Airbnb is floating a liveable house down the River Thames
If you happen to be in London this week, we recommend keeping one eye locked on the Thames. Airbnb is sailing a bright blue house down the iconic river to celebrate the passing of the Deregulation Act, which gives London residents permission to “share” their property for up to 90 days each year. Best of all, you can actually live in Airbnb’s unusual floating home — it comes with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a living room, as well as a small garden complete with lawn, trees and a dog kennel. Of course, this is just a publicity stunt, but it’s a creative one that could brighten up London’s iconic landmark. Airbnb is also letting a lucky few spend the night in the house this Friday, with just a few important house rules; no swimming in the Thames, no floating house parties and “no floating away.” I wonder if that last one includes tying hundreds of colourful balloons to the roof?
Filed under: Household
Via: Designboom
Source: Airbnb
Amazon’s riding the New York subway to speed up deliveries
Despite its incredible reach, Amazon has always had to play catch-up with brick and mortar retailers when it comes to getting products in customers’ hands. If you’re in a pinch, you can normally visit a local store and walk out with exactly what you need. Amazon has taken steps to cut waiting times with same-day deliveries in some cities and then one-hour shipments via Prime Now. The only problem with promising such a short delivery period in some of the world’s busiest cities is that traffic can be a nightmare. So to get orders to customers in Manhattan, the Financial Times reports that the company has begun loading small pushcarts with packages and taking them on a more efficient means of transport: the New York subway.
In a statement to the newspaper, Amazon confirmed that delivery personnel now “bike, walk or use public transportation” to make deliveries. In fact, the company admitted that the only time they’ll drive “is if the item is large like a flat screen TV.” It’s not too surprising given that Amazon has toyed with taxi deliveries in the past, but some customers may feel a little uneasy that their package is enjoying a more public ride. Then again, subway passengers may be forced to share a crowded carriage with an Amazon pushcart. Maybe it’s time for the drones to do their thing.
Filed under: Household, Transportation, Internet, Amazon
Source: Financial Times
LG G4 to begin shipping globally this week
LG is set to begin shipping its much-awaited flagship handset, the G4, to “key markets” across the world including Hong Kong, Turkey, Russia and Singapore this week. Soon after, it will be made available in most of Europe, North America, CIS, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and South/Central America.
In a statement posted on its website LG Electronics revealed that approximately 180 carriers and retails are already on board as G4 partners. Separately, we have learned from our sources that the device will hit the UK shores after May 28, and Canada by June 19.
The LG G4 comes packed with all the top class features including a 5.5-inch 1440p display, a 64-bit Snapdragon 808 CPU clocked at 1.8GHz, 3GB of RAM and 3,000 mAh battery. The choice of hexa-core Snapdragon 808 chipset was quite surprising, but it can go in the G4’s stride as many phones powered by Snapdragon 810 are facing overheating issues. Also on board is a 16-megapixel rear camera with an aperture of f/1.8 that promises great pictures even in low-light conditions thanks to Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). The G4 becomes a must have for the selfie addicts as it is equipped an 8-megapixel front-facing camera to ensure quality self-portraits and video chats. On the software front, the smartphone runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box.
Given its release timing, the LG G4 is bound to face competition from the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge, which are selling like hot cakes. However, the G4 has an edge over Samsung’s flagships in two respects, it comes with a removable battery and a microSD card slot. It will be available in Blue, Metallic Grey and Genuine Leather variants.
Source: LG Newsroom
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HTC One ME9 rumored to launch in India next month as a plastic version of the One M9+
Zauba, an Indian website that tracks imports and exports out of the country, is reporting that 1700 dummy units of the rumored HTC One ME9 have been imported since May 8.
In most recent shipments, Zauba has seen 120 in Classic Gold Rose and 180 in Meteor Gray. These dummy models are said to be dual-SIM variants, valued at 408 INR or $6.43 USD each.
In a recent TENNA certification, the HTC One ME9, a plastic variant of the HTC One M9+, features a 5.2-inch LCD-3 display. It has a 2.2GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 20-megapixel rear camera, and a 2,840mAh battery.
While we haven’t heard any confirmation from HTC in an official capacity, a source allegedly working for HTC India says that the HTC One ME9 will launch in India during the third week of June. It is said to come in Gold Sepia, Classic Rose Gold, Meteor Gray, and have pricing start at the equivalent of $552 USD.
Despite the lack of demand, it’s interesting that HTC is continuing to bring different variants of the One M9, despite their revenue plummeting because of the device. We’ll just have to see how well this device plays out in India, though there aren’t high expectations.
As per the norm, we’ll hear more about this device as we get closer to a release date. In the meantime, what do you think of the HTC One ME9? Let us know in the comments.
source: @upleaks, TENNA, Zauba
via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: HTC One ME9 rumored to launch in India next month as a plastic version of the One M9+
LG G4 coming to Canadian carrier WIND Mobile June 19
WIND Mobile took to Twitter to reveal an official launch date for the LG G4. Canadians will be able to get their hands on LG’s new flagship device on June 19.
WIND did say that they will not be taking pre-orders for the device, so there’s no word on official pricing in Canada yet. However, the #TryLGG4 terms and conditions point at an outright retail price of $699.99, for those looking to get the smartphone off-contract.
In addition to WIND, the LG G4 will also be available at Bell, Rogers, Telus, and Videotron. Unfortunately, the Canadian variant from carriers will only come in two colors–metallic gray in ceramic and black genuine leather (as pictured above).
