In case you hadn’t heard, pretty much everyone in America has the Flu right now. It’s bad for economic productivity—unless you work in the food delivery business, in which case, the listless and miserable are a boon for business. The online food ordering service Seamless reports huge month-over-month increases in some classic sick people cuisine. More »
People seem to be coming up with all sorts of bizarre ways to get people’s packages to them. First, there was Cardrops, which is a start-up that delivers your stuff to your car trunk instead of your home. And now there’s Pochtomat, which isn’t really a delivery service since you have to go pick up your package yourself.
“Wait a minute,” you might say. “That doesn’t make the Pochtomat much different from the post office.” Well, that’s where you’re wrong, because the packages are left off in the Pochtomat at a railway station near you.
The most unusual thing? The Pochtomat is actually a vending machine that gives you your stuff after you key in confirmation on the touchscreen controls, eliminating the need for humans to handle the menial task of handing you a parcel. You’ll be sent a text message or email informing you that your package is already at the Pochtomat you chose to have it delivered to. It’ll only be there for three days before it’ll be shipped off to a warehouse, so it’s best that you don’t delay when claiming it.
The Pochtomat has already been installed in 17 railway stations in Russia, with installations planned in more stations.
[via Pop Up City]
Following a similar service from Dominoe’s Pizza, GrubHub has a new feature called “Track Your Grub.” As the name implies, you’ll now be able to track your order every step of the way. More »
Amazon lockers have been popping up at 7-eleven stores and UK retailers, but now they’re arriving at what seems like a conflicted destination: bricks and mortar (and online) arch-competitor, Staples. The service allows shoppers who missed a delivery to head over to a locker and nab their packages using a 72-hour code, with the host retailer keeping a small fee in return. But there aren’t too many items at Staples that you can’t also find at Amazon, so we hope the office supply giant got a sweetheart deal.
[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Order your office supplies from Amazon, pick them up at Staples with upcoming lockers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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I love getting mail and packages the old-fashioned way. There’s just something comforting about opening a letter to read it rather than just having to click an e-mail to display the contents.
Like most people, I have a job, so I can’t always be home to answer the door when my packages get here. I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences where you got home to find a note that USPS or FedEx tried to deliver your package earlier but couldn’t because no one was home. So how would you like to have your packages delivered to your car instead?
Sounds like a strange concept, but that’s what Cardrops is trying to do in Europe. It’s a start-up from Belgium, and while they aren’t taking any deliveries yet, they’re planning to open up their service very, very soon.
Here’s how Cardrops works: when you shop online, select ‘Cardrops’ as the shipment method. When you’re at work (or out partying,) Cardrops’ delivery partners will locate your car and drop off your package in the trunk. You’ll then get an SMS that your package has already been delivered.
A service man will install the Cardrops starter kit in your car. This unit will ping the GPS coordinates of the car when it hasn’t moved for 15 minutes. Based on this data, our system can create a heat map of the exact locations where your car is mostly parked.
You’ll need to buy a starter kit priced at €99 (~$130 USD) and pay €4.95 (~$7) for every delivery with the basic Rockstar plan. If you do a lot of online shopping and expect packages every week, then you can opt to subscribe to the Royal plan that waives the starter kit fee but charges €24.95 (~$33) monthly.
Sounds pretty neat, but I’m still 50-50 on whether this will take off or not. What do you think?
[via Pop Up City]
Rumors have floated for the better part of a year that Google has been prepping a same-day delivery service that would pressure eBay and make even Amazon Prime seem pokey. If we’re to believe a pair of New York Times contacts, it’s much closer to reality. Google staffers and their close connections are supposedly in the midst of testing the extra-fast shipping option in San Francisco with at “at least one” major clothing chain participating alongside local shops. Most details are still missing, including the price premium for waiting mere hours as well as the implied mobile option; Google certainly isn’t talking on the record. We’re almost hoping that the story is bogus, as the last thing we need is one less reason to step outside.
NYT: Google actively trialing same-day delivery from retail for the chronically impatient originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
There’s nothing like a good ol’ fashion rocket launch to spice up a lazy Sunday evening — the SpaceX Dragon capsule is ready to soar. Following a successful docking test back in May, NASA has approved Dragon for a series of delivery missions, carting a thousand pounds of cargo to astronauts on the International Space Station. Today, at 8:35PM ET, the capsule is scheduled to ride a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit — the first of what should be a series of round-trip delivery missions. Barring bad weather or engine problems, it should be a good show — join us after the break to enjoy the launch right here.
Update: Dragon made it into orbit — check out the instant replay after the break.
Continue reading Watch the SpaceX Dragon capsule lift off, live (video)
Filed under: Misc, Transportation
Watch the SpaceX Dragon capsule lift off, live (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 20:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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One small step in May is poised to turn into one giant leap for space capitalism as NASA approved the Sunday evening launch of SpaceX‘s Dragon capsule. The scheduled trip comes just a little over four months after the project successfully completed a docking test by the unmanned private spacecraft with the International Space Station. The Sunday flight — dubbed CRS-1 — will have the Dragon capsule piggybacking on a Falcon 9 rocket to punch through the atmosphere while carrying more than a thousand pounds of cargo. The capsule will then dock with the station for about three weeks before being sent back to Earth to deliver more than a ton of scientific samples and used hardware from the ISS. The launch is scheduled for 8:35PM ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station barring a tantrum from Mother Nature (we’ve also seen our share of aborted SpaceX Dragon launches before so we’re keeping our proverbial fingers crossed). NASA says that Orbital Sciences‘ competing Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket will also make a demo flight later this year.
[Image credit: Jim Grossmann, NASA]
Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt
SpaceX Dragon capsule launch gets go signal from NASA originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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SpaceX just put a date on when private space travel becomes a seemingly everyday affair: October 7th. That’s when the company and NASA expect to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station delivering the first of a dozen cargo loads to the International Space Station through the unmanned Dragon spacecraft. While we’re not expecting any trouble — SpaceX has done this before — there’s a chance for a rescheduled launch on October 8th if there are any minor setbacks. The flights won’t achieve the cachet of government-funded runs with human beings onboard, but we’re sure the company doesn’t mind when it’s taking steps towards democratizing spaceflight… and pocketing $1.6 billion in the process.
Filed under: Transportation, Science
SpaceX to start International Space Station cargo runs on October 7th, kick off routine private spaceflight originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Amazon’s $79 per year Prime delivery service has passed its totally free Super Saver delivery in popularity. That’s, well, kind of a big deal. More »
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