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AutoBot Raises $6M To Drive Development Of Its Car Diagnostic Tools
AutoBot, a Beijing startup that makes diagnostic tools for cars (not the robots in disguise), has raised a $6 million Series A from Gobi Partners and ABC Capital. The company will use the funding for marketing, hiring and product research and development. AutoBot’s main product is the AutoBot Mini OBD (on-board diagnostic) device, which users can plug into their car’s OBD-II outlet… Read More
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The Next Front Of Wearables
In 2014, Nike abandoned its FuelBand fitness tracker and Sergey Brin “left his Google Glass in his car.” In 2015, Apple will launch its iWatch and Sony will enter the eyewear space. More kinds of wearables were introduced in CES 2015, just to leave us wondering whether what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, physically. Read More
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New DJI Drone Firmware Will Prevent White House Joy Rides, Border Drug Runs
Popular consumer drone-maker DJI is using firmware to fight some potential abuses of its hobbyist hardware, with an update that will prevent its Phantom 2-series drones from being able to fly onto the White House lawn, or carry drugs across country borders. This one’s after an unauthorized drone made its way to an ignominious end on the White House lawn earlier this week, and after a… Read More
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Metromile Launches Uber Car Insurance Where Drivers Only Pay For Personal Miles
Uber covers drivers with $1 million of insurance when they’re on the job, but they still have to buy personal car insurance even if they hardly drive off-the-job. But now, Metromile and Uber have developed a seamless personal/commercial per-mile car insurance plan for Uber drivers that uses a cellular gadget that plugs into their vehicle’s diagnostic port. It connects with Uber… Read More
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Ilan Abehassera Teases Insensi, A Device For Long-Distance Families
There is not much to say about Insensi just yet. I met the company’s founder Ilan Abehassera in Paris two weeks ago, and he gave me a few hints about his very secretive startup. First, it’s a hardware startup based in New York. Second, he hired a team of all-star engineers. Third, he raised $2.4 million already. Read More
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TC Droidcast Episode 35: The Nexus 6 With Touch ID That Might Have Been
We venture into the glorious Land of Speculation today to ponder what a Nexus 6 with a fingerprint reader would’ve been like, after former Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside revealed one was planned but then scrapped after Apple acquired AuthenTec to provide the basis for Touch ID. We also discuss Android gaming on TVs, the Nexus Player, and Motorola’s return to the Chinese… Read More
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Apple Sells 5.5 Million Macs In Q1 2015
Apple sold 5.5 million Macs over the holiday quarter (ending December 28), according to the company’s Q1 2015 earnings report released today. Analysts estimated that Apple would sell 5.68 million Macs this quarter, putting the electronics maker just under estimates but still showing growth YOY. With this past quarter’s 5.5 million units sold, Apple totally flat in the category from… Read More
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Apple Beats In Q1 2015 With $74.6B Revenue, $18B Profit And $3.06 EPS
Apple has just released its fiscal Q1 2015 earnings, reporting $74.6 billion in revenue, $18 billion in net profit representing $3.06 per share. This is the largest corporate quarterly earnings of all time, above Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil. Compared to the year-ago quarter, it corresponds to a growth of 29.5 percent in revenue, and 47.8 percent in EPS (adjusted for the… Read More
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Apple Sells A Super-Sized 74.5M iPhones In Q1 2015 Thanks To Super-Sized 6 And 6 Plus
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have helped Apple sell an astounding 74.5 million iPhones during the first quarter of the company’s fiscal 2015 year. That’s more iPhones than they’ve ever sold during a single quarter, up from the previous record of 51 million iPhone sales reported during the same time last year, and above the consensus estimate of around 67 million per Wall… Read More
Gadget Writers
TCTV
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The Pirx One Printer Mixes High Design And 3D Tech
Poland is a hotbed (get it?) for 3D printing and now up-and-comer Pirx is entering the fray. Their printer, the Pirx One, is a $1,199 PLA printer with some seriously classy looks and optional heated bed for ABS support. The printer is a standard FDM device that prints layers of plastic into a cohesive whole. The team has added a few extras including a heavy steel frame and acceptable build… Read More
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With Mimo, MIT Alums Are Disrupting The Baby Nursery, Onesie At A Time
For all the innovation that has come out of startups, few have addressed one of the hardest tasks in the world: caring for a newborn infant. Whether it is providing milk at 3 a.m. or ensuring that the baby is exposed to the right shapes and sounds appropriate for its age, parents are faced with a near-constant barrage of challenges, often under incredible pressure and stress. Read More
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New Apple Pay Deal Gives It Greater Presence In A Key Market: Self-Serve
Apple has a new partnership in place with USA Technologies that will help it accept Apple Pay at approximately 200,000 in-use self-serve payment terminals, 9to5Mac reports. The roll-out will bring Apple Pay to coffee machines, snack dispensers, laundromats, goods kiosks, amusement part ticket machines, car wastes, transit ticket and taxi terminals and more. USA Technologies has a list of… Read More
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Quantum Dot Displays Could Lead To Cheaper, Thinner Screens
Devices can’t get thinner for a few reasons. While a lighter, thinner battery would be amazing, screens still take up a lot of gadget real estate, a fact that is mitigated slightly by e-ink and other “flat” displays. Now, however, researchers are turning to Quantum Dot displays, screens that use light-emitting nanocrystals to display multiple colors in a screen that is… Read More
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The Bluewire Is A Bluetooth Headset That Can Record Your Calls
Journalists, PR folk, and anyone else who needs to keep accurate copies of phone calls should check out the Bluewire, a new Bluetooth headet that just launched on Indiegogo. Read More
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Moment Creates An iPhone Case And App To Help Mobile Photographers Take Better Pictures
Mobile lens startup Moment has spent the last year trying to help smartphone users take beautiful photos. It got started with a couple of interchangeable lenses that could be mounted onto iPhone and Android phones. Now the company is looking to create a more complete system for mobile photographers who capture images with their phones. That includes the release of a new Moment case for… Read More
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Apple Tops Smartphone Shipments In China For The First Time, Says Canalys
Apple has topped smartphone shipment numbers in China in Q4 2014, according to analyst firm Canalys. The popularity of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus helped push the California gadget-maker ahead of its homegrown competitors, seeing it ship more than Xiaomi and Huawei, and putting it out in front of Samsung, which placed third overall. Canalys credits the large screen of the newest smartphone… Read More
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Lockitron Announces The $99 Bolt, A Deadbolt You Can Unlock With Your Phone
Y Combinator alum Lockitron is today launching the Bolt, a $99 follow-up to its original crowdfunded keyless-entry gadget. Read More
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Ossia Raises $10M From KDDI And Others To Help Bring Wireless Power To Japan
Real, practical wireless power is still more fantasy than fact for most, but Ossia has a new strategic partner that could help accelerate its transition to wider availability and usefulness. Japan’s KDDI, the country’s second-largest wireless carrier, has participated in Ossia’s recent $10 million raise, which will help Ossia spur the development of its Cota wireless… Read More
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Luna’s Smart Mattress Cover Can Help You Sleep Better
Luna co-founder Matteo Franceschetti presents a pretty appealing vision of what it can be like to go to bed: As you lie down, the lights, temperature (of both the bed and the room), and the music all adjust to a setting of your choice. Then as you fall asleep, they adjust again, perhaps turning off completely. Luna makes this possible through a smart mattress cover that’s now available… Read More
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The Case That Turns Your Phone Into A Polaroid Camera Is Now On Kickstarter
The Prynt case, which lets you print photos directly from your phone, is now available for pre-order on Kickstarter. Read More
