shipments reached 9.2 million units in Q1 2018. Market leader Amazon is estimated to have shipped an impressive 4 million smart speakers during the quarter though its global market share has nearly halved from the same period last year. Google and Alibaba consolidated their number two and three rankings whi...
Beam Dental Pivoted Its Product from Connected Toothbrushes to Selling Insurance
[Investing]
2018/06/04 10:08
This start-up made connected toothbrushes -- now it aims to overthrow the 'primitive' dental insurance industry. It raised another $22 million off the back of that shift. The round was led by Kleiner Perkins, a firm that is increasingly investing in health-tech.When it comes to dental health, companies seem to more and more see consumer technology and insurance as natural partners. Beam Dental,...
Online Sales Still Account for Less Than 10% of All Retail Sales
[Business]
2018/06/04 10:07
In the two decades since Amazon streamlined the e-commerce process, most retailers have followed suit with an online point of sale option, seeing no other way to compete.As a result, about 70% of Americans (230 million) will make an online purchase in 2018, contributing $474 billion to total retail sales, according to Statista's Digital Market Outlook. As this chart from Statista shows, even as...
MIT - Can Bacteria in Clothing Really Make an Athlete Faster ?
[Tech]
2018/06/04 10:07
PUMA and MIT Design Lab present latest research in the field of Biodesign.A breathing sports shoe, that grows its own air passageways to enable personalized ventilation? A learning insole that prevents fatigue and improves athletes’ performance? A t-shirt that responds to environmental factors by changing its appearance to inform the wearer about the air quality?What sounds like future visions...
(PDF) Mary Meeker’s 2018 Internet Trends Report
[Business]
2018/06/03 09:10
Want to understand all the most important tech stats and trends? Legendary venture capitalist Mary Meeker has just released the 2018 version of her famous Internet Trends report. It covers everything from mobile to commerce to the competition between tech giants. Check out the full report below, and we’ll add some highlights soon. Then come back for our slide-by-slide analysis of the 20 most i...
AI Researchers Design ‘Privacy Filter’ for Your Photos That Disables Facial Recognition Systems
[Tech]
2018/06/03 09:09
Facial recognition systems are controversial, to say the least. Amazon made headlines last week over supplying law enforcement agencies with face-scanning tech. Schools in China are using facial recognition cameras to monitor students. And studies show that some facial recognition algorithms have built-in biases against certain ethnicities.Concerns about encroaching AI-powered surveillance syst...
JP Morgan Estimates That Amazon Prime Membership is Worth $785 Annually
[Business]
2018/06/03 09:08
JPMorgan estimates that Amazon Prime membership is worth $785 annually, versus the $119 that Amazon is now charging customers. The value of the membership has increased 12% since last year, with the addition of new perks like free two-hour delivery of groceries from Whole Foods through Prime Now, the report by JPMorgan said.Prime is the "best deal in shopping," the report said.aAmazon Prime cus...
BMW i Launches Wireless Charging for Plug-in Hybrids
[Product]
2018/06/03 09:07
A base pad is placed on the parking space and plugged into the power source – when the vehicle is parked over the top of the pad, inductive charging begins.BMW's i division has launched a wireless charging system for plug-in hybrid vehicles. The factory-fitted, fully-integrated inductive charging system is a world-first. BMW says that production for BMW Wireless Charging will begin in July and...
Facebook Edged Out of Top 3 Social Networks by U.S. Teens
[Consumer]
2018/06/03 09:06
Facebook is losing ground among U.S. teenagers ages 13-17. According to a Pew Research Report released today, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube are now more popular than Facebook, a social network with more than two billion monthly active users worldwide.Among teens that took part in the survey, 85 percent say they use YouTube, followed by 72 percent for Instagram, 69 percent for Snapchat, and 5...
