In case you missed the news, Star Wars launched on Blu-ray this week. Lucas & Co. never miss an opportunity to soil their brand and so, along with turning to annoying in-game advertising, recently wrapped the handrails of several Tokyo subway cars. So, you know, passengers can have imaginary lightsaber battles with stationary props. AWESOME! Japan gets all the fun stuff. → Read More
Japanese tech company Murata, in cooperation with Kansai University and Mitsui Chemicals, has developed a remote control that doesn’t require users to push buttons. Instead, TVs or other electric appliances can be controlled by bending and twisting the remote in various ways.
The device, currently a prototype named “Leaf Grip Remote Controller”, is essentially a pitch for a new kind human-machine interface. → Read More
Chicago-based startup FeeFighters, a comparison shopping site for credit card processers, is launching a new product to simplify online payments. FeeFighters’ Samurai is debuting as a gateway for online merchants to accept payments.
FeeFighters is a comparison shopping site for credit card processors. The startup aims to help merchants save money on credit card fees and also conducts reverse auctions to solicit competing bids from credit card processing companies.
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Mobile ad network Millennial Media, is releasing its monthly report which gives a view into how each OS, device and manufacturer is performing on one of the largest remaining independent ad networks in the world. In August, Millennial actually combined connected devices and smartphones when breaking out the OS impression share. That’s significant because iOS and Android share can include tablets into factoring presence on the network. And last month, Android was in the top spot with a 54% share, while iOS was in second with a 28% share. Rim followed with 13% share.
In terms of growth, Android impressions (including both phones and tablets) grew 48% month-over-month globally. iOS impressions were relatively flat month-over-month, and interestingly Windows Phone 7 impressions saw major growth and increased 48% month-over-month. → Read More
Here are some of yesterday’s posts on TechCrunch Gadgets: → Read More
Before I lost my voice earlier today (yes, that’s me up there asking all those questions, NOT Marge Simpson), I sat down with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek at F8. We spoke about today’s “launch” of Facebook Music, which wasn’t a built-in music console on top of Facebook like many had conceived, but rather a partnership built around a dozen music apps — like Rdio, Mog and Iheartradio — through Facebook’s now extended Open Graph, allowing people listening to music to share that listening activity on Facebook. → Read More
As you may have heard, today Facebook held its fourth f8 developer conference, showcasing an array of new features that represent what Facebook says are the biggest changes to its Platform since it launched in 2007. The changes include a completely redesigned profile and a new Open Graph API that gives third-party applications and sites more flexibility (and eyeballs) than they’ve had before.
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After raising $9 million in venture funding from Norwest Venture Partners and Doll Capital Management earlier this year, Basis Science has been able to continue their year-long research and design development of a new affordable heart and health monitor that can be worn all the live-long day right on your wrist. In anticipation of its showcase at Health 2.0, the startup is today revealing the design and features of its so-called “B1 Basis Band” that will launch in the market later this year.
While there are a number of health-tracking devices on the market today, the Basis Band seems poised to be a disruptive product in the health space. Priced at $199, the Band is on the expensive side but not unreasonable considering the heart and health tracker boasts multiple sensors that measure heart rate continuously, along with calories burned, sleep patterns, and other physiological metrics. What’s more, the device boasts an LCD touchscreen interface that allows for easy navigation and displays the date and time — potentially making it a pretty great replacement for your measly old wrist watch. → Read More
F8 is afoot and it looks like Facebook schooled the Internet. But what about G+ and, most important, the new features added to head Facebook off at the pass.
Erick and I discussed the pros and cons of both services, the various improvements, and, while I got a kick out of G+’s collaboration features, especially as a way to get work done, Erick was more impressed by timeline. Both services are wildly impressive – but only one can fly higher than the other. → Read More
Last week, another photo sharing app hit the scene. But before you commence with groaning, Piictu is more than just another photo sharing app, it’s “a fun and simple way to talk and play with pics”. Still groaning? Hold on just a second. In a crowded space, Piictu’s value proposition is that it is offering a new kind of visual network where interactions take place through direct “picture conversations” — not just your average, run-of-the-mill photo sharing. → Read More
Hulu does TV shows better than just about everyone. In fact, other than YouTube, Hulu attracts the highest level of engagement of any web video platform (with the average web viewer watching an average of 3.2 hours a month). That being said, Hulu has never done social particularly well. Sure, users interact on Hulu discussion boards, tweet clips to friends, and share shows on Facebook, but the platform has long been in need of a better way to find and share TV shows and movies.
So, today at F8, Hulu announced the launch of a brand new Facebook app, which endeavors to make the Hulu experience social. What does that mean? For Hulu users this means getting to watch the video platform’s content directly within Facebook. Now you no longer have to leave Facebook to watch Hulu. And judging by all the news out of F8 today, soon you’ll never have to leave Facebook, period. → Read More
The last ten years have been kind to game publishers. The mainstreamification of console gaming has led to enormous sales numbers, budgets rivaling Hollywood’s, and an arms race between the majors to create the next big game. But while EA and its ilk were buying up development houses, expanding like crazy, and having franchise-measuring contests with each other, an unperceived menace was growing in the dark bosom of Facebook. As millions flocked to the new platform, EA continued churning out sequel after sequel until they almost sequeled themselves into a death spiral.
