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Lark's Silent Alarm And Sleep Monitoring System Lands At Apple Retail Stores
May 24, 3:30PM
Lark, a silent waking system that wakes you silently and naturally, is announcing big news today. After launching at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco last Fall, the company is announcing the public availability of its product and a retail deal with Apple stores in North America. Lark's system involves an iPhone app and a small band that you wear across your wrist while sleeping. You set the iPhone app to the time you need to wake up and the app will transform your phone into a night time alarm clock. The band includes a small device and sensor with blue tooth technology that will vibrate at the time you are supposed to wake up. Plus there's no more jarring, loud alarms; so your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, or husband won't be woken up by your alarm. 
Microsoft Officially Announces Windows Phone 7.1 Mango With 500 New Features
May 24, 3:23PM
Today at Microsoft's Windows Phone VIP Reception, president of mobile communications Andy Lees and senior Windows Phone product manager Derek Snyder gave us a quick rundown of what to expect out of the newest version of the Windows Phone platform, WP7.1 or "Mango." Though he didn't have time to cover all 500 new features, the focus will certainly center around communication, applications, and the way we use mobile internet. Along with the current service offerings in People Hub such as Facebook, Hotmail, and Gmail, Microsoft has gone ahead and added LinkedIn and Twitter. Mango will also bring with it a Groups feature, allowing multiple people to communicate across a multiple platforms, while simultaneously integrating those people's profiles, pictures, and a group history of all events and communication shared. Instead of only being able to communicate with groups that all share the same hardware maker, Mango employs Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat to keep you connected with friends, including those with other phones. 
What Investor Ashton Kutcher Looks For In Tech Companies
May 24, 3:09PM
What many people do not know about actor and angel investor Ashton Kutcher is that he's been interested in science and technology from a young age, starting out at the University of Iowa as a biomedical engineer. That obviously didn't work out and he went the "Dude Where's My Car" route until years later he launched Blah Girls at TechCrunch 50, which did not work out so well. Kutcher said that he's learned a lot of lessons from Blah Girls during an interview with Charlie Rose at TechCrunch Disrupt, namely to listen people smarter than himself, specifically Ron Conway, Paul Graham, and Marc Andressen, "The failures that we have are sometimes expensive educations."
Yandex Opens At $35 Per Share With A $11.2B Market Cap (Bigger Than LinkedIn)
May 24, 2:56PM
After pricing its IPO at $25 per share a few hours before the market opened, the Russian search giant's share price jumped close to 40% immediately after its flotation. The price per share opened this morning at $35, giving Yandex a market cap of roughly $11.2 billion at its debut. That means its value currently far surpasses that of LinkedIn, which went public last week (successfully, too).
Facebook Ad Sales Chief: There Are 50 Million Likes Per Day For Brands
May 24, 2:49PM
Today, TechCrunch editor Erick Schonfeld sat down with Moat's Mike Walrath, Facebook's ad chief Carolyn Everson, Medialets' Eric Litman and RadiumOne's Gurbaksh Chahal to address the disruptions in display advertising on social and mobile platforms. On the panel, Everson revealed some interesting information about where advertising on Facebook is heading, particularly with brands. Everson, who joined Facebook from Microsoft in February, says that advertising can be brought to life digitally through peer to peer recommendations and friend to friend experiences on Facebook. The social network is trying to work with top brands to help capitalize on this experiences. As she tells the audience, the "holy grail for branding are recommendations." 
Investors Bet Another $10 Million On Fring's Ability To Rival Skype (+ Microsoft)
May 24, 2:47PM
Exclusive - Mobile communications startup fring, fresh off the heels of launching group video calls for smartphones, has raised a Series C round of financing from existing investors, TechCrunch has learned. The amount that was raised is actually not being disclosed, but sources close to the company tell us that fring secured another $10 million in venture capital, bringing its total of funding raised to well north of $30 million.
