Michael Seo

May 8th, 2013

Are You Interested Makes 2M Connections Through New Friends Of Friends Matchmaking Feature

are you interested

Are You Interested has been in the online dating game since 2007, predominantly focused on the Facebook platform as a way to connect people through the internet. The company has been relatively quiet in the past year, but is now speaking up after launching a new feature in the past few weeks that connects you with friends of friends. Other online dating startups have added similar features —… → Read More

May 3rd, 2013

Acer Goes To A Whole New Level Of Crazy With The Aspire R7

acer aspire r7

Acer just announced the Aspire R7, a strange hybrid of a desktop all-in-one, laptop, and a tablet that was previously teased in some promotional Star Trek commercials. It’s honestly really, really weird. We always expected that Windows 8 would lead to some really strange convertible touchscreen devices, but the Aspire R7 is a whole new kind of crazy. The first thing you’ll notice… → Read More

May 2nd, 2013

Evernote Partners With South Korean Messaging Giant KakaoTalk

evernote kakao

Evernote is going after KakaoTalk’s 90 million registered users by inking a partnership deal with the South Korean messaging giant that would bring Evernote integration to KakaoTalk’s mobile app. Despite boasting nearly 4 million users here in the United States, chances are you’ve never heard of KakaoTalk. The messaging app is mostly used by Korean Americans (such as myself), to… → Read More

May 2nd, 2013

Dextr, An Android Email Client For You And Your Friends

dextr

I hate using email. I get an average of 60 to 70 emails every day, and only one percent of them are from people I actually care about. Using email today is all about sifting through the clutter. Dextr is an app that helps you accomplish that by filtering your inbox to only include emails from your friends and family. → Read More

May 1st, 2013

Take The H.E.L.M. 2.0 Is A Competition Designed To Encourage Startups To Move To NYC

HELM2 (1)

Take The H.E.L.M. 2.0 is a competition from the New York City Economic Development Corporation that is designed to encourage tech startups and other fledgling companies to move their offices to lower Manhattan. They’re accepting applications today, and eventually the applicant pool will be narrowed down to 20 finalists that will compete for one of four grand prizes of $250,000 to assist… → Read More

April 30th, 2013

Anyone Can Become A Content Curator On Woisio

Guide | woisio

Woisio is a Turkish company being featured at Disrupt NY’s Startup Alley this year, and it’s a little like what watching television would be like if your friends took over the programming. At first glance, Woisio most closely resembles an everyday television programming lineup. There are a number of predefined channels that are organized by category, each of which streams a series of 15 minute… → Read More

April 29th, 2013

Moviora Plays Ten Questions To Help You Pick A Flick

moviora

Whenever my friends and I get together for a movie party, the toughest part of the evening is collectively deciding what to watch. There’s always one person that shoots a good suggestion down with a curt, “I’m not in the mood for that”. Moviora is an app that aims to make that process a little easier. It’s a strange thing. Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video… → Read More

April 26th, 2013

Suitey Is A Software Powered Real Estate Brokerage For New York City Apartments And Homes

suitey

At first sight, Suitey looks like nothing more than a run-of-the-mill real estate website. But while sites like Trulia and Zillow merely provide a listing of available properties from a large assortment of brokerages and owners, all the properties on Suitey are being directly offered by Suitey itself. That’s because Suitey is a fully fledged real estate brokerage, and they believe they’re the… → Read More

April 26th, 2013

Monaeo Tracks Company Employees For Location Based Tax Information To Prevent Needless Auditing

monaeo logo

According to Anupam Singhal, cofounder of Monaeo, two out of three Fortune 500 companies get audited every year. And although there are surely several companies that get audited simply because they were unable to pay their taxes, most of the time it’s simply due an unfortunate case of miscalculation. → Read More

April 25th, 2013

MTA And Transit Wireless Expands Coverage To 30 NYC Underground Subway Stations

mta wireless

At last. Starting today, the MTA is switching on wireless and cellular connectivity in 30 underground subway stations around Manhattan, and the fledgling network will expand to all 277 of the MTA’s subway stations by 2016. → Read More

