Karhoo takes on Uber with a price-comparing taxi app
Since Uber launched, taxi-booking companies have scrambled to create their own mobile-first services that give customers plenty of options, but ultimately lock customers to their fleet of drivers. A new entrant, Karhoo, launches as yet another of those types of apps, but it’s playing things a little differently from Uber and its rivals. It’s signed up 80,000 drivers of licensed black cabs, minicabs and executive cars (a third of which are in London) to provide a price comparison service for taxis across the UK.
Unlike Hailo and Gett, which exclusively deal with black cabs, and Kabbee, which currently partners with private car companies, Karhoo operates an open platform that lets any company (except Uber) connect their own systems to the app. In London, ComCab — provider of licensed taxis and black cabs — has already plugged into the service, as has Addison Lee, KV Cars, Swiss Cottage Cars and Mornington Cars.
When launched, Karhoo determines a user’s location and shows the availability of cars in their area. Journeys can be sorted by price, estimated time of arrival or type of vehicle, if there’s a need for luxury or a few additional seats. Because its system enables real-time data sharing, Karhoo can also tell supporting cab companies where demand is, allowing them to direct their fleet to wherever is busiest.
One key thing Karhoo has over Uber, however, is that it also provides the ability to pre-book a taxi, whether it’s on the same day or up to a year in advance. That’s something that Transport for London (TfL) considered forcing Uber to do in the capital, but later decided against it.
Although Karhoo is launching in London today, the company plans to expand to New York and Singapore by 2017. It predicts that within a year it’ll allow customers to book through its app in 100 cities across the world.
Having a large number of vehicles on its app is one thing, but Uber has managed to squeeze its traditional counterparts by offering good service at a low price. Customers will ultimately decide whether Karhoo’s (and its partners’) service is up to scratch, but taxi companies may have just got a leg up in their fight against their app-based rivals.
Source: Karhoo
Engadget UK giveaway: Win an LG G5 and HDTV courtesy of Virgin Media
Of all the new smartphones launched this year, LG’s G5 is by far the most audacious. With two rear-facing cameras and a wacky, removable bottom bezel that can we swapped out for LG’s “Friends” accessories, the G5 is nothing if not different. And thanks to Virgin Media, we’ve got one to give away this week, with the added bonus of a 32-inch LG LED HDTV if a free flagship wasn’t enough. In fact, it’s the same deal currently available on Virgin Mobile right now: Pick up an LG G5 on any pay-monthly contract before May 31st, and get a free TV to boot. As per usual, you can enter the competition via the Rafflecopter widget below… after you’ve read the rules, that is.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the UK, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive one (1) LG G5 and one (1) 32-inch HDTV.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. LG, Virgin Media and Engadget / AOL are not held liable to honour warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until May 13th at 11:59PM BST. Good luck!
Source: Virgin Media
Opera’s free VPN for iOS offers more control over your browsing
Opera’s fondness for virtual private networks isn’t limited to the desktop. The browser maker is releasing a free VPN app for iOS that should give you more control over how you surf the internet. It’s helpful for usual VPN tasks like dodging corporate site blocks and regional content restrictions (shh, don’t tell Netflix), but Opera sees it as particularly handy for the privacy-conscious — it gets rid of advertisers’ tracking cookies and makes you that much more anonymous. You can only pick from one of five simulated locations for the VPN (Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK and the US), but hey, it’s the first free VPN app for iOS from a well-known tech company. Right now, just having that option is a big deal.
Source: Opera
OneDrive App Update for iOS Brings ‘Peek’ and ‘Pop’ Support
Microsoft has updated its OneDrive app for iOS with new ‘Peek’ and ‘Pop’ support for owners with 3D Touch-enabled devices.
The 7.1 update to the cloud storage app means iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users can now get instant previews of file and folder contents using a lighter press, while a deeper press ‘pops’ open the uploaded content.
Other changes to OneDrive include a new-look interface and a new feature that lets users shake their device to let Microsoft know if they are having issues with the service.
Last week, Microsoft began sending out email alerts to OneDrive users, warning holders of free 15GB accounts that their storage would be reduced to 5GB on August 10.
