BlackBerry creates Innovation Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

BlackBerry just announced the QNX Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Centre (AVIC). Housed within the BlackBerry QNX facility in Ottawa, Ontario, the centre will accelerate the realization of connected and self-driving vehicles by developing production-ready software independently and in collaboration with partners in the private and public sector. 

As part of this initiative, BlackBerry QNX plans to recruit and hire local software engineers to work on ongoing and emerging engineering projects for connected and autonomous cars. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario recently approved BlackBerry QNX to test autonomous vehicles on Ontario roads as part of a pilot program. One of the centre’s first projects will be supporting this pilot as well as BlackBerry QNX’s work with the University of Waterloo, PolySync, and Renesas Electronics to build an autonomous concept vehicle. 

Click to read more ...

Video: Apple AirPods unboxing and first impressions

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

For those who were quick enough to order Apple's anticipated AirPods, they began arriving today and were available in limited quantities at Apple Retail Stores. We received our order today and have just set up the AirPods to work with our main smartphone, the iPhone SE.

Out of the box, the AirPods are encased in their tiny charging case. This small, white case does look like a fancy case for dental floss, contact lenses or some other medical apparatus. There are hints of metal in the design of this case as well as a small recessed button. Apple does provide a lightning charger in the box.

Click to read more ...

Blade Runner 2049 trailer is out

Considered by many to be the perfect science fiction movie, the original Blade Runner seemed complete, with no need for a sequel or prequel to enhance the already moody and mysterious world of replicants and replicant hunters (blade runners). We now have a sequel to the 1982 Ridley Scott helmed classic which brings back an aged Deckard (Harrison Ford) and an all new Blade Runner played by Ryan Gosling. Along with Ford, Ridley Scott is back but merely as a producer, the new movie, which is slated for October 2017, is megged by Denis Villeneuve, (who also did Prisoners, Sicario, & Arrival). Not sure how I feel about this trailer, but if the right people are behind it, I'm hoping it will at least be half-as engaging as the original cyberpunk epic.

Super Mario Run a runaway success, still not as habit forming as Pokémon Go

The highly anticipated iOS exclusive mobile game Super Mario Run managed 10 million downloads during the first 24 hours of being made available. The game, which requires a CAD $13.00 fee to unlock all the levels, made US $ 4 million in revenue on its first day. A formidable achievement for sure but one that's failed to exclipse the excitement earlier this year for Pokémon Go.

A report from analytics company App Annie  Super Mario Run, which is a mobile take on the beloved Super Mario franchise from Nintendo, reports that it notched up over 10M downloads and generated more than $4M revenue on its first day. This is great news for Apple and for Nintendo as well as sign to other game companies that mobile ports of long-standing console franchises are where the future of mobile and casual gaming are. Pokémon Go, which was earning upt to $10 million a day for weeks after its initial release (and which had a staggered rollout) is likely the bigger earner long-term. While it is a freemium game, Pokémon Go continues to add features, creatures and more ways to play. 

Click to read more ...