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Nintendo Confirms Wii U Has Flopped, Slashes Sales Forecast By ~70%
Jan 17, 10:52AM
Nintendo has confirmed what we knew already: its unhappy controller/console combo, the Wii U, is a flop. The company said hardware sales of the Wii U had failed to reach its target during the year-end, pushing it into a third consecutive annual loss, Reuters reports.AngelList Grabs Philipp Moehring From Seedcamp To Launch Syndicates In Europe
Jan 17, 10:37AM
Startup fund-raising and hiring tool AngelList has swooped into Europe and hired one of the eco-system's most respected players. Philipp Moehring, who as a long-time associate at the Seedcamp accelerator and won acclaim as a level-headed players (and nominated as Best Mentor at The Europas Awards), has been hired by AngelList founder Naval Ravikant to spearhead the company's push into Europe. Moehring will now lead the process of AngelList eventually launching its 'Syndicate' product (which allows startups to syndicate funding rounds) across Europe, as well as its 'Talent' product which is geared towards startups hiring.Bluetooth Headset Vigo Knows When You Are Tired Before You Do
Jan 17, 8:45AM
When I was a student, sometimes I'd stab myself in the leg with the tip of my mechanical pencil to keep from dozing off during lectures. That usually didn't work. Now sleepy students--and other people who need to stay alert for long periods of time--can benefit from Vigo, a Bluetooth headset that measures blinks and body movements to warn users if they are getting too drowsy.Tim Cook Celebrates China Mobile's iPhone Launch
Jan 17, 7:30AM
The iPhone is finally available for sale in China Mobile stores after Apple spent years negotiating for a deal with the carrier, the world's largest by subscriber number. In a sign of how important the partnership is to Apple, CEO Tim Cook showed up at the China Mobile launch today to meet customers, pose for pictures, and autograph iPhones.Confirmed: Yahoo's Editor-In-Chief Is Out
Jan 17, 2:13AM
Effective tomorrow, Yahoo's Editor-In-Chief Jai Singh is out at the company. A Yahoo spokesperson confirmed the news with TechCrunch following earlier media reports of his exit.Digg Is Experimenting With Original Content
Jan 17, 2:12AM
Digg is currently testing a system which would see the viral news aggregator running its own original content on the Digg.com homepage, the company confirms to us today. This would be a new direction for the betaworks-backed service, which has historically collected the most interesting stories from around the web on its site, where they’re then voted on by Digg users. We first noticed the test today, when a story on the Digg homepage had an interesting source: not another news website or blog, but Digg.com itself. Clicking through on the link to the post in question – an interesting longer read about why audio content never goes viral - and we found the resulting page was branded as a “Digg Original.” According to Digg’s Creative and Editorial Director, David Weiner, Digg Originals are still in the experimental phase. “We look at Digg as having the potential to be like any other editorial outlet that features freelancer content,” he says. “This was a piece we commissioned to be written for Digg, so there was never any question of where else this could live.” By commissioned, what Weiner means is “paid.” The company says it offers fair and competitive rates. Right now, there aren’t any set rules around the process, only that the Digg editorial team will be firmly in control of anything that goes live on the site whether a Digg Original, or any other aggregated content, for that matter. He adds, “so as long as it adheres to our editorial mission of providing the best and most interesting stuff, we’re pretty open.” Digg has run “Originals” similar to the one appearing on Thursday a couple of times before, or so it appears. However, in these earlier cases, the content was penned by betaworks staff themselves. One story, for example, was a look back at the year in Digg, while another on the topic of Twitter networks was written by Gilad Lotan, a Chief Scientist at betaworks. Digg doesn’t currently have a timetable for when it will post more original stories, but hopes to have more work out there “shortly,” says Weiner. “We also don’t want to do content for content’s sake,” he adds. “That said, it’ll probably be a little bit of time before we run as long a piece as this.” Instead, the company is sketching out some shorter items which may be done in-house by its own editorial team or outsourced toGoogle's New Smart Contact Lens Is Old News For Microsoft
Jan 17, 1:38AM
Google today announced its smart contact lens project, but it's not the first by a long shot (or even a moon shot). Other companies have long been working on smart lenses -- including Microsoft Research, which unveiled a similar project in 2011 in collaboration with someone who now works for Google X.Zynga Drops 12% In Regular Trading On External Warnings About Its Coming Earnings
Jan 17, 1:34AM
Social gaming firm Zynga today plunged 12 percent in regular trading, following a warning by Sterne Agee's Arvind Bhatia, which indicated that the market's fourth-quarter consensus may be too optimistic. Shares fell by 49 cents to end the day at $3.54.Meet The Malware That Took Down Target
Jan 17, 1:06AM
The inimitable Brian Krebs has found some interesting details about the massive Target credit card breach that exposed millions of pieces of customer data over the holidays. The hackers used a specific form of malware dedicated to grabbing sensitive data out of hardened point of sale terminals.Hackers And Spambots Are Going After Your Fridges and Smart TVs Now
Jan 17, 1:03AM
