Google Launches Android Pay

Android throws the latest dice in the age of mobile payment revolution with Android Pay, a standalone app infinitely better than Google Wallet, which is now primarily used for peer to peer payments. Like Apple Pay and unlike Samsung Pay, Android Pay is a conventional NFC(Near Field Communications)- based payment system, which can be used to purchase digital goods as well as physical. Android Pay has been launched in the US.

Android Pay

At launch, Android Pay already works with many of the major US banks and credit cards, including:

• American Express
• Bank of America 
• Citi
• Discover
• Navy Federal Credit Union
• PNC
• Regions Bank
• USAA
• U.S. Bank
• Wells Fargo.

Google notes that Capital One is coming soon.  Visa, Master Card, American Express and Discovery Card can be added along with some loyalty cards. Unlike Google Wallet, in Android Pay, payment can only be done if your bank is registered with Android Pay. Google said that it will keep adding to it’s number of banks and cards all the time.

So how does it work? Simple. Download the app from the Google Playstore, then add your credit and debit card details.The stores and apps that use Android Pay can easily accept your payment. The list of stores that have accepted it looks somewhat like this

List of stores accepting Android Pay 

Payment is simple: You just have to bring your mobile near a contactless terminal and it’s done in a jiffy. One disadvantage of NFC based payments is that your phone has to be equipped with the chip. In case of Android it’s generally a wide variety of hardware, mostly those operation on Android KitKat 4.4 and higher, while for Apple Pay, it is just the iPhone 6 and higher. HTC was quick to work with Google and a number of HTC models are now ready and compatible for Android Pay.

Google has re-released a new update of Google Wallet which is strictly restricted to payments between family and friends like Venmo. So any loyalty programs, gift cards previously stored on Wallet will now move to Android Pay.

Android Pay usage

Apart from helping to purchase physical goods, it will also have in-app payment facilities, but this part of the platform is to come at a later date, Google did not really specify when. 

Here is a video on how to use Android Pay.

The greatest concern is security and in this respect, both Google and Apple share a similar approach. They use tokenization which is basically a virtual copy of your debit and credit card is created, which is shown to the merchants. So basically, when you make a transaction on Android Pay, it is between you and Google. Recent transactions get listed automatically along with a merchant’s address and phone number. Plus if you lose your phone, you can wipe all your details clean or reset your password with the help of Android Device Manager. Google also warned that the app is not designed to work on rooted devices.

Android Pay will come preloaded on phones. Google has the support of three major US carriers – Verizon, AT&T and T – Mobile. So that is a big benefit for Google over Apple or Samsung. Retail workers at carrier stores have been trained to help customers get familiar with the app upon purchasing a new phone. Google is goig all out to make sure that Android Pay is at par with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay and so far it has been pretty successful.  

Surf Snowdonia - The World's Longest Artificial Surf Lagoon

I never put my head around surfing. I would not be wrong to say that the sport is non-existent in India, so naturally, I was never interested. But when I came across this gladiatorial arena of man-made waves, it caught my attention, because it rests upon an incredible and intelligent piece of technology.

Surf Snowdonia

Surf Snowdonia is situated in a village in Wales, a country one would not necessarily attach with surfing, and surprisingly still, this giant structure is situated in a valley surrounded by a picturesque view of the Welsh mountains. Apart from the 300m lagoon, it also features camping pods, cafe-bar-restaurant, a surf shop. It came up at the site of an aluminium smelter, much of whose iron, steel and copper were recycled to be used in the construction of the Wavegarden wavepool.

Cafe-bar-restaurant at Snowdonia

Surfing, unlike a lot of sports, depends as much on a surfer’s skill as the environmental conditions. Surf Snowdonia ensures a wave per minute regardless of the weather. So how is it done? Well, innnovation. The spanish company Wavegarden uses a snow plough like machine or ‘wave-foil’, moving back and forth along an underwater track across the length of the lagoon. Curiously enough, this technology was developed by a ski lift company. Six million gallons of artificial hillside reservoir water fill up the lagoon. The really clever bit is the contoured bottom that shapes the wavefoil’s single pulse into three breaks on each side of the pier: knee-high for beginners, chest-high for so-so surfers and, for the advanced, a head-high wave which unfurls for 20 seconds down the pool’s centre. The speed and size of the waves can be controlled by a computer and range from 0.7 m, 1.2 m and 2 m. The technology has been developed over the past decade and Wavegarden has it’s facilities in Austin, Texas but Surf Snowdonia is the first of it’s kind to be accessible to the public. There is an unfinished Crash and Splash lagoon, being constructed at Surf Snowdonia. For the more casual visitors, there is surf yoga, paddleboarding, swim sessions.

Surfers at Snowdonia

Surf Snowdonia can solve the problem of hosting surfing as an Olympic sport since most countries do not have waves of quality and consistency required for a contest. In fact, the venue is to become a hub for the world’s top surfers with Red Bull Unleashed. It can also be a big source of income for Wales where adventure tourism like mountaineering and kayaking generates £480 million. The £12 million facility hopes to attract 75,000 visitors in it’s first year.

So you may be thinking, why suddenly I chose to go with this, after a month of posting about smartphones, Internet of Things e.t.c. Well, as a tech-enthusiast I felt Surf Snowdonia serves as a proof to show the scalability of innovative technology. From Wifi providing planes to artificial waves which can be the next Olympic destination, to be a part of this rapid change may feel intimidating but it opens doors for us to explore unchartered territories. Whoever thought of a ski-lifting technology to generate waves of different heights. Must be a genius.