Y Combinator's Paul Graham: We're Looking For People Like Us
May 24, 2:34PM
The second day of TechCrunch Disrupt NYC just kicked off with a bang as Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham sat down with world-renowned interviewer and journalist Charlie Rose. The topic of conversation: what is Paul Graham looking for when it comes to identifying the people who are most likely to succeed? Graham says that when people come to him and say they've got a great idea, his first response is, "Tell me about your cofounders". In general the idea is less important, though he says that if it's a really terrible idea that might reflect poorly on the founders, and a really great idea might lift them up. "There are some people who just get what they want in the world. If you want to start a startup you have to be one of those people. You can't be passive and wishy-washy," Graham says. 
B&N Unleashes A New Nook: Touchscreen E-Ink, 2 Month Battery, $139
May 24, 2:30PM
Barnes & Noble just unveiled the latest and greatest Nook ereading device at a special NYC event. It's a simple device, really. In fact B&N stated that this revamped Nook is the easiest to use ereading device on the market. The touchscreen enabled Nook, sorry Kobo, is said not to feature any page turning latency and a battery that last up to two months, which is double the current Kindle's battery life.
Brightcove Launches App Cloud. It's Not Just For Videos Anymore
May 24, 2:15PM
Brightcove is no longer just for videos. Starting today, it is launching an entire new product line for making mobile and web apps called Brightcove App Cloud. Developers will be able to use App Cloud to create their apps once and then deploy them to the iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and beyond. It creates HTML5 apps as well as mobile touch websites, and it is not limited to video apps. In the video above, Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire explains what App cloud is and answers some questions about what appears to be a departure from the company's primary focus of providing an online video platform. The App cloud apps don't need to be video apps, but they are geared towards media apps. Just as Adobe spits out iPhone apps from its Creative Suite, so too will Brightcove App Cloud—except, as Allaire points out, Brightcove App Cloud isn't based on any proprietary technology. It is all open technologies such as HTML5, CSS and Javascript.
Live At The Barnes & Noble Event In New York
May 24, 1:59PM
We're coming at you live from the Barnes & Noble superstore/cafe/public bathroom on Union Square where we hope to see an update to the Nook line. It's my understanding that we'll be seeing a new Nook Color Device with priced at about $140. Update this page as we live blog the event with bated breath.
Siano Raises Another $20 Million For Mobile TV Receiver Chips
May 24, 1:44PM
Israeli startup Siano Mobile Silicon, a developer of mobile digital TV receiver chips, has just raised a $20 million in funding led by Jerusalem Venture Partners. This brings the startup's total funding to $95.5 million. Founded in late 2004, Siano develops and markets silicon semiconductor chips for reception of digital TV on mobile, portable and hand-held devices. The company's chips are mainly used for the implementation of mobile TV in emerging markets such as China, Brazil and Europe. In fact, Siano says it has a 50 percent market share in China and Latin America for its chipsets that allow the reception of TV on mobile devices. The company supplies its chips to Samsung, Motorola, ZTE, Huawei, Mio, Garmin, Dell and others. 
SV Angel Partners with Lerer Ventures to Cross Syndicate Valley/NYC Deals
May 24, 1:43PM
Yesterday, Mike broke the news on stage at Disrupt that SV Angel is doubling down with Yuri Milner once again to invest in all willing Y Combinator grads. Today, SV Angel is announcing another partnership, this time Ron Conway & crew are looking east. SV Angel and Lerer Ventures-- which also announced a new fund yesterday-- will announce today that the two are entering a formal partnership to invest in one another's deals. There are limits to how cozy they are getting. The funds are still distinct, with no direct financial stake in one another. And there's no requirement or quid pro quo. Indeed, SV Angel's fund is much larger, so there will likely be more West Coast deals being closed between the two. Like the Y Combinator deal, this is just an offer on the table for all new SV Angel and Lerer Venture portfolio companies. "It will always be at the discretion of the entrepreneur," said SV Angel's Ron Conway backstage at Disrupt.
Opera Mini 6 For iOS – A Better Browser For iPhone And iPad? (Screenshots)
May 24, 1:00PM
Opera Software makes some damn fine browsers, as tens of millions of people around the world can attest. Apple products like the iPhone 4 and the iPad, of course, come with a decent mobile version of Safari, so users only get to enjoy Opera's products when they actually visit the App Store and look for a replacement browser. Nevertheless, when the Opera Mini iPhone app hit the marketplace back in April 2010, it proceeded to get downloaded 1 million times in its first day. The company is today releasing Opera Mini 6 for iOS (iTunes link), and I had the chance to test it on a second-generation iPad. My guess it will get downloaded by masses of people once again - or at least it should IMHO.
