JetSmarter, the Uber of private planes, expands its services with a new partner

Why it matters to you

While it may seem like private jets are a bit inaccessible, JetSmarter is hoping to change that with a new TMC Jets partnership.

Calling for a private jet should be as easy as calling for a car ride … if you’ve got the funds to do it, that is. And thanks to JetSmarter, you certainly won’t be at a loss when it comes to your supply. Earlier this week, the private jet company announced an exclusive strategic digital partnership with TMC Jets, making JetSmarter the exclusive digital distribution channel for TMC Jets’ fleet.

Now, with the touch of a button, you’ll be able to book one of the aircraft in TMC’s inventory, because why call an Uber when you can call a private plane?

Promising JetSmarter members same-or-better pricing than anywhere else in the market (because you’re clearly price sensitive when you’re asking a jet to pick you up), TMC Jets will allow customers access to the Hawker 400XP and 800XP fleet. And although private planes seem, well, out of reach, the hope is that the combination of shared and charter flight options with mobile app technology could make for easier and perhaps more widespread bookings among the traveling public.

More: American Airlines is ditching seat-back displays in its new 737 jets

“This partnership is a testament to the rapid growth of our company, and the demand of our services. With TMC Jets, we will be able to ensure we meet the needs of our clients by providing them with unsurpassed private jet travel options around the clock,” said Sergey Petrossov, CEO of JetSmarter.

Scott Wise, CEO of TMC Jets, echoed these sentiments, noting, “What JetSmarter has done in the digital marketplace has been nothing short of amazing. We’re all excited to join forces with Sergey and his team to broaden the experience of flying private.”

So if you’re looking to break your way into the private jet space, you may want to check out JetSmarter, a mobile platform that promises to drive down prices, create availability, and generally help you live the life you want miles above Earth’s surface.

JetSmarter, the Uber of private planes, expands its services with a new partner

Why it matters to you

While it may seem like private jets are a bit inaccessible, JetSmarter is hoping to change that with a new TMC Jets partnership.

Calling for a private jet should be as easy as calling for a car ride … if you’ve got the funds to do it, that is. And thanks to JetSmarter, you certainly won’t be at a loss when it comes to your supply. Earlier this week, the private jet company announced an exclusive strategic digital partnership with TMC Jets, making JetSmarter the exclusive digital distribution channel for TMC Jets’ fleet.

Now, with the touch of a button, you’ll be able to book one of the aircraft in TMC’s inventory, because why call an Uber when you can call a private plane?

Promising JetSmarter members same-or-better pricing than anywhere else in the market (because you’re clearly price sensitive when you’re asking a jet to pick you up), TMC Jets will allow customers access to the Hawker 400XP and 800XP fleet. And although private planes seem, well, out of reach, the hope is that the combination of shared and charter flight options with mobile app technology could make for easier and perhaps more widespread bookings among the traveling public.

More: American Airlines is ditching seat-back displays in its new 737 jets

“This partnership is a testament to the rapid growth of our company, and the demand of our services. With TMC Jets, we will be able to ensure we meet the needs of our clients by providing them with unsurpassed private jet travel options around the clock,” said Sergey Petrossov, CEO of JetSmarter.

Scott Wise, CEO of TMC Jets, echoed these sentiments, noting, “What JetSmarter has done in the digital marketplace has been nothing short of amazing. We’re all excited to join forces with Sergey and his team to broaden the experience of flying private.”

So if you’re looking to break your way into the private jet space, you may want to check out JetSmarter, a mobile platform that promises to drive down prices, create availability, and generally help you live the life you want miles above Earth’s surface.

Google Play Music could soon link with Clock for musical alarms

Why it matters to you

Wish you could set your favorite tune as your alarm in Clock? Well, thanks to this update you soon might be able to.

An updated version of Google Play Music has landed, bringing with it some very interesting and much-asked-for features. Like what? we hear you ask. Well, for starters, it looks like the music-streaming service is set to team up with Google’s Clock app to finally bring musical alarms — although its important to note that the feature hasn’t been added yet, just that code has been added to the app suggesting that may soon happen.

