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Keen On 2014: Apple, Apple & Apple
Jan 11, 10:30AM
Having reviewed 2013 with me, Robert Scoble now turns his Google Glass eyes forward to 2014. What, I asked him, are going to be the really big deals in 2014?Path Finally Closes That Elusive Series C
Jan 11, 3:56AM
It’s been a bumpy road for Dave Morin’s Path, as manic rumors over the last year have pegged the “private” social network at once as the subject of lagging growth, shrinking staff and potential acquisitions, while at the same time raising a mega $50 million round at a $500 million valuation. Today, the company’s long path to a Series C appears to finally have come to an end. Having recently revealed an additional revenue stream with the launch of premium subscription plans and product additions like private sharing, over the last quarter, Path has been making moves that appear to have reassured investors of its long-term prospects. Tonight, Kara Swisher reports that Path has raised $25 million and added at least one new investor in Indonesia’s Bakrie Global Group, bringing its total funding to $65 million. Morin, who is also an ex-Facebooker, also told Swisher that, while the company closed a smaller round than its $30 million Series B, it was in fact an “up round.” As Path was reportedly valued at $250 million for its Series B, if it’s an up round, the company’s value has increased since April 2012 in the eyes of investors, and we’ve heard it could be as high as $400 million. What’s more, in November, TechCrunch Co-editor Alexia Tsotsis heard from sources that Path was closing a round of over $7 million that also included Morin’s friend and former Facebooker, Dustin Moskovitz. TechCrunch has again heard from sources that this is true — that Moskovitz is an investor in Path’s Series C — as we reported at the time. Swisher also reports that Path’s existing investors, which include Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, Insight Venture Partners, Redpoint Venture Partners and First Round Capital, also participated in the round. As to why Path opted for an Indonesian lead investor for its Series C? Morin explained in an interview with Re/code that he “was always looking” for a strategic investor in Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia. Morin said that Southeast Asia is one of the regions where Path’s traction is strongest, saying that it was even stronger “than people understand.” Bringing on Bakrie as its lead investor gives Path a partner that understands the market and can help it strategically expand and increase its footprint in Southeast Asia. While it’s difficult not to see the raise (and improved valuation) as a positive sign, saying that it’sQualcomm Will Bring Lytro-Style Focus Selection To Mobile Photos With New Snapdragon Chips
Jan 11, 3:28AM
Qualcomm showed off some of the magic powers of its latest mobile processors at CES this year, and many of the new features on display had to do with mobile cameras. The Qualcomm 805, announced back in November, will offer smartphone shooters some powerful new tools once it starts making its way into shipping phones later this year. The most impressive new feature is the ability to select focus after a picture is captured. You can either put everything into sharp focus for incredible depth of field, or choose one point and throw the rest into attractive, soft focus for pleasing bokeh. You may recognize this tech; it’s similar to how the Lytro light field camera works. The Lytro captures its images differently, however, which accounts for its elongated design. Qualcomm has managed to do all the heavy lifting by capturing multiple exposures in rapid succession, using existing camera hardware. That means it’ll be simple to build it into upcoming smartphones. Besides focus selection, Qualcomm’s chip can also power intelligent lighting and exposure correction, as well as help with making sure that flash photos don’t appear too washed out or unnatural looking. All-in-all, Qualcomm is doing a great job bringing to market tech that seemed to be many years out only just recently, and it’ll be great to see how OEMs employ this tech in their products in 2014.Update: Alleged Dropbox Hack Is A Hoax, Website Is Back Up
Jan 11, 3:06AM
Update: The alleged hack against Dropbox is looking more like is an elaborate hoax, timed perfectly with the website’s incidental outage. As security researcher Wesley Mcgrew points out, the emails supposedly stolen from Dropbox have been found elsewhere on the web and a known Anonymous Twitter account is officially denying their involvement. Moreover, it seems the group claiming credit may incur the wrath of Anonymous, because they said the attack was in the name of fallen internet activist, Aaron Swartz. Dropbox sent us this updated response, confirming the hoax: “Dropbox site is back up. In regards to claims of “leaked user information” – this is a hoax. This is not Dropbox data. The list was published 12/9/13 at: http://pastebin.com/64PAAV1c Today’s outage was caused during internal maintenance, and was not caused by external factors. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Our original story below: Popular backup service Dropbox is offline and the hacktivist contingent, Anonymous, is claiming credit. “BREAKING NEWS: We have just compromised the @Dropbox Website http://bit.ly/1cMlbvt #hacked #compromised,” tweeted an alleged Anonymous Twitter account. Dropbox seems to be denying their website was hacked: “We are aware of an issue currently affecting the Dropbox site. We have identified the cause, which was the result of an issue that arose during routine internal maintenance, and are working to fix this as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience,” went a company blog post. [Update: Dropbox and has called us and is explicitly denying they have been hacked] If they were, indeed, hacked it’s not clear who is ultimately responsible. Another hacktivist group, 1775sec, is also claiming credit: We have reached out to Dropbox for more details and will update you on this story as details unfold. Meanwhile, 1775sec and Anonymous have been mocking Dropbox’s denial and claiming the hack was done in the honor of fallen Internet activist, Aaron Swartz. 1775sec also claims that they successfully stole a list of email addresses from Dropbox, which they posted on the website, pastebin.com. Story is unfolding…New Tactus Case Concept Brings A Disappearing Keyboard To The iPad
Jan 11, 1:45AM
It was about this time last year that Tactus -- the company behind the amazing disappearing touchscreen keyboard -- really started making a name for itself. So what does a buzzy company do to top its previous showing at the world's biggest consumer tech show? In Tactus' case it quietly showed off yet another potential game-changer, so we met with Tactus CEO Craig Ciesla on the CES show floor to dig into what the team has been working on.
