Hi there!
Here's the latest feed from TechCrunch.
Add feeds@feed2email.net to your contact list to make sure you receive all your emails
Make sure to visit feed2email.net to get more feeds sent to your inbox.
To find out which feeds you are subscribed to, or to get further help, just reply to this email.
Grand St Launches Self-Serve Marketplace For Hardware Makers To List Their Goods
Feb 19, 2:30PM
Online retailer Grand St wants to be the go-to spot for interesting new hardware to be sold online. But after curating a daily selection of goods, the company is opening up its e-commerce shop for any hardware to list goods to be sold, as well as to test them out in beta and even make available for pre-order.Humble Bundle Switches To Steam-Like Region-Based Pricing For The Humble Store
Feb 19, 2:25PM
Video game store Humble Bundle announced that the Humble Store has switched to more traditional Steam-like prices, with different prices depending on your region. European customers will have to pay more for some games if the publisher chooses to set higher prices in Europe. Humble Bundle is mostly known for its Humble Indie Bundles and smaller weekly bundles. So far, Humble Bundle has mostly been about indie games. Even though the company released a couple of bundles with major publishers like EA, small developers and publishers are still on center stage. Similarly, the company has started experimenting with ebook and audio book bundles. Backed by Y Combinator and SV Angel, the startup recently opened the Humble Store, a more traditional store that allows you to purchase individual games just like you would on Steam or gog.com. The Humble Store has had compelling arguments to seduce gamers. Most games are cross-platform, DRM-free and come with a Steam key to activate the game on Steam. Moreover, charities, such as the American Red Cross, Child’s Play Charity, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, World Land Trust and Charity Water, receive 10 percent of the proceedings — Humble Bundle keeps 15 percent. But one of the key differentiating element was also pricing. Everything was in USD, so you knew that you wouldn’t have to pay 20 or 30 percent more because of price differences between regions like on competing platforms. If your bank account wasn’t in USD, PayPal is pretty good at providing a good conversion rate. Now, there are two scenarios. If Humble Bundle handles the conversion, it will sell the game at the same price in USD, EUR or GBP, without adding any VAT. But if the publisher wants to set different prices, the company will let the publisher do so. Like on Steam, there is apparently no way to choose your currency, so European customers will sometimes be forced to pay more for the same game. Many publishers could now choose to set the same prices in USD, EUR and GBP on the Humble Store and Steam. For now, the Humble Store only added Euro and British Pound. If you don’t live in a country that accepts these currencies, you will still pay in U.S. dollars. The big bundles and the weekly bundles will still work the same way — everything will be in USD.New 2014 HTC One Leaked In Gold With Dual Camera And Twin Flash
Feb 19, 2:20PM
HTC is set to unveil its next-generation flagship phone, and all indications are that it will continue what it has accomplished with last year’s HTC One, but with some tweaks and enhancements to push things forward. A new leaked image from @evleaks today reveals that the new One could be very similar indeed to the old One on the outside, albeit with improvements to the camera system. The press shot depicts an HTC One that looks like the aluminum device HTC released last year, but with a gold tint (it’s said to be launching in gold, silver and gray). Also noteworthy are the twin camera lenses on the back of the device, which include the larger primary one found on current models and the smaller one at the top of the case. There’s also a dual LED flash next to the main lens, which you might recognize from the similar setup on Apple’s own iPhone 5s, and more rounded corners, plus what looks like a wraparound metallic bezel, as compared to the plastic edging on the existing HTC One. Rumors suggest that the new One will have dual camera sensors, to offer focus that can be changed after the fact and selective deletion of objects from photos, which explains the twin lenses. Based on what’s been making the rounds so far, HTC will be focusing on camera quality this time around, in a bid to give it something that clearly differentiates it from other Android OEMs. Another feature of this leak is the prominence of HTC’s Sense UI on the home screen, where it seems to take over entirely. The interface resembles Windows Phone 8′s UI to some extent, with information pulled from feeds displayed on live tiles, which extend behind the Android home icon dock. Personally, I’m excited to see what HTC comes up with to follow the extremely solid HTC One. It’s still among my favorite Android phones, right up there with the Nexus 5. My only concern is that HTC takes its positive critical reception as an excuse to coast this time around – that’s bound to fail in the highly competitive Android smartphone market, regardless of how good the original was.The First Bitcoin ATM In The US Is Opening In Austin, Texas
