Volkswagen will build EVs in North America starting in 2021

Volkswagen introduced its new e-Golf at the LA Auto Show last week and today the automaker announced more plans for its electric vehicles in North America. As part of its plan for the next decade, the company wants to “evolve from a niche supplier into a relevant and profitable volume producer.” Part of that strategy includes building EVs in North America beginning in 2021.

Setting up shop in North America is the second part of a two-stage plan for production on the continent. Volkswagen’s brand Board of Management Chairman Dr. Herbert Diess explains that the company “will be making considerable investments in electric infrastructure” there. Diess also says that Volkswagen will “step up activities” in the US, mostly focusing on large SUVs and limousines.

At the Paris Auto Show in September, Volkswagen previewed its next-gen I.D. EV concept platform. With I.D., the automaker says it will eventually roll out 20 different models based on its so-called Modular Electric Drive Kit. Back at CES, the company showed off its BUDD-e concept that brought its iconic vans into the 21st century as an EV via the modular platform. The first I.D. vehicle is expected to arrive in 2020 with a 125 kW motor and a range of between 250 and 370 miles. Those EVs slated to be made in North America during the next decade will feature Volkswagen’s modular tech.

The company has already announced plans to reinvent itself as an EV outfit in the aftermath of its massive diesel emissions scandal. As part of the restructuring, the automaker will cut up to 30,000 jobs. Volkswagen says the goal is is to produce 25 percent more vehicles than it currently does by 2025 with fewer employees. And it wants to sell three million EVs by then, too.

Source: Volkswagen

Vivaldi’s web browser can control your Hue lights

Standing up and walking over to a light switch is so passé, apparently. To stand out from its competition, Vivaldi has added Hue light controls to its upstart desktop browser. With the latest version, 1.5, you can now link your smart bulbs under the “Theme” settings page. Select which lights Vivaldi should control and you’ll then get an intriguing light show — specifically, the bulbs will illuminate automatically depending on the “color of the web.” A gimmick? Absolutely, however Vivaldi CEO Jon von Tetzchner has hinted at broader and possibly more useful functionality in the future.

“Imagine a world where you get notified for a new email or web notification through a light bulb,” he said. “Vivaldi is all about customisation and flexibility. Integrating with IoT devices like Philips Hue makes it possible for Vivaldi to adapt to you and your everyday life.”

If, like me, you’re still using regular bulbs, Vivaldi has a few extra tricks to tempt you over. Tab selections and stacks, which act like folders for open web pages can now be dragged between windows. It’s a small, but useful feature if you tend to keep dozens of tabs open (and struggle to find the one you need half an hour later). There’s also a new reader mode button in the address bar, making it simpler to activate the browser’s cleaner web experience. Finally, the team has added automatic screenshots to notes, so that when you save a text snippet the source page is archived with it.

Source: Vivaldi (Press Release)

UK insurers detail the data they’ll want from driverless cars

As car makers outfit their vehicles with more autonomous features, insurance providers are carefully weighing up how to cover owners of driverless cars while figuring out exactly who should be liable in an accident. The UK government agrees it’s a major priority and has already laid down a common-sense framework to guide discussions, but the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has today published a specific list of rules that providers believe will best protect everyone involved.

Insurers are asking for a “basic set of core data” that will be shared in the event of an accident. It will tell them whether a car was operating in autonomous mode or being driven manually and indicate which features were in use at the time. Information would also include the time and GPS location of an incident, when the vehicle was placed into driverless mode and when the driver last interacted with it (including steering and braking), as well as whether there was someone in the driver’s seat and whether their seatbelt was secured.

The ABI says that it would want data from 30 seconds before to 15 seconds after an accident. However, insurers stress that they wouldn’t collect information on a driver’s performance when operating a vehicle manually.

If that data was made available, insurers say they’d be in a better position to determine liability and share information to aid emergency services’ investigations. There’s also the argument that claims could be processed quicker. With relevant data at hand, manufacturers could be held responsible for faults in their technology, helping them to improve the safety of their products as a result.

With the government’s consultation on driverless vehicle regulation now closed, car makers and insurers will wait to see what the UK has planned for the autonomous future. The World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, a body operating under the United Nations, will also bring its own rules into force in 2019. UK insurers want to help shape domestic and international regulations so that Britain’s drivers can own and operate driverless cars without fear of unfair reprisals.

