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Acer Iconia Tab A500 Features Honeycomb, 1GHz Processor, $450 Price
Apr 08, 12:32PM
Another day, another Honeycomb tablet. This one comes to us courtesy of Acer and looks nearly identical to its European cousin, the Acer-made Packard Bell Liberty Tab. The Iconia costs an acceptable $449.99 complete with 16GB memory and a microSD card reader. The 10.1-inch tablet runs Honeycomb out of the box and can display 1280x800 video thanks to a 1GHz Tegra 250 processor. The Iconia is DLNA complaint and Acer is offering video docks, keyboards, and cases to round out the offering. It weighs 1.69 lbs and is .52 inches thick. It will not support Flash out of the box but, like the Xoom, it will support it in a further update. You can pre-order the device on April 8 from Best Buy and it will ship on April 24. It will cost $449.99.
Google Registers A Bunch Of Music And Cloud Related Domain Names
Apr 08, 11:39AM
Earlier this week, Google registered a slew of .com domain names related to music and clouds. A tipster points out that the Internet company registered names like GoogleBass.com, GoogleAlto.com, GoogleSoprano and GoogleTenor.com along with GoogleNebula.com, GoogleThunder.com and GoogleLightning.com. None of them resolve to an actual website (at least not yet), but WHOIS searches reveal they were all registered by Google last Wednesday.
CrowdRally, Punchd And Rewardli Raise A Combined $150K At 500 Startups Demo Day
Apr 08, 8:13AM
It was a pretty exciting at 500 Startups Demo Day part deux today, namely because the accelerator had two sessions -- one at 10am and a later one at 5pm, both drawing in a lot of startup mentor and investor attendance. For those of you have not yet visited the 500 Startups office in Mountain View, the view is impeccable and the layout and interior design is extremely well thought out. For example a Spock painting by Twitter Fail Whale artist Yi Ying Lu adorned the wall of the conference room where I spent all day talking to startups.
500 Startups Demo Day: Like Pulse For Facebook, Ninua Launches Its News Sharing App For Android
Apr 08, 5:25AM
It was another fast-paced day at 500 Startups' open house in Mountain View today, as Dave McClure and company officially introduced the world to its first batch of killer startups. One of the many stellar demos came from Ninua, a startup that is building social apps around news, blogs, and social media. Its recently launched Ninua News Reader is a news-sharing application for Android that recommends articles and blog posts that people in your network are writing or sharing. It allows for the automatic curation of what appears in your stream, based on your interests as well as your friends' interests. Not another news aggregator, you may be muttering. Well, yes, but it has a slight twist. It's Facebook enabled -- and built on a blog platform.
Ask a VC: Izhar Armony Answers Your Questions
Apr 08, 2:30AM
Ask a VC has been sporadic with my travel schedule, but we’re back this week. My guest is Izhar Armony of Charles River Ventures. He brings a different perspective to the show for a few reasons. For one thing, he’s from the East Coast. And as a former member of the Israeli army– aka the country’s [...]
Rumor: iPad 2 Mishandling Gets Best Buy Blacklisted By Apple
Apr 08, 2:07AM
A reader who works at Best Buy just told us that there's been a bit of a misunderstanding between the electronics retailer and Apple. Apparently, Best Buy was holding off on selling the iPad 2s it had in stock, telling customers there weren't any when in fact they had just reached their quota of sales for the day. Not the smartest business decision I've seen. Apple retail roll-outs aren't really something you mess with.
500 Startups Demo Day: Motion Math Looks To Make Learning Fun Again
Apr 08, 12:46AM
Dave McClure's seed fund, accelerator, and incubator, 500 Startups, held an open house in Mountain View today to officially introduce the world to its first batch of companies. The group of mostly consumer-focused startups (not much advertising to be found) at Demo Day put forth quite a few interesting ideas and business models. We'll be posting a roundup of the best startups (with interviews) later tonight. Among those nifty ideas presenting today is Motion Math, a startup creating a suite of educational apps intended to give kids a more interactive (and fun) way to learn challenging topics. The startup (which just raised an undisclosed seed round from 500 Startups and a flock of angels) wants to leverage the engaging physical aspects of the mobile experience, like the touch interface and accelerometer, to create that interactive quality which will help kids internalize what they're learning. 
