We are entering the age of peak smartphone. What happens next? September 26, 2016 A decade ago few of us imagined we would have a compact, sleek device that we could and would use for email, ordering groceries, taking and sharing photos and videos, tracking children, paying for the bus, catching Pokemon and occasionally making calls. Yet, nine years on from the launch of the first full touch-screen smartphone, [...]
Revealed: The nocturnal habits of 15m smartphone users September 26, 2016 We may now be living in a world of peak smartphone but that doesn't mean we're still not totally obsessed by our devices – as this one chart shows. Astonishingly, a third of us check our phones if we wake up in the middle of the night according to new research doing everything from looking at emails and social media [...]
Netflix, Spotify and Instagram chase Apple’s coolest brand title September 26, 2016 Apple's troubled year has failed to topple it from the top spot among the world's coolest brands, retaining its reputation as a must-have for the fifth year in a row. A half decade holding the title in the CoolBrands Index which is based on authenticity, desirability, innovation and originality comes as its tries to prove it can [...]
Meet the Pikes: The brothers who gave up corporate jobs and first-home deposits to launch SuperCarers September 26, 2016 For brothers Adam and Daniel Pike, business is about personal passion as well as profit. Two years ago, they launched SuperCarers, an online solution to placing carers for the elderly in the home. “Our grandma needed care. The quality wasn’t good enough and it was too expensive. So our mum ended up being the primary [...]
Banks warned over fintech payment firms September 26, 2016 The world's biggest banks risk losing control of digital payments to small fintech startups and global tech giants, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has warned. Banks have been told they have to “maximize security, minimise complexity, and add value beyond pure payments” if they want to survive in transactional banking. The BCG has slammed banks’ poor [...]
Deliveroo launches corporate service in fight against Uber and Amazon September 26, 2016 Deliveroo is ramping up its fight against rivals such as Uber and Amazon with a new corporate service squarely aimed at business workers. The food delivery startup will launch the new dedicated "Deliveroo for Business" service this week with British Land, Innocent Drinks, Survey Monkey and Eventbrite already on board. Read more: Cheers! Now Deliveroo's delivering [...]
Funding Circle: Global expansion almost doubles losses at fintech unicorn and peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle September 25, 2016 Losses have almost doubled at fintech unicorn and lending platform Funding Circle, City PM understands. The peer-to-peer lending group is set to post a full-year loss of £36m when it publishes its accounts on Tuesday, after expanding into Europe and the US ate into profits. However, revenues at the firm, which was founded in 2010 [...]
EU funds for 600 startups have been unfrozen after Brexit pause September 25, 2016 Millions of pounds in funding for startups from the European Union that were put on hold after the vote to leave Europe have been unfrozen. Cash from the EU Regional Development Fund was paused by the Treasury almost immediately following the vote for Brexit putting at risk a shot in the arm for the country's tech [...]
Snapchat to change its name to Snap Inc September 24, 2016 Messaging startup Snapchat has announced plans to change its name to Snap Inc., reflecting its move into other products. "We decided to drop the “chat” and go with Snap Inc!," it said in a statement today. It coincides with the release of its first hardware product Spectacles — sunglasses that can record up to 30 second videos [...]
Snapchat unveils sunglasses with a built-in camera September 24, 2016 Messaging startup Snapchat revealed its first foray into hardware today, with the release of video-sharing sunglasses. The widely-anticipated device, which the company is calling Spectacles, can record up to 30 second videos at a time and will go on sale later this year priced at $130 (£100). It's also changing the name of the company to Snap Inc., Snapchat said today. "We’ve [...]
