Beijing Issues Its First Ever 'Red Alert' Over Air Pollution

Beijing Issues Its First Ever 'Red Alert' Over Air Pollution:

It’s sad that they’ve allowed pollution to reach this state.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1O9f590

npr: “China, China, China,” rants Donald Trump, the...

npr:

“China, China, China,” rants Donald Trump, the presidential hopeful who loses no opportunity to blame America’s economic woes on China and its “unfair” trade policies. But how did the fortunes of the free world and the Middle Kingdom become so inextricably intertwined? What started it all?

The roots of U.S.-China trade can be boiled down to one fragrant little word: tea. The history of the tea trade is a fascinating story of wealth, adventure and cultural exchange, but also a tragic one of human suffering and cruelty.

Although many Americans gave up tea as an unpatriotic beverage after the Boston Tea Party in 1773 and turned to coffee, the majority still craved it. And it was this overwhelming demand for tea that motivated the newly independent United States, finally free from the monopolistic clutches of Britain’s East India Company, to sail to China in search of it.

How A Taste For Chinese Tea Minted America’s First Millionaires

Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Caption: A view of Canton (Guangzhou), on the Pearl River in China, circa 1840.

This is a really interesting read, if you’re a history buff.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1WRw20W

OnePlus has another new product that you can't buy yet

OnePlus is the OEM behind the One, which is a relatively cheap off contract phone running Cyanogenmod 11s on flagship level specs that has been a huge hit in the Android geek community recently. The phone started sales on an invite system, meaning that not everyone who wanted the phone were able to purchase it. There have been other issues associated with the phone, but that's another post for another day.

The first bit of good news is that the OnePlus One will be available for purchase by anyone, with or without an invite, "while supplies last" according to OnePlus' official website. This is about 5 months too late, but at least they've finally gotten around to letting people buy their phone. Do note, though, that this is clearly stated as "while supplies last" so I recommend buying a device as soon as you can if you're interested. I have a feeling that the supply isn't huge.

The thing about OnePlus and the OnePlus One is that the phone is being sold for so cheap ($300 for the base model off contract, which is less than half of the average flagship phone off contract) that OnePlus is essentially making no money on the sales of their devices (although, I mean, I'm sure they're making some money...). This is problematic for a business, since the whole point of a business is to make money, and it needs money to survive.

Part of OnePlus' strategy to make money, then, is to sell themes and other software to OnePlus One owners. But that can only take in so much money at $1-2 per download on an extremely limited user base.

OnePlus had initially planned to sell back cover replacements for the phone, but it now appears that that plan has been scrapped, and that the company is focusing on back covers for the next generation of their phone.

So how else is OnePlus going to make money, you ask? Well, we're seeing the strategy unfold now, and it looks like accessory sales are the name of the game.

As reported by AndroidAndMe.com, OnePlus announced today a portable external battery pack made to match the two existing OnePlus One models, those being the "silk white" and "sandstone black" models. They appropriately call the product the OnePlus Power Bank. The battery pack carries a charge of 10,000 mAh, which is more than enough to give any modern smartphone at least two charges.

Now, battery packs aren't new by any means, and while I am a sucker for matching items, I wouldn't buy a new battery pack just to match my phone. But the real beauty of this battery pack is that it's dirt cheap compared to the competition. OnePlus has announced the price as $14.99. That's an incredible deal if you've ever looked into purchasing external rechargeable battery packs on Amazon.

But, of course, the usual OnePlus comes back, and this product isn't yet available for purchase. AndroidAndMe.com reports that OnePlus will have the power banks available "soon." However, as we've seen with the One, "soon" might mean a couple months.

Are you excited for this ultra cheap battery pack? Are you buying the OnePlus One as you read this? Do you hate OnePlus as a company? Personally, I'm really looking forward to this battery pack actually hitting the market, but I'm not buying a One, because it isn't supported by my carrier.
 Let me know what you think in the comments.