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The Weekly Roundup for 03.18.2013
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The Daily Roundup for 03.21.2013
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.
NYC MTA to install 90 futuristic touchscreen kiosks across the subway
Replacing those unused telephones that still dot the streets of NYC with high-tech kiosks is just the start. Control Group, one of the companies looking to Reinvent Payphones, has been hired by the MTA to bring its touchscreen and app-driven vision to the New York City Subway system. All told, 90 of 47-inch panels will be installed in stops from Grand Central to Bedford primarily near booths, but also on the platforms themselves. At least initially the rugged displays will primarily be used to feed information about delays and outages and, of course, serve up ads. Eventually, the stainless steel-encased kiosk will be able to run apps approved by the MTA, but the star of the show will be the navigation system that offers a mastery of New York public transportation that Google could only dream of. Sadly there's no concrete timeline for the rollout, we'll just have to keep an eye on the platform. There's one more image waiting after the break for the truly curious.
Real-time arrivals for some NYC subway lines now accessible on iPhone (Updated)
Update: The capable (not to mention iPhone 5- and Retina-aware) subway scheduler app NextStop has been updated to include the realtime info for the relevant lines. It's a much prettier and effective way to get at this info than the MTA's app, which should be considered a beta at best and a technology demonstration at worst. Pity the overwhelmed iOS-equipped NYC straphanger. Not only are owners of iPhones and iPads uniquely responsible for the increase in New York's property crime count this year (as victims, not perpetrators, we hope), but even if they can keep a grip on their much-prized tech, they have to cope with the increased hurdles to getting accurate transit directions via iOS 6's Maps app. It's not all darkness and grime for subway riders, however. Outgoing MTA Chief / mayoral candidate Joe Lhota, who led the heroic effort to bring the subterranean system back online after Superstorm Sandy, said that today is "the day that generations of dreamers and futurists have waited for" as he announced MTA Subway Time, the first mobile app to deliver real-time train arrival countdowns for subway riders. The WSJ notes that New York's initial effort lags far behind the time-aware apps from other transit systems. The Second Avenue Sagas subway blog has a quick take on the app, pointing out the features and flaws of the MTA's approach. On the plus side, the app and the companion website deliver the same data that appears on platform next-train clocks, giving riders the best possible chance to make their trains. Unfortunately, without cellular or WiFi access, you're stuck with the estimated timetables used by apps like Embark, iTrans and NextStop. Aside from the network access challenge and the rather utilitarian design of the app (not optimized for iPhone 5), other issues are somewhat more deeply knotted into New York's subway infrastructure. Rather than the reasonably modern and automated switching systems used on mass transit networks built out in the 1960s and later, most of New York's subway lines are still controlled via fixed-block signaling that was leading-edge back in the 19th century. That's why only the A Division lines (the legacy IRT lines, with numbered designations, plus the 42nd Street Shuttle) are getting this real-time support now; they have the signal upgrades that provide live train progress. Other lines with upgraded signaling already done (the L train) or planned (the 7 line) will be joining the app's list when ready, but the remainder of the system could be stuck in the data drought for years or decades until the signaling overhauls are complete. The MTA knows that third-party developers are eager to make use of this real-time train schedule data, and indeed those working on their own apps can get access to the live feed. Keep an eye out for updates to NYC transit apps early in 2013 featuring live train schedules. (Remember, if you loved Google's transit info, you can use Google Maps in hybrid mode with iOS 6 Maps now if you want.) [Hat tip Matt Flegenheimer]
MTA app for iPhone offers New Yorkers real-time subway arrivals, a small dose of relief
Despite New York City virtually revolving around its mass transit system, local subway riders haven't had a way to check the next arrival in real-time, even though some smaller cities already take live transit details for granted. At least some harried commuters can assuage their minds now that the MTA has posted its Subway Time app for iOS users. The title does exactly what it says on the tin, taking advantage of MTA's signalling installations on the 1 through 6 lines (and the 42nd Street Shuttle) to determine train arrival times down to the minute. Subway Time won't satisfy certain travelers as-is: it doesn't provide directions, and the earliest expansion to additional routes won't happen until the L line's information is linked up in six to 12 months. Passengers running Android and Windows Phone will likewise have to wait for outside developers to finish their own projects. For those of us living in the right areas, however, Subway Time might take away some uncertainty -- even if it's just to confirm that we'll be late.
