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Consumers can pre-order HTC Vive from Feb.29

HTC introduced HTC Vive Pre at CES this year. HTC’s CEO Mrs Wang has confirmed that HTC Vive will be pre-ordered from Feb. 29.

HTC VR

Mrs Wang claimed that HTC will specialize in VR technology and reduce the dependence of smartphone. She indicated that HTC becomes more practical. Smartphone is important, but the development of wearable devices and VR devices are even important.

HTC teamed up with well-known game developer Valve to launch HTC Vive that allows users to totally enjoy the VR environment. Consumers need to wait until April for HTC Vive’s mass marketing. Its rivals include Oculus Rift and Sony PS VR. HTC doesn’t reveal the price of HTC Vive yet.

Oculus revealed the sales price of Oculus Rift recently and the price of Sony PS VR was revealed in advance on Amazon Canadian website last week.

HTC introduced its second generation suit of VR called Vive Pre. Its design is a big difference from its first generation that introduced at MWC in last year.

The new design is more comfortable to wear and solid. HTC claimed that the new design will be able to adjust based on the sizes of heads. It is also comfortable to wear to those who wear glasses.

It is installed with Sub Camera to check the surroundings when users wear them. It means users could handle some simple cases at hand as well as switch to the VR world.

The problem that Oculus Rift and HTC Vive met is a few PC systems support the VR system. It costs about $1,000 to buy those PCs. It takes time to promote the VR products.

Monthly active users of Facebook Messenger exceeds 800 million

Facebook just announced its latest data of Facebook Messenger, indicating that its monthly active users are over 800 million. Along with the the popularization of Instagram and WhatsApp, Facebook keeps leading the social networking market.

Messenger

From the data, we can see the rapid development of Facebook Messenger. Its Monthly active users were 500 million in November, 2014. It turned to 600 million in March, 2015, and 700 million in July, 2015. By the end of 2015, its MAU reached 800 million. Facebook Messenger performed better since it split off from its parent firm.

In the past year, Facebook Messenger itself made a great change. It became an independent Messenger to log in Web. It launched video calling, Messenger ID, message request features that intended to replace the traditional calls. It offered payment function and intergrated to be a third-party app.

“The mission of Messenger team is to make Messenger a better platform to communicate for people and enterprises from all over the world,” wrote in a blog of David Marcus, the vice president of product.

We can judge that Facebook is ambitious from its announced its trends of 2016 FM:

1)The disappearance of the phone number; 2)Thread are the new apps; 3)We are the social beings;4) Innovation matters;5) It’s all about delight

Facebook gradually put its focus on the FM from its products.

Besides Facebook Messenger, its parent website’s MAU are over 1.5 million. Instagram obtained 400 million monthly active users, while WhatsApp obtained 900 million monthly active users.

2015 App Stores revenue exceeded $20 billion

It is reported that Apple claimed its revenue of App Stores in 2015 made another record, exceeding $20 billion.

Apple charges 30 cents as commission from each dollar that users spent at App Store. It indicated that App Store contributed $6 billion income for Apple in 2015. The rest of the revenue went to its developers.

app store

Such figures showed that App Stores play more important role in Apple revenues. Till September 2015 fiscal earnings, Apple received $233 billion revenue, among $53 billion was its net income. There are 1.5 million applications available at App Store which enhances Apple hardware’s attraction. It helps consumers to distinguish Apple products from its rivals.

App Store was initially made for iPhone in 2008. Apple added the applications which were compaitble with iPad then. Last year, Apple explored the software market for Apple Watch and Apple TV STB.

Among the news release Apple made on Wednesday, it claimed App Store revenue was over $1.1 billion during Christmas holiday and New Year’s Day. Its revenue realized over $144 million on New Year’s Day.

App Store grows with a rapid speed. There is sign that its growth slows down a bit as well. Its revenue of App Store increased by 50% in 2014, while it just increased 40% in 2015.

Apple stressed that App Stores created 1.9 million jobs in United States, three-quarters of the job opportunities belong to developers, software engineers and entrepreneurs.

Oculus presents Rift as gifts to its Kickstarter supporters

Oculus claimed it will offer a free Rift VR to its Kickstarter supporters. Oculus sent emails to its Kickstarter supporters today, claiming it will offer free Kickstarter version Rift VR to those 9,522 supporters who bought Rift DK1 in the crowdfunding of Oculus Kickstarter in 2012.

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The supporters will receive this Rift VR sent by Kickstarter by Feburary 1st. If any countries or regions are beyond the distribution of Kickstarter, Oculus will deliver them to the supporters.