The 5GB limit has been in effect for new accounts for a while now, but Microsoft reneged on plans to force the reduction upon long-time subscribers, who were later given the option to keep their extra free space after widespread complaints.
OneDrive is available as a free download for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Tag: OneDrive
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Apple Maps Introduces Transit Data for Sacramento, California
Apple Maps has recently been updated with the introduction of all new Transit information for the city of Sacramento, California, which will let iPhone users in the city navigate using public transportation options like buses, subways, commuter rails, and more.
Transit routing became available within iOS 9 with a limited number of supported cities at launch. Since then, Apple has worked at expanding support for the public transportation feature of its first-party Maps app, now encompassing 16 cities around the world and 30 cities within China.
Including Sacramento, Transit directions can be found in Austin, Sydney, Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Over the past month alone Apple has released a rapid collection of cities with Transit support, including Montreal, Portland, Seattle, New South Wales, and Rio de Janeiro, ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
(Thanks, Ram!)
Tags: Apple Maps, Transit
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Starry Wi-Fi Station review – CNET
The Good The Starry Wi-Fi Station has a touchscreen that makes setting up and managing the device simple and easy. The router has solid performance.
The Bad It’s expensive but is severely lacking in features. The Network Health feature is largely a gimmick, and many of the router’s hardware components are not activated at launch.
The Bottom Line The Starry Wi-Fi Station may be the most user-friendly router ever, but it otherwise doesn’t do any more than network hubs that cost half as much.
Starry caused a big splash back in February when it promised a revolutionary new wireless Internet service. That service isn’t here yet — it’s scheduled to launch later this summer in Boston. In the meantime, the company’s Starry Wi-Fi Station router, which works just fine with any plain, old broadband service, has arrived.
This router is the newest in the procession of “routers for dummies” — products like the Eero and Google OnHub, made for those intimidated by the home network setup process. For advanced users like me — those who like having browser-based controls and meticulous network setup options — find products like these to be oversimplified and generally lacking.
But if you’re confused by networking terminology like WAN, LAN, SSID, DNS, 802.11ac and MIMO, these products are well worth checking out. And from that perspective, the Starry Wi-Fi Station is a success. If you want a solid router that is as easy to use as programing your alarm clock, you’ll love it. But that simplicity comes at a steep price: The Starry Wi-Fi Station costs $350. (It’s not available in the UK or Australia, but its US price translates to about £245 or AU$475.)
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The Starry Wi-Fi Station comes with a speaker and a mic for future voice-command features.
Josh Miller/CNET
What does the Starry Wi-Fi Station do?
As a Wi-Fi router, it connects to an Internet source (such as a broadband modem) and then shares that connection with multiple wireless devices, such as your laptop, your iPad, your mobile phone. All Wi-Fi routers do this.
The Starry supports the dual-band quad-stream (4×4) setup of the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, meaning it has a top Wi-Fi speed on paper of 1,733 Mbps, which is the fastest to date. It supports all existing Wi-Fi devices on the market.
What makes the Starry different from traditional Wi-Fi routers?
- The router has a unique design, shaped like a 7-inch equilateral triangle standing on one of its sides, with the base measuring 3 inches wide. It sure looks unlike any router I’ve seen, though some of my colleagues thought the router actually looked ugly.
- On the front it has a 3.8-inch touchscreen used for both the initial setup process and ongoing management of the router. (Most other routers don’t have a screen at all, but this feature has been seen before on products such as the Securifi Almond.) This screen also displays what Starry calls the “network health score,” Wi-Fi network name and password, currently connected devices and some other information. You can tap or swipe on the screen to switch between different info pages or run an Internet speed test.
- On the back, the router has only two network ports (as opposed to five on most others) one for the Internet connection (WAN) and the other for one wired client (LAN), such as a desktop computer or Roku box. This means if you want to connect more than one wired client, you will need to get a switch or a hub in order to add more ports.
- The router has a mic and a small speaker. Neither of these is currently used for anything. In the future, however, according Starry, the ability to support voice commands will be added via a software update.
