A Microsoft Russia site promoting the launch of Internet Explorer 9 (coming September 15) may have dropped a screenshot by accident. There it is; sorry it’s not bigger. But you can get a general idea of the changes that have occurred. → Read More
T-Mobile’s new G2 is reported to scheduled for release at the end of September, but that didn’t keep someone at HTC from leaking the ROM for the new phone. After some clever manipulation, the ROM was hacked and some very interesting details have come out as a result. Specifically the firmware makes no reference to having the HTC Sense interface, as well as revealing that the new phone will be running Android version 2.2, not 3.0 as previously theorized. Regardless of these two little issues, the new phone does look very promising with it’s slide out keyboard and 800MHz CPU. [via Electronista] → Read More
We’ve had no shortage of cool kicks in the last year. Adidas has led the pack with Star Wars shoes, winged shoes, and even some awesome ZX Spectrum shoes. But Nike, looking to pretty much one-up everyone in the business, is attempting to patent an automatic lacing system. And yes, it is exactly like the Nike Air Mag in Back to the Future. → Read More
This morning, Google officially unveiled its Voice/Gmail integration, which will allow users to make Google Voice calls from the browser. It’s a pretty nifty service that is gaining traction in the TechCrunch SF newsroom. Another product we’re eyeing? That shiny London-esque phone booth with the “vintage” 1957 phone that makes free domestic and long distance Google voice calls.
I dropped by Google’s SF office to get a full tour from Jason Toff, the product marketing manager for Google Voice who spearheaded the phone booth project. (See video tour ahead). According to Toff, Google has already manufactured five phone booths and is zeroing in on several high-trafficked venues. No contracts have been finalized yet but he expects Arizona State University will be one of the first (with its student body of 54,000 strong).
Free Goog-wear alert: Google has also given us 7 Voice T-shirts for readers who have always wanted to look like a living, breathing Google icon. We have several tees in size M and L. → Read More
So you’ve finally moved into the corner office, and you’re looking for that special decorator piece that really says “I’ve made it” in the corporate rate race. Well look no longer, because I’ve found the perfect product for you – the dinosaur lamp. You know you want one. → Read More
When looking at the current incarnation of Apple TV we find a tragically flawed device that overshot and underperformed at the same time. Essentially an iPod Classic with HDMI out, the Apple TV had a pitiful hard drive and a useless OS unless hacked. In the end, it was more expensive and more underpowered than anyone liked and competitors quickly filled the niche, offering format agnostic streaming boxes with Netflix support and devices like the Xbox 360 that allowed UPNP access to content on your network.
In the end, I got rid of my Apple TV even after hacking it to oblivion. I tried to love it. I really did. Unfortunately, however, I probably won’t be going back to the platform, even if the $99 mini-iTV Apple TV thinger appears on September 1st. Here’s why. → Read More
Some Boxee news for you, as we all sit back and watch the Barcelona-Milan friendly. (Good to see Ronaldinho get such a nice reaction from the Camp Nou crowd. I haven’t seen him this happy in years!) The company has decided to add a Movie component to its much celebrated TV-watching interface. The gist is, just as you can watch TV programming with Boxee, you’ll be able to watch movies. Boxee has initially teamed up with EZTakes, Indie Movies Online, MUBI, and Openfilm. → Read More
Some companies keep a playbook of product tips, tricks and trade secrets. Zynga has an internal playbook, for instance, that is a collection of “concepts, techniques, know-how and best practices for developing successful and distinctive social games”. Zynga’s playbook has entered the realm of legend and was even the subject of a lawsuit.
SCVNGR, which makes a mobile game with real-world challenges, has a playdeck. It is a deck of cards listing nearly 50 different game mechanics that can be mixed and matched to create the foundation for different types of games. I’ve republished the accompanying document below, which should be interesting to anybody trying to inject a gaming dimension into their products. → Read More
Deutsche Post, Europe’s largest mail services operator, has announced that it’s to acquire the ad targeting platform nugg.ad in a bid to continue expanding into the online advertising market. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed, however, although nugg.ad will operate independently as a subsidiary of Deutsche Post and will remain headquartered in Berlin.
