At a glance, you would swear the Prima 1080p HD Pocket Projector ($229 from TNW Deals) is a smartphone. In fact, its shape, size, and weight are almost identical to a standard iPhone model. But while a smartphone can serve as an entertainment center for one, this pocket projector from Prima can be an entertainment hub for literally dozens. For everything from presentations to movie night, this handy gadget is an absolute workhorse, capable of delivering 1080p resolution video at a screen size of up to 200 inches across....

While most of us are keenly aware of our smartphone’s battery life at all times, we usually realize our Apple Watch needs a boost only shortly before it shuts off. Then, you get to spend the rest of your day with the embarrassment of your bricked tech strapped to your arm like a reminder of your ignorance. It’s a bad look. The Portable Keychain Apple Watch Charger ($16.99, 43 percent off from TNW Deals) is a perfect on-the-go way of making sure your favorite wrist companion stays up and running in any situation....

Everybody loves the Apple Watch. You have to admit, the convenience of all that functionality strapped to your wrist all day is pretty intoxicating. While the brilliance of access to that much information anytime is a game-changer, what isn’t so amazing are the Apple Watch’s aesthetics. Well, unless you’re down for the typical, totalitarian tech standard basic black, of course. Granted, the company has taken steps to improve the look of the Apple Watch in recent years, but still, placing a recent Apple Watch against a vintage wristwatch from decades gone by is still pretty much judging apples and oranges....

The flexible, rubber material is stuck on a person’s skin. It then uses embedded sensors to monitor their health and the nerve signals that control their muscles — without the need for a battery. “One of the major challenges with these kinds of wearable devices is on the power side,” said the device’s creator Wei Gao, an assistant professor at California Institute of Technology. “Many people are using batteries, but that’s not very sustainable....

Almost everyone loves going out and seeing the world. There’s little in life that’s as soothing and eye-opening as world travel. However, travel is also time-consuming, stressful, and full of logistics and traps that can siphon money out of your wallet in seconds if you aren’t careful. Now, toss in the ongoing complexities of a global pandemic and the travel market instability that exists today, and the old anxieties about travel feel about as quaint as worrying about a trip to the grocery store....

This is going to be…well, a little bit gross — but we’ve gotta talk about earwax. Specifically, your earwax. And even more specifically, how all that earwax you’re currently carrying around might actually be impacting your hearing. For those who instantly think that’s an impossibility, it’s not. A medical study found accumulated earwax is actively affecting how about 10 percent of people are hearing right now. And earwax accounts for almost 8 million medical removal procedures each year....

Chargers are essential equipment. But nobody is a fan of bulky plastic charging stations dominating their workspace or the gaggle of cables and connectors and cords that accumulate around them. Rather than one of those obnoxious charging pads, how about instead just turning your desk or table itself into your charging station? That’s the idea behind the Hudly Invisible Wireless Charger ($69.99, 30 percent off from NTW Deals). The Hudly delivers a fast-charging current for all of your Qi-enabled devices, yet leaves zero footprint on your desk....

Since Ma Wei-Ling joined ByteDance after leaving Microsoft in 2017, the company has become the world’s most valuable startup — thanks largely to TikTok, the planet’s most downloaded app in Q1 2020. The AI developed at Wei-Ling’s lab has played a big role in TikTok’s wild popularity. It provides creators with a range of user-friendly editing tools, and gives consumers an addictive feed of videos personalized to their tastes. But the app’s success has also sparked a growing number of regulatory challenges....

Following a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which highlighted a list of hashtags “shadow-banned” in Bosnia, Jordan, and Russia, TikTok has insisted it was merely complying with local laws — and not actively targeting the LGBTQ community. The Australian think-tank said restricted terms included: “Gay” in Russian and Arabic “I am lesbian” and “I am gay” in Russian “Transgender” in Arabic While TikTok blames limiting the exposure of LGBTQ content on local laws, it also added that it blocked some terms because they were used to discover pornographic content....

Despite having users around the world, tech giants often overlook or misunderstand regions beyond their home turf. This myopia isn’t solely confined to companies. We all view tech through a localized prism — which is why I’m excited about Priscilla Chomba-Kinywa’s talk at TNW Conference. The Greenpeace CTO has led digital transformation and ICT4D strategies across 50 countries and five continents, at organizations including the UN and ActionAid, and in both emergency and development contexts....

