The latest from TechCrunch
- Wireless iPod/iPhone/iPad Syncing Is Awesome — Too Bad It Will Likely Be Rejected [Video]
- Foursquare Gets Some Major VH1 Love
- eSecurity Company WISeKey Raises $20M At $200M Valuation, Plans IPO
- Facebook Has Some Housekeeping To Do
- Blogger Commerce Network OpenSky Fetches $6 Million Series B
| Wireless iPod/iPhone/iPad Syncing Is Awesome — Too Bad It Will Likely Be Rejected [Video] | Top |
| Basically, since its initial launch, one of the most annoying things about the iPod (and now iPhone, iPad, etc) is that you have to plug it into your computer via USB to sync it. Sure, this also allows you to recharge your device, but I’d love to say, charge it in a holder next to my bed (since I also use it as an alarm) and wirelessly sync it over WiFi. A new app allows you to do that. Too bad it’s likely to be rejected. As you can see in the video below, WiFi Sync allows you to do exactly what the name promises. Once you complete a few steps to authenticate your iPod/iPhone and then your computer, you can begin syncing wirelessly. It just works. The problem, of course, that Apple is likely to have with it is unauthorized interaction with their software, iTunes. Undoubtedly, if Apple wanted to include such a feature in iPod touches/iPhones/iPads they would have already. It would seem that technology isn’t an issue, but there may be other things at play, such as security, and speed. While security is debatable, speed is definitely a big plus for using USB (2.0) versus WiFi as one transfers data at nearly 500 Mbps, while the other would transfer data at just a fraction of that. (Obviously it would vary based on technology — 802.11n versus 802.11g, etc — and distance from the router.) Something else to think about: when Apple inevitably does move iTunes to the cloud, syncing their devices wirelessly will be pretty much a necessity. Perhaps Apple is just waiting for that and enjoying the big USB bandwidth until then. CrunchBase Information iPod iPhone iPad Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| Foursquare Gets Some Major VH1 Love | Top |
| Last week, we noted how The History Channel was using the Tips feature of Foursquare to make the real world a bit like Pop-Up Video , the popular VH1 show that ran from 1996 until 2002. Now, VH1 itself is in on the fun with their own account to also make the real world — and their own shows — a bit like Pop-Up Video with Foursquare. As Foursquare’s business development lead, Tristan Walker tweeted out tonight, VH1 has started promoted Foursquare on screen during some of its its shows. For example, in the screen capture grabbed by Walker, you can see a Foursquare bubble that popped up during a show ( What Chilli Wants ) on the cable channel tonight. “ We love the way they’re integrating tips ,” Walker notes. The official VH1 Foursquare account is supposed to be used to “find culture in your city.” What’s interesting is that both VH1 on-air personalities and celebrities with their own shows are supplying these tips to Foursquare. And you really can’t buy better publicity than VH1 putting these Foursquare pop-ups in their shows. In fact, Foursquare undoubtedly isn’t buying this publicity, and in fact, VH1 may even be paying them for the partnership (the service won’t say which of its deals are free and which are paid). Foursquare just crossed a million users last week, but the deals the young startup is securing are arguably more impressive than their growth. Not only are the History Channel, Bravo , and VH1 promoting them, but even hotels in Vegas are as well. All of this can’t hurt the valuation Foursquare ends up with when it inevitably does take its next, large round of funding — or sells for upwards of $100 million. CrunchBase Information Foursquare Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| eSecurity Company WISeKey Raises $20M At $200M Valuation, Plans IPO | Top |
| Information security and identity management software and services firm WISeKey has closed a $20 million financing round at a $200 million valuation. The investment comes from a group of undisclosed institutional and private backers in both Europe and the United States. With the extra capital, WISeKey plans an accelerated expansion in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). WISeKey also marks itself an IPO candidate, saying that it will file to go public as soon as the market stabilizes. | |
| Facebook Has Some Housekeeping To Do | Top |
| Dear Facebook , before we sashay into the “Age Of Facebook” it would be just dandy if you could tidy the place up a bit, sweep up a few cobwebs, unwrap all the new furniture and get rid of those pesky bugs. We’ve oohed and aahed over the exciting new gizmos , the sparkly social plugins and the Open Graph. But as you hurtle to 500 million users and beyond, you have to prevent bush league errors from bubbling up. For example, as tipster Sven Hoffmann pointed out and confirmed by my Facebook account, when I get a friend request and click on the “Confirm Friend” button, the log-in screen that pops up shows my potential friend’s full e-mail address, not mine. Obviously, that’s not a very exciting image, but I assure you that my e-mail address does not begin with a “d” or end in a “7″. This is no cause for alarm, it’s not a major security threat— if someone is friending you on Facebook, they are probably OK with you knowing their e-mail— however, it is a silly mistake, in a series of mistakes (in March a bug briefly revealed hidden e-mail addresses and in February, the site accidentally rerouted private messages to the wrong users— whoops). It’s not bizarre for a site with so many moving parts and so many users to have the occasional glitch, but it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence among those worried about their privacy. Come on Facebook, you can do better. CrunchBase Information Facebook Information provided by CrunchBase (Image Source: Flickr/ x-ray delta one ) | |
| Blogger Commerce Network OpenSky Fetches $6 Million Series B | Top |
| With a recent public launch under its belt, OpenSky is adding $6 million in new capital. Existing investors Highland Capital and Canaan Partners invested in the series B financing. A year ago, the company raised $5 million. OpenSky is a social marketing/e-commerce startup which connects manufacturers and distributors directly with influential bloggers who recommend their products and get a cut from resulting sales. It is much more than an affiliate network. As I described OpenSky when it launched: While OpenSky sounds at first like an affiliate network, it isn't. Instead of sending customers off to other online stores, they send them to their own stores where they can track sales and follow up with personalized messages. OpenSky hand picks the publishers who are allowed to set up shops and sell in its network. It then strikes deals directly with manufacturers and distributors who agree to drop-ship any sold items to readers who click to buy through an OpenSky shop. Instead of the blogger getting a 3 to 10 percent affiliate fee, they split the net profits 50/50 with OpenSky. The economics work best obviously with high-margin products. OpenSky CEO John Caplan was previously the CEO of Ford Models, and before that the president of About.com. He tells me that “seller conversion rates grow and repeat shoppers buy more frequently” since the launch (before that, OpenSky was in private beta with 250 bloggers). His plans going forward include hiring more people, releasing a distributed cart (for onsite shopping without sending readers off to a store), opening up OpenSky’s APIs, improve the relevance matching between product manufacturers and bloggers/influencers, and better direct marketing support for sellers. CrunchBase Information OpenSky Information provided by CrunchBase | |
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