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eBay-Backed Snapdeal Introduces Same-Day Delivery In India
Jan 06, 12:03PM
![Same Day Express Delivery Screenshot[3]](http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/same-day-express-delivery-screenshot3.jpg?w=100&h=70&crop=1)
On Monday morning, the Indian online marketplace, Snapdeal, introduced its same-day delivery service, putting pressure on rivals Flipkart and Amazon who launched their next-day delivery service few weeks ago. To start out, Snapdeal is rolling out the service in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) without charging any additional fee. If an eligible item is ordered before 1 p.m. Snapdeal will have it delivered on the same day, Rohit Bansal, co-founder of the company told Techcrunch. This is what Bansal said when asked if this service has any takers among Snapdeal’s current user base of over 20 million. More than 90% of the orders placed on Snapdeal.com are shipped within 24 hours. However, we do understand that sometimes customers want the products urgently. The Same Day Express Delivery Service has been launched to meet such customers’' wish India’s e-commerce market (excluding online travel industry) is worth nearly $3.1 billion, and it’s expected to grow by over seven times to $22 billion in five years, according to a CLSA report published in November 2013. The service also means putting more pressure on existing supply chains of e-commerce companies, but with customers looking for newer choices and an intense battle for positioning differently among the startups playing on, there are not many other innovations left on the delivery side. It’s still very early to judge whether same-day delivery makes any financial sense for e-commerce companies in India, but the latest move from Snapdeal clearly underscores an intense battle between Amazon, Flipkart and others in the country. Last year in April, eBay outbid Amazon and several others to lead a $50 million funding round in Snapdeal, as it pushed aggressively to gain share in the country’s growing e-commerce market. Since the beginning of 2010, venture capital worth $1.3 billion has been invested in Indian e-commerce startups. Bansal of Snapdeal said ‘thousands of products’ will be covered under the new service. “Thousands of product SKUs (stock keeping units) from across categories including electronics, general merchandise and fashion are being covered under this,” he said. The Indian e-commerce market is beginning to witness increased rivalry among domestic startups such as Flipkart and new entrants including Amazon. The real question is whether these e-commerce companies will be able to back newer features such as same-day delivery with increased investments in their back-end delivery infrastructure, an area of concern for many online shoppers in the country.iPhone Sees Ongoing Yearly Marketshare Declines, As Apple Battles "Resurgent" Rivals, Says Kantar
Jan 06, 11:28AM
Following the release of its latest pair of flagship smartphones, the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c, Apple is growing its share of smartphone sales, month on month, according to the latest figures out from Kantar Worldpanel. However despite its flashy new flagships giving it a short-term boost, Apple’s marketshare is continuing to be eroded year-on-year by smartphone rivals using the Android and Windows Phone platforms, the data suggests. Apple’s new iDevices went on sale towards the end of September, with the two models racking up sales of nine million between them, over the launch weekend. Kantar’s smartphone sales data for the three months to November 2013 give Apple a 69.1% share of the Japanese market; 43.1% in the U.S.; 35.0% in Australia; and 30.6% in the U.K. But despite Apple’s new models helping it improve its own marketshare performance in recent months — and the new models yielding high levels of satisfaction among iPhone buyers — Kantar says Cupertino is facing a tougher time to make year on year marketshare gains, owing to “resurgent” performances from rivals such as LG, Sony and Nokia. While Android is generally continuing to increase its share in the majority of measured markets, Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform appears to be responsible for some of iOS’ dips in Europe, where the platform made year-on-year gains of up to 8.7 percentage points. Across five big European markets (U.K., France, Italy, Germany and Spain) Windows Phone had a 10% marketshare, in the three months to November, up 5.3 percentage points. Meanwhile Kantar records some sizeable declines for Apple’s year on year marketshare performance — down close to 10 percentage points in the U.S. market, for instance. (Windows Phone made only marginal gains in the U.S., rising 2.1 percentage points to take a 4.7% marketshare). Apple has also seen a sizeable decline in Italy, where it’s dropped 9.1 percentage points in marketshare comparing November 2012 to November 2013. While across the EUR5 iOS is down 6.5 percentage points. Like Windows Phone, Google’s Android platform also grew its share in Europe — up 7.6 percentage points to take a 69.1% marketshare. Android also strengthened its hold on the U.S. market with a rise of eight percentage points, to take a 50.3% marketshare. Despite making some progress in Europe, Kantar notes that Windows Phone continues to struggle to crack the U.S. or China — with just a 2.7% share in the latter market. Commenting onBigcolors Lets Investors Trade Options In Early-Stage Startups
Jan 06, 10:50AM
