SugarCRM Acquires SaaS Marketing Automation Innovator Salesfusion
Collabspot’s email integrationcrmGartner Magic Quadrantmarketing automationMarketing TechnologyNewssalesfusionsugarcrm Previous ArticleGartner Reveals Three Key Strategies for Marketers to Uncover Target AudiencesNext ArticleCvent Introduces Universal Appointments to Improve Trade Show Impact SugarCRM Acquires SaaS Marketing Automation Innovator Salesfusion PRNewswireMay 23, 2019, 11:34 pmMay 23, 2019 Powerful Combination Expands Sugar Platform to Relentlessly Drive Relevant Customer Experiences that Create Customers for LifeSugarCRM Inc., the company that helps organizations deliver exceptional customer experiences, announced it has acquired Salesfusion, a leading provider of marketing automation solutions recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Lead Management.@SugarCRM announces the acquisition of leading marketing automation provider, @Salesfusion, empowering customers to build stronger customer relationships, in less time. #technews #marketingautomation #CRMSalesfusion is the second acquisition the company has made in less than three months. In March 2019, the company acquired Collabspot’s email integration products to enhance its email integration capabilities and take another step towards Sugar’s vision to deliver the most intuitive and collaborative user experience while eliminating data entry.“These acquisitions combined with our new product innovations clearly demonstrate that Sugar is on a solid growth path and strategically evolving our business every day,” said Craig Charlton, CEO of SugarCRM. “This is just the beginning of many more game-changing announcements that will dramatically transform our company for employees, customers, partners and the industry.”Adding Salesfusion’s powerful marketing automation solution to Sugar’s award-winning, easy-to-use CRM platform enables unparalleled and comprehensive customer experience solutions for companies worldwide, including more than 5,000 global Sugar customers. It also immediately positions Sugar to lead the next generation of customer experience innovators, empowering companies to strengthen existing customer relationships, create new ones through actionable insights and intelligent automation and better understand the customer at every stage of the sales, marketing and service cycles.Marketing Technology News: WireWheel and Virtru Partner to Protect Integrity and Privacy of Personal Data“Modern companies expect more than just technology solutions,” said Charlton. “They want a personal relationship with the companies where they conduct business. With Salesfusion, we’re taking our market-leading CRM to the next level, harnessing Salesfusion’s advanced marketing automation capabilities to streamline campaign management, drive personalized engagement, improve conversion and transform customer experience throughout the customer journey. Together, we’re enabling marketing, sales and service professionals to be more productive, take action on customer insights and focus on high-impact value-added offerings that create relentlessly relevant customer experiences.”The integrated solution will be powered by a unified customer data platform that provides deep customer intelligence to enable relevant and personalized engagements. This will enable companies to create experiences that accelerate demand generation, grow revenue, deliver superior customer care and increase loyalty on a mobile-first platform that makes customer experience management easy and accessible for everyone.“Sugar and Salesfusion share a common vision that the next wave of innovation in B2B is sharply focused on the customer experience,” said Logan Henderson, CEO of Salesfusion. “The fact is that customer experience leaders significantly outperform their peers, generating higher average order values, better customer retention and satisfaction and significantly improved brand awareness. Salesfusion provides strong capabilities designed to supercharge marketing efficiency and productivity, making marketers more effective at delivering engaging, on-point customer experiences. As part of Sugar, we’re bringing together the best of everything in customer experience – marketing, sales, service and intelligent insights – to empower companies to perform better and create customers for life.”Marketing Technology News: Phishing of SaaS and Webmail Brands Surpasses Phishing Attacks on Payment Brands for the First TimeGoing forward, Sugar will continue to sell, support and service both products as standalone offerings indefinitely. To accelerate innovation and scale, the company will increase investment in Salesfusion engineering, services and support resources.“As a leader in transformational sales and marketing, W-Systems is excited to see Salesfusion join forces with Sugar,” said Christian Wettre, president of W-Systems. “Adding Salesfusion’s powerful marketing automation solution to Sugar’s market-leading CRM enables an unequalled and comprehensive customer experience solution for companies everywhere. We’re proud to be able to offer such a cutting-edge platform that will not only help our customers drive more revenue, but simplify their operations as well.”Rebecca Wetteman, Vice President of Nucleus adds: “SugarCRM’s acquisition of Salesfusion complements a market leader in easy-to-use CRM with the comprehensive marketing automation capabilities of Salesfusion. A tightly integrated platform will accelerate time to value and increase both sales and marketing productivity by streamlining campaign creation, lead nurturing, and the handoff to sales. Both Sugar and Salesfusion’s focus on delivering value to customers make this a good match, and integration of the two will deliver even greater benefit for customers.”Marketing Technology News: Baidu’s Mobile Reach Expanded to 1.1 Billion Monthly Active Devices in March 2019
5G Modems and Phones Literally Can’t Handle the Heat of Summer Weather 25 Comments Facebook Twitter Linkedin Pinterest Google Plus Reddit Hacker News Flipboard Email Copy 0shares This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use. ‘Abominable’ Is Going To Be A Beautiful Tear-Jerker Canceled Marvel Movies We’ll Never Get to See Paul Rudd to Join the Cast of Jason Reitman’s ‘Ghostbusters’ Cartoon Episodes So Controversial They Were Banned Maisie Williams’ Transformation is Turning Heads The Most Offensive Video Game Characters of All Time You Might Also LikePowered By ZergNet By Joel Hruska on July 19, 2019 at 8:50 am We Now Understand Why Sean Connery Has Disappeared Proof Henry Cavill Isn’t a Very Good Dude at All 5G signals that rely on so-called ‘millimeter wave’ technology don’t propagate well through walls, windows, people, or water, including water vapor in the atmosphere. This has been known since before 5G launched. It’s a limiting factor for where the technology can be deployed. But now, new reports show that 5G has an even more implacable foe: summer.According to reports from both The Wall Street Journal and PCMag, the current bare handful of 5G devices available to consumers literally wilt and die if you attempt to use them in hot weather. PCMag’s Sascha Segan writes:On a hot Las Vegas morning, my two Galaxy S10 5G phones kept overheating and dropping to 4G. This behavior is happening with all of the millimeter-wave, first-generation, Qualcomm X50-based phones when temperatures hit or exceed 85 degrees. We saw it with T-Mobile in New York, with Verizon in Providence, and now with AT&T in Las Vegas. It’s happened on Samsung and LG phones, with Samsung, Ericsson, and Nokia network hardware.The WSJ is even more stark. Joanna Stern writes:The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G isn’t reliable in the summer—unless, well, you summer in Iceland.When I ran tests, the phone’s 5G often switched off due to overheating, leaving me with a 4G connection. Cellular carriers demo-ing or testing the phone have taken to cooling the devices with ice packs and air conditioners.Here, for reference, is a map of US temperatures today.Map by the Washington Post.The situation is awe-inspiring. We already knew that millimeter-wave 5G came with a laundry list of conditions and must-haves to ensure good performance, but I admit, it never occurred to me that the companies that drew up and developed the standard would deploy it in products that can’t deal with the reality of sunlight. Admittedly, that’s because I thought deploying a network technology that degrades when there’s a lot of water vapor in the air was a bad enough idea that obviously there couldn’t be anything worse waiting in the wings, right?Right?Wrong.PCMag goes on to say: “AT&T being AT&T, the company leaves the ‘5G+’ indicator on the phone even when it’s dropped to 4G from overheating.”This is both the most enraging and the least surprising thing ever.Samsung’s response to this problem, according to the WSJ? “As 5G technology and the ecosystem evolve, it’s only going to get better.”Yeah. So let’s talk about that. First of all, one device that probably isn’t going to “get better” is the Samsung Galaxy 10 5G. Later products with different modems could be better, but the hardware in a first-generation phone is going to be what it’s going to be, and the chances of a firmware update that miraculously improves things is limited. If AT&T, Verizon, Samsung, LG, and the other companies making these products had such an update in their back pocket, it’d be splashed as news all over these stories in the first place. The message would be something like: “Current 5G devices overheat easily, but carriers and manufacturers promise that fixes are coming.”There has been no such messaging.Stern appears