Monday, July 31, 2017

Tesla's Model 3 first drive. It's The Daily Crunch.

THE DAILY CRUNCH
MONDAY, JULY 31 2017 By Darrell Etherington

Tesla's Model 3 is here, and it drives like a dream. Snap employee lockup expires today, and the iPhone 8 looks more likely to match up to the leaks. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for July 31, 2017.

1. I got to drive the Tesla Model 3, and it was everything it promised to be

Tesla's Model 3 got handed over to its first 30 customers last Friday and I was there to check out the event. Tesla surprised us with the chance to drive the car, which came as a very welcome addition to the agenda, of course.

Driving the Model 3 revealed a car that's fun, and that punches way above its weight in terms of acceleration and handling. It's also spacious inside, both front and back, despite the smaller exterior measurements relative to the Model S. Its most unique feature might be its single-display console, however – this is dashboard unlike any other.

2. The Model 3's quality isn't Tesla's issue, though...

The Tesla Model 3's a terrific car, and that may be a bigger issue for Tesla in the near-term, since its biggest challenge is going to be satisfying demand for the vehicle. Pre-order reservations extend well beyond 500,000 at this point, and Elon Musk says that's despite Tesla basically doing what it can to "unsell" the car. Not the worst problem to have, however.

3. Snap lockup period expires today

Snap's stock lockup expires today, which could result in a considerable sell-off from employees. Indeed, in early trading it looks down a bit, which might be very bad news indeed for a stock that's already taken a beating since hitting the public market.

4. Google adds its ad blocker to Chrome pre-release app on Android

Google's native ad blocker for Chrome is now in the wild; the Canary pre-release version of the browser on Android has the feature, which is disabled by default, but which says it will block ads from sites known for "intrusive" advertising methods.

5. Apple's HomePod firmware spills potential iPhone 8 details

The iPhone 8 rumors about a nearly full-face screen and facial recognition seem a little more likely, now that Steve Troughton-Smith has found some details in the HomePod firmware (which somehow arrived well ahead of the actual HomePod). These describe an infrared face unlock method, and an iPhone front face image that shows the screen depicted in many renders.

6. Japan space startup tries first commercial launch

Japan's Interstellar Technologies would like very much to be another commercial launch provider in the style of SpaceX. First, however, it has to get a rocket to orbit, and while it tried on Sunday, the rocket lifted off but didn't make it to its target altitude. They plan to try again, however, and in the rocket industry even failure has the potential to lead to future success.

7. Apple's removing China VPN apps, except those blessed by the government

Apple is playing ball with Chinese regulations that require VPNs to get a government license, and removing any of those that don't comply. Which are the only ones that actually work to get around China's overly restrictive internet regulations, of course. Not a move that's winning Apple may fans around privacy advocates, which is ironic considering that's who Apple is marketing to by promoting the fact that it doesn't sell user data.
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Friday, July 28, 2017

Tesla's Model 3 arrives today. It's The Daily Crunch.

THE DAILY CRUNCH
FRIDAY, JULY 28 2017 By Darrell Etherington

Tesla is delivering the first production Model 3 vehicles to non-Elon Musk customers, Uber's next CEO isn't Meg Whitman and Xiaomi borrows on an international bet. That and more in The Daily Crunch for July 28, 2017.

1. Tesla hands over the first production Model 3s tonight

Tesla is going to hand off the first batch of production Model 3s (besides the very first one, which went to Elon earlier this month) at an event later tonight. This means that after today, the Model 3 is officially on roads.

It's just the starting line for Tesla and the Model 3, however – from here, the automaker has to show that it can ramp responsibly and effectively to a production volume that can begin to satisfy the huge pent-up demand and backlog of pre-orders for the vehicles, which Musk has said extend at least a year or more out.

2. Meg Whitman isn't going to be Uber CEO

HPE CEO Whitman was reportedly shortlisted to lead Uber as its new CEO, but she's not going anywhere, she confirmed via Twitter. Maybe by process of elimination we can figure out who will be the CEO for the ride hailing company after Kalanick's departure, if people keep taking themselves out of the mix.

3. Xiaomi gets a $1 billion international expansion chest

Xiaomi really wants to grow outside of China and it's going to put a new $1 billion loan behind those efforts. Will it pay off? It's been hard for Chinese companies to find success in the U.S. specifically (and vice versa) but Xiaomi has made some progress.

4. SpaceX wants to do its first Falcon Heavy launch in November

It's been pushed back before, but Elon Musk says that the first Falcon Heavy rocket launch is set for November at this point. The massive rocket has a huge lift capacity, and sets the stage for SpaceX's Mars ambitions. Musk himself doesn't expect this one to make it to orbit on its first attempt, however – which means it'll definitely be one to watch.

5. AltspaceVR calls it quits

I think I hear a faint chime, and it's probably the 'time's up!' indicator for virtual reality apps that have had a couple of years to experiment and test the waters. VR is still far from a mature market, and anyone without deep pockets is probably going to hit eject soon.

6. Amazon's The Hub gives apartment buildings a delivery locker

Amazon wants to make ordering stuff online as easy as possible, and these new dedicated lockers for apartment complexes are very much in keeping with that goal. It takes the uncertainty out of getting deliveries, and it's very smart.

7. Google's YouTube TV hits 2 million downloads

Google's streaming TV subscription app has reached 2 million downloads, with installs split pretty evenly between iOS and Android. It's not a rocket ship, but it's making strong progress and has to be of concern to traditional TV providers.
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