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The Tin Can phone is designed to be a simple and screen-free way for children to connect with friends and family. But since Christmas morning, when many families unwrapped and installed the retro, landline-style phones, network issues have left many users unable to make or receive calls. Ultimately, Christmas Day overwhelmed us, says Tin Can cofounder and CEO Chet Kittleson. We spent months preparing for it, and we just didnt get it all right. Tin Can customers on social media including Reddit and Instagram have reported a variety of issues both making and receiving calls with the devices. Some new users also experienced trouble setting up their accounts and activating their phones, which is normally done using a parents smartphone. The setup issues have now been resolved, Kittleson says, but he confirms network instability following an unprecedented influx of new customers continues to make the phone service itself unreliable for many. No matter how much you stress test and load test and all the rest, you just don’t know exactly how a service is going to perform under a new amount of pressure, Kittleson says. The growth we experienced literally within an hour was like nothing Ive been through before. Tin Can offers a free plan that enables calls to other Tin Can devices, as well as a paid party line plan that allows calls to and from ordinary phone numbers preapproved by a parent. All types of incoming and outgoing calls, including emergency calls to 911, are potentially affected by the network issues, Kittleson says. And while he declined to provide Fast Company with an estimate of when service will be fully restoredI dont want to overpromise and underdeliverthe company has pledged not to charge paying customers until the network is reliable once more. Kittleson says his team is working around the clock to fix the issue, well-aware that the outage means children being unable to connect with friends and loved ones. Even his own family has had trouble with a Tin Can phone. The Tin Can devices, which connect via the internet rather than the traditional phone network, have been promoted as a way for children to be able to connect with friends and family as they did in the landline era. Kids can use the devices to stay connected without having to be equipped with their own smartphones or risk exposure to the spam and scam calls ubiquitous on other phones today. (Tin Can may soon face competition, with kids device maker Pinwheel on January 5 announcing plans to launch a similar device in April). The company has been updating customers on the issues via Instagram, email, and a status page, and social media feedback so far appears to be a mix of frustration and patient acceptance from fans of the deviceor at least the concept. Many new customers who received Tin Can phones for the holidays likely have yet to build routines around the devices due to the outage, and the company has postponed shipping a next batch of phones until April, Kittleson says. He declined to specify how many new customers activated the devices over the holidays, though he says there were a lot. Tens of thousands of Tin Can devices used the network without a problem for 14 months prior to Christmas, according to the company. And while some customers are evidently frustrated, Kittleson is optimistic that fans will stick with the Tin Can product and service once the outage is resolved. I think we have an audience that generally believes in the mission, believes in what we’re doing, and understands we just went through a pretty massive shift, Kittleson says. And they know that we’re working really, really hard to both let them know what’s going on and to resolve the issues.
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E-Commerce
In a vision of the near future shared at CES, a girl slides into the back seat of her parents’ car and the cabin instantly comes alive. The vehicle recognizes her, knows its her birthday and cues up her favorite song without a word spoken. Think of the car as having a soul and being an extension of your family, Sri Subramanian, Nvidia’s global head of generative AI for automotive, said Tuesday. Subramanian’s example, shared with a CES audience on the show’s opening day in Las Vegas, illustrates the growing sophistication of AI-powered in-cabin systems and the expanding scope of personal data that smart vehicles may collect, retain, and use to shape the driving experience. Across the show floor, the car emerged less as a machine and more as a companion as automakers and tech companies showcased vehicles that can adapt to drivers and passengers in real time from tracking heart rates and emotions to alerting if a baby or young child is accidentally left in the car. Bosch debuted its new AI vehicle extension that aims to turn the cabin into a proactive companion. Nvidia, the poster child of the AI boom, announced Alpamayo, its new vehicle AI initiative designed to help autonomous cars think through complex driving decisions. CEO Jensen Huang called it a ChatGPT moment for physical AI. But experts say the push toward a more personalized driving experience is intensifying questions about how much driver data is being collected. The magic of AI should not just mean all privacy and security protections are off, said Justin Brookman, director of marketplace policy at Consumer Reports. Unlike smartphones or online platforms, cars have only recently become major repositories of personal data, Brookman said. As a result, the industry is still trying to establish the rules of the road for what automakers and tech companies are allowed to do with driver data. That