The Japanese carmaker is planning to invest $400 million into Pony.ai, a Chinese self-driving car startup that’s based across Silicon Valley in the US and Guangzhou in China, Bloomberg reports. [Read: New algorithm for self-driving vehciles has a bold ‘collision-free guarantee’] With the latest round of funding, Pony.ai is reportedly now valued at around $3 billion. Alongside Toyota, existing investors injected an additional $62 million. Not only did Toyota make the largest cash injection in this round, it also didn’t request any kind of exclusivity, leaving Pony....

To win the prizes, the vehicles had to score a “Good” rating in all six IIHS crash tests. The cars must also feature a front crash prevention system that earns “Advanced” or “Superior” ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle, and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. What’s more, vehicles must have “Good” or “Acceptable” headlights. Are good-rated headlights across all trim levels and packages? Then the cars qualify for the ultimate Top Safety Pick+. [Read: 3 new technologies ecommerce brands can use to connect better with customers] The newly-launched Volvo XC40 Recharge won the Top Safety Pick+ award, thanks to its curve-adaptive LED reflector headlights installed on every model....

Despite the laws, fines, and penalties that exist to prevent drunk driving, people still get behind the wheel after consuming alcoholic beverages. And if we can’t stop them from making this irresponsible choice, maybe we can stop them from driving altogether. That’s what the Congress is trying to do as part of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which includes a mandate for anti-drunk driving technology in new cars. On Tuesday, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed Congress with the measure intact, AP reports, and it’s expected to be signed by President Biden soon....

According to PitchBook’s European Venture Report Q1 2020, the first three months of 2020 constituted the fourth-strongest quarter ever in terms of total deal value in Europe. Although 2020 got off to a good start, the coronavirus pandemic is expected to have a significant impact on deals in the ecosystem. It also threatens the flow of US capital into European tech companies. “We expect dealmaking to slow considerably in the next two quarters, however, as the repercussions of COVID-19 sweep across the globe....

There’s no doubting the Pixel 3 is a great phone, but it never felt as premium, polished, or slick as some of the other leading devices in the category. One element of this could be attributed to Google’s image. One of the key aspects of luxury brands is desirability — in other words, the impression they give of opulence and exclusivity, something people want to be a part of. Apple has this attribute in spades....

But what might come as a surprise, is that Korean innovation isn’t solely fueled by the big corporates. Seoul’s startup scene is on the rise, with several unicorns emerging like Woowa Brothers and online retailer Coupang. Watch the video above to find out more and follow TNW to Start-Up Seoul: Tech-Rise 2019. You’ll get an idea what’s led to the country’s tech successes and how Seoul’s government is trying to make the city a top five startup ecosystem in the next few years....

Alongside Instagram, which is scheduled for release in the coming weeks, Vine is one of the most highly anticipated apps to be released on Microsoft’s mobile platform. Similar to the iOS and Android incarnations, users tap and hold the screen to take a shot, releasing only when they want to finish the project or cut to a different angle. The Vine for Windows Phone app includes some of the company’s more advanced filmmaker tools, such as an on-screen grid and ghost mode for animation and time-lapse editing....

I’ve been writing about hyperloop tech for nearly ten years. Much of the innovation is happening behind the scenes. It’s partnerships and pathways, rules and regulations, and in the case of tech — it’s most often R&D in stealth mode. Every so often, a company will send over illustrations or videos made in CGI of what the hyperloop will look like in practice, but there’s not usually all that much to go on....

In an interview with Canadian outlet The Star, Buterin also remarked that using Ethereum is already expensive, and that any entity that opts to use the network would only increase those costs. “Scalability is a big bottleneck because the Ethereum blockchain is almost full. If you’re a bigger organization, the calculus is that if we join, it will not only be more full but we will be competing with everyone [else] for transaction space,” Buterin told The Star....

The new method, called Super FlashCharge 120W, uses Vivo’s custom USB-C cable and travel charger. The company tested this method with a 4,000 mAh battery in the lab and was able to charge from 0 to 50 percent in just five minutes – and subsequently 100 percent in another eight minutes. A post shared by vivo (@vivo_global) on Jun 23, 2019 at 12:36am PDT This technology beats Xiaomi’s previous record of charging a phone with 4,000 mAh battery with a 100W charger in 17 minutes....