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Thursday, February 28, 2013

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Stitch Fix Gets $4.75M Series A To Scale Out Its Tech-Enabled Personal Shopping Service

Feb 28, 8:18PM

katrina lakeStitch Fix, the San Francisco-based startup that provides a subscription-based personal shopping and delivery service for women's clothing, has closed on $4.75 million in new funding, the company tells TechCrunch. The round, which serves as Stitch Fix's Series A, was co-led by Baseline Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners with the participation of Western Technology Investment.


John Battelle Returns As CEO At Federated Media, Deanna Brown Steps Down

Feb 28, 8:10PM

john battelleOnline advertising company Federated Media just announced that current CEO Deanna Brown is stepping down, while founder and former CEO John Battelle will be taking on the role again. The company says that Battelle and Brown will be working together during March "to ensure a seamless transition." Brown joined Federated in 2009 as president and chief operating officer, and replaced Battelle as CEO a little more than a year later.


The New Dyson AM05 Is The Darth Vader Of Space Heaters

Feb 28, 8:06PM

AM05 Black HeroBeautiful design and utility are, in many ways, paramount when it comes to home electronics. That's why I was really impressed by the the new AM05 space heater/cooler from Dyson. It's a completely quiet, blade-less system that comes in a black and nickel color scheme that looks like it fell off of Boba Fett's Slave 1.


"In The Studio," Skillshare's Michael Karnjanaprakorn Talks Platforms And Marketplaces

Feb 28, 8:00PM

skillshare"In the Studio" welcomes a first-time founder with a diverse set of experiences -- ranging from economics to advertising, from product management to design, and from startup CEO to advisor of a venture capital firm -- who now is at the helm of one of the most interesting online education startups on the web today.


Responsive Design Framework Foundation 4 Goes Mobile-First, Switches From jQuery To Zepto

Feb 28, 8:00PM

foundation4-square1Product design company ZURB just launched the fourth version of Foundation, its responsive design framework that directly competes with Bootstrap. The new version, ZURB tells us, has been completely rewritten from a mobile-first perspective. The company says this "empowers a designer to reverse their thinking " and lets you "design for the mobile experience before you design for the desktop one."


With "Millions" Of Users In 40+ Countries, European Messaging Startup Yuilop Prepares For U.S. Launch In "One To Two Weeks"

Feb 28, 7:33PM

yuilop_logo1Yuilop, a European free messaging startup which launched back in 2011 and has amassed "millions" of users of its apps, will be launching in the U.S. in the next couple of weeks. Although the startup has some users in the U.S. already, who have managed to acquire its app on the sly, it will be officially opening up to the U.S. in "one to two weeks", says co-founder and CEO Jochen Doppelhammer.


Aol Talks About Us More Than It Talks To Us

Feb 28, 7:29PM

aol-talks5Aol is really into hiring boss's boss's bosses. We've had a couple in my brief sojourn in the Aol Brand Group. Now we've got another one, former Gilt CEO Susan Lyne, who just sent out the following memo to our Team about her new role, which she doesn't mention. She will be Brand Group CEO. I'm bolding the word "brand" in this letter because I hate it. It's one of those fluffy words people use without having much sense of what it means, like "content" or "friction." Okay, now I'm bolding those words, too.


Google Updates YouTube iPhone And iPad App With 'Send To TV' Feature, The Google TV Equivalent Of AirPlay

Feb 28, 7:04PM

youtube-send-to-tvGoogle issued an update for its iOS application today that adds the "Send to TV" feature to its apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The feature allows you to quickly and easily pair your mobile phone with select TVs, making it possible to play and control video from the app on your television set.


Yammer Taps Microsoft Translator To Bring Cross-Language Translation To The Enterprise Social Network

Feb 28, 7:00PM

YammerMessageTransla_PageMicrosoft-owned Yammer has been relatively quiet since its acquisition by Redmond, but the company piped up today to announce plans to add instant message translation capabilities, which will allow multilingual collaboration on the “Facebook for the office.” The Yammer team is tapping Microsoft Translator to power the translations, which is yet another benefit of Microsoft’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Yammer. It’s relatively simple, and much like current auto-translation services you’d find on Google Translate (built into Chrome) or Airbnb, which has auto-translation for over 20 languages. Essentially, any time someone yams in a language that is not your default language, a “Translate” button will appear below the post. Once you hit translate, the entire thread will be translated into your preferred, default language. This means that the initial post (whether it was a reply or a thread-starter) will be translated, along with any response messages that are added to that thread (past, present, and future). Here’s what Adam Pisoni, Yammer co-founder and GM of Engineering had to say: Removing language as a barrier to cross-company collaboration can be a competitive game changer for multinational organizations. It opens a world of possibilities. This is another example of Yammer's accelerated innovation following the Microsoft acquisition — we're able to use Microsoft Translator to quickly deliver additional value to customers. Microsoft Translator supports 39 different languages. The company also claims that 65 percent of Yammer’s 7 million users do not live within the United States. Though the service has long supported various languages, this will allow for cross-language collaboration for Yammer’s clients. Here’s a video of the translation in action:


Fujitsu's Future Phones And Tablets Could Skip The Physical Keyboard And Watch Your Fingers Instead

Feb 28, 6:41PM

fujitsu-keyboard2For better or worse, the advent of smartphones and tablets mean that we're rapidly moving away from the more tactile user experiences that were the hallmark of a bygone era in computing. As it turns out, the folks at Fujitsu are eager to close the book on the days of the physical keyboard if what they were showing off here at MWC was any indication. Tucked away in a corner of Fujitsu's booth here in Barcelona's Fira Gran Via was a gentleman typing out words onto a tablet via a keyboard for anyone who would watch him. It sounds like a completely mundane occurrence, except the keyboard he was typing on wasn't actually there.


