uber

Uber's 'surge pricing' surprises some users

Some Uber users are complaining of being taken for a ride New Year's Eve.

Many customers who summoned rides from the limousine-booking service with apps on their phones say they were surprised by the suddenly higher fees they were paying for short rides. Entrepreneur Brendan Mulligan, who says he has been using the service for nearly two years, was shocked to learn that he was charged five time what he normally would have paid for the ride home.

"We could have walked, as it's only about a mile, but it was late and we were tired," … Read more

Car service Uber raises $32 million, launches in Paris

PARIS--Uber, a service that lets people use their smartphones to order and pay for car transportation, has raised $32 million in funding and launched its service in Europe.

At the LeWeb conference here, Chief Executive Travis Kalanick announced that Paris is the first city in Europe where the service works. The company plans to extend to two new cities a month now, reaching "around 25 cities in the next 13 to 14 months."

Expansion costs money, and the company just got a lot more: $32 million in a new round of funding led by Menlo Ventures. Also … Read more

UberMedia's new social platform chimes in

Serial entrepreneur and investor Bill Gross is "completely smitten" with social media.

"The way it's connecting the planet, it's a new connective tissue for knowledge sharing," he told CNET during an interview last week. "It's really, really unbelievable."

As Gross sees it, the only hurdles today's social networks face are relevance and monetization. Not surprisingly, his latest social offering, dubbed Chime.in, is an effort to address both issues. Chime.in will formally launch today at 11:05 a.m. PST--timed to coincide with a live demo by Bill Gross … Read more

Neighborhoods with more crime have more Uber rides

As you're probably painfully aware, your ability to get a cab typically is inversely proportionate to how badly you need one. Rush hour, rain, important business meetings, and flights are all key indicators that you will be left cold and shivering on a dark and damp street corner while every passing cab gives you the virtual finger.

But the good engineers and data geeks at private car network Uber have turned to math to scientifically figure out the best way to predict car hire demand so they can make sure you'll be able to find a Town Car … Read more

FTC investigating Twitter?

The Federal Trade Commission is reviewing Twitter and its interaction with at least one app developer, according to published reports.

The agency, which is responsible for reviewing companies suspected of engaging in anticompetitive behavior, has requested information about UberMedia, a potential Twitter competitor that owns a portfolio of Twitter clients and related applications, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter. The FTC's interest in Twitter's activities was originally reported by the Business Insider.

Twitter and FTC representatives could not be reached for comment, and UberMedia did not immediately respond to a request … Read more

How Uber's car-booking service can succeed in NY

NEW YORK--I had my Uber moment a few Sundays ago, standing on a corner in the hipster enclave of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with my arms full of houseplants.

It had been raining off and on all afternoon. The subway line that could most reliably take me back to my apartment, following a lavish shopping spree at the borough's most notable gardening emporium, wasn't running because of weekend construction work. My alternative was to take a route that would involve two different subways followed by a 15-minute walk. With the houseplants. Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg's main drag, is a well-populated … Read more

Uber launches its private car network in New York

One of the best things about New York is that you can almost always hail a taxi, but good luck finding one willing to take you to Brooklyn. Uber's recent expansion into the Big Apple will give commuters a viable option to go where taxis fear to tread.

After months of hints and thorough planning, San Francisco-based Uber launched its private car network service in New York.

The service creates an on-demand network of independent private cars that Uber members can order using a mobile app or SMS. The app shows you the location of available private cars on duty, and people  can request a ride to and from anywhere in New York.

The transaction is cashless because the company keeps your credit card on file, and tip is already included in the fare, which is a $7 base plus $3.90 per mile distance fee, or 95 cents per minute time fee if the car is operating at less than 11 mph. There are maximum rates set for getting to and from major airports. All drivers are vetted and insured, which should take the sketch factor out of hailing a livery car when you can't find a taxi. … Read more

Is there a bidding war over TweetDeck?

A report Monday in The Wall Street Journal claimed that Twitter is in "advanced talks" to acquire TweetDeck, a Twitter desktop client preferred by many of the social-media service's most active users, for about $50 million. "TweetDeck has emerged as a favorite of heavy users of Twitter, letting people track tweets about multiple topics at the same time," the story explained. "The program, which many people download and use on their desktop computers, also lets people write tweets longer than 140 characters, among other features."

But wait: Two months ago, TweetDeck was reported to have sold to UberMedia, … Read more

The 404 798: Where we refuse to respect embargoes (podcast)

We have Mark Milian as a guest on today's episode. He's a tech reporter for CNN.com, which means he'll spend half of the show fielding questions from Wilson about Anderson Cooper. We also chat about the future of micro-blogging, and, of course, we have to grill him about his "Hottie of the Week" achievement last year.

The 404 Digest for Episode 798

Mark Milian wins 081978's 'Hottie of the Week.' UberMedia said to be planning a social network to compete with Twitter. Final Cut Pro X unveiled. Add Mark on Twitter.

Episode 798 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more