Are you looking forward to an LG G4 launch or have you already picked up your new device for the year? Let us know in the comments.
source: Twitter
via: Mobile Syrup
Come comment on this article: LG G4 coming to Canadian carrier WIND Mobile June 19
Carphone Warehouse accepting pre-orders for LG G4, shipping starts May 28th
If you’ve been waiting to pre-order the LG G4 smartphone in the UK, you will be glad to find out that it’s now possible to place your order at the UK retailer, Carphone Warehouse. Despite being able to pre-order the handset, you will still have to wait until May 28th to get your hands on it though.
As with many pre-order offers, Carphone Warehouse is sweetening the deal by giving an LG P7 Music Flow Bluetooth speaker (worth £129) free to the first 400 pre-orders. You can pre-order the LG G4 in brown, grey, or the black version that is exclusive to Carphone Warehouse, with monthly plans starting from £35. There are no details regarding off-contract pricing as yet. If you are undecided whether to pre-order or not, you can also get familiar with the official LG G4 wallpapers here.
Source: Carphone Warehouse
Come comment on this article: Carphone Warehouse accepting pre-orders for LG G4, shipping starts May 28th
LG begins shipping G4 to carriers and retailers later this week
It’s still a couple of weeks or so to go until people begin receiving their leather clad LG G4 smartphones, but in the meantime we can report that the Korean company will begin shipping its latest flagship handset to key markets later this week.
Network providers and retailers in Hong Kong will be the first to receive the G4 handset, followed closely by Turkey, Russia and Singapore. After that, it will be the turn of North America, Europe, CIS, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Central America and finally South America. All-in-all, the G4 will be available from around 180 carriers and retailers worldwide.
We have most recently seen that the G4 has become eligible to pre-order from Carphone Warehouse (UK) with a shipping date of May 28th, rumours of the handset launching at Verizon Wireless on June 4th, and also becoming available to order via Canada’s WIND Mobile on June 19th. Is the LG G4 your next smartphone? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: LG
Come comment on this article: LG begins shipping G4 to carriers and retailers later this week
New 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac Expected to Launch This Wednesday
Apple fans waiting for updates to the 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac may get good news sooner than expected, with MacG.co [Google Translate] reporting on Monday that updates to both models are expected as soon as this Wednesday.
The website cites an unnamed source who has provided accurate information on a number of occasions in the past, but provides no further details regarding the exact specs and upgrades that could go into the two new computers. Given that the 13-inch MacBook Pro was updated back in March with the expected processing and graphics boosts, as well as a new Force Touch trackpad, it’s safe to say the new 15-inch model should receive similar upgrades.
As MacG.co points out and we have discussed in recent days, shipping times for the 15-inch MacBook Pro have been slipping, sparking speculation of a WWDC reveal for updated models.
It is unclear exactly what processors will be included in the new MacBook Pro, as Intel’s timeline for Broadwell chips had previously estimated a July-August release for chips appropriate for the machine. Intel did, however, quietly launch a few higher-end chips in the Broadwell family two weeks ago, suggesting production may in fact be ahead of schedule.
The site doesn’t touch much on the iMac update, beyond pointing out that the only model with a delayed shipping estimate is the higher-end non-retina 27-inch iMac with a 3.4 GHz processor. We noted slipping shipping estimates on iMacs a month ago, but while most of the models returned to “in stock” status shortly after, it now appears Apple has indeed been drawing down stock ahead of this week’s update.
Delayed shipping times in the weeks ahead of a major event like WWDC generally appear as good indicators of what product categories may be getting an update, but given recent updates to the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, the release of the new MacBook, and the pending 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac updates, Apple could once again have a software-focused WWDC keynote similar to last year unless it decides to show off an update to the Mac Pro.
Sunrise calendar app now adds easy scheduling with a new keyboard
The first major change to Sunrise Calendar since its acquisition from Microsoft is an interesting one to say the least. In order to make scheduling easier, the app now comes equipped with its own calendar keyboard to schedule appointments on the fly.
There is a new feature called “Meet” that basically changes your devices keyboard so that you can at an instance see what appointments are available without having to change apps. The app goes as far as letting you send multiple options to your friends, family, and colleagues as far as possible appointments and as soon as they decide it will automatically update the appointment for you. This is meant to take ease of scheduling one-step further to save you time and also frustration between switching apps and finding times.
Admittedly as cool as it is, I was personally struggling to get my Galaxy Note 4 to switch between the Samsung Keyboard and the Sunrise Keyboard. After setting it as the default option the keyboard did come up and work as promised.
To activate the feature, you must go into the settings. You will see the option there for “Meet” and you can go in there to activate it. Once it is activated you should be able to switch easily between keyboards and insert information appropriately. This is a clever idea and is a great first step since Sunrise has been engulfed by Microsoft. Lets hope that the innovation keeps moving forward.
You can download Sunrise Calendar for free through the Google Play Store.
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AT&T quietly starts offering entry-level LG Escape2
AT&T over the weekend added a new smartphone to its Android lineup, the entry-level LG Escape 2. Running Android 5.0 Lollipop, the phone features a 4.7-inch HD display and an 8-megapixel rear camera.
The Escape2 also offers 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage and a front-facing 1-megapixel camera. It’s not a lot of hardware, but it does pack a nice suite of software. Like other LG models of the day, it comes with Knock On, Knock Code, Quick Memo, and QSlide.
The Escape2 display is curved somewhat and the buttons are found on the rear of the phone. In the big scheme of things this might be considered a low-range sibling of the G3 and G4 family.
AT&T is selling the LG Escape2 for $0.99 with a two year service contract. With an all-in price of $179, customers can also purchase on an AT&T Next plan.
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