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NVIDIA apologizes for RTX 3080 order chaos
NVIDIA apparently failed to account for the excitement it created, as the $699 RTX 3080 Founder’s Edition sold out nearly instantly. On top of that, the site went down almost immediately after sales opened, shutting out most buyers.
DoorDash adds group ordering to its food delivery app
On-demand food delivery service DoorDash has been adding some cool new features over the years. You can get ice cream and beer delivered right to your door now, which is all kinds of perfect. The company has delivered voter registration kits, too, and has tested robot-powered delivery in select areas. It has also offered group ordering features on its website for a couple of years now, making grabbing takeout with a bunch of picky friends a lot easier. Now the DoorDash app will have the same group feature with its latest update on both iOS and Android.
Alexa lets you order from Prime Now
"Alexa, order chips and dip from Prime Now" is a phrase that you can now say and legitimately expect chips (and dip) to turn up at your door within two hours. That's because the shopping giant has bonded its fast delivery knowhow with its voice assistant, enabling you to just ask for things and have them arrive.
McDonald's tests mobile ordering on coastal elite
If you've ever thought that fast food wasn't fast enough, then it looks like McDonald's latest initiative has you covered. The takeout chain has begun trialling mobile ordering at restaurants in Monterey and Salinas, California. Hungry patrons will now be able to select their meal on the way to their nearest location for instant collection. The app will even use your GPS data to determine when your burgers start getting cooked, ensuring your food stays warm and fresh. When you arrive, you just pay through the app and grab that famous brown bag from the counter, drive-thru or curbside collection point.
Twitch goes after Steam with direct game sales
Twitch has a dilemma -- it can get you fired up about a game, but then you've got to head off to Steam or another site when it comes time to buy (insert sad trombone sound). However, the Amazon-owned streaming outfit has some big news that changes all that. Starting this spring, you'll be able to purchase games directly from Twitch -- if you're watching a stream about Tom Clancy's The Division, for instance, you can click on a "buy now" button directly below the stream, as shown above.
Starbucks adds mobile pay and ordering to its Android app
The day when you no longer have to scream "No, you fool! I ordered a Venti Decaf Non-Fat Pumpkin Spice Latte!" at your barista is finally upon us. Starbucks has tweaked its Android app to bake-in both ordering and payments straight from your phone, saving you the drama of having to explain your arcane coffee needs to another human. The feature was originally tested last December in Portland, and was added to the iOS version of the app back in July. The app will work in the US, Canada and in the UK, although the mobile ordering will only work in stores that the company owns -- there's a big venti question mark over if it'll work in other locations. Oh, and don't shout at your barista, because it's both very rude and a one-way ticket to guaranteeing your coffee has something extra special inside.
Seamless brings food ordering to the iPad
I've been a big fan of Grubhub for years -- it's a website (and an iPhone app) that allows you to search through delivery menus from your area, and then order food right there online (or just call up any places you find, and order your food up over the phone). When I lived in Chicago, I found so many great delivery places that I never would have known existed otherwise. And even out here in Los Angeles, while there are plenty of places right around me to try already, I've found Grubhub helpful. I've never actually used Seamless, which appears to be the same kind of thing. But Seamless now does have one thing that Grubhub doesn't, and that's an iPad app. The new Seamless iPad app features all of the restaurants and services that the standard website offers, all wrapped up in a pretty solid iPad app experience. It's not really anything new, especially if you've already used the website (and as with all of these services, you need to live in an area that they cover, which means a larger metropolitan region), but it's free, and if you're a user of services like this already, it might be more convenient. Plus (and perhaps this says a little too much about me, my laziness, and the fact that I should probably cook for myself more), I just think it's awesome to be able to order up dinner straight from your iPad while sitting on the couch. We're living in the future here, people! Show full PR text "Show me the menus!" Seamless transforms the world of delivery and takeout with the launch of its iPad App The Seamless iPad App makes it even easier to order from local restaurants, anytime, anywhere New York, NY – February 28, 2012 – Seamless (www.seamless.com), the leading mobile and online service for ordering delivery and takeout food from more than 8,000 top restaurants in the US and UK, today announced the release of its iPad App. Now available free on the App Store, the Seamless iPad App allows existing and new members to tap and swipe their way to ordering delicious delivery and takeout, anytime and anywhere. The iPad App is a groundbreaking addition to Seamless' suite of mobile apps for restaurant delivery and takeout, currently available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry users. The apps and company website provide a closed-loop experience, allowing Seamless' more than one million members the ability