By Business & Finance 
Bite-sized news, views and updates from the global tech industry, edited by Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly.
DO YOUR TALKING WHILE YOU’RE WALKING
Combining fashion and technology in a wearable device, Huawei recently launched its B3 TalkBand, a minimalist wearable device that brings productivity and connectivity together in one sleek and stylish device.
The TalkBand B3, is crafted using stainless steel and 3D curved Gorilla Glass, and is considered the ultimate on-the-go accessory. The device allows users to stay seamlessly connected and engaged with Bluetooth 4.2 support, mobile phone synching and health tracking capabilities. According to Huawei, the accompanying headset’s dual microphone design and active noise reduction technology improves call quality, filtering out background noise and delivering a richer sound.
The Huawei TalkBand B3 can be personalised to match each user’s unique personality, and is available in three core styles: Active, Classic and Elite.
Retailing at €169 for the Active range, €199 for the Classic range, and €249 for the Elite range; this wearable device is exceeding expectations across the industry. Communication, connectivity and style never looked so good together!
GREEN LIGHT FOR AMBER
Microscopes don’t often appear in the Business & Finance Tech Update, but we’ll make an exception on this occasion for the NION UltraSTEM 200, one of the world’s top 10 microscopes, which has just been unveiled at Trinity College Dublin.
The stats are astonishing: it’s designed to analyse single atoms and view objects a million times smaller than a human hair, it’s so stable that it will move less than half a millimetre in 100 years – 2,000 times slower than continental drift – and the room in which it’s housed fluctuates by only one tenth of a degree celsius per hour.
Costing €5.7m, it’s based at AMBER (Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research) in the Trinity Technology and Enterprise Campus under the eye of principal investigator Professor Valeria Nicolosi.
It’s been tipped to give Ireland a competitive edge in science and industry, public-private research and the attraction of visiting researchers, and has been welcomed by Intel Ireland.
SMARTER SMARTPHONES
Business & Finance was impressed by Huawei’s mid-range GX8 last time out. Now the Chinese giant has launched its flagship P9 and P9 Plus, with a prestigous Leica logo suggesting something out of the ordinary: the P9 has a dual-Leica lens 12-megapixel rear camera, one shooting colour and one shooting black and white, working in tandem for superior images. The company has signed up Scarlett Johanson and Henry Cavil, along with National Geographic, Condé Nast and Vogue China figures to underline their credentials.
Photography aside, the specs suggest a pretty great phone, available in 32GB or 64GB sizes, with 3GB or 4GB of RAM, on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with 5.2″ full-HD screens, aimed at the Samsung Galaxy part of the marketplace.
Meanwhile, newcomer Energy Sistem has just launched its Pro 4G model, featuring an octa-core Snapdragon processor, 13MP rear camera and colourful AMOLED 1280×720 5″ screen at €229. The Spanish brand’s latest offering is available from €199 (navy colour, 2GB RAM/16GB storage) or €229 (pearl colour, 3GB RAM/32GB storage), with both expandable by microSD cards).
WATCH THIS SPACE
A good wristwatch is still a prestigious, luxury item and Patek Philipe’s 2016 models are a modern take on a traditional object. Unveiled at industry touchstone Baselworld earlier this year, the men’s range includes the Aquanaut, Complications and Grand Complications lines, with Calatrava, Aquanaut and Complications models for ladies.
The famous Swiss manufacturer had its 175th anniversary two years ago – about the length of time it will take Apple, Nike and other wearable tech companies to catch up in the style stakes.
POLAROID REBOOTED?
Compact cameras have fallen off the radar in recent years thanks to the ubiquitous smartphone, and film cameras have long since fallen prey to the digital camera, but Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 8 has arrived to buck the trend – and perhaps take over where the infamous Polaroid left off.
Lightweight (just over 300g), tiny (62x46mm) and available in seven colours, it’s aimed at the fun end of the market and prints out credit card-sized snaps straight away on its bespoke film.
It has a brightness adjustment dial for adaptation to whatever the weather and lighting are up to – a simple, no-frills alternative to
Instagram’s digital world.
