Motorola stages a comeback
Motorola Mobility, which was bought by computer business Lenovo in 2015, has launched its fifth generation Moto G smartphones at Mobile World Congress as it looks to re-establish itself as a top player in the mobile market.
It also confirmed it will be partnering with Amazon to bring Alexa voice technology to its phones in 2017.
Talking at a press conference at MWC, Motorola’s vice-president, global product lead, Dan Dery, said: “Later this year will see deep integration of Alexa on Motorola smartphones with Alexa wake-up words. There won’t be any keys to press, no screen to unlock — you will simply talk to Alexa when the device is around.”
The new Moto G range has been designed with a focus on battery life, camera quality and sleek design, which were revealed as the most important aspects for consumers, according to the brand’s survey of 12,000 adults across nine countries.
Motorola claims the battery of the Moto G5 will last all day, with the 10W charger providing hours of power in minutes. The Moto G5 Plus, meanwhile, is fully charged in just 15 minutes giving users up to six hours of battery life.
The brand’s Global Mobile Value Index research also revealed 76% of people will pay more for a phone with a long-lasting battery, while 66% would be happy to pay more for a good quality camera. Nearly half (48%) prefer smartphones made of metal, and 50% want their phone to deliver “outstanding” photos.
READ MORE: Motorola picks Amazon’s Alexa as its voice assistant
Lidl ramps up UK exports
Lidl has increased the volume of British goods it exports from the UK, taking advantage of the weaker pound post-Brexit.
The discount retailers has reportedly exported £300m worth of British goods, including cheese from the West Country as well as chutney and Scotch whisky to its stores across Europe.
Quoting “top company sources”, The Telegraph reveals 70% of Lidl’s produce comes from the UK meaning it is in a far better position to protect itself following Brexit, despite retail analysts suggesting it would get stung by rising import costs as a result of the weaker pound.
Lidl launched its ‘Big on quality, Lidl on price’ campaign at the beginning of the year, featuring products such as its Valley Spire cheddar cheese which it directly compares with leading brand Cathedral City.
READ MORE: Lidl boost for UK produce in Europe
PlayStation on track to sell one million VR headsets
Sony has sold nearly one million PlayStation VR headsets in the first four months of it going on sale, meaning the brand is ahead of its internal target of selling that number by mid-April, according to an interview in the New York Times.
The business had hoped to hit the one million mark within its first six months of going on sale but it had sold 915,000 headsets by 19 February and so is on track to surpass that figure sooner.
Facebook and HTC – Sony’s main competitor in the VR headsets market – have not disclosed sales of their devices, although data from SuperData Research estimates Facebook had sold 243,000 Oculus Rift devices and HTC had sold 420,000 Vive headsets sold by the end of last year.
Describing scenes in Japan, Andrew House, global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, the video game division of the Japanese electronics giant, said: “You literally have people lining up outside stores when they know stock is being replenished.”
READ MORE: Popularity of Sony’s PlayStation VR surprises even the company
Government will put pressure on tech giants to tackle cyberbullying
Children and young people are the centre of a government drive to improve online safety.
As part of the move, ministers will summon Facebook, Twitter and Apple, among others, to Whitehall to demand they develop new technological solutions like those used to prevent paedophiles and terrorists.
A report in The Times suggests that if social media and tech companies don’t do more to prevent cyber bullying, sexting and trolling they will face sanctions.
More than one in 10 children (13%) aged between 11 and 16 have taken a topless selfie, according to a study for the NSPCC and the children’s commissioner, and parents’ fears about sexting have now overtaken that of drinking and drug-taking. More than a tenth of young people also reported they had been victims of cyberbullying.
READ MORE: Tech giants must tackle cyberbullies or face curbs (£)
Morrisons launches first womenswear range
Morrisons has extended its children’s clothing range Nutmeg to include items for women for the first time.
The supermarket chain will initially roll out the line to 50 stores across the UK. It will offer clothes including jeans and jackets in sizes ranging from 8 to 22 with prices starting from £3.
Christine Bryce, category director of clothing at Morrisons, said the business launched the collection after “listening to our customers” who said they wanted “affordable, quality clothing with real attention to detail”.
READ MORE: Morrisons launches first womenswear collection
The post Lidl, Motorola and Morrisons: Everything that matters this morning appeared first on Marketing Week.
Source: Marketing Week
Lidl, Motorola and Morrisons: Everything that matters this morning