How insane is this? I guess I can understand the desktop replacement laptop, but at some point you have to say it’s kind of ridiculous. Are they going to start installing wheels and seats on laptops and have them be “automobile replacement” devices? Maybe a kitchen PC with a built-in milk frother!
The gScreen Spacebook has two displays that slide out to form one large one; the displays are 15.4 inches each, so let’s apply the old Pythagorean theorem to find that root (15.4²+15.4²) = a 21.8-inch display. Is that right? (no, it’s not.) → Read More
Microsoft was proud to announce their LifeCam HD last week, the first webcam to support 720p. But its reign (while pleasant) didn’t last for long: Hercules has released the Dualpix HD720p, which they are claiming is the first webcam to support 720p. Guys, in order to be first, you have to come out with the product before anyone else. Still, it’s only a week later and it looks perfectly decent, although I’m skeptical that they can really achieve decent image quality with such a tiny setup. → Read More
MOG, the very popular music portal and blog network, has closed a new $5 million funding round led by Menlo Ventures, with existing investors Simon Equity Partners and Scott Jones also participating. Menlo Ventures’ Sonja Hoel Perkins will join the company’s board as part of the deal. The company has raised a total of $12.5 million since it was founded in 2005.
MOG has been having a stellar year. In April the site launched a completely overhauled homepage, which now includes music news, reviews, a selection of top posts from its blogs, and a variety of other content. The MOG network now sees over 8 million unique visitors a month, with over 700 blogs that generate over 6,000 posts a week. → Read More
“Beaterator‘s gonna change the game, the same way I came in and changed the game.” Modest words from hip-hop producer Timbaland, but when you’ve produced as many hits as he has, well, I think you’ve earned the right to be a little arrogant. The game, if you can even call it that—it’s more like a mini version of Ableton Live —comes out for the PSP and PSN next month, on September 29. → Read More
There is no denying that Bing’s Double Cashback promotion served up some great deals. But apparently they were so good that Microsoft had to end the deal a full four days early — and even earlier for some. Here’s the statement they gave earlier today announcing the official end of the promotion:
“Due to an overwhelming, positive response from our Bing cashback shoppers, we’ve now closed our limited time back-to-school promotion where Microsoft increased the percentage of cashback rewards on behalf of retailers.”
Classy, Apple. Tell people running 10.4 that they need to buy the $169 box set when the $29 upgrade will work just fine. That’s the Apple philosophy in action, isn’t it? As long as you’ve got an Intel-based Mac, $29 is all you need to get Snow Leopard on your computer. And don’t let Apple tell you otherwise. → Read More
In the budding world of mobile advertising, whoever can control the app developers and gain access to the ad inventory on their apps will eventually win the game. Keep that in mind as you try to understand the very strange acquisition of AdWhirl by AdMob.
You see, AdMob is perhaps the largest independent mobile ad network and AdWhirl is a fast growing mobile ad exchange which allows mobile app developers to switch from AdMob to other competing mobile ad networks such as Quattro, VideoEgg, or Mobclix. Although it launched only last April, AdWhirl was quickly becoming the preferred advertising interface for many developers because they could still serve AdMob ads through it, but not be tied to AdMob if a better deal came along.
AdMob didn’t really like this so it threatened to stop supporting AdWhirl’s “mediation layer” and basically pull out of it altogether. That plan didn’t go over too well with the app developers AdMob needs to keep happy, so it quickly reversed itself and decided to delay its decision to withdraw from AdWhirl. Since it couldn’t take its toys and go home, it did the next best thing. It bought AdWhirl. Problem solved.
Except that now, who is going to trust AdMob to maintain AdWhirl as a neutral exchange rather than use it to funnel more of its own ads to developers? Or worse, to track all of the ad impression data of its competitors to improve its own ad products? → Read More
Altec Lansing announced two new devices today, a 200w set of computer speakers and a rather uniquely styled iPod dock with speakers. Sounds like a good idea to me. → Read More
As you have undoubtedly heard by now, Apple has finally made the 3.0 version of Facebook’s iPhone app available in the App Store. We got a build shortly after developer Joe Hewitt submitted it a couple weeks ago, and reviewed it, something which led to a lot of emails asking what was taking Apple so long to approve it. But there’s good news for those of you who were patient: Your version is better than ours.
Hewitt hinted at some changes in a tweet today, and after talking to him, we got the details. “Apple asked me to fix a really minor issue last night, so I sent them a binary with features I’d done in the last two weeks,” Hewitt tells us. So what’s new? The two big features are landscape mode and home screen organizing, we’re told. Sure enough, neither of those are available in the (test) version I currently have. → Read More
We’re not inclined to refute reports from a professional journalist on Twitter, so when Daily Telegraph reporter Jon Swaine says Google’s UK headquarters in London are currently on fire, we believe it’s true.
Especially since the man has managed to provide some evidence by uploading a picture to photo-sharing service TwitPic.
Here’s a clear picture of fire on the roof of some building, supposedly housing Google UK’s offices on Buckingham Palace Road. Let’s hope no one gets hurt.
