The latest from TechCrunch
- What The iPad 2 Announcement Needs In Order To Be Bi-Winning
- Axel Springer Acquires Most Of Mobile Coupons Startup KaufDa For $40 Million
- LetterMPress Kickstarter Project Is An Early Sign Of The New iPad Direction
- The Pros And Cons Of Facebook Comments
- Charlie Sheen, Now On Twitter At @CharlieSheen
| What The iPad 2 Announcement Needs In Order To Be Bi-Winning | Top |
| We’re now just hours away from the unveiling of Apple’s next big thing at an event in San Francisco. And while Apple hasn’t officially stated what they’d be showing off tomorrow, a picture has been worth a thousand words. Right on the invite to the event is the tease of an iPad covered by the date, which probably not coincidentally prominently displays a big “2″. So what should we expect? And what does the iPad 2 actually need in order to please the masses? The locks at this point seem to be a faster processor (probably a custom dual-core ARM chip, perhaps the “A5″), a front-facing camera, a better speaker, a thinner build, a lighter weight, and a new built-in Verizon 3G option (alongside the AT&T option). The good bets include a back camera, an anti-glare screen, a new material for the shell, and more RAM. And the wildcards include a DisplayPort/Thunderbolt output, a different starting price point, and maybe even a white color option. The one thing clearly missing from that list is a “Retina Display”. That’s not coming tomorrow. This rumor has been debunked quite a bit recently after reports to the contrary started appearing months ago . About a month ago, a good source told us not to expect this in iPad 2 — the same source that pointed to another iPad version launching in the fall . But the lack of a Retina Display will not harm the iPad 2. Even if it just has the “locks” listed above, Apple is going to sell a ton of units. And if it dips into the “good bets” as well, it will sell even more. The fact of the matter is that over a year after the unveiling of the first iPad, the device had no real competition . The only thing that remotely resembles a competitor out there right now is the Xoom. And if people are actually buying it in any sort of meaningful quantity, they curiously don’t seem to be talking about it. But more Honeycomb-powered Android tablets are approaching. And Apple knows that they can’t rest on their laurels. The iPad 2 announcement may not need to be a blow-out blockbuster, but it needs to be rock-solid. Actually, the more interesting aspect of tomorrow may be on the software side of things. Apple is probably going to unveil iOS 4.3 tomorrow as the shipping software for the new device. But again, it’s unlikely to be a huge upgrade. We’ve already seen some of the cooler, tucked away possibilities in iOS 4.3 ( like new gestures ), but those may or may not remain in the background for now. More likely are other, more mature features. We do know that several publishers are likely to be on hand for the event tomorrow. And you can bet Apple is going to talk a bit more about the in-app subscription service that should be baked into iOS 4.3. Don’t be surprised if we hear something about iBooks and Random House too . And there may be a wild card on the iOS side of things as well. Earlier today, Business Insider reported on some vague rumors about a new “social app” that could launch alongside the iPad 2. They were sure to make it clear that these were very much rumors. But curiously enough, we’ve heard something similar from one of our own sources. Our source isn’t too firm on details either, but they suggest that Apple may have something new to show off tomorrow, and it may be around the location space. Early looks at the code in iOS 4.3 suggested a feature called “Find My Friends” may be a location-based network for people, similar to the “Find My iPhone” feature for Apple devices. But another source thinks it may be more along the lines of “Find My Kids” — as in a tool for parents to remotely monitor their children when they’re away. You may think that such a new location service would be tied into MobileMe, but remember that Apple took steps with iOS 4.2 to separate “Find My iPhone” from MobileMe. And that may matter because another source says a MobileMe upgrade isn’t a part of tomorrow’s event. That may seem odd given the disappearing MobileMe boxes from store shelves, but that’s what we’re hearing right now. There are also other whispers out there of different social elements being worked on for iOS as well, such as simple photo-sharing. But the latest word there is that this is unlikely to be ready for tomorrow’s event. Still, the “one more thing” moment tomorrow could well be a walk-through of iOS 5 (following a timeline we predicted a couple months ago). Apple has traditionally held events to walk developers through the latest version of the iOS software in the spring before a summer launch. But Apple may indeed kill two birds with one stone here. If that’s the case, we may hear about some various advanced things that Apple has been working on for the new mobile OS. What kinds of things? Hard to say. But improvements in social, notifications, and a wide-range of new APIs all seem to be good guesses at this point. Oh — and the cloud. Other questions that will likely have to wait for a few more hours include when the iPad 2 will go on sale — maybe as soon as this week or next week? And what will happen to the iPad 1 — price cut or end-of-life ? And what about this guy — will he be there/on stage? Stay tuned. We’ll shortly know if the iPad 2 is bi-winning or not. | |
