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NYC's Taxi of Tomorrow hits a roadblock, judge rules city overreached its authority
Mayor Bloomberg, New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) and Nissan have been working to bring the NV200 "Taxi of Tomorrow" to the Big Apple since 2011, but it looks like its planned October 28th launch won't go without a hitch. In a lawsuit brought by Evgeny Freidman and the Greater New York Taxi Association against the TLC, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Schlomo Hagler ruled that the agency can't force taxi owners to buy the Japanese manufacturers' autos. "Simply stated, the power to contract and compel medallion owners to purchase the Nissan NV200 from Nissan for ten years does not exist in the City Charter," Hagler's decision reads, according to the Wall Street Journal. While this certainly complicates things for Bloomberg and Co., it doesn't mean that the Taxi of Tomorrow's fate is sealed. Naturally, NYC is bent on appealing the decision. "We believe the Court's decision is fundamentally wrong, and we intend to appeal immediately," wrote the city's corporation counsel Michael Cardozo in a statement. If an appeal doesn't change the ruling however, Gotham could be on the hook for a sum in the neighborhood of $50 million or more, which would cover the car maker's design and production costs. According to the WSJ, a city official says they may not have to pony up the cash, as the contract would be rendered void by the court, not New York City's whim. Despite the setback, Nissan says its plan to fill the taxi fleet with new autos hasn't been derailed. "We are disappointed in the court's decision, but it will not prevent our plan to start upgrading the NYC taxi fleet with the Nissan Taxi of Tomorrow at the end of the month," a Nissan spokesperson told Autoblog in an email. Something tells us this will be a long legal road, so don't get used to the idea of shiny new rides just yet.
NYC plans free public WiFi expansion in all five boroughs by December 2013
A handful of neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx will have high-speed WiFi access available for businesses and residents by the end of this year. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced an expansion today that'll roll out over the next few months, lighting up parts of downtown Brooklyn, lower Manhattan, Harlem and other areas by December 2013. Companies have invested $3.4 million in the new infrastructure, and the city has contributed $900,000 to get the job done. We're still a long way from having a city blanketed in completely free high-speed wireless internet, but with widespread availability in key areas, thousands of residents and smaller businesses should be able to drop their current internet providers before the ball drops to welcome 2014. [Image source: AP/Frank Franklin II]
NPD: Chromebooks take 20 to 25 percent of sub-$300 laptop market in the US
Snapped up a Chromebook for less than three Benjamins? If so, NPD thinks you've made Page and Co.'s devices account for 20 and 25 percent of laptops sold for under $300. Stephen Baker, an NPD analyst, told Bloomberg that the research firm was initially skeptical about the cloud-tied laptops, but Google's hardware "found a niche in the marketplace." Mountain View's mobile PC foray took eight months to reach current sales numbers and NPD claims that based on price, they're the fastest-growing part of the PC industry. Bloomberg attributes the recent uptick in sales to the education market and early adopters -- increased retail availability probably doesn't hurt, either.
FCC set to approve Softbank's Sprint and Clearwire deals, says Bloomberg
It looks as if nine months of hard politicking is coming to an end, now that the FCC has reportedly rubber-stamped the deal to tie up Softbank with Sprint and Clearwire. Bloomberg's cabal of insiders have said that two out of three commissioners have voted to support the transactions, meaning that Dan Hesse and Masayoshi Son should soon start cracking open the champagne and cigars. Now that the pair have charmed shareholders, convinced the Justice Department and bloodied Joseph Clayton's nose, all that's left to do is tell John J Legere that his services are no longer needed.
Spotify confirms plans for original content at press event with Mayor Bloomberg
Spotify held a gathering in its movie poster-lined Chelsea offices this afternoon to announce that it is increasing its presence in New York City. Part of the plan includes a brand new US headquarters on 6th Ave that is several times the size of its current space. Most intriguing, some of the new office will be set aside to "create unique content," according to Ken Parks, who heads up the company's NYC office. The mention was brief, and Parks offered little detail about what that content might be, but it's probably safe to assume that we're looking mostly at exclusive live performances. For now though, we'll just have to wait until Spotify settles in at its new digs.