Bing Maps Now Shows Ocean Floor Topography, Gets Updated Base Satellite Image And Almost 14M Sq Km Of New High-Res Imagery

Feb 28, 6:30PM

BingBing Maps just got a large update that brings a more detailed map of the ocean floor to Microsoft's mapping service. This new bathymetry data is based on the data compiled by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The update also introduces a new base satellite image from TerraColor with a resolution of 15 meters per pixel, as well as new high-res satellite imagery that covers a total of 13,799,276 sq km (Microsoft likes to be precise about these numbers).


What I See In Your Future, Vine (Voiceover, Android, And Front-Facing Camera)

Feb 28, 6:30PM

dearvineDear Vine, We've grown close over the last month. We've had so many great times together. You've helped me break news, have some LOLs, get creative, and even crowdsource information thanks to your awesome integration with Twitter.


Apple Has Sold Over 8M iPads Direct To Education Worldwide, With More Than 1B iTunes U Downloads

Feb 28, 6:19PM

ipad-itunes-uApple announced a new milestone for its iTunes U online digital education outlet, which has just crossed the 1 billion download mark. Alongside the announcement, Apple has also informed us exclusively that the company has so far sold more than 8 million iPads directly into educational institution worldwide. iTunes U became a standalone app, complete with its own course marketplace and catalog in June 2012.


Getaround Launches A New iPhone App To Simplify Peer-To-Peer Car Rentals

Feb 28, 6:00PM

GetaroundLogo_RGB copyPeer-to-peer car rental startup (and TechCrunch Disrupt winner) Getaround is built around the idea of helping customers to make use of cars they own, which are sitting around not being driven most of the time. Also, to help those without cars to quickly and easily gain access to one that's sitting around and actually use it.


The Science Behind Why The White House Should Use Emoticons In Its Emails

Feb 28, 5:42PM

smiley-face-wallpaper-widescreen-001People who read my emails must think my parents are Mr. Rogers and double-espresso. For a very strategic reason, I write with more emotions, LOLs, and exclamation points than a Twilight chatroom: humans are prone to misinterpret text-only communications. A strategy of unmistakably positive emails could have saved the White House from its most recent crisis of having to prove it didn't send threatening emails to journalist Bob Woodward.


VC-Backed Disrupt Alum Zumper Jumps Into The Chicago Rentals Market, Builds Out Pro Features

Feb 28, 5:18PM

zumper-logoZumper -- the online home rentals startup and TechCrunch Disrupt alum that quickly raised a $1 million seed round from a list of top-shelf VCs that included Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, CrunchFund and more -- is growing. Today, it is announcing that it is adding Chicago as its next city, after debuting in San Francisco and expanding to New York last year.


OUYA Android Gaming Console To Start Shipping To Backers March 28

Feb 28, 5:07PM

Ouya_Family_1024x1024OUYA, the Kickstarter-funded Android gaming console, has already shipped developer consoles, but had yet to specify an exact date when backers could expect their production devices. Today, the company announced that it will be shipping the first OUYA consoles out to backers beginning March 28, ahead of a June retail launch.


Facebook Gives Examples To Jumpstart Usage Of Graph Search, Which It May Have Spent Too Long Building

Feb 28, 5:00PM

TYF-zbYYYvnPhotos and the news feed are where people spend their time on Facebook. Yet its last two big products were relatively niche features, Timeline and the new Graph Search. Facebook today published examples of how to use Graph Search, which merely highlight that it's not part of day-to-day life. Yes, Facebook needed to fix search, but it may have prioritized an intellectual wank over user experience.


Koozoo Aims To Build A Live Video Network With 24-Hour Footage From Old Phones

Feb 28, 5:00PM

koozoo home screenKoozoo is launching today in San Francisco and Austin with a new twist on social video. The emphasis here is on utility, rather than performance and entertainment (though it can be entertaining, too). Wouldn't it be useful to know if the weather is nice at a nearby park (though I suppose that example is best-suited for cities with microclimates like San Francisco's). Or whether a nearby store or restaurant is super-crowded? Koozoo founder and CEO Drew Sechrist is trying to build up a network of live video streams that can give you that information.


Local, Organic Food Delivery Service Good Eggs Launches In SF To Bring The Farmer's Market To You

Feb 28, 5:00PM

good eggsGood Eggs is a new service that delivers organic and sustainable meats, produce, and other goods from locally sourced farms and vendors. There are lots of delivery services that will bring groceries to you, and there are lots of Community Supported Agriculture programs around to connect residents with produce from local farms. But neither does a great job of getting users the stuff they want.



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HP’s Android-Powered Slate 7 Tablet Is Cheap And It Works, But Is That Really Enough?




TechCrunch » android





HP’s Android-Powered Slate 7 Tablet Is Cheap And It Works, But Is That Really Enough?



slate7-1

HP surprised more than a few people earlier tonight when it officially revealed the Slate 7, a $169 Android tablet that’s set to ship in the U.S. for $169 in April. It struck me as a safe move for HP, especially after it whiffed so profoundly with its ill-fated TouchPad. After all, people are buying plenty of Nexus 7s, so clearly there must be a market for a cheap, small tablet.


I got the chance to muck around with the Slate 7 at Pepcom earlier tonight though, and to be quite honest, I’m not convinced HP has a winner on its hands.


