News highlights for August 16
Erik Kay, engineering director at Google, introduces Allo and Duo. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
Knock, knock! Google Duo video call is here
(Reuters) – Now, all you need is a phone number to start a video call with any contact who uses an Android- or iOS-based smartphone. Google on Tuesday launched Google Duo, pitting it directly against Apple Inc’s FaceTime, which allows video calls only between Apple devices. Duo will also compete with Microsoft Corp’s video-calling app Skype, Facebook Inc’s Messenger and even its own Hangout app. Read more…
Apple to increase investment in increasingly tough China
BEIJING (Reuters) – Apple Inc will boost its investment in China, one of its most important but increasingly difficult markets, and build its first Asia-Pacific research and development center in the country, Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Tuesday. Demand for Apple’s phones has plummeted in China, and the government maintains a wary attitude towards foreign technology. This is at least the CEO’s second trip to the country in four months. Read more…
Indian messaging platform Hike raises $175 million
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian messaging startup Hike Messenger has raised more than $175 million in a funding round led by Tencent Holdings Limited and Foxconn Technology Group that values the company at nearly $1.4 billion. The company, which bills itself as India’s only homegrown messaging platform, has so far raised $250 million overall in four rounds of investment, the fourth being the highest, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Read more…
Ford plans self-driving car for ride share fleets in 2021
PALO ALTO/DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co plans to offer a fully automated driverless vehicle for commercial ride-sharing in 2021, the automaker announced Tuesday, expanding its efforts in driverless cars and ride sharing – two areas where rivals have already made inroads. To help speed development of self-driving cars, Chief Executive Mark Fields said Ford is hiking investments in Silicon Valley technology firms, tripling its investment in semi-autonomous systems, and more than doubling the size of its Palo Alto research team while expanding its campus in Silicon Valley. Read more…
Russia fails to reach settlement with Google in Android case
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s state anti-monopoly watchdog FAS said on Tuesday it and Alphabet Inc’s Google had failed to reach an out-of-court settlement in a case over Google’s Android operating system, Interfax news agency reported. Read more…
In a shift, Bangladesh Bank says no plans to sue Fed, SWIFT
DHAKA/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bangladesh’s central bank said it has reversed its plans to sue the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the SWIFT money transfer network, and instead intends to seek their help recovering $81 million stolen by cyber thieves in February. Read more…
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