AT&T, Boingo, T-Mobile agree to back wireless in 30 more New York City subway stations
As welcome as Transit Wireless' strategy for wireless in New York City subways has been, having access in just six stations around one Manhattan district has been limiting for locals who want to stay online underground. Thankfully, there's plans afoot to cover a much wider base. AT&T, Boingo and T-Mobile have offered to back a next wave of expansion that will cover 30 extra stations with cellular and WiFi access, in places we're more likely to recognize: Columbus Circle, Rockefeller Center and Times Square are all part of the rollout. While the tragedy of Hurricane Sandy has pushed back completion to early 2013, it shouldn't be too long before some of the city's most important hubs (and tourist traps) are covered -- and Transit Wireless' ambitions to eventually put wireless in all of New York City's subways could keep every borough online during the daily commute. [Image credit: Retromoderns, Flickr]
Google brings NYC subway alerts to Maps, makes public transit a little more bearable
Google has offered up New York City subway information via Maps for some time now, but as anyone who's navigated the 100-plus-year-old transit system will happily tell / complain to you, such information is only so useful without info on the requisite service changes -- a lot of work goes into maintaining something that old. Google's upping its game by bringing services changes to Maps for Android and its web-based counterpart. Clicking on one of the 468 stations in Maps will bring up relevant maintenance information, as well as step-by-step instructions for navigating around it. Until Boingo rolls out WiFi to more stations, however, you might want to check your status before going underground.
New York MTA announces smartphone-based ticketing trials aboard Metro-North Railroad
Like big sodas, paper ticket stubs may soon become a thing of the past in New York. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that, come next month, its employees will begin trials of a smartphone-based ticketing system aboard the Metro-North Railroad. While the grand experiment is currently closed to the public, it's said that railroad workers will use their Android, BlackBerry and iPhone handsets to purchase rail tickets, which may then be validated directly from their smartphone. During the trial, the new system will be compared to the current purchasing scheme that combines both ticket machines and on-board purchases. Should everything prove successful, the MTA will expand the Metro-North's new system to all-comers. Transit-minded folks will find the full PR after the break. [Image credit: Masabi (Flickr)]
iPhone 4S to launch with select regional carriers April 20th
Been hankering after an iPhone 4S, but just can't tear yourself away from that great local network? Well, if you live in a select handful of locations, you might just be in luck, as it seems Apple has been working with some of these smaller operators to give them a piece of the pie. The lucky carriers we've heard about so far include nTelos in Virginia, Alaskan Communications, GCI (Alaska), MTA (Alaska), Appalachian Wireless (Kentucky), and Cellcom (Wisconsin). The golden date for all the above is April 20th, and deals of course will vary. Hit the source and coverage links below or PRs after the break for the deets, and let us know if your local network's been spotted putting up the iPhone bunting too.[Thanks everyone who sent this in]
Apple's Grand Central neighbor sees sales increase
Apple and the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) both received criticism last year for a sweetheart deal in which Apple paid less rent per square foot for the Grand Central Terminal retail store space than other tenants in the facility. Well, the deal is starting to pay off for the MTA as expected, since the popularity of the Apple Store at Grand Central Terminal appears to be improving sales for other retailers. While the trend is based on data from only one nearby restaurant, it's expected that the Apple Store is attracting business to other stores and restaurants in Grand Central Terminal as well. Crain's New York Business says that sales at Michael Jordan's The Steakhouse N.Y.C. have increased by 7 percent in the last seven weeks. A co-owner of the restaurant, Peter Glazier, says the improvement in sales isn't just because Apple displaced another high-end restaurant, Metrazur. "The jump only happened after Apple opened," according to Mr. Glazier. Apple not only pays less rent than other tenants, but does not contribute to a revenue sharing agreement that most of the other tenants of Grand Central do. The MTA believed that the flagship Apple Store would attract significant numbers of new customers that would benefit the other tenants and the entire facility as well. For every 1 percent increase in sales for the terminal's retailers, the MTA stands to gain $500,000 in rent due to the revenue sharing agreement. If the experience of Michael Jordan's The Steakhouse is an indication of increased sales across the board, then the Apple agreement will certainly pay off dividends to the MTA.