to have tested her 5G speeds by downloading files from Netflix, which is a pretty reasonable way to do it. Her download time on 5G for an episode of Stranger Things S3 was listed ~34 seconds. Keep that in mind as you read this:In Atlanta, where it was 90 degrees the day I visited, I could run only one or two 5G download tests before the phone would overheat and switch to 4G. When that happened, I’d head back to the car and hold the phone to the air vent. In Chicago, another day in the 90s, I had to wait until the sun went down to finish my Netflix download tests. In New York on an 83-degree day, I went with the ice-cooler trick: A minute or two in the cooler, and 5G switches back on.The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, a $1,300 device, is capable of running a max-speed connection for less than a minute (somewhere between 33 and 66 seconds) when temperatures break 85F.One expects spotty connections and lower overall performance from first-generation networks and products. One does not expect the product to catastrophically fail when encountering the reality of outside ambient temperature., particularly when the only way to get good 5G performance is to stand so close to the antenna people think you’re dating.Will This Improve?To an extent, yes. There’s probably additional tuning that can be done to improve modem power consumption, but Qualcomm has told us for years that die shrinks provide only limited power consumption improvement for modems. Samsung, Apple, and other companies can perform advanced thermal analysis to see exactly where hot spots pop up and devise strategies to mitigate them, ranging from better internal cooling solutions to thicker chassis or better thermal interface materials. It’s unlikely we’ve reached the point where people start sticking fans in smartphones on the regular, but even a very small fan would likely fix this problem (at the cost of thickness, a bit of noise, and a little power).In the past, we’ve seen discussions of using wax to quickly move heat in an enclosed area. Clearly, a bunch of designers have had ideas before about how one might deal with this issue. Beam-forming and other carrier technologies could also wind up reducing the amount of power that 5G signals require, thereby reducing device power draw.But make no mistake. 5G signaling is going to require more power, and in today’s downright anorexic devices, that’s obviously already creating thermal problems. At the very least, this is one more limit on a 5G rollout that didn’t need more limits.We’ve said before that 5G is very early and that people probably shouldn’t buy into it, but this issue seals the deal for me. I would never recommend that anyone buy a product whose premiere feature is likely to be unavailable when outside in the summer. Right now, if you buy a currently available 5G phone, you’re buying a device whose top speed may only be available from October through May depending on where you live.Faux G indeed.Now Read:PCMag’s Fastest Mobile Networks 2019Meteorologists Worry 5G Could Interfere with Weather SatellitesHow Shipping a Huawei Phone Via FedEx Made International News Tagged In mobilelteAT&Tverizon4gt-mobile5gSprintcellular5G EFaux Gmobile networkcell networkPC Mag Post a Comment 25 Comments
AIAndroidHERE Location ServicesHERE TechnologiesJigar ShahMarketing Technology NewsMilesNews Previous ArticleMarTech Interview with Aimee Irwin, VP of Strategy, ExperianNext ArticleStop Overlooking the Upper Funnel Miles, the world’s first universal miles earnings program, has chosen HERE Technologies to help support location services on its platform. Available now on Android and iOS, the Miles platform and app allows anyone with a smartphone to earn miles as they travel, redeemable for exclusive rewards with more than 75 leading brands, retailers and transportation providers across categories.For consumers, Miles is a loyalty platform that rewards daily movement – with healthier and more eco-friendly modes of transport rewarded even further. Designed to work seamlessly in the background, the Miles app automatically logs each trip from point A to point B, along with the mode of transportation. Miles accumulate quickly and consumers soon see rewards accumulate in their app.The Miles’ predictive AI platform helps local businesses and brands, cities and transportation providers deliver value to customers by surfacing relevant rewards as they travel, such as savings on products and services from local merchants or brands online. Powered by HERE Location Services, Miles is now able to help cities, transportation providers and brands better understand the world in which their loyal customers or prospects travel.Marketing Technology News: RCN Chooses TiVo’s Next-Gen Platform to Give Subscribers a Superior User ExperienceBy leveraging the Miles’ predictive AI platform, local businesses and brands, cities and transportation providers can deliver value to customers by offering to meet their Near Future needs as they travel, such as when someone needs a meal, a fill-up at the gas station, or a ride. Combined with HERE Location Services, Miles is now able to deliver deeper insights to help cities, transportation providers and brands better understand travel and movement patterns in aggregate.“Our vision at Miles is to deliver value for every mile traveled, across every mode of transportation, anywhere in the world,” said Miles CEO and co-founder Jigar Shah. “Our partnership with HERE further builds on that vision by supporting our accurate, mobility-based analytics for our city and transportation partners, all while ensuring privacy for users.”Since its initial launch last summer, Miles has quickly built momentum with rapid adoption by consumers as well as a strong partner ecosystem – with 75 brands offering more than 120 exclusive rewards. Miles is also partnering with several cities including Sacramento and Contra Costa Transportation Authority to promote greener travel.Marketing Technology News: Factual Launches Measurement Intelligence to Track Real-World Conversions and Optimize Campaigns Across New and Emerging Digital Channels“We’re thrilled to partner with Miles and support their vision to deliver universal value to people across every mode of travel,” said Herve Utheza, Head of Media, Advertising and Telco at HERE Technologies. “The app is a novel way to forge a relationship between a brand and a consumer, with rewards value continuing to grow and build a solid foundation for a feedback loop. By leveraging our location web services, Miles is expanding the mapping and insights capabilities for its platform.”The Miles service also impacts society and helps carbon emissions reduction through its reward premium scale. Local cities can nudge and reward commuters to choose public transit or stay off highways during commute time. Carpools rideshare services (i.e. Lyft or Uber), earn a 2x miles premium, while train or public transit receive 3x the miles. Bicycle riders receive 5x miles and walking & running lovers will be rewarded at a 10x premium for their miles.Marketing Technology News: Mobile Is Key to Boosting Guest Experiences Say Hoteliers Miles Chooses HERE Technologies to Power Location Services for Its Rewards Platform and App MTS Staff WriterMay 2, 2019, 3:43 pmMay 2, 2019 
Paysafe launches new global research into consumer payment trendsOver half of consumers (56 percent) are worried that the shift to biometrics to authenticate online payments will dramatically increase the amount of identity fraud, according to new research conducted by Paysafe, a leading global payments provider. The research found that four fifths (81 percent) of consumers still favour passwords for making payments online due to concerns about the security of new biometric options.According to the data, two thirds (66 percent) of consumers worry about being able to pay for goods or services without being asked for a password, and only 37 percent believe that biometrics are more secure than other authentication methods.The report, Lost in Transaction: The end of risk?, explores consumer attitudes to biometrics prior to the roll-out of Strong Customer Authentication later this year. The annual study tracks changing views on payments across the UK, US, Canada, Germany and Austria, and this year includes Bulgaria for the first time.Marketing Technology News: Lightspeed POS Inc. Announces the Acquisition of ChronogolfThose consumers who didn’t feel comfortable using biometrics identified a lack of trust as their primary reason for avoiding them. The research also revealed further fears around the use of biometrics:Nearly half (45 percent) stated they did not want companies having access to their personal biometric details35 percent did not know enough about biometrics to trust itNearly a third (31 percent) were concerned that their fingerprint could easily be cloned and used to commit fraud28 percent said biometrics did not seem safeCommenting on the research, Daniel Kornitzer, Chief Business Development Officer, Paysafe Group, said: “Biometrics are a huge opportunity for the payments industry to combat the increasing risk of card not present fraud. However, it’s not surprising that there is reluctance among consumers to use biometrics as a form of payment authentication when passwords and PINs have been the central pillar of financial data security for at least 20 years. News headlines are also dominated with fraud and hacking scandals so the public are aware of the risks involved when it comes to adopting new services. To overcome this, consumer education is imperative and with SCA coming in September, consumers will need to be aware of the benefits to ensure acceptance and