Google’s car accidents, Sharp’s decline and the bidding war for HERE
This week tech expert Stuart Miles looks at whether a number of accidents will be a setback for Google’s self-driving cars. He also talks about Japanese Sharp, which is struggling after years of losses. Miles also looks at the billion dollar bidding war for Nokia’s mapping service HERE.
According to Google, the company’s self-driving cars have been involved in 11 accidents. No one has been injured and the cars did not cause any of the accidents, according to a blog post from Google director Chris Urmson.
Miles says the incidents will not set back Google’s project, but do raise a number of questions about liabilities in the event of accidents. He also predicts that the transition to self-driving cars will be rather long as people will need time to relinquish control over their cars.
Shares in Japanese tech firm Sharp tumbled over 30% this week on reports the company plans to reduce its capital 99% to JPY 100 million as it wipes away years of losses. Miles says Sharp is one of many Japanese tech giants, which have failed to adapt and innovate as tech trends change, and the coming months will be tough for Sharp.
Finally, Miles looks at a bidding war between Über and a consortium of German car makers for Nokia’s mapping service HERE. Über is according to the New York Times willling to pay as much as USD 3 billion for HERE, which used to be called Navteq and was acquired by Nokia for USD 8.1 billion in 2007.
