Outerwall acquires online electronics recycler Gazelle
Shoring up their existing ecoATM business, Outerwall announced that they have acquired much of online electronics recycler Gazelle for $18 million in cash. Gazelle operates an online site where consumers can buy and sell pre-owned electronics including smartphones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops. The Gazelle online presence will join Outerwall’s existing ecoATM business which puts self-serve kiosks out in retail locations where consumers can trade in their used electronic devices for cash. The items collected at those kiosks are sold to third parties by Outerwall.
By adding Gazelle into their mix, Outerwall CEO Erik Prusch thinks the company will “enable ecoATM to gain critical mass, provide margin revenue uplift opportunities and leverage a direct-to-consumer channel for collected devices.” That last bit suggests Outerwall may start using some of the devices collected through ecoATM to sell on the Gazelle.com site, keeping the revenues within the overall company.
Gazelle’s headquarters are located in Boston with operational facilities in Kentucky and around 100 employees. In 2013 Gazelle reported they reached the $100 million in annual revenue level. That would seem to imply things have cooled off considerably if they sold the business for only $18 million.
Besides ecoATM and now Gazelle, Outerwall also owns and operates Redbox, the self-serve video kiosks, and coin redemption business Coinstar. Redbox is the heavyweight for Outerwall, generating 77 percent of the company’s revenue in the third quarter with Coinstar pulling in almost 17 percent.
source: Outerwall (MarketWatch)
Come comment on this article: Outerwall acquires online electronics recycler Gazelle
Facebook employees to be forced to use Android (again)
During a recent presentation, chief product officer for Facebook Chris Cox announced that he was “mandating a switch of a whole bunch of my team over to Android, just because people, when left up to their own devices, will often prefer an iPhone.” Despite the claim that people prefer an iPhone, the market is actually dominated by Google’s Android operating system, although pockets like those in Silicon Valley where Facebook operates out of may still lean toward iOS devices.
The move is a practical one for Cox as it will push Facebook developers and employees to experience Facebook in the same manner that most of their customers are experiencing it – on an Android device. Cox said having a good portion of the product team on Android would help ensure “they can be reporting bugs and living in the same experience that most Facebook users experience today.”
Getting Facebook employees to better understand their user base was also the impetus behind a recent initiative call 2G Tuesdays. When Facebook employees report for work on Tuesdays, they find their phones will ask them if they want to experience the world with 2G data speeds. If they agree, they get a taste of 2G for about an hour. This is meant to simulate the data speeds that many users in newer markets have available to them, helping Facebook streamline their app. One of the results of that attention to data speeds was the introduction of changes to the News Feed recently announced by Facebook.
Although Android fans will likely crow about this move by the social media giant, it should be noted that this is not the first time Facebook has mandated that employees will use Android devices.
source: Wired
via: Cult of Android
Come comment on this article: Facebook employees to be forced to use Android (again)
A Google Engineer is reviewing all USB Type-C chargers on Amazon to inform customers which ones are safe for use on their devices
The USB Type-C take over has already started, and as this year comes to an end, we expect to see a few more smartphones and tablets hit the market bundling compatibility for the third-generation connection.
As it stands, handsets that currently feature Type-C ports only ship with a single cable and that annoyingly doesn’t support computer connectivity, so if users want to transfer files to their devices, they have to purchase an additional wire or adapter.
However, these accessories aren’t cheap, so customers veer towards the more affordable, third-party cables readily available on marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, but that’s not a good thing.
Many consumers have reported that these chargers have caused harm to their handsets, so Google Engineer Benson Leung has taken it upon himself to purchase a selection of Type-C connectors from Amazon to test and see if they meet the standard specifications for use on his Nexus device.
So far, Leung has been through seven cables and claims the $19.99 Belkin and $14.99 iOrange-E cables are the only two that are safe to use on units that support USB Type-C. The others can cause potentially dangerous side effects, like overheating.
Source: Google+
Come comment on this article: A Google Engineer is reviewing all USB Type-C chargers on Amazon to inform customers which ones are safe for use on their devices
A Google Engineer is reviewing all USB Type-C chargers on Amazon to inform customers which ones are safe for use on their devices
The USB Type-C take over has already started, and as this year comes to an end, we expect to see a few more smartphones and tablets hit the market bundling compatibility for the third-generation connection.