April 24th, 2013

Dropcam Updates iOS Apps With Location Based Control And Time Scheduling

dropcam

Dropcam is updating their iOS apps today with two new features that their users have been clamoring for: location awareness and in-app time scheduling. → Read More

April 24th, 2013

Photo Sharing App Pictorious Adds Branded Photo Challenges And Photo Showdown

pictorious logo

Pictorious is a photo sharing startup that is faced with the unenviable task of crawling its way out of Instagram’s gigantic shadow. Today they’re releasing a bevy of updates to their iOS app, which will hopefully help it mount a better challenge against the photo sharing juggernaut. → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Infinity Cell Lets You Charge Your iPhone Simply By Shaking It

Infinity_Cell_smartphone_Kinetic_Charger_1

The Infinity Cell is a kinetic charger for the iPhone that uses your body’s movement to generate electricity. The current prototype for the Infinity Cell is a crude 3D printed rectangle, roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes, linked up to the iPhone with a cable. The plan is to create a more streamlined version during the product’s Kickstarter campaign. → Read More

April 22nd, 2013

DailyWorth Raises Additional $1 Million For Series A

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DailyWorth, an online community for financially minded women, is adding $1 million to their existing Series A round of funding. The money comes sixteen months after DailyWorth raised $2 million in their Series A last January. This additional influx of investments was led by DFJ Gotham, while additional investors include Gabriel Investments, 500 Startups, Robinhood Ventures, Investors’… → Read More

April 17th, 2013

Hands On With The Toshiba KIRAbook: Can Great Hardware Coupled With An Amazing Display Save Windows PCs?

With PC laptop shipments projected to decline by 7.3% this year, Windows 8 machines desperately need a shot multiple shots of adrenaline. The Toshiba KIRAbook may be just that. The KIRAbook is Toshiba’s first entrant in their newly fashioned “KIRA” line of luxury ultrabooks. At first glance, you can see that the KIRAbook is meticulously designed, and it radiates a Cupertino-esque level of… → Read More

April 17th, 2013

PanaCast Is A Unique Panoramic Video Conferencing Experience

panacast image

Video conferencing, especially in a work setting, can be a real pain in the ass. But PanaCast, unlike other video conferencing platforms, actually seems like something that would be both fun and exceedingly useful. PanaCast is a crowdfunded panoramic video conferencing platform that Ross Rubin covered back in December in one of his Backed Or Whacked posts. Ross wholeheartedly backed the project… → Read More

April 16th, 2013

Lively Is An Activity Sharing Platform That Helps You Keep Tabs On Your Independently Living Parents Or Grandparents

livelyhub_sensors_web

There are approximately 11.3 million elderly Americans that live independently in their own homes. Although many seniors choose to live by themselves without any assistance, it can be a challenge for their children to ensure their parents are doing alright. Lively is an innovative service that helps you keep tabs on the routine activities of your parents or grandparents. For those of us who have… → Read More

April 16th, 2013

MyCanvas Allows Homeowners To Access Their Personal Service Data History In The Cloud

mycanvas logo

Canvas is a portal for mobile business applications, used primarily by small businesses and contractors to replace their paper forms with smartphones apps. Today Canvas is announcing MyCanvas, a cloud service for their subscribers that allows anyone to access their personal service data history in the cloud. Canvas wants to make the paper form obsolete. They claim that if you factor in all of… → Read More

April 5th, 2013

DoorJamz Is A Doorbell With Custom Tones You Can Control With Your Smartphone

I have two problems with doorbells. First, they sound incredibly annoying. Secondly, there isn’t an easy way to turn them off.

DoorJamz provides a solution for both of these problems. It’s still a doorbell, but instead of the consistently infuriating “ding-dong”, you can choose to have it play whatever you like. If can have Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir play whenever your guests or the… → Read More

April 4th, 2013

GE and StartUp Health Select 13 Companies For Its Three Year Health Entrepreneurship Program

ge startup health

Back in January, we reported that GE would be partnering up with healthtech startup incubator StartUp Health and selecting 13 consumer healthcare startups (originally 10) to participate in a three year program designed to nurture and accelerate their growth. After a two month screening process, today they’re announcing those 13 finalists. → Read More