There are plenty of good reasons you might want an Internet-enabled smart refrigerator. Your friends will constantly tell you that you're from the future! You could check how much milk is left from the store! You can… uh… tweet.. when every other more-suitable gadget in your house is dead? But there's also a good reason to not want one, at least until we figure this whole "Internet Of Things" (read: LETS PUT THE INTERNET IN EVERYTHING) is going to work: security is hard.Google Unveils Smart Contact Lens That Lets Diabetics Measure Their Glucose Levels
Jan 17, 12:21AM
This isn't Google Glass in a contact lens, but it may just be Google's first step in this direction. The company's Google X lab just teased a smart contact lens on its blog that is meant to help diabetics measure their glucose levels.Dyson's Latest Vacuums Ditch Not Only The Bag But Also The Filter Maintenance
Jan 17, 12:01AM
I hate vacuuming but I actually like using my Dyson, and the UK company has a few new models it’s unveiling today. For the U.S. market, there’s the DC59, which is a handheld cordless stick vac that bumps up the suction, and for the UK, there are new Cinetic models of three of its canister vacuums that do away with the sole remaining piece of maintenance required by Dyson hardware: the occasional filter cleaning. The DC59 is the latest in Dyson’s Digital Slim line, with a cordless design that provides up to 26 minutes of use on a single charge. It improves over the previous DC cordless vacuums with suction power that’s up to three times as powerful as any other one currently available on the U.S. market, the company tells me. Mothballs have met their match, in other words. That one’s impressive, but the real trick here comes from the brand new Cinetic line, which is launching in the UK now but will make its way to other global Dyson retailers in due time. The Cinetic offers up the same ball-based design you’re probably familiar with from its existing line of motorhead, turbinehead and multifloor vacuums, as well as bagless operation, but also introduces a solution to the last annoyance associated with using Dyson cleaners: you no longer have to clean wash and dry, or even ever replace the filter in these bad boys. It essentially means the new Dyson vacuums are maintenance free, unless you accidentally vacuum up a huge hunk of cheese or something and you gunk up the tube. Dyson even claims that it can operate with the equivalent of 10 years’ worth of accumulated dust, without any kind of filter cleaning at all, without any loss of suction at all. Of course, Dyson charges a premium for its swanky designs and newfangled technology: the Cinetic line starts at £419 and ranges up to £469 (roughly $685 to $766) and is on sale this month in the UK, and the DC59 starts at $499 when it goes on sale January 19 in the US. If you’re a weird design snob like me, however, you’ll pay the extra and you’ll like it, especially since you can just use the thing to clean, and not really have to worry about cleaning the thing that cleans the other things.Microsoft Sold 908,000 Xbox One Consoles In The US In December, Besting The PS4
Jan 16, 11:52PM
According to NPD numbers published by Microsoft, 908,000 Xbox One consoles were sold in the United States in December. Microsoft had previously reported that its new console had sold 1 million units in its first day of availability globally, and 3 million through the end of 2013. The console, which launched November 22nd, has seen lower aggregate sales than its rival, the Playstation 4. By year’s end, Playstation’s new console had sold 4.2 million units to Microsoft’s 3 million sum. However, the Playstation did come to the market slightly before Microsoft’s device, giving it an edge. There is a war of numbers at play here: Both Sony and Microsoft want to shout the loudest about their sales, implicitly telling gamers that they are winning, and as such will warrant more developer attention and therefore sport a healthier platform in the end. You can get pretty far into the weeds on the matter. As TechCrunch reported when Microsoft announced the 1 million figure: Sony’s PlayStation 4 also sold over 1 million units in 24 hours when it launched around a week ago. So far, the two console giants are neck and neck. However, there’s just one little detail Microsoft fails to mention in its PR: The Xbox One launched in a total of 13 countries, 11 more than the PlayStation 4. As a final carrot to all of this, Microsoft sold 643,000 of its now dated Xbox 360 console in the month as well, meaning it sold north of 1.5 million consoles in the month in the country. Given the rising importance of the living room for digital platform companies as they pursue cross-device and interest services, you could call that number a win. Sony for now retains that global sales lead. It will be interesting to see who leads come mid-year. Top Image Credit: FlickrTwitter Also Considered PayPal For Its Square-Market Competitor
Jan 16, 11:03PM
Twitter, now a listed company with more public accountability for how it makes money, has put the bulk of its chips down on generating revenue from advertising. But another area it appears to be exploring is commerce -- using its platform not just to help spread the word about brands, but to help people buy from them, too.Thanks To Ads, Rdio Now Offers Free Streaming On The Web
Jan 16, 10:24PM
Not to be outdone by Spotify, Beats or Pandora, Rdio is now free through its website. Mobile users still have to pay if they want access to the full Rdio experience. Users will also have to pay if they want an ad-free experience -- because that's how Rdio is making its service free. As the announcement says, "Free listeners will hear a mix of new feature announcements, messages from partner brands, notifications about exclusive content, and other helpful tips." So, you know, commercials.Ogle Outfits And Share Your Unique Style With WearToday
Jan 16, 10:18PM