(Via @Scobleizer) → Read More
Mozilla released Firefox 3.0 in June of 2008, but there’s still a few of you out there who haven’t upgraded, despite, if nothing else, the security improvements. So what gives? Mozilla asked the abstainers, essentially, “Why haven’t you upgraded?” The answer, of course, has to do with Internet pornography. Doesn’t it always? → Read More
What would it be like to have a real testing lab instead of working in the makeshift “lab” that is John’s attic? A blogger can dream. Or we can take a look at an outfit like Cnet.
The boys over at CBS tested the new PS3 Slim against the PS3 Fat using an array of power consumption tests. The verdict? → Read More
Okay, so I know events are not news, but this is one worth talking about. On 19-20 September, PayPal is hosting a Charity Hack Weekend, where the goal is for developers to build new ways to take donations across social media, mobile and web platforms. The idea is to help charities that don’t have the resources or know-how to make better use of technology to promote their cause, with the intention that any apps born over the weekend can be used by any charity under an “open source style” licence. → Read More
Nearly two weeks after submitting the app to Apple, Facebook’s totally revamped 3.0 application is finally live on the App Store, according to the app’s developer Joe Hewitt. You can download it now here. The store currently shows that the app is version 2.5, but if you click the Download button anyway you’ll get the new version.
The new application brings a slew of new features, making it what may be the most useful app on the App Store (be sure to read this post) for our full review. Among the additions are Events, which have frustratingly been omitted from previous versions. Now you’ll be able to look up where your Events are, and you can also respond to them and see which of your friends are attending (for anyone who has ever had to boot up the web version of the site just to look up an Event address, this is a big deal. You can also post video directly to the site if you have an iPhone 3GS — a feature that will likely see the number of videos on Facebook increase dramatically. → Read More
Vodafone has just announced that it’s rolling out a higher-capacity 14.4Mbps mobile broadband network in areas of the Uk which have the highest usage. Infrastructure has already been upgraded in busy areas of London, Birmingham and Liverpool. Well, fine, I guess. But that doesn’t solve the real problem with mobile networking in the UK: coverage. Even the home counties, a stone’s throw from London and home to millions of commuters, still suffer from appallingly patchy reception. All four of the major networks are to blame here. Take a look at Vodafone’s own coverage map for west Kent. See those blue areas? That’s where you’ll get “standard voice and text services” (so no data coverage at all). In the light blue areas, you’ll be lucky to get a signal at all. I’m not speculating; I live there. Even where the map indicates 3G coverage, it isn’t reliable and often isn’t noticeably quicker than 2G. Vodafone claims it has made “significant improvements” to this coverage viewer, including a bells-and-whistles feature that offers an “indoor” and “outdoor” signal estimator. But if these improvements mean the map is now more accurate, that’s a pretty damning indictment of Vodafone’s network, isn’t it? → Read More
Oh, God. Well, it looks like Global Gaming Foundation X, the company that wanted to buy The Pirate Bay, has approved the acquisition. All the financing is in place (the deal will be financed by GGF itself, which means that nobody else wanted anything to do with the deal), and GGF is ready to roll, officially. Total price: 60 million Swedish kroner, or about $8.3 million. In the immortal words of Greg “Opie” Hughes, “Good luck, bro.” → Read More
We’ve heard from numerous sources that mobile ad network AdMob may be in the process of acquiring AdWhirl, the startup that lets iPhone developers tap into multiple ad networks. One source has even said that AdWhirl is already working out of AdMob’s offices, though we haven’t confirmed this. Update: this is confirmed
Asked on the phone whether AdWhirl has been acquired by AdMob, AdWhirl CEO Sam Yam responded, “How did you know that,” before clamming up with a “no comment.”
It’s an interesting partnership, and one that raises a few questions. AdWhirl allows developers to switch between different ad networks on the fly without having to submit a new application coded with another ad network to Apple. The service has support for five different ad networks, including AdMob, Quattro Wireless, Videoegg, Jumptap, Mobclix and Millenial Media. Mobclix has a competing iPhone exchange that AdMob is not a part of. But if AdMob and AdWhirl have a relationship, this might make the waters a bit murky for the other networks. It would be suspect to have an open platform that is owned by one of the ad networks. → Read More
Slate’s Farhad Manjoo has thrown down the gauntlet by comparing IT workers to the hated TSA goons at airports. I, for one, won’t stand to have my hard work besmirched in such a way! Sure, there are some power-hungry jerks working in IT, taking great delight in causing consternation and frustration to hapless users. But not all IT folks are like that. → Read More
After we heard from a trusted source that Virgin Mobile was getting the Rumor2 a few weeks ago, there was pretty much zero doubt in our mind. After mentionings of the Rumor2 popped up on Virgin’s own site this morning, it was pretty much concrete. We don’t think there’s a single soul out there who would stand up and say Virgin’s not getting the Rumor2 at this point – but just in case, Virgin Mobile just sent us this video confirming it. Watch it anyway – even if you don’t give a damn about VM picking up this 5 month old phone, you should check out the awesome way this guy says “QWERTY’. → Read More
Take a look over at that phone to the right. Can you name it? Yes, yes – it’s obviously a Samsung. But can you name the model? We haven’t covered this phone much here at MobileCrunch; no mobile blog outside of the Samsung-specific blogs have, really. But that hasn’t kept it from being a raging success.
Samsung announced this morning that this phone – which, by the way, is the …. → Read More
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