Author: Gugu Lourie
Samsung has unveiled at this year’s CES, Ballie, a small, rolling robot that understands you, supports you and reacts to your needs to be actively helpful around the house. This dog-like robot can act as a personal photographer and maid. This robot is part of Samsung’s vision of robots as ‘life companions,’ said H.S. Kim, CEO of Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics. “In the Age of Experience, we need to re-think the space we have to accommodate our diverse and evolving lifestyles,” he explains. “What makes Samsung’s approach unique is the fact that we have a very clear philosophy built…
For seven years now, the BMW i3 has played the role of iconic ambassador for electric driving pleasure, sustainability and intelligent connectivity in urban areas. These qualities have helped to make it the world’s best-selling electric car in the premium compact segment. At CES 2020, the BMW Group has unveiled an interesting version of its compact i3 electric city car called the Urban Suite. The BMW i3 Urban Suite showcase a mobility experience tailored entirely to the passenger’s individual needs. To achieve this, a standard BMW i3 underwent a complete transformation (with only the driver’s seat and dashboard left untouched)…
Google Assistant, a voice-activated digital helper that can be found across smart speakers and Smart Displays, phones, TVs, cars and more, now helps more than 500 million people every month to get things done. The search giant is “previewing” new features at CES for the Google Assistant. With a new feature called Scheduled Actions coming out later this year, you will be able to ask the Assistant to turn on/off or start/stop a compatible smart device at the time of your choosing, said Google. For example, you can say, “Hey Google, run the coffee maker at 6 a.m.” And from…
Mercedes Benz has unveiled a wild new concept car that was inspired by the 2009 movie Avatar called — what else? — the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR at CES 2020. The VISION AVTR shows a completely new interaction between human, machine and nature, the German manufacturer said on Tuesday. For Mercedes-Benz, the VISION AVTR is a very untypical concept vehicle. “We have always looked to the future in our history, but we have never looked so far away. For me personally, however, that is precisely the appeal. The VISION AVTR is a mixture of science and creative speculation. It combines the technologically…
The shares of MTN Zakhele Futhi debuted last November on the JSE. Instead of making investors smile from ear to ear it unleashed disappointment as the shares traded below its net asset value. For more read: MTN Zakhele Futhi Investors Have Reasons to be Disappointed MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi is a ring-fenced special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating investment by previously disadvantaged South Africans in MTN Group (MTN). It holds about 77 million shares in MTN, amounting to 4% of MTN’s issued share capital. It also has about 89 000 shareholders holding 123.4 million MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi ordinary shares. The MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi shares…
Avon Products announced on Friday its CEO Jan Zijderveld will step down, effective immediately, concurrent with the closing of the sale of the company to Brazilian-based Natura &Co. Zijderveld took the helm at the company in February 2018. He will be replaced by Angela Cretu, who is responsible for the business outside of Latin America and for the oversight of the Avon brand globally. In his nearly two years at Avon’s helm, Mr. Zijderveld has been instrumental in turning around the company through its Open Up strategy, which aims at making Avon the digital social selling beauty company by rebuilding the fundamentals and…
Already negatively impacted by US lawsuit for alleged funding the Taliban in Iran, MTN Group is now reeling from the US-Iran tension. The tension is occupying a global centre stage after the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. The price of oil surged late Thursday after the killing of Soleimani. For more read: ‘Westerners should leave UAE immediately’: Gulf warning as British troops put at greater risk in Iraq after US kills Iran military chief The news of the assassination of Soeimani would spook investors in MTN who have grappled against the challenges the mobile phone operator has experienced in…
MTN Group announced on Thursday it has concluded an agreement to dispose of its 49% equity holdings in the Ghana and Uganda Tower Company investments to a subsidiary of American Tower Company for $523 million, approximately R7.3 billion. This transaction is expected to close in Q1 2020, the company said in a statement. The company added t that its Asset Realisation Programme (ARP) in March 2019 which aims to simplify its portfolio, reduce debt and risk, improve returns and realise proceeds of at least R15 billion over three years. Following on the proceeds raised from the disposals of its stakes…
Volkswagen provides a glimpse into the future in which the search for charging stations for electric cars comes to an end. The company has announced a concept for a mobile charging robot that comes to electric cars and charges them on its own. The mobile robot brings a trailer in the form of a mobile energy storage device to the vehicle and connects them; it then uses this energy storage device to charge the battery of the electric vehicle. The mobile energy storage device stays with the vehicle during the whole charging process. The robot, in the meantime, charges other…
A consortium led by Chinese tech giant Tencent is buying a 10% stake in Vivendi’s Universal Music Group for 3 billion euros (R47 billion), the companies announced Tuesday. The sale values the world’s largest music company at 30 billion euros (R470 billion). The Tencent-led consortium is joined by Tencent Music Entertainment and certain global financial investors. The consortium has the option to acquire up to an additional 10% equity stake in UMG at the same enterprise value by January 15, 2021. Prior to the closing of the Consortium-Universal Music Group transaction, Tencent Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group also intend to…