'Designed by Apple' ads falling flat with viewers
The "Designed by Apple" ads that have been filling the airwaves (and print media) recently are apparently falling as flat with viewers as a Jony Ive UI. A Bloomberg article says that survey data from consulting firm Ace Metrix shows that the latest ad -- which has only been around since June 10 -- "has earned the lowest score of 26 Apple TV ads in the past year." The article goes on to say that "The ad scored 489 on the company's scoring system, below an industry average of 542 and far below past iconic Apple campaigns that often topped 700." Boston University professor of advertising Edward Boches was quoted as saying that "Apple was never a company that bragged about itself. In a manifesto ad, it's hard not to come across as self-indulgent. And even though it suggests the wonderful things products can do, the ad lacks joy." Boches also felt that the final portion of the ad, in which a voice intones "This is our signature, and it means everything" while the words "Designed by Apple in California" appear on the screen, might be considered political and an attempt at pointing out that "we're not a Korean company." Apple fans should not expect the ads to play for long. As Boches says, "I wouldn't be surprised if this campaign is short-lived." [via MacRumors]
NY State attorney general asks smartphone manufacturers to help combat theft
Smartphone thefts are running rampant -- especially in New York City -- so much that the practice of grabbing the expensive phones is being referred to as "Apple picking." Bloomberg announced yesterday that New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has sent letters to executives at Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung asking for information and cooperation on measures to diminish theft. In his letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Schneiderman said, "I seek to understand why companies that can develop sophisticated handheld electronics, such as the products manufactured by Apple, cannot also create technology to render stolen devices inoperable and thereby eliminate the expanding black market on which they are sold." Schneiderman has concerns that the manufacturers have benefited from sales of replacement devices. In his letter to Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, he chided the search engine company by saying, "Foreign trafficking of stolen devices has proliferated, and an abundance of domestic black market resellers, including right here in New York, means as a practical matter that phones do not, contrary to your website's assertion, become unusable." It's not as if the industry is just sitting back and watching this go on, contrary to Schneiderman's assertions. Apple has been working closely with the New York Police Department to track down stolen devices, and the entire wireless industry is cooperating with the Federal Communications Commission to form a central database of stolen devices to prevent them from being reused. That database, which Engadget notes is up and running, should allow for individual devices to be rendered unusable by carriers after being reported as stolen.
Myth killer: iPad magnet effect on defibrillators wasn't "discovered" by a 14-year-old
Those magnets in every iPad that allow the Smart Cover and Smart Case to attach securely have the ability to accidentally shut off implanted heart defibrillators if the iPad happens to be lying on the patient's chest. According to a Bloomberg news report yesterday, that discovery was made by Gianna Chien, a 14-year-old high school freshman who presented the results of her science fair project to doctors at a meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society in Denver yesterday. Well, to be fair, Chien probably just read the iPad user guide, where the warning is plainly written: iPad has magnets along the left edge of the device and on the right side of the front glass, which may interfere with pacemakers, defibrillators, or other medical devices. The iPad Smart Cover and iPad Smart Case also contain magnets. Maintain at least 6 inches (approximately 15 cm) of separation between your pacemaker or defibrillator and iPad, the iPad Smart Cover, or the iPad Smart Case. Strong magnets (and not just those on an iPad) can affect defibrillators in several ways -- first, they can put the devices into a test mode that increases the heart rate depending on how much battery life is left in the defibrillator. Second, the defibrillators are designed to be shut off by magnets as a safety precaution. The iPad that Chien used was an iPad 2, which triggered the test mode in 30 percent of patients who put the tablet onto their chest. While the Bloomberg article and headline provided some titillating reading, Chien didn't "discover" anything. Instead, the 14-year-old and her cardiac electrophysiologist father Walter just used 26 volunteers to test how commonplace the iPad magnet effect is. If Chien should be lauded for anything, it's waking the public up to actually reading those user guides and safety warnings that we all ignore on a regular basis. In the meantime, if you have a defibrillator or pacemaker implant, don't put the iPad on your chest. Ever.
