Even as the initial craze for Pokemon Go wanes, companies that sell merchandise tied to the augmented-reality game are benefiting. U.S. online sales for Pokemon-branded merchandise rose 105 percent in July compared with the previous year, according to Adobe’s Digital Price Index, which tracks sales from two-thirds of the Fortune 50 companies. Branded items include toys, electronics such as video games, and T-shirts, caps and other apparel. The items that perform well online often are big sellers in stores, said Jaimee Minney, vice president of marketing and communications at Slice Intelligence, which tracks digital commerce.

In a strange turn of events, reports about Google developing a new operating system surfaced this week. The OS that’s causing a huge noise in the online world is an open source, and it is dubbed as Fuchsia. With its existence coming into light, there is now one big question that needs to be answered: Is Google replacing its Chrome OS and Android? It may seem too early to tell at this point, but Android Police did not rule out this possibility when it stated that Google could be hoping to replace the Chrome OS and even the hugely popular Android OS …

For the next week, you can get a glimpse of retailing's possible future at B8ta, a small consumer electronics store here. At B8ta's downtown shop, you'll find Pepper, a robot that looks and kind of acts like a young child -- if that kid were made of shiny, white plastic. SoftBank Robotics, an arm of the Japanese technology conglomerate, designed Pepper to interact with people in homes and in the businesses they visit, answering questions and offering directions and advice. SoftBank started offering consumers a demonstration of Pepper at B8ta on Thursday. "Pepper is designed to engage with you," …

Logitech just unveiled the Pop Home Switch -- literally just a big button that connects to a hub that plugs directly into an outlet via Bluetooth LE. “The hub has the real smarts, with support for a whole host of top smart home gadgets, including Phillips Hue lights, LIFX connected bulbs, Lutron smart drapes and August locks, to name just a few,” TechCrunch reports.

BMW is building an Alexa skill for the Amazon Echo as part of its larger BMW Connected cloud architecture. It will allow owners of connected BMW vehicles to check their vehicle’s remaining range and use commands like “lock doors” through the Echo to control their vehicles. Other features in BMW Connected include links between the car and the driver’s iPhone, including providing “time to leave” notifications for appointments that take traffic information into consideration to help with on-time arrivals, as well as transferring navigation destinations from the phone to the in-car nav system. BMW also includes integration …

Xerox Corporation is joining the slew of companies leveraging hyperlocal, beacon-driven technology by introducing the Shop and Ride mobile application, which allows Hoboken, NJ commuters to receive relevant offers from 35 nearby merchants along their travel routes. With mobile ticketing continuing to dominate commuters’ must-have lists, marketers are quickly looking for the next sales-driving iteration with which to target individuals. Xerox is rolling out the Shop and Ride app to mass transit riders in Hoboken, enabling them to receive customized, hyperlocal mobile deals based on their travel patterns and preferences, suggesting that the future of mobile ticketing may be intertwined with …

For the first time, the Internet of Things netted more additional subscribers for wireless networks than phones and tablets combined during the second quarter of 2016, according to a new report from Chetan Sharma Consulting.  In another milestone, the percentage of revenue generated by wireless networks from mobile data crossed the 75 percent threshold for the first time in the second quarter. For marketers, these numbers underscore the growing importance of IoT and video experiences for marketers as consumers’ mobile behaviors continue to evolve. 

It’s an open secret that the Internet of Things (if we must call it so) is pretty terrible, whether in standards, interoperability or security. You don’t really expect good security in a smart light bulb or coffee maker, though. A smart front door lock, however, really shouldn’t be quite this easy to hack. Two different presentations at DEF CON this year made it clear that there’s a long way to go before we should start trusting the average smart lock — or even the nice ones (though if you had to choose, the latter is the better). This may surprise you, …

Heineken New Zealand is piloting a solution to engage with consumers when they are near or inside pubs and restaurants, with the help of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons. Rush Digital has configured 500 beacons and has worked with Darkhorse NZ to install these at more than 120 businesses around the country, in order to provide the brewery with a smartphone app, as well as content-management software to manage the beacon-related data. The new system, using an app called Heineken LIVE, is a unique concept developed by Saatchi & Saatchi, and is the first technology platform of its kind in New Zealand. The solution enables Heineken to …

Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer is assisting in timekeeping efforts of Premier League referees during the upcoming football season. Starting next year, every Premier League referee will wear a Tag Heuer Connected timepiece during football matches. Tag Heuer has developed a new app for its Connected watch that was developed in close partnership with Premier League officials, ensuring the performance of the device.