Apple’s $1 Billion Investment in Didi Chuxing Aligned With Electric Vehicle Plans
Apple announced yesterday that it has invested $1 billion in Chinese ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing, but CEO Tim Cook refused to elaborate on the reasoning behind the move, beyond saying that it will help the company better understand the Chinese market and “deliver a strong return” on its invested capital over the long term.
Nevertheless, a pair of new reports suggest that Apple’s ambitions behind its investment in the Uber rival could relate to its oft-rumored electric vehicle plans and broader push into the automotive industry.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that Didi Chuxing is “not only an important ally in a key market, but also a rich data source for self-driving vehicles,” which is valuable to Apple amid rumors that it is developing its own electric and possibly autonomous vehicle.
Didi provides Apple with a rich data source for its self-driving vehicle push. It also could provide benefits to Apple’s mobile ecosystem. Ride-sharing apps are closely linked to payment services, such as Apple Pay. They also can be the foundation for other mobile commerce transactions such as deliveries.
The investment sets up with a potential showdown of firms aligned with Uber, which has taken investments from Alphabet Inc.’s venture capital arm and Chinese search giant Baidu. Both Alphabet and Baidu have invested heavily in autonomous driving technology.
The Information reported that ride-sharing services like Didi Chuxing and Uber are highly interested in self-driving vehicles, which would reduce overhead costs by eliminating the need for contracted drivers. In fact, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was reportedly planning to meet at Apple headquarters this week to “talk about future partnership opportunities,” but the status of that meeting remains unknown.
This deal isn’t about the Didi service today. It establishes a future alliance around tech like self-driving cars, where Apple and Google are going head-to-head. Developing autonomous vehicles is the end game for these ride sharing companies—the move that will help them mint money by cutting out the cost of drivers. Uber has made big investments on that front, as has its partner Baidu. Didi had not. But Apple […] can help.
The so-called Apple Car, allegedly known as Project Titan internally, could launch by 2020. The bulk of research and development may be centered in the Santa Clara Valley area, near Apple’s existing Cupertino headquarters, led by a team that includes former Tesla, Ford, and GM employees and other automotive experts. The vehicle is expected to compete with the likes of Tesla and Google.
Related Roundup: Apple Car
Tag: Didi Chuxing
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4 essential IFTTT recipes for OneDrive – CNET
OneDrive to rule them all? Sorry, I can’t resist a good “Lord of the Rings” joke (or, in this case, a desperately overplayed one). Today, we’re going to look at how you can rule OneDrive, the cloud storage service that’s deeply integrated into Windows but also accessible via Android and iOS.
That rule comes in the form of If This Then That, aka IFTTT, the online service that performs actions based on other actions. So, for example, if you receive an email with an attachment, then automatically save that attachment to OneDrive.
These are called recipes, and although you can easily create your own, there are literally hundreds of IFTTT recipes already devoted to improving the OneDrive experience. Below are four I think you’ll really like. (Note: Some recipes continue to refer to OneDrive by its original name: SkyDrive. That’s not a problem; ultimately everything works with OneDrive.)
Save new Gmail attachments to OneDrive
Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET
As explained in the example above, this recipe scans your Gmail inbox for any messages that have attachments, then saves those attachments to the OneDrive folder of your choice.
Why would you want to do that? Simple: It’ll save you a ton of time sifting through Gmail and allow for faster, easier attachment-sharing.
Once you’ve set up IFTTT connectors for both your Gmail and OneDrive accounts, you can add the recipe, optionally choosing your preferred OneDrive folder for those saved attachments. Just take note that the recipe works for any new attachments received from that moment forward; it doesn’t work on past email.
Save photos you’re tagged in on Facebook
IFTTT
You know the drill: a friend or family members tags you in a photo that appears on Facebook. You like the photo, so now you have to jump through one or more hoops to save it.
With this recipe, anytime anyone tags a photo of you on Facebook, that photo automatically gets saved to OneDrive. (This is one of those recipes that calls it SkyDrive, but rest assured the end result is correct.)
Send yourself a voicemail message
Did you know IFTTT has a phone number? It does, and you can leverage it for all kinds of things.