One of the first things you’ll notice about the Slate 7 is its elongated 16:9 display, and the thick black bezel that runs around it. It’s actually rather reminiscent of Samsung’s 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2.0, another underwhelming Android tab that banked on its price tag to sell. The screen itself (running at 1024 x 600) was decent enough — it was generally very bright, but the colors displayed seemed dull and lifeless.


The Slate 7 seems to have been designed to be as inoffensive as possible. That’s not completely a bad thing — the stainless chassis and the soft-touch plastic that the Slate’s rear is swathed in are rather nice — but there are precious few other design niceties to be found here. Those looking for a little splash of color may be interested to know that a red version will also be available. The Slate 7 is also apparently loaded up with Beats Audio support, a trait it shares with its notebook cousins, but I couldn’t get a feel for it amid all of the noise of Pepcom.


As far as performance goes, what else is there to say? It works just about as well as you would expect a $169 tablet to: not that great. Swiping between home screens could be a little jerky (if it worked at all; quick swipes didn’t always get the job done), and there was a bit of delay as I went to fire up new apps — though some non-final software probably has something to do with that. The Slate 7 has a dual-core 1.6GHz processor and 1GB of RAM to work with, which is usually enough to tackle stock, unfettered Android 4.1 without too many hiccups, but I’m willing to chalk all this jerkiness up to a pre-production lack of polish for now.


Click to view slideshow.

While we’re talking about performance, HP’s booth representatives didn’t have many specifics on the dual-core processor, but a quick look at the settings revealed an option called “Rockchip system updates,” proving nicely that HP sourced the processor from China’s illustrious Fuzhou Rockchips Electronics company. Now I couldn’t care less who the chip came from if it does the job admirably, but the internals here don’t do much to wow. When asked about how HP was able to produce such an inexpensive tablet, HP’s pitchman pointed to economies of scale — order enough parts and the end product shouldn’t cost too much — but opting to go with a SoC from a largely unknown Chinese company probably didn’t hurt either.


What almost certainly will hurt HP, though, is the crowded playing field it’s diving into. There’s the Nexus 7 to compete with of course, but don’t forget devices like the Kindle Fire HD and the Nook HD. Each of them brings higher resolution displays into the mix, as well as tight access with each of their respective media environments for only $30 more out of pocket. That’s not to say that HP won’t work to solidify the ties between its new tablet and the rest of the HP ecosystem — the Slate 7 comes with the ability to wireless print to compatible HP printers.


For better or worse (my money’s on the latter), HP just doesn’t seem concerned with trying to differentiate the Slate 7 from any other Android tablet out there. To its credit, HP isn’t trying to position the Slate 7 as anything other than what it is: a very cheap mass-market play. I’m not convinced that this thing is going to be able to pull away from the pack just by undercutting the competition on price, but I could be wrong — the Slate 7 may be the right tablet with the right price tag at the right time.










Wednesday, February 27, 2013

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Y Combinator-Backed SimplyInsured Wants To Help Small Businesses Take The Pain Out Of Health Insurance

Nov 30, 12:01AM

Screen shot 2013-02-27 at 10.04.33 AMFor small businesses, buying and managing health insurance is a "pain in the buns," to quote my new favorite ad. Not only are its complicated terms, lack of transparency, slow quoting and on-boarding process and paper trail a pain in your buns, but health insurance can be a massive pain in your wallet, to boot. Hidden costs are everywhere. Y Combinator-backed SimplyInsured is launching today with a solution. Founders Vivek Shah and George Huo, who were also both early employees at YC startup Cardpool (which sold to Blackhawk Network in late 2011), have built a simple, online health insurance manager and quote engine for small businesses, which aims to explain in plain English what is or isn't working about your current plan and help you identify hidden costs and cost-savings.


Disrupt Finalist Maluuba Expands Past Android, Launches Its Siri Alternative On Windows Phone 8

Feb 27, 8:00PM

maluuba_headerMaluuba, a service many have lovingly dubbed the "Siri for Android," is migrating to a brand new platform. No, the Disrupt finalist isn't planning on a hostile takeover of Siri's home turf, but Windows Phone fans may have something to celebrate. The company has officially announced that the Maluuba app is now available on Windows Phone 8.


Facebook Lets Advertisers Tap Purchase Data Partners To Target Customers, Categories Like Car-Buyers

Feb 27, 6:59PM

Facebook Custom Audiences ResultsThrough new partnerships with top online and offline purchase data providers Datalogix, Epsilon, Acxiom, and BlueKai, Facebook is allowing advertisers to target hashed lists of existing and potential customers, and categories like role playing gamers or soda drinkers. This expansion of Facebook's Custom Audiences program could rake in revenue and attract businesses by matching ads to real spenders


Google Expands Search Field Trial To Include Results From Your Calendar On Its Search Results Pages

Feb 27, 6:59PM

gmail_search_field_trialGoogle just announced that users who participate in its Gmail and Google.com search field trial will now also see results from their personal calendar on Google's search results pages. You can see these results by using queries like [what is on my calendar today] and [when am i meeting rip].


Stanford Grad Files Lawsuit Claiming He Came Up With Snapchat, Snapchat Calls Lawsuit "Devoid Of Merit"

Feb 27, 6:59PM

murphybrownspiegelIn what appears to be a cyclical recurrence of post-success litigation, Snapchat is being sued by a man from South Carolina named Frank Reginald Brown IV, who claims that he originally came up with the idea for the ephemeral picture messaging app. The idea for Snapchat is simple, yet has been widely misunderstood by older generations: you take a picture or video of yourself (or something else if you choose), set a time limit, and send the picture off to a friend. The app will only let the user view the picture for the pre-set period of time, no more than ten seconds.


