Toyota's U2 concept focuses on urban utility at the Canadian International AutoShow

New to the Canadian International AutoShow this year is Toyota's U2 concept which is designed as featuring the best parts of an SUV, mail truck, and cargo van. Focusing on versatile functionality, the u2 concept only has one seat for the driver and everything else can be customized or added as needed. It's a clever concept, one that we would expect from Toyota's now retired Scion brand.

It's rare to have a concept vehicle that's so versatile and open in what sort of user or applications it can be used on and this is one of the concepts that we are looking forward to checking out when the Canadian International AutoShow kicks off this week in Toronto.

Bell and IBM to bring new hybrid cloud capabilities to Canadian market

Bell Business Markets and IBM are partnering to expand the cloud computing services available through Bell Business Cloud. This partnership will give businesses across Canada access to the IBM Cloud via a secure, high-speed private connection from Bell, simplifying the way customers adopt and build out their hybrid clouds.

More and more organizations are looking for a reliable and secure connection to the cloud, that doesn’t rely on sending data over the public Internet. Bell Business Cloud addresses this issue by enabling enterprises to plug into the IBM Cloud, giving them direct access to a wide range of on-demand computing and storage options.

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Ford to focus on power and high-performance at the Canadian International AutoShow

With a plan to bring 12 new performance vehicles to the global market by 2020, Ford is bringing a unique collection of six of its performance vehicles to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre that is sure to get the blood flowing of any car enthusiast.

“This is a supercharged exhibit that is packing plenty of horsepower into a small space,” says Jim Hartford, Vice President of Marketing for Ford of Canada. “The Ford Performance Zone is a must-see at this year’s AutoShow.”

The highlights of the Ford Performance Zone are most certainly the cars:

• The ALL NEW 2017 Ford GT (which had its Canadian reveal at the 2015 AutoShow)
• 2017 F150 Raptor
• 2016 Shelby GT350R
• Focus RS
• Focus ST
• Fiesta ST

Complementing this incredible roster of vehicles is four Forza racing simulators, the Ford Raptors photobomb activation, two basketball nets over the AutoShow Opening/NBA All-Star Weekend and a customer lounge including charging stations for your devices.  

Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey will also be hand to help Ford open the 2016 Canadian International AutoShow on Feb. 12.

Pebble Time to get its own contactless payment via accessory watchbands

Pagaré is a watch strap that connects to the Pebble’s smart accessory port. The watchband takes advantage of Pebble's smart accessory port to create a hardware extension that adds extra functionality to the device. Thanks to its built-in NFC, an accompanying app Pagaré will enable Pebble smartwatch the ability to conduct mobile payments. You can pay for stuff with Pebble using the Pagaré NFC Smartstrap.

Pagaré is designed to be both simple to manage and simple to use. Just add the Pagaré app to your Pebble Timeline, scan in your cards and you are ready to start making transactions. Contactless payments are possible at millions of retail locations worldwide. When you see the contactless symbol at the point of sale, just hold your wrist near the terminal and your transaction is complete! Pagaré is being introduced to early birds on Kickstarter for $49.