The appearance of Kickstarter Rift VR and Oculus Rift VR look nearly the same, but Kickstarter version will be the first round to ship. They will be packed with the mark of Kickstarter. The Kickstarter version  is also binding with EVE: Valkyrie and Lucky’s Tale as Oculus Rift VR does.

Since Oculus launched the crowdfunding project on Kickstarter, the enthusisam o to Oculus Rift VR by its supporters are beyond Oculus’ imagination. Luckey claimed he would be contented if they could sell 300 units of Rift DK1. Finally , they got $2.4 million funds. They set $ 500,000 for the goal for crowdfunding. About two years later, Oculus was acquired by Facebook at $2 billion. It upset some of its supporters either.

Facebook planned to acquire a few more VR enterprises before it officially releases Oculus Rift. Facebook teamed up with Samsung to launched Gear VR in 2015.

Waiting for another 24 hours, the Oculus Rift consumers can preorder such VR device. But Oculus doesn’t release its price and date of delivery yet.

Yahoo shuts down Yahoo Screen

Yahoo made statement that it shut down its subordinated Yahoo Screen which is an online video content on-demand platform. It indicated Marissa Mayer’s effort of promoting Yahoo business and attracting new users for mainstreaming video service came to failure.

yahoo

Investors are not satisfied with Yahoo’s performance. Mayer faces much pressures to improve its performance. The end of Yahoo Screen might be the sign that Yahoo would take out more changes or end more products. Yahoo sent out warning notifications since October that it would narrow down the concerns in the following months.

Yahoo Screen was launched by Yahoo in October, 2011 that a platform offered on-demand Yahoo tv series, movies and network tv. This platform was released anterior to Mayer was appointed as its CEO. Mayer considered this service as an important part develop the mainstreaming video service.

Yahoo acquired the copyright of Community and Saturday Night Live and the broadcast right of NFL. It invited Katie Couric to joined Yahoo Screen as well.

Yahoo did not confirm whether it will cut jobs as the end of Yahoo Screen. Katie Couric keeps reporting daily news so far.

Yahoo is taking measures to restructure its business. There were failures under Mayer’s leadership in the past three years. She failed to help the company to stimulate business development.

It lost several senior managers recently. The share price of Yahoo declined nearly by 40%. Yahoo is looking for potential buyers to sell a tract of land that locates in Santa Clara, California. Yahoo planned to build new headquarter there.

Uber accomplished one billion times taxi service

Uber announced on Wednesday that it accomplished task of billion times that people took taxi service.

Marvin is the passenger that he became the one who the billionth took the Uber taxi service on Christmas Eve in London.

uber

Uber stated on its official blog that:” Marvin and Ara have just make today a most memorable day to Uber. Marvin spent 5 pounds to take Ara’s London Fileds of Hondo Insight back to Hockerton. He was the billionth passenger who enjoyed Uber taxi service. ”

It might be a bit tiresome to consider the billion times as a milestone. However, we could see the impressed growing speed and acceptance of Uber.

Uber taxi started offering booking serivce in June 1, 2016 in San Francisco. Its service reached one billion times in five and a half years was impressed.

Uber wrote in a blog last December that the company offer one million times bookings each day. The total bookings of 2014 were 140 million times. Now, Uber taxi service was introduced to 300 cities of 68 countries.

Uber financing $2.1 billion each month. Its estimated market value reaches $62.5 billion. Uber becomes the most valuable privatedly-owned technology company.

To celebrate the billionth time Uber taxi service, Uber would fully sponsor Marvin a vacation to any cities with Uber taxi service. Uber taxi driver Ara was awarded a whole year free Uber taxi service.

Facebook tests new feature: recommend customizable interest-based feeds

Facebook is now testing a new feature that it allows users to browse different themes of feeds. Such new feature is only available on News Feed.

Those different themes of feeds are posted by different users or webpages, such as fashion and travel. It has no sign that News Feed will make any change so far.

new feature

Such new feature was discovered by Jason Stein, the CEO of Laundry Service.

Facebook spokesman claimed in the statement:” We have received feedback from our users that they wish to check the customizable interest-based themes with new options on Facebook. Therefore, we are testing some new feeds so that the users could check the posted feeds by other users or webpages. You can click Favorites, then Bookmarks tab to find those feeds.”

AdWeek reported that Facebook keeps testing the similar features since October.

Some users claimed that they could see the “Theme” option to choose ” Food”,”Health and Gym” ,” Animals and Pets” and “Sports” in the sidebar of its website.

It did not confirm that whether this feature will be tested on Facebook mobile app.

The new feature is in the test phase, it is unsure these feeds promoted in a large scale. General speaking, it will offer trail version for a small group of users to experience the new feature.