The Daily Roundup for 05.01.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Apple's execs are not the best-paid
A report earlier this week from Businessweek claimed Apple has four of the five highest-paid employees among Standard & Poor's 500 companies. The figures cited in this report included both base salary and vested stock packages, which has some people, like Philip Elmer-DeWitt of Apple 2.0, crying foul. DeWitt open his acrid retort to the Businessweek article by asking whether "Bloomberg's brainiacs know the difference between an RSU and a pay check?" DeWitt points out that the compensation packages for Apple's top brass may have increased, but their pay has remained steady. These compensation packages include restricted stock units (RSU) that are not immediately available for the Apple executives and should not be counted as part of their pay. These RSUs are part of a retention package that becomes available after an employee works a set number of years. If the employee leaves before the RSUs have vested, then he or she loses that money. It's a common method used by companies to entice their employees to stay put for a while.
Twitter reportedly in talks to add video clips from Viacom, NBC
Now that Twitter has very tentatively launched Music integration, Bloomberg is reporting its next media target is TV. According to unnamed sources, Twitter is "close" to cutting deals to integrate video clips into the timeline, and sell advertising next to them. As we've seen with the new Cards it revealed earlier this month, bringing in more content about what users are discussing is key to its new strategy, and short TV clips fits into that idea perfectly. The report claims the first deal could be struck as soon as next month, with the possibility of other networks following afterward. Also playing into the strategy is its purchase of Bluefin Labs in February. Bluefin's focus is tracking how much users talk about particular TV shows, and Twitter claimed at the time that it sought to "create innovative new ad products and consumer experiences in the exciting intersection of Twitter and TV." Think that fits?
Bloomberg terminals now pull in real-time Twitter feeds
Now that the SEC has given companies its blessing to share business data over social media, Bloomberg has begun to pull live Twitter feeds into its market terminals, known as the Bloomberg Professional service. According to the firm, that makes it the first financial information platform to integrate real-time tweets into investment workflows. Within the service, tweets are classified by company, asset class, people and topics, and stock buffs can even search messages, create filters and set alerts to notify them when a certain subject gets a flurry of mentions. The outfit hopes the inclusion of 140-character missives will let financial-minded folks keep their fingers on the market's pulse without switching to another system (read: being distracted by Tweetdeck) to get the big picture. Hit the jump for the full skinny in the press release. [Image credit: Jared Keller, Twitter]
Daily Update for March 11, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
NYC awards six Reinvent Payphones finalists, asks public to select favorite via Facebook
The payphone. Despite how connected our world has gotten in the last decade or so, the majority of the 11,000 payphones in NYC stem from a 1999 contract. Due to expire and renew in October 2014, the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) has been actively figuring out how and what type of modern solution it wants to replace roughly all 11,000 of them with. You've heard about a small number being retrofitted with WiFi hotspots and SmartScreen information portals, but those have essentially been tests. Last night at Quirky's offices, the city picked out finalists for five categories that could possibly help "Reinvent Payphones" here in the Big Apple: "connectivity, creativity, visual design, functionality and community impact." Well over 120 entries were submitted since this design challenge kicked off last December at the NY Tech Meetup, with a total of 11 semifinalists having gotten the chance to present their ideas last night for judging. As it turns out, there was a tie for community impact, leaving six finalists overall. Better yet, out of those six, the public can take to Facebook from now until March 14th to select a "popular vote" winner. Curious for more insight? We got to chat with the city's Director of External Affairs at the Department of Information, Nicholas Sbordone, about the project and he talked about how it went down and what it means for the future of payphones in NYC.
Bloomberg: Verizon seeking to end Vodafone partnership through merger or buyout
Whether the two simply call the whole thing off or become a single unified company, Vodafone and Verizon could be "resolving" their relationship very soon according to Bloomberg. The oft-cited "people familiar with the situation" say that Verizon is considering ending its joint venture with Vodafone by purchasing back the 45 percent stake the European carrier currently holds in its American cousin. Another possible, though less likely, outcome is that Vodafone and Verizon could merge to form a single entity. Though, sources claim that previous talks towards that goal have hit roadblocks over leadership and headquarters location. The move would give Verizon slightly more power and freedom in the wireless market while allowing Vodafone to shed some its overseas weight. Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has made it obvious that he's eager to sell off its non-controlling stakes in other operators. At the moment it doesn't appear that formal negotiations have begun, but the two companies have apparently had high-level talks about their various options over the last few months. Obviously we'll be keeping an eye out for more information and you can hit up the source link for a few more details.
