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Animated Avatar Messaging App Zoobe Monetises With Shop Featuring Smurfs
Dec 20, 11:11AM
Avatar messaging applications have had some successes. The Talking Tom apps for kids have been a smash hit for Outfit7 and spawned many other off-shoots. Others like Headcast created bespoke apps for celebrities. Xtranormal sadly closed this year. But Zoobe, a startup which has come up with the different approach of creating of animated avatars for mobile messaging, continues to evolve. The new version 2.0 of its app has gone live on Android today (iOS is already out) introduces a range of new features, including the Zoobe Shop, where famous 3D characters from The Smurfs and the Street Fighter game can be bought. More are coming, but this is an interesting evolution of the in-app purchases model. Certainly stickers are all the rage in messaging apps, but avatars may be a new wave to watch.
Taxibeat Raises $4M From Hummingbird To Scale Its 'Marketplace' Taxi App
Dec 20, 10:41AM
Taxibeat, an iOS and Android taxi app with an innovative approach to hailing a cab (which works particularly well in emerging markets), has secured a new $4 million funding round from London-based Hummingbird Ventures. The startup previously raised $3 million from private investors and has been expanding its services across urban centres in European cities like Athens and Paris, and in Latin America, including Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and, most recently, Sao Paulo. Founded in Athens in May, 2011, Taxibeat says it currently serves $40 million (USD) in taxi cab transactions annually and is growing at a rate of 18 percent month over month. We covered their formal launch at Le Web last year.Rocket Internet Partners With African Telecom Operator MTN To Invest €300M in Middle East Startups
Dec 20, 10:00AM
MTN Group and Rocket Internet announced that they have formed a new joint venture to invest in startups in the Middle East, with a focus on e-commerce. The two companies will each hold a 50% stake in Middle East Internet Holding (MEIH). The announcement follows another partnership, concluded earlier this week, between MTN, Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular, to develop startups in Africa through Africa Internet Holding (AIH). MTN expects to pour $300 million euros (about USD $400 million) into AIH and MEIH, subject to regulatory approval, by the first and second quarter of 2014, respectively.Messaging App Line Launches C2C Marketplace Line Mall In Japan
Dec 20, 7:42AM
Messaging app Line began the limited rollout of its new C2C e-commerce platform Line Mall today (link to TechCrunch Japan via Google Translate). The app, which is now available for download in Japan's Google Play store, is a sign that the service is doubling down on its efforts to increase engagement among users as it competes WeChat, WhatsApp and other popular messaging apps. Line Mall will officially launch next spring with an iPhone app and more features.Tim Draper Wants To Split California Into Pieces And Turn Silicon Valley Into Its Own State
Dec 20, 4:26AM
TechCrunch has learned about noted technology investor Tim Draper's plan to split California into six separate states, including a Northern California slice appropriately named "Silicon Valley."Appsfire's First Ad Unit 'Ura Maki' Is iAd Done Right
Dec 20, 2:11AM
Last week, app discovery startup Appsfire surprised everyone by removing its apps from the App Store to focus entirely on native advertising on mobile. The first iOS ad unit is here — Ura Maki is an ad format with an emphasis on app discovery and a good user experience. Unlike Apple’s iAd or AdMob, Ura Maki doesn’t rely on a tiny banner at the bottom of your screen. It’s a fullscreen experience that tries to avoid being invasive. First, you get a popup like those annoying “Rate this app” boxes. It gives you the option to dismiss the upcoming fullscreen ad. A couple of seconds later, a native animation imitates the multitask screen. On the left, your application is still running, on the right, you get a screenshot of a promoted app. Again, you can dismiss the ad by simply swiping the right screenshot like you would do to close an app in the multitasking view. If you tap on the screenshot, you get the complete App Store description and screenshots. The UI is a perfect replica of an App Store page. Yet, unlike iAd, everything is native — it’s not simply a UIWebView with a ton of JavaScript. Finally, you can download the promoted app without ever leaving your app. App developers can choose when those apps should appear (when you launch the app, at the end of a game level…). For advertisers, it’s very easy to sign up as all the assets are pulled from Appsfire’s App Genome, the company’s database of App Store data. And if you already have the promoted app on your phone, you won’t see the ad. Creating a brand new ad unit is always a risk, especially when you are a newcomer. But Appsfire is trying to make it very easy for both advertisers and developers. You don’t have to dedicate screen real estate if you are a developer, and you don’t have to create advertising assets if you are an advertiser. Now the next big challenge will be to sign up app developers and advertisers on the new platform. You can find more details on the company’s blog.Powering Smart Content For Publishing Giants, Knewton Lands $51M To Take Personalized Learning Global