As it stands, handsets that currently feature Type-C ports only ship with a single cable and that annoyingly doesn’t support computer connectivity, so if users want to transfer files to their devices, they have to purchase an additional wire or adapter.
However, these accessories aren’t cheap, so customers veer towards the more affordable, third-party cables readily available on marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, but that’s not a good thing.
Many consumers have reported that these chargers have caused harm to their handsets, so Google Engineer Benson Leung has taken it upon himself to purchase a selection of Type-C connectors from Amazon to test and see if they meet the standard specifications for use on his Nexus device.
So far, Leung has been through seven cables and claims the $19.99 Belkin and $14.99 iOrange-E cables are the only two that are safe to use on units that support USB Type-C. The others can cause potentially dangerous side effects, like overheating.
Source: Google+
Come comment on this article: A Google Engineer is reviewing all USB Type-C chargers on Amazon to inform customers which ones are safe for use on their devices
Netflix will produce original Bollywood and anime programs
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced the service will offer more original content in 2016, including Bollywood and anime programming. During his talk with New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook conference, he said that the company is always looking at new ways to introduce unique shows that other streaming services don’t have. Next year Netflix is looking to spend around $5 billion on content alone and since it launched in Japan on September 2, there’s never been a better time to broaden the scope of programming with an international focus. What type of Bollywood or anime programs will Netflix release? Hastings didn’t mention specifically, only noting that it has taken risks before and they’ve paid off (like Narcos, for example). Get ready for longer bouts of aimless scrolling on nights you’re feeling indecisive.
Via: The Verge
Source: YouTube
Engadget presents the Best of CES 2016: Here’s what you need to know
It’s November. For some, that means planning for Thanksgiving, while others might already be in the midst of holiday shopping. For us here at Engadget, November is when CES organizing kicks into high gear. Not only because CES is the country’s largest get-together of tech, but also because for the third year in the row, Engadget has been bestowed the honor of running and hosting the official Best of CES awards. Just as in years past, our team of intrepid editors will search out the cream of the crop, nominate our finalists and pick the winners of the show. Oh and you too will have your voice heard in the People’s Choice award. Want to know more? Well, head on over to our newly launched awards hub or read on further for a list of our award categories. And if you happen to be a company who wants to submit your product for such high honors, we’ve got instructions for that too.
Siri’s Initial Eight-Country Limitation on New Apple TV Due to Pronunciation Training
Despite Siri’s availability on iOS in over fifteen different languages and over thirty countries, the voice assistant’s support on the new Apple TV has remained limited to eight countries: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, United States, Germany, France, Spain, and Japan.
In a new report by MacPrime [Google Translate], the importance of “film and television content” — including altering the phonetic pronunciation of movie titles and actor names — was given as the main reason behind this initially small Siri support on the new Apple TV.
The explanation: Siri on Apple TV is different in large parts of Siri on iOS. The voice control of the set-top box Apple had to put a special focus on television and film content. These include in particular film titles and names of actors, directors, producers and the like. Apart from the various translations of movie titles, the pronunciation of titles or name differs depending on the country or region.
Specifically, examples for film titles like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and the actor Matthew McConaughey were given as the most different from the way Americans tend to say them. Since the new Apple TV is fueled by an extensive Siri voice search functionality, Apple feared that releasing the feature to a more global audience, who may run into problems and become frustrated, would dilute its overall appeal.
The project managers that MacPrime spoke to noted incoming support for more countries and languages, although the company has yet to give an exact date to the expanded regions that will gain Siri functionality on the Apple TV. Those areas that still received the fourth generation set-top box at launch, but are without Siri, were given a remote that looks identical to the Siri Remote but has been dubbed the “Apple TV Remote” due to its lack of full voice control capabilities.
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Classic Andy Warhol ‘Macintosh’ Painting Could Fetch $600,000 at Auction
Sotheby’s will soon be auctioning a contemporary Macintosh painting by the late Andy Warhol, a successful artist known for his paintings of iconic American objects like Coca-Cola and Campbell’s Soup and celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali.
