Evernote closes the book on Market to refocus on software

Evernote is one of the most well-known brands in productivity circles with the success of their note-taking app that helps promote a digital lifestyle. Despite the success, they may be described as “beleaguered” having spread themselves thin with side business and efforts. The company has already been shutting down development of some software apps and now their resizing efforts continue in the physical world. Today they announced one of those potential distractions will be shutting down as Evernote transitions operations and order fulfillment for physical goods sold through the Evernote Market back to some of the partner companies.

Although Evernote pushes a paperless, digital environment for their users, they realized over the years that there is still a lot of demand for physical goods and devices that are used to capture information. To address that need, they launched the Evernote Market which was their online store for selling products produced by partners like Adonit, Moleskine and PFU. Over the years, Evernote sold over 800,000 special Moleskine notebooks designed to work with Evernote software along with 300,000 Jot Script styluses and almost 20,000 ScanSnap Evernote Edition scanners.

Sales of these physical products through the Evernote Market also gave the company an opportunity to upsell consumers on a premium Evernote subscription. That effort succeeded about half the time according to Evernote.

The company now realizes that they need to focus on their software and trying to improve the user experience there. To further that goal, they are relinquishing the sales and order fulfillment for the Market back to partner companies effective on February 3rd, effectively shutting down the Evernote Market. Evernote says they will still add partners and integrations who produce goods that help complement the Evernote platform.

Are you sad to see an end to the Evernote Market or are you excited to see the company refocus on its software platform?

source: Evernote

Come comment on this article: Evernote closes the book on Market to refocus on software

Truecaller and BLU team up to integrate improved dialer into smartphones

Truecaller and BLU have announced a partnership that will bring Truecaller’s innovative dialer to all BLU phones in 2016, replacing the stock phone application that ships with Android.

Truecaller offers some features that you simply won’t get in the stock dialer, including caller ID, a spam filter, and excellent search functionality. These features have helped Truecaller reach 200 million users, and partnerships like these will help them extend that even further.

BLU has agreed to use the smart dialer app for 12 months, but they aren’t the first phone manufacturer to agree to a deal like this; Indian OEM Intex also utilizes Truecaller for their devices.

How do you feel about OEMs replacing stock apps with third-party apps like this? Do you think it’s an easy way to add functionality, or bloat that’s tacked onto Android?

via: Android Central

Come comment on this article: Truecaller and BLU team up to integrate improved dialer into smartphones

BBC to retain Olympics coverage until at least 2024

The BBC has broadcast coverage of the Olympic Games for countless decades, but that legacy was put under threat last summer. While the BBC already had the 2016, 2018 and 2020 Olympics locked up, Discovery (which owns Eurosport) stumped up the best part of £1 billion to secure exclusive European rights up to and including the 2024 Summer Games. Both parties have just announced a mutually beneficial deal, however, that will see the BBC continue to provide free coverage across both the 2022 and 2024 Olympics.

Almost as soon as the news of the Discovery deal broke, the BBC said it was already looking at potential sub-licensing arrangements. The pair has a history of collaboration, after all, and as part of its agreement with the International Olympic Committee, Discovery committed to broadcasting a minimum of 200 hours of the Olympic Games on free-to-air TV (or 100 hours for the Winter Games). The BBC will no doubt fill that quota, and because the sub-licensing deal goes both ways, Discovery has acquired exclusive UK pay-TV rights to the 2018 and 2020 Olympics from the BBC.

With budget pressures and competition for sporting rights pushing bids to record highs, we’re likely to see the BBC make more and more of these types of deals for live events. As financial troubles are also threatening the BBC’s Red Button services, we’ll be interested to see how its Olympic TV coverage evolves (or devolves, as the case may be) from Games to Games.

Source: BBC, Discovery

Tesla dealerships aim to play Michigan at its own game

You can’t buy a Tesla in Michigan because, like in many states, local laws prohibit manufacturers selling to their customers directly. To do so would cut out dealerships, which just happen to have bankrolled plenty of local politicians into protecting their interests. Tesla, however, isn’t going to sulk off into the night, and has decided to play Michigan’s vested interests at their own game by applying for a dealership license. According to the Wall Street Journal, the firm delivered the paperwork in November and is expecting to hear the decision by the start of March.

Tesla, you see, wants to operate its own retail business in the same way that Apple and Samsung do, which seems reasonable enough. Unfortunately, the automotive sales world has been developing logic-defying rules to protect their interests for the better part of a century. Put simply, direct sales is considered a threat by these wealthy third-party dealership networks which want to protect their business model. If you’d like to read more about this in far, far greater detail, you should check out our primer on the subject. In the meantime, we’ll watch the latest development in the Tesla saga with a bag of popcorn on standby.

