Lyft rolls into 50 more U.S. cities to take the fight to Uber

Why it matters to you

An increase in competition will lead to more options and hopefully to an improved service, whichever one you choose.

Lyft has just embarked on the biggest one-day expansion of its ride-sharing service, rolling into more than 50 additional cities across the U.S.

The major multi-city launch took place on Thursday and comes a month after Lyft landed in another 40 cities throughout the country. This means that only two months into 2017, the San Francisco-based company is already close to reaching its year-end target of 100 new cities, a figure that’ll take its total count to around 300. In comparison, Uber is currently estimated to be operating in around 210 cities in the U.S.

“In just the first two months of 2017, we’ve introduced Lyft to 94 new cities, thanks in large part to today’s launch,” Lyft’s Jaime Raczka said in a release. “We look forward to continuing this rapid momentum, bringing Lyft’s safe, affordable rides to even more cities this year.”

According to its coverage map, the bulk of Lyft’s new locations are in Midwest states such as Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin, though you’ll also find a smattering in New England, Florida, and on the west coast.

With main rival Uber reeling from recent allegations of sexism in the workplace, and CEO Kalanick’s perceived misstep among some users in appearing to cozy up with Trump, and Google-owned Waze this week announcing an expansion of its Carpool service across the nation, the feisty ride-sharing market is clearly showing no sign of dropping down a gear.

More: 11 ride-hailing apps to get you home safely

As of August 2016, Lyft was completing more than 14.5 million rides per month, triple that of a year earlier. And it’s not content with simply working to build on those promising figures. Like Uber, Google (don’t forget, it owns Waze), and a slew of car makers, Lyft is also interested in autonomous vehicles, inking a major deal with GM last year to develop the technology.

Google’s Allo is finally getting a desktop client

Google Assistant is coming to the desktop through Allo.

One of the main drawbacks of Allo has been the lack of a desktop version, but it looks like that’s about to change. A tweet from Google’s VP of Communications Products Nick Fox shows a screenshot of Allo running on the desktop.

From the screenshot, it looks like Allo will follow in the footsteps of WhatsApp, offering a web client that runs in your browser before rolling out a full-fledged desktop app. The web version will support Google Assistant, and offer similar functionality as the mobile app, including emojis, stickers, smart replies, and the ability to share media.

It’s unclear if the web version of Allo will be an extension of the phone, like WhatsApp, or if Google is looking to pull information directly from the cloud (à la Hangouts). The latter could mean that Google is lifting the one-device limit, making Allo available on multiple devices at the same time.

We don’t know how the signup process will work, or how the app will sync messages. Fox tweeted that the desktop client is in “early development,” so it could be a while before it’s available for all users.

As for Allo itself, interest in the app nosedived after the initial weeks, mainly because of its limitations when compared to other messaging apps. Allo still doesn’t offer a way to restore messages when switching devices, the app lacks SMS integration, and you can’t make calls using the service.

With WhatsApp steadily rolling out new features and offering an all-in-one messaging platform with voice and video calls, it’s getting harder to convince people to switch to Allo just for the sake of Google Assistant.

Google’s Android texting app has a new name

Despite how common texting is, its integration on Android has always lagged slightly behind, as Google appeared to focus on other things. Sometimes it wrapped the feature into other services/apps like Google Voice and Hangouts, but lately, the main Android texting app has been getting some tweaks too. The latest one brings a new name, as it goes from Google Messenger (probably frequently confused with the bot-laden Facebook Messenger) to Android Messages.

If your iPhone owning friends hate seeing green bubbles pop up in iMessage, it probably won’t do much to change that, and even for Android users, there’s very little changed beyond the name. The styling and features of the app are exactly the same, but with MWC 2017 about to kick off, maybe it has more plans in store. In the changelog, it notes that there is “Simpler sign-up for enhanced features on supported carriers,” so there could be easier access to RCS-enabled enhancements that bring its experience up to par with iMessage.

Of course, if there’s anything we know about Google, it’s that the company always has another new messaging scheme around the corner.

Source: Android Messages

Amazon refuses to hand over Alexa info for murder investigation

Amazon continues to resist law enforcement’s demands to hand over the audio recordings for an Echo involved in an Arkansas murder investigation. The tech titan has filed a motion to throw out a search warrant from prosecutors, arguing that both the users’ voice commands and Alexa’s replies are protected by the First Amendment. As such, the demand must be subjected to a “heightened standard” — prosecutors must prove that they can’t find the information elsewhere and must demonstrate a compelling need for the recordings.

Amazon says prosecutors haven’t established a compelling need for the Alexa data, thus far. But if the warrant is upheld, the company wants the court to review the data before handing it over to prosecutors to make sure it’s actually relevant to the case.

The investigation in question looks into the suspicious death of former Georgia police officer Victor Collins in 2015. He was found floating face-up in a hot tub in the home of his friend, James Andrew Bates, who called the cops to report that he found the body. Bates claimed the death was an accidental drowning, but Collins’ eyes and lips were swollen, and there were drops of blood around the tub. He’s now the investigation’s prime suspect.