- With a focus on simplicity, the Starry is designed to be managed via a free mobile app on Android or iOS devices. Advanced users may lament the lack of a browser-based setup interface, though Starry says the company might add that sort of expert mode in the future.
- Starry says the router is Internet of Things-ready (IoT) with built-in support for home automation wireless standards, such as ZigBee. Again, this feature is not live at launch and and will be released as software updates in the future.
Is it really that easy to set up?
Yes. The setup process was dead simple. You just plug the Starry into the power, connect its WAN (Internet) port to a broadband modem, and turn it on. After that, via the touchscreen, you can pick a name and password for your Wi-Fi network from randomly generated options or type them in yourself. And that’s it.
Can you easily customize its settings?
Not really. Once the setup process is done, other than turning the Guest network and the 5Ghz band on or off, you can’t use the touchscreen to customize anything else, even the network name and the password. All you can do is view information and reset the router to its original factory settings, then restart the setup process from the beginning.
If you want to customize its settings at all, you will need to use the Starry mobile app. To use this app, however, you will first need to register an account with Starry, which allows you to manage your home network even when you’re out and about. In return, from then on the router will be connected to Starry at all times. And even then, its potential for customization is limited. For example, you can’t choose a name for the 5Ghz band; the router automatically takes the name of the 2.4Ghz band plus the “_5” suffix. Similarly, the guest network would have the suffix “_Guest.”
What information is collected by Starry via the Wi-Fi Station?
According to Starry, it collects throughput usage, “network health” score, speed tests, connected device types and router configuration. It then stores the configuration state of the router and telemetry data (speed test, throughput, ping, etc.) so that it can display the graphs to the user via the touchscreen or the mobile app. It also collects data around how users use the device, such as which screen on the mobile app they spend the most time using, and so on.
Toyota cracks magnesium batteries for longer lasting smaller devices
Scientists working at Toyota Research Institute North America have cracked magnesium as a material for batteries.
This is a very big deal as it means lots of advances in battery tech. By using magnesium, which doesn’t degrade like lithium-ion, the battery will last longer. On top of that there is no need to create shielding for the electrolyte, like in current lithium-ion batteries, meaning it can be made for cheaper. It’ll also be less impactful on the environment.
Of course what most people want is battery life enhancement, which this should offer too as it can be far smaller with way more density. So if you had a similar sized magnesium battery to current lithium-ion, you’d get a lot more life. Magnesium has far more capacity thanks to the number of electrons it has over current offerings.
As batteries become more prevalent, powering our phones and even cars, lithium is becoming more finite and more expensive. It won’t last forever or remain affordable so alternatives, that can actually work better anyway, are most welcome and sought by companies.
At the moment this is still in the laboratory developmental phases. The company says we shouldn’t expect to see it in our phones and cars for sometime yet as this will need to undergo a lot more development and testing.
READ: Future batteries, coming soon
Final Fantasy XV: Everything you need to know
Final Fantasy is one of the world’s most revered games franchises. Fans of Japanese role-playing games are in a state of considerable ferment over the prospect of Final Fantasy XV, its latest instalment and the first one custom-designed for the current-generation of consoles, arriving this year.
The game’s publisher, Square Enix, meanwhile, is understandably keen to build anticipation. To that end it recently held a glitzy event in Los Angeles entitled Final Fantasy XV Uncovered, during which it was announced that the game will hit the shops on September 30.
In addition a vast amount of information about Final Fantasy XV itself was revealed, including a number of related objects such as a CGI film called Kingsglaive and an anime series.
There’s a lot to take in, and a lot of excitement building. So read on for everything you need to know about Final Fantasy XV.
You can play it now (as a demo)
At Final Fantasy XV Uncovered, Square Enix launched a demo version of the game entitled Platinum, which you can download now, on Xbox One or PlayStation 4, for free. Unprecedentedly, Platinum is the second Final Fantasy XV demo to be released, following Episode Duscae, which was made available in 2015 to gamers who bought Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
As demos go, Platinum is slightly odd, but it does at least offer a basic taste of Final Fantasy XV’s key gameplay element: its battle system.
