TWTW: February 25th – March 3rd, 2018

byRaj Deut
3 minute read
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The week that was (TWTW) takes a look back at the week’s most prominent tech stories from around the world.

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For those that prefer an audio only version, you can subscribe to the TWTW podcast feed on iTunes or by add this feed (https://feedpress.me/reckonerau-twtw) to your favourite podcast app.

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Lastly you can find a full transcript of this week’s episode below.

In the week that was February 25th to March 3rd, 2018.:

Intro

Hey everyone, Raj Deut here for Reckoner with a look back at the tech news in the week that was:

February 25th to March 3rd, 2018.

Stories

Mobile World Congress kicked off in Barcelona this week. Samsung used the conference to unveil their new Galaxy S9 and S9+ mobile phones. The new versions of their flagship models are largely unchanged from their predecessors, the biggest change the relocation of the finger print sensor to a far more sensible position beneath the phone’s rear camera.

The new phones will also feature Samsung’s new “dual aperture” camera system running at both f/1.5 and f/2.4. Reports of the phone’s new camera are extremely positive and camera authority DxOMark have already named it as the best mobile phone camera ahead of Apple’s iPhone Ten’s.

In addition to new phones from Nokia, Sony, LG and others Huawei used the conference to take the wraps off their latest and extremely well received laptop the “Mate Book X Pro”.

The new laptop has the smallest bezelled screen of any on the market today with an impressive 91% coverage. To achieve this Huawei moved the laptop’s webcam into it’s keyboard, hiding it beneath the machine’s F7 key that pops up at an albeit “awkward angle”.

Amazon threw around some cash this week. Reports from Reuters claim the company purchased smart home doorbell manufacturer “Ring” for close to US$1b.

The acquisition comes as Amazon toys with a series of new processes and integrations for package delivery and confirmations thereof.

Recently Amazon couriers have been taking photos of packages on doorsteps to prove their delivery in the US, while other trial services with lock manufacturers can give the courier access to place the package indoors.

Spotify announced it’s IPO plans this week. The company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange however despite going public will not be available for the public to purchase prior to its listing. Instead, initial IPO shares will be offered to the company’s employees and existing private share owners.

As a part of their IPO filing it was revealed Spotify is generating US$5b/year in revenue yet still fails to make any profit. Investors are wary of the company as it remains beholden to the music industry’s demands and to an extent Apple, whom it pays a percentage of every subscription purchased through the Spotify iOS app.

Finally, Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull has put his foot in it again. It’s been revealed the PM’s private Sydney Harbour mansion was connected to the country’s National Broadband Network over Christmas. The connection made use of the new HFC process and was requested to go ahead by his office despite the NBN enforcing a 6 to 9 month delay on the rollout for anyone who’s not the PM.

Outro

And that’s it for another week! Don’t forget The Week That Was is now available as a podcast. You can find and subscribe to it via the iTunes store as well through Apple’s and other good podcast apps.

Please do rate and review the show on there, it helps as well as others find and enjoy the show too!

On the Reckoner website I take a look at new indie darling “Where the Water Tastes Like Wine”, a beautifully story driven game featuring the voice talents of Sting so be sure to check that out.

Thanks for tuning in, have a great week and bye for now.

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