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Uber is back in Colombia three weeks after it was banned
Uber is back in Colombia after finding an "alternative" means to be able to legally operate in the country. The ride-hailing firm had to cease operations in Colombia on February 1st after a court sided with the taxi company that sued it, ruling that it had violated competition rules. Uber called the ruling "arbitrary" and said it was in violation of a US-Colombia trade deal. Now, the company has relaunched its services with a new business model that allows riders to rent a vehicle along with a driver.
Uber is leaving Colombia after court ruling
Uber has once again been kicked out of an entire country. The ridesharing firm is shutting down operations in Colombia on February 1st after a December court ruling that it violated transportation laws. It intends to appeal the ruling, which it called "arbitrary" and a violation of a free trade deal that protects American companies' subsidiaries. For now, though, this will leave about 88,000 drivers (and 2 million customers) resorting to alternatives.
An 88-foot-long electric bus is headed to Colombia
Today, BYD launched what it says is the world's longest electric bus, the K12A. At 88 feet long, the red bi-articulate bus looks like a giant caterpillar. It can carry up to 250 people, reach a max speed of about 40 MPH and travel 186 miles on a single charge. The bus is headed for the country of Colombia, where it will be part of the TransMilenio bus rapid transit system (BRT), but it could join other BRTs.
Facebook Dating expands to Canada and Thailand
Facebook's quest to help singletons find love continues. After launching its Dating feature in Colombia in September, it's now rolling the service out to Canada and Thailand. And, presumably based on feedback from its Colombian users, it's adding a couple of new features.
Facebook's Dating feature aims to prevent harassment and dick pics
Where will you meet your next bae? If Facebook has anything to do with it, it'll be through its new dating feature, which it's now testing in Colombia. Announced back in May at the F8 developer's conference, Facebook wants to help its 200 million+ single users find more meaningful, deeper connections – and given its monopoly in online social interactions, it's pretty well-placed to do that.
Hacker claims he helped swing Mexican election
A Bloomberg Businessweek report centered on a Colombian online campaign strategist alleges he hacked political rivals to engineer results in elections across nine Latin American countries. The man, Andrés Sepúlveda, is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for offences related to hacking during Colombia's 2014 presidential election. But talking to Bloomberg, he alleges that his involvement in politics in the region runs far deeper. The full article runs almost 5,000 words, exposing a vast array of hacking activity.
Colombia is conducting widescale illegal surveillance
Want to know why it's important to have checks on mass surveillance programs? Colombia should serve as a good example. Privacy International reports that the country not only collects bulk internet and phone data on a grand scale, but violates the law in the process -- it's supposed to require judicial approval for any surveillance, but regularly ignores that oversight. Colombian agencies have also relied on controversial tools like IMSI catchers (which scoop up nearby cellphone data) and Hacking Team's spyware, and they've sought to expand their powers rather than rein things in.
Recommended Reading: The most advanced coffee lab in the world
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Inside the World's Most Advanced Coffee Laboratory Jason Koebler, Motherboard If you're at least somewhat interested in coffee, you've likely researched a bit about where your favorite spot gets its beans and who roasts them. Thanks to Motherboard, we can take a look inside the walls of Cenicafé: a government-backed facility dedicated to analyzing Colombia's coffee varieties.
Facebook takes its Internet.org app to Colombia
Facebook took it's Internet.org app to Zambia back in July, and now it's heading to Latin America. The social network announced today that folks in Colombia would now be able to use a handful of connected tools free of charge. Tigo customers can access Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluación de la Educación (an education service) and Agronet (agriculture and rural development info) at no cost, as well as things like Facebook, Messenger, UNICEF, Wikipedia, AccuWeather and more. In addition to the initial 16 services, more will be added in the future as Internet.org continues to expand its reach to other parts of the world. While a load of useful tools have been a part of the free app for a while, the version that's launching in Colombia is the first to offer access to government services.
Recommended Reading: Colombia's high-tech World Cup training and testing Facebook
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Colombia's High-Tech Advantage in its World Cup Match Against Brazil by Matt Hartigan, Fast Company Pocket!function(d,i){if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement("script");j.id=i;j.src="https://widgets.getpocket.com/v1/j/btn.js?v=1";var w=d.getElementById(i);d.body.appendChild(j);}}(document,"pocket-btn-js"); Colombia certainly faced an uphill climb against Brazil at the World Cup, and the side turned to tech to increase its chance of winning throughout the tournament. During training, the Colombian national team leveraged Catapult: a wearable GPS system that maps players' bodies in three-dimensional space to gauge the "load" placed on each athlete. Among a host of other features, the sensors transmit data to coaches and staff instantly at a range of up to 250-300 feet. Soccer isn't the only sport using the system either, as the San Antonio Spurs implemented the system to track basketball prospects ahead of last week's NBA Draft.
Books come to Google Play in five South American countries
Google Play Books' expansion tour has just made an important stop in South America. As of today, bookworms in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela can browse Google's virtual shelves from Android, iOS or the web. The wider access sadly doesn't include movies, music or periodicals, but locals who want to read up on everything from Machu Picchu to Medellin should be happy.