A Colorful Weekend
Apr 07, 11:57PM
This past weekend, I headed down to Mexico with a group of friends for a bachelor party. It was a lot like The Hangover — if you replace tigers, Mike Tyson, and Zac Galifianakis with Macs, iPhones, and iPads. Clearly, we're all in the tech scene. I bring this up because sometimes it can be telling to see what applications people actually use when they're away from the normal routine. And surprisingly, our most-used app was probably Color. I know what you're thinking: Color?! Yes, the insanely-hyped-due-to-a-$41-million-pre-launch-round app was a major companion of ours in Mexico. And we weren't just using it in an ironic or novelty way, we were actually using it sincerely (well, as sincerely as one can use something in drunken party mode). And it made sense.
Quixey Raises $400K From Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors For App Search
Apr 07, 10:15PM
It's almost funny: between iOS, Android, and the Mac App Store, we've entered the age of the App, where standalone programs often specialize in doing a handful of things very well. There's an app for looking up baseball schedules, an app for finding the nearest gas station, and so on (you've seen the commercials). But despite the increasing ubiquity of these handy Apps, actually finding what you're looking for can be incredibly difficult, because search tends to be really, really bad across the most popular platforms. Enter Quixey. The startup, which is still in private beta, has been built from the ground up to specialize in app search. And instead of searching for an application's name (which is sort of difficult if you have no idea what to look for), Quixey lets you search by what you're trying to do. The company has raised a $400K seed round led by Innovation Endeavors — which is outgoing Google CEO Eric Schmidt's investment firm — with participation from Archimedes Ventures. Yep, Schmidt's firm is investing in a search engine.
New Twitter Ecosystem Poster Child SocialFlow Secures The Firehose And $7 Million Round
Apr 07, 10:00PM
In Twitter's attempt to monetize, there's no question that a key factor is brand support. That is, brands utilizing the network effectively to interact with customers and spread messages. Twitter knows it's a potential goldmine. But it's also not where it needs to be yet. And that's exactly why Twitter loves SocialFlow. SocialFlow is a social media platform that essentially teaches brands how to use Twitter most effectively. And they actually do more than that — they use data analysis to use Twitter most effectively on their behalf. Brands come up with the tweets they want to send out, then send them SocialFlow's way so they can determine the best time to tweet.
Expedia To Spin Off TripAdvisor As A Public Company In Q3 2011
Apr 07, 8:42PM
Travel search and booking giant Expedia, which is traded on the Nasdaq under 'EXPE,' is spinning off trip reviews site TripAdvisor as a public company. In a release, Expedia said that its Board of Directors has preliminarily approved the plan to separate Expedia into two publicly traded companies. Expedia/IAC must feel that spinning off TripAdvisor as a public company could be a financially lucrative move. TripAdvisor, which was founded in 2000, was originally bought by IAC in for $212 million in 2004. IAC spun off Expedia, which included TripAdvisor, in 2005. The newly formed TripAdvisor would include all of the domestic and international operations, including its flasghipsite and 18 other travel media and advertising brands. 
Keen On… Steven Levy: If You Want to Get Inside Google, Get 'In The Plex' (TCTV) + Book Giveaway
Apr 07, 8:01PM
Do we really need another book about Google? If it's as richly researched, memorably anecdotal and as finely written as In The Plex, Steven Levy's new book about how Google thinks, works and shapes our lives, then the answer is: yes we do! In The Plex is the most comprehensive and carefully researched book to date about Google's various businesses – from search to Android to YouTube to AdWords. In addition to writing what he calls "a biography" of the Google search engine and the company's data centers, Levy also offers a fascinating account of Google's failed China policy and its seemingly Sisyphean struggle to keep up with Facebook in social media. Steven not only came into TechCrunch's San Francisco plex yesterday to give us his first online video interview about In The Plex, but he's also given TechCrunch readers five free copies of the book. So here's the deal about getting In The Plex.