Socialcam Improves Video Quality On iPhone App To 720p, Adds Video HDR And Redesigned Visual Effects

Feb 27, 6:30PM

socialcam_topIt's been about nine months since Socialcam was acquired by Autodesk, and the company continues to innovate. It's just released a new version of its iPhone app and has a new Android app coming soon. Even more impressive? The company is leaning on the expertise of its parent company to help improve things and boost the quality of videos that are produced.


Hardware Hackers, Join Us At Disrupt In New York

Feb 27, 6:15PM

22-74I love hardware. That's why I want you guys to bring some of the coolest hardware projects imaginable to Disrupt New York year. That's why I want you guys in our Hardware Alley.


This Bluetooth Smart Trigger Turns Your iPhone Into A Canon DSLR Remote And Intervalometer

Feb 27, 6:14PM

bt_smart_trigger_with_iphone_web_1If you're into DSLR photography, remotely controlling the thing is a pretty common want for new users and seasoned veterans alike. Satechi's BT Smart Trigger is a remote that works with a range of Canon cameras, connecting to the camera's hot shoe and giving them full control over their camera's shutter. It also doubles as an intervalometer, making it possible to get those cool time lapse and extended exposure shots that never fail to draw the appreciation of photography fans.


Send In Your Questions For Ask A VC With Comcast Ventures' Michael Yang, Javelin's Nah Doyle, And AngelList's Naval Ravikant

Feb 27, 6:00PM

Michael_Yang-largeWe've got a busy week ahead in the TechCrunch TV studio for our Ask A VC series, where you put VCs in the hot seat. First up we have Comcast Ventures' Managing Director Michael Yang. Later in the week, we'll be joined by Javelin Venture Partners' Managing Director Noah Doyle, and then investor and AngelList's Naval Ravikant.


Group Photo Sharing Is a Fustercluck, But It Doesn't Have To Be With Cluster

Feb 27, 6:00PM

clusterNew photo-sharing app Cluster is focused on sharing photos with one's friends and family after a shared experience. Just like its namesake, the idea behind the app is to create a "cluster" of photos, and then invite friends to join. The initial user sets a time range and location for photos, and then can upload some of his or her own.


UChek Is A New App That Does Mobile Urinalysis On The Cheap

Feb 27, 5:46PM

peeappLike to use your iPhone on the toilet? Myshkin Ingawale has an app for that. Ignawale is the co-founder of Biosense, a med tech company based in Mumbai that specializes in cheap and functional medical technologies. Last year's product was a portable and needleless anemia screener called ToucHb. This year at TED in Los Angeles today he unveiled the charmingly named UChek, a urinalysis app for the masses. In the old days, urinalysis was a bit tougher. A sample of urine is taken in cup and a chemical strip is dipped into said urine sample. The strip is then compared to a color-coded map, which can be used to determine levels of glucose, bilirubin, protein, and other abnormalities in your urine. High levels of glucose, for example, could indicate diabetes. Although chemical strips can be deciphered by sight, there are many urine scanning machines that produce more accurate results. The problem is that they can cost up to $10,000, with limited compatibility with different types of chemical strips. Ignawale's UChek is an app that seeks to simplify the process in an affordable way. Once the chemical strip is dipped in urine, a picture is taken of the strip with a smartphone. The app then quickly analyzes the strip and produces accurate and easy-to-understand results. While the app is currently going through testing phases in a Mumbai hospital, it is awaiting approval in Apple's App Store. The app itself will cost $99, while an extra $20 will nab you a packet of chemical strips, a color-coded map for testing. An Android app is expected, although Ignawale says it will take a little bit longer before it's released. “We all have two things, cell phones and urine,” Ignawale told his TED audience. “We figured we had to be able to do something with this.” He certainly isn't the first person to have noticed. An iPhone app called Piddle was developed by Danish programmers last year in May for Health Hack Day in Stockholm, where it took first prize. Perhaps this will be the beginning of a boom in mobile urinalysis apps, as strange as that sounds?


Sharethrough Launches A Native Ad Leaderboard To Highlight The Sponsored Content That's Most Shared

Feb 27, 5:36PM

native advertising leaderboard logoSharethrough, a startup that's focused on native advertising (a topic that CEO Dan Greenberg has discussed in several TechCrunch guest columns), is launching a new way to browse the most popular native ads. The Native Advertising Leaderboard is based on information that's publicly available through the APIs of various social platforms, Greenberg said — it turns that data into "a daily news feed for anyone (brands/agencies/pubs/editors) who wants to keep their finger on the pulse of the native advertising and brand content movement." Basically, it looks at the feeds of sponsored content from sites like BuzzFeed, Mashable, and Forbes, and ranks that content based on how much it has been shared on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networks.


It's Not Just Best Buy – Study Finds Most At-Risk Retailers From Shoppers' "Showrooming" Behaviors Are Home, Toy And Pet Stores

Feb 27, 5:26PM

Mobile price checkPlaced, the Madrona-backed location analytics startup which emerged from stealth around a year ago, has today released a study which details which retailers are more likely impacted by the so-called "showrooming" trend. The study also examines more specifically, how and where this trend may benefit one e-commerce retailer in particular: Amazon, incidentally a company which Madrona is known for having invested in early on.