Hong Kong is a global financial center with a small but growing startup industry. Unfortunately, founders often have a hard time getting the attention of investors, who prefer to invest in equities or real estate. A site called Bigcolors, which launched at the beginning of December, wants to help connect angel investors and startups by offering a crowdfunding platform with a twist. If a startup meets its goal before its eight-week funding period is up, investors can then trade shares in the company even before it officially launches, which lets them enjoy more liquidity. Bigcolors recently expanded to Singapore and plans to roll out in more Asian countries before heading to other emerging markets around the world.Google Announces Open Automotive Alliance To Drive Android Into Connected Cars
Jan 06, 10:20AM
Google is hoping to do it again with Android — and cars. The 2007 Open Handset Alliance helped drive Google’s mobile OS from new-kid-on-the-block to dominant force in smartphones. Today, the company has announced the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA) to attempt the same trick but for cars — persuading a small coterie of car makers and others to join it as founder members of the OAA. As well as Mountain View itself, Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai and NVIDIA have put their names to the OAA, which is described as “a global alliance of technology and auto industry leaders committed to bringing the Android platform to cars starting in 2014″. The OAA will be focused on establishing a common platform for Android integration with connected cars. Google notes: We’re working with our partners to enable better integration between cars and Android devices in order to create a safer, car optimized experience. We’re also developing new Android platform features that will enable the car itself to become a connected Android device. Stay tuned for more details coming soon. As with Android, Google is a little late to the party here: back in June Apple confirmed it is working with car makers on an initiative called ‘iOS in The Car’ to enable iDevice owners to use their gadgets to do stuff like play music, display maps, dictate messages in their cars, starting in 2014. Car makers signed up to Apple’s earlier automotive initiative are a little more plentiful and include Honda, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Ferrari, Chevy, Infiniti, Kia, Hyundai, Volvo, Jaguar, and Acura. (So Honda and Hyundai are playing in both camps.) The first cars with “Android integration” are expected by the end of this year, according to the OAA’s inaugural release (it does not say which car maker is expected to be first).Tribesports Launches Free Training App For iOS
Jan 06, 9:59AM
Today Tribesports is launching a new iOS app dedicated to training. The app, which is completely free, shunning paid-for add-ons or other premium pricing, lets you track, analyse and review their training, and, unlike something like Runkeeper, has been designed to work across multiple sports.HTC Narrowly Avoids Another Quarterly Loss, Thanks To Beats Audio Stake Sale
Jan 06, 9:34AM
Back in October, in its Q3 results, HTC reported its first ever quarterly loss – of around $102 million. Now, in unaudited consolidated results for its Q4, released quietly Sunday as the tech press’ gaze is focused on Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, HTC revealed it has narrowly avoided a second consecutive quarter of loss. HTC reported net profit after tax of NT$0.31 billion (circa $10.3 million) on total revenues of NT$42.89 billion ($1.4 billion). In its Q4 outlook, back in November, HTC had said it expected revenue for the quarter to be in the range of NT$40 billion to NT$45 billion. However the small profit HTC squeaked in the quarter appears attached to the one-time windfall from selling its stake in Beats Audio, rather than selling enough phones to get back in the black. In September, HTC said it intended to sell its 24.84% stake in the audio brand for $265 million. Bloomberg expected the deal to close in the fourth quarter. HTC’s unaudited results for its Q4 also report an operating loss of NT$1.56 billion (close to $52 million). Unaudited earnings per share after tax were NT$0.38 based on 823,541 thousand weighted average number of shares, which falls within HTC’s earlier expected EPS range of NT$0.1 to NT$1.7. While it’s narrowly avoided another quarterly loss, there’s no denying HTC is running out of room for manoeuvre in the Samsung-dominated Android smartphone space. And that 2014 is going to be a critical year for the company.Taiwan's Government Says No To Bitcoin ATMs
Jan 06, 6:23AM
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will not allow the installation of Bitcoin ATMs in the country because it believes Bitcoins are not a currency and should therefore not be accepted by individuals or banks as payment, said FSC chairman Tseng Ming-chung. Tseng Ming-chung's statement was reported yesterday by the Central News Agency (link via Google Translate), Taiwan's state-run news service.Metawatch Aims For The High End With New Smartwatches By A Former Vertu Designer
Jan 06, 5:39AM
Metawatch, one of the first working smart watches that interfaced directly with Android and iOS cellphones, has announced plans to expand their line with the new Meta. Designed by former Vertu/Nokia designer Frank Nuovo the new pieces have stainless steel hardware enclosing a rectangular watch body and bold black face.Bitcoin's Future Foretold By Developer Momentum
Jan 06, 5:15AM
If you think developers predict the future then there is more reason to believe that Bitcoin is the real deal. The crypto currency is a hit with developers, according to data collected on GitHub by the founders of Bitcoin Pulse, a service recently launched that tracks Bitcoin adoption.Roku Moves Beyond The Box, Partnering With Hisense And TCL To Introduce Roku TVs
