Uber trials water taxis in Sydney
Uber is considering making water taxis a permanent feature of its app-based transport service, after a successful trial in Sydney this week.
In a limited test, Uber employed three boats on Sydney Harbour for just four hours on a Sunday afternoon, and told TechRadar that it was pleased with how customers took to the extra service.
"Each of the drivers picked up several Uber trips despite us making no effort to promote the product," said Uber's David Rohrsheim.
"Regular Uber users who were planning to book cars from A to B ... went for the Boat option when they saw it presented inside the app."
I do like to be beside the seaside
These users found the boat option when logging into the app on their phones, with icons for the three boats visible on the updating map within the app. One customer tweeted during the trial saying they used a boat to send friends home from a party, and that they were happy with the service and with the $30 price tag for the trip. Uber is now speaking with local water taxi services about how to make the service a standard feature in the Uber app for Sydney customers, with hopes to have it ready by next Summer. On the back of this successful pilot in Sydney, the service could easily see its way into several of the other major cities where Uber currently operates, like Seattle, Boston or in Amsterdam. The taxi alternative now operates in over 30 international cities, with launch in the French city Lyon being the most recent addition to the company's reach.
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Blip: iOS 7 concept artist wants widgets
A dilligent designer has mocked up a video showing how he'd like iOS to work on his iPhone and iPad, with features like Android-style widgets on the top of his must have list.
Frederico Bianco has created quite a detailed breakdown of his vision for iOS 7, not just of what the features should be, but of how they should work, too.
As you might expect, a number of the features Bianco wants are some of the best ideas found on Android phones. He wants to be able to launch apps from the Lock Screen, for example, and he wants to access certain apps through widgets, rather than having to launch the apps themselves.
One of his better ideas is for a new app called Shelf. This would be a repository for all of the webpages you select to read later, with a two-step process for adding them through the Safari browser.
Take a look at Bianco's video for yourself and let us know which of his ideas you love, and which are completely bonkers.
Via Mashable
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Blip: Google internally testing new Play Store design
A Google Plus misfire from a quick-fingered Googler has revealed the next major redesign for the Play Store on Android devices.
A post from YouTube employee Eileen Rivera (since removed) included the image of the new Play Store, which is apparently in the "dogfooding" stage of development -- where Google "feeds" its own staff the next flavour of the app for testing.
In a cute reference to this, the Play Store app icon has been changed to a dog's bowl with Play services icons mixed up in the slop.
The image gives very little away as to what new features or usability tweaks we can expect in the update, though. We're hoping for more detailed search options, with filters to improve results, but then, we've been hoping for a change like this for a while now.
Via Ausdroid
Blips are TechRadar's new news nuggets that you'll find percolating through the homepage - or you can see them all by hitting the blip keyword below.
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Embrace Creativity: Jonathan Erdman, the legal professional
Whoever you are, whatever you do, be passionate with the unbeatable on-the-go creativity of the Samsung GALAXY Note II.
Mobile has moved on. Smartphones aren't just about apps, internet and multimedia; today's big-screen, high-power superphones are places where your ideas are captured, your life planned and your creativity realised. Samsung's multi-faceted GALAXY Note II, with its S Pen tech and Multi Window versatility, embodies this concept and its real-world.
Plugged into work, wherever you are
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CGI? Pah! Watch how engineers built Jurassic Park's 40-foot, 4,000kgs T-Rex
The special effects team that built Jurassic Park's star turn, the mammoth tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur, has revealed exactly how it was done in a series of YouTube videos posted this weekend.
The Stan Winston School built the full-size, 40-foot (12-metres) long, 4,000kg, fully animatronic prehistoric creature from scratch rather than use the fledgling CGI technology, which did account for some of the movies dinos.
The team used steel and hydraulics to create the beast and the result of their endeavours is perhaps the most awe-inspiring, iconic and downright terrifying creature in cinematic history.
The full process from concept drawings, means of creating and operating the internal structure and applying the finishing touches are detailed in the three videos you can see below.
3D IMAX out now
The videos feature contributions from the project's designers and engineers and offers insight into how one of the most impressive achievements ever to hit the big screen was acheived without the aid of CGI. If you have 12 minutes to spare this Sunday, it's essential viewing and it'll totally get you psyched to drop a few quid at your nearest IMAX cinema on enjoying the magic all over again in 3D.
