The push button age is gone — the app age is upon us.
Now we can summon food, cars, and even an intimate rendezvous with a simple swipe of the finger. One bank in Poland is embracing this on-demand lifestyle and taking it to the next level, offering its users the ability to order the delivery of money.
The appropriately named Idea Bank has piloted a program where its members can summon an ATM-laden BMW i3 to conduct transactions. Customers simply download and register the app, then request one of the four i3s with built-in ATMs to any location within the user area.
It might sound like something concocted for those too lazy to hoof it a few blocks, but the real purpose behind the service is to benefit Polish entrepreneurs and business operators. One survey revealed that as many as 80 percent of people make nightly cash deposits, with half of them doing so after dark. Anyone making that after-hours trip to the deposit slot knows its a hassle at best and dangerous at worse.
This saves them the time and effort of making an extra journey, allowing them to focus on their business. If the program proves popular, it will expand throughout Poland and possibly even be mimicked by other institutions across Europe.
We like the idea of Idea Bank employing the modern looking, all-electric BMW i3. It adds a look of legitimacy to the project and doesn’t add to the city’s carbon footprint. Having someone pull up in a Dacia Sandero claiming to be from the bank would raise a few eyebrows.
We’re wary about them becoming the McDonald’s Happy Meal for car jackers, though. It may be some time before something like this manifests here in the states (if at all), but we’ll be wishing it did next time we’re on the prowl for that 2 a.m. post-bar kebab, and we’re only carrying credit.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.