Via: BBC

Source: ABI

Apple Opening Third Store in Paris at Marché Saint-Germain on December 3

Apple has announced it is opening a third retail store in Paris, France at Marché Saint-Germain on Saturday, December 3 at 10:00 a.m. local time.

Marché Saint-Germain render based on renewal plans
Apple will be one of several new stores opening this month at Marché Saint-Germain, or the St. Germain Market, which has been under construction for several months following a renewal project. The market is centrally located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Apple had been rumored to be a future tenant since 2015.

Apple Marché Saint-Germain will be the company’s first new retail store since opening its Via Santa Fe location in Mexico in late September. Apple has two other stores in Paris at the Opéra de Paris and Carrousel du Louvre, along with an Apple Watch boutique at Galeries Lafayette. It will be Apple’s 21st store in France.

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Where to buy the Samsung Gear S3 in the U.S.

We had to endure a bit of a wait, but now the Gear S3 is on sale.

Samsung’s newest smartwatch comes in two forms, the Gear S3 Classic and Gear S3 Frontier, with the latter also offering optional LTE connectivity. Both are big, feature-packed and nice to look at, so long as you’re a fan of bigger watches. If you’re ready to pick up the latest in wearable tech from Samsung, we have all of the resources for you right here.

Gear S3 Classic

The Gear S3 Classic is the more traditional (and slightly more gender-neutral) model of the two, closely following the look of the Gear S2 Classic. It has all of the same features (aside from optional LTE) of the Frontier, and the same price. Pricing is set at $349, barring any sales that different manufacturers may offer. You can buy directly from Samsung, or from several other retailers.

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Gear S3 Frontier

The Gear S3 Frontier is a bit more rugged looking when compared to the Gear S3, though it’s the same overall size. With a more gnarled bezel and dark color it definitely leans more masculine, but is still a looker nonetheless. You can find it for sale everywhere you’d find the Gear S3 Classic, with the same suggested retail price of $349.

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Gear S3 Frontier LTE

The LTE-enabled version of the Gear S3 Frontier has all of the same core specs and features, but has the added ability to work with its own connection independent of your phone. This of course means that you have to pay for cellular service for your watch, but in turn will be able to stream media, keep apps updated and take calls all on the watch.

These models are specific to the carrier, so make up your mind about which to go with (it’s best to use the carrier you already have for your phone) and then pick the Gear S3 Frontier model that coincides with that. AT&T offers a discount if you want to sign up for a two-year contract, but other than that prices may fluctuate more often with these carrier models, so shop around.

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Samsung

Samsung is a massive South Korea-based multinational company that makes some of the best-selling phones, tablets and mobile accessories, but also spans industries such as televisions, appliances and semiconductors (like memory and processors). Samsung is the largest Android device manufacturer worldwide.

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New TV tech explained: What do the logos and buzzwords mean?

Television manufacturers release new models at least twice a year and the technology in their latest sets is constantly improving. It can be hard to keep up at times.

Even if you’ve bought a new TV recently, you might not know what it is truly capable of; what all the badges and logos on the box actually mean.

That’s why we’ve looked at some of the most important new TV tech buzzwords to help demystify them for you.

4K

Just when you finally understand the benefits of a Full HD TV and 1080p video a new, better format arrives. Otherwise known as Ultra HD or even 4K Ultra HD, it is a standard that refers to the new resolution boost manufacturers are giving their TVs to make them sharper and more detailed.

4K TVs come with a resolution of 3840 x 2160, so are capable of showing around four times the amount of pixels as a 1920 x 1080 Full HD set. That means that, when displaying a native 4K film or TV show, it will look much more sharp than before.

50/60Hz

The refresh rate, which is generally 50Hz in the UK, 60Hz in the US, refers to how many frames are displayed on your TV in a second. 50Hz means than your TV screen refreshes 50 frames per second (fps) and therefore seems smooth and judder free.

Some formats use different frame rates, such as movies. Most films are shot in 24fps so Blu-ray playback invariably offers the same – ensuring that the action looks as the director intended. Videogaming though is better when displayed in as high a frame rate as possible, with action benefitting from more frames to keep it fast and smooth.

