By Leslie Spellman :: 10:07 PM
Automaker Honda is bringing the first factory-installed vacuum cleaner to its 2014 Odyssey minivan, which will be on display this week at the New York Auto Show.
The onboard vacuum, called the HondaVAC will be installed in the rear well of the minivan, and is meant to appeal to parents of young children, who frequently battle against crumbs, trash, and other detritus scattered around their vehicles thanks to the kids. The idea for the built-in vacuum came from a Honda engineer who returned from a long road trip with his family and thought that there had to be an easy way to get the van cleaned out.
It’s a small unit with a long hose that reaches around the entire cabin of the minivan. The vacuum comes with two heads, a wide one for the carpet, and a narrow one for small spaces and crevices.
The 2014 Odyssey hits dealer showrooms this summer, and the vacuum will be standard equipment in the top-tier model, the Touring Elite. It may be available as an option in other models, but Honda has not determined which ones yet. No price has been given on the vacuum add-on.
By Paul Thomson :: 3:39 PM
Pop star Justin Bieber has been accused of battery after an altercation with his neighbor earlier today.
TMZ is reporting that the young singer is under investigation by Los Angeles sheriffs after he made physical contact with his neighbor at his Calabasas, Calif. home. The neighbor claims that Bieber threatened him, and has filed a battery report against Bieber with the sheriff’s department.
The neighbor was in contact with Bieber over loud parties and other chaos that had occurred at his residence while Bieber was overseas on a tour. Bieber’s security detail claims that the neighbor was screaming as well, but no formal reports have been released about the incident yet.
By Gilbert Falso :: 11:55 AM
Earlier this year, we reported that Intel was working on a set-top box television streaming service. At the time, it looked like the company had lots of hurdles in the way, namely in how it was going to set up deals with broadcasters to provide content for the service. Now, it looks like Intel has cleared many of those hurdles, and has broadcasters ready to commit.
According to Bloomberg News, Intel is close to agreements with Time Warner, NBC Universal, and Viacom for the service. Details are forthcoming, but seeing as these three companies are the parents for channels such as CNN, USA, MTV, and VH1, Intel has some big names already at the table – good news for them.
The companies have already agreed to broad terms of the deal, but not the specifics. Many details still need to be worked out, according to sources close to both sides. In addition to the three major players above, Intel is also said to be close to financial negotiations with News Corp., and in a slightly earlier stage with both Disney and CBS.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 9:22 AM
German mobile, broadband, and land-line service provider Deutsche Telekom has announced it has entered a deal with cloud-based notekeeping service Evernote to provide the application to all of its subscribers.
This may be one of the first in a series of pioneering moves in the telecommunications industry. Rather than just provide the utility of the network connection, companies seeking additional revenue opportunities may look to providing services as well.
A spokesperson for Deutsche Telekom would not reveal the financial information behind the deal, but did explain that it provides subscribers in Germany with free access for one year to Evernote’s $45 premium version.
Deutsche Telekom has also signed a deal with music-streaming service Spotify. Evernote has previously entered into arrangements with Taiwan Mobile, France Télécom, and Japan’s NTT DoCoMo.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, a Deutsche Telekom spokesperson said, “it’s not a secret that revenues from voice are declining and that telcos have to find new ways to bring new services to those customers. Telcos have to work in the future and it’s not only about voice.”
By Paul Thomson :: 8:47 AM
Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications companies may be set to ban the use of encrypted messaging services like Skype, Viper and WhatsApp. They are doing so at the request of the country’s telecommunications regulation bureau.
The applications have been contacted by telecom regulators and have been asked to provide a way for the government to monitor transmissions from the apps that originate or terminate in the country – the companies have been given one week to respond to the government request.
While Saudi newspapers are reporting this turn of events, no reason for the ban or the monitoring requests have been officially given by a government representative,
The BBC news cites a Saudi blogger, Ahmed Omran, who claims that the country’s telecom firms may be willing to go along with the ban request because of the revenue that the apps cause them to lose from their traditional telecommunications services.