WebProNews

Category: CustomerExperienceNews

Articles about improving customer experience

  • Doordash COO: Bringing The Entire Walgreens Store To Your Door

    Doordash COO: Bringing The Entire Walgreens Store To Your Door

    Doordash has announced that they have partnered with Walgreens to ultimately bring the entire Walgreens store to the door of 100 million Americans.

    Doordash COO Christopher Payne discusses their new Walgreens delivery collaboration and explains how this deal is part of their customer-centric focus which has driven the company’s growth from its founding:

    We Are Bringing The Entire Walgreens Store To Your Door

    Our new partnership with Walgreens is going to be fabulous. We have 2,300 items that will be available to the Doordash customer base. We cover about 100 million Americans. This will bring for the first time Walgreens products in over the counter medicine, grocery, and household items and other categories that are totally appropriate for this COVID crisis that we are in.

    While we are starting with 2,300 items we are going to rapidly grow that to 5,000 items, essentially bring the entire Walgreens store to your door on demand. That’s the key thing.

    With COVID We Shifted Into Going Beyond Restaurants

    One of the things we did with COVID is we shifted into going beyond restaurants and focused on empowering local economies by bringing other things that people want to be delivered into their home. Walgreens is a perfect example of that. We are going to ramp up to cover all of their stores over the coming months.

    That will touch 100 million Americans. That’s a huge announcement today and we are thrilled to be in a collaboration with Walgreens.

    Core To Us Is Listening To Our Customers

    One thing that is true of this space is that it has been competitive since day one. What sets Doordash apart is we are not focused on our competitors. We have been focused on our customers. That is one of the core values of Doordash and is one of the key reasons we have a market share lead in food delivery in the United States. We are going to continue to focus on that. Core to us is listening to our customers and being merchant first.

    Our original vision was to empower local economies. The idea is that we want to connect every local business to every local consumer. That’s a very different strategy than just broad ecommerce. That is making these businesses successful that are around you and me. That’s what sets Doordash apart and what will continue to set Doordash apart.

    We Are In The Early Days Of This Category

    We are in the early days of this category. We are not focused on what our competitors are doing. That is the right strategy for us. However, we won’t rule out potential acquisitions. We did a Caviar acquisition last last year that has gone incredibly well. Our focus has been on helping our merchants thrive. A great example of that is what has happened with COVID-19.

    We swung into action back in March and April and designed a program called Main Street Strong. This exemplifies what I mean by merchant first. We built a program that generated $120 million in relief for merchants to keep them on their feet.

    Doordash Restaurants 4-Times More Likely To Survive COVID

    One stat that I love to share is restaurants that were on Doordash during this crisis were four times more likely to make it through the first wave by being on the platform. That $120 million in relief took the form of commission and promotion to drive sales to small businesses. We will continue to focus on our customers, our merchants, and our Dashers and that is what is key right now. We are not going to be bothered by what other companies are doing.

  • Google Sued For Tracking Users, Even When They Opt Out

    Google Sued For Tracking Users, Even When They Opt Out

    Google is facing yet another privacy-related lawsuit, this one alleging the company tracks users even after they opt out.

    The lawsuit, filed in the US district court in San Jose, claims that Google uses Firebase to continue monitoring users and tailoring ads to them. Google’s Firebase is used for notifications, alerts, data storage, ads and tracking software glitches, as well as user interactions, such as clicks. Many developers use the tool in their apps.

    According to Reuters, the lawsuit alleges that “even when consumers follow Google’s own instructions and turn off ‘Web & App Activity’ tracking on their ‘Privacy Controls,’ Google nevertheless continues to intercept consumers’ app usage and app browsing communications and personal information.”

    The lawsuit also claims that Google uses Firebase to tailor its ads, effectively using it as an end-run around tracking. The firm filing the lawsuit is seeking class-action status.

    This is not the only lawsuit Google is facing for ignoring opt-out settings. Earlier this year, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a lawsuit against the company for continuing to track users after they opt out.

    Needless to say, this is not a good look for Google when the company is facing increased scrutiny in both the US and the EU for privacy issues and anti-competitive practices.

