2#TechNews- Uber Flying Taxi, Electric Cars, Apple AR, Galaxy S9, Mi Air Purifier

1) Uber NASA Flying Taxi

Uber signs contract with NASA to develop flying taxi software. Ambitious plans for electric drone-like flying cabs take step forward as Uber announces plans to test flights in LA in 2020. Uber said its flying taxi service would be purely electric and that a journey that would take 80 minutes by car in rush-hour traffic could be reduced to as little as four minutes. Uber intends to have some form of its air service operations for the 2028 LA Olympics, but experts remain sceptical as to whether autonomous flying taxis will ever become a reality.

2) Twitter 280

Twitter has extended its tweet limit from 140 to 280 characters. So, one can now use hashtag#280 characters to express their feelings.

3) S9 Production Starting Soon

The Samsung Galaxy S9 could debut as early as January with sales starting in February. The usually reliable leakster @IceUniverse posted on Weibo that Samsung will start mass production in December to meet this earlier deadline (the S8 was unveiled in March, launched in April).Once production starts, Samsung will gobble up the entire first batch of Snapdragon 845 chips for the US-bound phones and supply its own Exynos 9810 chips for most of the rest of the world.

4) Responsible Genes for Smoking Identified

Scientists have identified a genetic pathway that contributes to nicotine addiction and makes it difficult for smokers to kick the butt.Researchers at the University of Michigan in the US examined withdrawal responses in the millimetre-long roundworms called Caenorhabditis elegans, which get hooked on nicotine just like humans.

5) Lamborghini and MIT for Electric Car

Lamborghini is working with engineers from MIT on a new all-electric supercar that won't have batteries. Instead, the body of the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio concept car, made from exotic carbon nanotubes, would be used as a supercapacitor. It will be having self-healing capabilities.

6) Graphene for TeraHertz Electronics

About five years ago, graphene-based photodetectors moved beyond detecting the visible and near-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum to push into the terahertz range. Now researchers at Chalmers University in Sweden have combined flexibility and terahertz detection into one flexible, graphene-based detector that could lead to new products such as wearable terahertz sensors for medical diagnosis. 

7) Mi Air Purifier Air Discount

Xiaomi has announced a price cut on its Mi Air Purifier 2, just when the nation is in an uproar about air pollution levels in the national capital. Xiaomi confirmed the price cut in a tweet. With the permanent price cut, the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2 will now retail at Rs. 8,999, down from the launch price of Rs. 9,999.

8) Apple AR Next

Apple is reportedly building an augmented reality headset that could launch as soon as 2020. It will need to create a headset that doesn't have the same shortfalls as Google Glass. The headset could work similarly to the AR applications that are already available for Apple's new iPhones. These apps allow users to peek through the display to see information — such as games or even digital furniture — placed within the real world.

9) Redmi Y1 Sales

Xiaomi's Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite went on sale for the first time on Wednesday and have garnered an impressive response from consumers in India. Manu Kumar Jain, VP Xiaomi and Managing Director Xiaomi India, claimed that the first sale on Wednesday saw over 150,000 units sold in less than three minutes. Xiaomi Redmi Y1 price in India starts at Rs. 8,999 for the 32GB storage and 3GB RAM variant, going up to Rs. 10,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant. As for the Redmi Y1 Lite, the phone comes in only one configuration with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage and is priced at Rs. 6,999.

10) Paypal in India

Global digital payments major PayPal on Wednesday announced its India operations, after offering cross-border payments in the country for close to a decade, the company said.The Indian government's recent push towards digital payments has also led PayPal to partner with government and state-owned banks on a number of initiatives, including digital financial literacy programme and eTourist Visa (eTV), the company said.