The latest from TechCrunch
- Shoutworthy Lets You Endorse A Friend In 140
- Data Showing Android Pushing Past Apple Does Not Include iPhone 4
- Wait, So 20 Phones On 4 Carriers Outsold 1 Phone On 1 Carrier? Shocking.
- Connecticut Attorney General Wants To Make Sure Amazon, Apple Aren't Cutting Sweetheart Deals With E-Book Publishers
- Stanford Heats Up Solar Power With New Harnessing Technology
| Shoutworthy Lets You Endorse A Friend In 140 | Top |
| We've killed off reputation before , but it somehow refuses to die, with third party platforms like Unvarnished gaining traction in an entirely new sector of social, reputation currency. Quietly launching today out of DUMBO, Brooklyn ("the SOMA of New York City") comes Sawhorse Media 's Shoutworthy , a social client that attempts to steal some of LinkedIn 's thunder and cash in on the unmitigated human desire to share via Facebook and Twitter. Shoutworthy is partially angel funded and partially bootstrapped. Founder Gregory Galant's previous Twitter-related endeavors include The Shorty Awards , Listorious, Muckrack and Venture Maven . Galant wants to make it easier to give people recommendations socially, “You don't get LinkedIn recommendations unless you get your friends to write them. Because ours are posted on Facebook and Twitter, people are forced to keep it short." It's true, Shoutworthy's "shout outs" are easier to write than LinkedIn recommendations and the service makes it easy for you to distribute them over Facebook and Twitter, using the APIs to automatically tweet them out and auto-post them to the recipient's wall on Facebook. Unlike Unvarnished, each "shout out" is linked to your user profile, which means that everyone is held accountable for his or her reviews. When asked whether this accountability would put the kibosh on people who wanted to post negative reviews, Galant responded, "We're not encouraging people to [post negative reviews] … With Shoutworthy I get a testimonial page and see what my friends are recommending – If they're shouting out five people those are five people worth paying attention to." While this idea of a personal testimonial page hearkens back to Friendster , aggregators of business reputation testimonials like Yelp and Google Places are currently at war over today's SEO-obsessed landscape. I can’t see why personal reputation testimonials won’t one day be just as important; Everyone wants friends with high page rank. There is currently a LinkedIn connect function on your Shoutworthy profile, and Galant plans on doing a deeper LinkedIn integration in order to further solve the recommender motivation problem. While the platform's current utility is limited (Don't people already uselessly shout at each other all day via Facebook and Twitter?), by incorporating features that post user “shout outs” directly to LinkedIn or some other site frequented by employers, Shoutworthy might actually be something to shout about. CrunchBase Information Shoutworthy Sawhorse Media Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| Data Showing Android Pushing Past Apple Does Not Include iPhone 4 | Top |
| There is no question that Android’s share of the smartphone market is growing by l leaps and bounds . Earlier today, Nielsen came out with some more evidence that Android keeps rising. It published some very provocative numbers today suggesting that Android’s share of new smartphone subscribers surged past new iPhone subscribers in the U.S. during the second quarter, commanding 27 percent of recent smartphone purchases compared to 23 percent for the iPhone. These figures represent new smartphone purchases over the preceding 6 months. In terms of total smartphone subscribers in the U.S., the iPhone still has more than twice as many as Android, with 28 percent versus 13 percent. But that number was flat for iPhone from the first quarter, while Android’s share rose from 9 percent. (Blackberry is still bigger than both with 35 percent share of total subscribers, and 33 percent of recent subscribers). The relative gains of Android compared to iPhone could very well signal a tipping point for Android. Perhaps the weight of all 20+ Android phones and multiple carriers is finally collectively beating the iPhone, and there will be no looking back. Or maybe the fight is not yet over. According to this data, new Android subscribers passed iPhone subscribers in the second quarter, which ended on June 30. The new iPhone 4 was announced on June 7 , but not available until June 24th. In other words, this data only includes one week of iPhone 4 sales. The flat market share line may very well be indicating nothing more than the end of the iPhone 3Gs product lifecycle. Many people who wanted a new iPhone delayed their purchase in anticipation of the iPhone 4. Yes, the iPhone 4 has some antenna issues, but those do not seem to be affecting sales . Can Android keep on taking market share among new smartphone buyers, or will the iPhone bounce back next quarter with the full force of iPhone 4 sales behind it? Like they say, one data point does not make a trend. CrunchBase Information iPhone 4 Android Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| Wait, So 20 Phones On 4 Carriers Outsold 1 Phone On 1 Carrier? Shocking. | Top |