  • Google Vows Not to Use Fitbit Data For Advertising

    Google Vows Not to Use Fitbit Data For Advertising

    In an effort to prevent the EU from challenging its Fitbit deal, Google has committed to not using Fitbit data in its advertising.

    Google announced in November that it had entered a definitive agreement to purchase Fitbit to the tune of $2.1 billion. Almost immediately, the deal was scrutinized by lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic. The DOJ announced in December it was opening an investigation into the deal, citing privacy concerns over the sensitive health information Fitbit has access to. Similarly, the EU launched its own investigation into the deal over similar concerns.

    In an effort to stave off any attempt to block the deal, Google has now committed to not using any Fitbit data to target its ads. In an emailed statement to Reuters, Google said the following:

    “This deal is about devices, not data. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the European Commission on an approach that safeguards consumers’ expectations that Fitbit device data won’t be used for advertising,” Google said in an emailed statement.

    Google’s statement emphasizes why it pursued the Fitbit deal to begin with, even outbidding Facebook for the wearable maker. Apple is currently the dominant wearables company, with Samsung making a respectable showing as well. Buying Fitbit gives Google a better chance of competing against the market leaders.

  • ServiceNow CEO: At The Forefront Of The Digital Transformation Rage

    ServiceNow CEO: At The Forefront Of The Digital Transformation Rage

    “Digital transformation is the opportunity of this generation,” says ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. “If you look at the Zoom partnership as one example, all companies want simple, easy, seamless experiences for their people and their customers. This is how you transform companies. This is how you grow and this is how you navigate a digital experience to win. We’re at the forefront of the digital transformation rage in the cloud.”

    Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow, discusses their partnership with Zoom and how that is part of them being at the heart of the current digital transformation rage in the cloud taking place with every major company worldwide:

    We’re At The Forefront Of The Digital Transformation Rage

    Digital transformation is the opportunity of this generation. If you look at the Zoom partnership as one example, all companies want simple, easy, seamless experiences for their people and their customers. This is how you transform companies. This is how you grow and this is how you navigate a digital experience to win. We’re at the forefront of the digital transformation rage in the cloud. We’re super excited.

    If you look at Zoom, they had 300 million users utilizing their system in the heart of this COVID crisis. I expect that will continue to grow. The question was how do you handle 300 to 400 million users, most of them concurrently on a global scale? They turn to ServiceNow to solve that problem. Our customer service management solution is like no other in the marketplace. We can not only use self-help tools for customers, but we can also use virtual agents. Best of all, most of the service that will be required when Zoom does have to remediate an issue will be done predictively on the Now platform. 

    ServiceNow At The Epicenter Of Helping Zoom Innovate

    Furthermore, they also want to have a hardware as a service business model that they’ll bring to offices all over the world. The idea here is simple, touch it once–instant collaboration, instant linkage to the ServiceNow workflow, and then the users get a great experience. That hardware as a service business model will be very large for them because they want to displace existing legacy vendors with their modern solution. ServiceNow is in the epicenter of helping Zoom utilizing our great innovation and ultimately taking both of these solutions to market to help many many customers around the world.

    If you look at the tech sector for cloud, companies that are at the forefront of creating great digital experiences, these companies are going to continue to scale, continue to hit new highs and continue to grow. Nine out of ten CEOs have a digital-first strategy before COVID. Now I suspect that 10 out of 10 would have a digital-first strategy. It’s the only way to navigate these choppy waters. 

    We Get Things Done In Days and Weeks, Not Years

    The companies that will do less well, and I’m just basing this on research and current results, are the ones that have heavy time-consuming elongated project cycles or potentially commodity hardware where customers are just not going to invest in that. Whatever they invest in they want a return and they want that return to come quite quickly. In the case of ServiceNow, our business cases show 5, 6, 7 times return on investment and we get things done in days and weeks, not years. That’s what makes the big difference. Speed, value creation, and truly illuminating great employee and customer experiences are what this market is all about.

    One of the things that we covered in our last earnings call is that 20 percent of our business is in one-way shape or form tied to industries that would be highly impacted by COVID. What was amazing is we didn’t have one down-sell or one cancellation in that total customer group. What you’re seeing is when you have a platform company that truly can innovate, make work actually work better for people, take cost out, and improve business productivity, that’s the last place even challenged industries are going to cut. 