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CGI? Pah! Watch how engineers built Jurassic Park's 40-foot, 9,000lbs T-Rex
The special effects team that built Jurassic Park's star turn, the mammoth tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur, has revealed exactly how it was done in a series of YouTube videos posted this weekend.
The Stan Winston School built the full-size, 40-foot long, 9,000-pound, fully animatronic prehistoric creature from scratch rather than use the fledgling CGI technology, which did account for some of the movies dinos.
The team used steel and hydraulics to create the beast and the result of their endeavours is perhaps the most awe-inspiring, iconic and downright terrifying creature in cinematic history.
The full process from concept drawings, means of creating and operating the internal structure and applying the finishing touches are detailed in the three videos you can see below.
3D IMAX out now
The videos feature contributions from the project's designers and engineers and offers insight into how one of the most impressive achievements ever to hit the big screen was acheived without the aid of CGI. If you have 12 minutes to spare this Sunday, it's essential viewing and it'll totally get you psyched to drop a few quid at your nearest IMAX cinema on enjoying the magic all over again in 3D.
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Nokia Lumia 928 handset breaks cover, is it the new flagship device?
The Nokia Lumia 928, reported to be the company's next top shelf Windows Phone device has emerged in purported press shots leaked online.
The device, which is rumoured to be a thinner and lighter version of the Nokia Lumia 920 device, has appeared thanks to serial tech leak artist @evleaks.
The handset is branded with the Verizon Wireless US network, which suggests it'll be a counter to the Nokia Lumia 920, which is an AT&T exclusive in the country.
Previous rumours had suggested the device will launch on Verizon in April, but what isn't clear is whether Nokia will bestow the device upon Windows Phone fans in other territories.
Similar internals
Previous speculation had suggested that the Lumia 928 will bring a xenon flash to complement the 8-megapixel PureView camera. Other internal features are expected to remain the same as the Lumia 920, while initial reports that the device would tout an aluminium body were soon rebuked.
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Samsung infringes upon yet another key Apple patent, judge rules
Samsung's line of Galaxy, Nexus and Transform devices infringe upon part of a key Apple parent, relating to the selection of text in iOS devices, a judge has ruled.
In preliminary findings, the International Trade Commission judge said Samsung was in violation of the patent entitled "Method and apparatus for providing translucent images on a computer display."
Specifically, the offence relates to the translucent bubble that appears over the top of text when it is selected by the user within the web browser and in other apps.
The ruling was made on March 26 and only made public on Friday, but if the decision is upheld, the offending devices could face an import ban into the United States.
Final decision coming soon
The judge Thomas J. Pender also ruled that Samsung had not infringed on a patent which covers how the devices recognise a microphone plugged into the headphone jack. A final ruling is expected in August.
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Facebook looks to calm Facebook Home privacy concerns
The Facebook Home service will collect information about non-Facebook notifications and the applications users are opening, the company wrote in a blog post aimed at easing privacy concerns.
In Friday's post on the Newsroom blog, the company moved to assure users that their Facebook privacy settings will not be altered by the new custom Android UI, following vocal post-launch concerns.
In a Q&A style post, Facebook said Home's privacy controls are no different from the Android app and users' current privacy settings will be carried over when they download the new custom skin.
It also re-affirmed that users can ditch Facebook Home after the installation, simply by turning it off in the app's settings. So far, so good, right?
App launcher data
However, If users don't want Facebook knowing which other apps they're using on their phone, Home most definitely is not for them. Home will collect data about the apps users are opening from its new Android launcher, but will not log information about what's going on within those apps. The post wrote: "Home will only see how you interact with Home itself. For example, Facebook could see that you launched a map application using the app launcher, but Facebook would not receive information about what directions you searched for or any other activity within the app itself. "Of course, some apps already are Facebook-enabled so that you can share your activity within the app back to Facebook. This kind of integration existed long before we launched Home, and apps that have it will tell you if it is available."Non-Facebook notifications
For handsets with Home pre-installed on the device, like the HTC First, the service will also collect data about which apps users are receiving notifications from, which it says will improve the service. The post added: "For devices that come with Home preinstalled, Home can display system notifications, meaning that it will show notifications from apps on your phone. "Since these notifications appear in Home, Facebook collects information about the notification (such as which app is generating them) but not the content of the notification itself. We remove identifying information from this data after 90 days." The company said location services act no differently in Home as they do in the regular Android app. So while Facebook Home isn't drinking down every activity on users' handsets, there are valid concerns for folks that don't want Facebook knowing more than it already does.
