News

Starlink Teams Up With Elcome To Offer Maritime Internet

The new service will give ships and luxury yachts internet access with speeds up to 100 times faster than currently available.

Published

3 years ago

January 9, 2023

Nour Nasir

starlink teams up with elcome to offer maritime internet

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet startup has partnered with Elcome International — a marine electronics company headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The pairing aims to launch a new maritime-based internet service with unparalleled transfer speeds.

According to Elcome, the Starlink-backed service will offer internet speeds that are 100 times faster than conventional satellite solutions, helping the luxury yacht sector to provide a better service to clients, as well as boosting download speeds for merchant ships and even oil rigs.

“We are so excited to bring the benefits of Starlink to our customers. It’s not just about fast internet, but the opportunity for us to implement real-time remote monitoring and autonomy solutions for these customers in ways that were not previously possible. Also, consider the benefit to crew members who will now be able to better stay in touch with family and friends while out at sea,” says Jimmy Grewal, Elcome Executive Director.

Also Read: Kuwait Aims For Digital Transformation With Google Partnership

The service uses Starlink’s low-orbit satellites, which currently represent the largest constellation of their type at such an altitude. Elcome will provide their customers with installation, integration, and field support for Starlink connections, with multi-antenna arrays delivering super-fast, low-latency bandwidth.

News

Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users

Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 27, 2026

Nour Nasir

Google

Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.

The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.

Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.

The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.

Also Read: RØDE Adds Direct iPhone Pairing To Wireless GO And Pro Mics

Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.

By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.

The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.