Facebook considers itself as a network information hub to meet the demands of users that they search online. It carried out some measures so that users could read feeds and shop in the same time, instead of visiting another website.

Amazon announced sales performance of 2015 Christmas shopping season

Amazon just revealed its sales performance of 2015 Christmas shopping season. It made another great harvest year.

The statistics showed, there were over 3 million users registered Amazon Prime service in the third week of December. The annual fee for Prime service is $99, including 2-day free delivery, free streaming movie and music services.

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Amazon announced other 100 items’ sales performances. BusinessInsider concluded 9 items of craziest performance.

1. For the voice command that Alexa is built in Echo received, the most frequent demand was “Play Music”. The most popular songs are White Christmas, Sleigh Ride and Winter Wonderland.

2. Alexa helped users to set alarms for 4 million times via voice command to remind them to cook.

3. The kids subscribed a great amount of books via Amazon FreeTime. If they are printed ones, their length could be 10 times of the length of Everest.

4. The cumulative reading time of The Martian via Kindle is 1,000 times of the traveling time for Curiosity Rover that reaches Mars.

5. Users purchased a great amount of Rope Kine Twine on Amazon. The total length could be the distance from Seattle to Los Angeles.

6. The quantities of sticky hooks that users purchased on Amazon amount to the popular of Orlando city. Orlando city center owned 220,000 people according to the data made in 2006.

7. It sold abundant JENGA as well. The assembly heights amount to 70 Empire State Buildings.

8. Jurassic World movie DVD was sold well. Their cumulative heights are 2,700 times of Tyrannosaurus Rex’ height.

9. On Cyber Monday, Amazon sold out one CD of Adele Adkins each three seconds.

Tesla sets up the 15th experience center in China

Tesla Beijing Huamao experience center went on business yesterday. It was the fourth Beijing experience center, the sixth new experience center it set up in China in 2015.

Two years ago, Tesla open the first experience center in Parkview Green, Beijing. Until now, Tesla has set up 15 experience centers in China, distributing in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi’an and Guangzhou.

Chronicle of events of Tesla in 2015

It open six experience centers, service centers, and about 30 authorized car spray centers in 2015.

It built the second largest public charging network for Teslar car owners in China. The network covers 46 cities in the mainland, with 320 super charging points. The network area expanded to over 100 cities and 1,600 destination charging points. The charging network connects North and South.

As far as the policy concerned, it offered special policy to its car owners for obtaining new energy source plates in     Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Tianjin. While it offered special discount of traffic permit for Tesla Model S in Xi’an and Wuhan.

Ricardo Reyes, Tesla’s global vice president claimed that he thought highly of Chinese market when he took an official visit to China in September. He indicated that Chinese government supported the electric vehicle market and the consumers have great demand to the electric vehicles here in comparison to other emerging markets.

Take Beijing for example, the goverment carried out the policies that offered bonus to the new energy vehicles.Tesla Model S came to the license-plate lottery on September 30. On October 26, Beijing government announced that the new energy vehicles do not to join the lottery system. The applicants can do the registration for Model S directly.

What’s more, other policy indicated that the Blade Electric Vehicels, including Tesla Model S can be on road 24 hours each day in Beijing municipal administrative region from June 1, 2015 to April 10, 2016.

Will Alphabet market value exceed Apple’s next year?

It has been for a while that many investors predicted Apple could be a great firm values at $1 trillion. Many analyzers assumed Google’s parent firm Alphabet might exceed Apple’s market value next year, becoming the first $1 trillion company.

trillion

Apple’s market value reached $775 billion early this year, while Alphabet only valued at$366 billion for its market value then. As Android smartphones become more popular in the recent months, iPhone’s sales face much pressure. Apple’s share price started decreasing.

Alphabet becomes the most valuable company now. For now, Apple values at $605 billion, and Alphabet values at$527 billion. Even though there is still $80 billion gap between two companies, Alphabet’s market value will exceed Apple’s on the condition that its share increases by 15%. This prediction is on the basis of Apple’s share stops increasing.

Alphabet’s share increased by 43% this year, while Apple’s decreased by 2%. Alphabet’s subordinated business Google Search becomes prosperous, especially on mobile devices. What’s more, Google is making more profit with YouTube.

The experts analyzed that the profit growth of Alphabet will perform better than Apple’s. Wallstreet predicted that the growth rate of each Alphabet will be 17% in a few years. Its annual growth rate will reach 12%.

The competition between these two companies is intense. It is possible that they will both become $1 trillion companies. Amazon and  Facebook also develop well. Microsoft’s market value reached $450 billion.