So, we’re not huge fans of the EVO 4G, but as some of you commenters have made abundantly clear, you seem to love it (or think you will). Well, here’s your chance to find out first hand. We’re going to give one away to a TechCrunch reader.
The phone is sold out across the U.S. But Google has given us one to give away. And this is better than one you’ll get in the store because a) it’s free and b) you can sign-up for Sprint service for the thing without having to sign a long term contract. Yes, that’s the real deal. So really, you’re getting all the benefits of this phone you would get for the full $449.99 retail price. → Read More
Well look at that: Texas Instruments has itself a tablet PC. It’s called the Blaze, it’ll be available this August, and it looks to be fairly well-equipped. A 10.4-inch screen (1024×768 resolution), built-in cellular modem, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and, for whatever reason, FM radio. Tablet PCs: the savior of the radio industry~! → Read More
http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/1/222459Live Streaming by Ustream.TV Some dudes in Lafayette, Indiana are going to play 800 levels of Mario, from SMB to Super Mario Sunshine. Last year they spent 96 hours playing and this year should be even more impressive. You can watch them go to it right here and you can Donate to Child’s Play right here as they fight through the magical land of Mario World. → Read More
By now, many of you have your new iPhone 4s. And even more of you have an iPhone equipped with the latest iOS 4 software. So you want to find the apps tailored to run on it, right? Well, now Apple has a section of the App Store for that.
Apple has singled out 36 apps that it dubs “Awesome iOS 4 Apps” to get you started with the new OS. Not surprisingly, they highlight many of the ones we highlighted last weekend right before the OS came out. Included here are are apps such as Pandora, Dropbox, Twitter, Loopt, How To Cook Everything, and GodFinger. → Read More
The biggest problem with testing Facetime is the dearth of real, hard-core nerds out there with iPhone 4s. I’ve been able to talk to Greg and my buddy Tom, but that’s about it.
Now, however, you can call 1-888-FACETIME (188832238463) and talk to an Apple rep live over Facetime. They’re available from 8am to 8pm CDT. I tried it. It actually works. → Read More
There’s a bunch of possibilities to get attention when you’ve just founded a startup and try to get the word out about your first products. Coming up with a unique name is one way, and California-based audio tech maker Schiit has surely pulled that part off. Yes, it’s the company’s real name (tag line: “You are not going to believe this Schiit”), but Schiit’s producing what looks like low-cost, but high-quality (and quite stylish) audio devices. → Read More
Now the talking heads on cable news will have something else to complain about. ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has given initial approval for a .xxx top-level domain. Should the initial approval become final approval, you’ll be able to register URLs like nakedchicksdoingstuff.xxx. → Read More
Now that Android and the iPhone (when it works) are all over the place, you question the wisdom of someone developing a service that works with neither. I’m referring to Fox Mobile’s new subscription service BitBop, which only works with BlackBerry. The BlackBerry is still probably the premier e-mail device out there, but I’m not sure I want to watch episodes of “24” on my Curve. Well, my imaginary curve, as it were. → Read More
I just walked into my living room to find the iPhone 4 face down on the wooden floor like a murder victim. I suspect my children had something to do with it, but luckily there was no shatterage or breakitude, so all was well. → Read More
It’s been a long time since I’ve had to fill out an expense report, but I remember clearly what a hassle it always was. Keeping receipts, and manually entering all that data: what a pain! Today’s smartphones make the tedium of expense reports a thing of the past. Simply install ProOnGo’s new mobile expense report app, and you’re on your way to a happier life. → Read More
Japan has a long history of producing bullet trains, and now, the country is about to get yet another one. East Japan Railway recently tested the so-called “Hayabusa” (“Peregrine Falcon” in Japanese) between Shichinohe-Towada and Shin-Aomori stations in Aomori prefecture (Northern Japan). → Read More
The twee little Mini-e ER1402 is a $300 computer with a big heart. The fella weighs a mere 9 pounds and has HDMI out and AMD Athlon II NEO Processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9200 graphics and 2GB of memory, just enough for a walk in the park and a wee snoot of brandy at the local after.
The shape? Not my absolute fave but when you have so little work with, you kind of take what you can get. Very, very cute. → Read More
What’s more sad: the very fact that the iPhone 4 is completely unusable if you’re left-handed—President Obama is left-handed!— or that Apple fanboys are doing everything in their power to divert attention away from the issue? Check MacRumors. It’s a fine site, yes, and one I read every day, but to call it an “Apple fan site” would be like calling the Sun hot. “Upset that your brand new iPhone 4 doesn’t work? Don’t be: other phones do this, too!” Because that’s what you want to hear: your phone may be a piece of junk, but so is the other guy’s phone, so it all works out. Um, no. It doesn’t work like that. → Read More
In response to a patent lawsuit filed by Microsoft last May, Salesforce is countersuing with its own patent infringement claims. But a mere countersuit isn’t enough for CEO Marc Benioff. He is also bringing a big-gun lawyer to the knife fight, Microsoft’s nemesis from the antitrust trial of the 1990s, David Boies.
During Salesforce’s last earnings call, Benioff obliquely referred to Microsoft as an “unnamed patent troll” and “alley thugs.” → Read More
We think Toy Story 3 is great, it’s a huge box office hit in the US, and it’s poised to replicate the success over here in Japan. Reason enough for Sony Japan to come up with a Toy Story 3-themed Walkman S [JP] for the local market. It’s not as cool as Sony’s Metal Gear Solid Walkman W, but it’s certainly cuter. → Read More
In response to a patent lawsuit filed by Microsoft last May, Salesforce is countersuing with its own patent infringement claims (complaint embedded below). But a mere countersuit isn’t enough for CEO Marc Benioff. He is also bringing a big-gun lawyer to the knife fight, Microsoft’s nemesis from the antitrust trial of the 1990s, David Boies.
During Salesforce’s last earnings call, Benioff obliquely referred to Microsoft as an “unnamed patent troll” and “alley thugs.” → Read More
Nokia is having a rough month.
First, it saw itself forced to cut its outlook for the second quarter and the full year, and now The Register reports that the Finnish company has lost one of its top tech brains.
Charles Davies, former Symbian CTO and notably the first employee and later managing director of Psion, is leaving the mobile juggernaut to take up an unknown role at navigation giant TomTom. → Read More
[Copenhagen] Danish VoIP technology company Vopium has received a $16.5 million capital injection, expanding its group of owners with telecom investor Raghuvinder Kataria, one of the early backers of what is now Bharti Airtel (one of the world’s largest telecommunication service providers).
With the investment, Kataria now owns the majority of shares in Vopium, which will use the funding to expand internationally in an effort to challenge VoIP juggernaut Skype. → Read More
When Alex Karp needed funding for a young start up named Palantir in 2005, dozens of investors said “No.”
He was trying to sell them on the idea of a high-powered analysis platform that could scan multiple databases simultaneously— a tool that government officials and corporations could use to tackle complex problems.
“Enterprise is a dirty word and that’s the business we’re in, and government is also not very popular in the Valley, [we combined] both,” Karp says.
Today, funding is not an issue. Palantir, a team of 250-plus engineers nestled in downtown Palo Alto, has raised $90 million in Series D financing at a $735 million valuation— the company exclusively told TechCrunch. → Read More
