Waze launches new Transport SDK for partner apps

Waze announced today the introduction of a new Transport SDK which partners can use to implement Waze features directly in their own apps. Waze says the ability to feed their information into another app will help address a big complaint they get, which is the need for constant switching between specific apps and Waze. The stronger integration means an app like Lyft will provide drivers with Waze’s ETA, turn-by-turn navigation and preferred routing information.

Clearly the ability to combine Waze data with the features of other apps will be a benefit to those partners. For example, one of the partners is Genesis PULSE which provides emergency dispatch services. Having an easier to access source for live route information could mean quicker response times and ultimately, saved lives.

Users of partner apps will also benefit. For example, a Lyft rider will get better information about how long they may have to wait and can enjoy a faster, likely less stressful, journey to their destination. For a Lyft driver, the app means they can provide better, quicker service and receive better feedback.

Waze also points out that the general Waze community will benefit if there are more users out on the roads feeding travel data back into their platform. Even with more than 50 million users, Waze expects this move will add a significant number of new drivers to the ranks.

The initial partners who will be using the new Waze Transport SDK include Lyft, Genesis PULSE, JustPark, Cornershop, Cabify and 99Taxis. Waze says they will provide the SDK to other partners in the future where they think they can contribute to a better solution. Some potential markets might include food delivery or valet parking services.

As part of the launch of the new SDK, Lyft is offering a $5 credit on each of a user’s next 10 rides. Lyft riders can find more information on taking advantage of this special promotion by visiting the source link. Customers in Chile and Mexico will find they can take advantage of a special offer from Cornershop. In Chile, the promo code WAZECHILE will yield 5000 CLP to be used while the code WAZEMX will yield 150 MXN in Mexico. JustPark is also offering a special deal with a 10 pound discount for users who use the code WAZE10.

source: Waze

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Boost Mobile bolsters family plan and unlocks roaming to Mexico

Boost Mobile, the prepaid carrier owned and operated by Sprint, today announced a slew of new options and benefits for customers old and new. The carrier is focusing on offering more high-speed data at an affordable price in addition to launching promotions that put money back in your back.

New customers joining a Boost Mobile family plan can take advantage of a promotion that gives them up to two free phones. The phones included in this promotion are the Motorola Moto E, LG Tribute, LG Tribute 2, ZTE Speed, and Alcatel OneTouch Elevate. But Boost Mobile is also modifying its family plan options in order to give customers a sizable amount of high-speed data, discounting the monthly cost with each additional line.

Here’s what Boost Mobile is doing for families:

• Best Value (1.5GB of high-speed data per line)
  • 2 Lines: $70 per month
  • 3 Lines: $90 per month
  • 4 Lines: $100 per month
• Need More Data? (5GB of high-speed data per line)
  • 2 Lines: $70 per month
  • 3 Lines: $95 per month
  • 4 Lines: $120 per month

In addition, customers can install the Boost Dealz app on their phones to get $5 taken off of their bill every month. The Boost Dealz app is a hub for offers, special deals, and advertisements.

The final item part of today’s announcements, one that won’t save money, is the option to communicate with people in Mexico and travel in the country without spending a fortune. Boost Mobile is allowing roaming and international calling with Mexico for $5 per month, with roaming data totaling up to 8GB.

Source: Sprint

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Oppo shipped 50 million mobile devices last year

Earlier this week, Oppo announced that it sold just over 50 million mobile devices in 2015. This puts the company inside the top ten list of mobile brands in the industry by marketshare.

This is the first time Oppo has sold over 50 million handsets in a single year. The company experienced a whopping 67% year-on-year growth, which is an accomplishment worth being proud of. The company said that most of its success came from the Chinese market, which surged this past year.

Oppo is working extremely hard to bring its devices to more countries and increase awareness of the brand. This is one of Oppo’s big goals for the 2016 year. Looking ahead, Oppo would love to keep its momentum moving and improve the brand’s marketshare in India, which will be another major focus for the year to come. For more details, check the press release down below.

OPPO Tops 50 Million Units in 2015, Grows 67% Year on Year

Shenzhen, Jan. 26, 2016 – OPPO sold 50 million units in 2015, representing a year-on-year growth of 67 percent. Propelled by this success, OPPO has broken into the top ten smartphone brands worldwide, ranking eighth in global market share, according to a recent report by TrendForce.

