Overview
From food to puppies to cricket umps, we'll never cease to be amazed by what Uber decides to deliver next (until they start delivering babies, that is). But their latest service offering is set to take things to literal new heights. At TechCrunch Shanghai over the weekend, Uber China announced it will soon give users the option to request not only cars, but hot air balloons and boats as well.
The new services — aptly names UberBalloon and UberBoat — will come under the new Uber + Travel umbrella, which will roll out across China later this year. The ride-sharing company also announced UberLife, a sort of in-app magazine that will feature local events and attempt to make users spend more time in the Uber app while in the car/boat/hot air balloon.
At the moment UberBalloon will only be available in China. According to TechCrunch, this is an attempt to move more services into the Uber app to help it properly compete with popular all-in-one app WeChat, which allows you to message, call, shop, make payments and play games.
Desperate times call for desperate measures — and when you're Uber (and you're trying to take the Chinese ride-sharing market), those measures apparently include hot air balloons.
Via TechCrunch. Image: ellehem.