The acrylic and silkscreen canvas painting is part of Warhol’s “Ads” suite from 1985, one year after the original Macintosh launched. The painting, which features Apple’s old rainbow logo sandwiched between the words Apple and Macintosh, is estimated to receive between $400,000 and $600,000 U.S. at auction.
“We went into Sean [John Lennon’s son]’s bedroom–and there was a kid there setting up the Apple computer that Sean had gotten as a present, the Macintosh model. I said that once some man had been calling me a lot wanting to give me one, but that I’d never called him back or something, and then the kid looked up and said, ‘Yeah, that was me. I’m Steve Jobs.’ And he looked so young, like a college guy. And he told me that he would still send me one now. And then he gave me a lesson on drawing with it. It only comes in black and white now, but they’ll make it soon in color…I felt so old and out of it with this young whiz guy right there who helped invent it.” — Andy Warhol
The starting bid for the Macintosh painting will be $280,000 U.S. when the eBay auction starts on November 12 at 9:30 AM Eastern. The painting is in very good condition overall based on the Sotheby’s report, with only light wear and handling along the edges, minor hairline craquelure, possible retouching and a few other blemishes.
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Apple Releases Second iOS 9.2 Beta for Public Beta Testers
Apple today seeded the second beta of iOS 9.2 to public beta testers, one day after seeding the second beta to developers and a week after releasing the first iOS 9.2 public beta. iOS 9.2 follows iOS 9.1, which launched on October 21.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple’s beta testing program and have will receive the second iOS 9.2 beta as an over-the-air update.
Those who want to be a part of Apple’s beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and OS X betas. As iOS 9.1 was recently released, it will likely be several weeks before we see the public release of iOS 9.2.
According to the release notes for the first iOS 9.2 beta, the Safari View Controller (the view of Safari you see within apps) is being updated with support for third-party Action Extensions that will let it more closely mirror the Safari app. It also includes options to reload content and request a desktop site, as in Safari, and iOS 9.2 beta 2 improves Safari View Controller further, introducing support for dismissing it with an edge swipe.
Along with improvements to Safari View Controller, iOS 9.2 also introduces support for AT&T’s NumberSync Wi-Fi Calling feature and includes bug fixes for iCloud Keychain, Apple Watch syncing and pairing, audio quality when streaming to stereo systems, and more.
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Vivo X6 teased officially as specs and images leak
Chinese smartphone brand Vivo had been expected to unveil a new handset today, but instead has taken the opportunity to tease an entirely different smartphone – the Vivo X6. Along with the teaser, images and hardware details about the handset have leaked, revealing a premium tier device.
Beginning with the teaser, it doesn’t reveal much about the X6, although it certainly looks like Vivo is going after the premium tier of the market. There are also references to a few “more surprises” and something about being “fast enough”, so says my translator. So we are probably looking at some serious performance grunt here.
While Vivo may have hidden the handset away in a box, a separate leak has given us a look at the back of the handset. There appears to be at least five color options to choose from, and the back of the phone looks to be made out of one solid piece of metal.
As for the hardware, the Vivo X6 will apparently be powered by a MediaTek Helio X20 SoC, which features 10 CPU cores arranges in three clusters with varying performance and energy targets. The X20 is built from two Cortex-A72 cores at 2.5GHz, four Cortex-A53 cores at 2GHz, and a further quad-core A53 cluster at 1.4GHz. There’s also a Mali-T880 GPU on board and support for LPDDR3 memory, which makes the chip very capable.
Read on: 10-core MediaTek Helio X20 is official
Other specifications include 4G connectivity, 32GB of internal memory, “HiFi” audio, and a 3D Touch features, which is presumably something like Huawei’s Force Touch display. Additional rumors point to a 6-inch QHD (2560×1440) display, along with 4GB of RAM, a 21 megapixel rear camera and a 4,000mAh battery. These are not confirmed, but would certainly make the X6 a powerhouse flagship.
We’re not sure when Vivo is planning to announce the X6, but the appearance of a teaser suggests that it can’t be too far away. What do you think about the phone?
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