Social Ad Platform LocalResponse Raises $1.5M From Cava Capital, Verizon And Others

Feb 27, 5:09PM

localresponseLocalResponse, a network that targets ads based  on social network data, has raised another $1.2 million in funding, we've confirmed with the company. Investors Cava Capital, Extreme Venture Partners, Verizon, WIN (Maynard webb), and Advancit Capital all participated. This brings LocalResponse's total funding to $8 million.


Google's Chrome Super Sync Sports Turns Your Smartphone's Browser Into A Game Controller

Feb 27, 5:02PM

super_sync_sports_logoGoogle’s Super Sync Sports Chrome Experiment is what happens when you put modern web technology, smartphones and a love of 80s sports games into one rather wacky package where cupcakes race moose heads for virtual gold. The new game, which Google announced this morning, runs in your desktop browser, but you use your smartphone or tablet as the game controller to make your avatars run, cycle and swim. Super Sync Sports uses new browser technologies like the HTML5 audio, CSS3, SVG and Canvas, but the highlight is obviously its use of the Touch API to recognize the gestures you make on your mobile device and WebSockets to make sure your phone(s) and browser stay in sync. Up to four players can join in every race. We’ve seen our fair share of cool browser demos recently, but Super Sync Sports’ ability to turn your mobile browser into what is essentially a very basic Wii U GamePad clearly shows how far our mobile and desktop browsers have come over the last year or so. To get started, you have to fire up Super Sync Sports on your desktop browser and mobile phone or tablet (Android 4.0+ and iOS 4.3+). After choosing whether you want to play a multiplayer or single-player game, you simply type a sync code into the web app and then it’s off to the races. The music will quickly drive you crazy, but the overall experience is quite a bit of fun, especially if you manage to recruit a few other people to play with you. Google says it will publish more information about how it built this experience in the next few weeks. Until then, you can always use your browser’s built-in developer tools to take a look under the hood.


Snaptee Gets $600K In Seed Funding To Turn Smartphone Users Into T-Shirt Designers

Feb 27, 5:00PM

Snaptee logoWith just a few taps on the screen of your iOS device, Snaptee lets you turn your photos into a stylish graphic T-shirt. Ten thousand designs have already been created by the app's users since it went live in July and now the Hong Kong-based company's founders have secured $600,000 in seed funding from a group of Hong Kong and Singapore investors, including Yat Siu of Outblaze Management Team and Animoca, Chris Lee of 6waves, Mikaal Abdulla from 8 Securities (a Techcrunch Disrupt Beijing finalist), Singapore-based angel investor Emanuel R. Breiter and Hong Kong-based investor Tytus Michalski of Fresco Capital.


Foundation: Using Liquid Nitrogen And Tech To Create The World's Best Ice Cream

Feb 27, 5:00PM

smittenthumbIn the latest episode of my Foundation video series, I talk with Smitten Ice Cream Founder Robyn Sue Fisher. Robyn Sue explains how she built a solid alumni network at the Stanford d.school, why she turned down a job with the FBI to become an entrepreneur, and the secrets behind the Kelvin, her one-of-a-kind instant ice cream freezer.


With $15M From Norwest, Battery, DFJ & More, StellaService Is On A Mission To Build The Nielsen For eCustomer Service

Feb 27, 4:54PM

Screen shot 2013-02-27 at 8.48.48 AMStellaService, a startup that measures and benchmarks the customer service performance of online businesses, announced this morning that it has raised $15 million in series B financing. The round was led by Norwest Venture Partners, with contributions from the startup's existing investors, including Battery Ventures, DFJ Gotham Ventures, RRE Ventures and Forerunner Ventures and brings the startup's total to $22 million.


Apple, Facebook Tell Supreme Court That Marriage Equality Is A 'Business Imperative'

Feb 27, 4:41PM

flicker-user-phil-roederDozens of major U.S. companies have come out in support of marriage equality, including Apple, Facebook, eBay, and Intel. In legal briefings submitted to help overturn California's ballot initiative, Proposition 8, which made same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the companies argue that "recognizing the rights of same-sex couples to marry is more than a constitutional issue. It is a business imperative."


JethroData Raises $4.5M For New Analytics Database That Addresses Hadoop's Achilles Heel

Feb 27, 4:25PM

jethrodataJethroData, an analytics database company based upon Hadoop, announced today it has closed a $4.5 million investment round led by Pitango Venture Capital. JethroData, based in Israel, combines the storage scalability of Hadoop with the query performance of a fully-indexed, columnar analytic database.



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Those Rumored Google Stores Are Starting To Make A Lot Of Sense




TechCrunch » android





Those Rumored Google Stores Are Starting To Make A Lot Of Sense



google-storefront1

When talking about Apple’s rise from near-bankruptcy to become the most valuable company in the world, people often credit the amazing string of products from the iMac to the iPod to the iPhone to the iPad. And rightfully so. But just as important was another piece of the puzzle that ensured said products would find mainstream appeal and acted as an accelerant for Apple’s success: the Apple Stores.


When Apple first got into the retail game a little over a decade ago, many people scoffed. In hindsight, Apple seems to do quite well when people scoff (see: here and here) — it sort of makes sense, if an idea was obvious, others would have done it. But others in Apple’s position had tried to do retail and failed (see: Gateway — complete with cows out front — Sony, etc).


Yet Apple became the most effective and prized retailer in the world.


Naturally, this led others to take a page from Apple’s playbook. Notably, Microsoft. And while the experiment is ongoing, so far, those stores do not appear to be taking off in the same way. So when you hear the news that Google is considering opening their own retail stores as well, you might, well, scoff. But I think that would be a mistake. I think Google could be poised to nail retail as well.


