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This Week On The TechCrunch Droidcast: So Many Google Play Editions, So Little Time
After a brief hiatus, we're back with a very special episode of the TechCrunch Droidcast. Recorded with both myself and Chris Velazco present in the flesh in our studio offices in sunny, warm (actually freezing, dark) Toronto, Canada, this week is a pleasantly brief sojourn into the world of Android. Read More
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Square Acquires Evenly, A Venmo Competitor For Sending And Receiving Payments With Friends
Square has just announced that it has acquired Evenly, a company that was built to make it easy for friends to send and receive payments for splitting bills and other expenses. The company was founded in 2012, and was similar in concept to Venmo, an NYC-based startup that was acquired by Braintree last year. Read More
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The End Of Subsidized Phones Could Be Near
For almost a decade and a half, mobile customers - and Americans in particular - have enjoyed a certain economic perk: phone subsidies from the major carriers. This meant you could, on sign-up, get a very expensive phone for at most a few hundred dollars and, as an incentive to hang around, upgrade that phone every few years. These subsidies seemed as God-given as freedom of speech and apple pie… Read More
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Bloomberg Brings 24-Hour Live News To Apple TV; Crackle, KOR TV And Watch ABC Also Added
Apple continues adding new channel partners to its Apple TV hardware, and now it's rolling out four new ones today (via 9to5Mac), including Watch ABC for streaming local ABC affiliate content, Crackle for movies and TV, and KOR TV, a Korean language channel. There's also Bloomberg, which is is going to be streaming a live 24-hour news channel that provides content seven days a week. Read More
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Tony Fadell Says Nest Has 100 Patents Granted, 200 Filed, And 200 More Ready To File
Many in the tech world and Washington have railed against the encroaching and limiting effect of patents on innovation, but when the chips are down, IP and patents remain key cornerstones in how tech companies and their founders are making sure they will be able to build their businesses and stick around for the long haul. Tony Fadell, the legendary former hardware supremo at Apple and now CEO and… Read More
Gadget Writers
TCTV
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Filip Technologies
- Size $8M
- Round Unattributed
- Investors Horizons Ventures, KEC Ventures, The Social+Capital Partnership
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Caesarea Medical Electronics
- Size $100M
- Round Unattributed
- Investors Carefusion
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Raspberry Pi Foundation
- Size $1M
- Round Crowd
- Investors Not available
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Meet Kubo, The Crowdfunded Electric Cargo Scooter Made By Lit Motors
Lit Motors, the electric car startup that launched last year with its first vehicle called the C1, has debuted another sleek looking electricity-fueled vehicle called the Kubo. Read More
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Gift Guide: The Tech-Loving Outdoors Enthusiast
Technology and nature seem in constant conflict, but they can be better together. And tech enthusiasts aren't by default mutually exclusive with people who love the outdoors, which is why we've put together a whole gift guide featuring stuff that scratches that techie itch but also should help you conquer (or live in peaceful harmony with, if that's what you're into) nature. Read More
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White Nexus 7 Now Available In 32GB Model In The US, UK And Japan For $269
Google has just released a white version of the Nexus 7 tablet, in white and packing 32GB of storage, available now for $269 on the Google Play Devices store, so long as you're in the U.S., U.K. or Japan. There's no LTE version and no 16GB model, unlike with the black Nexus 7, but if you're looking for a color match tablet for your white Nexus 5 you're now in luck. Read More
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Google Outs Play Edition LG G Pad And Sony Z Ultra, But They’re Still US-Only
Well, that was fast. LG inadvertently outed a G-Pad tablet that would be getting the Google Play Edition treatment earlier today, and Google has just followed up with a confirmation, a price tag ($349) and another device to add to the mix. Sony's $649 Z Ultra is also available in the Google Play store, much to the chagrin of rumormongers who have long claimed that Sony would soon get a crack at… Read More
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How Matternet Wants To Bring Drone Delivery To The People Who Need It Most
Last week, the media world was abuzz with the news that e-commerce giant Amazon was experimenting with a new program dubbed “Amazon Prime Air,” which would use small automated “drone” aircraft to make customer deliveries. But while Jeff Bezos’ primetime television announcement of Amazon’s drone ambitions certainly attracted a lot of attention, it’s… Read More
