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Google Pay can now save you time and money at Safeway grocery stores
Public transit payments are coming to San Francisco and Chicago, too
If Google was a person, it would be really, really into Google Pay right now, in the way of recent religious converts or someone who just got a compliment from their crossfit instructor. In addition to multiple free money promotions for the revitalized version of the app, Google is adding more and more features to it regularly. The latest batch is more built-in coupon support, more compatibility with public transit payments, and better searching through your purchases.
Samsung has been teasing the Galaxy S10 a fair bit over the past few months, including at CES 2019. The company ususally releases new Galaxy S phones around February or March, and sure enough, this year's reveal event is scheduled for February 20th.
Residents of San Francisco will soon see something new in the Uber app: the option to rent a car. Uber Rent will allow users to rent nearby cars from established car sharing service Getaround right from the Uber app, the companies announced today in a press release.
Google Fiber is slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y making its way into more US markets, and its latest move is intended to make that rollout faster. The Google subsidiary has agreed to purchase Webpass, a high-speed Internet service provider that services residential buildings and businesses in parts of Boston, Chicago, Miami, San Diego, and San Francisco. If you happen to live in one of these cities, you can check your building's access on the main Webpass site.
Google-owned navigation company Waze is expanding into a new area, metaphorically and physically. Last year Wave began testing a carpooling app called RideWith, which was only available in Israel. Ten months later, the company is ready to test out the experience in the US.
My only understanding of the roommate concept comes from movies and TV series. The way it's always portrayed is with people hanging up flyers with detachable numbers that others can call to enquire about a certain room available for rent. That's so last century. Nowadays we have the internet and there are useful/creepy places like Craigslist to find roommates, but with services like Airbnb making it easier to communicate with people before you let them into your home, a roommate equivalent service was bound to pop up. That's Roomi.
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?
Mobile Passport lets you be that guy who gets to skip the regular line at the airport just by pulling out your phone. You provide the app with information about yourself and your trip, then submit everything once you land. Then you follow signs for "Mobile Passport Control" (which might as well say Cool People), and you're off to go about your day.
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.
Google's self-driving cars have come a long way since the days when they were Lexus SUVs stuffed with electronics. Halfway through last year the company unveiled an adorable prototype car that lacked a steering wheel and pedals. By December, the vehicle was fully functional. Models have spent the time since driving around tracks in Google test facilities.
When you're hitting up the city and need to get from point A to point B, you turn to Uber. When you're looking to transport your kids, you turn to Shuddle. Fortunately, the service is now opening its doors to Android-using families.
Dedicated gadget geeks will be aware of Xiaomi, a huge player in the Chinese smartphone market. In fact the company has become so big (and become big so quickly) that it's now the third-largest smartphone maker in the world by volume, more or less on the strength of the expanding userbase in China alone. But most other people in the west, even those who know the major players of the smartphone market, might not even know the company exists. Xiaomi wants to change that.
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.
[For Developers] Samsung Releases A Batch Of New And Updated SDKs At Developer Conference
Samsung Releases A Batch Of New And Updated SDKs At Developer Conference
When a tech company holds a conference for developers, you can pretty much bet the speakers will have something new to share with the attendees. At the very first Samsung Developer Conference, this pattern continues as 5 new and updated SDKs have been announced for the company's various platforms. This batch of SDKs are centered on Android, Smart TVs, and enterprise development.
There's a new app available from the San Francisco Metro Transit Authority: an official Muni bus guide called Muni+. It's available right now for Android and iOS. And this dual release seems to have given the promotional department a bit of a problem. See if you can tell what it is by looking at this freeze frame of the new TV commercial now airing in the Bay area.
[Update: Winners] Giveaway: AnDevCon Is Happening On Nov. 12-15 In San Francisco, And We Have Two Passes To Give Away ($1,295 Each) Plus $200 Off For Everyone
We Have Two Passes To Give Away For The AnDevCon in San Francisco
If you've been reading AP for any amount of time longer than, say, six months, then you've probably heard of AnDevCon, the biannual Android Developer Conference. We've been teaming up with the AnDevCon crew since the beginning, and have offered two developers a way into the conference – including all tutorials, workshops, and the like – with every passing event. This time's no different.
These days, everyone want a platform and the developers that come with it. In the case of the consumer electronics giant that Samsung has become over the last few years, they've got several platforms, even if their most important one is standing on the shoulders of some giants in Mountain View. To expand the presence of Samsung in the developer community, the company has announced its very first developer conference, currently scheduled for October 27th, 28th, and 29th.
Google Is Throwing A City-Wide Ingress Event At I/O 2013, And Every Attendee Is Invited
If you're in the small portion of the Venn diagram where Google Ingress players and Google I/O attendees intersect, I'm about to make you very happy. It
If you're in the small portion of the Venn diagram where Google Ingress players and Google I/O attendees intersect, I'm about to make you very happy. It looks like the big G is paying quite a bit of attention to Niantic Labs' social geo-game, because every single registered attendee for Google I/O 2013 will be given an automatic invitation to Ingress, which is still in beta. Ingress will also be given at least some coverage in the initial I/O keynote on May 15th.
Talk of Sprint's upcoming LTE network has been on the rise over the last several weeks, with Dan Hesse himself announcing the first four cities (Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio) to gain the ultra-fast network, and Kansas and Baltimore being added to the list shortly after.
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.