Final Fantasy XV producer Hajime Tabata explained: “The Platinum demo offers a very low barrier to entry for people who maybe haven’t played Final Fantasy games before.” In other words, it offers a pretty simplified take on the game.
Unlike Episode Duscae, Platinum is separate from the main game: in it, you play a version of Noctis, the lead character, when he was a young boy; its general tone, influenced by Alice In Wonderland, is more whimsical than that of the final game, but it gives a decent feel for Final Fantasy XV’s considerable graphical polish.
Although the tutorial part of the Platinum demo glosses over some of the battle system’s more sophisticated elements – such as the Warp attack which lets you hit enemies from a distance are nevertheless present – there are a wide selection of magic attacks.
Square Enix
Tabata explained that Square Enix, mindful that previous versions of Final Fantasy have been perceived as having over-complicated battle systems, has tried to make Final Fantasy XV’s key mechanic more accessible: “Considering the difference between traditional Final Fantasy fans and those who are not, it’s important that the game can be enjoyed by both those groups.”
We know Final Fantasy XV’s main characters and overarching storyline
Fear not: we don’t know quite enough about either to get into the realms of spoilers. But we do know it’s the first properly open-world Final Fantasy game, as well as the first to feature vehicles.
Final Fantasy XV’s overall storyline will send you on a road-trip, in a car called a Regalia, as one of a band of friends on a quest. You play Noctis, heir to the throne of Lucis. He is accompanied by Ignis (effectively his best mate), Gladiolus, who is essentially his bodyguard, and another non-royal friend called Prompto.
Square Enix
Noctis is engaged to Luna, so the road trip is pretty much his last pre-marital blast of freedom (stag do anyone?). But trouble is afoot in Crown City, Lucis’ capital, which is why King Regis, Noctis’s father, has sanctioned the road-trip.
Confused yet? In true FF fashion it’s all about RPG names.
It’s a film, an anime series and a mobile phone game
At Final Fantasy XV Uncovered, Square Enix unveiled a whole raft of items designed to support the game. As Tabata put it, they are supposed to “create different ways into the franchise, and to allow people to enjoy the game’s universe at a deeper level”.
Chief among those goodies is a full-length CGI feature-film called Kingsglaive, which is due to be released ahead of the game. Kingsglaive takes a classic parallel-storyline approach, chronicling events that take place in Crown City while Noctis and co are on their road trip.
It has a pretty stellar cast, with Sean Bean playing King Regis, Lena Headey voicing Luna, and Aaron Paul playing Lord Nyx. Its director is Takeshi Nozue, who co-directed Square Enix’s most recent CGI film, 2005’s Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Nozue said that while Kingsglaive will mainly be made available via digital distribution, Square Enix is looking to release it in cinemas in various territories which, hopefully, will include the UK.
Anime-lovers can avail themselves (for free) of a five-episode series called Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV. The first episode is streamable now via Square Enix’s YouTube channel, and the rest will arrive episodically on a monthly basis, starting in June.
Most bizarrely, Square Enix is making a free mobile pinball game called Justice Monsters Five. Why? Well, at one point the main characters in the game are seen playing an arcade version of Justice Monsters Five, so it’s pretty cute of Square Enix to create a real-life version of that. As yet, we don’t know when it will be arriving but it, too, will arrive before September 30.
Square Enix is putting a lot of eggs into the Final Fantasy XV basket
Final Fantasy XV will be a huge game and must already have swallowed up an almighty amount of Square Enix’s resources: it was originally announced, as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, for the PlayStation 3, in 2006.
Factor in its peripheral accompaniments, such as Kingsglaive and Justice Monsters Five and, although the former has a chance of making money, it must have cost an absolute bomb to make. There’s no doubt that Square Enix sees it as the game that, for once and for all, will drag the Final Fantasy franchise fully into the 21st century, and regain Final Fantasy’s crown as the king of RPGs. So the company desperately needs it to be a success.
Amazingly, in a press conference held the day after Final Fantasy XV Uncovered, Hajime Tabata admitted that for it to be a success, it will have to sell: “In total, about 10-million units worldwide over its whole lifetime.” So we can expect just the teensiest bit of hype in the lead-up to its September 30 launch.