adoption. We’ve lived in a password-driven world for many years now and consumers aren’t fully prepared to let go of what they know.”Marketing Technology News: VERB Adds Leading Health Care Provider OnDoc to Its Client RosterDespite the worries over biometric transactions, adoption continues to grow with more than half (54 percent) of British consumers having used biometrics to make a payment. Nearly two thirds (61 percent) of consumers also agree that using biometrics is a much quicker and efficient way of paying for goods and services.When asked what biometrics they had used, fingerprint technology was most commonly used biometric (38 percent) followed by one in six (17 percent) having used facial recognition and one in ten (11 percent) voice-activated technologies.Kornitzer continued: “Consumer acceptance of biometrics is being driven largely by smartphone usage and adoption, and this will only increase. However, payment providers will need to do their bit to get consumers on board. Ultimately, SCA should lead to smoother and more secure payments – a win for businesses and consumers alike.”Marketing Technology News: Alorica Taps Business Transformation Veteran Colson Hillier to Be Chief Marketing Officer Consumers ReluctantDaniel Kornitzeridentity managementNewsPaysafe Previous ArticleUpland Software Acquires Kapost, Raises GuidanceNext ArticleNet Element Launches Blade, Fully-Automated, Artificial Intelligence-Powered Underwriting Solution with Predictive Scoring Consumers Reluctant to Swap Passwords for Biometrics for Fear of Identity Fraud PRNewswireJune 3, 2019, 8:56 pmJune 3, 2019 
New Financing Led by HighBar Partners with Participation from Bank of Montreal, Georgian Partners, Spark CapitalSignpost, the cloud platform that makes marketing simple and effective for local businesses around the country, announced that it has raised $52 million in late-stage financing from HighBar Partners and BMO Bank of Montreal with participation from previous investors Georgian Partners and Spark Capital. The new investment will let Signpost scale its footprint and extend its leadership in technology for local businesses. Thousands of local businesses already use the Signpost platform to engage with their customers, improve their online reviews and drive revenue.“While large corporations have used powerful marketing technology to drive extraordinary growth for years, local businesses — which make up 99.7% of all U.S. businesses and account for nearly half of GDP — have been left behind,” said Stuart Wall, founder and CEO of Signpost. “Signpost puts the power of the world’s largest marketing departments in the hands of local business owners and empowers them to instantly capture their customer data, get better online reviews, and win new repeat business automatically and effortlessly.”Marketing Technology News: Veritonic Launches First Audio Score For Marketers To Understand Relative Power Of Their Creative AssetsBusinesses rely on customer reviews in local searches on Google Maps, Facebook, Yelp, and others to drive new and repeat revenue. Today, at least 82% of smartphone shoppers conduct ‘near me’ searches and 90% are likely to click on the first set of results (Search Engine Land, 2018); of those, 76% call or visit the business within 24 hours (Google, 2016). Local businesses without reviews may not show up in these results and can lose critical revenue. At the same time, many business owners struggle to capture customer contact information or market to them effectively. Only half of all local businesses survive to their fifth birthday, with 82% of small business failures related to cash flow (VisualCapitalist, 2017).“Local business owners struggle to manually create and maintain a customer list and to send consistent marketing communications,” Wall added. “Too often, they don’t have the time or resources to devote to marketing, which can make the difference between the success or failure of their business.”Signpost Builds on Recent SuccessThe funding comes following a period of intense focus and strong performance for Signpost. The company achieved cash flow break-even in early 2019, ahead of schedule, supported by 43% year-over-year growth in its core product and less than one percent customer churn. Building on the growing sense of optimism, Signpost will move its New York headquarters to 275 Seventh Avenue in early July 2019. Signpost expects to add employees in all three of its office locations: New York, Austin, and Denver.“HighBar’s investment is a vote of confidence in the right approach to applying technology to level the playing field for local businesses,” said Brian Peters, Managing Director at HighBar Partners, who will join Signpost’s Board of Directors. “The turnkey setup and level of automation in Signpost’s platform, as well as their ability to follow through on reviews and engage the modern customer well beyond their first interaction is what really sets them apart. When we consider the strength of the team, their focus on execution, and the magnitude of the market opportunity that sits before them, we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Signpost.”“The decision to support Signpost was an easy one,” said Justin Lafayette of Georgian Partners. “They’ve identified key issues facing local business owners – specifically, the lack of time to collect customer data and engage their consumers. They’ve developed a best-in-class technology and are leveraging a unique dataset to deliver outstanding results.”“We are excited to be working alongside Signpost – they have created an innovative solution to help small businesses compete and drive revenue growth,” said Devon Dayton, Managing Director, Technology & Innovation Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. “The company has experienced a lot of momentum and we are looking forward to continuing this journey with them through their next phase of growth.”Marketing Technology News: Medallia Announces Launch of Initial Public OfferingMarketing Intelligence Comes to Main StreetUsing Signpost’s smart CRM and automated text and email marketing, local businesses improve their ratings by 34% and increase their revenue by 14%, on average. After a five minute onboarding process, Signpost connects seamlessly to local businesses’ phone systems, email services, and other key business platforms, and gathers all their customer contact information without business owners needing to lift a finger. Having gathered behavioral data from over 70 million US consumers across all its local business customers, Signpost has unprecedented insight to send automated, personalized messages to local businesses’ contacts throughout their purchase journey and convert prospects to become new customers, drive repeat business, and generate new reviews.Signpost enables small business owners to:Capture customer contact information — Grow your customer list automatically (330% on average!) whenever prospects and customers call, text, email, or buy your products or servicesEngage customers — Automatically send texts and emails to drive more feedback, new customers, better reviews, referrals, and more repeat businessMake payments effortless — Supercharge performance with Signpost Payments, a complete card payment solution, with free equipmentSet marketing to autopilot — Get the benefits of better reviews and more revenue automatically without any data entry or manual marketingConsult with experts — Equip your business with digital marketing expertise from Signpost’s Customer Success Managers to drive more reviews and increase revenueMarketing Technology News: SeQuel Response Hires New Director of Marketing to Propel Brand Awareness Devon DaytonHighBar PartnersMarketing Technology NewsNewsSignpost Previous ArticleSally Beauty Launches Customer Experience Management Program to Uncover Customer Insights and Drive Engagement Across TouchpointsNext ArticleNuxeo Study Reveals Sensitive Content Accidentally Leaked From Most Enterprises at Least Once a Quarter Signpost Raises $52 Million To Arm Main Street With Automated Marketing Technology Globe NewswireJuly 9, 2019, 8:00 pmJuly 9, 2019 
A/B testingInfiniti ResearchMarket IntelligenceMarketing TechnologyNewsUnique selling proposition Previous ArticleNew Research from Fresh Relevance Indicates Retailers Could Reduce Return Rates by Using More UGCNext ArticleAppOnboard Doubles Down on #NoCode Movement with Acquisition of Buildbox A well-known market intelligence company, Infiniti Research, has announced the completion of their recent free downloadable resource on how to boost your e-commerce business without reducing prices. In this article, experts at Infiniti research have discussed their take on how e-commerce companies can gain better conversions and achieve larger profit margins without necessarily reducing the prices of their products.Lengthy and complicated checkout procedures are reasons due to which customers tend to abandon their online shopping carts.ost businesses tend to believe that holding a sale is one of the best strategies to increase their e-commerce sales. Although a well-orchestrated sales strategy can make up for the slimmer margin by increasing the volume of products sold, the real question is whether there are other ways of achieving more sales without discounting prices.Using smart customer intelligence solutions, companies around the globe are revolutionizing the way they operate. We have created entirely new methods for engaging customers—illustrating the disruptive power unleashed by comprehensive customer intelligence models. Request a Free Brochure to know more.Marketing Technology News: Centro Releases Universal Pixel for Easy Creation and Management of