With the news today about the Chromebook Pixel, the pieces are all starting to come together. Google says it’s selling that product through the Google Play online store and through Best Buy’s and Currys PC World’s websites. (And they’ll be available to use, but not buy, inside some Best Buys and Currys.) That won’t be good enough.


Google has been attempting to sell various Nexus products through their online stores for years now. The results have ranged from some success (Nexus 4) to fail (Nexus One) to major fail (Nexus Q). The Best Buy results seem mixed as well. While Chromebooks are finally seeing some traction, it’s still minimal despite the reach of Best Buy.


What Google needs for these products is what Apple needed a decade ago: their own stores that they’re in complete control of to showcase their products.


You have to believe Google knows this — hence attempts to create Chromebook sales areas staffed by Google employees in places like airports. But they need permanent hubs. They need central locations in cities around the world where people know they can go for all their Google needs. They need people in those stores to play with their products. And they need Google-trained employees there to answer any questions. It’s not good enough anymore to see a spec sheet online. We’re in an era of new usage paradigms. Hands-on time is key.


This is especially true for Google with products like the Pixel and soon Google Glass. Average consumers are never going to buy these products online without having tried them first. These are not standard PCs that are simply faster than the last PC you bought.


Average consumers are never going to buy these products online without having tried them first.


Okay, but how can Google Play Stores (the presumptive name) follow in the success of Apple Stores and not the mediocrity of Microsoft Stores? By not exactly copying Apple.


One of Microsoft’s mistakes with their stores is that they’re carbon copies of Apple Stores. Anyone who walks into one immediately feels this. It was an obvious but insanely stupid strategy on Microsoft’s part. Microsoft is trying to play to Apple’s strengths instead of their own. And in the process they’re reinforcing just how good Apple is at what they do.


In the beginning, Apple Stores made sense because Apple was generally considered to make high quality products. But that can only be truly appreciated when consumers use them. And because OS X (and later iOS) were not as ubiquitous as something like Windows, there was a large barrier to entry in people buying their first Apple product. And big retailers were reluctant to give a lot of space to Apple at their stores because of their low market share. Classic chicken-and-egg. Apple needed their own physical stores.


I’d argue that they were the single most important factor in the iPhone’s success as well. Without the stores, Apple wouldn’t have had the same leverage over the carriers. They would have needed those carriers to sell the phones and would have likely had to strike some unsavory deals with those devils as a result (like another company that’s the focus of this post).


That Apple nailed other elements like the Genius Bar was just a very smart cherry on top of the strategy.


Microsoft has had almost the opposite problem. Basically everyone both knows and has used Windows, Office, etc. Retailers have been awash with PCs for decades. Yet Microsoft still decided to copy Apple’s store model. You could argue that they now need these stores to get people to play with their Surface products. But I’d argue that doesn’t help because those products are simply not very good. That is still the key, remember.


(Honestly, Xbox may be the best thing those stores have going for them, going forward. Microsoft may be wise to pivot the focus. Come for the Xbox, stay for the Surface and Windows 8. Maybe. Please.)


Consumers need to know what the hell Google Glass actually is.


In contrast, Google products have been improving since the first Android and Chrome OS products. And they seem to be at the point where they’re ready to be showcased in a retail experience. People need to know firsthand if they can replace their BlackBerrys or *shudder* iPhones with the Nexus 4 (yes yes, my thoughts on that device are still coming — it’s tough when you have another day job). They need to know if they can really use a laptop with an OS that is essentially just a web browser. They need to know what the hell Google Glass actually is.


But again, these Google Play Stores shouldn’t be Apple Stores. They shouldn’t be stark white minimalist spaces of carefully crafted wood, cement, and glass. They should look like Google products. They should be colorful and sort of playful. There should be a self-driving car in there. There should be Google Glass stations. Android devices galore. Chromebook areas. Maybe even Google TV. (Maybe.)


Every machine should be connected to the web (maybe via Google Fiber?) and prominently displaying Google.com or Google Now. Another key insight Apple had for Apple Stores was to let people play with their machines as they would in their homes. I recall going to stores like CompUSA back in the day and only being able to see PCs with canned demos playing on the screen. Those places didn’t want people just hanging out and using their machines. Huge mistake.


Microsoft would love people hanging out in their stores like they do in Apple Stores. Yet they don’t. Maybe that means internet access isn’t enough. So maybe Google should do something I always wish Apple would do: open a coffee shop in the stores (Google Ventures did just pour some money into Blue Bottle Coffee — just saying). Make the Google Play Store a destination for the connected wanderer. Loiter all you want, just keep $earching for thing$.


Other companies now look at Apple Stores with their mouths agape. $6000 in revenue per square foot — double their closest retail counterpart, Tiffany & Co (motherfuckin’ Tiffanys!). But that can’t be the focus. That can’t be why Google is getting into this business. It has to be all about showcasing great products that simply need a bit of hands-on time (or a bit of hand-holding) to be truly understood and cherished.


It feels like Google is primed for this.


[Image: Adapted from Flickr/turbulentflow]










Tuesday, February 26, 2013

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Onswipe Data Suggests Kindle Fire Maintained Its Holiday Traffic Bump, While Nexus 7 Shed Share

Feb 26, 8:21PM

kindle-fire-vs-nexusLast year, Onswipe noticed that despite considerable growth for the Kindle Fire during its first holiday sales season, interest seemed to drop off pretty quick a month or so after all the gifts were unwrapped. This year, it wanted to see if the same held true for two leading Android-based tablet platforms, to see if it couldn't back up the Apple claim that most tablets using Google's mobile OS quickly fall into disuse.


