| FedEx gets amped about electrifying its step vans Jun 23rd 2012, 21:02  If, like ours, your ears are finely tuned to the sound of the delivery van's engine, prepare for lots more collection slips. FedEx is working with gas-to-EV converters, Amp, to switch some of its wagons over to the electric side of the fence. At the moment, just two vehicles will be ditching the diesel, but should the Washington, D.C.-based testing go well, it could lead to a further 9000 vans getting the petro-snip. Amp Electric Vehicles identified fleets such as FedEx's as ideal candidates for the conversion, based on the shorter daily range requirements and typically poor gas mileage. Good news and all, and we admire the firm's forward thinking, but how are we going to hear our latest impulse-purchase coming round the corner now? FedEx gets amped about electrifying its step vans originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jun 2012 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Autoblog |  Amped Electric Vehicles | Email this | Comments | | Google drops cost of Maps API to keep developers, gives Foursquare puppy eyes Jun 23rd 2012, 19:27  Google must be feeling the pinch from developers like Foursquare who've jumped ship from Google Maps in opposition to costs, as it just cut the price of heavy Maps API use in a big, big way. Where it used to cost $4 for every 1,000 map hits beyond a 25,000 daily limit, the company is now charging as little as $1 in addition to eliminating the lower usage cap for app writers who tweak the map look. The olive branch won't make Apple change its mind, of course, but Google clearly isn't keen on anyone else using the price tag as an incentive to join the exodus. Mountain View is no doubt eager to keep as many mobile and web app developers on its side as it can -- with Google I/O just around the corner, it wouldn't do to have customers leaving at the very moment Google is trying to rally support for a big Maps update. Google drops cost of Maps API to keep developers, gives Foursquare puppy eyes originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jun 2012 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink TechCrunch | Google Geo Developers Blog | Email this | Comments | |
