3-D printing, wearable tech and robots doing cool things are just some of the more endearing developments that have come to life in 2014. And there are many others. Here’s our top ten tech trends.
If you believe the doomsayers, print is dead. But for UK-based company Novalia, which has just helped DJ Q-Bert release what it’s calling the world’s first interactive DJ decks on an album cover, its technology is bringing it back to life.
Retinoblastoma is a deadly eye cancer that develops in children, and because the disease is so difficult to detect it often ends up stealing the sense of sight from its young victims. However, one of the easiest ways to determine whether or not someone is suffering from the disease is through the use of a smartphone—and you don’t even need an app.
Whether it’s booking flights, deciding where to stay or finding your way when you’re on holiday, the internet era has turned the travel industry on its head. Jessy Edwards looks at how some of the traditional businesses like Destinations, For the Love of Travel and House of Travel are transitioning and how new businesses are profiting.
The founder of The Warehouse, Sir Stephen Tindall, is putting plenty of energy into philanthropic causes these days. And the chief executive of The Warehouse Group, Mark Powell, has given the brand a boost with the promise of a living wage for some staff and discussions about the size of his own salary. And, as part of the company’s communities and environment strategy, it’s also built a high-tech truck for Noel Leeming that promises to bring the wonders of technology to New Zealand’s most remote and least advantaged communities.
There’s so much talk about innovation today and at Spikes Asia held in Singapore last week, innovation and technology were overwhelming seminar themes, says FCB’s James Mok. But what is the relationship between innovation and creativity? And is innovation always creative? What should come first?
Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook took to the stage this morning in Cupertino to launch the iPhone 6 (and its larger brother the iPhone 6 Plus) and the Apple Watch. It’s put a selection of videos from the launch on its YouTube channel, including a cool (and slightly controversial) clip about Perspective, Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake showcasing the new phones, a lengthy explainer from lead designer Jonny Ive and a clip featuring U2.
As part of an experiment to gauge the utility and efficacy of the technology, Vanilla Brief Director Ben Slater has had an NFC-enabled RFID chip inserted into his left hand. PLUS: see what other tech-related project he is currently involved with.
Motorola has launched a tattoo that allows smartphone users to unlock their phones instantly. So is it a henna tattoo of a QR barcode? Is it a microchip inserted into the skin? Or is it an actual tattoo etched onto the body with electronic micro fibre ink?
Tunisia-based 3SG BBDO has launched a new smartphone-based application that provides a means by which to support the cognitive functioning of those in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
There will be no Lions awarded to Kiwi agencies in the Innovation category at this year’s Cannes Festival of Creativity, as it was revealed that all three entrants from New Zealand failed to make the shortlist.
London traffic became even more congested recently as 12,000 taxi drivers staged a protest by blockading various streets throughout the English capital. Their dissatisfaction finds its genesis in the expansion of Uber, an app that allows potential passengers to connect with nearby taxi drivers. We chatted to Roger Heale, the executive director of the the New Zealand Taxi Federation, about the potential of the same happening here. Updated with comments from Uber.
Sky has given its ‘come with us’ microsite a facelift by introducing an interactive browsing feature that takes the visitor on a short promotional journey through the programming currently on offer to subscribers. PLUS: The broadcaster has also announced a partnership with Boston-based, text-streaming company Spritz, which recently unveiled technology that allows viewers to read text on screens one word at a time without having to move from word to word or around the page.
Vodafone is making sure it doesn’t miss out on its share of sales of Samsung’s latest generation Galaxy smartphone, the S5, with a hint of gold fever. It negotiated to offer the gold variant of the device and is putting up a bunch of swag to enthusiasts who can’t resist being first to get the new tech.
In this series, we talk to Kiwi keyboard tappers that have managed to shift from the personal realm of blogging to create online media brands that are widely read (and in some cases profitable). In this segment, we chat to Mauricio Freitas, the founder of Geekzone.
Freeview is set to launch Worldnet TV, the niche Asian-focused channel, free to viewers using home broadband. Freeview says the channel is technically ready to go, with launch timing to be determined by WorldNet.
DDB’s Hadyn Kerr shares five observations about day three at SXSW 2014.
With digital an established part of the marketing mix, 2014 is the year brands should be targeting niche audiences more than ever, says Hotwire and 33 Digital’s Trends Report. And social media is one area where the explosion of channels has prompted marketers to think ‘digital by design’.
Mobile device owners are worth marketers’ attention when it comes to promoting messages through outdoor advertising, according to new research from Roy Morgan.
Entrepreneur and Snow Park founder Sam Lee is hunting a US$50,000 kickstart for MeMINI, new wearable tech designed to record the moments we don’t want to miss.
ASB and ANZ are the latest banks to add to their portfolio of technology-based services for businesses, with ANZ joining the group offering a mobile payments app and ASB developing a service to streamline the accounts receivable process.
Ricoh New Zealand is looking to steal a march in the local 3D printing market by partnering with major US player Makerbot to bring three of its products here. The global market for 3D printing is tipped to reach $8.4 billion by 2020, growing at a compound rate of 23 percent annually and Asia Pacific has been identified as the fastest growing region.
Directories group Yellow’s first foray into augmented reality in its app is all about entertainment, but it has plans to get serious with the technology as part of its transition from print to digital.
As part of The Project 2013, which was delivered by AUT, the US Embassy Wellington and Social Media NZ, media/tech expert Dr Jeffrey Cole spoke to an audience of around 200 people about the death of laptops, how Amazon might soon rule the world and why online communities are like nightclubs.
The launch of Kickstarter in New Zealand has attracted a range of creative and kooky projects, including recreating a cooked onion and a retro game in which a drag queen apparently searched for her alien-abducted mother.
Kiwi internet users continue to fuel the growth of global heavyweight websites like Google and Facebook and homegrown successes like Trade Me. Horizon Research’s latest numbers show Google is the country’s most used website.
A new Orcon campaign with Contagion gives the ISP a chance to get new customers and frontman Kim Dotcom a chance to push his political barrow. Orcon is using what it calls a “fun, cheeky” video featuring Dotcom, and social media activity, to push its $99 uncapped internet plan on fibre or ADSL.
Using facial recognition tools, BNZ has launched EmotionScan, an online experience developed by BNZ in partnership with psychologist Stuart Carr and Swiss emotion recognition software company nViso, to help customers figure out how they feel about money.
We’re increasingly using online and mobile banking, but it’s not going to make human customer service go away. In fact Westpac’s new banking platform is designed as much to get in touch with real people as it is to do more services for ourselves away from branches.
Roy Morgan data from the last five-and-a-half years is hard evidence of the tech behaviour we see in ourselves and others – like difficulty surviving without our mobile devices, the growing popularity of online shopping and the slow death of the desktop and the home landline.