Hasta La Gadget!

Uber has been having a tough time getting a foothold in New York City, and it’s temporarily withdrawing the UberTaxi service it had in beta. The withdrawal isn’t entirely for the reasons you’d expect, however. While Uber claims to have been getting grief from the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission for offering a competing (if technically legal) service through its smartphone apps, the program’s end was due to demand rather than any kind of outright ban — the Commission’s pressure reportedly kept Uber from matching interest with enough yellow cabs. Black car service is still on for those who don’t mind the classic ride. Should that uncomfortable balance not be quite good enough, Mayor Bloomberg is promising a truce come February, when a shift in contracts will let New York change the rules and hopefully improve the market for taxi alternatives.

Update: TLC Commissioner David Yassky has weighed in with both an elaboration and claims that the Commission has been in favor of newer technology for awhile. He notes that the contracts expiring in February relate to exclusive payment arrangements with Creative Mobile Technologies and VeriFone, and that apps of all kinds (Uber’s included) can compete for attention at that point. His full statement:

“In recent months, as e-hail apps have emerged, TLC has undertaken serious diligence and is moving toward rule changes that will open the market to app developers and other innovators. Those changes cannot legally take place until our existing exclusive contracts expire in February. We are committed to making it as easy as possible to get a safe, legal ride in a New York City taxi, and are excited to see how emerging technology can improve that process. Our taxis have always been on the cutting edge of technological innovation, from GPS systems to credit card readers.”

Filed under: Transportation

Uber shuts down New York City taxi beta, may see light at the end of the (Lincoln) tunnel in February (update: TLC responds) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re just under a month away from the release of Treyarch‘s sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops. The official launch trailer for Black Ops II has hit the internet airwaves and it’s about as action-packed as you would expect. There’s guns, helicopters, tanks, sentries, and weird attachments that make soldiers fly.

The trailer features AC/DC’s “Back in Black”, which is probably one of the most cliched songs that Treyarch could pick for this kind of trailer, but nonetheless, it makes the gameplay feel more vibrant and it most likely references some of the things we’ll see in the game like camouflage suits, spy drones, and anything else that screams stealth.

If you’re looking forward to the new game, you might be happy to know that Call of Duty Elite will be completely free for Black Ops II gamers. Features such as stat tracking and social options will be available right alongside the game, and for $50, you’ll be able to grab four map updates throughout 2013.

It seems most of the gameplay shown in the trailer takes place in the near future, but there are small hints that suggest some of Black Ops II’s levels may be set in the past. Of course, we’ll have to wait until the game officially releases on November 13. Black Ops II will be available for the Xbox 360, Wii U, PS3, and PC.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II launch trailer released is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When Foursquare debuted, it was a novel idea to glean valuable check-in data from users in exchange for virtual badges. But now every social network has at least some check-in feature. What’s Foursquare to do? Leverage all that data and make it useful to people who don’t care if they’re the Mayor of a coffeehouse.  (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Foursquare looking to monetize by offering specific discounts to specific users, Curiosity is now Mayor of Mars after checking in Foursquare,

You know what they say: “Bigger is better.” That’s why the average screen size for most devices has only been rising the past few years or so. Devices such as desktop monitors, televisions, smartphones, GPS devices, and even portable media players have seen a rise in the average screen size, but laptops sadly don’t share the same statistic.

A study from NPD DisplaySearch shows that the diagonal length of displays on electronic devices and even public signboards is increasing. Smartphones, specifically, will see a whopping 38% increase in screen size by 2013 based on data that dates back to 2010. This isn’t too surprising, since the popularity of 5-inch “phablets” is rising fairly quickly.

OLED televisions will see a 267% increase from 2010 to 2013, with the average screen size jumping from 15 inches to a massive 55 inches. Despite the significant jump, this also isn’t too surprising, since OLED technology is still rather new. However, one category that hasn’t seen a rise in average screen size are “mobile PCs,” which consist of laptops, netbooks, Ultrabooks, and tablets.

While that may seem like a surprise, the popularity of smaller form-factor laptops and Ultrabooks has made it so that the screen size usually doesn’t go over 15 inches, and it most likely won’t for some time. It’s the same deal with tablets; anything over 10 inches is considered fairly large and bulky for a tablet.

[via TechCrunch]

Average screen size rising on all devices except “mobile PCs” is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We already know what some of you are thinking, but that doesn’t change the reality on the ground: Apple has been granted a design claim patent for a “portable display device” that looks a whole lot like the original iPad. Filed just a day before the big reveal in 2010, it’s both specific to the tablet and cites additional references dating as far back as the early 1990s. The claim likewise includes elements that transpired between the filing and the granted date, such as a certain legal squabble that carries on to this day. While we can’t say we’re enthusiastic for what might follow from the patent becoming official — we know Samsung isn’t, despite victories in the tablet space — it does give Apple one more tool for arguing that its total iPad design is unique, not just the individual components.

Filed under: Tablets, Apple

Apple granted new patent for original iPad design originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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