May 05
Things are coming full circle … of life.
May 05
Massive Nintendo Leak Reportedly Includes Wii Source Code, Developer Materials, And N64 Test ROMs
Posted in: Today's ChiliWhat appears to be an unprecedented trove of information related to several past Nintendo consoles was leaked to the internet starting last Friday. Many of the thousands of leaked files concern Nintendo’s 2006 Wii console, including detailed design documents and even seemingly its source code. Such information would…
May 05
Space Force's First Trailer Is Funny Until You Realize How Close to Reality It Is
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe concept of the U.S. Government establishing a new branch of the military just to muck about in space is patently funny on its face, but the more you think about it, the more depressing it becomes because it’s a dumb waste of taxpayer dollars…regardless of how many UFOs we think we’ve seen.
May 05
Dyson’s First Cordless Vacuum With Swappable Batteries Is a Proper Replacement for Corded Vacs
Posted in: Today's ChiliIn 2018, Dyson released its V10 cordless vacuum and said goodbye to corded vacs forever. But while cleaning without wires is undoubtedly more convenient, batteries still limit how long a vacuum can run between charges. It’s an unfortunate downside, and one the new Dyson V11 Outsize specifically addresses by finally…
May 05
Tuesday's Best Deals: Jay Bird Headphones, Armor All Car Cleaning Kit, Rachael Ray Cookware, Civilization VI, and More
Posted in: Today's ChiliA pair of Jaybird headphones, a Gooloo charger, Rachael Ray cookware, an Armor All car cleaning kit, and Star Wars comics are at the top of Tuesday’s best deals.
May 05
Xiaomi today launched a new e-commerce service in India that allows people in the nation to easily browse and order its handsets and other products from nearby physical retail stores as the Chinese giant rushes to kickstart its sales in its biggest overseas market.
Dubbed Mi Commerce, the service allows people to locate nearby stores that are either run by Xiaomi or those that have tie-ups with the company and browse smartphones, TVs, electric lamps, and a range of other products.
Users can express their “interest” to purchase the selected item through the app that would prompt the retail store to place a confirmation call. The retail store would deliver the item and then process the payment, Xiaomi said. A spokesperson told TechCrunch that Mi Commerce is available only in India currently.
Xiaomi has also launched a WhatsApp Business account that operates on a similar flow. Users can send a message to +91 8861826286 to initiate the conversation with retail stores through Facebook-owned service.
The shift to what is often described in the industry as an online to offline model comes as Xiaomi, like other smartphone vendors, looks to make up its lost sales in recent weeks. India ordered a nationwide lockdown in late March that shut retail shops, and restricted e-commerce firms to only service grocery orders.
According to Hong Kong-headquartered research firm Counterpoint, no smartphone units were sold in India, the world’s second largest smartphone market, in April.
In a call with reporters, Xiaomi executives said they were hopeful that the Indian market would attain at least 80% of its momentum by the end of the year. Counterpoint slashed its smartphone projections for India last month, saying it now expects the market to shrink by 10% this year. Indian smartphone market has consistently grown year-by-year in the last decade.
Mi Commerce would additionally also help potential customers maintain social distance and avoid errands to stores that would otherwise expose them to novel coronavirus.
Xiaomi said it was working with the government for an update on the resumption of smartphone manufacturing plants that are also shut since the lockdown was ordered in March. The company executives said they currently have inventory to meet demand for three to four months.
The Chinese giant is also providing working capital to its retail store partners, it said.
Samsung, which lost the tentpole position in India’s smartphone market to Xiaomi in 2018 and recently the second spot to Vivo, did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment on any similar efforts it has made — or not made — in India.
On Monday, e-commerce firms including Amazon and Walmart in India resumed their service for people in more than 80% zip codes in the country. A lockdown would remain in place for another two weeks in India, but New Delhi has eased some restrictions.
May 05
Sara Seager, the Class of 1941 Professor of Planetary Science, Physics, and Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, wants to avoid a situation where humans might encounter alien organisms but fail to recognize it as actual life. Seager wants to cast a wider net when looking for environments beyond our own that might be habitable. Seager and fellow researchers recently published … Continue reading
May 05
HP has revealed a set of new Chromebooks, and while the Chrome OS notebooks may be intended for business, features like being able to clean them with disinfecting wipes could find some appeal at home in this age of coronavirus. The HP Elite c1030 Chromebook Enterprise packages Chrome OS in a sleek 13.5-inch notebook, with an integrated privacy screen to … Continue reading
May 05
2020 is supposed to be a big year for the games industry, with Sony and Microsoft both looking to launching new consoles this holiday season. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced game companies to change their plans, as we’ve seen a number of game delays due to the fact that many teams are working from home as the pandemic plays out. … Continue reading
May 05
You’re probably used to news outlets on YouTube asking you to subscribe to their channels. Before long, though, they might hawk their own offerings. Digiday sources say YouTube is creating a tool that would let publishers sell subscriptions to their…
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