For example, suppose you’re tooling down the road when suddenly you have a brilliant idea. You can’t write it down while driving, of course, but you can call IFTTT. With this recipe (dubbed “Talk to the cloud”), any voicemail message you leave at that number will be delivered to your OneDrive account as an MP3 file.
Bridge the gap between Dropbox and OneDrive
IFTTT
Many OneDrive users are also Dropbox users. If you’ve ever needed to transfer files between one service and the other, you know it can be a huge hassle.
Thankfully, there’s a recipe for that. Whenever you add a new file to a selected Dropbox folder, it will automatically get synced to OneDrive. (When adding the recipe, make sure to click the Advanced Settings option so you can also specify the OneDrive folder where new files should land.)
OK, those are my picks for must-have IFTTT recipes for OneDrive. If you’ve used (or created) others you consider essential, hit the comments and name them!
How to add a ‘Hey, Siri’-style command to your Mac – CNET
I increasingly use Siri on my iPhone and prefer to use voice commands when texting. On a Mac, it is easier and faster to type with the full keyboard, but if you use Siri and voice dictation on iPhone, then you might want to start talking to your Mac, too.
Similar to the Hey, Siri command on iOS, you can set OS X to start listening to you without pressing a key.
Matt Elliott/CNET
The default command for starting dictation on OS X is hitting the Function key twice, but you can set up a voice command for the hands-free starting and stopping of dictation. It’s a two-step process:
Step 1: Go to System Preferences > Dictation & Speech and check the box for Use Enhanced Dictation. You will need to download a 1.2GB file, which allows offline use of dictation.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
(In addition to allowing you to enable hands-free dictation in step 2, enhanced dictation has the added benefit of speeding up the dictation process. It saves your Mac from needing to go out to Apple’s servers to understand your words, which greatly reduces the lag of your spoken words being transcribed on your screen.)
Step 2: Go to System Preferences > Accessibility and then scroll down and choose Dictation from the left panel. Next, check the box for Enable the dictation keyboard phrase. The default keyboard is “Computer” so that you can say, “Computer, start dictation” and “Computer, stop dictation” but you can change it to whatever pet name you may have for your Mac.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET
If you like the idea of dictating to your Mac, then you will want to keep an eye on Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference scheduled for next month. Siri is rumored to be headed to Macs with the next update to OS X, version 10.12.
Lastly, for friends of Siri, we have the complete list of Sir commands.
Huawei is bringing the P9 Lite to the UK later this month
Huawei has announced the company plans to launch the P9 Lite in the UK. The smartphone will be available from EE, O2, Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse from late May. The P9 Lite joins the P9 and P9 Plus to round off the family of products, offering yet another option in case the two aforementioned devices aren’t quite the ideal matches for your hand.
Sporting a 5.2-inch full HD display, 13MP rear shooter (and 8MP front-facing camera), Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Kirin 650 octa-core processor, 3000mAh battery, 16GB of onboard storage (with expansion up to 128GB), 4G LTE support, and a fingerprint 2.0 sensor. It’s quite the specification list and ensures the P9 Lite is no slouch.
We’ll be sure to give you all a heads up when the P9 Lite is available for purchase in the UK.
Press Release
Huawei P9 family extended with P9 Lite
Available in the UK in May from EE, O2, Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse.
Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) has announced the P9 Lite, an exciting new addition to the popular P9 family. The P9 Lite marries a sleek, stylish design with a powerful camera and creative photo editing capabilities, as well as the latest in high fidelity audio, fingerprint sensor technology and battery saving technology.
The P9 Lite smartphone will be available in the UK from late May and can be purchased in black from EE, O2, Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse.
Weighing just 147g and slim line with a 7.5mm depth, the P9 Lite’s lightweight, stylish, aluminium frame and sleek appealing form factor, results in a truly premium design, without the price tag to match.
Its bright 5.2 inch screen is encased in an aircraft-grade aluminium frame, ensuring the P9 Lite finds the perfect equilibrium between looking durable and aesthetically appealing. With a high screen-to-body ratio of 76.4 and an NTSC colour gamut of 85%, there are several reasons why the P9 Lite is a sight to behold.
