Archives for August 2, 2019

Google Pixel phones can use text-to-speech to talk to 911 for you

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The feature will roll out in the US ‘over the coming months.’

In the event of an emergency, your first instinct might be to call 911. But in certain situations, you may not be able to speak with an operator. Whether that’s because you’re injured, in a dangerous situation or have a speech impairment, Google wants to make sure its users can request the help they need. Today, it introduced a new feature that lets you send automated voice messages with a single tap.

When you make an emergency call, the feature will let you tap “Medical,” “Fire” or “Police.” It will then send an automated voice message to the appropriate emergency service provider. It will gather your location using your phone’s GPS and plus code. It won’t require a data connection, and it will allow you to speak during the call if you’re able to. The feature will arrive first on Pixel phones, and it’s expected to land in the coming months. It will come to select Android devices sometime after that.

IKEA’s Sonos-powered speakers are available now

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SYMFONISK offers lower-cost smart speakers that blend in with your decor.

After a months-long wait, IKEA’s Sonos-powered SYMFONISK speakers are finally available. They’re sitting in the furniture giant’s stores as of today (August 1st) and should be available online “soon.” As before, what you choose depends both on the audio quality you expect and how you’ll use them to furnish your home. The $99 bookshelf speaker is both the most affordable option and can double as a shelf of its own if you buy the $20 wall bracket. The $179 table lamp, meanwhile, is both a handy light source and a more powerful speaker comparable to Sonos’ Play:1.

Neither has direct voice control. You’ll need another device with Alexa or Google Assistant support to command them without an app. They still support the other features you’d expect from Sonos devices, though, including a wide range of music services, stereo speaker pairs and TruePlay tuning.

There’s more to come in the future, as well. IKEA reiterated that you can expect a physical remote control and integration with its TRÅDFRI smart home app sometime in the fall. Don’t be surprised if SYMFONISK’s launch is just the start of a considerably larger audio ecosystem.

Electrify America will use robots to charge self-driving EVs

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It’s developing a pilot charging station in San Francisco.

As self-driving and electric vehicles advance, one fundamental question remains: How will autonomous EVs connect to charging stations? Volkswagen-backed Electrify America and Stable Auto hope to answer that. The two companies are working together to develop robotic charging stations for self-driving vehicle fleets.

Their first pilot demonstration will take place in San Francisco. The autonomous charging station will allow self-driving EV fleets to connect to Electrify America’s 150kW DC fast chargers without human intervention. The cars will park themselves inside a standard parking space, and Stable’s robot will get them hooked up to the power source.

Electrify America

“Autonomous vehicles will play an important role in the future of driving, particularly with fleets, and tailored charging options for self-driving EVs will be critical to develop that effort,” said Wayne Killen, director of infrastructure planning at Electrify America. The pilot program will allow the companies to test the hardware, back-end solutions and potential business models. If all goes according to plan, it’s expected to be ready in early 2020.

Fitbit’s next smartwatch could pack Alexa and an OLED screen

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It should be much more competitive with higher-end smartwatches.

Fitbit said it would shift back to more innovative smartwatches after the Versa Lite floundered, and now we have an idea of just what it meant. Well-known leaker Evan Blass has obtained images of a future “Versa-class” smartwatch that clearly goes beyond the features of the standard Versa. Most conspicuously, it would support Amazon Alexa — you could talk to your wrist much like you can with watches from the likes of Apple and Samsung.

There also appears to be a change to the display. Instead of an LCD with a conspicuous Fitbit logo underneath, there would be an OLED screen with an uninterrupted curved glass surface. This would be more visually appealing, of course, but it could also be gentler on your eyes thanks to OLED’s true blacks.

Fitbit smartwatch with Alexa and OLED

There wouldn’t be many other conspicuous changes. The biggest difference would be a Versa Lite-style single button instead of three. You’d still have a heart rate monitor, swim-ready water resistance and the Fitbit Pay support from higher-end Versa models. This would be a smartwatch for people who want a direct alternative to the competition’s flagship smartwatches, not a budget option.

It’s not clear when the new model would arrive. However, Fitbit hinted in its earnings that it expected average selling prices to improve in the third quarter as part of its strategy shift. That suggests the upgraded watch could be available before the summer is over.

Stock to Watch: Nextera Energy Partners LP (NEP)

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Watching last month’s opinion reading on shares of Nextera Energy Partners LP (NEP), we see that the signal is 100% Buy. This is the combined signal for the previous month when applying a wide array of studies based on price movement. Using these same guidelines, the signal for last week stands at 88% Buy, and 88% Buy for the previous trading session. Investors may also be interested in the strength and direction of the opinion signals. The opinion direction is currently Average. This is a measurement over the past three trading sessions that provides an indication of whether the latest recent price movement is following the signal. A Buy or Sell signal with a “Strongest” direction indicates that the signal is gaining strength. The opinion strength signal is presently reading Good. This is a longer-term gauge verse the historical strength.