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Interview: Mozilla: why the web is the future of the smartphone
Firefox introduced Firefox OS last year and it now has networks and manufacturers on board. Head of Engineering, Jonathan Nightingale, says "if you aren't betting on HTML 5, you're making a mistake" and believes there's room for another OS alongside Android and iOS that can harness the power of the open web with ready-made apps that are already out there.
Crucially, Firefox OS runs on low powered devices for emerging markets and offers an intriguing entry point to a market dominated by premium smartphones. Could Firefox OS be the missing link in getting the entire world in to the smartphone market? We spoke to Nightingale to find out.
Firefox OS debuted last year - what's changed?
Last year we came to Mobile World Congress and made a big announcement and said 'hey, we're gonna get into the smartphone OS trade' but mostly what we were doing was talking about vision. We thought it could work and this was where we thought there was an opportunity. This year we get to prove it and come back with devices. We have 18 operators and real manufacturers now.So you feel confident in Firefox OS going forwards?
The proof will be in whether we get these things to market and consumers actually enjoy using them and developers flock to it, that would be great but that's long term. If we have to read tea leaves, there's a lot of positive signs here.Do you think there a need for a new mobile OS?
Yeah and I feel pretty good about the state of the Firefox brand - that brand is one of our biggest assets. Not just because it's a nice picture but because 20% to 30% of the worldwide market on desktops trust us, they use Firefox to get on to the web. We think they understand we're about user privacy, we care a lot about security. We're not in this to cash our users in, we're in this to build something that acts as their agent. As for the state of the market, can we tolerate more competition that the duopoly we've got? I think we can but keep in mind that our goal here is to push hard. We're going to work with our partners to get this thing into market, we're going to watch very carefully, we're going to listen very carefully to what people respond to. It's not our goal to get to 100% market share - if we get to 10%, 20%, 50%%, we'll have big parties I promise.
You feel confident because the online mobile market is big and growing?
Our CEO talks about how we're going to have 2 billion people joining the web for the first time and we've got about two billion on the web now, so the two billion coming in is going to look really different. A lot of people are asking whether Firefox OS is designed for the emerging market and whether that's our segment. Certainly, that's an important place for us to be. We're non-profit, we're mission driven so we look at it and think, if those people are coming online, they're not going to be doing it on a $700 smartphone. We have a real opportunity to introduce something there. Our technology platform is something we've been building on and improving for a decade and we've got some performance characteristics and stuff that lets us run on much more accessible hardware, certainly compared to iPhone. The Alcatel One Touch Fire is actually more powerful than the ZTE smartphone too.Low powered devices running the OS look pretty impressive…
We're really proud of the performance enhancements we've made to allow it to run on that class of hardware. When you interact with the current phones, you find little bugs and stuff because it's still early software and the engineer in me is always looking at those and thinking here's where we could make a little fix. These are pre-commercial devices but when I pick one up my overwhelming feeling is that the web can do this.
Google would perhaps say otherwise?
Five years ago, you saw the birth of iOS and Android but the web couldn't do it and Google are still going out there, telling that story. They say you need native applications to have rich capability. Five years ago that was true, now that feels really outdated. Holding any of these Firefox OS phones is proof of that.Do you think they'll be more OS competitors in that space, like Facebook?
I hope so, there's certainly a lot of people talking about it. A lot of them are hamstrung in that they're trying to run the same playbook that worked for Apple and Google. I don't think you can do that in 2013, they've got smart people there for sure but I think it was hard enough for Google to say to a world of iPhone developers, 'hey, you need to build another custom version of your app for Android'. They were able to do it, they got great distribution partners and worldwide ubiquity, happy for them. Someone else running that play again, saying you need to do a third platform, a fourth platform, I think that's a really hard sell. I think it ignores a really key advantage too. There's a 200,000 iOS developers, 600,000 Android developers and there's 8 million web developers out there. If you're not betting on HTML 5, you're making a mistake. When I look at the other new entrants, it's not surprising to me that I see a lot of them talking about HTML 5 but I also see them trying to pitch their own proprietary system, like BlackBerry saying they support HTML 5 apps or BlackBerry apps. That really surprises me - you're not going to win that game on Google's terms. You've got to find a way to do something different.Consumers won't buy that either?
