IntellectBeat

Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday announced that it has partnered with Fiat Chrysler in a major expansion of its fleet of self-driving vehicles. The Google autonomous test fleet would be more than doubled with the addition of 100 new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans, with the companies aiming to have some on the road by the end of this year. The collaboration with collaboration with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) marked the first time that the California-based Internet giant has worked directly with an automaker to build self-driving vehicles. "FCA will design the minivans so it's easy for us to install our self-driving systems, including the computers that hold our self-driving software, and the sensors that enable our software to see what's on the road around the vehicle," the car team said in a post at Google+ social network. The minivan design also provides opportunity to explore the potential of large self-driving vehicles that could be used mass-tran...

A new Connect tab on Twitter Inc's mobile app makes it easier for people to find accounts to follow, the social network said on Tuesday as it launched the new feature to attract more users. The tab suggests a list of accounts based on those already followed, as well as popular ones in the area, product manager Ricardo Castro said in a blog post on the company's website. Users can choose to automatically sync their address books to connect with friends and family with the tab, he said. The feature is available in Twitter's latest app on Apple Inc's iPhones or smartphones running on Alphabet Inc's Android. Twitter, led by co-founder Jack Dorsey, has been striving to improve its interface as its growth has lagged those of social media rivals Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google. Twitter's base grew modestly to 310 million monthly active users in the quarter ended March 31 from 305 million in the fourth quarter. The stock fell 2.7 per cent to an all-time...

Bing for iOS will now let iPhone and iPad owners search for information by snapping a photo. A picture is worth a thousand words and seeing that even the best text-based search engines cut off after the 32nd word in a search command, Microsoft has found a novel way of letting people use its Bing search engine entirely with images. Simply point a smartphone, phablet or tablet at an item or object and take a photo, and Bing should be able to identify it, meaning that it could be just as useful for those out exploring a new city as it is for those out shopping. The updated Bing app for  iOS  is available to download from the iTunes App Store now.

Google Chrome on Monday was crowned the top Internet browser, officially ending the long reign of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). NetMarketShare calculated the Chrome had 41.7 percent of desktop browser share in April, narrowly topping the 41.4 share for IE. Mozilla's Firefox browser was third with 9.7 percent, according to the market tracker. A second market tracker, StatCounter, had given the title to Chrome four years ago and gave Google's software for browsing the Internet an even bigger lead over IE in April. A graph posted online at netmarketshare.com showed a Chrome use trend line rising while a line for IE sloped downward. When it came to using browser software to access the internet from mobile devices, Chrome commanded slightly more than 49 percent of the market, according to NetMarketShare. The results came as Google faces regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Europe, over its dominant position in Internet lifestyles and as Microsoft was pursuing a shif...

Micromax, soon after launching Canvas Spark 2 Plus, has now unveiled the new Canvas Mega 2 smartphone. Priced at Rs. 7,999, the Micromax Canvas Mega 2 smartphone is now available in India. The highlight of the smartphone is its 6-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) display, which is one of the largest screen sizes available in the price segment. The handset is backed by a 3000mAh battery. To recall, Micromax showcased the Canvas Mega 2 at the Canvas 6 and Canvas 6 Pro launch last month, and had promised that it will be revealed in the coming weeks. Micromax Canvas Mega 2 is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor that comes paired with 1GB of RAM. There is 8GB of storage which is further expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB). It sports an 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera and also houses a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The rear camera comes with LED flash. It supports 4G LTE connectivity in India and other options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Micro-USB, G...

Korean smartphone maker Samsung is developing an app called "Voices of Life" that could help premature babies develop while in an incubator. The app works on the premise that the sound of a mother's voice and of her heartbeat has a nurturing effect on foetus in the womb. If these sounds are prematurely interrupted it can have an adverse effect on a baby's brain development. The new smartphone app, which enters a pilot programme this week, transmits the mother's heartbeat and voice to an incubator via a special speaker that filters out sound frequencies not present in the womb, a sound engineering process Samsung calls "wombifying."

Apple sees a "huge market potential" for its products in India and the technology giant is "really putting energy" in the country which will begin rolling out high-speed wireless networks this year, CEO Tim Cook said. "This is another huge one. India will be the most populous country in the world in 2022. India today has about 50 per cent of their population at 25 years of age or younger. It's a very young country. People really want smartphones there, really want smartphones," Cook said in a CNBC interview. He said in emerging markets like India, LTE (wireless) penetration is currently "zero" but as LTE begins to roll out this year in the country, the dynamics will change. "And so that's changing. Huge market potential," he said in response to a question about the Indian market for Apple. Cook said the company has got "great innovation" in the pipeline and new iPhones that will attract people in markets like India...