Daily Update for December 1, 2011
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.
New York City braces for Tuesday's arrival of mobile service on subway platforms
It's hardly a natural disaster, but the landscape of Manhattan is about to change once again with the arrival of cellular signal to a handful of the borough's subway platforms. Both AT&T and T-Mobile are taking part in the pilot program, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority expects the service to begin rolling on Tuesday at several stations along the 14th Street corridor, including A, C, E, F, L and M, along with stops 1, 2 and 3. The 23rd Street line will also see part of the action, as coverage is expected for the C and E stations. Of course, straphangers are unlikely to receive signal once on-board the trains, as the tunnels themselves aren't included in this rollout. Currently, the MTA expects all 277 underground platforms to be equipped for mobile chatter by 2016. Transit Wireless, the company responsible for the expansion, is said to be in talks with Sprint and Verizon for a similar introduction, although its customers must be content to listen in on the conversations other commuters for the time being. [Image from SeanPavonePhoto/Shutterstock]
Apple Store coming to Grand Central Terminal, travel disruptions guaranteed for next iPhone launch
It's one thing for Fifth Ave. to get clogged up each time a new iPhone or iPad gets released, but Grand Central Terminal? Avid NYC commuters best plan their vacation days accordingly, as one of the city's biggest transit hubs is about to get a heck of a lot more busy -- and not because White Plains is the new Southampton. The New York Post is reporting that Apple and the MTA have agreed on a decade-long deal that'll see a 23,000-square foot Apple Store take the place of Charlie Palmer's Metrazur restaurant, with Cupertino's rent to be set at $800,000 per year (rising to $1 million after ten years pass). For those curious, that's around $500,000 more than the eatery before it, and Apple's responsible for refurbishing the space. That cacophony of voices you hear? Touristy cheers drowning out local jeers.
Local governments inspire app developers with contests
Cities like New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco want developers to write mobile apps that use city data. These cities have made their data public and, sometimes, hosted contests to encourage the process. The New York State's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has jumped on this bandwagon and is offering US$15,000 in cash prizes for apps that use the MTA's databases. This data includes information about platforms, elevators, turnstiles and station agent booths within the subway system. Both NYC and the MTA use ChallengePost, a contest delivery platform used by the federal government, corporation and non-profit companies. Are there any developers out there who are going to take part?
Brooklyn bus riders get real-time bus tracking via cellphone
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority launched a pilot program a few months back that offered bus riders some real-time tracking information, but it's now expanded things with a whole new program on the B63 route in Brooklyn. That service is currently accessible via a mobile-friendly website or text message, and smartphone users can also scan simply snap a picture of a barcode (presumably a QR code) at a bus stop to immediately check in on the location of the next five buses that will arrive at the stop. What's more, unlike the previous program, this new system is based on an open source platform developed with the help of OpenPlans, and the MTA is actually encouraging developers to dig into the API and develop their own solutions -- which could certainly get interesting as the program is expanded across the city (the Staten Island bus line is next up). Head on past the break for the MTA's press release, and hit up the link below to try out the service right in your browser.