Bill Gates Is Not The Next CEO Of Microsoft, But His VC Investments Are Picking Up
Jan 11, 12:37AM
Bill Gates may be one of the world's most famous philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and guest editors, but could he be adding venture capitalist to the list? Over the past few years it seems that Gates has, in fact, been increasing his investment in startups.Meet Urb-E, The World's Most Compact Electric Scooter
Jan 11, 12:24AM
One of the more interesting discoveries at this year's CES was the Urb-E e-vehicle, a super compact electric scooter that folds right up in a jiffy. We interviewed co-founder Grant Delgatti and learned that the little guy is meant for commuters who need a little extra push for the last leg of their journey, whether it be the mile from the train station to the house or from the cheap parking lot down the street to the office.
Martha Stewart Shops CES
Jan 10, 10:59PM
For many of us, CES is a massive conference filled with the world's most innovative technology. To Martha Stewart, the world's largest Consumer Electronics Show represents a day of gadget shopping. So what is Martha on the market for?Hands On With Samsung's New Galaxy NotePRO And TabPRO Android Tablets
Jan 10, 10:42PM
Samsung debuted a couple brand new Android tablets at CES this year, both of which are being positioned as “Pro” versions of its existing Note and Tab line of devices. The slates do indeed offer some features aimed more at enterprise users, but they also feature a UI that’s dramatically different from a stock Android experience. The Galaxy NotePRO is a 12.2-inch tablet with Samsung’s S Pen and 2560×1600 screen resolution, and the TabPRO comes in 12.2, 10.1 and 8.4-inch sizes, and also offers a 2560×1600 screen on the top-end model, as well as on both of the smaller screen devices, which is amazing considering you’re cramming more pixels into a smaller space. Each runs Android 4.4. The NotePRO and TabPRO models are powered by an Exynos 5 Octa processor for Wi-Fi and 3G versions, and the Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz processor for the LTE editions. But the really impressive thing about these new tablets aren’t found on a specs sheet; instead, it’s the new Magazine UX, which reimagines the basic home screen of an Android tablet with a design that has more in common with Windows Phone or even individual apps like Flipboard. There’s also a Multi Window mode that allows users to play with up to four different windows of separate active content on the same screen. In practice, it results in an experience that feels very unlike using any previous Android tablet, and while I didn’t spend quite enough time with it to make any final judgement, I did enjoy the cursory experience I did manage to get with the gadgets. Samsung is going to bring the NotePRO and TabPRO devices to market sometime in Q1, 2014, and there’s no official word on pricing yet, though SamMobile has pegged them ranging between $389 and just under $900 depending on spec loadout. These are a curious breed of devices, and ones that could potentially take on Microsoft’s Surface and Windows 8 tablet offerings, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact they make once they do launch.LuckyPennie Brings Music Discovery, Local Tastemakers To The iPhone
Jan 10, 9:50PM
If your Spotify friends have terrible taste in music, newly launched iPhone app LuckyPennie may be for you. This L.A.-based startup is hoping to re-imagine the way people discover music, including not only new songs available for streaming or download on iTunes, but those performed by local bands, too.Gillmor Gang Live 01.10.14 (TCTV)
Jan 10, 9:14PM
Gillmor Gang - Keith Teare, Kevin Marks, Dan Farber, and Steve Gillmor. Live recording session has concluded for today. These Are The Headphones You're Looking For
Jan 10, 9:09PM
Stormtrooper: Let me see your headphones. Obi-Wan: [with a small wave of his hand] You don’t need to see his headphones. Stormtrooper: We don’t need to see his headphones. Obi-Wan: These aren’t the headphones you’re looking for. Stormtrooper: These aren’t the headphones we’re looking for. Obi-Wan: 50 Cent can go about his business. Stormtrooper: 50 Cent can go about his business. Obi-Wan: Move along. Stormtrooper: Move along… move along. 50 Cent’s SMS audio business is expanding into nerd territory with these so very Rebel headphones specially designed to match your golden slave Leia bikini and utility belt. Priced at about $200 and available in the spring you and band of interstellar adventurers can pick up deep space transmissions (and maybe ponder the fate of Fiddy’s musical career) while wearing the latest in Endorian tech.Snakebyte Vyper Adds Home Theatre Features To An Android Game Console And Tablet