OPPO soared in 2015 on its “simple, focused” strategy, which prioritized product quality and user experience above all. Meanwhile, a host of innovative signature technologies, such as the VOOC Flash Charge quick-charging solution and a versatile, feature-packed camera platform, won the favor of consumers around the world.

2015 saw the release of a wide range of new OPPO products, including the R7 series, the Mirror 5 and the Neo 7. The products of the R7 series, featuring VOOC Flash Charge and an outstanding photography experience, made OPPO a commanding force in the mid-range and upper mid-range market segments.

Taking China as an example, OPPO accounted for 27.9 percent of the country’s offline sales in the RMB2000-2999 ($300-$450 USD) segment last year, according to independent market research firm SINO MR, positioning OPPO as the most popular choice in this price range in the offline market. This performance was fueled in part by a successful campaign promoting the VOOC Flash Charge quick-charging solution, which, with the help of the slogan “Charge for five minutes, talk for two hours”, has virtually become a household name in China.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, riding on the success of the R7 series, as well as the attractively priced Mirror 5 and Neo 7, OPPO ranked number two nationally in offline smartphone market share, with 21.9 percent, according to November 2015 data from independent market research firm GfK.

Strategic brand partnerships have also been a contributor to OPPO’s rise in 2015, and are continuing to have a huge impact on the company’s global brand awareness. Among the most high-profile of these is OPPO’s ongoing three-year partnership with FC Barcelona, which has afforded opportunities to connect with the fans and followers of one of the most popular football clubs in the world. Meanwhile, a recently announced partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to open up a host of exciting opportunities in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and a range of OPPO’s other cricket-loving markets.

OPPO has also leveraged cross-industry promotions to boost its image. In Australia, OPPO cooperated with the fashion world for Melbourne and Sydney fashion weeks, successfully positioning itself as a vendor of trendy, stylish devices in the mid- and upper-mid range.

2015 also saw big expansions in OPPO’s global markets. While strengthening core markets in China and Southeast Asia, OPPO also opened up business in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Sri Lanka. In hotly contested India, the company invested heavily in a domestic main office. As of December 2015, OPPO had established 11,000 sales outlets across India and entered into cooperation with Foxconn India to assemble phones domestically.

In 2016, OPPO will keep the momentum going, with a goal of 60-percent growth in non-Chinese markets. India will be a chief focus for the company this year, with a planned sales increase of 300 percent by the end of the year.

2016 will also see OPPO strengthen its well-deserved brand image as a provider of superb camera experiences, while at the same time putting an increased emphasis on bringing OPPO phones to a wider range of users, by providing devices that bring phenomenal quality-to-price ratios. The photography-centric F1, the first product in the new F series, is an early step in this direction.

With the F1 set to launch in India on January 28, OPPO is already ramping up to bring its innovative smartphones to even more users this year, and to make 2016 a new high point.

 

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Japan may relax its drone rules to protect crops

Japan is leery about the threat drones possess after one deposited radioactive material on the home of its Prime Minister. That doesn’t mean that the country doesn’t recognize their potential as well, which is why it’s currently mulling a relaxation of its tight rules. According to the Yomiuri Shimbum / Japan News, officials are planning “special drone zones,” that’ll enable UAVs to be flown around island regions and mountains. Initially, the technology will be tested to see if it can serve a practical purpose away from densely-populated urban regions.

For instance, researchers will see if drones can be used to chase away animals that are attacking farm crops. In addition, the country will examine if the craft are an effective method to convey emergency medical supplies to remote areas. The paper cites Okutama, which was cut off by heavy snow two years ago, as an example where flying cargo drones could prove useful. Finally, the tech is expected to prove useful when monitoring remote islands that are uninhabited by humans, but stuffed full of rare wildlife and plants. Maybe the country can retrofit its new anti-drone drone to snatch up poachers looking to cause environmental havoc.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun / Japan News

Singapore’s artificial natural paradise

Singapore is one of the most densely-populated states on earth. It’s also growing. Through reclamation its landmass has grown by an estimated 24 percent since 1960, with 5 percent (37 square kilometers or 14 square miles) added in the past 15 years alone. This artificial growth is fueled by materials from its own hills, the sea bed and imports from other countries. Along with creating new areas for residence, the reclamation has allowed Singapore to create large public spaces and entertainment complexes, including the Gardens by the Bay, a lush parkland created under the remit to turn Singapore from a “Garden City” into “A City in a Garden.”

