Opera today announced a new mobile browser, Opera Touch, that shows that there’s still plenty of room for a competitor in the mobile browsing world. Opera Touch takes some ideas from the company’s experimental Opera Neon desktop browser and packages it into a highly usable package for Android, with an iOS version coming soon.

Flying Taxi Start-Up Employ Designer Behind Modern Mini, Fiat 500

Lilium, a German start-up with Silicon Valley-scale ambitions to put electric “flying taxis” in the air next decade, has hired Frank Stephenson, the designer behind iconic car brands including the modern Mini, Fiat 500 and McLaren P1.

Lilium is developing a lightweight aircraft powered by 36 electric jet engines mounted on its wings. It aims to travel at speeds of up to 300 kilometres (186 miles) per hour, with a range of 300 km on a single charge, the firm has said.

Founded in 2015 by four Munich Technical University students, the Bavarian firm has set out plans to demonstrate a fully functional vertical take-off electric jet by next year, with plans to begin online booking of commuter flights by 2025.

Adeshina Taiwo, a 400 Level student of computer science at the University of Ilorin, has developed a web application aimed at improving Nigeria’s healthcare system. The web app was exhibited on Monday at the first international conference organised by the faculty of communication and information sciences in Ilorin.

Google unveiled on Wednesday its first Gmail redesign since 2013, capping what the company says was an expensive overhaul two years in the making to adopt security and offline functionality and better resemble Microsoft Outlook. It is Google’s most extensive update to software in its G Suite workplace bundle since accelerating efforts to steal business from Microsoft Corp’s dominant Office workplace software suite. Previously, G Suite added instant-messaging and spreadsheet features.

Facebook Surveyed Unpicking Personalities To Target Ads

Facebook has considered profiling its users' personalities and using the information to target adverts.

A patent filed by the social network describes how personality characteristics, including emotional stability, could be determined from people's messages and status updates.

The firm is currently embroiled in a privacy scandal over the use of its data by a political consultancy.

Google has launched Grasshopper, an app designed to assist beginners learn coding in a fun manner. The app was developed by one of the teams in Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator.

As described in its Google Play Store listing, “Grasshopper is the best way to start your coding adventure with fun, quick games on your smart phone that teach you to write real JavaScript. Move through progressively challenging levels as you develop your abilities, then graduate with fundamental programming skills for your next step as a code”.