First-Party AudiencesHow to Boost Your E-commerce Business Without Reducing PricesA/B testingThis is a direct method for e-commerce businesses to make more profits. A/B testing is an approach that can guarantee positive results if done rightly. A/B testing involves comparing two or more different versions of an app or a webpage against each other in order to determine which one performs better. E-commerce companies must target different sets of audiences for these versions of webpages and apps and analyze the engagement and conversion derived from each of them.Turn data into dollars with the right business intelligence solutions. Request a free proposal to know how Infiniti can help you!Simplify the checkout procedureIncomplete checkouts are common for most e-commerce sites. Lengthy and complicated checkout procedures are reasons due to which customers tend to abandon their online shopping carts. Applying conversion rate optimization principles in the checkout procedure can help. Other areas for improving conversion include enhancing the user experience design, launching a mobile-friendly site experience, and investing in other site updates.Marketing Technology News: InsightSquared Unveils New Revenue Intelligence Solutions to Drive Predictable Company Growth at Ramp 2019Highlight your USPUnique selling proposition (USP) defines how your business stands out from the crowd and also provides the customers with reasons to purchase your products compared to other similar products in the market. Therefore, it is vital for every business to identify and highlight their USP to its target audience. This is especially useful for products that are priced on the higher end. By highlighting the USP of the product, businesses can give the customers a sense of satisfaction in buying a premium product with unique qualities even though they are priced higher than their counterparts in the market.Create a sense of urgencyE-commerce shoppers generally undertake considerable research before making a purchase decision. So, companies must give them plenty of information and a reason to buy from them. Some of the creative ways to do this include exclusive limited-time bundles, showing remaining stock left, include a gift with purchase during a specific period, and appealing to shipping deadlines (especially around the holidays). When prospects are given a good reason to complete the transaction while they’re on the website, the sales will increase.Marketing Technology News: Xactly Unveils AI-powered Solution to Deliver Real-Time Data-Driven Insights for Sales E- Commerce Growth: How to Boost Your E-Commerce Sales Without Reducing Prices Business WireJune 14, 2019, 11:27 pmJune 14, 2019 
cloud-based marketingG2 Crowdmarketing automationMarketing Technology NewsNewsResource ManagementSharpSpring Previous ArticleAskNicely Recognized as #1 in Customer Feedback Software by G2Next ArticlePalo Alto Networks Welcomes Jean English as New Chief Marketing Officer SharpSpring, Inc., a leading cloud-based marketing automation platform, today announced it has been recognized with its third industry award in as many weeks. These awards include: a TrustRadius Top Rated All-in-One Marketing Tool for 2019, Top Marketing Resource Management Software by G2 Crowd and, most recently, a TrustRadius 2019 Most Revolutionary Software Award.TrustRadius considered every review on its site to-date, a collection of more than 50,000 B2B software reviews across hundreds of product categories, to determine the most ‘revolutionary’ products for 2019.“SharpSpring has won an award for being one of the 10 Most Revolutionary products on TrustRadius,” said Megan Headley, VP of Research at TrustRadius. “This unique title is awarded to a select group of products that have been declared revolutionary by their customers. Reviewers on TrustRadius highlight SharpSpring’s scalability, workflow automation features, and flexible integration capabilities.”Marketing Technology News: Brave Expands Advertising Platform to Mobile Devices and Launches Brave Ads Certified Vendor ProgramSome of the most ‘revolutionary’ comments on TrustRadius about SharpSpring include:“SharpSpring truly is the all-in-one that solves the marketing and sales needs of many businesses like ours. We highly recommend this product… SharpSpring is targeted and focused on agencies who then become experts in the tool and how to best utilize it for their clients. If you’re part of a marketing agency and need a tool to take your business to the next level – SharpSpring very well could be the answer that you have been looking for.”–Joshua VanMeter, Max Effect Marketing“The best thing since Wonder Bread! SharpSpring is perfect if you are looking for an inexpensive, feature-rich and customer support focused platform. You will be able to quickly understand how to do the basics of the program to take your business to the next level and have the support of SharpSpring to master all the complex and advanced features that it truly offers.”– Stephen Gutterson, Blue Wheel Media“SharpSpring is being used by multiple business units within our company to take our marketing to the next level. Being able to communicate with customers in a quick and targeted manner and drive lead generation. We use it to integrate with Salesforce to get our Sales team as much helpful info as possible. We are also using it to link to our back-end system to handle the onboarding of customers.”– Brad Meinen, Qualbe Marketing GroupIt was announced at the end of June that SharpSpring was named as a “Top Rated All-in-One Marketing Tool for 2019” by TrustRadius, positioning the platform as a leader among tools that “typically offer several online marketing functions as an integrated package,” often including marketing automation, CRM, content management (including blogging), SEO, social media marketing and e-commerce.Last week, SharpSpring announced that the platform achieved a #1 leader ranking on the G2 Crowd Grid Report for the Marketing Resource Management category. SharpSpring was also identified as a Leader in the G2 Crowd Summer 2019 Marketing Automation Grid report, based on the company’s large market presence and users’ high levels of customer satisfaction with the product.Marketing Technology News: M-Commerce Not Living up to Consumer Expectations, New Research FindsThe G2 Crowd and TrustRadius accolades follow a fourth award SharpSpring received earlier this year, when the platform was also named by TrustRadius as a Top Rated Marketing Automation Software for 2019.“These awards are confirmation that we’re filling a need for marketing agencies with a comprehensive product that allows them to manage both marketing and sales at a price plan that meets them where they are,” SharpSpring CEO Rick Carlson said. “Our commitment to constant improvement and unrivaled support for partners, show how dedicated our team is to building and growing a premium product.”Since they launched in 2016, the TrustRadius Top Rated Awards have become the industry standard for unbiased recognition of the best B2B technology products. Based entirely on customer feedback, they have never been influenced by analyst opinion or status as a TrustRadius customer.Marketing Technology News: Zeta Global and PlaceIQ Announce Strategic Partnership to Enhance the Zeta Data CloudEstablished in 2013, TrustRadius has become the most trusted site for B2B software reviews. Each month, about 400,000 B2B technology buyers use over 168,000 verified reviews and ratings on TrustRadius.com to make informed purchasing decisions.G2 Crowd empowers business buying decisions by highlighting the voice of the customer. Its review platform leverages more than 650,000 independent and authenticated user reviews read by more than 3 million buyers each month. The model brings transparency to B2B buying—changing the way decisions are made.G2 Crowd’s mission is to provide the insights business professionals need to gain confidence in their buying decisions and become more successful in their jobs.Marketing Technology News: Beanstalk Digital Launches Beanstalk Predictive to Provide Robust Data Analytics Through AI-Driven Insights SharpSpring Recognized with Three Major Industry Awards in Less than One Month MTS Staff WriterJuly 12, 2019, 10:14 pmJuly 12, 2019 