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iBeacon Pioneers Estimote Raise $3.1M Seed Round
Jakub Krzych, founder of Estimote, has announced a $3.1 million seed round raise from Innovation Endeavors, Betaworks, Bessemer Venture Partners, Birchmere Ventures, Valiant Capital Partners and others. The company is already shipping its small Bluetooth products, called Beacons, to retailers and they expect a huge rush in orders as they line up large clients next year. Read More
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Source Code Says LG’s G-Pad Tablet Will Get The Google Play Edition Treatment
Google and LG have been getting awfully cozy lately -- the web giant tasked the Korean company with delivering its two most recent Nexus smartphones, and if you're the type to put stock in rumors, it seemed like a new Nexus tablet (bearing the model number "LG-V510") would be the next fruit of their union. Well, according some files posted to LG's own site, it isn't. Not exactly, anyway. Read More
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Chromecast Gets 10 New Apps, Including Songza, VEVO, And Revision 3
Slowly but surely, Google's Chromecast devices is beefing up with content partners. The latest is Songza, a music streaming service that finds you an expertly curated playlist based on your current activity or mood. Today Songza launches on Chromecast through an update to the iOS, Android and web apps. After the update, users will notice a "Cast" icon anytime that there is a… Read More
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Meet Revolv, The Missing Link To The Modern Smart Home
Automated homes are nothing new. For decades, people have toiled over connecting household object to intranets and servers in a desperate attempt to simplify lives. But the work rarely justified the results. Then came the so-called Internet of Things. Nest, Sonos, Hue, Yale Locks; all these products eliminated the need for a Ph.D in geekery. Just remove the item from the swanky packaging, follow… Read More
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Catchbox Is A Throwable Microphone To Get The Audience Talking
Throw the mic in the air like you just don't care. Catchbox is a new throwable microphone designed to liven up audience participation, and in turn reduce the faffing around that seems to occur whenever a conference turns to questions from the audience. Read More
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Apple Patents Curved Touch Screen And Display Tech
Apple has received a patent for curved touchscreens and displays, according to AppleInsider, which describes a system for making curved touch sensitive glass. The method patented by Apple is designed to create a curved screen surface that remains touch sensitive without deforming or distorting the image the display would produce, and would be able to be used in displays, touch-sensitive mice (like… Read More
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Qualcomm Unveils 64-Bit Chipset With Integrated LTE: Next Year’s Moto G Could Have 4G
Qualcomm has just announced the Snapdragon 410 chipset series, which is Qualcomm's first announced processor to have 64-bit support, but it's actually more interesting because it aims to make integrated 4G LTE support a lot more affordable for device manufacturers. They plan to launch the 410 as a manufacturing sample by the first half of next year, which means it could be in shipping phones by… Read More
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Give A Hoot, Add Smart Sensors To Your Home With The Owl Platform
Building a smart home is hard. First you have to install all the hardware then you have to figure out a platform for controlling lights, sensors, and the like. Thankfully the Owl Platform has got your back. The platform is aimed at hackers who want to experiment with various sensor arrays around their premises. It includes a base station and a number of sensors – door open/close, water… Read More
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iPhone 5s Passes 10% Adoption; 5c Seeing Strong Uptake, Too, Compared To Past Launches
The iPhone 5s is doing pretty well in terms of sales numbers, and has just passed 10 percent usage rate among iPhone models according to mobile analytics firm Mixpanel. That's a significant milestone, because it means that users are adopting the iPhone 5s at between two and three times the rate they got on board with the iPhone 5. And the iPhone 5c, while trailing the iPhone 5s, is actually doing… Read More
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UK Home Office Clarifies Rules Against 3D-Printed Guns
The UK Home Office has clarified the rules against 3D printed guns, finally stating unequivocally that 3D-printed firearms are prohibited under the Firearms Act 1968. According to an informational release, it is an "offence for an individual to possess, purchase or acquire any component part of a firearm without a certificate." Read More
