We have been absent for three weeks but the world of technology didn't wait for us. Innovation companies never sleep. That is my main conclusion: what a promising year 2017!
1# Launch of the latest Smartphone (Android) by Nokia
It's official, Nokia didn't pass away, the company announced that they will return to the smartphone market in 2017. On the 26th of February, Nokia will launch its last Nokia-branded Android phone. The Nokia 6 was the first step for the company, the phone was made out of aluminum, featured a 2.5D Gorilla Glass screen, as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor with X6 LTE modem. This phone comes with 4GB RAM, 64GB storage and a 16MP rear camera (+ 8MP front-facing camera).
- Retail Price: around $250
2# Overview of the Amazon Echo
Primarily used to listen to music, answer questions and reorder products you bought from Amazon, the Amazon Echo became the main point of smart homes. The Echo's voice assistant "Alexa" is smarter and more accurate than Siri, always plugged into an outlet and connected to a Wifi network so doesn't have the problems that Siri encounters.
You can ask everything to her: play an audiobook from Audible, read your Kindle books, add new events to your calendar, find out how your favorite football team is doing at the moment or find out how is the weather today. She is connected to other services and devices also: Spotify, Phillips Hue Bulbs (lighting)...etc. She is learning new skills regularly.
- Retail Price: $179,99, on Amazon
3# New Autopilot System, by Tesla
This week, Tesla is rolling out a new Autopilot System. The new cars' hardware will improve the Autopilot and enable full autonomy. The vehicle would be able to drive in an autonomous mode from LA to New York City by the end of the year. The vehicles will have 8 cameras that provide a 360 degrees-vision at up to 250 meters of range, as well as 12 ultrasonic sensors and a forward-facing radar.
4# The Skyscraper of the future
Time flies, 45 years, what is it? 16,425 days to go. "Arconic", a material science company, has planned to build a three-mile-high skyscraper from materials that are either in-development or have already been brought to market (as smog-eating surfaces and retractable balconies for example). The company's engineers worked with futurists to think about the technologies that will be useful several decades from now.
One of Arconic's main projects is EcoClean: a special coating that helps buildings self-clean and purifies the air, reducing the content of pollutants around it. The new design of this skyscraper is called Bloomframe which includes motorized window that converts into an all-glass balcony in one minute.
5# Home, Sweet home: The SevenHugs Smart Remote
One of the favorite gadgets of CES 2017, the Sevenhugs Smart Remote is a universal remote for all your devices, you can pair it with your Sonos, Apple TV, Phillips Hue Lights, Xbox, Nest thermostat, Uber or anything that you have. This technology uses a sensors system, the virtual controls on its 3.5-Inch display, you just have to place the motion sensors around your living room, tell these sensors where your stuff is and manage your home's devices and services. Sevenhugs supports most of the major home devices and services (except the Playstation 4), the battery should last two to three days.
Retail Price: $300 - will be launched in September
Source (c): The Verge, Business Insider UK