With the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation going into effect, technology companies are flooding email inboxes with updates to privacy policies. Though GDPR currently touts the strictest privacy regulations, Brazil, Japan and South Korea plan to enact their own strict laws. The EU is encouraging such regulations by tying them to some trade deals and promoting a global approach. The EU and its 28 member countries are also planning to enact stricter enforcement of antitrust laws and tougher tax policies for giant tech companies. Continue reading Aftermath of EU’s Data Privacy Law is Far-Reaching, Profound

Samsung has committed to integrating artificial intelligence and Internet connectivity into all its products by 2020, even as Google and Amazon beat the South Korean company to market with their AI-powered smart speakers. Samsung’s goal is to have every device from televisions to refrigerators synch with each other and drive demand for its smartphones. Samsung eventually plans to centralize these devices with its SmartThings app, acquired in 2014. It also will include its own virtual assistant Bixby, which debuted last year on its flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone. Continue reading Samsung Zeroes In on AI to Meet 2020 Goal for Smart Devices

Smart speakers continue their popularity, with nine million units shipped in Q1 2018, representing a 210 percent jump over Q1 2017, according to Canalys. In a first, global shipments of Google Home speakers surpassed those of Amazon’s popular Echo speakers. “Google shipped 3.2 million Home and Home Mini devices, versus 2.5 million Echo devices shipped by Amazon,” reports VentureBeat. “Google held an estimated 36.2 percent share for the quarter over Amazon’s 27.7 percent — a profound reversal from a year earlier, when Amazon had 79.6 percent of shipments to Google’s 19.3 percent.” Continue reading Google and Amazon Remain Leaders in Smart Speaker Market

In the latest ruling of an ongoing seven-year patent battle over smartphone technology, a federal court in San Jose, California awarded Apple $539 million in its lawsuit against Samsung Electronics. “Apple sought about $1 billion in a retrial of a case that originally produced a verdict of that amount in 2012,” reports Bloomberg, “while Samsung argued it should pay only $28 million this time.” Following the 2012 verdict and 2013 retrial, the case went to the Supreme Court in 2016 before returning to U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to determine damages. Continue reading Apple Awarded $539 Million in Smartphone Tech Patent Ruling

According to the latest figures from London-based piracy tracking firm MUSO, entertainment media piracy continues its ascent. Globally, consumers made more than 300 billion visits to piracy websites in 2017, up 1.6 percent from the previous year. Despite the popularity of legal streaming options such as Netflix and Spotify, MUSO found that the illegal streaming and downloading of television content and music increased last year, up 3.4 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively. However, movie piracy decreased by 2.3 percent. Continue reading Report: Worldwide Piracy for TV and Music Increases in 2017

Prior to 2014, home game consoles and PCs ruled the gaming roost, but since then, mobile gaming has gained steady ground. New 2017 numbers indicate that mobile gaming’s market lead is widening, with users spending 2.3 times more on mobile than on PC and Mac games and spending 3.6 more than on home game consoles, according to an annual report released from App Annie and IDC. In total, mobile games generated $70 billion in 2017; Mac games generated $34 billion and game consoles generated $22 billion.

Continue reading Mobile Gaming Tops PCs and Consoles to Take Market Lead

Improved latency is the biggest selling point for next-generation 5G wireless technology. Verizon, Vodafone and Huawei are demonstrating the impact on wireless video, video games and virtual reality. With 5G, latency will plummet to 1 to 2 milliseconds, versus 4G’s average 50 milliseconds, positively impacting many markets, from medicine to self-driving cars. But, although the U.S. will see the first commercial 5G sometime this year, many emerging markets are still limping along with 3G and hoping for 4G connections. Continue reading Next-Gen 5G Will Unlock VR, Autonomous Vehicles and More