Dec 20, 12:39AM
Just when it looked like the bubble might be cracking, that venture capital investment in education was stuck in the doldrums, and that the year in EdTech might end with a whimper, no bang in sight, along comes Knewton to put an exclamation point on an active December.Loop Upgrades Its Mobile Survey App, Adds A Pro Account For $99 A Year
Dec 19, 11:19PM
Loop, a startup that makes it easy and quick for retailers to collect feedback from customers, has released version 2.0 of its iOS app. The most important change probably isn't a product feature, but the fact that Loop is ready to start charging. With Loop (which I tried out in May), it's easy for business to put together a survey with a few questions, and then to display that survey on an iPad that they hand to the customer while they're still in the store. As a result, co-founder and CEO Rajit Marwah said consumers are much more likely to respond than they would to, say, an email survey (though businesses also get a survey link that they can share via email, Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else). The mobile app also allows businesses to see real-time results.Apple Adds FaceTime Audio To OS X 10.9.2 Beta, Bringing Native Mac-To-iOS Voice Calls Closer
Dec 19, 10:33PM
Apple has issued a new developer preview of OS X, version 10.9.2, and it introduces some interesting new features according to 9to5Mac. The most interesting is probably FaceTime Audio, however. Apple introduced VoIP calling (no video required) to FaceTime in iOS 7 on mobile devices, but this marks its first appearance on the desktop.Nextdoor Talks Growth, Now Being Used In One In Six Neighborhoods In The US
Dec 19, 10:30PM
Nextdoor, the fast-growing startup that has been compared to a Facebook for your neighborhood, has revealed some new numbers today in a TCTV interview with co-founder and CEO Nirav Tolia and Greylock partner and Nextdoor investor Josh Elman. As Tolia tells us, Nextdoor just launched its 25,000th neighborhood (up from 22,500 neighborhoods in October, and 6,000 neighborhoods a year ago.) He also said that the network is now being used in 1-in-6 neighborhoods.Fly Or Die: Motorola Moto G
Dec 19, 10:24PM
It always seems like the flagship phones get the most attention, but what about a device that doesn't even bother trying to claim that title? Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside has been saying for months and months that one of the company's priorities was to improve the experience of using a low-cost smartphone, and the end result of drive was the cheapo Moto G.
Microsoft Exec Charged With Insider Trading, SEC Alleges 400K In Illegal Gains
Dec 19, 10:10PM
Reality is always better than fiction. Today the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a — now former — Microsoft “senior manager” with insider trading. The employee, Brian Jorgenson, is accused of working with a friend to trade Microsoft stock and shares of its partners ahead of news such as earnings, generating almost $400,000 in profits over the course of the partnership that began in April of 2012. The pair had intended to use the spoils from their venture to start a hedge fund, according to the SEC. Protip: If you are going to abuse your job’s access to information to grind out illegal profits with a friend in hopes of building up a big enough stack so that you can open a hedge fund, don’t get caught. You look silly. Not to mention like a bastard. Still, making a cool $393,125 in a year and a half ain’t no small kaboodle, so you have to give Jorgenson and his co-conspirator Sean Stokke props for pulling of the scheme, at least financially. Bastards. Here’s how it worked: Microsoft planned to invest $300 million into Barnes & Noble’s Nook reader project. Jorgenson found out, passed the information along to Stokke, who bought, according to the SEC, “$14,000 worth of call options on Barnes & Noble common stock.” Microsoft announced the deal, and bounced Barnes & Noble’s stock up about 50%. Profit to the pair? About $185,000. Imagine what they could have made if they already had that hedge fund money they wanted to raise. The SEC goes on to note two other cases, including trading before a Microsoft earnings announcements. According to ZDNet, Microsoft fired Jorgenson, and helped the SEC in its investigation. Here are the formal charges: Jorgenson and Stokke are charged with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, both directly and pursuant to 20(d) of the Exchange Act. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and financial penalties against Jorgenson and Stokke as well as an officer-and-director bar against Jorgenson. Top Image Credit: FlickrTwitter Adds In-App Notifications For Emergency Alerts System As Brazil And Australia Begin Supporting It
Dec 19, 10:05PM