Nothing about the 130-acre park is as it seems. As the land it was built on wasn’t there in decades past, everything was created from scratch. This is landscaping on an epic scale, with every plant, every tree and each spec of dirt planned. It’s punctuated by giant “Supertrees,” vertical gardens that mimic real trees on a grand scale. The supertrees stand up to 50 meters (164 feet) tall, housing plants, solar panels, and collecting rainwater. Some also act as exhaust pipes for an underground biomass powerplant, which runs on natural waste from the park.

The Big Picture is a recurring feature highlighting beautiful images that tell big stories. We explore topics as large as our planet, or as small as a single life, as affected by or seen through the lens of technology.

Nanowire discovery may lead to better, cheaper solar cells

Scientists have figured out a standardized way to make nanowires out of perovskite, a material that could one day make solar energy cheap and ubiquitous. Just a few years ago, cells made from the relatively inexpensive substances had a solar efficiency rating of just 3.8 percent. Fast-forward to 2015, and they can now convert 21 percent of light hitting them to electricity, drawing the attention of scientists and solar panel manufacturers alike. Using nanowires instead of nanoparticles further increases efficiency, because the wires act as “direct conductive highways” to transmit current more efficiently. So far, though, an easy way to build them has eluded researchers.

However, a team from the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in France have found a standardized way to “grow” the wires that’s relatively easy and cheap. “We need nanowires that [resemble] each other like identical twins,” according to grad student Endre Horváth, adding that they need billions identical copies to make effective solar cells. To do it, they used so called nanofluidics, in which fluids are manipulated by microcircuits on a nanometer scale. Using a new technique, they first created “nano-grooves” on a silicon base to guide the tiny streams. That resulted in the parallel formation of tens of thousands of perovskite crystal “wires” (see the two videos, below)

EPFL called the technique “a great leap forward in nanowire technology.” If it can be scaled up, it could lead to perovskite nanowire wafers that are ideal for efficient solar cells. The material would also improve optoelectronic devices like lasers and LEDs.

Source: EPFL

LG posts strong smartphone numbers for 2015 in financial report

LG released their fourth quarter and 2015 full year financial results today showing the LG Mobile Communications Company portion of the manufacturing conglomerate had a solid year. According to LG, the company shipped a total of 59.7 million smartphones in 2015, which was a slight increase from 59.1 million units shipped in 2014. LG specifically noted that sales in North America had improved to help with the results for the division.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, LG shipped 15.3 million smartphones, leading to sales of KRW 3.78 trillion ($3.26 billion USD). That was a 12 percent increase in sales compared to the previous quarter. In a world where the smartphone market has been softening, the fourth quarter results were unchanged when compared to the same quarter in 2014, so that is effectively a win for the company. LG says they anticipate 2016 will be even tougher thanks to competitor devices and price pressures. To combat this, LG plans to introduce two flagship smartphones during 2016.

LG also reported that their home entertainment division had a solid fourth quarter in 2015 with revenues increasing 11 percent compared to the third quarter. LG says this growth was due to improved sales of OLED and UHD televisions. Despite the upward trend within the year, revenues of KRW 4.74 trillion ($4.09 billion USD) were down compared to 2014 as the global TV market softens and LG was buffeted by unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates. LG says they do anticipate a favorable market in 2016 for their OLED TVs and new Super 4K Ultra HD televisions. The company also says they will have their first ever Super Bowl commercial this year.

Overall, LG’s fourth quarter operating profit in 2015 was 27 percent higher than in 2014 thanks in large part to the home appliances division, although home entertainment was a solid contributor as well. Despite the improved profits, sales revenue was down 4.7 percent across all businesses compared to 2014’s fourth quarter. Likewise, full year revenues were down for 2015 compared to 2014 as was operating income.

source: LG

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