Feb 19, 2:09PM
USA! USA! We are now officially almost as good as Canada! Why? Because the folks at Robocoin are officially turning on the first US-based Bitcoin ATM at the HandleBar in Austin, Texas where you can mosey on up to the machine, slip in some dollars, and come away with some cryptocurrency.After Raising $10M From USV, SideCar Pivots To Offer A Ride-sharing Marketplace
Feb 19, 2:00PM
Peer-to-peer ride-sharing startup SideCar is releasing a brand new version of its app for both passengers and drivers, which will provide more flexibility for drivers and more choice for passengers. The new version of the app is being announced along with an investment by Union Square Ventures and the appointment of Fred Wilson to its board of directors.Cloud-Based Payroll App ZenPayroll Raises $20M From General Catalyst And Kleiner At A $100M-Plus Valuation
Feb 19, 2:00PM
ZenPayroll, the startup that offers an easy to use, cloud-based payroll application; is announcing a new round of Series A funding totaling $20 million. The round was led by General Catalyst Partners with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers also participating. The startup previously raised $6.1 million in funding from a list of all-star investors, including Salesforce, Box CEO and founder Aaron Levie, Data Collective, Dropbox CEO and co-founder Drew Houston, Google Ventures and many others.
Immersive Video Startup Condition One Demos 360-Degree Trailer For Oculus Rift
Feb 19, 2:00PM
Condition One has spent the last few years trying to find ways to make video more like real life. With the Oculus Rift, it might have found just the device to bring its vision of immersive experiences to life. Using the virtual reality glasses, the company is hoping to unleash a whole new way of engaging with video experiences.Apple Bringing iTunes Festival Stateside For The First Time At SXSW 2014
Feb 19, 1:56PM
Apple is putting on a show on SXSW this year, the company just announced via press release. It’ll take place over five days between March 11 and March 15, at the Moody Theater where PBS’ Austin City Limits is shot, and will have a lineup that includes Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Pitbull, Keith Urban, ZEDD and others yet to be announced. Like the annual, month-long iTunes Festival in London, this event and its performances will be made available free on both an app for iOS devices and the Apple TV, as well as via an on-demand live stream. Apple has held the iTunes Festival in London every September since 2007, where over 400 artists have performed to over 430,000 fans in person, as well as to many tens of million via the various streaming options. The Festival is a chance for Apple to promote its role as the primary source of digital music, and to highlight key artists and essentially demonstrate how much of a force it is in the entertainment industry. U.S. dates for the first time mark a key expansion of this strategy, and the event should mesh well with the megashow vibe that SXSW has managed to accrue over the years.Beep Aims For Sonos In The Race To Network Home Audio
Feb 19, 1:53PM
Cracking the riddle of whole home audio has been a sort of quixotic quest for most manufacturers. The only company to really pull it off, Sonos, is still well ensconced in the niche of audio obsessives and Samsung, Apple, Sony et al haven't offered much in the way of anything. Now, hopefully, can git 'er done.Samsung Said To Be Tapping Tizen For Next Generation Galaxy Gear Smartwatch
Feb 19, 1:41PM
Samsung is taking a completely different approach to its next-generation Galaxy Gear smartwatch, according to a new report from USA Today – that means eschewing Android altogether on the on-device OS. The Galaxy Gear launched last year ran Android, Google’s mobile OS, but that piece of wearable tech didn’t light any fires under consumers or critics, so why not go back to the drawing board? To replace Android as the OS for its new smartwatch, Samsung is said to be using Tizen, its in-house mobile OS that appears to be nearing release on its first Samsung smartphone device. USA Today reports that ian HTML5 version of Tizen will ship with the new Galaxy Gear, and that both will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress this month in Barcelona. Samsung is hosting an event at MWC called ‘Unpacked5′ February 24, where it seems likely to unveil its next Galaxy S flagship device. There’s also a chance we’ll see the Gear at the show, as has been reported previously by other outlets. Tizen on the smartwatch would be a significant shift for Samsung, but moving to an HTML5-based platform on the device might make it easier for developers to craft simple partner apps for software resident on the phones