| Okay, I’ll admit that my headline is a bit misleading. Apple actually sells two phones: the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4 (or, before the iPhone 4, they sold the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 3G). But they’re both iPhones. One is just better than the other. It’s also hard to pinpoint exactly how many Android smartphones are for sale in the U.S. currently (meaning they’re not discontinued, etc), but it seems to be about 20. Could be a bit less — or it could be more. But the point is: it’s a lot more than one or two. Seriously though, the most shocking thing about the news today that Android sales overtook iPhone sales for the first time last quarter is that it didn’t happen sooner. The sheer number of Android devices out there is one thing. But the fact that they’re available on all four major U.S. carriers is the real key here. If you want an iPhone, you have to sign-up for AT&T. If you want an Android phone, you can choose between AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and, yes, Verizon — the largest carrier in the U.S. Was there really any question that Android phones would outsell the iPhone with that being the case? In fact, if that didn’t happen, I’d argue something was wrong. The real interesting data would be if any single Android phone is outselling the iPhone. Based on the stats today from Nielsen , that doesn’t seem to be the case — unless one Android phone is dominating the sales figures (which isn’t the case). Also interesting is that this data comes from the quarter before Apple released a new iPhone. No iPhone 4 sales are included here . Android is clearly a hit. And as more and better devices keep coming, it will get even more popular. The fact that overall it still hasn’t passed Windows Mobile devices in the U.S. is a bit surprising — it should blow past those this quarter as Microsoft gears up for Windows Phone 7. The point is: there’s a lot of room to grow for Android still. But comparing iPhone sales to Android sales is comparing an apple to a bushel of oranges. That is, until Apple gets on another carrier in the U.S. We all know it’s going to happen, it’s just a question of when. Will it be early next year ? Next Summer? Will it be Verizon, T-Mobile, both ? Apple is clearly never going to make as many phones as exist in the Android universe — they simply have a different strategy. Google is seeding their OS to OEMs to flood the market in an attempt to control mobile search. Apple is building its own devices in an attempt to control its ecosystem (and the app ecosystem). It’s quantity versus quality. It’s Windows versus Macintosh all over again. Except that Google is giving Android away for free. OEMs love free. Customers love choice. 20 phones on 4 carriers are outselling 1 phone on 1 carrier. All of this is very surprising. [photo: flickr/ Jean-David et Anne-Laure ] CrunchBase Information iPhone iPhone 4 Android Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| Connecticut Attorney General Wants To Make Sure Amazon, Apple Aren't Cutting Sweetheart Deals With E-Book Publishers | Top |
| The Connecticut attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, has opened up an investigation into whether or not the deals Amazon and Apple have cut with publishers for the sale of e-books have violated any sort of rules of regulations. The fear is that the deals Amazon and Apple have worked out with top publishers may lock out other companies from entering the e-book business. | |
| Stanford Heats Up Solar Power With New Harnessing Technology | Top |
| A Stanford University research group says it found a way to more than double current solar power production efficiency. The technology uses both light and heat from the sun and is inexpensive enough that, if it pans out, it might be able to compete with oil. Most current technology can either convert light into electricity at relatively low temperatures, or convert the sun’s heat at very high temperatures. Stanford engineers claim they developed a way to do both. The photon enhanced thermionic emission, or PETE, works best at high temperatures, where current photovoltaics struggle. Solar panels usually use silicon to convert photons to electricity, but only from a certain portion of the light spectrum. Unused photons generate heat in the cells, making them perform poorly and losing up to 50% of the energy reaching the solar panel. Professor Nick Melosh, who led the research group, says PETE works best at higher temperatures, making it most effective when used with solar concentrators like parabolic mirrors used in solar farms, rather than as rooftop solar panel replacements. If installed in solar farms, PETE could also pass any waste heat it can’t convert to a solar farm’s thermal conversion system. The team’s vision is to attach PETE devices to existing systems. Solar panels are often expensive because they require a lot of silicon, but one PETE device needs only about a six-inch wafer of semiconducting material, reducing the amount of investment capital needed to get it off the ground. According to the research team’s estimates, the devices could reach 60% efficiency on solar farms. Falling short of that goal could still have significant effects. The team said if they can boost efficiency to 30%, it could make the cost of solar power comparable to oil. This video from Stanford explains more about the project: CrunchBase Information Stanford University Information provided by CrunchBase | |
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