Wal-Mart launches emerging tech incubator

Wal-Mart Stores is creating what it’s calling a technology incubator in Silicon Valley that’s focused on technologies that will change how people shop. Dubbed Store No. 8, named for an Arkansas location where Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton tested new store features, the new venture will try out and possibly invest in technologies like virtual reality,…

Apple and Amazon take fight from smart home to hotel room

Amazon’s Alexa has successfully challenged Apple on your home turf—literally. The Echo and other various Alexa-equipped devices are rapidly becoming the go-to when you need assistance at home, though Apple’s HomeKit has the edge when it comes to automation and security standards. But the real battle comes down to Alexa vs. Siri—which voice-activated assistant is…

Via's 360-degree VR cameras ship for under $100

Via Technologies is now shipping new 360-degree cameras for under US$100, making it more affordable for users to capture and play virtual reality content in headsets. The cameras — called Vpai by Via — are being touted as being “720-degree” as they capture everything within view horizontally and vertically. But effectively, the Via cameras capture…

Vodafone prepares an LTE moon shot

Thanks to Vodafone, the Taurus-Littrow Valley will get its first mobile phone base station next year. It hasn’t needed one up to now, as the last visitors drove through in 1972, the year before the mobile phone was invented. Next year, though, it will get the very latest in 4G LTE coverage, when it receives…