Why Even Ron Conway Couldn't Persuade Me To Move To Silicon Valley
Apr 07, 7:07PM
Editor's note: Reggie Bradford is the CEO of Vitrue, a social media marketing platform based in Atlanta. Do serious tech companies still need to be based in Silicon Valley? There seems to be an endless debate about this among founders everywhere. My own startup, Vitrue, turns 5 this week. That's forever in startup years, and it's got me to thinking about my friend Ron Conway. Ron invested in Vitrue on October 28, 2006. He's a true industry legend (noteworthy enough to have his own Wikipedia page) and a long-time Valley resident. At the time, we had several late-night, semi-sober conversations about moving the headquarters to Silicon Valley. Five years later I'm glad I stuck to my guns and kept the company in The Big Peach. We have quite a vibrant startup community here with companies such as MailChimp, MFG.com, and Scoutmob, and Solo Health. So with all due respect to my good friend and uber-Angel investor Ron Conway, here are five reasons why I'm glad I didn't move us from Atlanta to the Valley. And why Silicon Valley, despite still being the capital of the technology world, doesn't necessarily make or break a company. 
Xoom Too Expensive? Try These 5 Inexpensive Android Tablets Instead
Apr 07, 6:52PM
The comments on yesterday's post concerning the Xoom's bungled launch stated loud and clear that people want inexpensive Android tablets -- or at least that the high MSRP was the Xoom's undoing. The thought is that if you're going to spend over $500 on a tablet, the iPad is the only choice, which therefore makes the $800 Xoom a no-sale. I sort of agree with that even though I still feel the Xoom is a fantastic tablet. Still, I feel the poor marketing and product placement doomed the tablet rather than the price alone. Motorola never publicly justified the price. That said, the Xoom would be a similar, but still different fail whale even if it launched at $300. It wouldn't be the same Xoom. The dual core CPU, lovely screen, and abundant amounts of memory would be the first options on the cutting board. From there Moto would have probably slash the build quality from solid to cheap along with opting for a weaker battery. A lower-priced Xoom tablet would not be a more successful tablet. The vertical iTunes ecosystem opens up a huge revenue stream that allows Apple to price products different than most Android tablet makers. It's not fair, really. Still, it's disingenuous to say companies are ignoring the low-end Android tablet market. It's actually alive, well, and more than thriving. But please, don't call the tablets after the jump iPad or even Xoom competitors. They're not even in the same league. But that doesn't mean they aren't worth a look.
Crowd-Sourced Design Startup Chirply Raises $1.1 Million, Launches Redesign
Apr 07, 6:00PM
Chirply, the crowd-sourced and crowd-curated design community for paper goods, today announced that it has closed a $1.1 million series A round of investment. The round was led by a host of top angels and investment firms, including Netflix founder Marc Randolph, Sling Media's Blake Krikorian, Keith Rabois of Square, Ash Patel of Yahoo, Dave McClure of 500 Startups, Y Combinator, and Founder Collective. Chirply will use the infusion of capital for product development and to ramp up hiring efforts. The design startup has also redesigned its website and launches the new iteration today. Since Chirply's soft launch, which we covered in February, Chirply has attracted 200,000 pageviews, over 100 design submissions, and has already doled out its first payments to designers -- according to co-founder Gagan Palrecha.
Facebook's "Open Compute Project": Their Server/Datacenter Expertise Now Open To All
Apr 07, 5:44PM
We're live today at a Facebook event at their headquarters in Palo Alto. They've already noted that this event won't be about a consumer facing product, but instead will be about the underlying technology that powers the service. And to that end, they've announced a new iniative, The Open Compute Project. So what is it? Facebook is opening up the specifications and design documents that went into creating their customized servers and datacenters. According to Facebook, these are much more efficient than the industry standards out there right now — especially if you're specially building social applications. In fact, Facebook says their servers are 38 percent more efficient than the off-the-shelf ones they were buying previously. And that has meant a 24 percent cost savings.
Live From Facebook HQ: A New Approach To Data Centers
Apr 07, 5:21PM
I'm sitting in Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, where the company has invited dozens of press and members of the tech community — I've spotted nametags with 'Apple' and 'Paypal' on them, among many others — for a special event. Unlike many of Facebook's past events, this one isn't consumer-focused. Instead, it's all about infrastructure. The invitation to the event says that they'll be giving us "a behind-the-scenes look at the latest technology powering Facebook". And we're hearing that it will include information on how Facebook is building out highly efficient data centers — and that it plans to open source its technology.
MobSmith Launches Turnkey Mobile Ad Creation Platform
Apr 07, 5:20PM
The mobile advertising space is a multi-billion dollar market and startups and companies are battling it out for a piece of this very large (and growing) pie. Today, MobSmith is launching as a turnkey mobile ad creation platform to help advertisers create rich media, interactive ads for mobile phones. MobSmith, which was formerly known as NearbyAd, allows advertisers to execute rich campaigns that can be personalized and targeted using criteria such as a user's location, demographic, or publisher's content. The platform allows users to use dynamic changing content for personalized ads, gives users access to analytics and integrates with existing ad networks.
