Google News: Wizphone WP006 Budget Phone, Self-Driving Taxi, and Farewell to Android 4 (Topic)

In the first decade of December, some interesting events took place in the life of famous brands. Let's highlight the latest information from the Google camp. The company's engineering team has developed a new Wizphone WP006 phone. In addition, the company announced the launch of a taxi that does not require human presence. Another piece of information is related to Google's desire to end support for the Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

Inexpensive 4G Phone

Almost all modern smartphones are equipped with LTE support. Most of them have Google Assistant as a voice assistant. Only a few cheap phone models do not have this functionality.

Google once again decided to prove that any, even the most inexpensive device, is capable of advanced functions. The company has announced a 4G gadget that costs $ 7.

KaiOS was chosen as the operating system. The device has a dedicated button that helps launch Google Assistant. This program allows you to give various commands using voice settings. For example, a user can make calls, send messages, view video files. All control can be really carried out using the capabilities of Google Assistant.

Another product allows you to install Facebook and WhatsApp for KaiOS.

The basis of the Wizphone WP006 hardware filling is an inexpensive Qualcomm 205 Mobile Platform processor, working with 512 MB of RAM. The built-in memory has 4GB in stock, but it can be expanded with microSD cards.

The device has a main and front camera. The latter has VGA-resolution, the main one is equipped with a 2MP sensor.

The manufacturer claims a base 1800 mAh battery will last 350 hours of battery life.

Market launch date is not yet known.

Taxi that doesn't need a driver

Residents of Phoenix, Arizona, were the first to try Waymo One's unmanned taxi service. Users of this service now have the opportunity to make regular orders.

All this became possible thanks to the efforts of Waymo, which is a subsidiary of Google. So far, this product can only be used by those who have already taken part in the testing.

Representatives of the developer assure that they are trying to promote their idea as quickly as possible and with the attraction of more customers. They promise to expand the geography of trips in the near future.

They also talk about the need to escort cars by drivers at the initial stage. However, in the long term, Waymo's main goal will be to operate taxis led by artificial intelligence.

The machines used have unusual equipment. It includes consoles that enable communication between the passenger and the call center operator based on a support chat. Therefore, no one will be left without communication with a person (if the client wishes).

Persons already enrolled in the program have access to the Waymo One app, which is reminiscent of Uber. The user must request a route, confirm it and wait for the taxi to arrive. Then the robot will take the person to the specified address.

This pilot project can change the entire structure of passenger traffic. If it is successful, it will cause an expansion of its geography. Such taxis will appear not only in other US cities, but also in Europe.

Google won't work with legacy Android devices

This company is getting rid of some of its services, but does not forget about outdated operating systems.

On December 7, some of the company's customers noticed that they could not fully use the capabilities of their gadgets. This is because they run Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich, which Google has discontinued.

There was no major announcement of this event. Google representatives said that the main reason for this decision was the low popularity of this version of the OS. It is recommended to upgrade everyone who has this program installed. Otherwise, access to a number of opportunities provided by the company's services will be limited.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich went live on October 19, 2011. The smartphone Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which became the first in this field, operated on the basis of this OS.

The Topic of Article: Google News: Wizphone WP006 Budget Phone, Self-Driving Taxi, and Farewell to Android 4.
Author: Jake Pinkman