Watch TechCrunch Disrupt Live Day 2!
May 24, 1:00PM
If you're not at TechCrunch Disrupt, you're missing out. I mean even MG flew in all the way from Iceland to finally get here. But incase you are stuck at ugh, work we've embedded the livestream above. You can also follow along by tracking the #TCDisrupt hashtag on Twitter or you know, reading TechCrunch. So what are you waiting for, Disrupt! 
The e-G8 Talks Of A New Industrial Revolution – But Where Are The Steam Engines?
May 24, 12:38PM
We're in the middle of a new industrial revolution. Over 2 bilion people are connected to the Internet - a third of the world's population and three billion have cell phones. Internet and mobile use is exploding in emerging economies, even contributing to the Arab Spring this year. Meanwhile the worlds developed economies are dealing with the breakdown of copyright and IP because of the Web, and the radical transparency brought by things like Wikileaks and the subsequent amplification of news via social media. So it's almost amazing that it's taken this long to have a special "e-G8" conference to address the rise of technology as a new force in globalisation before the 'real G8' meeting. Hopes are high. Some 1,500 people - tech gurus, entrepreneurs, VCs, big brand tech companies - are attending the event, which is in several huge tents in the Tuileries Garden in Paris. Attendees include Eric E. Schmidt of Google, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jeffrey P. Bezos of Amazon and Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. And the agenda, at least on the face of it, looks high minded enough. But there is also the political aspect. President Nicolas Sarkozy has no doubt timed this to amplify his prestige prior to the G8, and to kick his political opponents while they are down - namely former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who languishes in New York. And chairman of Publicis, Mauarice Levy, said Sarkozy wanted the conference to be like the Internet: "Open Participative and, in a word, free." But is it? 
Yandex Prices IPO At Higher Than Expected $25 Per Share, Raises $1.3 Billion
May 24, 11:03AM
Yandex, one of the leading Internet companies in Russia, this morning announced the pricing of its initial public offering of a little under 52.2 million Class A ordinary shares at $25.00 per share. The shares will begin trading later today on NASDAQ under the symbol "YNDX". The company is thus raising a little over $1.3 billion, and has granted its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 5.2 million shares to cover over-allotments.
Conversocial Secures $2.4m Series A Round From DFJ Esprit To Grow Social Media Tools
May 24, 9:56AM
Conversocial is a real-time social media management system which lets companies run marketing and customer support through Facebook Pages and Twitter. While competitors like coTweet, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Context Optional and Socialite also let you manage Facebook fan pages, Conversocial's emphasis on enterprise tools somewhat mark it out from the pack. Today it announces a series A funs raise to the tune of £1.5 million ($2.4m) from European venture capital firm, DFJ Esprit. The London startup plans to grow its platform and extend internationally with this extra firepower. Nic Brisbourne, partner at DFJ Esprit, will be joining the board at Conversocial as non-executive director. 
Twitter Buys TweetDeck For $40 Million
May 24, 4:50AM
Word has been circulating for weeks now that Twitter was soon to be swooping up the popular third-party app, TweetDeck. In early May, Mike Arrington reported that the deal was as good as done, but the two companies were not yet willing to publicly release the numbers. Today, CNN and CNET broke the news that TweetDeck has been acquired by Twitter for $40 million. Twitter has yet to officially confirm, but judging by what we're hearing from sources close to the deal, it's done and done..
Jeff Jarvis: When It Comes To New Journalism, 'Transparency Is The New Objectivity'
May 24, 3:58AM
Jeff Jarvis is the creator of Entertainment Weekly, a San Francisco Examiner columnist, the Associate Publisher of The Daily News, and a consultant to new media companies -- in other words, a veteran of the old school and a proponent of the new. Jarvis took to the stage today at Disrupt NYC for some banter with TechCrunch Big Kahuna Mike Arrington. The two writers talked about their past, including Jarvis' history of calling out Arrington publicly for saying the New York Times was in the pocket of a startup, among other things. As such, their conversation was candid and casual, and focused on the fluctuating definition of what a journalist is (and what it should be) in the age of new media.