AcquisitionAIanalyticsLTILymbycMarketing Technology NewsNewsSaasVirtual Analyst Previous ArticleSesame Software Partners with Snowflake on Integration/Data Warehouse SolutionNext ArticleEsker Partners, Invests in B/2BNOW in Support of SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP Acquisition to enhance Larsen & Toubro Infotech ‘s Mosaic platform with Deep Learning, NLP, and Visualization capabilitiesLarsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd., a global technology Consulting and Digital Solutions company, is acquiring Lymbyc. Lymbyc is a specialist AI, Machine Learning, and Advanced Analytics company. The acquisition further strengthens LTI’s fast-growing Digital and Analytics offerings.Larsen & Toubro Infotech will Compete in AI-Based Cloud Computing MarketWith growing dependence on data, global enterprises need to be better at data discovery, agile analytics, and the ability to process large datasets. Lymbyc’s expertise in these spheres will enhance Larsen & Toubro Infotech’s Mosaic platform to provide differentiated analytics solutions in a SaaS model.At the time of this announcement, Sanjay Jalona, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, LTI, said —“We believe self-service capabilities for AI and advanced analytics will be the next wave of disruption in the marketplace, and Lymbyc brings this capability to our Mosaic platform. Leni by Lymbyc is an industry-agnostic platform that solves business user’s need for experience, speed, and comprehension. I welcome Lymbyc’s experienced management team and all its employees to the LTI family.”Satyakam Mohanty, Founder, and CEO, Lymbyc said, “As a strategic business partner of LTI during last year, we have seen first hand how LTI is leading data and digital transformation agenda for its clients. With AI becoming increasingly mainstream, we are excited to join hands with LTI and to help a larger and richer set of clients. Leni, our AI-based Virtual Analyst, is perfectly suited to deliver better value to business users and maximize their information and analytics investments.”Getting Leni to Work for Larsen & Toubro Infotech CustomersLymbyc is headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Since inception in 2012, the company has acquired customers in the USA, UK, Africa, and India. The company is well recognized for its unique capabilities in analytics and data-sciences space. Lymbyc was also recognized and featured in Gartner’s Market Guide for Data Analytics and Service Providers 2019.Marketing Technology News: Progress Named a Leader in the New 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Multiexperience Development PlatformsThe core of Lymbyc’s capabilities are centered around a proprietary product, Leni. Lymbyc offers two products:Leni as a serviceLeni as an APICurrently, Leni solves for the entire spectrum of descriptive to predictive Business Insights, leveraging Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, Data Visualization, and Predictive Analytics. Leni is a Virtual Analyst that allows users to conversationally access information and insights.Leni ServiceMarketing Technology News: WebCEO, the Agency Oriented Marketing Platform, Launches a New Local SEO ModuleLTI and Lymbyc have been strategic partners for the last one year, and have collaborated to deliver unique solutions to several leading global enterprises.Lymbyc is the fifth acquisition by LTI since the company got listed in 2016. Earlier this year, the company acquired Ruletronics, a boutique Pega Consulting company, and N+P (NEILSEN+PARTNER), a Temenos Wealthsuite specialist.Marketing Technology News: Introducing Shutterstock Elements, Thousands of Cinema-Grade Video Effects for Filmmakers Larsen & Toubro Infotech Eyes AI ML and Analytics Market with Lymbyc’s Acquisition Sudipto Ghosh6 days agoJuly 17, 2019 
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that fielding Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, as the BJP candidate from Bhopal was a symbolic answer to those who had described Hindu civilisation as “terrorist”.Modi’s remarks came on the day when Thakur created controversy, claiming that IPS officer Hemant Karkare died in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she had cursed him. She later retracted her statement, saying she did not wish the Opposition to benefit from it. The Congress as well as several opposition parties and leaders had slammed Thakur’s comments. Thakur is currently out on bail. Referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Modi hit out at the Congress and accused it of terrorism. “Her (Indira’s) son (Rajiv Gandhi) said when big tree falls, the earth shakes. After that thousands of Sikhs were massacred in Delhi. Was it not terrorism of certain people?” he told a news channel in an interview on Friday.“Even after that he (Rajiv Gandhi) was made the Prime Minister. The neutral media never asked any question with regard to that but is asking now.” “Those who are facing such serious charges were never questioned. Therefore, this talk should be ended,” he added.Modi queried why parties were questioning Thakur’s candidature when no such questions were asked of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who are are contesting from Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies, respectively.“Those who have been convicted by the courts, people go and hug them, meet them in jail, meet them when they are shifted to hospitals, can they preach? Should the Amethi and Rae Bareli candidates who are out on bail not be questioned?” Modi said. “But a Bhopal BJP candidate is out on bail and is fighting elections, there is a huge hue and cry.”Modi claimed that no one “raised a figure” when Thakur was tortured in jail. He also alleged that the Congress was working according to a certain “modus operandi” and building a narrative.“Like a film script, the Congress works to build a narrative. They will pick something, add something to it, add a villain to the story to build a false script for propaganda,” Modi said. “In Gujarat, whatever encounters used to take place, they would prepare a script accordingly. In Judge Loya case, he died a natural death but the same modus operandi was used to build a narrative that he was killed.” Hemant KarkareLok Sabha elections 2019Narendra Modipm modi First Published: April 20, 2019, 7:28 AM IST | Edited by: Moonmoon Ghosh
Anil Kapooranupam kherbollywoodCannes 2019 First Published: May 24, 2019, 4:28 PM IST Here’s a casting coup of sorts that has got everyone surprised — veteran Indian actress Dimple Kapadia in a Christopher Nolan film. While the National Award-winning actress, who has been a part of showbiz since 1973, was initially hesitant to take on the role, she left the casting team mighty impressed.Mumbai-based talent manager Purvi Lavingia Vats, who was the conduit between Dimple and Nolan’s casting team, told IANS: “I pitched Dimple for the part and things fell into place. While the prospect of working with Christopher Nolan sounded very exciting, she was a bit hesitant in the beginning as there was not much information on the role. I still sent footage of her work to the casting office and they really liked what they saw. After a more detailed brief was sent to us, she then decided to audition. “The casting director was then flown from Los Angeles to Mumbai and he and Nolan met with her. The rest was history.”There isn’t anything that Vats can reveal of the brief she had got, but she says, “based on feedback of what they were looking for, I just knew Dimple was the perfect fit”. On the Indian screens, Dimple had become an overnight star with Bobby in 1973, but turned her back on stardom to marry Rajesh Khanna, Bollywood’s first superstar. After a decade of absence, she returned with Saagar, and then went on to prove her mettle in Aitbaar, Arjun, Rama Lakhan, Batwara, Kaash, Rudaali and Lekin.Dil Chahta Hai, Luck by Chance, What The Fish and Finding Fanny are some of the offbeat films Dimple chose after 2000. She was last seen on the big screen in Welcome Back.In an earlier interview to IANS, Dimple had spoken of her unusual choice of films.”It’s a mental frame of mind,” she said, adding: “I was never a ‘Mills and Boon’ kind of a person. I was never a chiffon and satin person. I am always a cotton person. It’s just the way I am. I get attracted to different things. I have a different take on everything. I like to do different things. I don’t like the regular stuff.”Nolan, by no means, is regular for an Indian film actor.Plus, a part of the film will also be shot in India, where a part of his movie The Dark Knight Rises was filmed. The shoot is likely to take place in August or September. Warner Bros. Pictures are aiming to release it in theatres worldwide on July 17, 2020.According to sources, Nolan, with his team, was on a quiet trip to the country just last week. They were here on a recce for locations for the espionage thriller, which will also star Robert Pattinson and Michael Caine and will be shot across seven countries.While at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival, a government-led delegation has been pushing India as a film shooting haven with all its cultural and geographical diversity, Indian actors have over the years found more visibility in American showbiz.Irrfan Khan, Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Ali Fazal, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Freida Pinto and Nimrat Kaur are cases in point.Follow @News18Movies for more
Ekta Kapoor launched the poster of her new web series, M.O.M – Mission Over Mars that is inspired by the story of the women behind India’s successful Mangalyaan mission, on her birthday. However, in what appears to be a major error, the poster features the wrong space rocket! The show, starring Sakshi Tanwar, Mona Singh, Nidhi Singh and Palomi Ghosh, on its part, revolves around the story of four women scientists who were involved in India’s Mars Orbiter Mission that was launched in 2013. The poster of the show, which will be streamed on the ALT Balaji platform, features, what seems to be a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle, superimposed with the Indian flag.ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalayaan, on the other hand, was launched abroad a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket C25.Thankyou very much 4 all d birthday wishes 💐I am in a low network area & is difficult 2 respond to each one of you but I will do so once m back 🙏 #MissionOverMars streaming soon on @altbalaji #ALTBalajiOrginal #ShobhaKapoor #MonaSingh #SakshiTanwar @Nnidhisin @PalomiGhosh pic.twitter.com/A1SEI3CIdY— Ekta Kapoor (@ektaravikapoor) June 7, 2019Eagle-eyed fans were, however, quick to notice the mistake and made it a point to highlight it on Twitter.One user wrote, “The fact that the poster uses the wrong rocket is already a big flag,” while another tweeted, “Could it be that they didn’t have a single expert as a consultant for this series?”Ekta Kapoor’s June 6 tweet saw her writing that she decided to make the show two-and-half-years ago when she chanced upon the “amazing story about women in Indian science.”According to the tweet, the show is on “women who sent the mission on mars – partly fictional keeping in mind the sacrosanct nature of ISRO.”She further wrote, “We are proud to present thus part fiction Part real story that is based on the humongous achievement of all the women behind Indian science,” adding, “This Show is our tribute to our unsung heroes.” ALT Balaji issued a statement and said: “Our upcoming show is a fictional adaptation of the real life heroes at ISRO who worked on Mangalyaan and set a major milestone putting India firmly on the global map. However, as a strategic call taken by multiple parties, we have gone down the fiction route for this show. Additionally, we are legally bound not to use actual names or images of either the people, objects or agencies involved. Keeping in mind our contractual obligations, publicity material of the show was designed.”Follow @News18Movies for more ALTBalajiekta kapoorMission Over MarsMission Over Mars poster gaffe First Published: June 12, 2019, 4:05 PM IST
