Mastercard and Dream Payments speed up insurance payments

Mastercard  announced a global partnership with Canadian-based Dream Payments aimed at getting insurance customers paid quickly, simply and securely. Northbridge Financial, a Fairfax company, will be the first insurance provider in Canada to use the Mastercard Send platform through the Dream Payments Hub, followed by international markets.

Mastercard Send is a global push payments platform designed to work with banks, businesses, digital players, governments and money transfer services, helping them to modernize the way they send money, both domestically and cross-border.

Both Mastercard and Dream Payments share a vision where insurance policyholders will receive fast payments into any payment card or account, when they need it most.

Sonos One speaker now has Amazon Alexa assistant enabled

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Owners of the Sonos One smart speaker are getting a delightful surprise today as the Amazon Alexa smart assistant is now enabled and offers a variety of welcome features. Users who are also subscribed to services like Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, TuneIn Radio and other streaming music services can simply ask their Sonos One to find and play music by song, artist, genre or playlist.

For users who have the Sonos One as part of a multi-room, multi-speaker setup, the $249 CAD smart speaker can now ask Alexa to play music on specific speakers or rooms which simplifies the process of managing a variety of sources and playback devices.

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Alcatel unveils 2018 portfolio at Mobile World Congress featuring 18:9 display resolution

Hot on the heels of a busy 2017, TCL Communications has unveiled its portfolio of devices under the Alcatel brand focusing on premium features as well as 18:9 display resolution for improved content consumption.

Alcatel will be the world’s first brand to deliver an immersive 18:9 display experience across each series in the portfolio, made possible by using custom-built displays leveraging parent company TCL’s award-winning television technology and bringing the immersive entertainment experiences to smartphone customers. The portfolio also features all-new Alcatel experiences such as Face Key, a facial recognition technology, and enhanced camera options that give users more control over how they capture the moments they want to remember and share.

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BlackBerry Mobile declares it accomplished its mission with 2017 unit sales

BlackBerry Mobile, a subsidiary of TCL Group has sold 850,000 BlackBerrys in 2017 as per IDC. Mostly focused on the KEYOne and some initial Motion models, this figure may seem insignificantly small to some but the company said it has accomplished its mission of putting the brand back on the map on an interview with The Verge.

BlackBerry devices are available in 50 countries and sold by 110 carriers, they don't just appeal to BlackBerry loyalists or new users seeking differentiation, they are resonant with users who want the Android experience but also crave security and privacy as built-in features. BlackBerry Mobile has indicated it will bring two new models to market this year, we also expect variants of the KEYOne and Motion to continue in countries where these devices are selling well.

Source: The Verge