Flip phones making a comeback H MDGlobal, the Finnish company that makes Nokia phones, is bringing back a flip phone that was first introduced a decade ago. The Nokia 2720 Flip is a fresh take on Nokia’s original 2720 Fold, coming with 4G mobile internet and modern apps like Google Assistant, YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. It has a 1.3-inch screen on the outside that shows the time and a 2.8-inch main display once flipped open. Like you could with old flip phones, users can open the new device to take a call and close it to hang up. The company is hoping to take advantage of the trend of consumers holding off from buying new phones, as people are put off by the huge price tags that accompany them as this phone offering will be under $100.00.
FDA clearance for A.I. powered X-ray system T he Food and Drug Administration has cleared a new GE Healthcare artificial intelligence-powered X-ray device which is expected to hit the U.S. market this year. The device, called the Critical Care Suite, uses AI algorithms to scan X-ray images and detect pneumothorax, adeadly conditionmore commonly known as a collapsed lung that affects roughly 74,000 Americans each year. GE Healthcare says the device reduces the time to detect a collapsed lung from eight hours to as little as fifteenminutes. GE Healthcare, a dominant player in hospital and lab equipment, said its goal is to integrate AI into every aspect of the health-care system to ultimately improve patient outcomes, reduce waste and inefficiencies, and eliminate errors. The FDA clearance comes at a time when AI is expanding across themedical field, helping doctors quickly analyze a range of illnesses and diseases. •
Microsoft launching new Excel feature N o matter what changes Microsoft makes to its software or how much fresh competition it faces across its suite of products, one thing remains true: spreadsheet junkies use Excel. Shipped for the first time 34 years ago, Excel is the default product used for entering data and performing calculations, and it’s continued to be a key piece of Microsoft Office, which is still a huge revenue driver at the company. So, when Microsoft announces one of its biggest Excel updates in years, no matter how wonky, power Excel users start to get excited. Microsoft introduced a feature called XLOOKUP, which was designed to address some of the shortcomings of one of Excel’s most popular features, VLOOKUP which has had some limitations since releasing version 1.0 of Excel for Macintosh in 1985, such as defaulting to an approximate match of what the user was looking for, instead of the exact match. XLOOKUP fixes that.
Volkswagen going fully-electric is in high demand T he Volkswagen Beetle might be on its way out but it is safe to say that the company’s new fully-electric ID.3 model is in high demand as the new offering has sold out before the car has gone on sale. The automaker’s fully-electric ID.3 model which was showcased at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, is the first model in a fleet of fully-electric vehicles being rolled out by Volkswagen and has surpassed 30,000 pre-orders for the special first edition of the car, which is limited to 30,000 units. However, pre-orders for the ID.3 are minimal in comparison to established competitor Tesla, but still impressive. Production of the ID.3 is scheduled to begin at the end of this year, with the first vehicles delivered in mid-2020. The ID.3 has an electric range of up to 260 miles, offers three different battery sizes, and comes with a sporty design that Volkswagen promises will offer an “entirely new driving experience.” The potential success of the ID.3 marks a general shift among automakers and consumers toward environmentally friendly electric vehicles.
The new feature is gaining a lot of praise on social media.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2019
73 OCTOBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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