Homeland Security Taps Twitter, Facebook For New Alert System
Apr 07, 5:00PM
The Department of Homeland Security plans to use Twitter and Facebook to warn citizens about threats with its new National Terrorism Advisory System. The new program will in part replace the old color-coded system, put in place following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, that's being phased out. Please RT, etc. The new system, which the AP says is expected to launch on April 27, will post warnings to the social networks "when appropriate." In truth it's probably not too far removed from the emergency broadcast system warnings and tests that go out over TV and radio. Might as well tap into Twitter an Facebook if people are on them all day long, right?
The Beastie Boys Make Some Noise For Tumblr
Apr 07, 4:30PM
Yes, Tumblr is growing like crazy. But you know a social media site has arrived when big rock bands start releasing tracks from upcoming albums on your site. The Beastie Boys have a Tumblr blog, where you can listen to the song "Make Some Noise" from their next album.
Let's Back The Startup Kids – A Documentary That Needs To Be Seen
Apr 07, 4:29PM
Oh, how I wish I'd done this myself. The Startup Kids is a to-be-released documentary about young web entrepreneurs in the U.S.... and Europe. That's actually what's nice about it - for the first time we have (outside of our work here on TechCrunch Europe) some media which finds a common thread of entrepreneurs running between the two continents. There's a nice underlying theme here too. The recession has created many new startups often out of sheer necessity, and that's exactly what these two Icelandic girls, Sesselja Vilhjalmsdottir and Vala Halldorsdottir did - they went out and got started. But although they got an EU grant to do the filming, they still need additional funding. So in order to help them we're releasing the trailer exclusively on Techcrunch, watch it below. You can pledge your support by backing them on Kickstarter so they can finish the film - and we can get to see 70 interviews with leading entrepreneurs. 
Bing's Flair For Visual Search Comes To The iPad
Apr 07, 4:04PM
Bing's iPad app is live in the app store this morning, with Bing's signature focus on visual search in full force. The new app will feature a different high-resolution homepage every morning, with more details about the image revealed through hotspots. The app amplifies Bing's strengths, namely its visual and design aspects. It offers a grid view of searches and full page image previews. The Maps search option also provides a variety of map views such as bird's eye, road and aerial and a new "Trends" feature, exclusive to the Bing iPad app gives you a visual display of the top ten trending Bing searches.
LinkedIn's Android App Exits Beta With Messaging, Sharing, 'People You May Know' Features
Apr 07, 4:01PM
As we wrote in December, LinkedIn finally gave users an Android app after launching apps for iOS and BlackBerry platforms. Today, LinkedIn's Android app has exited beta and arrived on the Android Market. The free application features six modules, including the ability to view updates from your professional network, including updates from newly established connections, changes to people's profiles, and articles and information being shared by your contacts. The sharing and social features of the app are new, and you can now share news updates to Twitter and comment on shared items. The app also includes unified search across both direct connections and the entire LinkedIn network.
FrankWork Streamlines Management Of Freelance Staff And Projects
Apr 07, 3:58PM
Managing freelancers and projects can be a challenge and a new startup is launching today to help managers sort through the chaos of the freelance hiring. FrankWorks, is opening up as an enterprise site that allows producers to manage freelance staff and projects. Frank's recruiting module allows you to import your contacts into the platform so that you can assemble all of your freelance contacts in a single place, see their current availability, and reserve them for project needs. FRANK's intuitive interface lets you organize your freelance contacts by specialty, location, and rate.
(Founder Stories) Christopher Poole: Build A Product Before You Build A Platform
Apr 07, 3:24PM
One of the biggest startup cliches is that every other startup wants to become a platform for other startups to build on. But to Christopher Poole, the founder of Canvas and 4Chan, that is the wrong approach. "People get caught up in trends—game mechanics, building a platform," he tells Chris Dixon in the Founder Stories video above. Instead of trying to copy what works for others, founders should "focus on building what you love, focus on the product and building the community." He doesn't understand "this obsession with building platforms. Focus on building something worth scaling. You don't even have something worthy of an API yet. Focus on users and have them fall in love with your thing." Amen.
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