Source: WSJ

The best blender

By Christine Cyr Clisset

This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer’s guide to the best things for your home. Read the full article here.

After researching dozens of blenders, talking with five experts, and testing 16 models over the course of three years, as well as using several of our top picks for one year, we’re confident that the Oster Versa 1400-watt Professional Performance Blender with Short Jar offers the best value for most people. At roughly $200, it performs as well as blenders twice the price, and it blows cheaper blenders out of the water. With both variable speed and presets for creations such as soup and smoothies, it has one of the most user-friendly and versatile control panels we’ve seen. Our testing also found a great upgrade model for avid cooks, one for people on a budget, and a solid runner-up option if the Versa isn’t available.

Who this is for

Blenders are perfect for pures and smoothies. Our guide’s pick, runner-up, and upgrade choice are all high-performance blenders. That means they offer more power and process much smoother textures than low-end blenders—which in comparison give you thick or rough-textured results.

If you’re not sure whether to get a blender, a food processor, or a mixer, we’ve created a guide to walk you through the tasks each appliance is good at, what they’re not great at, and what you should definitely avoid.

How we tested

From left: Vitamix 5200, Oster Versa with short jar, Cleanblend.

In each blender, we made a green smoothie packed with frozen berries, kale, and ice. We made mayonnaise to test how each model did with emulsification, and we tried bean dip to see how well they made small batches of pure. We also attempted to process peanuts into peanut butter. To test the safety of the jars, we processed hot whole canned tomatoes and their juice to emulate making a hot soup. With our finalists, we made rounds of pia coladas to determine how well they blended ice into slush.

We also processed water for two minutes in each blender to see if any of the jars produced the dreaded black flecks that have fired up the blend-o-sphere the past few years. Additionally, we noted how easy or difficult each machine was to clean, how noisy they were, whether any of them produced a burning smell while running the motors, whether the jars were difficult to attach to the bases, and how easy the interfaces were to use.

Our pick

We found the Versa’s large variable-speed dial and three preset speeds more versatile and intuitive to use than the controls on other models.

We don’t think you can beat the value of the Oster Versa 1400-watt Professional Performance Blender with Short Jar. It performs as well as blenders twice the price, making silky smoothies, pures, and blended cocktails. It has one of the best combinations of variable and preset speeds we’ve found, and its controls are more intuitive to use than those on other models we’ve tried. The Versa has a broader range of speeds, and the motor runs more quietly than equally priced blenders do. It comes with features usually available only in more expensive machines, such as a tamper and overheating protection. And at 17 inches tall to the top of the jar, it will fit under most cabinets, unlike many high-performance blenders.

Runner-up

In our smoothie test, the Cleanblend was one of the only blenders to process berry seeds. Overall, it makes smoother textures than the Oster Versa.

If the Versa sells out, we suggest going for the Cleanblend 3HP 1800-Watt, which makes creamier smoothies and pia coladas than our main pick. But we find its jar flimsy and its overall design clunkier compared with that of the Versa, with confusing controls and no presets.

For avid cooks

In last year’s test, the Vitamix 5200 effortlessly blended ultra-smooth peanut butter. Both Oster Versas we tested made chunkier butters and struggled more in processing them.

The Vitamix 5200 Series Blender was our top pick last year, and this time it was again the only model in our tests that could make creamy peanut butter and pure soup without spewing molten liquid up the sides of the jar. It also has the best range of speeds. For the price, we think getting the 5200 is worthwhile only if you plan to blend a couple of times or more a week.

Budget pick

Some Amazon reviewers say their KitchenAid 5-Speed Blender leaked from where the blade is bolted into the bottom of the blending jar.

If you rarely use a blender but want one for the occasional sauce or smoothie, the KitchenAid 5-Speed Blender produces much thicker, more rustic textures than any of our other picks, and its motor doesn’t offer nearly as much power. But it’s a good, all-purpose machine that’s small enough to fit on the counter under most kitchen cabinets.

Wrapping up

If you’re a regular smoothie maker and you like using a blender for soups, sauces, and mixed drinks, we think you can’t beat the value of the Oster Versa 1400-watt Professional Performance Blender with Short Jar. Although you can find better high-powered blenders, we think this model does everything most people need at a much better price.

This guide may have been updated by The Sweethome. To see the current recommendation, please go here.