Instagram Hits 100 Million Monthly Users 28 Months After Launch

Feb 26, 8:19PM

Instagram 100 millionFrom just two guys at rented desk to a $715 million sale to Facebook, a second wind on Android and a mess of privacy scares, Instagram today announced 100 million people use it every month to share the way they see the world. The startup hedged its bets by being acquired just as it expanded beyond iOS, but despite what it could have sold for now, there's no disputing Instagram's success.


The Chromebook Pixel Is The Most Brilliant Laptop You'll Never Buy

Feb 26, 8:12PM

ch2"Wait. That's a touchscreen?!" That wasn't the first thought that popped into my head when I started to use the Chromebook Pixel -- it was about the tenth. But that's only because it seemed impossible that a screen this nice could be a touchscreen. Of course, being that nice, comes with a price.


Former Lolapps Engineers Launch Rollbar, An Error-Tracking Platform For Developers That Has A Sense Of History

Feb 26, 8:06PM

rollbar-sq-2Rollbar (formerly Ratchet.io), an error tracking product for developers, is launching its product out of a beta today, following nine months of private testing. Founded by former Lolapps engineers and inspired by tools they once relied on internally, the new company is backed by a small, "pre-seed" round of funding ($250,000+) from Resolute.vc's Mike Hirshland, Hiten Shah of KISSmetrics, and Arjun Sethi, former Lolapps CEO.


Google+ Sign-In Sounds Simple For Users, But Lacks The Personal Info And Distribution Developers Need

Feb 26, 7:26PM

Sign In With Google Maybe 2Growth, to reach more users, and data, to improve the experience. That's what apps need in an identity and social system. They're what Facebook and Twitter deliver, and what the new Google+ Sign-In can't without completed profiles, the social graph, and eyeballs. Logging into apps with your Google credentials would be convenient, but developers may be reluctant to offer the option.


Intel Launches Hadoop Distribution And Project Rhino, An Effort To Bring Better Security To Big Data

Feb 26, 7:04PM

Image (1) hadoop-logo.png for post 14265Intel has launched its own Hadoop distribution, entering an already crowded market of major players all looking to get a piece of the big data pie. The company also announced an open-source effort to enhance security in Hadoop. Earlier this week, EMC and HP each announced its own Hadoop distribution. But for Intel, the challenge is to fortify its market-leading position in the data center, where it will face increasing challenge from an emerging ARM ecosystem. Intel says the distribution is optimized for the Intel Xeon processor platform. In its announcement, the company states it can analyze one terabyte of data, which would previously take more than four hours to fully process, can now be done in seven minutes. Partners supporting the launch include Cisco, Datameer, Dell, Hadapt, LucidWorks, Red Hat, SAP, Tableau Software, Teradata, Wipro and Zettaset. As part of the news, Intel has also launched Project Rhino, an open-source effort to improve the data protection capabilities of the Hadoop ecosystem and contribute the code back to the Apache Foundation. Avik Dey, director of Hadoop Services at Intel, posted the details of Project Rhino last night on the Apache Hadoop mailing list. The project will seek to improve encryption, provide improved ways to authenticate users, make security more granular and available at the “cell” level. Ely Khan is co-founder of big data startup sqrrl and the former director of cybersecurity at the White House. He said in an email interview that his team is following Rhino closely: We are seeing more and more customers in sectors such as healthcare, finance, and government wanting take Hadoop to the next level by integrating big data with mission-critical systems and sensitive data. In order for this to happen, Hadoop and NoSQL databases need to adopt enterprise security functionality, such as encryption, fine-grained access controls, and auditing capabilities. Project Rhino is a good validation of this.


Congress Should Listen To Marissa Mayer

Feb 26, 7:04PM

MarissaMayerCongress could learn some lessons from Silicon Valley. Extreme partisan gridlock over the federal budget is inching the country closer to drastic spending cuts, known ominously as "the sequester." Yet, members of Congress used to be far more agreeable back when they weren't occupied with four-day weekends raising cash in their districts and, instead, could spend time face-to-face with the colleagues at bi-partisan family BBQs.


Relaxation Resource Calm.com Launches iPhone App That Helps You Chill, Grabs $415K In Angel Funding

Feb 26, 7:04PM

calm-01Calm.com, which began as a website that helped busy, information-overloaded web workers take a mental break, is now turning into a real business. The company is today announcing a $415,000 round of funding from a number of notable angel investors, and the debut of a mobile application initially aimed at teaching relaxation.


Opera's CEO On Innovation And Privacy, And A First Look At Its New WebKit-Based Browser For Android [TCTV]

Feb 26, 6:37PM

opera mobile android webkitWeb browser company Opera Software, now 300 million users strong, caught the world off guard the other week when it announced that it would be ditching its own Presto framework and moving instead to Google's WebKit to power its mobile and desktop browsers. In an interview with TechCrunch today, Opera's CEO Lars Boilesen said that the decision has freed up the company to innovate in a way that it hadn't for years. "By moving, it meant that we no longer had to have to have 200 engineers working on the core-level product," he said in an interview with TechCrunch. "That meant they could work on new stuff. We could go on the offensive."