Qualcomm just revealed the results of tests it ran in Frankfurt and San Francisco to determine real-world speeds of 5G networks. The tests took geography, user demands, and various devices with different levels of LTE/5G connectivity to simulate real-world conditions. The tests were also focused on 5G NR (New Radio) networks, built in tandem with existing 4G LTE networks, that could launch as early as next year. Presented at the Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm results show that just how fast the new networks will be. Continue reading Qualcomm Reveals 5G Test Results, First Networks to Debut

The Winter Olympics is going to get wide coverage from NBC, which plans to live broadcast the events in PyeongChang, South Korea across all time zones and without delays. In contrast to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this one will feature even more video on social media platforms. NBC and Intel plan to stream 30 events in virtual reality, including the opening ceremony, and Snapchat is launching a tool for NBC to feed snippets of live coverage into its app. Continue reading NBC, Intel and Snap to Stream Live Video of Winter Olympics

In what it calls its “best and final” offer, Broadcom raised its takeover bid yesterday for chipmaker Qualcomm from about $70 a share to $82 a share, or about $121 billion. The new offer comes a month before Qualcomm’s next shareholder meeting. A takeover would result in a company whose products would be used in most smartphones worldwide. However, “Qualcomm’s leadership fiercely opposes” the acquisition, reports The New York Times, “while analysts have said that even if shareholders approved the deal, it could be rejected on antitrust grounds.” Continue reading Broadcom Raises Stakes in Takeover Bid for Rival Qualcomm

In 2020, residents of Madrid, Spain and tourists to that city will be able to visit the Lionsgate Entertainment City at the Estación de Príncipe Pío to experience the worlds of “The Hunger Games” and the “Divergent” series and dine in a restaurant/lounge redolent of “Mad Men.” This center be the first Lionsgate-branded indoor attraction in Europe, and will follow on the heels of the 2019 launch of its NYC-based Times Square Entertainment City, also in partnership with international entertainment operator Parques Reunidos. Continue reading Lionsgate, Parques Reunidos Team on Madrid, NYC Ventures

Coincheck Inc., which operates one of Japan’s leading cryptocurrency platforms, lost ¥58 billion ($530 million) of customers’ assets to an unauthorized person from outside the system. The dollar figure represents 523 million units of the virtual currency NEM and is the largest cryptocurrency theft to date. Previously, the loss of $450 million in bitcoin from Japan’s Mt. Gox exchange was the biggest theft. Whether this puts a damper on the white-hot craze for bitcoin and its related virtual currencies remains to be seen. Continue reading Record Cryptocurrency Heist May Lead to Increased Regulation

Verizon Communications has selected Samsung Electronics to be a major supplier of network equipment as the telecom readies the first commercial launch of its 5G wireless service in Sacramento, California later this year. Verizon will first offer high-speed Internet over its wireless network in California before expanding to other U.S. markets. Verizon began its 5G trials in 11 U.S. markets last year. AT&T also just announced that it plans to roll out commercial 5G service in late 2018, while Sprint and T-Mobile are expected to introduce 5G technology in late 2019 or 2020. Continue reading Verizon Teams With Samsung to Deploy 5G Wireless This Year

After introducing its Samsung Cinema LED during CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Samsung announced that it is debuting the movie theater screen in Europe, with plans for more global markets including the U.S. in 2018. The Samsung Cinema LED screen’s first commercial installation was in South Korea in July, with another in Bangkok, Thailand a few months later. The first European installation will be at Arena Cinemas in Zurich, Switzerland. The screen displays 33.6 x 17.8 feet and supports 4K resolution and high-dynamic range images. Continue reading Samsung Begins Installation of ‘Cinema LED’ Movie Screens

The price of a single Bitcoin just reached $10,000 on some exchanges, two months after it topped $5,000 for the first time. That’s a stupendous and unprecedented uptick, given that the Dow Jones Industrial Average in its biggest year (1915) went up 82 percent, which equates to one-tenth of Bitcoin’s rise. The price has been pushed upwards by new buyers from around the globe — Japan and South Korea are hotspots — enticed with the idea of storing money outside of the control of governments and companies. Continue reading Bitcoin and Virtual Currencies Skyrocket, Skeptics Concerned