Jan 06, 5:00AM
Who would have thought that streaming set-top box manufacturer Roku would actually introduce a TV before Apple? Well, it looks likely that's going to happen, thanks to partnerships with Hisense and TCL that will make Roku's streaming video platform available directly on a new generation of smart TVs launching later this year.Withings Wants To Wake You Up Right And Provide True Sleep Tracking With The Aura
Jan 06, 1:32AM
At CES 2014, Withings was showing off the latest product in its lineup of home health tracking connected gadgets, the Aura. The Aura looks vaguely like a submarine's periscope, but it lives on your nightstand, connects to a sensor pad that goes under your mattress, and provides super sophisticated sleep tracking along with intelligent wake up and sleep sequences to give you your best possible rest.Healthcare.gov Has Trouble Recognizing New Babies
Jan 06, 1:00AM
More embarrassing problems for Healthcare.gov. The Associate Press reports that the beleaguered healthcare website can't yet update a consumers' plan in the event that they give birth to a bureaucracy wrecking bundle of joy. And, it's not just newborns: the ability to update a plan with a divorce, changed income, a death in the family or a move to a different country is a features that will be "available later".Belkin Shows Off WeMo Slow Cooker, Light Bulbs And Maker DIY Kit
Jan 06, 12:58AM
Belkin's connected home efforts are moving forward at a rapid clip, and its WeMo line has a number of new products on display at CES 2014 this year. There's a connected lightbulb set similar to Philips Hue, a connected slow cooker for lazy cuisine, and the WeMo Maker, which allows enterprising users to make any existing DC appliance into a smart device.Parrot Shows Off New MiniDrone And Leaping Sumo Rolling Bot
Jan 06, 12:24AM
French Bluetooth company turned drone-maker Parrot has some new hardware for CES 2014, including two brand new smartphone-controlled bots. One is the rolling, jumping Sumo and the other is the MiniDrone, a super small version of its popular AR Drone that flies, rolls and hugs the ceiling and the walls. The MiniDrone is remarkably small, coming in at about a tenth of the size of the full version, which makes it incredibly portable. You could actually slip one in your pocket without much issue if you really wanted to. To get that size advantage, it ditches the camera, but it adds to removable, large wheels that allow it to roll around the ground – or go acrobatic and run along the wall or the ceiling, too. The Sumo is a two-wheeled ground-only unit that does have a camera, just like the big AR Drone, and has a foot built in that allows it to stop pretty much instantly, and to leap up in the air up to 80cm. It’s a bit more rugged in keeping with its rough-and-tumble lifestyle, too, and reminds me a bit of the Sphero 2B that company just unveiled. There’s no firm ship date for either the MiniDrone or the Sumo, but they’re coming “soon” according to CEO Henri Seydoux, for a price that’s yet to be finalized. I asked Seydoux how these two designs came to be, and whether they were the result of user requests and feedback, and he said that in fact Parrot dreamt them up because “we like to have fun.”Orbotix Announces The $99 Sphero 2B, A New Super-Fast, Programmable Robot
Jan 06, 12:00AM
Sphero, as the name implies, was a robotic sphere. Now Orbotix, the makers of this beloved ball, have decided to elongate the it into a tube (a cylinder, really), drop the price to $99, and make one of the funnest little toys I've ever seen.Facebook Without The Cool Kids
Jan 05, 11:00PM
It's not just an attractive advertising demographic that Facebook is losing as teens take their mercurial attention elsewhere in sullen search of what's cool. Facebook sans the cool kids may well be taking a substantial knock to the accuracy of its data too.CrunchWeek 2013 In Review, Part 2: Twitter's Big IPO, And Tech's Rising Stars
Jan 05, 10:11PM
The first full business week of 2014 is about to get underway. But before we jump into that, CrunchWeek is taking one more look back at the biggest tech stories from 2013.Mysterious Computer Chip Crop Circle Is An Nvidia CES Publicity Stunt [Update: Confirmed]
Jan 05, 10:02PM
An intricate crop circle recently cut into a field two hours south of San Francisco baffled onlookers and spawned crackpot theories that aliens were responsible, but sources tell me it was created by Nvidia to publicize a big CES announcement. The design looks like Nvidia's Tegra 4 chip, and though we can't confirm this, it may be designed to drum up interest in the Tegra 5 chip Nvidia is expected to launch at CES.What Games Are: Why All The Clones?
Jan 05, 10:00PM
Why are there so many game companies that clone or copy one another? A lot of it has to do with risk aversion, genre thinking and a lack of patience or process. It also tends to be a shortcut, but one with serious downsides.DJI's Phantom 2 Vision Makes Aerial Photography Easy
Jan 05, 9:00PM
The advent of affordable quadcopters has made aerial photography accessible for almost anybody. Getting really good results still often takes a bit more than just attaching a GoPro to a quadcopter. A few months ago, I looked at the DJI Phantom and that was already a lot of fun to fly, though the images you could get from an unmodified Phantom can be quite shaky.If at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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