Thursday 10 January 2019

The Morning After: AT&T tries to explain its 5G fib

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Thursday, January 10, 2019.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Another day of CES kicks off as our team has been uncovering the more curious exhibitors taking up residence in Las Vegas. Before you check those out, though, get your People’s Choice votes in ahead of tonight’s Best of CES Awards and let your voice be heard.

(View in browser.)

Say hello to the Cybic E-Legend.

Even bicycles have Alexa now

A bicycle with Alexa? What's the point? According to Nick Summers, there definitely is one. It can offer directions in a pinch, turn the heating on before you get home and send a message to your family when you get stuck in traffic. Heck, you could even use it to order UberEats. According to Amazon, Cybic is the first company to offer an Alexa-enabled bike. The complete range will be sold in the UK through Halfords this summer. A Cybic spokesperson hinted that the bicycles will come to other markets later.

Here's our list of nominees for all 15 categories.

Presenting the Best of CES 2019 finalists!

The Engadget CES team has been hard at work finding the latest and greatest gadgets here at CES 2019. After a long and arduous debate, we're ready to announce our finalists for the official Best of CES awards. We’ve made our selections for all 15 categories, ranging from best wearables to the most impactful products we've seen at the show. Keep an eye out at 8 PM ET tonight when we announce all the winners.

That digital helper just keeps getting smarter and more deeply embedded.

Breaking down the Google Assistant news and strategy for 2019

It's clear that Assistant is not just getting more useful, but it's also going to permeate even more of our lives. Director of product management for the Google Assistant Chris Turkstra joined us on stage at CES to go over the latest news and give us a hint of what's coming this year.

With tons of shows & movies + Live TV for sports, Hulu is about to ruin TV for you forever.

Added weight on the way down gives your biceps an extra boost.

The Hiiga-One is a mechanical bench press that doesn't need weights

The Hiiga-One is a mechanical bench press that avoids the lumps of iron entirely. Crazier still, you can change weight on the fly or add extra pounds to the barbell as you lower it, increasing your workout's effectiveness. The machine takes a strength reading before your workout routine and responds to your decreasing energy by reducing the weight slightly. It's like a robo-spotter.

It didn't do the greatest job.

AT&T doubles down on its 5G fib

AT&T is sticking by its faux 5G label. In an interview, the company's Igal Elbaz defended the decision… not very well. The main issue is that even if your phone is displaying AT&T’s 5G E, you’ll definitely need a new one to actually use next-gen mobile networks.

It's targeted at solid 4K gaming.

AMD's Radeon VII is the first 7nm GPU for gamers

AMD is making a big stab at 4K gaming with its new high-end video card, the Radeon VII. Announced during the company's CES keynote, it's the world's first consumer 7nm GPU. That architecture allows it to be around 25 percent faster than the company's last model, while using the same amount of power.

Dan Cooper explains how a robot put him on the CES injured list.

I just had my ass handed to me by a boxing robot

Essentially a punchbag on a stick, BotBoxer is loaded up with a number of sensors that can detect pressure and movement. Its stick is connected to a base and held in place with a series of cables that can angle it to dodge blows during sparring.

But wait, there's more...

1. IKEA's smart window blinds hit the US April 1st

2. LG's Laser 4K doesn't need a lot of space for a big picture

3. The Osé blended-orgasm machine sounds like a micro-robotic marvel

4. The story behind Impossible Burger 2.0

5. LG's 49-inch ultrawide monitor is a multi-tasker's dream

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe.

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Wednesday 9 January 2019

E-Commerce Minute

E-Commerce Minute: Wednesday -- January 9, 2019

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
Microsoft, Kroger Ring Up Retail as a Service
Creating New Customer Experiences: 6 Retail Technology Predictions for 2019
How a Good Preorder Strategy Can Maximize Online Sales
4 Retail Tech Trends to Watch in 2019
2019 CRM Wish List
The Economics of E-Commerce Chargeback Fraud
6 E-Commerce Shipping Strategies That Level the Playing Field for SMBs
Is Weak Data Integrity Foiling Your CRM?