Twitter has just announced a couple of small but useful updates to its Twitter Alerts system, which allows participating organizations to send out notices to subscribing users about emergencies or disaster areas. The alerts system gains the ability to pop up an in-app notification inside of Twitter’s apps today, utilizing the same pop-up ‘toast’ notifications that its new apps use for mentions and retweets. The notifications are red instead of blue and will only display if you’ve subscribed to an organization’s alert system. Twitter says that you can now also subscribe to Alerts as notifications inside its iOS and Android apps by visiting an organization’s profile and tapping the bell icon. It also announced that organizations in Australia and Brazil have joined the program. An announcement post from earlier this week noted that various police, city and regional organizations had joined in offering the alerts in Australia. Twitter notes that even if you don’t live in one of the participating countries, you may still find some alerts of use. Currently organizations in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, UK, Ireland, Australia and Brazil are officially participating. As we mentioned with the program launched, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has already recommended networks like Twitter and Facebook over other forms of communication during emergencies. And it fits in with the narrative of Twitter as a communication channel rather than a ‘social network’.AOL Finalizing Talks To Sell Winamp And Shoutcast, No Shutdown Expected On Dec. 20
Dec 19, 10:00PM
AOL is finalizing negotiations to sell off Winamp and Shoutcast in a deal that would allow both products to live on, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions. The company (which owns TechCrunch) announced last month that as of December 20, Winamp web services would shut down and that the desktop version of the video and music player would no longer be available for download.The World's First Home-Printable Fashion Doll, Quin, Looks Pretty Spacey
Dec 19, 9:57PM
This is Quin. She's a fully posable (and Barbie-compatible) doll that can be made on a 3D printer and snapped together. Her creators, the folks at 3DKitBash built her to prove that you can build usable, playable toys on a 3D printer. They also built her because she looks amazing.'The Internship,' The Only In-Flight Movie You Haven't Watched Yet Because Jesus It Looks Annoying
Dec 19, 9:41PM
Though it seems to have bagged a licensing agreement with all of the airlines, the last thing you'll want to watch as you fly home this holiday season is the 'The Internship.' Now mind you, I have not actually taken the plunge and seen 'The Internship,' despite the fact that I've flown at least 50k miles this year and watched 'Les Miserables,' 'Silver Linings Playbook,' 'Amour,' 'Papadopoulos & Sons,' ' 42,' some movie about a gang of dads, some movie about a woman who had to sleep with certain number of men to find her true love, and Frances Ha, which despite its un-beguiling name is actually quite good, and more.Simple.TV Starts Shipping Next-Gen Streaming DVR, With Cloud Storage And Ouya Support Coming Soon
Dec 19, 9:22PM
Simple.TV is making good on its promise to ship its next-generation streaming DVR to users who pre-ordered the product, telling them they would receive the devices by the end of the year. The company is also releasing new versions of its iOS and Android mobile and tablet apps to make it easier for users to find content that they want to stream and record. The release comes ahead of Simple.TV’s plan to unveil a cloud-based DVR storage offering, as well as support on OUYA game consoles.
Gift Guide: Four Sweet Presents For Your Sweetheart
Dec 19, 9:00PM
The most important gift you give this holiday season will be the gift you give your sweetheart. After all, this is the person you get sex from. That said, these are some cute last-minute ideas that will keep you out of the dog house come New Years Eve.Atheer Labs Turns To Crowdfunding To Bring Its 3D Augmented Reality Glasses To Life
Dec 19, 8:22PM
The jury is largely still out on wearable gadgets like Google Glass that let you passively consume information that appears in front of your eyes, but Soulaiman Itani isn't satisfied with just looking. Instead, his company -- Mountain View-based Atheer Labs -- has been working on a device that lets its users physically manipulate that information too. Sounds like yet another load of sci-fi nonsense trickling into the real world, but the experience is much closer than one might think. Earlier today Atheer Labs kicked off an Indiegogo campaign for two new pairs of augmented reality glasses they hope will get developers and tinkerers excited about their vision of the future of computing.Tooga Gear Gives Photo And Video Pros Options With A Modular Kit For Hard-To-Get Shots
Dec 19, 7:45PM
A new Kickstarter project called Tooga Gear based out of LA wants to provide a versatile, durable camera mounting solution for capturing tricky shots in a modular package that can support DSLRs, GoPros and other action cams, and even smartphones, all in a package that can fit in a small sling bag.If at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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