Farhad Manjoo has a nice “what-if” story up on Slate about what Sony can do to beat the Kindle. Sadly, what Manjoo is doing here is akin to helping a little old crazy lady across the street – at best his advice will be ignore and and worst he’ll be cursed out.
He basically writes:
Anyone looking to beat the Kindle, then, should look to the iPod: Study everything that Apple’s rivals did, and do the opposite.
Our 50 companies are locked and loaded. We’ve got magic lined up, a power panel of experts and a big exhibitor hall DemoPit that will be filled with lots of start-up energy and chaos.
TechCrunch50 celebrates entrepreneurship, and we want as many start-ups involved as possible. There is still time to participate in TechCrunch50 with prices that can’t be beat:
$2,995 DemoPit Tables include 2 tickets to TechCrunch50 and one day to demo (that’s cheaper than 2 tickets to the conference) → Read More
Back before we had Web 2.0 and cleantech to obsess about the Valley was abuzz about nanotech—the idea that sub-atomic particles would suddenly be the building blocks of, well, everything. It would make the paint on our houses last longer, the non-stick on our pans stick less, and our pants impervious to wrinkles. Somewhere, someone was probably promising their board they could use nanotechnology to make Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak a reality.
It seemed like a great investment thesis for a few reasons: There was actually real patentable science there and because the possibilities seemed so limitless, it was a huge market. A February 2005 BusinessWeek cover pegged it at nearly $300 billion by the end of the decade. (You know, now.) → Read More
I just came back from the CNET Japan Innovation Conference 2009 [JP] in Tokyo, where Cerevo, currently one of the most ambitious tech start-ups in Japan, showed its self-developed digital camera aimed at heavy social media users for the first time.
The company has just seven employees (two of them are part-timers) but big plans: Cerevo intends to dramatically simplify the process of uploading and sharing pictures online by providing both an extra-easy to use camera (the “CerevoCam”) and a photo sharing site (“CerevoLife”) specifically geared towards owners of that camera. And the company wants to bring its idea in front of a global audience. → Read More
A few months ago we wrote about the growing number of Twitter-focused conferences that are taking place around the world. Many were informative, with thought-provoking and compelling insights made by VCs, pundits and entrepreneurs. At Jeff Pulver’s 140 Characters Conference in New York in June, Twitter investor and VC Fred Wilson expounded on Twitter as a power-distributor of passed links. Of course, this particular conference was not without glitches, as noted eloquently by TechCrunch’s Paul Carr.
It looks like the trend of Twitter conferences is growing, with more events popping up around the country. As we’ve said in the past and will continue to say, there are tremendous opportunities for businesses, brands, non-profits and individuals to use Twitter as a tool for customer support, fund raising, brand management, advertising, job search and much more. → Read More
I just came back from the CNET Japan Innovation Conference 2009 [JP] in Tokyo, where Cerevo, currently one of the most ambitious tech start-ups in Japan, showed its self-developed digital camera aimed at heavy social media users for the first time.
The company has just seven employees (two of them are part-timers) but big plans: Cerevo intends to dramatically simplify the process of uploading and sharing pictures online by providing both an extra-easy to use camera (the “CerevoCam”) and a photo sharing site (“CerevoLife”) specifically geared towards owners of that camera. And the company wants to bring its idea in front of a global audience. → Read More
Chris Sacca, a prolific Silicon Valley angel investor, is closing on a new venture fund he’ll call Lowercase Capital, we’ve confirmed. The fund size will be in the $5 million range, and will make investments ranging from $50,000 – $150,000 per deal.
Sacca was previously the head of strategic initiatives at Google (he left Google in 2007), has invested in at least twenty or so startups in the last three years. Investments include Photobucket, Twitter, bit.ly, Someecards, Posterous and others.
Our understanding is that the fund is partially closed, and some or all of Sacca’s previous investments, including Twitter, will be moved to the new fund. Meaning new investors in the fund will start off with stock in Twitter. → Read More
Unanimis, the UK-based digital advertising network specialising in branded and performance-based display ads, is to be bought by the France Telecom-owned Orange mobile carrier. That’s an interesting deal because Unanimis claims to reach 69% of the online UK population and enjoyed revenues of over $34 million (£21m) in 2008. One of Unanimis’ strengths is the network of exclusive deals it has secured with sites like Shopping.com as well as other partners.