The updated version of the app also seems to be a fair bit smaller than the previous app — so it’ll take up a lot less space on your device, saving precious space for more downloaded music.

More: Google Play Music offers personalized playlists based on location, weather

The new features were discovered in an Android Police app teardown, showing that the app has been slimmed down by 10 percent, which can be attributed to the loss of some images and layouts.

Another new addition is the new “Recents” menu item, which allows you to go back and look at things you’ve recently listened to. This doesn’t replace the “Recents” button on the app’s home screen — instead it just adds another way to access recently played music. When you press on the new menu item, you’ll also be presented with a new screen — although it’s not all that exciting, and just shows music that you’ve listened to in the recent past.

A few other design tweaks have also been added to the app’s interface — such as, for example, a new music visualizer that replaces the “Play” button on an album or track after it starts playing, making it more obvious that you’re listening to a particular track.

Last but not least is that the app startup screen now only shows the app icon, doing away with the words “Google Play.” As Android Police notes, this could signal Google relaxing a little on its branding — or it could simply have been done because it makes the splash screen look a little less cluttered.

A lighter version of Google Play Music is now available for Android

There’s also evidence of an alarm clock feature coming soon.

Google Play Music version 7.4 boasts a ton of helpful updates that will surely please those of you who utilize the service daily.

The size of the actual Play Music store app has been reduced by ten percent, though at 18MB, it’s still a hefty app. Google also added a Recents option to the main menu of the Play Music app, so you can easily jump to your last jam session with a few taps rather than having to dig into the app for your preferred track.

In an APK teardown, Android Police found evidence for potential Clock access. Remember the CD alarm clocks of the early aughts? Play Music integration with the Clock app would be along the same lines. You could program the Clock app to wake you up to a song of your choice. Unfortunately, this feature doesn’t appear to be live yet.

The Google Play Music update is rolling out to a device near you — hopefully soon to the smartphone that’s in your hand.

Spotify is getting into the content game with its own original podcasts

The music service’s first episode of its first original podcast is available to listen to today.

The Spotify Originals, as they’re called, are a family of podcasts that’ve been greenlighted by the green-logo’d music service. The first three titles — Showstopper, Unpacked, and The Chris Lighty Story (working title) — are different series that explore music’s impact on society. Here’s a quick, abridged rundown on what each of these podcasts are about as I’ve interpreted from the official press release:

• Showstopper: This is the one that’s already available. It’s about TV shows and their music soundtracks.

• Unpacked: This Spotify podcast focuses on the creative communities built around music festivals, and goes live on March 14. Broad City’s music supervisor and Spotify’s Michele Santucci travel around the world interviewing very creative people. And they kick things off by covering South by Southwest.

• The Chris Lighty Show: This is the working title. It could be anything else by the time the podcast premieres in April. This show is about how Chris Lighty shaped the careers of some of hip hop’s greatest artists, including Missy Elliot, Foxy Brown, and — before he was P.Diddy — Puff Daddy.

Weirdly, there’s no immediately obvious podcast landing page of any sort to advertise these new Spotify Originals, but I managed to find one by typing in “Showstopper Podcast.” You could also just click here to launch it in your Spotify app.

Uh-oh! If your Google Wifi went crazy this evening you’re not alone

It’s not you, it’s your router.

Seeing a blue blinking light but no Wi-Fi from your Google Wifi or OnHub router tonight? Plenty of other people are.

Something has happened that has caused a number of folks to lose Wi-Fi abilities on their Google router, and we’re not yet sure what it might be. Users report a power reset and when things start back up wired access works but wireless communication doesn’t. Wireless access is pretty important for a Wi-Fi router.

Google Wi-Fi support techs are aware of the issue and say they are investigating right now. In the meantime, if you can’t wait for Google you can factory reset or remove your router from the app and set things up again to get back where you started.

We can confirm that an update was sent out today, but our units are working fine. This certainly sounds like an update issue, but we’ll have to wait and see what Google finds out. Hopefully soon.