to access local restaurant information and place orders. Showcasing an enhanced set of features exclusive to iPad, Seamless' iPad App makes it easy for members to find and order exactly what they're looking for. After opening the app, members choose between "I'll have the usual" and "Show me the menus," two pathways that were designed specifically around the most common iPad use cases. "I'll have the usual" gives members the ability to browse their unified order history (from iPad, mobile, and web) and quickly re-order the same items or visit a favorite restaurant to try a different dish. "Show me the menus" allows members to explore restaurant choices and decide where and what to eat, utilizing features like cuisine filters, estimated delivery times, order minimums, ratings, reviews, discounts, and more. "Mobile is a key business driver for Seamless, with more than 25 percent of orders already being placed through our iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps," said Jonathan Zabusky, CEO of Seamless. "We expect that the launch of our iPad App will further accelerate mobile order growth and extend our leadership position as the nation's largest and most innovative food ordering company. The Seamless iPad App enhances our robust mobile offering and enables us to continue to deliver on our mission to bring food happiness to our members, and drive new customer and sales growth to our more than 8,000 restaurant partners." Developed from the ground up to take advantage of the most sophisticated features within iOS 5, the Seamless iPad App offers graphically rich animations and a convenient sliding panel interface that utilizes the enhanced speed and capabilities of the platform, facilitating smooth transitions and flow. Core data utilization furthers the user experience, allowing people to manipulate and filter local restaurant menus quickly and easily. Also maximizing speed and usability, the app takes advantage of the iPad 2's dual core ARM7 Processor. Seamless iPad App users can customize their experience with search and sort options - including filters by restaurant name, cuisine type, estimated delivery time, delivery minimum, rating, discounts, and even new restaurants with a few quick swipes and taps. The app makes it easy to view ratings, reviews, and restaurant and menu item photos, or add ratings in real time, leveraging the power of Seamless' more than one million users. A Chef's plate, which is displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, shows members their order total as they flip between the restaurant menu and their shopping bag. Should an order fall below the delivery minimum for the selected restaurant, the app lets members know the additional dollar amount required for the order. "With the Seamless iPad App, members can enjoy desirable benefits like easy re-ordering, and they can explore, share, and contribute content, making it the perfect app for individuals, students, couples, and families, whenever and wherever they are," said Zabusky. To promote the app and thank both new and loyal members, Seamless is offering users a 10% discount on a mobile order on Monday, March 5. The Seamless iPad App is available for free on the App Store. For more information on Seamless, visit www.seamless.com, @Seamless on Twitter or view the Seamless iPad video.
NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video)
NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video) NTT DoCoMo begins testing automated Japanese / English translation app that actually works (video) NTT DoCoMo exhibits on-the-fly speech translation, lets both parties just talk (video) Have you ever tried to read a Japanese menu? If there aren't pictures to reference, you'll likely have a difficult time figuring out what to order -- unless you can read Japanese, of course. NTT DoCoMo hopes to improve the dining experience for those of us that can't tell our ウニ (sea urchin) from our カニ (crab), building an app that can translate any of 9,000 possible menu entries from Japanese into English. It also supports English to Japanese translation, along with Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese) and Korean translations as well. The app worked fairly well, occasionally mistaking things like salmon caviar for "a rare part of the pork." OK, so perhaps there's a bit more work to be done. Either way, real-time visual language translation is definitely tricky stuff, and could be enormously helpful to travelers once devs figure out how to make it work -- and work well. Jump past the break to see the app do its thing at CEATEC.%Gallery-135633%
iPhone 4 pre-order mess takes a sinister turn with privacy breach
In amongst the otherwise fun stampede that befell Apple and AT&T's servers yesterday, some less humorous problems were also taking place. Numerous tipsters reported to Gizmodo during the day that they were being logged into other people's AT&T accounts while going in to try and sign up for an iPhone 4 upgrade. An insider source suggests that this was caused by a major fraud prevention overhaul of AT&T's software last weekend, which was followed by "absolutely no testing" prior to the iPhone 4's launch. Tsk tsk. The network itself has responded by saying it's unable to replicate the issue and is looking into it. While it's doing that, a bunch of people might be "looking into" your AT&T account details. Sleep tight now.
120GB Zune shows up on Amazon
If you've been waiting to get your hands on the voluminous 120GB Zune, the wait appears to be coming to a close. According to an Amazon page that just went up, the player is in stock and available for your ordering pleasure right this second. And hey, check out those savings![Via Pocketables]