New York subway schedule turned into a beautiful, musical visualization (video)
HTML5, JavaScript and a tiny pinch of Flash. Those are your ingredients for building one of the neatest, simplest websites we've come across in a long time. Conductor, as its maker Alexander Chen dubs it, is a visualization built on New York's publicly available subway schedule API. It shows the progress of the Big Apple's underground carriers throughout the day and garnishes the experience with a delightful musical trick every time two lines cross. You can see it on video after the break or just hit the source link and experience it for yourself.
New York, New Jersey transit pilot iPhone payment system
MTA New York City Transit, New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have collaborated with Visa to create a payment system that uses Visa's PayWave technology and several popular smartphones, including the iPhone. Travelers trying out the service can pay for passage onto the trains by simply waving a properly-equipped iPhone over a special sensor at the turnstiles. Here's how it works. First, iPhones equipped with PayWave and special sensors (don't ask us how you get one) are activated, which let the users know when it's ready to use. Then, it's held before the sensor and presto! You're in. Currently, the pilot program is limited to 28 stops along the Lexington line of the New York subway system. Similar testing is being done in London, Paris, Istanbul, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. It's a neat idea. I've certainly lost track of how much credit I've got on a card, and I detest waiting in line at the machine. Of course, this also means an increase of people waving easily dropped (or grabbed) iPhones around. [Via Electronista]
London, New York on track for subway cellular coverage?
After nearly three years of setbacks, if New York City isn't careful it looks like London just might win the race to extend cellular service to its underground transit system. The plan laid out by London Mayor Boris Johnson calls for the UK's big five wireless carriers (Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, and 3) to cover the cost (some "hundreds of millions of pounds," according to the Telegraph) for a system that should hopefully wire the Tube by the 2012 Olympics. Meanwhile, the New York plan came back to life recently when Broadcast Australia purchased a majority stake in Transit Wireless, which was awarded some $46 million to wire subway platforms and select tunnels back in 2007 -- and which apparently threw in the towel shortly thereafter. Unlike the New York plan, London's won't be limited to the platforms, which is great news for Britons who like to listen to obnoxious strangers' cellphone conversations.
Select Bus Service brings New York City transit into the 20th century
Did you know adding an extra subway stop to New York City's 7 train is going to cost $2 billion? In the middle of this big ol' recession, that's a big reason why transit geeks are freaking out about buses - they can be orders of magnitude cheaper than subways. It turns out in New York City (home of America's slowest buses at an average 7.5 MPH) they're jamming out on some serious tech to dispel the traditional associations commuters have with above-ground mass transit. The MTA's new Select Bus Service offers street-based payment kiosks (1 in the image above), low-riding rear entrances for quicker boarding (2), a "signal prioritization" system that will hold the light green for fast buses (3), and a separate terra cotta-colored lane with constant camera surveillance to keep stray cars and trucks out of the way (4). We've seen cabbies not get scared of things more serious things than painted lanes - personally, we'd install piranha-infested moats to protect our Select Bus System - but we'll have to trust the MTA on that one. The faster, funner new buses are already showing up in the Bronx, and If they're able to get through all the red tape associated with making things easier and more efficient for everybody, you can expect to see them on First and Second Avenues this fall and on 34th Street in 2012... provided we make it through the apocalypse.
NYFI aims to implement free WiFi on Long Island Rail Road and Metro
Mmm... the smell of gratis wireless broadband in morning. Even Starbucks agrees, you just can't beat it. One smell we could stand to live without is the stench left on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro after a few too many party people hitch a ride following a long Sunday in the city pub, but having free access to the world wide web while riding will make the act of dealing a whole lot easier. All jesting aside, NYFI (described as a "well financed neutral host WiFi provider"), has recently submitted a proposal to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York (MTA) to "build and operate a new WiFi network on Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains." Unlike similar ideas thrown around in the Big Apple, this setup won't require users to be subscribers of a cable service or any of the many religious cults going around these days. Head on past the break if you actually care to know how it'll be financed (hint: you don't), and be sure to push whoever you have to push to ensure this gets passed. Got it?