Chocobos and a flying car will feature
On the evidence of various trailers, Final Fantasy XV will contain all the classic franchise-touches that the fanatical fan-base demands.
For example, Chocobos will feature, those brightly coloured emu-like creatures that, in 1997’s Final Fantasy VII, could be bred and raced. Square Enix even released a game called Chocobo Racing in 1999. It will be possible to ride them in XV, but Square Enix is currently remaining tight-lipped about whether a Chocobo racing mini-game will be included.
And the Regalia car, in which Noctis and his merry band undertake their quest, has also attracted much attention, since Square Enix revealed that it will be able to take to the skies.
However, that won’t be the case all the way through the game, as Tabata explained: “The flying model of the Regalia car is something you get late in the game as an additional upgrade. We will create some areas that you can only reach with the flying car, but it is not something you need for the main story. We want people to feel overjoyed that this car, which you have travelled the whole world in, can now fly. And we also wanted that thrilling, slightly dangerous feeling you get on an aeroplane when it comes in to land. The flying car is easy to take off, but you must be careful when you land it, because it will bounce around.”
Fan-made Captain America shield pulls off a few superhero tricks
No armory of fan-made Avengers props is complete without Captain America’s shield. While you can get one that looks the part over at MachinaProps, a shield that you can bounce off walls and Ultron robots is a little harder to come by. But! Even if your blood doesn’t flow with the super soldier serum, the Hacksmith has attempted to make it happen with several powerful electromagnets and the aforementioned replica.
It’s not exactly a simple task. As its creator James explains, a lot of work was needed to ensure the 30-pound shield (magnets and batteries too), could be held on his arm without, well, breaking something. A lot of padding was needed on the brace too. The electromagnets themselves were definitely potent enough to make it into superhero tech: the 12 V magnets could each lift 260 pounds — but crank that up to 72 volts and the pair can attach to around 1,600 pounds — at least until they quickly burn out. The keep it light, the replica shield is made of aluminum (not vibranium), meaning any magnetic influence requires additions.
The shield isn’t quite finished, but it’ll holster into a matching biker jacket that also has magnets built into it. James is already able to get a bit of bounce off some walls, and even reattach the shield to the brace. Not quite ready for Thanos, but it’s a start.
Via: Kotaku
Source: Hacksmith
HTC sales fell off a cliff
All is not well at HTC. It today posted another difficult earnings report detailing its fourth consecutive quarter of losses. The Taiwanese manufacturer, which has just released its latest flagship smartphone, the HTC 10, lost roughly $148 million between January 1st and March 31st. More worrying still is the drop in revenues when compared to 2015: HTC brought in 41.5 billion Taiwanese dollars this time last year (and broke even), versus 14.8 billion this year. That’s a 64-percent drop in revenues.
There are a couple of caveats worth noting: First, as mentioned, HTC’s new (and well-received) flagship has only just hit stores, so that’s not involved in these results. Second, the company’s VR headset, the Vive, is also not involved here. That said, the corresponding quarter last year similarly didn’t include sales of the HTC One M9. It should also be noted that this isn’t a massively new development: HTC has generally been trending downwards over the past few years, and has been attempting to restructure itself into a smaller, more efficient company.
How does HTC recover? As you’d expect, it’s trying to lower costs and raise revenues. Although it hasn’t gone into specifics, Chief Financial Officer Chialin Chang says HTC will “trim expenses” through the current quarter and beyond. HTC has recently sold off some land and property, and is likely to downsize its operations considerably in the search of profitability. Speaking about the Vive virtual reality headset, Chang said that VR will also be “an integral part of profitability,” this year and moving forward.
It’s hoped that the cost-cutting measures, together with an uptick in revenues from the HTC 10 and the Vive, will lead to better months ahead. Chang believes that HTC can break even on its smartphone business by Q3 (that’s the July to September quarter), although he notes that this does not constitute a forecast, and is instead an internal aim of the company.
Source: HTC (PDF)
AIVAnet 