farm loan waiverkamal nathMadhya Pradesh assembly electionmadhya-pradesh-lok-sabha-elections-2019 First Published: May 7, 2019, 6:49 PM IST | Edited by: Sohini Goswami Bhopal: Senior Congress leaders on Tuesday dumped loads of documents at former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s residence as a ‘proof’ that their party has waived loans of 21 lakh farmers after coming to power in the state in December last year.Chief Minister Kamal Nath also later joined in calling Chouhan’s claims as blatant lies and shared the details of loan waiver with the media. The Congress move is being seen as a counter to the BJP’s release of the ‘Aarop Patra’ (document of allegations) on Saturday in which the saffron party had claimed the farm loan waiver was a complete failure as not a single farmer had been relieved yet.Angry over Chouhan’s repeated attack on the Congress’ farm loan waiver and calling it a fraud in election rallies, party leaders, led by ex-Union minister Suresh Panchauri, brought cartons of documents in two vehicles near Chouhan’s residence in Bhopal.They then put the cartons on their heads and walked to the former chief minister’s official residence where they dumped the documents.Chouhan, who was aware of the Congress move, soon came up with recorded videos of Congress president Rahul Gandhi wherein he is promising to waive loans within 10 days of his party coming to power. He rejected the documentary evidence and termed it as a “bundle of lies”.The former chief minister, who talked to reporters after the Congress leaders left, said, “Kamal Nath has sent me a list from the agriculture department, but we need the list of bank that would ultimately do the needful. Simply by vitiating the atmosphere and confusing farmers won’t fetch them anything. The state government made a provision of Rs 1,300 crore while promising to waive loans worth Rs 48,000 crore.” Later, Congress’ Bhopal candidate Digvijaya Singh said the list sent to Chouhan’s residence had names of beneficiaries from even the latter’s native village.Meanwhile, Nath called a press meet, which he said was not a political one and he owed no answer to Chouhan’s accusations. Furnishing documentary evidence, Nath said, “Shivrajji don’t teach me the budget. I have seen many more budgets than you.” The chief minister also claimed to have made a detailed plan for the waiver as farm loans could not be written off with a magic wand. He said nationalised banks have agreed to a one-time settlement plan wherein they would waive 50% amount as they do for corporate sectors. “For loans of co-operative banks, we have asked them to use their share capital and promised them to recapitalise them later,” he added. “We promised loan waiver and we fulfilled it in two hours after our government came to power,” Nath said, while adding that implementation of any scheme needed time. “I guess Shivrajji doesn’t know how to open the portal (of the agriculture department), so I have offered him names of beneficiaries in a printed form,” he said.“In limited time, we got 47 lakh farmers apply for the waiver, of whom 21 lakh have got the money in their accounts ahead of the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct. The Election Commission has now allowed us to transfer money to accounts of farmers in areas where the polling is over.”While offering mobile phone numbers of beneficiaries if anyone wanted to further cross-check the claims, Nath said, “Every single sentence uttered by Shivraj is a lie.”It is widely perceived by political observers that the Congress’ pre-poll promise of farm loan waiver helped it to come to power in the state after a gap of 15 years. 
BJPcongressDevendra Fadnavismaharashtra First Published: June 15, 2019, 8:27 PM IST Shirdi/Maharashtra: Amid speculation that he could be inducted into the Maharashtra cabinet, former Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said here Saturday that he would carry out “whatever responsibility” he is given.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced earlier in the day that the state cabinet will be expanded Sunday. Vikhe Patil, former Leader of Opposition of the Maharashtra Assembly, recently quit the Congress after his son Sujay won Lok Sabha election on BJP ticket. Speaking to reporters after visiting the famous Saibaba temple here, Vikhe Patil said he had come to seek the deity’s blessings as he was “making a new beginning.”Asked whether he would be inducted into the cabinet, he said, “The people of the country have given a full mandate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Fadnavis is taking the state forward under Modi’s leadership. If I get the opportunity to work under his (Fadnavis’) leadership, it is good.”The veteran leader, who turned 60 Saturday, has not joined the BJP yet.When pressed more on the issue, he only added that “whatever responsibility is put on my shoulders tomorrow, I will carry it out with full dedication.” Saibaba temple trust’s chief executive officer Deepak Muglikar felicitated Vikhe Patil during his visit to the shrine. 
A senior Electronic Arts executive said that loot boxes are “surprise mechanics” like Kinder Eggs and that they are “quite ethical and quite fun.”Speaking before the U.K. Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, EA vice president of legal and government affairs Kerry Hopkins wouldn’t even use the term “loot box” when asked if they’re ethical.“We don’t call them loot boxes,” she said, adding that they look at the feature as “surprise mechanics.”“This is something people enjoy. They enjoy surprises. And so it’s something that’s been part of toys for years, whether it’s Kinder Eggs or Hatchimals or LOL Surprise. We do think that the way that we have implemented these kinds of mechanics … is actually quite ethical and quite fun — enjoyable to people.”Loot boxes and other pay-to-win microtransactions are something of a sore point for gamers. For most games with loot boxes, you pay real money to buy a “box” that contains randomized items. Sometimes that’s purely cosmetic, like in Overwatch, but in other games, these boxes give players a significant advantage. Some of these games are free to play, which regulators fear could hook in children or other vulnerable people with a taste of gameplay before tempting them with pay-to-win loot boxes.British regulators are looking into whether loot boxes are a form of gambling and could join their Dutch and Belgian counterparts in establishing stricter rules or even banning loot boxes. U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a bill in May that would ban the practice in games aimed at or played by kids under the age of 18. The Entertainment Software Association, a major video game lobbying group, quickly came out against the bill.For EA, loot boxes are big business. The company said in 2017 that Ultimate Team Mode in its FIFA series, which allows you to buy better players or packs of random players, generates about $800 million a year in revenue. It makes sense that the company would want to protect such a big cash cow.“We do agree with the U.K. gambling commission, the Australian gambling commission, and many other gambling commissions that they aren’t gambling, and we also disagree that there’s evidence that shows it leads to gambling,” Hopkins said. “Instead we think it’s like many other products that people enjoy in a healthy way, and like the element of surprise.” Editors’ Recommendations A new bill could outlaw loot boxes in video games. Here’s what it says Video game lobbying group trashes proposed anti-loot box bill Senator’s loot crate bill has the video game industry nervous Apple has a plan to save Mac gaming, but it’s not the one you want How to get the most out of agent builds and specializations in The Division 2
