Sarah Perez
Sarah currently works as a writer for TechCrunch, after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to becoming a professional blogger, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
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Latest from Sarah Perez
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NBC’s Snapchat news show gains 29+ million viewers in its first month
NBC News’ first-ever daily show for Snapchat is seeing promising numbers after its first month on the air. In a release sent to reporters this morning, NBCU claims the show has grown its audience to over 29 million unique viewers. That’s roughly triple the number of viewers who tune into the top-rated “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” program. Read More
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Rapportive founder’s new startup Superhuman is what Gmail would be if built today
Reinventing the email experience is an area numerous startups have tried to tackle over the years, with some apps focused more on triage, others on making a better desktop alternative to Outlook, and still more aiming to re-envision email as a mobile-first product, among other ideas. A new startup called Superhuman, from the founder of Gmail add-on Rapportive acquired in 2012 by LinkedIn… Read More
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Y Combinator-backed VIDA turns artwork into fashion, accessories and more
VIDA, an e-commerce startup that allows artists to upload their designs to be printed on real-world materials – like fabric, leather, metal and more – which are then sold as unique products, has grown its community of artists to over 100,000 members since its launch a few years ago. The company is now participating in startup accelerator Y Combinator, following its recent… Read More
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Twitch acquired video indexing platform ClipMine to power new discovery features
In an announcement about a set of new discovery tools, Amazon-owned video game streaming site Twitch also unveiled that it recently acquired Palo Alto-based video indexing platform ClipMine. The startup’s technology is now being put to use to translate visual information in videos – like objects, text, logos and scenes – into metadata that can help people more easily find… Read More
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YouTube TV now available to 50% of U.S. households
Following July’s expansion which tripled its footprint, Google today announced that YouTube TV is now available to 50 percent of U.S. households, thanks to a rollout to 14 new markets. The company is also pre-announcing its plans to move into 17 more major metros in the weeks ahead, as it continues its rapid march towards nationwide coverage. YouTube TV is one of many “skinny… Read More
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Reddit rolls out its own video platform
Reddit today is officially launching its own native video hosting across both desktop and mobile. The platform, still in beta, was one of the company’s promised initiatives following its recent $200 million round of funding that valued its business at $1.8 billion, announced earlier this summer. Video today, along with GIFs, make up a major part of the content shared across… Read More
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Skype’s much-debated redesign hits the desktop
In June, Microsoft introduced a completely revamped version of its Skype app, designed with a heavier focus on media-sharing, and other social expression tools, like emoji, reactions, and even a Snapchat-like stories feature. Now that new experience is rolling out to desktop users, but in a more limited fashion, Microsoft announced this morning. The new desktop app introduces an updated… Read More
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Amazon opens up access to developer tools for adding Alexa to commercial products
Amazon wants to make its virtual assistant Alexa available on more devices, instead of just its own hardware. To that end, the company today is broadly opening up access to developer tools that will allow commercial device makers to build products powered by Alexa. With the launch of the Alexa Voice Service Device SDK toolset, companies can add a fully functional version of Alexa to their… Read More
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Roku cracks down on private channels
Roku has begun to crack down more on private channels – a feature originally intended to allow developers to test their channels ahead of submission to Roku’s channel store, but which soon became a means for channels streaming pirated content to reach Roku’s user base. According to several reports, the company has recently begun to display warning messages when users add… Read More
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Amazon’s private label business is booming thanks to device sales, expanded fashion lines
Amazon has been doubling down on its private label business in recent months, though many of its own brands aren’t easily identifiable to consumers as they don’t indicate they’re Amazon-made products. But these private labels have been gaining steam, according to a new report out this week from 1010data. Several Amazon brands have been seeing tremendous growth, it found… Read More
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ESPN’s Apple TV app now lets you watch four games at once
ESPN today rolled out a new version of its Apple TV app that introduces the ability to watch four live simultaneous streams which can be displayed on the screen at the same time. The feature takes advantage of Apple TV’s multicasting support – something that a few other apps have already introduced, including most recently, ABC News. MLB At Bat had also rolled out a split… Read More
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Amazon expands program that pays Alexa developers for top-performing voice apps
Amazon today announced a new program that gives developers a way to earn money for their Alexa skills – the voice apps that run on smart speakers like the Echo, and other Alexa-powered devices. According to the company, developers will be compensated for top-performing and “engaging” voice apps across over a half-dozen categories, including games, which were previously… Read More
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Sling TV now works in the browser
Despite having been one of the first to offer live, streaming TV over the internet, Dish’s Sling TV service has just now introduced a way to watch its service via a web browser. The company is today launching an in-browser player for Google Chrome. The player, which is still in beta, will work on both Windows and Mac devices, the company notes. Via the web player, you’re able to… Read More
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Facebook adds eBay’s Daily Deals to its Marketplace on mobile
Facebook is again getting into the daily deals space, this time in collaboration with eBay. The company has launched a new feature within its Marketplace section on its mobile app, where a selection of inventory from eBay’s Daily Deals program is now available. The deals can be shopped directly in Facebook’s app, but checkout takes place on eBay’s website through an… Read More
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Google Allo arrives on the web, only pairs with Android phones at launch
Google’s consumer-facing chat application Allo, a successor of sorts to Gchat, is today available on the web for desktop users. The service, which lets you chat with friends while taking advantage of features like stickers, “smart replies” for one-tap responses, and Google Assistant integration, among other things, has been in the works for some time. In February 2017, Google… Read More
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Target expands its next-day ‘everyday essentials’ delivery service, Target Restock
A day after Target announced the acquisition of transportation technology company Grand Junction, the retailer this morning is expanding its next-day delivery service, Target Restock. Announced this spring, and then opened to select customers in June, the new service is now available in its first markets outside the reach of Target’s Minneapolis headquarters with launches in both… Read More
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Target acquires transportation company Grand Junction to expand same-day delivery services
Target has acquired San Francisco-based transportation technology company Grand Junction, in order to help it move more quickly into the business of same-day delivery. The company had already been working with Target on a same-day delivery pilot program in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood, prior to this deal. That pilot will expand this fall to more New York area stores before a… Read More
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Facebook is rolling out a Trending News section on mobile, now with its own link
Facebook is rolling out a “Trending News” section on mobile that includes its own link in the app’s main navigation. This follows the company’s earlier announcement this spring of a redesign for Trending Topics, an increasingly important part of Facebook’s social network, where it tracks the news stories that are buzzing across its service. That redesign is… Read More
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Amazon kills its European DVD rental biz, Lovefilm
Amazon is getting out of the DVD rental business with the closure of Lovefilm, the so-called “Netflix of Europe” that Amazon bought in 2011 for a reported $312 million valuation. The company, which operates in the U.K. and Germany, is a subscription service that lets consumers rent DVDs that are sent out by mail – similar to Netflix’s original business model before… Read More
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Google’s voice typing tech adds support for 30 more languages, reaching further into Africa, India
Google today is expanding its speech recognition capabilities to support dozens of new languages, particularly those in emerging markets in India and Africa, the company announced this morning. That means more people around the world will gain the ability to search the web by voice as well as type via voice using Google’s keyboard app, Gboard. The company says with the update… Read More
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