Chinese city introduces separate walking lane for mobile phone users

Ask anyone that’s lived in a busy city and they’ll tell you that navigating a crowded sidewalk can be a pain. Add in the fact that a large portion of the population now does this while multitasking on their smartphone and the situation suddenly goes from bad to worse.

A large city in China, however, has come up with a simple solution they thought would help ease the frustration. Chongqing, a municipality of around 28 million in southwest China, recently introduced separate walking lanes for people using mobile devices.

Certain pathways in the city’s entertainment district are clearly marked with icons and writings on both the sidewalk and on nearby signs. Nong Cheng, a spokeswoman for the district’s property management company, said there are lots of elderly people and children on their streets and walking while interacting with a mobile device could cause unnecessary collisions.

Cheng added that many pedestrians have been stopping to take photos of the markings and signs but most don’t seem to be following the guidelines.

Original post: http://www.techspot.com/news/58071-chinese-city-introduces-separate-walking-lane-for-mobile-phone-users.html

Amazon cuts Fire Phone price to 99 cents just two months after launch

 

Two months after launch, Amazon has cut the price of its flagship Fire Phone by nearly $200. The phone now costs just 99 cents with a two-year contract, complete with a year of Amazon Prime membership and various other cloud services included. Anyone who bought the phone at launch would have paid $199. The company is also expanding availability to the UK and Germany, for zero pounds and one euro respectively.

The motive behind the price drop is unclear, but many analysts have raised doubts about the Fire Phone's sales performance. As usual, Amazon has declined to release official sales figures for the Fire Phone, but one observer estimated that fewer than 50,000 of the phones are currently in use, which could explain the sudden drop in price. Some reviewers, including our own David Pierce, were skeptical of new Fire Phone features like Dynamic Perspective and Firefly, adding fuel to the speculation over sales. The timing of the announcement is also notable, coming just a day before a major Apple event at which the company is expected to reveal the iPhone 6.

Original post: http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/8/6121717/amazon-cuts-fire-phone-price-to-99-cents-just-two-months-after-launch