This week Google unveiled their smart drive car, a project the company has been working on for a number of years and is finally becoming a reality. The car looks very similar to other cars such as the Fiat 500, but missing one important detail, the steering wheel! There’s also no accelerator or brakes, but there is a big stop button just in case. The lack of these features means that it has more sensors in strategic spots than regular cars. With some (rather brave) testers, they said it felt like riding a ride at Disney. With a current speed of 25mph, Google are hoping for a 100mph speed once it’s passed safety tests to travel safely at that speed. Google are hoping to have these on the road within a couple of years, and they’re hoping the Google self driving car will be safer than human drivers.
Apple & Google’s Smart Home products:
It seems that Apple and Google are moving into the Internet of Things more rapidly than what we thought. This week, it was revealed that Apple are in talks with smart home device manufacture’s to develop software that would turn Apple devices such as the iPhone into a remote for household appliances. In addition, Google is also said to be planning to get into home security. Google have apparently been in talks with Dropcam to kick start plans. Whilst there’s not much info out at the moment about either product, we are excited to hear more, as we love the idea of using our phones to check on our homes and power our appliances!
Did you hear about this week’s #PizzaOnATrain? No? Okay let me fill you in, Geordie comedian Chris Ramsey was on a train journey and fancied some pizza. After sending out a tweet about whether it would be possible to get a pizza delivered to a train the previous night, Dominos replied to his tweets, and started to DM the funny guy to arrange a delivery the next evening. With Chris’s 292,000 followers waiting with baited breath, through a series of tweets and screenshots, it wasn’t long before #PizzaOnATrain was trending. With followers tweeting words of encouragement, Dominos even told Chris they would be throwing in some extra pizza for fellow passengers on the train! When the train stopped at Doncaster at 10:45pm, there was Chris’s pizza. Of course a selfie was taken, as well as Chris proudly showing off his tower of Dominos boxes. What started off as a joke was made a reality and a very clever thing for Dominos to jump on board with. After writing this though, all we want is some pizza. #PizzaInAnOffice?
Is Snapchat the new marketing tool for brands?
Snapchat is increasing in popularity, and not just with millennial’s but brands too. The ephemeral messaging site is adding brands to its user lists, and brands are seeing the platform as a perfect way to capture the youth audience. The story feature is popular for brands, to post out several stitched together pictures and messages to promote new products and campaigns. The stories then disappear in 24 hours, leaving users with an urgency to read the stories before they expire. Brands have also used the 10 second self-destruct feature to tease new products, to give users a sneak preview and get them excited. Successful brands on Snapchat are; Victoria Secrets, McDonalds and Taco Bell. Will you be adding Snapchat to your social media strategy?
Uber to replace drivers with self driving cars?
One of the most successful apps in recent times, is car/taxi service Uber. As well as Google unveiling their new smart drive car, Uber revealed at Code Conference this week, that in the future they will be replacing drivers with self driving cars in a bid to decrease costs. CEO Travis Kalanick was quoted saying, “The reason Uber could be expensive is because you’re not just paying for the car — you’re paying for the other dude in the car.” However this won’t be happening in the near future. Rumours have also circulated this week that Uber have announced a new deal with American phone network company AT&T which would see Uber’s app pre loaded onto 50 million Android phones. How would you feel about being picked up in a driverless car? We’re not too sure here in the office, but we wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years this is the norm!