themselves, and it could also help with things like improving battery life. Qualcomm’s Toq smartwatch, for instance, runs a “lightweight” OS that contributes to its five days of battery life, vs. around two days at best for the Galaxy Gear. Another reason Samsung is eschewing Android for this generation of smartwatch, according to USA Today, is to keep more control over the device and platform in its own hands. The company’s Tizen efforts seemed stalled for a long time, but Samsung recently signed up a score of new high-profile partners. Investing in Tizen on the Gear probably can’t hurt that device’s chances – with wearables, there’s little reason yet for any consumer to choose one platform over another, and the initial version of the Galaxy Gear didn’t sell enough to create anything like lock-in for existing users. Hopefully this next Gear isn’t just the same device with Tizen subbing in for Android, and the new watch offers many more improvements besides. In any case, if rumors are true, we should find out either way next week.Ad Company OpenX Hires Longtime Hulu Exec Tom Fuelling As CFO
Feb 19, 1:12PM
Online and mobile advertising company OpenX is announcing the appointment of Tom Fuelling as its new chief financial officer. Fuelling (pictured) previously served as CFO at Hulu for six years, starting in 2007. The streaming video site announced last fall that Fuelling was departing and would be replaced by Disney's Elaine Paul, following the appointment of new CEO Mike Hopkins.Skyhigh Debuts CloudRisk, A Tool To Help Large Companies Track Their Cloud Exposure
Feb 19, 1:00PM
Skyhigh Networks today debuted CloudRisk, a new tool to help corporations track and manage their potential risk due to use of cloud services. CloudRisk is a dashboard that tracks a firm's current surface area with cloud services, providing the company with a number -- on a scale of one through 10 -- regarding their current exposure and a comparable figure for their industry.LinkedIn Opens Its Publishing Platform To All Members
Feb 19, 1:00PM
To date, LinkedIn has allowed a small, editorially selected group of "Influencers" like Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Barack Obama to publish their thoughts and advice to its network as long-form blog posts. Now, that changes, as LinkedIn prepares to open up access to its publishing platform to all 277 million users on its network.Apple Back Among The Top Five Smartphone Vendors In China On iPhone 5s Success, IDC Reports
Feb 19, 12:44PM
Apple has gained an entire percentage point of market share and cracked the top five smartphone manufacturers, according to the latest figures from research firm IDC. Apple’s share rose from 6 to 7 percent during the fourth quarter of last year, according to a new report (via WSJ) and though that isn’t a huge bump, it makes Apple the fifth-largest smartphone maker in China. There’s also reason to believe that Apple could climb higher still: These numbers don’t include any sales made through Apple’s partnership with China Mobile, which only began selling the iPhone on January 17, and is in the process of building out its new network to support the device across a wider swath of the population. Apple’s rise late last year might have something to do with the fact that the company opted to launch its latest iPhone models in the Greater China market simultaneously with its North American and major European market launches – this marks the first time it has done that, and likely helped boost overall iPhone sales by a considerable margin in the company’s fiscal holiday quarter. Apple also won a bigger chunk of a Chinese smartphone market that isn’t growing with nearly the speed it has in the past, so the China Mobile deal is even more significant, as it represents a way for Apple to grow its share in the key market without having to seek out new smartphone buyers. For Apple, the China Mobile deal represents a huge potential new buyer pool, and signs are good if the iPhone 5s and 5c are already helping drive up their share. But China’s own Xiaomi is nipping at its heels, coming in sixth overall among smartphone makers in the country per IDC, so that could make for a tight race between the two as the Android-based startup OEM continues to chart impressive growth at home.An AT&T For Dentistry? Y Combinator-Backed Weave Launches To Bring Modern Telecom To SMBs
Feb 19, 12:15PM
