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Come look inside Google's first Pixel store with us before it opens tomorrow
Spoiler: They sell lots of Google stuff
Google has been in the hardware game for some time now, but it has yet to establish a physical presence in retail to compete with Apple outside of a handful of pop-up stores. That changes tomorrow, as the company is finally opening its first storefront in New York City. If you've been looking to pick up a brand-new Pixel phone — or just a Google-branded basketball — all you'll need to do is head to Chelsea.
One of the cumbersome things I deal with when traveling to a city with public transit is the transportation card. Not being used to carrying one and wanting to keep it safe but also quick to access, I struggle to find a decent place for it. Sometimes it's in my pocket, other times in my bag, and sometimes inside my phone's cover. So I can understand a daily commuter's annoyance of carrying these small, easily-losable cards around. That's why services like Google Pay, which aim to replace all your cards, including transit ones, are awesome. Transit card support has been slowly rolling out to various cities around the world, and now it's New York's time.
Google first established office space in New York in 2000, in a space that had formerly been a Starbucks. Since then, the company's New York operation has ballooned to more than 7,000 employees working on a range of products, including big-ticket services like Search and Maps. Google has announced that in order to accommodate its growing East Coast workforce, it's set in motion plans to move into three new Lower Manhattan office spaces.
When Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says something's going to happen in the world of tech, his word is very nearly a guarantee. So when a Gurman-authored article talking about upcoming iPhones sneaks in a one-line reference to Google having an October 9th Pixel event in New York City, we start freeing up our calendars.
Android tablets may be dying out in the consumer market, but you might be seeing more of them if you live in New York. Curb Mobility announced on Thursday that its fleet of NYC taxis will soon be updated to include not one, but two Android tablets. 'Dash' will replace the legacy digital meters currently in use by drivers, and 'Ryde' will display media content for passengers.
So here's the scenario: you're in San Francisco for the first time. You're starving, but have no idea where to go, what's good, or where to even start. What do you do?
Sprint would really like you to buy a phone. Really. So much so that they're willing to throw a salesperson and a bunch of phones in a branded car and drive to your door to sell it to you, preferably along with a service contract and a $30 case. The new Direct 2 You service will also offer assistance to existing Sprint customers; the example given in the press release is moving data from one phone to the other.
Pay $29 for a ticket to the top of 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, and you can expect to see a few things: excellent views of downtown and Central Park, a few tidbits of NBC broadcasting history, some kid trying to surreptitiously drop pennies off the roof. But one thing you might not expect to see is a contextual ad for Google's latest search campaign unobtrusively hanging out on one of the coin-op binoculars.
Before we start: Square's Order service is still only for eateries in San Francisco and New York City, because those are the only two places where people use smartphones. If you fall paradoxically outside of the service area (like all but one of Android Police's staff), you can stop reading now. For everyone else, check out the sizeable upgrade to Square Order, now rolling out in the Play Store. The app, which allows you to order and pay for food at restaurant tables, gets a fresh new look and some other goodies.
Update: A curious Reddit poster tore through the promotional website and found what looks like two photos of the "ReCamera" and a mounting accessory. They seem pretty barebones, but they might be our first solid look at the device. Of course, at this point nothing is confirmed. Thanks to Jeremy (@jersteck) for the tip.
Oh selfies, how I loathe thee. You democratized and bastardized descendants of the self-portrait, you brothers of the awkward meal photo, you poorly-angled posers, you absolute scourge of social media. But alas, I appear to be in the minority, at least if the increasing focus on this hated term is anything to go by. You can't blame the manufacturers for making "selfie cams" - they're just giving the people what they want. And HTC is poised to do just that in New York City next month.
And so it begins. While HTC hasn't announced anything specific for the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, it looks like the company is planning its own shindig roughly one month later. Earlier this morning press invitations were issued for a March 25th media event scheduled for both London and New York City.
Getting around New York City can be a bit of a chore, but there are a growing number of options out there. Today VeriFone has launched Way2Ride, a mobile app that makes it easier for New Yorkers to hail a cab and pay the fare using just their phone. Yes, it's jumping into an area that Uber has honed over the years and others are seeking to dominate, but there's a chance there are lower rates to be found here.
Well folks, it's time for speculation and rumor on the Galaxy S IV to die... at least when it comes to the device's glamorous debut. Samsung Mobile division chief JK Shin confirmed to Edaily News (Korean) that the company's new flagship device will be revealed in New York City on Thursday, March 14th. The date was previously suspected after a well-known tipster leaked it earlier this week. Samsung has chosen to move its more typical European or Asian venue to the United States after it was "inundated" with requests from U.S. carriers to launch the device here. Let's hope that means that it will come to American shores quickly (or maybe even simultaneously) after a worldwide release.
If you're a citizen of San Francisco and own an LTE capable phone on AT&T's network, you're in luck. It appears that the carrier's new 4G LTE network is now live in SF. While it hasn't been officially announced, it seems to be going strong. If you're in the area, fire up your device and prepare to have your hair blown back.
Google Shopper - an app that uses your phone's camera to locate products and prices on the web - received an update today that brings about some new features, as well as an interface overhaul. In an effort to streamline the experience, tabs have been added to the bottom of the app that highlight some of the newest features of Shopper, and the 'starred' and 'history' buttons are now located at the top.
Can't say we didn't see this one coming - exactly on schedule, Sprint today officially launched its 4G WiMax service in The Big Apple. In addition to NYC, 5 other cities that went live today include Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut, New Brunswick and Trenton in New Jersey, and Tampa in good old Florida.