Apple Pay now enjoys 1,000 US card issuers

Apple Pay, Apple's mobile payments platform tied to iPhone and Apple Watch now has 1,000 US card issuers as it makes a push to get more retailers into the fold. The company only has 998 banks and credit unions, but other issuers include retailers BJ's Wholesale Club and Kohl's. The service is available in 2 million locations and is also expected to expand into new countries like Spain and China. Apple Pay is available in Canada but only for American Express customers. We're hoping that other banks and credit cards will offer the service soon.

Source: Apple

New Sago Mini Trucks and Diggers game focuses on all the things toddlers love

Toronto-based game and app development company Sago Sago has released Sago Mini Trucks and Diggers, for iOS devices which is available starting today.

Rosie the hamster makes her debut in the new Sago Mini Trucks and Diggers, coming to the App Store on February 4. Kids may be in charge, but as the site supervisor Rosie makes sure things run smoothly. She oversees the project as kids use the bulldozer, crane or funny spinner to load piles of dirt into her dump truck. When the truck is full she drives to the build site and kids start to see their home come to life.  

Little ones love big trucks. They are larger-than life machines full of endless imaginative possibilities that often take on an identity of their own. Kids will love using the six different vehicles in Sago Mini Trucks and Diggers to fill Rosie’s dump truck with messy, goopy dirt. The best part is they’ll get to move the piles of dirt back and forth as many times as they want, encountering all kinds of silly surprises. 

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Toyota to discontinue the Scion youth-oriented brand

Scion no more: Scion's last concept vehicle shown off at the Detroit Auto Show - Photo By Gadjo Sevilla

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Scion, the Toyota sub-brand designed to attract younger buyers will be discontinued. Toyota said it will rebadge three of its 2017 model-year Scions as Toyotas, beginning in August. One model, the tC coupe, will no longer be produced as of that month. Scion debuted in the US in 2003 and was a targeted towards first-time buyers and students.

The brand was built on the foundations of Toyota vehicles but offered customization in terms of colour and materials, quirky vehicle styles and youthful advertising campaigns. Scion only came to Canada in 2010, Toyota is scrapping the brand in response to customer needs.

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Study: Apple Watch trumps standalone fitness trackers in terms of privacy and security

Privacy and security aren't issues most of us have in mind when thinking about our fitness trackers. Mostly though of as 'dumb' devices or a collection of sensors that are designed around tracking physical activity, they don't seem like the types of gadgets that will be susceptible to attacks or data exploits. 

A recent study held by Open Effect called Every Step You Fake took a look at eight fitness trackers and wearables and determined that seven out of the eight fitness trackers emit persistent unique identifiers (Bluetooth media addresses, etc,). Many were shown to have vulnerabilities in their companion smartphone apps and some can even be used to create fake fitness band records. Apple's Apple Watch, which features activity tracking features, a hear rate monitor and various motivational features to keep user's moving, was the only device that did not exhibit security vulnerabilities. This is likely because, watchOS, as an extension of the ironclad iOS platform, surely has key security loopholes covered in their Watch products.

Check our the full report here.