Nugg.ad is a service that enables advertisers, media agencies and publishers to increase the impact of their advertising through better targeting to groups of consumers. It does this by predicting user behaviour but doesn’t use any user identifiable data. So, as we noted in May when we covered the company’s UK expansion, “it surfs the current wave of privacy issues”. Nugg.ad also claims to be the market leader across Europe. → Read More
OffiSync, a startup that lets you collaboratively edit documents using Microsoft Office and Google Docs in tandem, seems to be doing well — the company’s plugin is the third most downloaded on the entire Google Apps Marketplace. But it also has a new challenger approaching: Google itself. Back in March, Google acquired OffiSync competitor DocVerse, and there’s little doubt that Google will soon leverage their technology to begin offering plugins for Microsoft Office. So where does that leave OffiSync?
Today, the company is launching some new features and a new pricing plan that it hopes will keep it competitive with whatever Google eventually launches. Given that we don’t yet know what Google will be launching it’s difficult to give an accurate prediction, but CEO Oudi Antebi says that from what he’s heard from various Google partners and customers, OffiSync will have a few key differentiators. → Read More
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/video_embed.php?id=3645 I’m going through a bit of the new Metroid game by Team Ninja, the same guys who made Ninja Gaiden and I’m pleased to report that the game, although a departure from the tamer Metroid games, the injection of real emotion and a bit of (non-bloody) space horror adds considerably to the game. → Read More
For those that remember when Google Voice was GrandCentral … Other than missing Like.com’s acquisition on August 20th and having the DoubleClick grab plotted when Google revealed its intent to acquire in April 2007 and not when the official acquisition was announced in March of 2008, this is pretty much a comprehensive record of the search giant’s ploy for world domination, or whatever they’re calling it these days. → Read More
You’ve got your camping gear packed, and a full night’s supply of coffee prepped. You’re all ready to camp out on the sidewalk for what may very well be the first Windows Phone 7-powered phone in the US: the LG C900 for AT&T. There’s only one problem: you don’t know when to show up. Now we might! → Read More
In my hands right now, ladies and gentlemen? The latest version of the Amazon Kindle, known colloquially as the Kindle 3. Here’s what’s what. → Read More
You may not be familiar with Modu, the Israeli mobile company that specializes in making very, very small phones. The latest model, which runs Android, is probably about as big as the screen on your phone. It’s an intriguing concept, but unfortunately it hasn’t taken off like they hoped, and $100 million in funding has evaporated over the last couple years. So, they’re going to try to raise a few more bucks by becoming a publicly-owned company — hopefully enough that they can launch their latest line and perhaps make a dent in the market. I like the little things, but I’m not sure they’d sell here right now. We’re in a “bigger is better” phase, and minimalism has never really been the American way. → Read More
Having largely relied on online marketing and word of mouth to fuel growth over the last two years, the leading UK property site Zoopla has today launched a multi-million pound TV ad campaign with the hope to become a “household name” in Britain. It will include a number of prime-time slots across ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and the Sky digital channels, with the initial campaign running for five weeks to the end of September. There’s a tie-in with print and digital over the coming months too.
The TV ads themselves (example below) carry the theme that “finding the perfect property is much like finding the perfect partner” – is it really? – and pitch Zoopla on the basis that “free and easily accessible information helps buyers, renters, sellers and owners make better-informed property decisions”, which is hard to argue with. → Read More
Probably should have mentioned this yesterday, but such is life. Valve is running a fun little content wherein you get to DESCRIBE HATS~! in Team Fortress 2. The name of the contest? “The First Ever Hat Describing Contest.” Two thumbs up. → Read More
Google is partnering with European database specialist PAR, which will supply local business data for Google’s Maps service for Sweden and Finland. Under the agreement, PAR will provide, and continually update, data for Google maps from its pan-European business database, EuroContactPool (PDF).
The company claims this database, launched in 2004, now contains information and addresses for more than 22 million companies and 16.4 million named executives in 14 European countries. → Read More
According to a blog post today on the company’s site, Facebook is revamping its Chat feature to be faster, more stabilized and reliable.
Facebook says that Chat, which launched two years ago, is now one of the most widely used communication features on the network. In the next few weeks, Facebook will “be making important improvements in the way connections are established and messages are sent.” → Read More