    We’ve been very fortunate because the partnerships that we have built with this hungry and humble culture and our near 100 percent retention rate are paying off even in the most challenging industries like the airlines, hospitality, and retail.

    ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott: At The Forefront Of The Digital Transformation Rage

  • Microsoft Rolls Out Together Mode to Improve Teams Meetings

    Microsoft Rolls Out Together Mode to Improve Teams Meetings

    Microsoft has rolled out Together mode to Teams in an effort to significantly improve video conferencing.

    As social distancing and remote work have become standard, video conferencing and communication tools have become critical components for individuals and businesses alike. Whether its corporate teams keeping in touch, churches conducting services or individuals keeping up with family and friends, Teams, Zoom, FaceTime, Skype and others have become lifelines.

    At the same time, video fatigue has taken its toll, with widespread reports of video conferencing being exhausting and draining on its users. Microsoft has set out to address that with its new Together mode.

    Together mode uses AI segmentation tech to create the illusion that everyone is together in the same place, such as a meeting room, auditorium or coffee shop. This creates a much more familiar and comfortable experience, as opposed to the traditional grid placement.

    “We’re social creatures, and the social and spatial awareness systems in the brain can finally function more naturally” within Together mode, says Microsoft’s Jaron Lanier.

    Microsoft Teams Meeting
    Microsoft Teams Meeting

    The end result is a more engaging experience “by helping you focus on other people’s faces and body language and making it easier to pick up on the non-verbal cues that are so important to human interaction. It’s great for meetings in which multiple people will speak, such as brainstorms or roundtable discussions, because it makes it easier for participants to understand who is talking.”

    With no immediate end in sight to the pandemic, improvements like this will go a long way toward helping people stay productive and connected.

     

  • Slack Acquires Business Directory Company Rimeto

    Slack Acquires Business Directory Company Rimeto

    Slack has announced it has acquired Rimeto, a company that has revolutionized business directory software.

    Rimeto offers a unique approach to business directories, upgrading the concept from a bland list of names and contact info. Instead, Rimeto pulls information from across a company to develop a rich profile of each employee, including what projects they’ve worked on, what customers they’ve interacted with, their skills, experience and more.

    Slack is especially interested in this technology during the pandemic, as employees are struggling to stay connected with their coworkers.

    “If there’s one thing we’ve heard over and over from our customers and employees alike during the pandemic, it’s that people are struggling to stay connected,” writes the Slack Team. “We all want to understand the people we work with and have context around their lives. Employees with weak social ties to their colleagues aren’t as happy or productive as employees at companies with a thriving, healthy culture.”

    Integrating Rimeto with Slack is a natural fit, and will significantly improve Slack’s profile and directory features. At the same time, Slack intends to keep offering Rimeto as a standalone product and continue supporting their existing customers.

    This is good news for all parties. Slack will see a significant boost to their directory features, while Rimeto and their customers will likely benefit from the additional resources Slack brings to the table.

  • Supreme Court Strengthens Anti-Robocalling Laws

    Supreme Court Strengthens Anti-Robocalling Laws

    Consumers tired of robocalls can breath a sigh of relief, as the Supreme Court has shored up a law banning the practice.

    Polling and political organizations had sought to have a law banning robocalls overturned, in their efforts to reach voters. To bolster their case, they cited an exemption that allows the federal government to robocall individuals to collect debts, specifically loans held or guaranteed by the government. As Reuters points out, this would include many mortgages and student loans.

    Needless to say, the argument didn’t go the way the political groups wanted. Not only did the Supreme Court not overturn they law, they instead struck down the amendment exempting the federal government. Even the FCC, while supporting the ban, had wanted the federal exemption to be left in place.

    “Americans passionately disagree about many things. But they are largely united in their disdain for robocalls. The federal government receives a staggering number of complaints about robocalls – 3.7 million complaints in 2019 alone. The states likewise field a constant barrage of complaints,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote.

    Consumers are the real winners in this decision. It’s clear that united disdain for robocalls was a large motivating factor in the Supreme Court strengthening this particular law.