Fashion might not save the world, but it can be a creative outlet that gives you the confidence to improve your life. That's the ethos behind WearToday, built by veteran Facebook product designer and eccentric dresser Alexandre Roche. Launching today on iOS in invite-only beta, WearToday lets you photograph your current outfit, ID your clothes and share full-body shots with tags of your threads.Intel Beats Q4 Revenue Forecasts With Top Line Of $13.8B, Misses On Profit With EPS Of $0.51
Jan 16, 9:11PM
Today Intel reported its fourth-quarter earnings, including revenue of $13.83 billion and earnings per share of $0.51. Investors had expected Intel to earn $0.52 per share on revenue of $13.72 billion.Housecall App Pulls Up The Long-Tail Of Services From Appliance Repair To Plumbing
Jan 16, 9:00PM
In the wake of Exec’s sale to Handybook and Homejoy’s big $38 million round, there are still plenty of other startups doing home services on-demand from your mobile phone. Housecall, out of San Diego, is a startup that handles the long-tail of services like electrical or swimming pool work and carpet cleanings. The team came out of Qualcomm Labs, where CEO Ian Heidt had been working on a context-awareness platform called Gimbal that would infer meaning from a smartphone’s sensors. “We wanted to start our own new thing. That initiative had done really well,” he said. “We were super intrigued by people making new mobile businesses out of these older-school ideas. With Housecall, we really wanted to accentuate that relationship between the homeowner and the service provider.” The six-person startup currently offers more than 20 types of services, including housekeeping, junk removal, plumbing, painting, locksmith work, window cleaning and so on. So while other platforms like Homejoy laser in on cleanings, Housecall has a much more expansive range of offerings. They follow in the footsteps of other web-based platforms like RedBeacon, a TechCrunch Disrupt winner that went on to be acquired by Home Depot. “When we launched it, it was literally just us addressing any of the places where home and technology like home automation intersect,” Heidt said. “Then we started bringing in all these other professionals from other categories.” When you sign up with Housecall, you pick categories that you want work finished in and then you’ll see service providers. You can look up their services and prices, and then book them if they seem appealing. So far, Housecall is only available in San Diego, and they’re expanding it carefully by ZIP code after ZIP code. They haven’t disclosed their fee splits with providers. “At the outset, we were basically marketing it through our personal networks and the people they knew well,” Heidt said. “That has carried it a long way.” The company has raised $1.5 million from investors, including e.ventures, and was part of EvoNexus, a pro bono technology incubator based in San Diego.BrandProject Aims To Apply The Betaworks Model To Consumer Products And Goods
Jan 16, 8:42PM
A new seed-stage investment fund and ‘company creation’ startup called BrandProject launched today, with offices in Toronto and New York, and a team of founders who, between them, have a boatload of experience building, shipping and marketing consumer hardware and software for some of the biggest brands on the planet. The five-person founding team includes founder and CEO Andrew Black, who’s worked with Nike, Virgin and Lego; Stanley Hainsworth, a former VP of Starbucks and in-store branding/packaging expert who invented the Gatorade bottle; Jay Bhatti, CTO and former director of a boutique search marketing firm that counted Barneys and Coach as clients; and Sarah Prevette, former founder of entrepreneurial social network Sprouter and startup publication BetaKit (disclosure: I previously worked for BetaKit when Prevette was editor in chief). The team will be working in what Prevette described in an interview as a “betaworks“-style approach to incubating talent and early-stage companies that aim to create consumer software and physical products, sometimes investing money with the $12 million initial they’ve amassed from private investors, the founding team itself, and BDC Venture Capital. “The model is really flexible,” Prevette explained. “We look for really exciting transformational ideals that have traction in a wide variety of consumer verticals. We look at everything from health, to fitness, to beauty, to home consumer hardware and consumer tech. We’re also always looking for phenomenal people with a track record of success, but people come to us at different stages.” BrandProject is incubating some ideas sourced from the founders that solve problems they’ve been having themselves, for instance, and they’re seeking “industry experts who share that passion” to help build those products and bring them to market. They’ve also already quietly worked with BRIKA, Hello Products, Caffeinated Chocolate and The Coveteur via investment and assistance in growing their business. The consumer focus with a willingness to bet on hardware, especially for an incubator and early stage investor that has one foot planted firmly in Canada, is a rare thing. The investment climate locally in Toronto seems to have become more cautious lately, which has led to some funds closing entirely, and both investors and accelerators turning their attention to more enterprise and B2B companies, which represent less risk relative to the fickle consumer market. Prevette says to expect to start seeing more from BrandProject and the companies it’s helping build very soon, but while the concept has aYesGraph Simplifies The Process Of Using Referrals To Hire The Best Candidates
Jan 16, 8:37PM
For companies that want to scale up personnel fast, hiring can be a big problem. Conventional wisdom says that the best candidates typically get referrals from existing employees within the company, but those referrals can be tough to come by YesGraph has a solution for finding top talent, by highlighting people that employees already know.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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