Orbitsound wants its new audio system to be the only One you need

British audio company Orbitsound has announced its first ever one-box audio system, complete with integrated subwoofer. Called the One, Orbitsound’s latest audio product can be placed in a variety of positions and orientations – Orbitsound has three in mind – without affecting the sound quality. It’s relatively compact at 70cm x 17.2cm x 7.5cm (w,d,h), so you shouldn’t have much problem finding a home for it and the combination of a steel and wood build gives it a rather sleek finish.

The driver and hardware array behind the grille allows the One to be placed in any of the three proposed listening positions: lying flat, standing vertically on a shelf, or wall-mounted by a TV, where it can act as a soundbar via a single digital optical cable, to improve the sound for your movies and TV shows.

• Orbitsound One P70 preview: Compact, affordable soundbar mixes good looks with TV-boosting sound

The 5.25in integrated subwoofer promises to deliver deep, booming bass, while four 2in drivers take care of the mid- and high-frequencies. Orbitsound has also employed its own airSound technology that claims to add extra width and space from the speaker, to help eliminate the so-called “sweet spot” in a room.

We’ve already mentioned you can connect your TV to the One via an optical cable – if you do want to wall-mount it, you can do so with the included kit – but you can also wirelessly stream music via Bluetooth or connect legacy devices via a 3.5mm auxiliary lead.

Orbitsound managing director Daniel Fletcher said: “Most sound systems that are wall mountable, position the drivers at an angle to increase the coverage of possibilities, but the experience is compromised as all listening happenes predominantly off-axis. However the One is uniquely different with 2 ‘front speakers’ working together to create an uncompromised vertical coverage”.

“AirSound takes care of the horizontal dispersal and the result is a soundfield with no dead spots, thus creating a large spectrum for an immersive, room-filling listening experience while maintaining crisp and centred vocals”.

The Orbitsound One will be available from 27 February in black for £299. White and light wood finishes being available later in the year.

Orbitsound One P70 preview: The compact, affordable soundbar

British-based audio company Orbitsound has unveiled a new soundbar, the One P70. At its £299 price point it’s very well positioned to undercut some of the big-boy competitiors and deliver TV-boosting sound.

But that’s not all the P70 can do, for it’s been designed to be used in three different ways: pop it flat under a TV to act as a soundbar; wall-mount it (everything is included in the box); or flip it 90-degrees to face upwards and act as a tabletop speaker. It’s a soundbar one minute, a standalone speaker the next (the logo can even pop-out to be flipped by 180-degrees so it’s always the right way up).

Pocket-lint

Because Orbitsound has mounted two central 2-inch drivers at 90-degrees the One P70 gives a broad spread of sound both horizontally (around 120-degrees) and vertically. There’s also a 5.25-inch subwoofer integrated within to give the bass extra kick, while two additional side-mounted 2-inch drivers ensure a wide spread of audio. Ideal for all-encompassing sound for you and your fellow TV-watchers/music-listeners.

Ahead of its launch we got to listen to the fairly compact soundbar (it’s 700 x 172 x 75mm) and the added grunt from that woofer added bags of extra life to the Star Wars Rogue One trailer compared to a standard TV offering. It’s not going to deliver the lowest sub-bass like a standalone 10-inch unit would, but the whole point of this all-in-one unit is to keep things compact and attractive – no separate box in the corner.

Pocket-lint

It’s a good looking unit too: we think Orbitsound has come a long way in the last five or so years when it comes to design; the P70 finished in bamboo is our particular favourite, or there are white and black options. The metal grille has a tight mesh and quality look and feel to it too.

Part of the One P70’s overall appeal is that it doesn’t overcomplicate things. Around back there’s a recessed opening with optical and 3.5mm Aux inputs, next to the power socket. That, plus Bluetooth wireless connectivity, is your lot when it comes to connections.

Controls are positioned to the side, or there’s a soft-touch, rubber-like coated controller included in the box to take control of things.

Pocket-lint

There’s no HDMI, but this is, according to Orbitsound, to avoid the associated costs – and that it would give no advantage to audio quality because of the way the company’s AirSound technology processes incoming signals (there’s no 5.1 surround, for example, it’s not plausible with this setup). HDMI might be missed if you wanted to plugin multiple devices, but that’s the only instance we can think of.

