At this point, it’s pretty much tradition: Google releases a new major build of Android to the public, and a statue themed around that build’s codename (like Froyo, or Donut, or Gingerbread) goes up in its honor at the Android Team’s building (Building 44) across from the Google Campus. The first official Honeycomb (Android 3.0) device, the Motorola Xoom, just hit the shelves last week — and sure enough, the Honeycomb statue just went up. Android Developer Advocate Justin Mattson tweeted out the shot above to celebrate. Rockin’ both the Android robot and a big ol’ nasty lookin’ honeybee, this statue is quite possibly the coolest one yet. Check behind the jump for a shot of all of the other statues kickin’ it. → Read More
THQ has teamed up with OnLive, whereby if you pre-order Homefront, the game that features a “nuclear-armed Korean People’s Army [invading] the USA,” you’ll get a free OnLive system. Said system would normally run you $99. → Read More
I read an interesting article this morning that suggested Apple would change its mind and put Adobe’s Flash technology on its iOS devices within a year. I don’t think that’s going to happen.
In an open letter to users, Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave several reasons why he didn’t want Flash on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. They are: Flash isn’t open; the full web; reliability, security and performance; battery life; and touch.
Adobe began shipping Flash Player 10.1 for Mobile last June, but even Laptop magazine admitted that “Steve Jobs was right,” and that “Adobe’s offering seems like it’s too little, too late.” Granted, that report was from six months ago, but it still doesn’t bode well for the technology. There is no doubt that Adobe is making advances with Flash on mobile devices, but I don’t believe future changes will be enough to get Apple to adopt the technology. → Read More
So, let’s say you’re Microsoft. You’ve got this brand new smartphone platform — one that, thanks to the timing and that of the competition, is a bit of an underdog. To be at all competitive, you need to convince developers to not only make applications for your platform, but to make lots of applications for your platform. Now, what’s the one thing you definitely, absolutely, should not do? Limit those that are actually interested in your platform — say, by setting some arbitrarily low limit on the number of apps they can submit. Alas, that’s exactly what Microsoft did. → Read More
Here’s one of the more unique uses of Microsoft’s Kinect. A project called Fabricate Yourself turns the Kinect into a 3D printer of sorts. Well, a 3D modeler for a 3D printer. You’d best follow along with the video. → Read More
iOS’ Notifications system sucks. A lot. In the Great Smartphone War, it’s probably the platform’s most inexplicable Achille’s heel. Oh, you’re playing a game? Sorry, Bobby texted you again! PAUSED! Watching a movie? Sorry, the battery is at 10%! PAUSED! Peter Hajas’ MobileNotifier, demoed above, shows us that things don’t have to be this way. Dismissible, nonintrusive notifications? An easily accessible notifications tray? Be still, my heart. The catch: as with anything that modifies the deeper system files, you’ll need to jailbreak to get this working. Our fingers are crossed that Apple will finally be addressing this in iOS 5 — meanwhile, consider us jailbroken. [Via 9to5mac] → Read More
Since Mario Kart is hands-down the best racing game ever made, it only makes sense to bring the fun into real life by adding buttons for banana peels, mushrooms, stars and, of course, mystery boxes for more of the above. [via Reddit] → Read More
t would appear that the Nintendo 3DS is a hit. Nintendo has shipped some 400,000 units since its launch last Saturday in Japan, with reports of the system being sold out throughout the country. (The system will be released in North America on March 27.) That’s the good news for Nintendo. The bad news is that it’s already been hacked. Oh dear. → Read More
“I was born curious,” Peter Guber confessed to me when he came into the TechCrunch studio earlier this month. We should all be so curious. The legendary Guber – whose list of accomplishments as a superstar Hollywood producer (Rain Man, Batman, Midnight Express, Flashdance etc.), broadcaster, university professor, best-selling writer, new media mogul (board member of Demand Media) and sports franchise owner (co-owner of the Golden State Warriors) are probably unrivalled by anyone, either dead or alive – has just written a book explaining both his success and failure as a story teller.
Guber writes about his storied life in Tell To Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story, a book released tomorrow, but already #1 on Amazon’s best-seller list. Tell To Win is going to be the Tipping Point for storytelling. “If you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it,” he explains. The power to tell a compelling story is, for Guber, hard wired into us and is the difference not only between success and failure but also between happiness and misery.
Video ahead. → Read More
Regardless of what you think about the Android platform, there’s no denying that the Market experience for finding apps is pretty poor. And that’s putting it nicely. Google has evolved the experience over the years, but even with Gingerbread, it’s far from great. Today, Chomp, the app search engine, launches an experience for Android that is great.
