Samsung has announced that the upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone will include the company's own digital assistant. Executive Vice President Rhee Injong told Reuters that the acquisition of Viv Labs will power the new platform, which will also expand into the wearables and other smart home devices. Injon hinted that third-party services will also be able to connect to the platform, which is a key part of making AI more useful. "Developers can attach and upload services to our agent," she said. "Even if Samsung doesn't do anything on its own, the more services that get attached the smarter this agent will get, learn more new services and provide them to end-users with ease."

Google has finally launched an own-brand smartphone, the Pixel, to challenge Apple head on and provide a premium Android experience with the hardware tailored to the software by the people who actually make it.. The new smartphone succeeds Google's Nexus line of devices and the company claims that the Pixel is now 100% Google, unlike the Nexus devices where Google provided the software and had some input into the devices but not total control. The Pixel phone joins the Pixel C Android tablet and Chromebook Pixel as Google's first in-house devices. But for Google, the Pixel isn't just a smartphone, it's a referendum on whether Google as a brand sells. With an all-metal body, all-glass display, rock-solid build, fingerprint scanner and headphones socket, the Pixel ticks most of the boxes expected of top-end smartphone, except for a lack of waterproofing. How attractive it is as a design divides opinion.

The Echo is 22 percent off for its 2nd birthday. We've scoured the web to find you the best deals on good products. And in order to celebrate, Amazon has dropped the Echo to its lowest price yet--$140. But, this is a birthday deal only. At the end of the day, the price will go back up. So, if you're in the market to improve your smart home, you better act fast.

Like, Share And comment A new rumor out of China is claiming that the next Samsung Galaxy S series smartphone will have two variants: one with 5.1-inch 2K (should be QHD) curved Super AMOLED display, and the other with 5.5-inch 4K display (should be UHD). The 5.5-inch model will feature a dual-camera setup.

Following his acquittal of murder in the death of his Tinder date Warriena Wright, Australian man Gable Tostee has managed to offend several people. Tostee, 30, is scheduled to appear on an episode of "60-Minutes on the Nine Network" set to air Sunday in which he shares details about the woman's death, BBC News reported Monday. Tostee and Wright, 26, met through the popular dating app while the woman was in New Zealand for vacation. The two returned to his apartment where their argument turned physical. Tostee reportedly locked the woman on the balcony, where she later fell to her death. Following a week-long trial that took place in October, Tostee was found not guilty of manslaughter and murder in Wright's death.

A Samsung logo is displayed in a mall beneath the company's headquarters in the Gangnam district of Seoul on October 12, 2016. Samsung Electronics slashed its third-quarter profit estimate by 33.3 percent, citing fallout from the recall nightmare surrounding its scrapped Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. It appears Samsung is ready to enter the battle of the personal digital assistants. According to Reuters, Samsung is planning to release its own AI assistant for its Galaxy S8 smartphone, which the electronics giant will likely reveal next year. The assistant would incorporate technology from Viv Labs, a company run by the co-creator of Apple's Siri and acquired by Samsung in October.

"With mobile payments adoption on the rise, merchants are searching for new ways to keep customers coming back," said Tony Rose, director of mobile product management at Vantiv. "One way merchants can increase brand loyalty is with offers such as mobile coupons and loyalty programs, but most merchants don't know how to use these programs because they don't know their customers' preferences. We believe merchants would best be served to invest in new technology such as putting smart targeted offers and coupons into mobile wallets where they are organized and transmitted automatically, offering not only environmental benefit but a much more convenient consumer experience." Not only are younger generations leading the charge for alternative ways to redeem offers, Millennials and Gen Xers are also the most likely to share promotions with their family and friends, especially through social media. The ShopTalk survey shows Millennials and Gen Xers (43 percent) are more likely than Boomers (12 percent) or Retirees (three percent) to share promotions through Facebook.

Google has launched its new mobile messaging app Allo today in a bid to challenge Facebook's stronghold in instant messaging. Allo differs from Google's previous attempts with Hangouts, Google Talk and Google Chat, as its main power lies in artificial intelligence, apparently. Users will be introduced to a preview edition of the company's AI dogsbody, Google Assistant, which does a job similar to that of Apple's Siri, but isn't yet voice powered in Allo. Typing @google in a chat will wake up Google Assistant to answer any questions or perform a specific job, such as sending a link to a Youtube video without having to close the chat and open a new app. A feature known as Smart Reply pops up with suggestions users can reply with quickly while on the move, sending messages such as "Are you on your way?" or just "yup" with a single tap.

Samsung needs something big next year. After all, it's precisely that line that put the company in its current position, up against the ropes during the time of year that ought be its most profitable. In a number of ways, the Note 7 fiasco couldn't have come at a less opportune time, heading into the holidays, just prior to the launch of a new iPhone, and as countless newcomers are vying for the public's attention/affection with low price/high-speced takes on Android. And then it went and recalled 2.8 million washing machines. But the company has clearly been thinking big for the next generation.

In celebration of Echo's 2nd birthday, Amazon has discounted their popular Echo device 22%. This discount is good for today only, Monday, November 7th. Amazon Echo is a hands-free speaker you control with your voice. Echo connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, automate your home, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more. All you have to do is ask.