  • iOS 14 Outs Major Apps For Snooping On Users

    iOS 14 Outs Major Apps For Snooping On Users

    iOS 14 has a number of significant privacy improvements, one of which has been a source of embarrassment for several high-profile apps.

    Privacy was one of the highlights of Apple’s WWDC 2020 Keynote, with the company outlining the steps it is taking to improve the level of privacy it offers customers. One such feature is clipboard monitoring. In short, iOS 14 will alert a user when an app accesses the data currently held in the clipboard. Given that users often copy and paste bank account numbers, credit card numbers, passwords and other sensitive data, this is an excellent new feature.

    Unfortunately for a number of apps, however, they don’t seem to have gotten the memo. In short order, TikTok, LinkedIn and Reddit and several others have all been called out for reading the contents of the iOS clipboard. These apps were all caught accessing the clipboard even when they were not the app involved in the copy and paste function. Basically, once they were opened, they started reading the clipboard’s contents. In the case of TikTok, it appears to have been accessing the clipboard every 1 to 3 keystrokes.

    All three companies have pledged to release an update that will resolve the issue. LinkedIn and Reddit blamed the behavior on bugs, while TikTok said it was a measure designed “to identify repetitive, spammy behavior.” While some users may be willing to give LinkedIn and Reddit a pass, TikTok’s intentional use of the feature does not bode well for a company that is already accused of gross privacy violations.

    Either way, kudos to Apple for helping put an end to this practice. iOS 14 can’t arrive soon enough.

  • Microsoft’s Bad Habits Are Back As It Forces Edge On Users

    Microsoft’s Bad Habits Are Back As It Forces Edge On Users

    Whatever goodwill Microsoft has earned in recent years by playing nice is rapidly evaporating, thanks to a particularly aggressive update.

    Multiple users around the internet are reporting that Microsoft is forcing the latest Windows 10 upgrade on them. The upgrade appears to run, install and restart the computer automatically, often while people are actively using the machine.

    To make matters worse, once the computer reboots, Microsoft’s Edge web browser automatically starts. The accompanying dialog boxes try to convince the user to switch to Edge, and don’t provide a clear way of saying no. The update also pins Edge to both the taskbar and desktop, and still verifies if the user wants to continue using their previous default browser the next time they launch a website.

    Sean Hollister at The Verge sums it up best:

    “If I told you that my entire computer screen just got taken over by a new app that I’d never installed or asked for — it just magically appeared on my desktop, my taskbar, and preempted my next website launch — you’d probably tell me to run a virus scanner and stay away from shady websites, no?

    “But the insanely intrusive app I’m talking about isn’t a piece of ransomware. It’s Microsoft’s new Chromium Edge browser, which the company is now force-feeding users via an automatic update to Windows.”

    For a company that once had one of the worst reputations in the industry for these kind of strong-arm tactics, it’s disappointing to see it returning to this kind of behavior.

  • Opensignal Report Sheds Light On 5G Industry

    Opensignal Report Sheds Light On 5G Industry

    As the major US wireless carriers duke it out in the 5G market, Opensignal has issued a report on which carriers are winning and where.

    The three remaining carriers have very different strategies when it comes to 5G rollout. High-band mmWave 5G has the fastest speed but the worst range and building penetration. Low-band offers speeds that are only marginally faster than 4G, but has excellent range and penetration. Mid-band offers a good compromise of speed, range and penetration.

    Verizon has focused almost exclusively on the mmWave variety and, not surprisingly, has the fastest speed with a real-world average of 494.7 Mbps. In contrast, AT&T averaged 60.8 Mbps and T-Mobile averaged 49.2.

    When it comes to coverage, however, it’s a completely different story. Verizon’s customers only connect to its 5G network 0.4% of the time. AT&T’s customers use their 5G network 10.3% of the time. The real winner is T-Mobile, with its customers connecting to the company’s 5G network 22.5% of the time.

    As a result of its findings, Opensignal declares that “T-Mobile won the 5G Availability award by a large margin.” As the company continues to absorb and incorporate Sprint’s spectrum, that coverage will only continue to increase.

    Image Credit: Opensignal

  • T-Mobile Deactivates Sprint’s Legacy 5G Network

    T-Mobile Deactivates Sprint’s Legacy 5G Network

    T-Mobile has turned off Sprint’s 2.5 GHz 5G as it incorporates the spectrum into its own network.

