So on Friday, the Euro’s (Football) kicked off! Whilst I’m not going to go into the matches, how well Italy played etc… one thing that caught my eye was the little remote controlled car that brought the football to the ref at the start!
It was all because VW are the sponsors – and with their new range of ID (electric) cars, what a perfect way to get the message across! (In my opinion – great bit of marketing and advertising!)
With that… let’s speed up, and drive onto our Top Two Tech Stories of the week!
- First up… Facebook and their Smartwatch!
Rumors of Facebook’s development of a smart watch have been around for a few months, but recent stories have given use more details on the project. The watch, allegedly planned for summer 2022, is said to feature two cameras – one forward-facing, for video calls, and a second on the back.
The idea is that the unit can be easily removed from the wrist and used in much the same way as a phone camera. The images can then be uploaded straight to either Facebook, Instagram or shared on WhatsApp. Either through your phone’s connection or using an eSIM.
The Facebook watch is due to feature a heart rate monitor and fitness features to rival the likes of Apple and the now Google-owned Fitbit. Rather than being a premium device, it is expected to retail around $400 (£282/AU$516) and comes in a choice of black, white or gold.
2. Up next.. flying taxi service from Virgin!
Virgin Atlantic is exploring whether it could launch a flying taxi service as part of a partnership with Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace.
The airline suggests electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL) could fly from towns to major airports.
Vertical Aerospace is conducting test flights of its aircraft this year and continue to test to see if the idea, can in reality, take off.
It has proposed that an eVTOL aircraft could pick people up from a city such as Cambridge and fly them to a major airport such as London Heathrow.
Vertical Aerospace says its VA-X4 craft will be able to carry four passengers and a pilot up to 100 miles, as well as being emissions-free and quieter than a helicopter.
In fact the company claims it will be “near silent” when cruising and it has already partnered with American Airlines and Avolon, an aircraft-leasing company.
So there you go – my Top Tech Stories from the week. All about Facebook moving into hardware and bringing out their first SmartWatch… on which you can take photos, and secondly – flying taxis… not a new idea, but one that’s fast becoming more of a reality!