Bloomberg blames iOS device thefts for NYC crime rise
Crime in New York City is trending slightly upwards this year, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg has picked a strange culprit to blame the rise on: Apple's iOS devices. In his weekly radio show, the mayor pointed out that New York City was home to 108,432 "major crimes" this year, which was 3,484 more than 2011's total. And thefts of Apple products rose by 3,890 in that time, which Bloomberg says put the city over the top. "If you just took away the jump in Apple, we'd be down for the year," according to the mayor's press secretary. Hizzoner himself said that while there are lots of new smartphones and cellphones in New Yorkers' pockets, this is specifically an Apple phenomenon -- he didn't include thefts in this total of other devices, including the Samsung Galaxy. New York City thieves have discriminating tastes in the smartphones they steal, apparently. All kidding aside, Bloomberg also reported that homicides for the year were currently totaled at 414, which puts the city on pace to see the lowest total murders since it began tracking numbers back in 1963. So that's great news. Now if only New Yorkers could be sure to keep their Apple devices secure, we'd see some real drops in "major crimes" next year. [via GigaOm, photo by MSG on Flickr]
Bloomberg: Apple and Google teaming up on $500 million-plus bid for Kodak patents
After Kodak's auction to offload 1,100 of its digital imaging patents was green-lit this summer, it looked like Apple and Google were ready to do battle for the goods. Now, however, Bloomberg cites a pair of sources who claim that the two titans have ended their face-off and are combining their efforts in a $500 million-plus bid for the patents. All three parties are staying quiet for now, but the move would certainly not be out of form for technology giants when it comes to lucrative, and potentially volatile, patents. Helping Kodak recover from bankruptcy with more cash in its coffers is nice enough, but avoiding a courtroom feud on digital photos is what sweetens the pot all around. [Image credit: Viktor Nagornyy, Flickr]
Bloomberg's App Portal brings its financial market terminals into the app store age
Monitoring financial data and trading stocks in the big leagues often means using a locked down Bloomberg terminal pre-loaded with sanctioned software, but now the platform has caught the app store bug. Starting today, stock market buffs will be able to purchase apps on the Bloomberg App Portal, which underwent more than a year of testing and has software from over 40 developers. As for revenue, Bloomberg's taken a page from Apple's book and will keep 30 percent of earnings made from sales on its storefront. Since a single console sets customers back $20,000 each year according to the Financial Times, we imagine $0.99 apps will be few and far between. It's unlikely that Rovio is going to barge into this app marketplace, so day traders will probably be busy playing stocks instead of Angry Birds. [Image credit: Perpetualtourist2000, Flickr]
PadFone 2 surfaces in video, ASUS CEO gives viewers a brief tour (video) (update: leaked press shots)
A launch event invitation has already given us a glimpse of the ASUS PadFone 2, but Bloomberg TV India caught up with the firm's CEO Jerry Shen and snagged a video tour of the device before its October 16th reveal. The second iteration of the PadFone packs a 4.7-inch HD (presumably 720p) screen and 13-megapixel camera, which jives with specs on supposedly leaked packaging. Rather than having to fuss with a cover flap to slide the smartphone into its tablet shell, users will be able to dock the device straight into a lighter and thinner slate component. Other details are scarce, but we're sure to find out more when the curtain is ceremoniously pulled back next Tuesday. In the meantime, you can forge past the break to see footage of the hybrid starting at the 1:40 mark. Update: The ever-prolific evleaks has just tweeted out a glamour shot of the PadFone 2 and its accompanying tablet dock. Update 2: Evleaks has tweeted additional pictures which we've collected in the gallery below for your perusal.
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 17th, 2012
If you didn't get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, Sprint hit more than one milestone that it just had to share and Nokia teased the latest app that's exclusive to Lumia owners. We then discovered a very rare BlackBerry and also learned of the latest city to get prepped for T-Mobile's LTE service. Hell, we even stumbled on a new smartphone for old people! These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of September 17th, 2012.