Firefox OS arrives in Latin America on Movistar network
To date, Firefox OS has only had a presence in Europe. Now, it's now venturing overseas to Latin America with a launch on Movistar. Both Colombians and Venezuelans can buy the Alcatel OneTouch Fire and ZTE Open from the carrier today. Whether or not the phones represent bargains will depend on the country, however. Venezuelans wanting the OneTouch Fire and Open will have to buy them at steep respective prices of 1,739BEF ($277) and 1,159BEF ($184) on contract, while Colombians can buy either device for 199,900 pesos ($106) prepaid or 99,900 pesos ($53) on a one-year agreement. We're still months away from the release of Firefox OS phones in the US, but the Latin American launch at least gets us one step closer.
Mobile Miscellany: week of January 21st, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a new smartphone from Xolo to India, HTC's crackdown on a custom ROM distributor and the UK's largest mobile spectrum auction to date. 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 January 21st, 2013.
Colombia to start testing 700MHz LTE, joins a Latin American trend in 4G
Those in the US can brag about having the range, indoor friendliness and other advantages of 700MHz LTE, but few other countries have that edge so far: Latin Americans who have any LTE at all usually have to contend with less tolerant 2.6GHz bands. Colombia isn't happy with that state of affairs, and its National Spectrum Agency is spearheading a rapidly growing 4G movement in the region by testing 700MHz LTE between the fall and winter. Its strategy echoes proposals from Brazil and Mexico that will use the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity band plan, providing more efficient airwaves as well as wider device and network coverage. It will take beyond early 2013 before Colombia and its neighbors are actively using 700MHz bands -- the digital TV transition is one of the bigger obstacles -- but there's desires for a fast-track spectrum handout that could bring blazing speeds to Bogota before too long. [Image credit: Kinori, Wikipedia]
Google Maps adds live traffic for over 130 cities, boosts existing coverage
Google has expanded its Maps traffic coverage before, but rarely on a grand scale. The search giant isn't standing on tradition this time: it just flipped on live traffic data for at least the major roads in over 130 cities. Most of the coverage centers around smaller cities in the US, although Google is tipping its hat to Latin America with first-time support for Bogota, San Jose (in Costa Rica) and Panama City. Coverage has also been improved in a dozen other countries worldwide. While the widened reach still won't ease the burden of anyone already caught in a traffic jam, any democratization of smarter driving directions is good in our book.
iTunes in the Cloud movies find their way to Australia, Canada, the UK and 32 more countries
The advent of movie support in iTunes for the Cloud was a boon to Apple TV owners as well as any iTunes user with a tendency to hop between devices -- within the US, that is. Apple today swung the doors open and let Australia, Canada, the UK as well as 32 other countries and regions around the world get access to their movies whenever they're signed in through iTunes or an iOS device. Not every studio is on the same page, as many American viewers will know all too well: it's more likely that you'll get re-download rights for a major studio title such as Lockout than an indie production, for example. Even with that limit in mind, there's no doubt more than a few movie mavens glad to avoid shuffling and re-syncing that copy of Scott Pilgrim to watch it through to the end.
LTE arrives in Colombia, stays for the coffee
Citizens of Colombia have yet another reason to be proud this week, as LTE connectivity is now part of the nation's infrastructure. State-owned telecom UNE EPM has officially flipped the 4G switch for Bogota and Medelin, and plans to bring similar LTE services to residents of Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena and Bucaramanga in the near future. If all goes well, UNE EPM hopes to provide LTE coverage for 90% of Colombia's population by year's end. The carrier is now offering both 6GB and 12GB data packages to its post-paid subscribers starting at $89,900 COP ($50 USD) per month, which include data caps of 10Mbps. Meanwhile, prepaid users may choose between 1.2GB, 4GB and 8GB of data usage. Full PR follows the break, though you'll have to excuse the computer translation. [Thanks, Paul]
New iPad arrives in India, eight other countries today
Apple began selling the new iPad today in an additional nine countries, including India. The other countries include Colombia, Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand. With today's rollout the new iPad is now available in 56 countries around the world -- the fastest iPad expansion to date. However, as noted by CNET, the biggest country in today's launch, India, seems to have little excitement for the new tablet. Apple has no official retail presence in the country. Instead, its products are sold through third-party retailers, many of which sell cheaper tablets. That's an important factor for many Indian customers as, on average, Indian citizens have less disposable income for tech goods as their Western counterparts. In fact, at one Indian reseller the only one waiting in line for the new iPad was a bull. Both the Wi-Fi and 4G models are now available through Apple's online store and at select Apple Authorized Resellers. Photo credit: Ankit Tuteja/IBNLive.com
New iPad launching in 21 additional countries this month
Apple today issued a press release announcing the new third-generation iPad will go on sale in another twleve countries starting on Friday, April 20. Notably, one of the twelve is the important South Korean market. The other eleven countries include Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Then one week later on Friday, April 27, Apple will begin selling the new iPad in an additional nine countries: Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand. Both the Wi-Fi and 4G models will be on sale and available through Apple's online store and at select Apple Authorized Resellers. The new iPad will be available in 56 countries around the world as of April 27th.
'New' iPad landing in South Korea, Israel and 19 other countries, officially ceases to be new in US
Are you not in one of the 35 countries that already has the "new" iPad? Well, this week may finally mean you can get your hands on the tablet that's already become old hat here in the US. The "resolutionary" slate is landing in South Korea, Venezuela and ten other nations this Friday, while Israel, India and seven more will be granted membership to the cool club on April 27th. Outside of some region-specific language tweaks the devices will be exactly the same as those that have been on sale here in the US for whole month now. (Isn't it amazing how time flies!) If you want to see if you're home is joining the list of places you can pick up a Retina display-equipped tablet head on after the break.