An Echo speaker was also streaming music near the tub. Authorities believe there’s a possibility that Alexa was activated with a “wake word” either intentionally or accidentally around the time of Collins’ death. They believe a recording could shed light on what happened that night. It could, for instance, reveal if Bates was awake when he claimed he was asleep.

Amazon explained in the motion that its purpose isn’t to obstruct any lawful investigation. In fact, it already gave authorities access to Bates’ purchase history and user information. However, it “seeks to protect the privacy rights of its customers when the government is seeking their data… especially when that data may include expressive content protected by the First Amendment.”

The company pointed out in the court documents that authorities would have access to the recordings if Bates installed the Alexa app on his Nexus phone. However, his device was encrypted at the chipset level. It’s possible that the only way authorities can access the recordings without Amazon’s help is if they mimic what the feds did to deal with the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. If you’ll recall, Apple refused to unlock the phone for the FBI, so the agency sought help from another company.

But will the court side actually with Amazon and quash the search warrant? University of Arizona College of Law professor Toni Massaro told Forbes that it could go either way:

“…even if they are speech, they may not always be protected from government regulation. That something may be covered by the First Amendment does not mean it is protected.”

Source: AP, Ars Technica, BBC, GeekWire, Forbes

10.5-Inch and 12.9-Inch iPads May Not Ship Until May or June

The 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPads that Apple is expected to debut at a March event aren’t expected to ship until May or June, supply chain sources tell DigiTimes. An entry-level 9.7-inch iPad, however, is expected to ship within close proximity of the March event.

In January, DigiTimes reported that the 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPads were expected to enter mass production in the Q2 of 2017 while the 9.7-inch iPad would enter mass production in Q1 2017. The potential release dates partly line up with a recent report from Mac Otakara, which said the 10.5-inch iPad may not be ready to ship until May. However, that report said the three other iPad models rumored to debut at the March event, new 7.9-inch, 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPads, are expected to ship in March.

12.9-inch iPad shipments have been drying up around the world in recent weeks, slipping to shipping estimates of 2-3 weeks in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany and Japan. While increasing shipping times are a sign of an impending refresh, in this case it seems to be a supply issue.

During Apple’s latest earning call, CEO Tim Cook said that the company underestimated iPad demand in the past quarter and had an issue with one of its suppliers. Cook said the issue would probably not be resolved this quarter, likely leading to shriveling 12.9-inch iPad stock. Similarly, the supply issue could keep the refreshed 12.9-inch iPad from shipping before May.

The new 10.5-inch model is expected to be the flagship model in Apple’s new iPad lineup, sporting an edge-to-edge display on the same footprint as the current 9.7-inch iPad. Alongside new iPads at a March event, Apple is also expected to debut a 128 GB iPhone SE and red iPhone 7 and 7 Plus color variations.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tag: digitimes.com
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Caution)
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Apple Investigating iPhone 7 Plus Caught Melting on Video

Apple is investigating a melting iPhone 7 Plus that’s the subject of a viral video on Twitter, reports Mashable. The owner of the phone, Brianna Olivas, says her phone exploded and started smoking Wednesday morning. Her boyfriend grabbed his phone and started recording the video, which has garnered 21,340 retweets on Twitter.

So my IPhone 7 plus blew up this morning was not even using it, literally no explanation for this pic.twitter.com/sQ8CJt4Y69

— Bree✨ (@briannaolivas_) February 23, 2017

Olivas tells Mashable her phone wouldn’t turn on Tuesday, so she took it to the Apple Store. After a couple of tests, employees told her the iPhone was fine and it soon began working normally again. She charged the phone near her as she slept that night, and the next morning her boyfriend moved the phone to the dresser. As he went to the bathroom he saw the phone smoking and heard it squealing. It soon caught fire and he “quickly grabbed it and threw it into the restroom,” where it blew up.

Olivas has since turned the phone over to Apple for further testing, with the Cupertino company saying it’ll know more within a week. An Apple spokesperson said the company is in touch with Olivas and is “looking into” the matter.

Photos via Brianna OlivasExploding smartphones have garnered increased attention since Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 was plagued with widespread reports of exploding devices, prompting an “unprecedented” recall of the popular device. Lithium-ion batteries are more prone to malfunctioning and exploding when manufacturers and suppliers don’t take proper care in preparing the batteries for use. For example, Samsung blames the Note 7’s battery problems on a flaw that caused two incompatible parts of the battery came together.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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HTC hands out prizes to winners of the first annual Viveport Developer Awards

Why it matters to you

Here are the best apps for the HTC Vive VR system, and if you act fast you can save a bundle on the four best selections.

HTC created its Viveport app store as an easy way for users of its Vive virtual reality (VR) system to locate, purchase, and download new VR apps. Viveport also serves as a place for developers to showcase their apps, allowing them to feature their work somewhere other than the crowded Steam store.