With the P9 Lite’s 13MP rear camera, which boasts dual LED flash and autofocus, amateur photographers have clear, lifelike images at the tips of their fingers. With the ability to set white balance, ISO EV and shutter speed in pro camera mode, those that like to tinker with the finer details of the art of photography, can do so with ease.
The 8MP front camera produces full HD resolution images of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, so perfect selfies can be captured day and night.
Audiophiles also have reason to fall in love with the P9 Lite, with high fidelity audio and an integrated speaker design, the low frequency, volume and quality of the sound has seen considerable improvement since the last generation P series devices.
With ARM and TrustZone technology integrated into the P9 Lite’s lightning fast fingerprint 2.0 sensor, users can access everything in an instant, while ensuring private data remains private.
In terms of connectivity, the P9 Lite follows in the P9 family’s footsteps and comes equipped with the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, Huawei’s intuitive Emotion 4.1 user interface and supports 4G. The P9 Lite has a HiSilicon Kirin 650 octocore processor, making the smartphone a powerful younger brother of the P9 and P9 Plus.
Thanks to its 3,000 mAh battery and ability to reduce power as required, the P9 Lite allows continuous calling time of up to 18 hours and standby time of 630 hours, (when operated on 3G).
The P9 Lite has plenty of storage capacity for higher memory requirements, coming with 16GB of internal memory and a microSD card slot which can support 128GB of expanded memory.
Rhys Saunders, Sales Director, Huawei UK&I Consumer BG, said: “With the P9 smartphone family, Huawei are offering users a superior smartphone experience. The latest edition to the family, the P9 Lite, with its lower price point, is no exception to this. The phone has a premium and stylish look and feel, a high-resolution rear and front camera, as well as a powerful battery, making this a perfect companion for budding photographers on the go.”
Grab the first new Stone Roses track in 21 years right now from Google Play
Influential British band, The Stone Roses, have released their first new music in 21 years, with All For One debuting after much recent speculation. Fans can now pick up the new track from the Google Play Store or listen in with a Play Music subscription.
The band’s iconic lemon logo has been spotted all over their home town of Manchester in recent times, leading to much hype that after all these years new music was finally on the way. And here’s the first of what fans will hope is many more new tracks.
Grab it now at the link below and give it a listen. To buy will cost £0.99 or $1.29. Regional availability may vary.
Get All For One in the Google Play Store
Sprint offers free year of Amazon Prime with its $100-a-month Better Choice XXL plan
Sprint has announced that customers who sign up for its $100-a-month Better Choice XXL plan will get a year of Amazon Prime for free, which is normally worth $99.
Sprint says that families can share 40GB of high-speed data under the Better Choice XXL plan. If they run out of that amount of data before the month is over, they can choose to stick with the lower 2G speeds or automatically purchase $15 per GB of extra high-speed data.
Sprint previously announced all of its customers had the option to add Amazon Prime service to their bills for $11 a month.
Grab an Amazon Tap from HSN for just $120 today!
If you are looking to pick up an Amazon Tap but don’t want to drop the full asking price on it, you are in luck. Right now, HSN is running a special on it which drops the price down to just $120, a $10 savings. While $10 may not seem like a huge savings, it is rare to see the latest Amazon products receive a discount. With purchasing from HSN, you also have the option to split it into payments if you need, which is a big benefit for some.
For those not familiar with the Tap, some of its features include:
- Just tap the microphone button and ask for music from Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn
- Uses the Alexa Voice Service when connected to Wi-Fi or a mobile hotspot to play music, read the news, provide weather reports, and even order a pizza
- Streams all your music via Bluetooth from your phone or tablet
- Delivers crisp sound powered by Dolby, with dual stereo speakers that provide 360º omni-directional audio
- Provides up to 9 hours of playback
- Always getting smarter and adding new features and skills
If you are interested, be sure to hit the link below. Don’t wait too long though, as this deal is only good for today, May 13.