With Its New Medical Language iPad App, Swiftkey Edges Closer To The iOS Platform

Feb 26, 6:35PM

SwiftKey iOS Language SettingsSwitftkey — the intuitive typing interface for smartphones which has made its way into some Android phones and is reputedly behind the new BlackBerry touchscreen keyboard (though the company declines to comment or confirm) — is edging closer to the iOS platform. Today it announced exclusively with TechCrunch at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, that it is launching an iPad typing app aimed at the lucrative Healthcare market.


Keen On… The Cloud: How Digital Technology Is Making Us More Human

Feb 26, 6:32PM

Screen Shot 2013-02-26 at 8.52.52 AMThe Pulitzer Prize winning technology journalist Matt Richtel is one of the New York Times' crown jewels. But while Richtel works his Silicon Valley beat during the day, he has a much darker night-time profession. Richtel is also a fiction writer, the author of fantastically seductive techno-fictional novels such as Hooked and his latest book, The Cloud, released earlier this month.


Google Launches Improved Spell Checker For Chrome And Docs

Feb 26, 6:26PM

chrome_beta_logoWith the release of the latest Chrome Beta today (version 26), Google is rolling out a new spell checker inside its browser and on Google Docs. The new version features support for three additional languages (Korean, Tamil and Albanian) and a number of other improvements. The most important new feature, however, is that users who sync their Chrome settings between devices can now also sync their custom dictionaries across all of their machines, so "you won't need to teach that new Chromebook how to spell your name" (or remind it that the hot startup you're writing about really doesn't have any vowels in its name).


The Ego! Smartmouse Combines Hardware Authentication With A Mouse That Doubles As A Motion Controller

Feb 26, 6:24PM

0ef3c9a38744c8d57563e4d0380707e4_largeA new Kickstarter project called the Ego! Smartmouse blends together some recent trends in computing, including hardware identity authentication and 3D motion control to come up with a unique input device that wears many hats. The Ego! is a mouse in the traditional sense, allowing you to control your desktop or laptop computer, and it also has on-board file storage, can work as an authentication device for various services, and features built-in acceleration and motion detection to work like a Wiimote for controlling games.


Death To The Bundle! Cablevision Sues Viacom Over Requirement To Carry Networks You've Never Heard Of

Feb 26, 6:00PM

gavelNew York-based cable company Cablevision is suing cross-town content partner Viacom. The lawsuit is over Viacom's requirement for Cablevision to carry a bunch of channels its users don't watch in order to have access to a bunch of channels they do. Viacom has 8 channels Cablevision wishes to carry, but Viacom bundles in a bunch of channels viewers don't watch and its customers don't care about.


AppTrailers Expands Beyond, Uh, App Trailers By Adding TV Trailers, Too

Feb 26, 5:51PM

apptrailers tvAppRedeem recently launched a new version of its AppTrailers app, which now allows users to watch TV show trailers and to earn points (and eventually rewards) for watching. There's a new section in the app for TV. You can watch trailers and also hit the "set reminder" button, so that the app gives you a push notification 15 minutes before the show starts, based on your TV provider and location. For example, I opened up the app this morning and could choose to watch trailers for Beauty and the Beast, Vegas, Modern Family, and Two and Half Men. A commercial plays before the trailers.


VidIQ Raises $800,000 From Mark Cuban And Others To Give YouTube Producers Actionable Analytics

Feb 26, 5:50PM

vidiq_logo_lightVidIQ hopes to provide a layer of analytics on YouTube as a way to help those who distribute their content on the platform — be they brands, marketers, or independent producers — to reach more viewers. Through a mix of YouTube SEO, smart scheduling and listening tools, VidIQ promises new ways for producers to optimize their distribution strategy.


YC-Backed Zaranga Adds Dynamic, Priceline-Style Purchasing To Vacation Rentals

Feb 26, 5:34PM

zaranga-standard-logoThe business of holiday home rentals has been one of the most natural areas to migrate to the world of e-commerce -- the ability to search for and view lots of properties makes it a significant improvement on whatever it was that people used to do in the past (magazines? vacation agencies? brochures?), and that has helped the online rentals industry to blow up. One area that hasn't evolved very much, however, is pricing and paying -- oftentimes, the cost of a rental is static, and paying in many cases ends up being an offline effort. Until now.


Preorders For TheGaming-Focused Razer Edge Tablet Start March 1st, Prices Start At $999

Feb 26, 5:23PM

Razer_Edge_(1)_610x371Surface Pro fanboys? Take notice. Your hot little tablet will soon be the runner-up in the ever-growing category of "incredibly expensive Windows 8 tablets aimed at a tiny, but rabid demographic". Razer just announced that the Edge and Edge Pro gaming tablet will ship in late March, with the startup accepting orders starting on March 1st.


Startup Accelerator Rock Health Now Accepts Applications Exclusively Through AngelList

Feb 26, 5:20PM

Rock Health500 Startups just announced recently that it would be using AngelList, a service that matches early-stage startups with investors, exclusively for startup applications to the incubator. Now Rock Health, the accelerator for health tech startups, is making a similar move, taking applications exclusively (here) through AngelList for its fifth class.


Andy Rubin: Google Has 'No Plans' To Launch Retail Stores

Feb 26, 5:18PM

google-storefront-closedIn a roundtable discussion with reporters today, Google's head of Android Andy Rubin came right out and flatly denied the search giant was considering the launch of retail locations. "Google has no plans and we have nothing to announce," Rubin was reported as as saying by AllThingsD's Ina Fried. Curiously, Rubin's explanation for why Google doesn't need stores was basically the exact opposite of argument from third-party observers about why it does.



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