    Since T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint, the magenta carrier has been repurposing Sprint’s spectrum to improve its own network. On the day the merger closed, T-Mobile used Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum to roll out mid-band 5G in Philadelphia. Similarly, T-Mobile has been deploying Sprint’s spectrum to improve its network.

    Sprint’s spectrum is exactly why T-Mobile pursued the merger, as Sprint had a wealth of mid-band spectrum. Mid-band is widely considered the sweet spot for 5G, as it offers significant speed improvements over 4G, while still providing reasonable range and building penetration.

    T-Mobile’s move to shut down Sprint’s 2.5 GHz 5G network will likely accelerate Sprint customers transitioning to T-Mobile plans. According to Fierce Wireless, T-Mobile is offering impacted customers deals to help move them to compatible devices.

  • Google Raises YouTube TV Price

    Google Raises YouTube TV Price

    Google has announced a price hike for its YouTube TV streaming service, following its distribution agreement with ViacomCBS.

    YouTube TV has garnered mostly positive reviews as one of the premier TV streaming services available. One glaring omission was the lack of some ViacomCBS channels. In May, Google announced it had struck a deal to bring 14 additional ViacomCBS channels to the service.

    While many users expected there might be a slight increase in price, thanks to the new channels, it’s probably a safe bet that few were expecting a $15 price increase. Whereas YouTube TV did cost $49.99, effective June 30, the price increases to $64.99.

    “We don’t take these decisions lightly, and realize how hard this is for our members,” says the official blog post. “That said, this new price reflects the rising cost of content and we also believe it reflects the complete value of YouTube TV, from our breadth of content to the features that are changing how we watch live TV. YouTube TV is the only streaming service that includes a DVR with unlimited storage space, plus 6 accounts per household each with its own unique recommendations, and 3 concurrent streams. It’s all included in the base cost of YouTube TV, with no contract and no hidden fees.”

    One of YouTube TV’s best selling points was the features and channels it provided at an exceptionally good price. With this recent price hike, however, Google may have a hard time distinguishing its service from fuboTV and Hulu.

  • Microsoft Permanently Closing Retail Stores

    Microsoft Permanently Closing Retail Stores

    They’ve become a familiar sight in shopping malls, but Microsoft has announced it is permanently closing its retail shops.

    The company’s announcement reflects the changing retail landscape in the wake of COVID-19. Like most industries, the pandemic forced Microsoft’s retail employees to work remotely, where they focused on helping customers do the same. As a result, and thanks to the success of that initiative, the company will continue to focus on remote sales teams, providing assistance to customers all over the world.

    “Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location,” said Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter. “We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations.

    “We deliberately built teams with unique backgrounds and skills that could serve customers from anywhere. The evolution of our workforce ensured we could continue to serve customers of all sizes when they needed us most, working remotely these last months,” continued Porter. “Speaking over 120 languages, their diversity reflects the many communities we serve. Our commitment to growing and developing careers from this talent pool is stronger than ever.”

    This is a significant change in the company’s operations and it’s unlikely Microsoft will be the last company to reimagine its retail operations.

  • Google Rolling Out Verified Calls to Tell You Why Businesses Are Calling

    Google Rolling Out Verified Calls to Tell You Why Businesses Are Calling

    Google is preparing to roll out a feature that will help cut down spam calls by verifying calls before they’re placed.

    In a support document, Google outlines how Verified Calls will work. Participating businesses will send information to Google’s Verified Calls server, including the name of the business, who they’re calling and the purpose of the call.

    Google then sends this information to the Android Phone app. Once the business actually places the call, Android compares the call with the information Google previously sent. If everything matches up, the Phone app displays a “Verified Call” badge.

    While certainly an intriguing feature, and one with a lot of potential, it remains to be seen how many users want Google knowing exactly why a business is calling them. For those who want to keep Google from knowing too much about their business, the feature can be turned off.

  • Comcast Joins Mozilla’s Secure Browsing Initiative

    Comcast Joins Mozilla’s Secure Browsing Initiative

    Comcast has become the first ISP to join Mozilla’s initiative and “provide Firefox users with private and secure encrypted Domain Name System (DNS) services through Mozilla’s Trusted Recursive Resolver (TRR) Program.”