| Axel Springer Acquires Most Of Mobile Coupons Startup KaufDa For $40 Million | Top |
| kaufDa is one of Germany's leading "promotion search" sites. What’s that? It helps you look for the best sales and mobile couponing running near where you live. So instead of retailers needing to send out huge catalogues, Germans have warmed to kaufDa’s targeted nature. Admittedly it doesn’t sound that exciting a business. But today European media giant Axel Springer has acquired a 74.9 percent equity interest in the business for $40US million, thus generated a tidy, and significant, European-style exit for the investors concerned. The story behind the price is that traditional publishing companies are quite simply terrified of kaufDA. It targets the $3bn retail advertising market in Germany, much of which is poised to transfer online, long after classifieds in jobs or car search did so. Some 30% of traffic is mobile already: kaufDA’s iPhone Navigator App has been installed on over 15% of all iPhones and over 20% of all iPads in Germany. | |
| LetterMPress Kickstarter Project Is An Early Sign Of The New iPad Direction | Top |
| Perhaps the most beautiful Kickstarter project I have ever seen (sorry Detroit RoboCop statue) LetterMPress is a virtual letterpress app for the iPad, created by designer and typographer John Bonadies . Already in prototype, Bonadies is seeking $15,000 in crowd-sourced funding to release the world’s first tablet letterpress envirnoment, aiming for the end of the summer. LetterMPress allows you to arrange type on the iPad much like an original letterpress, using the touch screen to arrange, lock and ink type on the “press bed,” er iPad screen. The app uses virtual cut and ink graphics, copied from actual vintage press sets. And while you can print out your creations using AirPrint or by uploading the files to your computer, part of Bonadies’ plan is to buy actual vintage sets and offer authentic letterpress prints from the designs submitted by LetterMPress users. So why put all this effort into virtually recreating something as obsolete as letterpress printing, other than because you love it? “Actually, a letterpress and an iPad operate similarly when it comes to manipulating objects in a composition. Just like placing blocks of wood type on a surface, you drag the type images across the iPad, and then move them around to create your design. This is why the iPad would make an ideal platform for people to experience the creative aspects of letterpress and typography.” When I reviewed the original iPad last year, I wrote that one of its greatest flaws is that it “paralyzes its user from engaging with the Net as a content creator.” And while a year later, on the eve of another iPad launch, we’ve got a ton of light photo-editing apps like PhotoShop Express, there’s as of yet no tool that a creative professional would prefer to use on an iPad than on a Mac. LetterMPress could be the first of these sort of apps, that take advantage of the touch tablet interface’s inherent potential for artistry and creative work. I mean imagine a hardcore Photoshop designed for touch. As I’m hearing that tomorrow’s iPad launch will increasingly focus on the iPad as a tool for creation not consumption , perhaps Steve Jobs and Bonadies are on the same page, a digital one. Watch LetterMPress in action, below. CrunchBase Information Apple Kickstarter Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| The Pros And Cons Of Facebook Comments | Top |
| Today, Facebook rolled out a new commenting system for blogs and third-party sites. We’ve implemented it here on TechCrunch, and after a few hours of the system being live it is obvious that it has its share of pros and cons. Readers have certainly noticed, and there is already a ton debate about whether this is good or bad for the Internet. It is certainly not perfect. Facebook comments don’t support Twitter or Google logins. It doesn’t yet allow sites to archive their comments to make backups (although an API for that is forthcoming I am told), and switching away from Facebook comments after a few months on the system looks like it will be a hassle (data portability anyone?). Some corporations block Facebook, which kills it as a commenting system for that subset of users. In one fell swoop it could hurt Disqus , which is a great startup that’s been perfecting its commenting