1 of 18 Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Previous While BMW is investing a significant amount of money into electric technology, the Vision M Next concept argues the gasoline-powered engine won’t completely go away for many decades. It receives a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid powertrain made up of a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and two electric motors. The system delivers 600 horsepower to the four wheels, which is enough for a three-second sprint from zero to 60 mph and a 186-mph top speed. Alternatively, the M Next can travel on electricity alone for about 62 miles. It delivers the best of both worlds, according to BMW.Electric cars run almost silently, yet sound plays a big role in making a high-performance car thrilling to drive. To that end, BMW asked German composer Hans Zimmer to create the sound that cars like the Vision M will make when they’re running exclusively on electricity. Zimmer is an Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer who has created music for more than 150 films, including The Dark Knight trilogy and Gladiator. The clip embedded below previews what a car like the Vision M might sound like when its gasoline-powered engine is turned off. It’s not as aggressive as an exhaust note, but it fits the character of a futuristic, battery-powered sports car well, if you ask us.Speaking of, the electric motor that zaps the front axle into motion comes from the iX3, so it’s a unit headed for production. Klaus Fröhlich, BMW’s chief engineer, told Digital Trends his team applied many of the lessons learned from the i8 project to the M Next. The through-the-road all-wheel drive system eliminates the need for a driveshaft, for example, and the carbon fiber construction keeps weight in check. All told, the concept is much more realistic that it might appear to be at first glance.And yet, officially, the BMW Vision M Next concept is only a design study. It provides a glimpse into the future of sporty driving, according to van Hooydonk. All of the executives we spoke to hinted there’s a good chance it will transition into a production model, however.“Our job was to make people dream, make them want. If we do our job well, one day we could fulfill that dream,” van Hooydonk said with a smile. “Technology will change, it always has, but it doesn’t have to mean the end of emotions behind the wheel,” he added.Fröhlich echoed his comments without confirming the M Next is already on its way to production. On a secondary but more lasting level, he told Digital Trends he sees electrification as the next evolution for M, whose mission is to make cars that “go like hell.” The message echoing loudly through BMW’s headquarters in the wake of the M Next’s unveiling is that the company won’t leave performance behind as it steps up its electrified car offensive.If you can’t wait for BMW’s executive team to decide whether to approve the Vision M concept for production, you can make your own by downloading the data set directly from the manufacturer and feeding it to a 3D-printing machine. There is no size limitation; you can make one that’s as big as a monster truck, or print one smaller than a Micro Machine. You’ll need to wait until the early 2020s if you’re more interested in the plug-in hybrid technology, however.Updated on June 28, 2019: Added information about Hans Zimmer’s sound, 3D-printing data sets. Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Next Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Editors’ Recommendations
1 of 6 Ronan Glon/Digital Trends This supercar-beating EV test mule wants you to think it’s a normal BMW 5 Series BMW’s i8 Roadster is the Mazda Miata of hybrids. And I mean that in a good way Mini’s first EV lands at the intersection of electrification and driving fun Don’t ditch gasoline just yet: BMW argues electric cars are overhyped One of Jaguar’s highest profile models will be reborn as an electric car Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends As 2020 approaches, BMW’s high-performance M division needs to balance performance and electrification. That’s a tall order; the i8 paves the way, but M believes it can leverage recent and upcoming advancements in electrification technology to make a car that’s cleaner and sportier than anything it builds today. The M Next concept unveiled at BMW’s Munich, Germany, headquarters shows us what the future holds.Bold and futuristic, the Vision M Next concept wears the traditional short front, long rear proportions of a mid-engined supercar. It looks more like a Ferrari than anything BMW has made in recent memory. It’s nonetheless instantly recognizable as a member of the BMW family when viewed from the front thanks to wide kidney grilles inspired by a turbine’s air intake, but thin LED headlights give it a futuristic, almost robotic look. Out back, roundel emblems positioned on either side of the fascia create a visual link between the company’s newest concept car and the M1, one of its most illustrious past models made between 1978 and 1981.It’s not retro, though. It’s decidedly avant-garde. Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW’s design director, told Digital Trends the M Next doesn’t wear chrome trim because his team deemed it wasn’t necessary on a performance car. “By leaving a lot of things off, the details become more important,” he explained.The Vision M Next unlocks itself automatically as soon as facial recognition technology detects the driver’s presence. Its gull-wing doors swing open at the touch of a button, revealing a minimalist, driver-focused interior made with an unusual blend of materials like synthetic fibers and anodized titanium. BMW explained it intentionally used as little leather as possible.Minimalist doesn’t mean basic, though. Slipping inside feels like taking a seat in a fighter jet. BMW placed what it calls a curved glass display right in the driver’s line of sight; it stretches around the rectangular steering wheel like a visor to display relevant information about the car its surroundings. The curved glass display replaces the instrument cluster. Information is also shown on an augmented reality head-up display. Previous Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Ronan Glon/Digital Trends Next Ronan Glon/Digital Trends 
The 2017 Moto X is still a thing, even though it’s been months of silence from Motorola on that front. But we might actually be closer to the launch of the once high-end flagship. A presentation in China showed off a video of the Moto X, which some brave spectator caught on camera and spread on the Web. And with nearly all the “official” details of the phone, we’re finally getting a more concrete look at the Moto X 2017, which seems quite different from what has been leaked so far. Depending on how the Moto Z2 Play will turn out, there could be some overlap between these two mid-range models. The line, however, could be drawn between Moto Mods and battery life. Based on the latest leak, the Moto Z2 Play will support Mods but will have a smaller battery. The Moto X 2017, in contrast, ditches the mods but gains a 3,800 mAh battery in return.VIA: Reddit Let’s start with the specs. There was a bit of bewilderment on how Motorola plans to present the Moto X now that there’s a Moto Z flagship line. Especially when there’s an actually mote affordable Moto Z Play. Earlier leaks presented a Moto X 2017 with some rather high specs, which is now debunked by this more or less official list.The Moto X 2017 will get a 5.5-inch “3D” display and will be powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. The phone gets 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. There’s IP68 water resistance, a fingerprint sensor, and “AI integration”.In terms of design, the Moto X will indeed have dual cameras. But unlike previous leaks, the position of the LED flash seems to be in an odd place. It’s located at the top instead of the “flat tire” area at the bottom.
Story TimelineiPhone X sales forecast: What Android move comes next?Google Maps iOS update adds iPhone X supportThe secret iPhone X difference Apple isn’t talking aboutSony Xperia XZ2 tip has the iPhone X effectiPhone X, unlocked and SIM-free, arrives in USGmail gets iPhone X support and a big new featureiPhone X isn’t Consumer Reports’ top pick According to Nikkei Asian Review, two of Apple’s 2018 iPhone models will sport OLED displays. The third, it’s reported, will be released with an LCD. It’s expected that this third device will look different from the other two – and different from iPhones that’ve come before it.“The 6.1-inch LCD model will probably sport a metal back available in several colors,” said an anonymous source speaking with Nikkei’s Debby Wu. The suggestion here is that Apple’s three phones next year will come with displays sized in at 5.8-inches, 6.1-inches, and 6.3-inches. The current iPhone 8 has a display that’s 4.7-inches large, while the iPhone 8 Plus is 5.5-inches. The current iPhone X has a display that’s 5.8-inches large. As such, the current iPhone X size might well become the new baseline smallest iPhone – save the iPhone SE. We’ve mocked up the following image to show the potential difference between screen sizes on the next three iPhone devices as rumored.The above sizes are approximate, and in no way reflect any official report from Apple. If these three devices are indeed what Apple ends up creating, it’ll be especially interesting to see how they handle Touch ID. Will they phase fingerprint sensing out in one generation, or will they keep the tech around for another go?Notice that I’ve kept the rectangular shape with the largest model. That’s also the middle-sized display. I believe that if Apple sticks with an LCD for that unit, they’ll also stick with a simple cut for the shape. This unit looks odd with the other two, but compared to the iPhone 8 Plus, it looks like a real step up.Have a peek at our iPhone timeline below for other recent rumors about the future and news about the present. Let us know if you’re looking out for another new model inside 2018! Chances are the next iPhone for 2018 will throw users for another loop, not unlike what the iPhone X did to Apple fans in 2017. Instead of two standard models and one higher-end model, a set of tips this week suggest that the “third” model will play at the other end of the price spectrum. The new devices might well play like the Bugs Bunny version of the Three Bears, where the “just right” baby bear is actually the biggest!