Small businesses, by definition, are lean. With a price tag that includes license renewals, maintenance and upgrades to servers and IT support, the costs of adopting enterprise-grade software and services has been prohibitive for most SMBs, posing a potential threat to delicate profit margins. More recently, however, thanks to increasing access to broadband, the proliferation of connected mobile devices, and the rise of cloud services, this has begun to change. Today, with access to the cloud and affordable SaaS-based solutions fast increasing, small businesses are adopting the kind of services and tools that were once reserved for their enterprise counterparts in droves. It’s happening across the board, from business apps, securitya and CRM to BI, accounting and telecommunications. Y Combinator-backed Weave is one of a growing set of companies looking to capitalize on this trend and bring modern software and services to the millions of small businesses that have traditionally been underserved by big players. Launching officially today, Weave is on a mission to help small and medium-sized businesses upgrade their telecom systems and connect the many disparate services they use in day-to-day operations under one roof. Dubbing itself a “new kind of phone company,” Weave’s software integrates with the existing CRM systems used by small businesses — particularly dentists, accountants and chiropractors — and provides access to voice, SMS and email services within one package and interface. Communication is critical to small businesses and small practices, as customers today have increasingly high expectations when it comes to support. For small businesses, creating fluid communication lines are part of offering that extra level of support that can increase loyalty and become the difference between gaining a customer or losing one. For businesses that revolve around the phone, like dental practices for example, it’s the little stuff. They want to know who their customers are when they call, they want access to communication histories, and they need to be able to quickly and effectively communicate with them, market to them and offer support at any time. This is where Weave comes in, as it aims to provide small businesses with the kind of tools they need to offer this level of support in less time and without training. Because founders Brandon Rodman, Jared Rodman, and Clint Berry have prior experience in the market and because it happens to be one that has been ignored by enterprise vendors, since launch, Weave hasGoogle Capital Invests $40M In Learning Analytics Firm Renaissance Learning At $1B Valuation
Feb 19, 12:00PM
Renaissance Learning, one of the leading cloud-based K-12 assessment and learning analytics companies, today announced that it has raised a $40 million investment from Google Capital. This marks the first investment in education for Google Capital, the search giant's late-stage investment vehicle, and makes Google a minority owner of the company.Microsoft Officially Rebrands SkyDrive To OneDrive
Feb 19, 11:59AM
SkyDrive is dead, long live OneDrive. In January, Microsoft announced that it would rebrand its storage service to OneDrive following a trademark dispute with British pay-TV provider BSkyB. Starting today, the website, the mobile apps and the desktop apps all share the same OneDrive name. That’s not all. Microsoft is also launching today a new referral program. It is very reminiscent of Dropbox’s referral system. If a friend signs up using your link, you get 500MB of free storage, up to a maximum of 10 friends or 5GB. Similarly, if you enable automatic photo upload on your Windows, iOS or Android phone, you can get up to 3GB of free storage. Overall, OneDrive users can get up to 8GB of additional storage. Before today, the Android app didn’t have the photo backup feature. But today’s update brought this feature to Android phones as well. Consumer cloud storage is becoming cheaper as many tech giants now have their own services. Google has Google Drive, Apple has iCloud, Microsoft has OneDrive, etc. They will now have to differentiate from each other with better apps, better features and probably marketing. Funnily, the two platforms that didn’t receive an update today were Microsoft’s two core products — Office 2013 and Windows 8.1. You will still see the old SkyDrive name, but everything will still work.Social Media Customer Care Startup, Brand Embassy, Gets $1M Seed To Power A Global Push
Feb 19, 11:48AM
UK-based Brand Embassy, a provider of social-media based customer care services to help businesses manage communications with customers via channels such as Facebook and Twitter, has closed a $1 million seed round from two new funds, Rockaway Capital and Spread Capital.myTomorrows Raises $2.2M For Platform To Give Patients Access To Development-Stage Drugs
Feb 19, 11:17AM
myTomorrows is a Dutch startup that wants to disrupt the way patients with unmet medical needs currently have (very limited) access to development-stage treatments -- drugs that are still undergoing clinical trials and working there way through a lengthy regulatory approval process.Nokia Launches $30 NFC Tag For Keeping Tabs On Your Lumia Phone's Whereabouts
Feb 19, 11:08AM
Nokia has unveiled a new accessory designed to make sure users of its Lumia smartphone are never parted from their handset. Or at least, that when they leave the house with their tagged keys or bag, they'll be reminded to pick up their phone too.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.
To stop all future emails from feed2email.net you can reply to this email with STOP in the subject line. Thanks