uncertainty is compounded by the uniquely personal nature of cars, Brookman said. Many people see their vehicles as an extension of themselves or even their homes which he said can make the presence of cameras, microphones, and other monitoring tools feel especially invasive. Sometimes privacy issues are difficult for folks to internalize, he said. People generally feel they wish they had more privacy but also dont necessarily know what they can do to address it. At the same time, Brookman said, many of these technologies offer real safety benefits for drivers and can be good for the consumer. On the CES show floor, some of those conveniences were on display at automotive supplier Gentexs booth, where attendees sat in a mock six-seater van in front of large screens demonstrating how closely the companys AI-equipped sensors and cameras could monitor a driver and passengers. Are they sleepy? Are they drowsy? Are they not seated properly? Are they eating, talking on phones? Are they angry? You name it, we can figure out how to detect that in the cabin, said Brian Brackenbury, director of product line management at Gentex. Brackenbury said it’s ultimately up to the car manufacturers to decide how the vehicle reacts to the data that’s collected, which he said is stored in the car and deleted after the video frames, for example, have been processed. “ One of the mantras we have at Gentex is we’re not going to do it just because we can, just because the technology allows it, Brackebury said, adding that data privacy is really important. Rio Yamat, AP airlines and travel writer
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E-Commerce
China escalated its trade tensions with Japan on Wednesday by launching an investigation into imported dichlorosilane, a chemical gas used in making semiconductors, a day after it imposed curbs on the export of so-called dual-use goods that could be used by Japan’s military.The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement that it had launched the investigation following an application from the domestic industry showing the price of dichlorosilane imported from Japan had decreased 31% between 2022 and 2024.“The dumping of imported products from Japan has damaged the production and operation of our domestic industry,” the ministry said.The measure comes a day after Beijing banned exports to Japan of dual-use goods that can have military applications.Beijing has been showing mounting displeasure with Tokyo after new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested late last year that her nation’s military could intervene if China were to take action against Taiwan an island democracy that Beijing considers its own territory.Tensions were stoked again on Tuesday when Japanese lawmaker Hei Seki, who last year was sanctioned by China for “spreading fallacies” about Taiwan and other disputed territories, visited Taiwan and called it an independent country. Also known as Yo Kitano, he has been banned from entering China. He told reporters that his arrival in Taiwan demonstrated the two are “different countries.”“I came to Taiwan to prove this point, and to tell the world that Taiwan is an independent country,” Hei Seki said, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.“The nasty words of a petty villain like him are not worth commenting on,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning retorted when asked about his comment. Fears of a rare earths curb Masaaki Kanai, head of Asia Oceanian Affairs at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, urged China to scrap the trade curbs, saying a measure exclusively targeting Japan that deviates from international practice is unacceptable. Japan, however, has yet to announce any retaliatory measures.As the two countries feuded, speculation rose that China might target rare earths exports to Japan, in a move similar to the rounds of critical minerals export restrictions it has imposed as part of its trade war with the United States.China controls most of the global production of heavy rare earths, used for making powerful, heat-resistant magnets used in industries such as defense and electric vehicles.While the Commerce Ministry did not mention any new rare earths curbs, the official newspaper China Daily, seen as a government mouthpiece, quoted anonymous sources saying Beijing was considering tightening exports of certain rare earths to Japan. That report could not be independently confirmed. Improved South Korean ties contrast with Japan row As Beijing spars with Tokyo, it has made a point of courting a different East Asian power South Korea.On Wednesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung wrapped up a four-day trip to China his first since taking office in June. Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of cooperation agreements in areas such as technology, trade, transportation and environmental protection.As if to illustrate a contrast with the China-Japan trade frictions, Lee joined two business events at which major South Korean and Chinese companies pledged to collaborate.The two sides signed 24 export contracts worth a combined $44 million, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.During Lee’s visit, Chinese media also reported that South Korea overtook Japan as the leading destination for outbound flights from China’s mainland over the New Year’s holiday.China has been discouraging travel to Japan, saying Japanese leaders’ comments on Taiwan have created “significant risks to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens in Japan.” Simina Mistreanu, Associated Press
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