Now the gaming giant says it has learned its lesson, and is ready to take on the new kid in town: Zynga. EA’s CEO has gone on the record saying they hope to hit $3 billion in digital revenue in the next two or three years. Big talk, but is it in EA’s DNA? → Read More
London’s nearest coastal city of Brighton and Hove has probably the worst beach in the world. Full of rocks, the only sand visible is a small patch remaining from a beach volleyball event when sand had to be trucked in.
But what it lacks in sand, it has always wanted to make up for in Silicon, joining most of the Western World in trying to brand itself a Silicon Something. Thus the term ‘Silicon Beach’ was coined more than a decade ago as local quango Wired Sussex attempted to tempt companies down to the South Coast of England to create a cluster of companies that would reinvigorate what was then a town. → Read More
ComScore’s August web video rankings are in, and this is for sure: Americans watch an enormous amount of online video content, with most of that taking place on — you guessed it — YouTube. Of course, last month, Facebook, already the largest photo site on the Web, became the third largest video site on the Internet in terms of unique viewers. Which I find interesting since I can count the total number of times I’ve watched video on Facebook on two hands.
Yet, comScore’s rankings find Facebook retaining third position in August, with 51.6 million unique viewers, trailing VEVO in second (with 62 million) and Google Sites (i.e. YouTube) at 162 million. Viacom Digital lept into fourth place, while Microsoft dropped into fifth, as Yahoo and Aol remained in sixth and seventh, with their unique views on the rise. → Read More
Meg Whitman is back in the corner office. Earlier today, she was officially named CEO of HP, taking over from Leo Apotheker, who lasted less than a year. In the video interview above, I talk to Forrester analyst Frank Gillett about whether Whitman is the best person for the job or the best one available on short notice.
Gillett and I get into HP’s recent strategy twists, including Apotheker’s decision to get out of the PC business and bail on the Palm acquisition. We discuss whether Whitman, who signed off on that strategy as a member of HP’s board, should stay the course or go back to square one? Personally, I thought they should have brought back Mark Hurd, who now works for Larry Ellison. (Hey, if the stock keeps tanking, maybe Oracle can buy HP and Hurd can make a comeback). → Read More
After last year’s f8 keynote, my initial thought was pretty straightforward: I Think Facebook Just Seized Control Of The Internet. Between the Like Button, the Open Graph, and the Open Graph API, I felt like we were shifting from Google being the fabric of the web, to Facebook taking over. A few days later, a now unpaid blogger declared it: The Age of Facebook.
Both of these declarations pissed a lot of people off.
Facebook is the new AOL! Walled garden! The end of open! Blah. Blah. Blah. While everyone else has been busy whining — including plenty of competitors — Facebook has been kicking ass and taking names. And today is proof of that. → Read More
“Whatever, man. I’ve got 10 girlfriends. And they’re supermodels! You just don’t know them, because they live in Canada.”
“Oh, okay. Call one of them and prove it.”
Well, crap — now what?
Enter FakeGirlfriend.co, a clever little service that lets you text your maybe-not-so-real girlfriend in a pinch, get a text back, and have her “call you back” a few minutes later. Because that’s totally not a weird thing to do, right? → Read More
Meg Whitman just took over as HP’s CEO and President hours ago and she, along with the new executive chairman of the board, Ray Lane, didn’t waste anytime reaching out to their more than 300,000 employees. In the email embedded further down in the post, they reaffirm the statement released earlier today that Meg Whitman has “enormous respect for HP” and indicates that HP matters not only to Silicon Valley, but to California and the United States. The company has a “deep-rooted legacy” and is something they want to maintain and build upon.
They state the obvious in that HP needs to refocused on their mission (although she doesn’t define said mission) and the company is filled with the “industry’s brightest and most talented people.” No mention of bringing back the $99 TouchPad, though. → Read More
A few days ago, leading up to f8, we noted that we heard from a source that Facebook would soon be expanding their buttons offerings beyond the Like button. Specifically, we heard that “Read” “Listen” and “Watch” buttons were coming. But today during the f8 keynote, Facebook didn’t have anything to say about those. But that doesn’t mean they’re not coming. Actually, they are.
I had the chance to sit down with Facebook CTO Bret Taylor after the keynote and he told me that a new “Read” button would be coming within the next couple of weeks. But it works a bit differently than you might imagine. → Read More
Two months ago, I wrote this:
“If there’s one thing I keep hearing over and over when it comes to the European startup scene, it’s that investors who are not seriously looking at the Turkish market may be missing out on some of the continent’s biggest digital companies in the next 10 years.
My plan is to go to Turkey some day and investigate this burgeoning startup ecosystem up close, and I hope that trip will take me to some of its marvelous cities and beautiful beaches.”
I didn’t want it to be an empty promise, so I’m heading down there in a couple of weeks to attend Turkey’s most influential Internet conference, the Webrazzi Summit, which will be held on October 19 in the beautiful city of Istanbul. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
