A future iPhone could have a curved wrap-around screen, according to a patent awarded to Apple on Tuesday, while a separate patent highlighted the technology giant's interest in augmented reality (AR). In one filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple outlines an electronic device with "wrap around display". It says the typical rectangular form factor leaves "the sides and rear surfaces of the device unused or at best configured with buttons and switches with fixed location and functionality". Apple said that a flexible display can be folded in such a way "to form a continuous loop such that …

A slew of major automakers are now able to adopt Ford's open-source application interface software for their own vehicles, eliminating the need to use software from Apple or Google to enable consumers to access their favorite apps while driving. In addition to Toyota's previously-announced usage of Ford's platform, other manufacturers, such as Honda, Subaru and Mazda, are also considering cottoning onto Ford's newly open-sourced platform. Developers will be able to take advantage of the SmartDeviceLink software to create apps that are compatible with vehicles and augment the driving experience for consumers, thanks to integrations with other …

Customers of Wayfair Inc. no longer have to guess how items will look in their own personal spaces. The online home furnishings and decor retailer has launched WayfairView, its new augmented reality (AR) smartphone application. Developed by Wayfair Next, the company’s in-house research and development team, the app, using Google technology, allows shoppers to visualize furniture and décor in their homes at full-scale before they make a purchase. Consumers will be able to shop with WayfairView on the upcoming Tango-enabled Lenovo PHAB2 Pro smartphone, available September 2016.

Apple has finally launched its internet-of-things (IoT) smart-home service with a new mobile app called "Home." The only problem? A distinct lack of products to work with. Speaking on stage at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco earlier today, senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi outlined a range of changes in the latest version of its iOS operating system, due this fall. One of them was the "Home" app, which brings Apple's much-touted but long-delayed HomeKit system to your mobile device. The app itself was slated for release this time last year, but was pulled. Federighi showed how, from an iPhone or …

Nokia hopes it will have a hit on its hands with Impact, an all-encompassing new Internet-of-Things management platform that brings together several existing products. The Intelligent Management Platform for All Connected Things builds on the company's established CPE (customer premises equipment) management tool for network operators, Motive Connected Device Platform, so broadband and home routers will be among the first devices to feel its impact. It already supports 80,000 different device types, Nokia said Tuesday. No doubt its new Smart Home Gateway, also unveiled Tuesday, will soon be among them. It combines a fiber "modem" with a router, dual-band gigabit Wi-Fi …

In an ideal world, you’d never load an app on your phone. Instead, whenever you pulled it out of your pocket, it would already have loaded whatever you were looking for. Last week, Google took a small but meaningful step toward that future. It launched a feature called Nearby for Android. Nearby essentially allows places you’re physically nearby to send you notifications through Bluetooth "beacons." So when you walk into a CVS, you’ll receive a link to open (or download) its app, so you could check specials or print photos from your phone. When you wait at the gate of a United …

AT&T, which provides wireless services for a growing number of automotive brands, has launched its first ad campaign touting the benefits of wireless connectivity in vehicles. It's a notable shift in the world of connected-car advertising, with a service provider -- instead of an automaker -- taking the lead role. The digital campaign, which launched last month ahead of the summer family road-trip season, is anchored by a 15-second pre-roll Web video that tells the connected-car story from the perspectives of children who'll use Wi-Fi as passengers. One boy says in the spot, "We were stuck in traffic -- and …

Although the art of purchasing via Apple Watch applications has not yet reached its zenith – with 24 percent of consumers wary of making impulse buys on the wearable – retailers can fuel sales by offering in-store shoppers easy access to coupons and loyalty programs, according to a GPShopper report. The report, “Cracking the Mobile Code: The Apple Watch and Retail,” revealed that 23 percent of Americans would consider purchasing the next incarnation of the Apple Watch, although nearly 24 percent of that group would refrain from buying products on it, due to concerns about making an impulsive purchase.

Lenovo is ready to tango — with Google's Project Tango technology, which brings augmented reality to a Lenovo smartphone. At the Lenovo Tech World event taking place today in San Francisco, the Chinese tech giant let attendees see the first Tango-based handset that consumers will be able to buy: the comparatively mammoth-sized Lenovo PHAB2 Pro smartphone that is coming out in September. Lenovo has been working with Google for about a year on Tango, which has elements of augmented reality and virtual reality. Google has been selling a $512 Tango development kit tablet to phone manufacturers, and Lenovo claims a six-month headstart …

With nearly 50,000 shopping malls spread across the United States, it certainly wouldn’t seem that the retail industry is struggling to keep its doors open. Instead, it would seem that every time we turn around there is yet another yogurt shop or cell phone store announcing a grand opening. This is a deceiving illusion, however. The reality is, as Chief Income Analyst Alan Gula explains, “many retailers are currently struggling to maintain their physical presence.”