Do you remember the “Potato Chip Hand” we’ve shown you earlier this year? The silly gadget allowed users to pick up potato chips and protected fingers from getting greasy when eating potato chip. And now maker Takara Tomy is giving us the “Popcorn Hand”, which does the same – but for popcorn. → Read More
AudioBox.fm, the cloud-based music service that lets users upload their music collection and access it anywhere, has added the iPhone/iPod touch to its list of supported devices through a native application.
Previously, iPhone users could only access AudioBox via Mobile Safari, a bit of a kludge since the QuickTime Player plugin effectively takes over the phone’s browser. There’s also existing support for Android, a nifty HTML5-based browser version and a Windows desktop app, with the Italy-based company touting itself as an open platform to store a user’s media library in the cloud, giving them “access to uploaded media from anywhere through the highest number of devices possible.” → Read More
Online grading platform LearnBoost has raised $975,000 in seed funding from an impressive roster of venture capital firms and angel investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Charles River Ventures, RRE Ventures, Atlas Ventures, Othman Laraki, Bill Lee, James Hong, Naval Ravikant and Karl Jacob.
LearnBoost offers teachers an easy-to-use, web-based gradebook. The startup’s software allows for real time collaboration around grades between teachers and parents. But LearnBoost is also trying to create a realtime CRM-type of application for teachers. A LearnBoost gradebook account allows teachers to essentially manage their classroom in one place by keeping track of student grades, tracking attendance, maintaining schedules, importing Google calendars, creating and managing lesson plans and curriculum, tagging standards to assignments and lesson plans, and more. The app is still in private beta and will be released to the public in August. → Read More
A few days ago we learned that the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is now the fastest production car on the planet. Pretty exciting, yes. A little bit after that we learned that Top Gear, the very awesome British TV show I watch despite my having zero car knowledge, was involved in the record-breaking in some capacity. Basically, Captain Slow himself, James May, actually broke the record first—but then his record was smashed, too. → Read More
New from some Chinese company: a manual paper shredder inside a pen. It also has a secret ink feature and the manufacturer describes it thuswise:
1:White led flash light on top
2:Writing ballpen
3:Write out invisible letters.
4:Light the letters with LED light on top and read your secrets.
5:Paper lacerating function.
Colorware’s latest victim is the new twist-off Mac Mini. This means you can finally give it a proper Apple color scheme rather than the stale aluminum look. → Read More
Want to kill the resale value of an iPad or iPod? Get it engraved. It’s like an electronic tattoo that seemed like an awesome idea at the time, but six months from now you’re going to look like an Internet douche paying homage to double rainbows on the back of your iDevice. No matter, the latest Apple rumor states that engraving is coming to the iPad in time the Christmas spending spree. Yay! → Read More
MadBid, a fast growing “pay-to-bid” auction site has secured £4 million in a Series A funding from Atomico Ventures. Launched in 2008, MadBid is one of a number of pay-to-bid auction sites which have appeared in the last couple of years, with Swoopo among them. CEO Juha Koski says the Atomico investment will be spent on technology and expanding in Europe. Mattias Ljungman of Atomico has joined the board.
MadBid is claiming 1 million users since launch and says customers are attracted by brand products with the possibility of saving of 80% on the RRP of an item. That drives people to bid of course and so the site makes its money off the customers who are not successful, not unlike a casino. → Read More
Ford just pulled the sheet off the brand new 2011 Ford Explorer. It’s a bit different than we’re used to. Traditionally next-gen SUVs are bigger and badder than the previous generation. While the 2011 Ford Explorer is slightly longer than its predecessors are, the engines are smaller, the ride height is lower, and the overall off-roading capabilities are dramatically reduced. Jalopnik Editor-in-Chief even goes as far as stating that it’s not an SUV at all. But I don’t think Ford would argue.
Ford is attempting to reinvent the SUV for the 21st century or some nonsense like that. But what they’ve created is more crossover than SUV. Where do I start? → Read More
Good morning everyone. I have a leak for you. Today’s leak surrounds the supposed specs for the next Samsung handset in line to receive the Galaxy moniker: the Galaxy Q.