See at HSN
Vodafone launches the affordable Smart prime 7 for just £75
Vodafone has launched the Smart prime 7 in the UK for just £75. Available on Pay-As-You-Go, the Smart prime is an ideal option for those who desire a smartphone rocking Marshmallow but do not wish to fork out on flagship handsets. Alongside the prime 7 is the Smart first 7, which is available for just £25. This is the low-end of the affordable segment, offering bare minimum specifications.
As for the Smart prime 7, you have a 5-inch 720p display, 4G support, 1GB of RAM, 8MP main camera with a 5MP front-facing shooter, and a 2540mAh battery. Since these are Vodafone’s own phones, you’ll be locked to the network after purchase.
The Smart first 7 is a small 3.5-inch display-welding device with a mere 2MP camera, 4GB of internal storage and a quad-core 1.3GHz processor. The former is available in Graphite Black or Boron White, while the first 7 is listed in Volcano Black and will be launching in Tech White at a later date.
- Buy the Vodafone Smart prime 7
- Buy the Vodafone Smart first 7
Press Release
13th May, 2016: Bringing you a stylish and super-slim smartphone for a ground-breaking price – the Vodafone Smart prime 7 (£75 pay as you go) is simple, easy-to-use and full of all the features you want from your mobile phone!
The Vodafone Smart prime 7 is ideal for those who want quick and easy access to their social media channels, emails or apps. It’s also the perfect choice for selfie addicts who’ll love the enhanced 5MP front facing camera, equipped with a two-finger shutter trigger for even better and sharper selfies.
What’s more, the high definition 5 inch screen offers sharp and vibrant colours, so you can stream your favourite TV series or browse your photo albums with first class clarity.
Running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the Vodafone Smart prime 7 is supported by a long lasting battery – thanks to the Google Doze feature – and ample memory for all your music, videos and apps so you’ll have peace of mind knowing your smartphone will last you through the day.
Pay as you go customers can enjoy the new Vodafone Smart prime 7 on Vodafone’s ultrafast 4G network from as little as £16 per month, which includes unlimited texts, 250 minutes and 250MB of data to use within the UK. Alternatively, customers who opt for a Red 1GB Bundle will receive unlimited UK texts, unlimited UK minutes and 1GB of UK data for £24 per month.
Launching alongside the Smart prime 7 is the NEW Vodafone Smart first 7 – an easy-to-use and affordable handset that also looks good for just £25 Pay as you go. With a highly responsive 3.5 inch touchscreen, a 2MP camera and a speedy Android 5.1 operating system, it’s perfect for first time smartphone users and brings you all the advantages of an Android smartphone – for a fraction of the price.
Plus, Vodafone are offering all new and upgrading mobile customers a 30 Day Network Guarantee – giving them the freedom to experience the strength and quality of Vodafone’s network for 30 days before they fully commit!
The Vodafone Smart prime 7 is available in either Graphite Black or Boron White, and the Vodafone Smart first 7 is available in Volcano Black and will be launching in Tech White at a later date – for further details please visit the Vodafone online shop.
Boost Mobile now offers $65-a-month plan for two lines, each with 10GB of data
Boost Mobile is now offering a new $65-a-month plan (with Auto Re-Boost) for two lines. Each line will be able to access 10GB of high-speed data on Sprint’s network.
The no-contract carrier’s normal price for this plan is $70 a month, but customers can save $5 a month if they include the Auto Re-Boost option, which automatically charges the account of the user. The discount will begin in the second month of the plan.
The NFL will bring classic games to YouTube later this year
The National Football League will offer an expanded selection of content as part of its recently-renewed, multi-year deal with YouTube. While the NFL’s channel already offers game highlights, recaps, and clips, the new content selection will include full classic games, plays from in-progress games, and more.
From the NFL:
Additionally, more NFL content, including game highlights uploaded to YouTube while games are in progress, will be available through Google Search. A simple Google search for NFL team will display official NFL video along with related news and information all delivered to the user in one distinct box at the top of the search results. Kickoff time and broadcast information for every NFL game will also be prominently displayed in Google Search.
Three classic games from each of the NFL’s 32 teams will be uploaded to YouTube ahead of the start of the 2016 season later this year.
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