    Mozilla has been one of the companies on the forefront of protecting user privacy. One of the areas they have been focusing on is encrypting DNS traffic, which helps protect browsing activity from collection, interception or manipulation. For this to work, however, it requires partner companies to agree to standard rules about how data is collected, protected and used.

    While companies like Cloudflare and NextDNS have signed on to Mozilla’s TRR Program, Comcast is the first ISP to sign on.

    “We’re proud to be the first ISP to join with Mozilla to support this important evolution of DNS privacy. Engaging with the global technology community gives us better tools to protect our customers, and partnerships like this advance our mission to make our customers’ internet experience more private and secure,” said Jason Livingood, Vice President, Technology Policy and Standards at Comcast Cable.

    “Comcast has moved quickly to adopt DNS encryption technology and we’re excited to have them join the TRR program,” said Eric Rescorla, Firefox CTO. “Bringing ISPs into the TRR program helps us protect user privacy online without disrupting existing user experiences. We hope this sets a precedent for further cooperation between browsers and ISPs.”

    This is good news for Comcast and Firefox users. Hopefully Comcast won’t be the last ISP to sign on with Mozilla’s TRR Program.

  • fuboTV and Disney Strike Deal to Distribute Disney’s Catalog

    fuboTV and Disney Strike Deal to Distribute Disney’s Catalog

    fuboTV, one of the upcoming streaming services, has just struck a deal to include Disney’s catalog of channels.

    As cord cutting gains popularity, streaming services are duking it out, using a combination of channels and features to lure customers. fuboTV offers one of the most well-rounded experiences, with a good channel lineup, generous DVR and modern interface.

    Unfortunately, Disney’s catalog, including ESPN, has been a glaring omission from the streaming service—until now. The two companies have struck a deal that will see ABC, ABC News Live, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, in-market for SEC Network and ACC Network, FX, FXX and National Geographic added to the base fuboTV plan. Additional channels will be available on upgraded plans, such as out-of-market for SEC Network and ACC Network, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, FXM, Fox Life, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Mundo and BabyTV.

    “With the addition to our lineup of the ESPN suite of channels, we continue to make good on our promise to sports fans to be the undisputed home of professional and college sports,” said fuboTV CEO and Co-Founder David Gandler. “fubo is equally delighted to add the storied Disney, ABC, FX and Nat Geo networks to round out a robust programming portfolio for the whole family to enjoy.”

    This is good news for fuboTV customers will make an already great streaming service even better.

  • Verizon Expands 5G Home Service to Houston

    Verizon Expands 5G Home Service to Houston

    Verizon has expanded its 5G Home service to include Houston, as the wireless company continues to emphasize mmWave deployment.

    mmWave is the fast flavor of 5G, offering speeds measured in gigabits. Verizon has bet heavily on the technology, focusing on it for both mobile users and wireless home internet service. The company had previously rolled out the service in Detroit, as well as improved service in Indianapolis and Los Angeles.

    Verizon has also been working to improve coverage. While mmWave is the fastest 5G available, its range is extremely limited when compared to low and mid-band 5G. To improve coverage, Verizon has partnered with Pivotal Commware, Inc., a Verizon Ventures portfolio company, to use repeaters to extend the range of the service.

    “Compared to lower spectrum bands, 5G over mmWave offers far more speed and throughput, is more energy efficient, experiences less signal interference over the air, and has a much greater capacity for expansive scalability,” said Kevin Smith, Vice President of Network Planning for Verizon. “As we’ve known since our very early trials, high band spectrum provides more limited coverage from macro cells. Introducing repeaters like the ones we are trialing from Pivotal will help us expand the footprint of our new 5G Ultra Wide Band network and provide another tool in the toolbox for robust network design.”

    The improved 5G Home should provide an excellent alternative to traditional internet service for residents in the target cities.

  • Comcast Hotspots Free to All Through 2020

    Comcast Hotspots Free to All Through 2020

    Comcast has announced that its Xfinity WiFi hotspots will remain free and open to anyone through the rest of 2020.