Symantec Continues Move Into eDiscovery, Acquires Clearwell Systems For $390 Million
May 23, 11:18PM
Symantec, the computer software security giant, has announced that it will be acquiring enterprise-class eDiscovery management platform maker, Clearwell Systems for $390 million. Symantec is probably best known for its widely proliferated (perhaps even ubiquitous) Norton security products, but of late it has been making a play at eDiscovery platforms, a strategic move, considering Gartner values the market at around $1.7 billion, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 14 percent. What's more, Symantec spent $2 billion last year in acquisitions, $1.25+ billion of that coming in its acquisition of VeriSign, Inc.
Startup Battlefield At Disrupt: Day One, Session One
May 23, 10:59PM
Our first batch of Startup Battlefield presentations is available for you to watch. Click on through for the "Disrupting Search and Discovery" range of companies and let them shock you with their brash disregard for search paradigms. The companies in this group are Do@, Rexly, Weotta, Skylines, and Deja. Check out all the videos inside, with handy executive summaries and links to the original posts with more info and the judge panel's Q&A.
Happy Toy Machine Allows You To Build Your Own Plush Toys
May 23, 10:52PM
The TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Alley audience choice winner today is Happy Toy Machine, which allows you to design and create plush toys online. The site allows adults and children to customize their plush toys by colors, size, body parts, shape, type, build and more. When you are satisfied with your design, you can actually have your creation built and sent you. It's sort of like the Build-A-Bear on steroids. 
BillGuard Will Track Hidden Fees And Billing Errors On Credit Card Bills
May 23, 10:35PM
My Mom meticulously scans every credit card, cable or cell phone bill to ensure that no errors have been made or hidden fees have been issued. I, on the other hand, don't have the time or the patience to do this. And I'm sure along the line, I've been overcharged or scammed in some way. BillGuard, a startup launching to the public today at TechCrunch Disrupt, aims to alert users of unwanted charges such as hidden fees, billing errors, scams and fraud on credit card bills. The essentially crowdsources scams by alerting you when a charge on your bill is flagged by anyone else using BillGuard or posting scams on online forums. The startup will also take into account its own analysis (which the company has been working on for the past year) and monitor the web for any complaints about credit card scams.
Spenz Wants To Help You Track Spending Habits And Stick To A Budget
May 23, 10:21PM
Sticking to a budget can be a challenge no matter how big or small your income is. While Mint.com gives you access into where your money is going, it doesn't incentivize or motivate you to stick to a budget. Enter Spenz, a startup launching at TechCrunch Disrupt today, is launching a proactive way for a younger generation to track where they spend all of their money and provides incentives and rewards for users to budget. People can input their expenses via mobile and web apps. The idea behind a mobile app is to allow users to input something they've spent money on quickly and on the fly. It aims to track both your big purchases and spending (i.e. car payments and rent) and discretionary spending (i.e. coffee at Starbucks, lunch). Spenz will categorize spending into categories like activities, entertainment, food etc. 
StyleSeat Is An OpenTable For Hair Salons And Spas
May 23, 10:08PM
Finding a new hair stylist in a city is a challenging and very important task. For me, I happen to be very particular about how I like my hair cut, styled and highlighted. While Yelp provides a database of reviews for some hair salons and spas, Yelp's salon pages don't allow me to book an appointment, see pricing, or access more information about the stylists themselves. Enter StyleSeat, a startup launching today at TechCrunch Disrupt. Essentially the site aims to be a destination where the beauty and wellness industry can build consumer-facing sites that include all the information and functionality I mentioned above. It's sort of like an OpenTable for hair salons and spas. For salon and spa owners, StyleSeat offers a platform where they can create a site that includes location of the salon, stylists and their bios, pictures of haircuts and hair styles from stylists, recommendations from customers, and more. The site also allows consumers to book appointments, and StyleSeat will provide salons with daily schedules of customers appointments. 
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