That not overcomplicating nature only leaves one element of the design that we’re less keen on: the volume panel has rather crude LED lights that we think should appear more diffused or be a small LCD panel for more complex feedback/animations. The lights on the earlier A70 Airsound Bar look more complete, for example.

Pocket-lint

Even so, given that the near competition can often cost twice the price of the One P70, Orbitsound has savvily targeted its market. Good looks, good sound, multiple functionality and everything you need included in the box. Can’t say better than that.

The Orbitsound One P70 will be available from 27 February in black for £299. The white and bamboo wood finishes will be available later in the year for the same price.

Lenovo to launch 12 Moto Mods in 2017 that’ll work with future phones

Lenovo wants you to know that it still likes the whole modular phone thing, and that more Moto Mods are coming.

Lenovo’s Moto Z line, which released in 2016, has a modular design, but with LG ditching modular smartphones after just one attempt, many have wondered if Lenovo would follow suit, making existing Moto Mods essentially outdated after just a year. Well, Lenovo has just confirmed that isn’t the case. It’s working on new modular smartphones and new Moto Mods that will work with those phones.

“The company will introduce 12 mods this year, which will remain compatible with the phones to be introduced by the company over the next three years,” Sharay Shams, Lenovo’s general manager of Middle East for smartphones, told The Express Tribune. He also said, so far, Lenovo has sold three million units of the Moto Z smartphone, and that 50 percent of people bought the phones with a mod.

• Motorola Moto Z review: A modular muddle

Motorola Mobility launched the Moto Z line with three Moto Mods: the JBL SoundBoost speaker, Insta-Share Projector, and Hasselblad True Zoom. The attachment of mods, such as the projector, converts the smartphone into a projector that can deliver a presentation, run videos, or display photographs on a 70-inch-or-wider wall. We’ve seen more compatible Moto Mods popping up on crowdfunding sites.

There has also been some Moto Mods Hackathons held around the world in an attempt to boost Moto Mods innovation. It’s clear that modular phones aren’t dead, even if LG is scrapping the idea for its next flagship. Lenovo wasn’t specific about what kind of mods or phones we can expect in the future, but at least you know your existing Moto Z and its mods aren’t going to become irrelevant any time soon.

Spotify gets into podcasting with three music-themed shows

Spotify dipped its toes into podcasting in 2015 by adding pre-existing programs to its lineup. Now it’s getting into content creation and rolling out its own shows. The company is launching three original podcasts, and it says that’s just the start.

The first of the new programs, Showstopper, is available now and features The Fader editor in chief Naomi Zeichner talking with music supervisors from TV shows like Stranger Things and Scrubs. The bi-weekly podcast offers commentary and insight on noteworthy music moments in television history.

A second show, Unpacked, will debut on March 14. Broad City music supervisor Matt FX and Spotify Studios’ Michele Santucci will host and travel to festivals across the US for interviews with “all manner of creative folks.” The third show, which follows a more narrative format, premieres in April and has the working title The Chris Lighty Story. The subject is an executive who worked with rappers like 50 Cent and LL Cool J before passing away due to an apparent suicide.

Spotify is trying to differentiate itself in a crowded streaming market. In recent months, Pandora started offering a Spotify-like premium service, while Tidal introduced audio editing tools and Apple Music is working on original video series like The Late Late Show with James Corden spinoff Carpool Karaoke.

The company has recruited established entities in the podcasting world to help their new venture go smoothly. Showstopper is produced in partnership with Slate and Panoply Studios, the latter of which is home to shows like Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History and many others. Meanwhile, The Chris Lighty Story got a helping hand from Gimlet Media, a self-described “narrative podcasting company,” and Loudspeaker Network, which features shows about hip-hop, geek culture, sex and other topics.

Spotify says that more programs will be announced later this year. Although this is its first concentrated push into original podcasts, Spotify is no stranger to the format. The streaming service previously partnered with Mic and Headcount.org last year for Clarify, an audio and video series that explored the relationship between music and political issues.

Source: Spotify