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]
Whether you're currently keeping calm, or simply carrying on, we've got some good news for you steadfast Brits: Kickstarter makes its official launch in the UK on October 31st. Sure, its arrival was rather inevitable, but All Hallows' Eve will mark the first time that inventors outside of the US can take part in the crowdfunding website. Kickstarter visitors will find UK projects listed alongside those in the US, and inventors who think they've stumbled upon the next great mousetrap may begin work on their listing today. Naturally, Insert Coin fans are bound to find some nifty projects work their way across the pond, but in the meantime, you can check out the commerce-related details at the source link below.
Filed under: Internet
Kickstarter brings crowdfunding to the UK on Halloween originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 03:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We already know that the MeeGo splinter group, Jolla, is following a slightly different path to what we've known and loved on the N9, but don't fear: there's every chance that the smartest features from the original OS will be retained, not least because Nokia has just given the startup a gift-wrapped bundle of patents. Jolla founder Jussi Hurmola mentioned the altruistic gesture in an interview with ItViikko, and although he didn't specify exactly which patents have been transferred, his warm words towards his former employer -- with whom he said he enjoyed a "good and open relationship" -- give us a strong hint as to their value.
Update: We've seen comments on a number of forums saying that ItViiko's mention of the patents is unconfirmed speculation, so we're reaching out to Nokia for further clarification.
Update: Apologies all. Turns out the source article wasn't quite accurate in its description of patents being given to departing employees. Nokia tells us it's supporting Jolla through an incubator program called Bridge, but it has not actually given over patents to any of the Bridge startups.
Filed under: Cellphones
Jolla startup receives MeeGo patents, nod of encouragement from Nokia (update: only partially true) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 06:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Kickstarter's US-based micro funding site has seen measurable success on this side of the Atlantic, and it looks like the company is planning to capitalize on that momentum, bringing its service to the United Kingdom later this year. A company spokesperson was unable to comment on the move beyond what was offered up in an earlier tweet, but judging by the 110 characters you see above, it appears that Kickstarter plans to open the site up to UK projects beginning this fall, with more information to come at a later date. That 140-character limit is hardly to blame for the micro-size tease, with much space to spare even beyond that rather informal sign-off -- it seems that the site just wants to get its ducks in a row before revealing more. For now, feel free to hit up the source link below to read the post and share your thoughts on Twitter.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Kickstarter sends some love to Europe, will support UK projects beginning this fall originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Every time we boot up a browser there appears to be a new iPad mount or Arduino project on Kickstarter, but just how many projects have there been to date? How many were successful? And how much might that microfunding startup be netting in commission cash? You can find all those answers through a new Kickstarter stats page (and some number crunching on a calculator), updated daily with key raw data that's tallied, and broken up by category as well. To date, 60,786 projects have launched, of which 24,986 (44 percent) were successfully funded, 31,722 failed and 4,078 are currently active on the site. Of the $261 million that's come in, $219 million has been in the form of "successful dollars," representing $10.95 million in income for the company itself based on a five-percent commission rate -- roughly the same amount raised for Pebble, a single project. Speaking of million-dollar-plus projects, there have been a total of seven, including one in the Music category, three in Games, two in Design and one in Comics (Pebble falls within the Design category, not Technology). There are plenty more stats to comb through if you've been hankering for a peek behind the scenes at Kickstarter -- it's all at our source link after the break.
Kickstarter pledges more transparency, publishes project stats page with daily updates originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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