If you’ve heard of Chomp before, it was likely from their iPhone app, which focused on not only search but also personalized recommendations. But with the Chomp for Android experience, co-founder Ben Keighran decided they wanted to strip the service to its core, based on the usage patterns they’ve seen on both the iPhone and the web. → Read More
Motorola is suing TiVo over their infringing DVR technology, a move that is an attempt to head TiVo off at the pass after it sued Verizon over the same patents. The patents, which detail DVR technology, came from Imedia, a company that Motorola bought in the 1990s.
“TiVo is attempting to assert its patents against technology disclosed and claimed in Motorola Mobility’s patents, despite the fact that Motorola Mobility’s patents were filed more than three years before TiVo’s patents,” Motorola said in a statement.
“I Need A Doctor” is the second single from Dr. Dre’s upcoming album Detox, which has been in development, I think, for 400 years. It feel like that anyway. You’ve seen the Grammy performance, but have you seen the official music video? More importantly, have you seen the blindingly obvious product placement featuring good ol’ HP? → Read More
According to a UK HD supplier, Samsung will begin streaming 3D content through the company’s own Smart Hub “widget” platform. The content comes courtesy of PictureBox, a European provider of streaming content to Poland, the UK, and Singapore (??). → Read More
It turns out Fujitsu isn’t the only Japanese electronics company still producing Windows tablets: Panasonic today announced [JP] the so-called BizPad, a device with a 6.5-inch screen specifically aimed at – you guessed it – businesses. → Read More
Do you secretly wish you could look like a celebrity but don’t have the entourage, breakfast cereal in your name, or cash flow to make it possible?
Well, thanks to YouCeleb, an e-commerce site launching today, now you can look and feel like a celebrity. (A sober one, of course.) The startup offers daily deals and discounts on designer fashion that celebrities wear after the cameras stop rolling.
Here’s how it works: The YouCeleb team identifies paparazzi photos of a celebrity, determines what they’re wearing, and then works with the relevant celebrity and brand to provide you with deals on those particular clothes and accessories. Operating under a group buy model similar to Groupon’s, YouCeleb offers a daily deal on a certain item and then sets a minimum number of items that must be sold. If you’re interested in the item, you fill out your payment information, but you don’t pay anything until that minimum is met. → Read More
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) — which makes specialty materials and chemicals for electronics, automotive, water, energy and agricultural sectors — today announced that it aims to green its own operations, in part, by investing $100 million in internally pitched projects that will reduce the company’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Doug May, vice president of energy and climate change at Dow, noted in a press statement that a focus on “carbon management” and reduced energy consumption would deliver favorable financial returns for the Midland, Mich. company that has, of late, rebounded from mid-2010 losses… → Read More
Launching today at the Demo Conference in Palm Springs is flyRuby, a platform that enables you to search, compare, and book private air charters online. There is something to be said for startups that identify successful services and business models and apply those to under-served niche markets. Through its website, flyRuby hopes to deliver a quick and efficient way to book private air charter that is comparable to the instantaneous search, booking, and competitive pricing of commercial airline sites, like Orbitz, Kayak and Expedia.
The project of founder and CEO Michael Leek, flyRuby owes its technology to CTO Dr. Stephen Smith, who, working in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University, developed the algorithms as part of a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) research initiative to assist the U.S. Air Force. Operating in a similar manner to the technology behind commercial airline booking sites, flyRuby’s artificial intelligence instantly scans thousands of flight routes and seating charts for private flights across the country, finding available seating, and streamlining the booking process. → Read More
Amazon still refuses to share how many Kindle devices it has sold to date, short from saying it’s the best-selling product in its history, but you can be sure it will become a whole lot more really soon.
AT&T this morning announced it will begin selling the Kindle 3G in company-owned retail stores across the United States, beginning March 6. → Read More
Is this the iPad 2? Nearly everything lines up with the leaked info: flat back with tapered edges, speaker in the bottom corner, camera up top. It even matches-up with most of the leaked cases. If it’s not the real thing, it’s a damn good render. I’m sold.
The only thing missing is the rumored mystery connection found on a couple of leaked cases. It’s widely thought after last week’s MacBook Pro refresh, this hole is for a Thunderbolt port as it would effectively replace a USB connection while providing additional functions. March 2nd can’t get here soon enough. → Read More
GoToMyPC, everyone’s favorite thing that goes to your PC, is now available for the iPad. Essentially a glorified VNC connection, GoToMyPC is fairly famous with a less techie set and allows you to access your PC desktop from any device now, apparently, including your iPad. The app is free and you can download it now. However, GTMP requires a subscription fee and you may be better off downloading a free VNC solution and tunneling out through your firewall. If that sounds a bit daunting, GoToMyPC is your answer. Click through for the PR. → Read More