system for years. And there are lots of little bugs we’ve noticed that hopefully will be fixed soon (we were manually moderating every comment on TechCrunch until a few minutes ago, and you still can’t see a comment count at the top of each post like you could before). On the other hand, it also has some real advantages. Primary among these is that it requires commenters to use their real identities. In the past few hours, most of the anonymous trolls who have come to call TechCrunch comments a second home are gone. Of course, some people don’t want to comment with their real names for good reason (they want to speak freely without fear of reprisals), but for the most part in practice anonymity was abused. It was used mostly as a shield to hide behind and throw out invective. Have the trolls really vanished or will they return? I certainly hope they are gone. We have fewer comments in general on most posts today, but the conversations are much more civil and interesting. The other main benefit is social virality. When you comment on TechCrunch, your comment also appears in your Facebook stream with a link back to the post (unless you opt out of that option in the comment box). It would be better if the link went right to your comment instead of to the post in general, but that is a feature that can be added. It brings in more readers from Facebook who are pulled in to see what their friends said. So what are the results? So far today, Facebook is our No. 2 referring site, after AOL (thank you, Justin Bieber ). It is beating out Twitter, which is usually our top source of referring traffic. This viral effect would be twice as powerful, of course, if people could use their Twitter IDs as well. Pros Real names and identities greatly reduces the number of trolls and anonymous cowards in comments. Social virality boosts traffic by creating a feedback loop between Facebook and participating sites. Friends pull in their friends, creating a social entry point to your site. Automatic sign-in if you already signed into Facebook elsewhere, lowers the barriers to commenting. Most “liked” comments get voted to the top. It also knows who your friends are, so you will see those comments first. Cons No support for Twitter or Google IDs, which leaves out the other half of the social Web. No backups and other lock-ins will make it hard for sites to leave. If you work somewhere that blocks Facebook, you are out of luck. Your friends might be surprised to find their replies in your Facebook News stream reproduced on another site’s comments. Expect a backlash . Moderation bugs, no view counts at the top of posts or ways to highlight site owners/writers in comments. What do you think are the biggest pros and cons? @ScepticGeek Mahendra Palsule I don't think FB offers any backup for comments, unlike Disqus does with WordPress. Also, issue of single-point-of-failure. about 15 hours ago via TweetDeck Retweet Reply @alexia Alexia Tsotsis The worst thing about Facebook Comments is that now all our comments are people bitching about Facebook Comments. about 11 hours ago via Seesmic Desktop Retweet Reply CrunchBase Information Facebook DISQUS Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| Charlie Sheen, Now On Twitter At @CharlieSheen | Top |
| Because if I don’t write this somebody else will: After blazing a colorful trail through some obscure radio show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, TMZ, CNN and so on, media obsession of the moment Charlie Sheen has brought his antics to Twitter. It looks like Sheen was just set up with a “Verified” account at @CharlieSheen. @everydaydude Aaron Durand Somebody just helped set up @ CharlieSheen . The things I do for you guys. about 11 hours ago via web Retweet Reply While the account does seem pretty boring and lacks an image currently, I’m guessing that it was set up as more of a counter measure to prevent parody accounts like the one below (which sneakily uses a capital “I” instead of an “L” in Charlie) from continuing to, um, parody unchallenged. It’s testament to the times we live in that Sheen or someone on behalf of Sheen would consider Twitter an important enough arena to pin down. I mean, it’s not like he’s worried about his Myspace profile. In any case, “Followed” — By me and everybody else in the world. Update: It took the account less than an hour to amass 100K followers, all awaiting what promises to be a very heavily covered first tweet. Update 2: And he’s tweeted! And I called it. Also: His bio? “Unemployed Winner….,” referring to his now signature catchphrase. Update 3: Curiouser and curiouser. @TechmemeFH Techmeme Firehose The @ AdlyAds and @ Twitter team signed up Charlie Sheen to Twitter today. 250,000 followers in… http://j.mp/gxKuP0 http://techme.me/BF1G about 5 hours ago via Techmeme Retweet Reply Thanks: Samir CrunchBase Information Twitter Information provided by CrunchBase | |
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