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Today's Story Highlights

Microsoft, Kroger Ring Up Retail as a Service

Microsoft and Kroger announced a collaboration on Retail as a Service to
equip stores with Kroger Technology products that run on Microsoft
Azure. The technology utilizes the IoT, connectivity, the cloud, and
data collection and analysis to improve both customer experiences and
store bottom lines. Two stores will pilot a smart technology system
connected by IoT sensors, running on Microsoft Azure.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85775.html

Creating New Customer Experiences: 6 Retail Technology Predictions for 2019

As e-commerce has gained serious momentum over the past 10 years, there
have been dire predictions about the impending death of brick-and-mortar
retail. The narrative has been framed largely as "technology is killing
retail," but the reality is not quite so simple. While technology
undoubtedly has transformed the retail landscape, it also has been
pushing the industry forward.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85773.html

How a Good Preorder Strategy Can Maximize Online Sales

Among the myriad of tactics that e-commerce businesses can use to pump
up sales, preorders might be the most overlooked strategy. Yet preorder
sales are a highly effective way to generate early buzz to gin up demand
for new products. A "preorder" by definition is the sale of a product
that is not immediately available to the consumer but will be sometime
soon.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85769.html

4 Retail Tech Trends to Watch in 2019

Year over year, we see the numbers. In 2017, e-commerce represented 49
percent of all total retail growth, up 16 percent. If this year's
$119.99 billion holiday shopping season spend indicates anything, it's
that 2018 is projected to be yet another banner year for commerce.
Online shopping will hit unprecedented, never-before-seen rates of
growth, and it'll be all thanks to technology.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85766.html

2019 CRM Wish List

I've been writing a forecast column every year at least since W was
president. Nothing's wrong with that, lots of people do. However, I
often find that my forecast is more of a wish list than a true
prognostication, so this time I'll dispense with the fiction of
analytical rigor and just say what I think needs to happen. First, the
industry is consolidating. The big and successful companies are
competing on a different plane than the smaller ones.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85765.html

The Economics of E-Commerce Chargeback Fraud

E-commerce fraud is an ongoing problem for online merchants and credit
card companies. It has been growing at twice the rate of e-commerce
sales. Identity theft traditionally has been one of the most common
sources of e-commerce fraud, but online merchants increasingly have been
suffering more from chargeback fraud, which requires them to absorb the
costs of disputed credit card transactions.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85763.html

6 E-Commerce Shipping Strategies That Level the Playing Field for SMBs

E-commerce continues to become more competitive as large companies like
Amazon, Target and Walmart soak up market share and customer attention.
Shipping window expectations have become shorter, and many online
retailers struggle to keep up, particularly SMBs. How can SMBs compete?
Not only is competing possible, there are many SMBs that have been
finding exceptional success.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85757.html

Is Weak Data Integrity Foiling Your CRM?

American companies spend an enormous amount of money on training.
Spending reached more than $90 billion in 2017, an increase of over 32
percent from 2016. It's unlikely that even a small share of the billions
spent on training last year were devoted to educating and motivating
employees to regularly and accurately input data into a company's CRM.
Maybe it should have been.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85758.html

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Editor's Pick: IBM Chief Sounds Cautionary Note on Deep Data, AI, Quantum Computing

IBM Chief Sounds Cautionary Note on Deep Data, AI, Quantum Computing

John P. Mello Jr. Jan 9, 2019 5:00 AM PT
	Powerful technologies like deep data, AI and quantum computing should be introduced into society carefully, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty declared in opening remarks at CES. "These tools are so powerful they will solve some of the most enduring problems -- like food safety, waste," she said, "but like all powerful tools, we've got to usher them in safely into society." [More...]

More Picks:

Creating New Customer Experiences: 6 Retail Technology Predictions for 2019
As e-commerce has gained serious momentum over the past 10 years, there have been dire predictions about the impending death of brick-and-mortar retail. The narrative has been framed largely as "technology is killing retail," but the reality is not quite so simple. While technology undoubtedly has transformed the retail landscape, it also has been pushing the industry forward. [More...]

Apple, Samsung Buddy Up in Smart TV Deal
Apple movies and music are coming to Samsung Smart TVs this spring. Samsung's 2019 Smart TVs will support iTunes Movies and TV Shows, and Apple AirPlay 2, Samsung said Sunday at CES in Las Vegas. Smart TVs made in 2018 also will be able to play Apple content via a firmware update. Apple content can be accessed from the smart TVs via an exclusive app. [More...]

Online, Offline Convergence: Give Shoppers the Best of Both Worlds
Online and offline shopping businesses have to work together to improve customer engagement and retention. Although some brick-and-mortar stores are suffering revenue loss to online retailers, there is still an important space for them in the shopping experience. By joining forces, brick-and-mortar and online stores can meet the emerging needs of today's customers. [More...]

2019: The Year Everything Changes
We are approaching critical mass on a number of technologies that we will see increasingly this year. This wave will start at CES, where we will see an impressive number of attempts at personal robots and AI-powered digital assistants. Most will fail, but both the failures and the few successes will set the stage for the first true mobile personal robots that will arrive in the following years. [More...]