2160p

Although the TV industry has largely settled on 4K and Ultra HD to describe the new, higher picture resolutions, you might also hear it referred to as 2160p.

That’s because a 4K pixel resolution is 3840 x 2160, while the picture shown is progressive, hence 2160p. “Progressive” describes the way images are refreshed on your screen. Each image is shown in its entirety with a progressive signal, while an interlaced signal means that only half the image is updated at a time. A progressively scanned image is therefore smoother and better than an interlaced one.

Apps

Almost all TVs sold these days connect to the internet and commonly called Smart TVs. That means that they can download applications for different services, utilities or even games.

Different manufacturers use different operating systems on their TVs, but most offer the main apps for streaming services, such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix and Amazon Video. The latter two often have 4K content available to view too.

Catch-up

Catch-up television is becoming more and more popular. Rather than having to record a show, you can now stream any programmes you missed directly through your connected Smart TV. All the major channels have their own catch-up service, but not all TVs give you access to all of them. If your TV has a Freeview Play badge (as detailed below), it is guaranteed to have the catch-up services from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and UKTV Play’s channels: Dave, Yesterday, Drama and Really.

Recording programmes is still very popular, but the ease of use and convenience of catch-up and on demand services makes them very compelling.

Dolby Vision

We detail high dynamic range (HDR) picture technology below, and Dolby Vision is a specific HDR standard.

There are plenty of HDR TVs out there, far fewer that support Dolby Vision too. The latter, branded tech is fractionally better although both are capable of showing a wider colour gamut and greater contrast between dark and bright areas. Dolby Vision TVs are renowned for their image quality with compatible content. Some Netflix 4K shows are capable of being shown in Dolby Vision, for example.

EPG

EPG stands for electronic programme guide. Most EPGs show you seven days worth of TV schedules but with Freeview Play, for example, you can also scroll seven days back to choose retrospective shows to play through catch-up.

Freeview Play

Freeview Play is Freeview’s catch-up TV service and appears on a rapidly increasing number of televisions. The most recent TVs from Panasonic, LG, Finlux and JVC sport Freeview Play and it gives users the ability to catch-up with their favourite shows by scrolling backwards through the electronic programme guide.

By clicking on shows on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and UKTV channels (which include Dave, Yesterday, Really and Drama), they open in each broadcaster’s respective app automatically, then play for you to enjoy. It makes catching up more simple.

Click here to find out more about Freeview Play.

HDR

High dynamic range (HDR) picture tech allows a TV to show a wider colour range than conventional sets. They are also capable of greater brightness and/or deeper black levels. The end result is a more natural picture that can be bright and vibrant without losing definition or detail in darker areas.

4K Blu-rays have HDR encoding, so look great on a HDR TV. Both Netflix and Amazon also offer HDR on many 4K shows on their streaming platforms. Both the Xbox One S and PS4 consoles have HDR output these days.

LED

LED refers to the backlight technology now adopted for the vast majority of LCD TVs. The backlight uses either side or rear-mounted LEDs to illuminate the LCD panel pixels.

Many TVs now have zonal backlighting, which allows for darker areas of a picture to remain as dark as possible because the backlight is only shining in sections of the screen where needed rather than across the whole display.

Benefits to LED technology are very high brightness – especially on HDR LED TVs – and cheaper cost as they are easy to manufacture in bulk.

OLED

The biggest rival TV screen technology to emerge in recent times is OLED, which has a couple of major image benefits over rival tech. OLED pixels are self-illuminating, so an OLED TV does not need a backlight.

This makes OLED sets much thinner than their LED rivals. And black levels are much better as when an OLED pixel is off, no light whatsoever shines through it. There is also very little light bleed from pixel to pixel.

OLED TVs aren’t as capable of the extreme brightness of some of the more recent LED TVs, however. They are also much more expensive.

Processor

Like your mobile phone or tablet device, a modern TV will have a processing unit dedicated to ensuring apps and menus run smoothly. This will not be the same as the picture processing chips that have been used in TV manufacture for many years.

Therefore, it can sometimes be important to check the speed or quality of the internal processor, as that will determine how well your TV responds to your actions. Some TVs even sport octa-core processors nowadays, much like premium smartphones.

Get catch-up and on demand TV for £0 per month with Freeview Play. Click here to find out more.