Nimo Planet is garnering buzz for its entry in the smart glasses field. Designed for productivity, the $799 Nimo mixed reality eyewear is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 processor that has been described as turning the spectacles into “a mini-computer that sits on your head.” Relatively light at 120 grams, the lenses can display up to six 720p screens, suggesting it as a potential laptop replacement for traveling workers. The frame arms feature touch support and support voice commands. The glasses aren’t designed for intensive apps like Adobe Photoshop, but for basic productivity like word processing and project management. Continue reading Nimo Planet Smart Glasses Target Productivity During Travel

Google continues to add improvements to its Google Docs, adding AI-generated summaries, better email integration and inline Google Maps previews. The company also announced the suite-wide availability of pageless documents, in test mode since May. The update is a further attempt by Google to push against startups like Notion and Coda as well as making its Google Workspace suite more competitive with productivity market leader Microsoft Office and its dominant Microsoft Word. In November, Microsoft announced Loop, a real-time collaborative editing app. With the exception of the email feature, most of the updates will be immediately available. Continue reading Google Workspace Updates Docs with Email, Map Integration

Microsoft recently invited journalists into its Envisioning Center for a peek into its vision of the future — in particular, its vision of the future of productivity. Inside the center, Microsoft houses some of its prototype work. Journalists witnessed teams working together on giant collaborative screens, meeting in rooms equipped with devices to automatically recognize participants, and doing work at touch-powered desks. The bulk of all provided demonstrations revolved around the use of touch, voice, and augmented reality. This marks a new way forward for Microsoft.

Continue reading Microsoft Shares Vision For Present and Future Productivity

Media companies continue to adopt a variety of digital technologies, but have proven to be more reluctant than other industry sectors to embrace artificial intelligence. That’s the finding of PwC, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. executives for its “2019 AI Predictions” report. Covering many industry sectors, the research revealed that 20 percent of these companies plan to deploy AI next year. But media companies are still in the very early stages of enabling AI, and only a few with an AI business case. Continue reading PwC Research Reveals Media Execs’ Reluctance to Adopt AI

After Samsung launched ad-blocking support for the Samsung Internet Browser on its mobile devices, third-party ad blocking apps shot up to the top of the Google Play app store. Google pulled them from the store soon after because the tech giant does not want to distribute apps that conflict with its own advertising business. Although Google is removing ad blocking apps, it has not taken any action to remove mobile browser apps that feature ad blocking already built-in. Continue reading Samsung Rolls Out Ad Blocking, Google Boots Ad Blocker Apps

Microsoft demonstrated the practicality of its HoloLens augmented reality technology at last week’s Microsoft BUILD developers conference. While it may not be as exciting as stepping into an immersive experience with virtual reality, the technology opens the door for some compelling practical applications, whether that involves educating medical students or building virtual models of rocket ships. Possibilities for business and the home is what may help augmented reality catch on and improve people’s lives. Continue reading Microsoft’s HoloLens AR Technology Designed for Productivity

Microsoft announced that it will offer the mobile version of its Office suite featuring Word, Excel and Powerpoint for free. This is a major departure for Microsoft, which usually charges a premium for its software. However, with people doing less on their desktops and more on their smartphones, Microsoft is finally focusing on today’s push into cloud computing. The company hopes that the free mobile apps will entice new users to buy the desktop software, too. Continue reading New Direction: Microsoft Offers Office Suite Free for Mobile

According to the latest rankings from Product Hunt, an app that tracks what digital products are trending, teenagers are migrating from traditional social media outlets and spending more time with apps that help with productivity. Rather than spending most of their time on Twitter and Facebook (and its recently acquired WhatsApp messaging app), teens are turning to apps that involve photo sharing, streaming music, and productivity services related to areas such as to-do lists, online classes and résumé tutorials. Continue reading Products Teens Love: Facebook and Twitter Should Take Note

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is adapting his company to address the challenges of a changing market. The software company is now working on improving Microsoft products across all platforms, such as Android and iOS. Also, Microsoft is about to release a search tool, Delve, that can peruse emails, social networks and corporate documents to find information for work-related inquiries. Microsoft is placing emphasis on Delve’s machine learning and artificial intelligence. Continue reading The Future of Microsoft Focused on Productivity, Not Devices

Tel Aviv-based startup StoreDot has unveiled a prototype of a mobile phone charger that can reportedly charge a dead phone’s battery to 100 percent in a mere 30 seconds. StoreDot was created by members of the nanotechnology department at Tel Aviv University. The current prototype, about the size of a laptop charger, is compatible with the Samsung Galaxy 4. The company has plans to reduce the device’s size and expand to other smartphones when the $30 charger becomes available in late 2016. Continue reading Israeli Startup StoreDot Can Charge Your Phone in 30 Seconds

In a survey conducted by Intel, it was revealed that 97 percent of participants consider their PC to be their primary computing device. The survey also found that participants consider their PCs to be vital to their daily existence, and of the 43 hours per week spent on computing devices, about half of that time is spent in front of a PC. Intel suggests that it may be the perfect time to buy a new PC, and despite competition from tablets, the PC is not a thing of the past. Continue reading Intel Makes its Case: There is No Better Time to Buy a PC