If the rumors are correct, Samsung is at the “evolution” stage of its tick-tock improvements for the Galaxy S9, rather than revolution. With the reception to the S8 so positive, 2018 will be about refinement, not revolution. A bigger display but squeezed into the same size chassis is likely; the latest processors like Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 845 on certain country SKUs; and more, faster storage. So where is there room for significant improvement? Right now there are three key areas of complaint for Galaxy S8 owners, not to mention three which give would-be buyers of the Android smartphone pause. Fix them, and Samsung will be in an even stronger position ahead of Apple’s iPhone X successor.Wear and tearThere’s no denying it: Samsung makes a handsome smartphone. The South Korean company’s latest design language isn’t just good, it’s excellent. Tolerance levels between slices of curved glass and metal are near-obsessional in their detail, and the result is that the Galaxy S8 looks and feels superb in your hand.Superb, that is, when you take it out of the box. Unfortunately, things aren’t necessarily so great down the line. The Galaxy S8 isn’t exactly fragile, but with its glass front and back, and its narrow metal band running the periphery between them, it’s a glutton for scratches and micro-abrasions. It leaves users with a difficult choice. Do you wrap your brand new phone up in a case, and end up hiding the great aesthetics and materials in the process? Or, do you leave it bare and face the fact that, six months in, the phone is going to be laced with scratches and potentially worse.That’s not an easy problem to solve, but I’d like Samsung to do a better job at it with the Galaxy S9. Part of that will depend on its materials partners: Corning, for instance, which makes the Gorilla Glass so familiar from many smartphones. The glass specialist actually has a new formulation which Apple is currently using on the iPhone X – and billing as the world’s most resilient – but while they may have co-created it, it’s not exclusive to the iOS smartphone. Fingerprint ergonomicsThe Galaxy S8 did away with the home button before Apple could on the iPhone, but Samsung’s answer to what to then do with the fingerprint sensor differed dramatically. While the iPhone X embraced Face ID, facial recognition on the S8 remained little more than a gimmick, and certainly not something you’d want to entrust the security of your precious smartphone to. No, instead you’d probably find yourself probing around the back with a fingertip.With in-display fingerprint scanners out of reach, Samsung opted to put the reader on the back instead, by the camera. It’s probably the single biggest complaint most users have, given how, even after extended periods of using the Galaxy S8 as your everyday driver, it can still prove tricky to locate by touch along.For the Galaxy S9, I’d like to see Samsung address the ergonomic elephant in the room. While the iris scanning the S8 and Note 8 offer is a solid alternative for the most part – and will, if the latest rumors are true, be getting an upgrade itself on the S9 – it wouldn’t take much to refine the fingerprint reader many would still prefer to use. Obviously, moving it so that it’s apart from the camera lens would be ideal, but even just adding greater texture to act as a guide for your fingertip would be an improvement over the current design. BixbyIt’s fair to say we had high hopes for Bixby. Samsung’s virtual assistant was billed as the crossover of Siri or the Google Assistant with legitimate on-device AI: everything you’d do with your fingertips, you could do with Bixby by voice. Sadly, the reality proved very different. There is, frankly, little that Bixby can do that warrants regular use. Its camera-based search and comparison shopping tools are of tenuous value; its personalize insights fall short of what Google can figure out about you. If you want the best results, you need to be using Samsung’s own apps, and for many that’s just a non-starter. For the Galaxy S9, Bixby needs a true raison d’être. Never mind justifying a dedicated button on the side of the S9, the assistant needs to justify its entire presence. If I’m going to add Samsung to the list of companies I grudgingly give up data privacy for in order to reap the rewards of artificial intelligence, I’m going to have to see some actually useful intelligence first. Wrap-upBarring a Note 7-style recall disaster, I think it’s pretty fair to predict that the Galaxy S9 will be another strong showing for Samsung. What I’m hoping, therefore, isn’t just that the S9 buffs up what made the S8 great before it, but that Samsung puts in the effort to legitimately address the real complaints current users have. That doesn’t just include the three factors I’ve mentioned here, but things like timely security patch releases, reducing the clutter of carrier bloatware, and streamlining the whole Samsung app experience. Get it right, and there’s no reason why, even though we’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy S9 release date to be relatively early in 2018, it couldn’t still be a contender for best phone of the year by the time next December comes around. Samsung has convinced us it can do more than just copy the iPhone. Now, it needs to demonstrate it can tip its flagship phone over from simply “great” to “greatest.” 2017 had a bumper crop of smartphones, but the mobile world refuses to slow, and all eyes are on the Samsung Galaxy S9 in 2018. The company’s flagship consumer phone – since, it would likely argue, the Galaxy Note 8 and its eventual successor are targeted at prosumers – has big shoes to fill, coming on the heels of the generally well-received Galaxy S8. Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Story TimelineGalaxy S9 display set Samsung an incredible challengeGalaxy S9 tipped release specs: An early look at 2 modelsGalaxy S9 may set new power benchmark
Samsung wants to make everything smart and, in doing so, pull everyone into its ecosystem. From smartphones to smart TVs to smart refrigerators, Samsung is putting the Internet and, now, even artificial intelligence into previously “dumb” home appliances. At CES 2018, Samsung is showing off the next gen Family Hub that will now integrate one of Samsung’s most controversial new feature: the Bixby smart personal assistant. Fortunately, that’s not the only thing going for the smart refrigerator. Family Hub is perhaps a misnomer for a smart refrigerator but, short of having a smart dining table, this is the closest Samsung can get to putting food and meals at the heart of a family’s relationships with one another. It is, after all, an appliance where you can pin photos, notes, and, now, even watch TV.The new Family Hub is now also a smart home hub thanks to SmartThings integration. From the fridge’s large screen, you can now view who’s at the door, adjust the temperature in any room in the house, check on the baby, and more. Provided all those cameras and thermostats speak Samsung’s IoT language, of course.The real highlight here, however, is Bixby, making the Family Hub the first device to host Samsung’s new personal assistant outside of a mobile setting. Bixby can be trained to recognize and differentiate the voices of each family member and serve up personalized answers. And, no, it won’t open the fridge door for you. At least not yet.AdChoices广告The new Samsung Family Hub also upgrades features from earlier models. Like a new Meal Planner that suggests recipes based on preferences, restrictions, and even food expiry dates. And to keep you entertained while preparing meals (of if the Samsung Smart TV is currently in use), you can also stream your smartphone content to the fridge door. The new Family Hub will be available in spring and will welcome four new 4D FDR models to the roster.SOURCE: Samsung
Story TimelineSurface Pro Review 2017Surface Pro 2017 vs iPad Pro with iOS 11 : Productivity ShowdownSurface Pro with LTE Advanced now available to all It’s the fifth anniversary of the Surface Pro, and Microsoft is marking the occasion with a $200 price cut, though only if you act fast. The President’s Day Surface Pro deal will run from February 17th through to February 19th, bringing the cost of the 2-in-1 down to as little as $799. Only select models will be included as part of the sale, mind. You’ll be able to pick up the Surface Pro Core i5, with 4GB of memory and 128GB of storage, for $799. Alternatively, there’ll be the Core i5 model with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage, which will be $1,099. Sadly, the recently announced Surface Pro LTE, with its inbuilt 4G LTE modem for getting online without WiFi or tethering to your smartphone, isn’t included in the promotion. Microsoft says that it’ll be running the deal from 2:00 AM PST on February 17, 2018 to 11:59 PM PST on February 19, 2018, while Surface Pro supplies last, and you’ll only be able to buy one per customer. “We wanted to challenge the concept that people should have to choose between the portability and convenience of a tablet and the power and productivity of a PC,” Microsoft‘s Panos Panay says of the original Surface Pro, which was announced back in mid-2012 and then went on sale in early 2013. According to Panay, the core essentials were already clear from the outset. The tablet would need to have a pen, a powerful processor, and a 22-degree kickstand, along with a keyboard that could be clipped on.AdChoices广告Since then, of course, we’ve seen the Surface range expand. The most unexpected announcement was in 2015, when Microsoft surprised everybody with the reveal of the Surface Book. That eschewed the 2-in-1 design that the Surface Pro had stuck to, in favor of the form-factor of a more traditional notebook, albeit one with a big surprise. Hit a button on the keyboard and the screen section could detach, turning it into a pen-enabled tablet. After that came the Surface Studio, a desktop PC with a huge, easel-like touchscreen. That could be pulled upright to use as a regular all-in-one, or pushed down almost horizontally and used as a vast art and multimedia surface. Sadly neither it nor the Surface Book are being included in this President’s Day deal – presumably we’ll have to wait until they’re each five years old, too. 