Despite the buzz around beacons, Wi-Fi is the better method right now for helping retailers streamline store layouts, enhance loyalty programs and support new mobile services, according to a new report from ABI Research. Wi-Fi, once the dominant in-store location technology, has seen its role come under attack from newer, less-expensive solutions such as beacons. However, Wi-Fi’s broader reach along with recent advancements that make it more cost efficient and accurate, underscore its ongoing relevance.

Toyota Corp.’s Lexus is getting close to consumers with the reveal of its LF-FC concept model. The brand is using social media to solicit questions and post videos of the vehicle. By going directly to the consumer from the start, assuaging doubts and granting requests, Lexus helps build anticipation and loyalty early.

Digitally connecting cars to each other and to highway infrastructure promises to drastically reduce collisions and traffic jams. But that wireless vehicular chatter comes at a cost to your privacy: A car that never shuts up may be a lot easier to track. Researchers at the Universities of Twente in the Netherlands and Ulm in Germany have found that they can use just a few thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment to track a vehicle that’s emitting the so-called “connected vehicle” wireless communications proposed for future vehicle-to-vehicle connections.

Finnish telecoms group Nokia on Friday announced it had inked a slew of deals, worth a billion dollars (910 million euros), to sell equipment and services to China Mobile. The Finnish firm’s contract with the world’s largest mobile operator includes an agreement to roll out a fourth generation wireless network as well as provide infrastructure, maintenance, network planning and software solutions. The contracts were signed late on Thursday in Beijing by Li Huidi, executive vice-president of China Mobile, and Nokia counterpart Hans-Juergen Bill in the presence of Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Verizon plans to leverage its channel partner ecosystem, a new Internet of Things (IoT) platform, and a big data analytics engine to accelerate IoT adoption, the carrier said during an IoT strategy event at its San Francisco Innovation Center this week. Thanks in part to channel partners and its existing IoT solutions including smart cities, connected cars and wearables, Verizon is generating one of the largest amounts of revenue from IoT of any company in the U.S., the carrier said. Verizon has been tight-lipped about its own IoT strategy, but execs said that the carrier wants to lower the barrier …

MasterCard is putting a stake in the ground in the Internet of Things, with a new platform (called Commerce For Every Device) that enables payments to a broader range of consumer products than ever before. Spanning devices in the automotive, fashion, technology and wearables categories, the goal is to give people  the ability to shop using whatever device or thing is most convenient – and with security top of mind.

Ken Okuyama is an automobile visionary and he fears that Apple and Google might take over the car industry. I think his fears are well-founded. Okuyama is a Japanese industrial designer. One of his specialties is designing cars. He designed the Ferrari F60 Enzo and the Porsche Boxster, and redesigned the Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette. He knows a thing or two about cars, especially high-performance cars. If Apple's and Google's becoming the leading car makers sounds far-fetched, then consider the five following trends in the auto industry. Yes, I know the company formerly known as Google is called Alphabet now. But until the …