Jan 10, 9:06PM
Many companies are betting that people want some kind of Android-based gaming solution in their living room, from Ouya to GameStick to Nvidia. One new initiative along those lines debuted at CES 2014 called the Snakebyte Vyper. The Vyper is from a German startup, and the company is bringing the product the U.S. in the coming months.TC Makers: A Walk Through The Pinball Hall Of Fame
Jan 10, 8:45PM
Before Pac-Man, before Pong, before Space Invaders there was pinball. And it was good. While we were in Las Vegas this week for CES 2014 we had the distinct pleasure of stopping by the Pinball Hall of Fame, an amazing space dedicated to all things electromechanical. I spoke with Tim Arnold, Director of Things And Stuff (or, alternately, Stuff And Things) who has made it his life's mission to maintain some amazing amusements.Supreme Court Will Hear Aereo Case, Settling The Broadcaster Battle Once And For All
Jan 10, 8:22PM
Aereo, a streaming TV startup backed by media mogul Barry Diller, has been embroiled in a legal battle with network broadcasters for the better part of this year. But the case has finally reached the home stretch, as the supreme court today decided to take on the issue and settle the matter once and for all. Aereo takes OTA signals out of the air through miniature antennas and streams that content over the internet to any device for a low monthly fee. It's the first major step toward disrupting the current TV/cable subscription model. Obviously, broadcasters aren't happy with it, despite the fact that courts have deemed Aereo to be as legal as cloud-based DVR or using rabbit ears.Newly Launched Marketing Platform Carnival Wants Brands To Stop Treating Mobile Like A Billboard
Jan 10, 8:08PM
Just before the holidays, a new mobile marketing platform targeting brands and agencies, Carnival, quietly made its public debut. Based in New York and New Zealand, the company is aspiring to chart a course similar to what Buddy Media did for social on the web, but for mobile campaigns, engagement and retention.Google Maps Mistakenly Labels Berlin Square After Hitler
Jan 10, 6:35PM
Google lets anybody suggest changes to its maps, and on January 2, an anonymous user suggested that Theodor-Heuss square in Berlin shouldn't be named after Germany's first federal president but after Adolf Hitler. Google uses a small army of volunteers and its own moderators to check all submissions before they go live, and whoever checked this one apparently thought the submission was correct. So for the next few days, the square was called "Adolf Hitler Platz" in Google Maps.Questions Is A Video Q&A App That Wants You To Have Curious Micro-Conversations With Anyone
Jan 10, 6:20PM
Questions -- Ask And Answer is an iOS app, from the founder of Nyoombl, that's using video to animate and humanise the Q&A format. Just don't call it a Q&A app...FOBO Launches In San Francisco To Become The Fastest, Easiest Way To Sell Your Consumer Electronics
Jan 10, 5:00PM
By now you probably know that Craigslist sucks as a way to sell stuff. You have to contend with spam emails, buyers who promise to purchase your goods but flake, and people who show up then try to haggle down the price after the fact. But somehow, no one has figured out a way to make it better or provide a real alternative. Well, there's a new app out called FOBO that aims to solve all those problems, providing users with a local marketplace for selling consumer electronics.JayBird Bets On Intelligent Tracking For The Reign, Its First Foray Into Quantified Fitness
Jan 10, 4:42PM
Bluetooth and sport headset company JayBird is venturing a little outside of its comfort zone with the new JayBird Reign fitness tracking wristband, a device unveiled earlier this week at CES 2014. The JayBird Reign goes beyond most existing devices like those from Fitbit, Withings, and Jawbone, tracking different types of fitness differently instead of just lumping them all in together.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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