So, what are we looking at? Pretty much a smaller, slightly improved, QWERTY-enabled Galaxy S. → Read More
Financially speaking, Sony had to go through some rough patches in the last few years. But if The Nikkei, Japan’s largest business daily, is to be believed, things are beginning to look brighter. Sony is seen bouncing back in the April to June quarter of this year, with a a group operating profit of $115 million to $345 million in that time frame. → Read More
Like a swart rider thundering across the forests of Saskatoon, the green plains of Europe and the misty steppes of Asia, the black iPhone 4 is entering Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland on Friday, adding to those country’s already high happiness indices.
Not much more than that (I’m sure your local blogs will share with you the local prices in drachmas, pesos, pfennigs or whatever it is Sweden uses and we’ll put them here when we grab them) but get in line now. After all, World Cup is over so you guys have plenty of time. → Read More
Social shopping site Kaboodle, which was acquired by Hearst Interactive Group in 2007 for $30 million or so, is trying its hand at social commerce with new community-driven flash sales site PopPicks.
PopPicks, which is members-only, partners with a retailer each week to feature a collection of products. The Kaboodle community is then invited to vote for the products they like best. After four days of voting, the most liked products are made available to Kaboodle members at an steeply discounted prices for four days or until the inventory is sold out. → Read More
If you’re the kind of Android user that doesn’t like lots of teeny micro payments cloggin’ up their credit card statement, or simply the type of person that often finds themselves penniless and needing an app right now, then you’ll be pleased to know that soon you’ll be able to shift all of your frivolous app purchases over to your phone bill. → Read More
Here are some stories from the past week on CrunchGear: Novelty motorcycle helmets will probably get you killed by laughing drivers Driverless vehicles begin trek from Italy to China Take perfect panoramas with a modified egg timer One of the most amazing physics engines I’ve ever seen Portable watermelon cooler → Read More
HTC confirmed via press release today that newer versions of their Desire and Nexus One phones will ship with Sony-built “Super LCDs” rather than Samsung’s AMOLED screens.
Shortages for the Droid Incredible have been blamed on Samsung’s inability to keep up with demand, so it’s peculiar that HTC didn’t call the phone out directly in their press release, instead saying that the screens will be coming to “a variety of HTC phones including the HTC Desire and global Nexus One later this summer.”
Interestingly, one of the benefits of AMOLED over LCD is its low power consumption, but these new screens will apparently bring with them an increase in battery life, not to mention the ability to read them in sunlight.
Full PR after the jump. → Read More
AudioBox.fm, the cloud-based music service that lets users upload their music collection and access it anywhere, has added the iPhone/iPod touch to its list of supported devices through a native application.
Previously, iPhone users could only access AudioBox via Mobile Safari, a bit of a kludge since the QuickTime Player plugin effectively takes over the phone’s browser. There’s also existing support for Android, a nifty HTML5-based browser version and a Windows desktop app, with the Italy-based company touting itself as an open platform to store a user’s media library in the cloud, giving them “access to uploaded media from anywhere through the highest number of devices possible.” → Read More
MadBid, a fast growing “pay-to-bid” auction site has secured £4 million in a Series A funding from Atomico Ventures. Launched in 2008, MadBid is one of a number of pay-to-bid auction sites which have appeared in the last couple of years, with Swoopo among them. CEO Juha Koski says the Atomico investment will be spent on technology and expanding in Europe. Mattias Ljungman of Atomico has joined the board.
MadBid is claiming 1 million users since launch and says customers are attracted by brand products with the possibility of saving of 80% on the RRP of an item. That drives people to bid of course and so the site makes its money off the customers who are not successful, not unlike a casino. → Read More
Get out of the way, old man! You’re being Disrupted! Screw you, newspapers: blogs are stealing your readers and Craigslist is pillaging your revenue! Take that publishers: Andrew Wiley doesn’t need you and your stupid dead trees! And as for you, hotels – ha! hotels! – if ever there was an industry ripe for disruption, it’s you clowns. Charging $300 a night for a bed and a shower and a tiny plastic enema of shampoo when AirBnB will let you get the same, and more, for $50, so long as you don’t mind the creepy thrill of living in a stranger’s apartment. Kapow! See you in hell, hotels! READ MORE… → Read More
Barcelona, Spain
New York City
San Francisco, CA