The company also kicked off another effort to spur developers to make apps for the HTC Vive, specifically the Viveport Developer Awards (VDA), which honor — and financially reward — the best apps. That contest has now concluded, and HTC announced the winners on its Vive blog.

More: Viveport Development Awards offer up $500K prize pool for VR devs

The first annual VDA offered up $500,000 in award money to the best apps in four categories. First prize was $50,000, second prize was $30,000, third prize was $15,000, and a special community’s choice winner netted $10,000. Each winning entry along with two runners-up also received an HTC Vive system.

Here are the winners:

First place
Second place
Third place
Runners up
Explore
Apollo 11 VR
Realities
The Body VR

A Chair in a Room: Greenwater, Mars Odyssey

Create
Fantastic Contraption
Soundstage
Paintlab

Kodon, Arcade Artist

Connect
Cloudlands: VR Minigolf
Altspace VR
Engage

World of Diving, SurrealVR

Experience
Allumette
Pearl
Firebird – La Péri

TheBlu, The Night Café: A VR Tribute to Van Gogh

Community
A Chair in a Room: Greenwater

Three of the winners, Penrose Studios, Futuretown, and Northway Games, will join an on-stage discussion panel on March 3, 2017 at the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. If you’re an HTC Vive user, then head over to Viveport to pick up the first-place apps at a 40-percent discount through March 2, 2017.

Google accounts are on the fritz but nobody is getting hacked

When Google gets wonky, everything gets wonky.

If you have a Google account error that says “something has changed” and asks you to log in again, there’s no cause for alarm. Google tells us they know something’s up and it’s not related to any suspicious activity.

We’ve gotten reports about some users being signed out of their accounts unexpectedly. We’re investigating, but not to worry: there is no indication that this is connected to any phishing or account security threats.

Please try to sign-in again at accounts.google.com and if you cannot remember your password, please use this link (g.co/recover) to recover your password. If you use 2-Step Verification, there may have been a delay in receiving your SMS code. Please try again or use backup codes.

OK, cool. Nobody is trying to get into our email accounts, but signing in again isn’t as easy as they make it sound. If whatever is going on glitches your account, all the things logged in with that account can be royally hosed and need to be set up or attached to your account again.

We know Google Wifi went crazy for some users earlier, and they tell us there were “issues with the Google Accounts Engine today” which may be tied into whatever is happening with Gmail, Google Home, and Chromecasts that are being reported as not working tonight.

We’re happy that it’s not a security thing, but it’s still a thing if you’re one of the unlucky people affected. For now, you can follow the advice and log-in again from your phone or computer. Hopefully, Google tells us more if only to satisfy our curiosity.

Google’s Immerse VR series debuts with exploration of racial identity

Google’s virtual reality offerings are taking off. While their engineers develop techniques to simulate user faces hidden behind headsets that will make streaming VR less clunky, the NBA recently released an original show for Daydream VR. But today, the search giant quietly dropped the first episode of its own series, Google Immerse VR, devoted to exploring the nuances and complexities of race, diversity and identity.

The debut follows Dezzie Dimbitsara, a UX designer at Google, as she describes how she and her children navigate society. “You can’t talk about racial identity without talking about racism,” the film begins. From othering comments to the differences between her and her children’s hair, the episode slowly meanders around Dimbitsara’s Parisian home, immersing viewers in a slice-of-life story to fulfill the series’ core mission: “[Investigating] race, diversity, and identity by exploring how real people interact with the world and how the world interacts with them.”

Sure, we regularly get tech advancements heralding more powerful VR-supporting computers and stress-management headset attachments, but Google’s new series is hopefully the sign of a Silicon Valley stepping outside its tech safe zone to confront societal problems. It joins a growing list of amateur and professional creators making VR content in that space:

Source: Google Immerse VR (YouTube)

Here’s what the sporty Huawei Watch 2 looks like in three colours

Huawei is getting ready to launch a second-generation Huawei Watch, and thanks to new leak, we now know how it looks.Android Wear seems to be making a comeback. Determined not to be left out, Huawei is planning to unveil a newer, sportier Huawei Watch at Mobile World Congress at the end of February. The company officially confirmed the watch is coming via a tease earlier this month. Now, Evan Blass at VentureBeat has posted a render of the upcoming device, and it does indeed look rather sporty (and colourful).

The Android Wear 2.0-powered timepiece has cellular capabilities via a nanoSIM card, which will allow the watch to work free from a connected smartphone. We don’t yet know if the SIM option will be available in all models of the Huawei Watch 2, which will be available in black, orange, and speckled grey colours, but Blass previously said at least one model of the Huawei Watch 2 will offer a cellular connection.

Huawei is expected to officially announce the watch alongside its new P10 flagship next week. Check out Pocket-lint’s rumour round-up to see what else the watch might feature. Pocket-lint will be at MWC 2017 to bring you the latest as it happens.

This is the sportier Huawei Watch 2, in three colors https://t.co/kgFCNAWFfd pic.twitter.com/eUK9xivOgg

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 23, 2017