If developers are getting fatigued, my sense is that this looks very much like 1996. We had a Windows PC, we had a Mac, you paid for your software and if you switched platforms, you had to throw it all in the garbage. People stopped tolerating that as soon as the web became capable of delivering the services they wanted. If you're running a start-up now, either in silicon valley or Bangalore, you're not saying 'hey, come download my client software'. That's not how Facebook became popular, buy asking people to download a Windows app. Everyone knows that way you distribute software to everyone is to use web based technologies but in the smartphone world, because it's a relatively new market segment, we're back in 1996 again and 1997 is just around the corner.Do you think there's a future for Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices? Isn't it like game console manufacturers having to pay developers to develop for them?
I think software is really hard and it's made harder if you're trying to do too many things at once. It's great to hear them talking about HTML 5 and capturing the innovating power of the web - love it - but if they're spending a lot of their development time supporting these other eco-systems and marketing to developers really heavily, they're not focussed on the thing that's going to win. I don't see it playing out well for those guys. I'm sure we'll see some marquee apps on their platform but all those apps probably have websites. When Mark Zuckerbeg was talking last year about moving his HTML 5 app on iPhone to a native app, a lot of people said 'HTML 5 is dead' but if you read his post, he was really careful about it. He said HTML 5 is the future, the web view that I have on an iPhone today is really underpowered compared to the other HTML 5 implementations out there. The thing that he said that really caught my attention is if you add up all of the app traffic together, it pales in comparison to people visiting Facebook via the web at m.Facebook.com.
So what's the small, easy strategy for Firefox OS?
For us the strategy is really clear, go where the developers are, go where the users are. The thing that helps us is that the apps are already out there. We're going to create a marketplace, we're going to curate it, it's already in developer preview. We're going to offer the nice things about the Apple App store and Google Play store in terms of discovery, featured apps and we're going to do human reviews, not just automated reviews because we thing that keeps the quality bar high.
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Review: BenQ XL2720T
BenQ has made some of the finest 3D monitors around. Admittedly, that's not necessarily because of how good these screens are at recreating the faux 3D Nvidia wants to jam down our eyeholes, but mainly because of how good they are as general 120Hz screens.
Using the LightBoost tech that's accompanied Nvidia's 3D Vision 2 advances, BenQ has been able to create some very impressive 24-inch displays that almost put a dent in our pleasure at seeing so many affordable IPS screens hitting our desktops.
The quality of the TN panels BenQ have been using haven't made us pine for the improved viewing angles and colour reproduction that even budget IPS screens offer - that 120Hz refresh has made us forget them almost altogether.
We say almost, because what they've really done is make us long for the day when we actually get some 120Hz IPS panels gracing our homes. But in the meantime, these quality TN screens are great for gaming and general desktop use - whatever your feelings are towards the dead duck of stereoscopic 3D gaming.
And while we're still yet to see a 27-inch IPS-er with a 120Hz refresh rate, we are seeing 27-inch TN screens with a buttery smooth pixel clock. It's just a shame that the actual panel BenQ is using in the XL2720T monitor isn't up to the standard we're used to.
Washed out
It's especially sad because we checked out BenQ's XL2411T, and that has one of the best TN panels we've ever experienced - it was even subjectively superior to the Asus 144Hz screen we had been testing alongside it. We had high hopes for this XL2720T, but sadly those hopes were dashed the instant we booted into a horrendously washed-out Windows 8 Start screen. The vibrant colours of our lovely tiled display were barely present, considerably faded compared to the 27-inch AoC i2757Fm IPS screen we'd become used to. That meant we had to delve into the OSD and find the optimal settings. Luckily, the only design difference between the XL2720T and the smaller models is that it's using a slightly larger chassis than the classic XL2420T. The best part about that is it still has the same fully adjustable stand and a fantastic on-screen display. We're not being sarcastic, either - it's truly the finest example of an OSD we've ever used, offering simple touch and context sensitive buttons, side-by-side with the actual on-screen menu. However, it still took us an age to get to grips with what we needed to change to inject a little vibrancy into the colours. And even once we'd got a close approximation of what we were used to with our IPS screen, the image quality couldn't really compare. And this is a £400 screen against one that's almost half the price, with the same panel size and native res. With those problems arrayed against it, not even the 120Hz refresh rate can soothe our unhappy eyes, and no matter how good the chassis and OSD are, the weak colour reproduction, poor black levels and over-saturated whites make this a pricey 27-inch screen to avoid.