    As the pandemic gripped the nation, internet and wireless carriers pledged to do their part to help people stay connected. As part of that effort, Comcast made all of its 1.5 million Xfinity hotspots available to anyone, not just customers.

    As a result, the company saw unprecedented usage of its WiFi network, with hundreds of thousands of non-customers logging on. Based on that popularity, Comcast made the decision to extend the arrangement through the rest of 2020.

    “We saw a huge jump in usage after we opened up our public hotspots, and we’re excited to keep them open through the end of the year as the nation begins taking steps to reopen,” said Dana Strong, President of Xfinity Consumer Services. “We’re pleased to see so many families and individuals take advantage of our 60 days of free home Internet through Internet Essentials, and the free access to public Xfinity WiFi hotspots to get online during this time when connectivity is so important.”

    Kudos to Comcast for stepping to help individuals when they need it most. It’s a safe bet the company will gain quite a bit of consumer goodwill over this latest announcement.

  • Apple Changes Trade-In Policy, Now Accepts Macs In-Store

    Apple Changes Trade-In Policy, Now Accepts Macs In-Store

    Apple has changed its trade-in policy to accept in-person Mac trade-ins at the Apple Store.

    Prior to the change, Apple excluded Macs from in-person trade-ins, forcing owners to use the website option instead. Alternately, users could opt to sell their Mac via Craigslist, Facebook or some other platform.

    The company’s site promises a competitive trade-in value, saying: “Just answer a few questions about your device. Based on what you tell us, we’ll offer you a competitive trade-in estimate for an Apple Store Gift Card or instant credit at an Apple Store. Or you’ll have the option to recycle it for free.”

    This change is a welcome one for users who want a hassle-free option for applying the value of their existing Mac toward a new purchase.

  • UK Set to Adopt Apple/Google API For Contact Tracing

    UK Set to Adopt Apple/Google API For Contact Tracing

    The UK has reversed course, adopting Apple and Google’s API for its contact tracing efforts.

    Contact tracing has been touted as one of the main components to successfully combatting the coronavirus pandemic. Efforts to roll out the technology have split along two lines. Some countries have focused on solutions that store data in a centralized, government database, while others have adopted the privacy-focused API that Apple and Google created.

    Initially, the UK went with the centralized approach, but is now going with the API instead.

    “Following rigorous field testing and a trial on the Isle of Wight, we have identified challenges with both our app and the Google/Apple framework,” says the Department of Health and Social Care.

    “This is a problem that many countries around the world, like Singapore, are facing and in many cases only discovering them after whole population roll-out.

    “As a result of our work, we will now be taking forward a solution that brings together the work on our app and the Google/Apple solution. This is an important step, allowing us to develop an app that will bring together the functionality required to carry out contact tracing, but also making it easy to order tests, and access proactive advice and guidance to aid self-isolation.”

    While the press release does not specifically mention privacy, it likely played a role in the overall decision. As a rule, centralized solutions have not been widely adopted by users, who view them with suspicion due to privacy concerns. Apple and Google’s solution, on the other hand, is built around a decentralized, privacy-first approach that many are more comfortable with.

  • T-Mobile Extends T-Mobile Tuesdays to Sprint Customers

    T-Mobile Extends T-Mobile Tuesdays to Sprint Customers

    T-Mobile took another step toward welcoming Sprint customers to the magenta family by giving them access to T-Mobile Tuesdays deals.

    T-Mobile Tuesdays is the company’s loyalty rewards program that gives customers free stuff and discounts on popular services every Tuesday. According to the Un-carrier, over the past four years it has given away over $900 million in rewards.

    With T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint now complete, the company is officially opening T-Mobile Tuesdays to Sprint customers.

    “Four years ago, T-Mobile Tuesdays flipped the script on the traditional loyalty program. We believe customers shouldn’t have to spend more or collect points to be appreciated — especially right now. At T-Mobile, it’s about getting thanked, simply because you’re with us … and we’re with you,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “And now, we welcome Sprint customers with our biggest thankings ever this summer. Why? Because thank you. That’s why.”

    Sprint customers are already enjoying access to double the number of LTE towers and better coverage nationwide. Today’s announcement is just an added benefit for the latest additions to the T-Mobile family. To take advantage of the rewards program, Sprint customers should download the iOS or Android app.