Free WiFi service for London’s black cabs approved

Free WiFi service for London's black cabs approved

Soon there will be no where left to hide in London Town. The city is quickly becoming one giant WiFi hotspot, just as mayor Boris Johnson promised. Its iconic red phone boxes, the Thames, the Underground and even a minicab company have all been hooked up with free wireless. Now a plan has been approved to turn every famous black cab into a rolling 802.11 beacon. Company Eyetease has received approval from Transport for London to equip the vehicles with WiFi antennas that will provide 15 minutes of free high-speed data in exchange for sitting through a 15-second commercial. As the cabs ride through the city, the on board router will dynamically switch between 3G and 4G networks to maintain a constant connection. And, in an effort to get cab drivers hooked for the early 2013 launch, the CabWiFi service will provide special driver accounts that provide unlimited and commercial free service. The only thing left to do is figure out what it says about the city that its residents can't go 15 minutes in a cab without high speed internet access. Maybe you can Google it at the next red light.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: CabWiFi 1, 2

Sound Taxi composes music from London city buzz, doesn’t even take a fare

Sound Taxi composes music from London city buzz, doesn't even take a fare

What you see above isn't just another shameless car stereo project, but a black cab that turns the hustle and bustle of city noise into music. The Sound Taxi toured London last week collecting ambient sound pollution with a roof-mounted mic, recycling it through production software and then pumping out real-time mixes on its army of speakers and horns. The mobile disco was a collaboration between headphone company AiAiAi and Yuri Suzuki, with Mark McKeague providing the back-end wizardry which turned clamor into samples into tracks. If you'd like to hear the fruits of their labor, then head over to the Make The City Sound Better website (sourced below) for some uploaded examples of London street beats.

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Sound Taxi composes music from London city buzz, doesn't even take a fare originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourceMake The City Sound Better, AiAiAi  | Email this | Comments

Nissan’s e-NV200 all-electric van earmarked for a London taxi makeover

Nissan's e-NV200 all-electric van earmarked for a London taxi makeover

Buried within an announcement from Nissan about its NV200 diesel compact van hitting the London streets, the company has also outed its plans to trial the all-electric variant for ferrying people around the city. The e-NV200 went from concept to reality earlier this year, shortly after the diesel version got a New York paint job and was branded the "Taxi of Tomorrow." The NV200 has satisfied all legal requirements and is set to challenge the iconic London black cab with its lower emissions, greater efficiency and, of course, competitive pricing. The e-NV200 prototype (not to be confused with the soon-to-be certified diesel version) is scheduled for testing in London during 2013. However, Nissan does note that rolling out the EV would only be realistic if there's "increasing investment in charging infrastructure" across the capital.

[Image Credit: Auto Express]

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Nissan's e-NV200 all-electric van earmarked for a London taxi makeover originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNissan, Auto Express  | Email this | Comments