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Roundup: 9 sports gadgets that offer something new
Sports technology has made a giant leap forward over the past year. New devices now connect using Bluetooth 4.0 for low-power usage.
Better data analytics means you can see more information about a workout. And, many of these gadgets offer easily adjustable, customize-able features to fit your own fitness regimen.
1. TaylorMade R1
Even seemingly low-tech "gadgets" like a golf club are benefiting from technology advancements. The TaylorMade R1 can be adjusted for loft (a dial at the shaft lets you adjust between 8 and 12 degrees to increase lift) and the angle of the club face (choose one of seven positions). You can also move weights for more power. TaylorMade offers an app and virtual site that shows how it works.
2. Wahoo Fitness: RFLKT Bike Computer
Pronounced "reflect", this bike computer shows data from your iPhone like speed, distance, distance, and heart rate. The Wahoo Fitness app also lets you create a playlist of music, and you can skip tracks and control volume. You can quickly mark an interval on your workout from the handlebar, which is saved to the app. The device uses low-power Bluetooth Smart for the wireless connection.
3. Adidas Boost
These new trainers are designed to save energy. There are thousands of special energy capsules that have been melted together into one midsole. Adidas says it will change your run forever - we can say they certainly feel comfortable as we've tried them out. The buzzword is 'high energy return' and there's extremely soft cushioning to help you feel comfortable all through your run. Adidas says it will release more shoes under the Boost brand.
4. EatSmart Precision Tracker Digital Bathroom Scale
Not all bathroom scales are created equal. This high-tech model shows you your current weight, your weight from your last weigh-in, and the kg difference. The scale can identify who you are automatically based on your weight. You can also see a history of your weight loss over time on the built-in LCD display.
5. Under Armour Armour39
Most fitness trackers just spit out raw data. You're on your own in determining whether you had a robust workout or not. The Under Armour Armour39 includes a module and strap you place around your chest. (There's also an optional watch). Once connected to your iPhone, you can see the usual read-outs for heart rate and calories in the free app. But the new WILLpower score from 1-10 analyzes your workout duration, body position, heart rate, and other factors. You can see in a glance if you have pushed hard or had more of a leisurely workout.
6. GeoPalz ibitz PowerKey
Not every step-counter works the same. This gadget for kids clips to your clothes or a belt. You can track steps, distance, weight, height, physical movement, and BMI (body-mass index). For kids, the device also includes a game where you have to feed a game character healthy food, water, and provide physical activity.
7. Reebok ATV 19+ Training Shoe
Fitness tech means more than just an exercise program and a heart rate monitor. These rugged outdoor shoes have nineteen lugs in the sole to help you run through snow, mud, sand, and grass. The outsole (the layer between the lugs) os made form carbon rubber. The shoes use a synthetic heel and toe reinforcement, plus a padded tongue and collar. The rugged shoes are the first of their kind.
8. MayFonk VERT
One of the major trends in sports technology is to get more accurate data from athletes. The MayFonk VERT is a small clip-on device that measures your vertical jump in real-time. An OLED display shows your jump height, but the gadget also connects to a smartphone or tablet over Bluetooth 4.0. That way, coaches can see a real-time vertical jump indicator using the VERT SKILZ app.
9. BKOOL Set
This "turbo" trainer for indoor bike training connects to your computer, GPS, iOS or Android device using an included ANT+ wireless sensor. The sensor feeds info like power and cadence to your gadget. You can adjust resistance up to a 20% incline. One of the coolest features: you can use the app during an outdoor workout to record speed, distance, altitude, route map, calories, and calculated power to save. You save the data to BKOOL.com and can load it to simulate the ride indoors.
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