Investors may have a solid plan in place to start trading the equity market. Sometimes, these plans never get to be fully realized because of the lack of discipline in the early stages. When a new investor goes into the red right out the gate, there can be a tendency to take on too much risk trying to get back to even. This may result in the investor abandoning the plan and making too many unreasonable trades with exorbitant expectations. Finding the self control to not get discouraged with early losses may help the investor stick to the plan and eventually start achieving longer-term goals.

Shifting the gaze to some longer-term technical indicators, we can see that Nextera Energy Partners LP currently has a 60-day commodity channel index signal of Hold. The CCI indicator is typically used to scope out overbought and oversold levels. The 100-day moving average verse price signal is Buy.

At some point in time, traders may have to deal with the overconfidence issue when dealing with the market. Traders may have times when they go on runs where everything works out. This may cause the individual to become overconfident in their ability and possibly lead to uninformed decisions late on. When the good times are rolling, it can be easy to think that the winners are a direct result of skill. This may be true, but if this is incorrect, it can lead to portfolio damage in the future. Having is long string of winning trades is a great thing, but markets can be cruel and have the ability to turn very quickly. Approaching every trade with the same research and examination may help the trader to make better decisions when a string of trades eventually go the wrong way.

Tracking current trading session activity on shares of Nextera Energy Partners LP (NEP), we can see that the stock price recently hit 48.64. Since the start of the session, the stock has topped out with a high of 49.82 and bottomed with a low of 48.51. Going further, we note that the company’s current book value is 115.76. The book value is the per share value of a company based on its equity available to common shareholders for the trailing 12 months.

Investors will be closely tracking the equity market as we charge through the last couple of months of the year. They may be doing a review of the portfolio to see what moves have worked and which ones haven’t. Reviewing specific holdings and past entry and exit points may help the investor develop new ideas to trade on in the future. Staying on top of market happenings and the economic landscape can be a challenge. Investors will be closely following the action over the next quarter to help gauge whether the bulls will stay out front, or if the bears will take the lead.

Stock to Watch: Walt Disney Company (DIS)

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Checking up on some indicators, we can see that Walt Disney Company (DIS)’s last month opinion signal is 100% Buy. This is the combined signal for the previous month when applying a wide array of studies based on price movement. Using these same guidelines, the signal for last week stands at 96% Buy, and 100% Buy for the previous trading session. Investors may also be interested in the strength and direction of the opinion signals.

The opinion direction is currently Average. This is a measurement over the past three trading sessions that provides an indication of whether the latest recent price movement is following the signal. A Buy or Sell signal with a “Strongest” direction indicates that the signal is gaining strength. The opinion strength signal is presently reading Strong. This is a longer-term gauge verse the historical strength.

Investors often closely follow fundamental and technical data. Even with all the evidence, it can be tough to determine if the economy and the markets are preparing for a whole new breakout run. With the recent trend resulting in a series of new all-time record highs, investors will have to put the pieces together to try and gauge how long the second longest bull market in history will continue. Some professionals are still wondering if the next recession is looming, and if a bear market is right around the corner. Investors commonly strive to locate the highest probability of success. The next goal may be to capitalize on what could become the most interesting part of the record bull market. Investors will most likely be concentrating on what has proven to work in the past, which may offer a better idea as to how successful the strategies will be heading into the second half of the year and beyond.

Tracking current trading session activity on shares of Walt Disney Company (DIS), we can see that the stock price recently hit 143.3. Since the start of the session, the stock has topped out with a high of 143.3 and bottomed with a low of 143.3. Going further, we note that the company’s current book value is 58.58. The book value is the per share value of a company based on its equity available to common shareholders for the trailing 12 months.

Shifting the gaze to some longer-term technical indicators, we can see that Walt Disney Company currently has a 60-day commodity channel index signal of Hold. The CCI indicator is typically used to scope out overbought and oversold levels. The 100-day moving average verse price signal is Buy.

Investors often closely follow fundamental and technical data. Even with all the evidence, it can be tough to determine if the economy and the markets are preparing for a whole new breakout run. With the recent trend resulting in a series of new all-time record highs, investors will have to put the pieces together to try and gauge how long the second longest bull market in history will continue. Some professionals are still wondering if the next recession is looming, and if a bear market is right around the corner. Investors commonly strive to locate the highest probability of success. The next goal may be to capitalize on what could become the most interesting part of the record bull market. Investors will most likely be concentrating on what has proven to work in the past, which may offer a better idea as to how successful the strategies will be heading into the second half of the year and beyond.