April 3rd, 2013

LinkMe Is An LED Smart Bracelet That Displays Scrolling Lines Of Text

linkme blue

LinkMe is an LED smart bracelet that connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and displays SMS and social media updates in text that scrolls across your wrist. → Read More

April 3rd, 2013

Seagate Ships World’s First 4TB HD With Four 1TB Platters

seagate 4tb

Seagate will be shipping a 4TB hard drive that has the distinction of being the world’s first to include a 1TB per platter design. This basically means that each spinning disk in the hard drive has a capacity of 1TB, and that there are four of them. It’s not everyday that you can claim to that have something that’s the “world’s first”, so don’t be too hard on Seagate. This certainly… → Read More

April 3rd, 2013

Social Collaboration Platform For Students Kolab Opens Public Beta To First 15K Users

kolab logo

If you whipped Google Docs, Facebook Messenger, and OneNote around in a blender, the resulting concoction would look something like Kolab, a new Canadian startup that is vying to become the ultimate social collaboration platform for students. Kolab offers a solution for any student that has become sick and tired of switching between Microsoft Word, Facebook, OneNote, and email. It offers real-time… → Read More

April 2nd, 2013

LocalSqr Announces Partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue On Employee Healthy Eating Program

localsqr

LocalSqr is an app that aims to encourage healthy eating by promoting locally grown food. The app locates farmers markets and other organic produce suppliers in your vicinity, and if you end up shopping at one of these locations often, it rewards you with a special discount you can redeem from the vendors there. It’s a little like an app we reviewed today called Mango Health that rewards… → Read More

March 29th, 2013

Treasure Data Projects 500 Percent Growth This Year, Launches New “Plazma” Distributed Database

tdlogo

It’s only been six months since cloud data warehousing company Treasure Data launched its services, but they’re already reporting some impressive growth figures. Treasure Data achieved month-to-month profitability last year, and they’re well on track to achieve a 500 percent increase in revenue this year. They’ve also amassed 50 high-profile clients, which include a leading social gaming… → Read More

March 28th, 2013

Brooklyn Band Ghost Beach Launches Ad Campaign That Encourages Fans To Pick A Side On Piracy

ghost beach piracy

A large billboard in Times Square formerly occupied by American Eagle is currently cycling through the following phrases: Piracy is progress. Piracy is freedom. Piracy is harmless. Piracy is inevitable. Piracy is robbery. Piracy is evil. Piracy is selfish. Or is it a fad? It’s part of an advertising campaign by a Brooklyn-based band called Ghost Beach that is asking all of us to choose a side… → Read More

March 27th, 2013

Shutterstock Launches Offset, A New Brand For Its Curated Collection Of Licensable Images

Print

The leading online stock photography company Shutterstock launched a new search tool called Spectrum in January, which allowed users to search through the site’s 22 million images with keywords and specific colors. Today Shutterstock officially announced Offset, its new brand for its collection of top notch images that have been specifically curated for creative distinction and… → Read More

March 27th, 2013

Duo Is A DIY 3D Motion Sensing Controller

duo

The Duo is a 3D motion sensing controller, much like the Leap Motion Controller and the Kinect – but with a DIY twist. Whereas the Leap Motion Controller comes in a small and elegant package, the Duo is meant to be tinkered with. A $20 contribution on their Kickstarter page is enough to nab detailed instructions, a comprehensive list of the off-the-shelf components, and CAD files –… → Read More

March 22nd, 2013

Thanks To Poor Holiday Sales, B&N Will Give Away A Free Nook Simple Touch With Every Purchase Of A Nook HD+

nook

There’s been nothing but bad news coming from Barnes & Noble lately, and it seems as though the company has decided to resort to the desperate measure of giving away Nooks for free. Reuters is reporting that customers who purchase the $269 Nook HD+ will receive a $79 Simple Touch free of charge as a limited offer. It’s a great deal if you’ve been looking for both a tablet and an ebook… → Read More

March 22nd, 2013

Mobli Update to iOS App Lets You Switch Between Your Smartphone’s Cameras While Recording Video

Mobli

Perpetual underdog Mobli, an app that’s a cross between Instagram and Vine, has released a new update to its iOS app in their latest effort to gain some of the photo sharing market. → Read More