The acquisition means that SPARK Ventures will realise its investment in Unanimis and receive proceeds of up to $7.7 million (£4.7m), subject to a 50% earn-out arrangement. If the full earn-out targets are reached, SPARK will make a 2.4x return in 2012 on their original $3.4 million (£2.1m) investment. → Read More
We may be doing the founders of ErnestMarples.com a disservice, rather than a favor, in drawing attention to their site. Why? Because in the quaint world of Ye Olde Englande, Her Majesty’s Royal Mail still owns all the zipcode/postcode data. Unlike the US, where web apps and Google Maps have thrived on free to access zipcodes, the UK remains far behind. To license it requires hard cash, something innovative, early-stage startups rarely have. But ErnestMarples is basically a postcode database with an API sitting on top. It allows developers to build cool projects without having to pay Royal Mail (or Her Majesty) an arm and a leg for the privilege of the data. Boston Tea Party anyone? → Read More
Confirming what we saw yesterday on Amazon.de, there is indeed a new 250GB model of the Xbox 360 called, disappointingly, the “Super Elite,” unless that’s just what this particular South African retailer decided to go with. Forza 3, two controllers, no HDMI cable. Seriously? at this point, I should be getting HDMI cables in my Multi-Grain Cheerios.
Oh, there is one wrinkle. The advertisement has the price at 4700 Rand, which translates to… about $600. Let’s hope that’s just the local price. → Read More
Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Matt Galligan, CEO of CrashCorp, a company working on a product called SimpleGeo providing “location as a service” as well as an Augmented Reality SDK for app developers. (We covered their founding here.) As such, Galligan clearly has a stake in the AR game, but he was genuinely surprised by the revelation of the AR element to the Yelp app update yesterday. You can follow Matt on Twitter here.
Yelp has had no shortage of hullabaloo surrounding the most recent improvement to its iPhone app. Rightfully so, it added an Augmented Reality view for its restaurant reviews. Using the AR view, users of the Yelp app can pan around using their camera, and see information overlaid, presumably, on top of the restaurant of their query, garnering review information. While this functionality is certainly useful, and nothing short of excellent eye candy, could there be a thorn with this rose? → Read More
You can always use a few more shelves in your life, right? And this one is not only original and cool-looking, but (dare I say it) flexible as well. Because it’s rubber! I’m such a card!
It is nice-looking, though, that’s no joke. And you can rearrange the pegs, so it really is flexible. Sorry, you haven’t stopped laughing yet from that first paragraph? It’s okay, I’ll wait! → Read More
Ta-da! I like to think of myself as a Mega Man II fan, but clearly i’m mistaken. I’m a Mega Man II poseur. The real fans spend 500 days linking 63,608 tiny rings together to make a pixel-perfect wall-hanging of all the major characters and items in the game. That’s not Metal Man’s best look, though. → Read More
A poster showing the rumored Canon 7D, along with some specs, has entered the rumor arena, and it looks totally legit to me. I would guess, from the name and specs (18MP, 8FPS, 100% VF coverage), that this is a direct competitor with Nikon’s D300s, priced well above a 50D but far below a 5D mk II. Say $1899 MSRP, just off the top of my head? → Read More
Microsoft’s ad blitz for Bing is still going strong, and it’s starting to hone in on a new target: your wallet. Bing’s latest TV ad, which aired for the first time last night, is focused on Bing Cashback, the program that allows users to save money when they purchase items found using Bing search. Cashback has been around for a while, most people probably had never even heard of the program until now. This is the first time Microsoft has ever aired an ad for Cashback, and you can be sure that it’s going to strike a chord with plenty of viewers. → Read More
It’s sort of a shame that the Azeroth we all know and love will be going away with World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the game’s next expansion. To that end, one brave soul has taken it upon herself to collect desktop wallpaper-sized images of the old game world. → Read More
I’ve got good news and bad news, Nikon-lovers.
The good news is that the D300s is available now and looks great.
The bad news is the movie mode still features major jelly-motion, and the autofocus is comically slow. We already got a taste of the HD movies with these official productions, but as we noted then, they avoided certain camera movements which embarrass the camera somewhat. Not now! → Read More
The MGM Grand at Foxwoods is trying to make its foray into iPhone app store with the upcoming launch of a branded-iPhone app that aims to be one of the first casino branded-applications in the app store.
The casino says that the app will have a variety of MGM Grand at Foxwoods’-themed games which will asll use play money. I’m assuming these games will be a take on the standard casino activities-blackjack, slots, roulette etc. The game will simulate all the sights and sounds of an actual casino, trying to immerse users in the environment of the casino at Foxwoods. The app will also have a “resort experience” feature, which gives users the in-depth property tours, with the ability for users to visit Foxwoods hotel rooms, restaurants, retail shops, spas and more. You can also book spa appointments and read how-to guides on best strategies for various table games at the casino. → Read More
So this is a weird thing. It’s kind of like an electronic camp counselor and it’s called Swinxs. Kids wear RFID bracelets and then the box tells you to do stuff like run around and play hide and seek. You check in with the box by moving your RFID band near the box.
There are 25 games so far, most of which involve running around and then coming back to the box for further instructions. Parents can also make their own games including, presumably, my Dad’s old favorites, Go to the Store and Get Me Some Beer and This Is What You Get When You Spill Paint in the Garage. → Read More
