Thursday, June 28, 2012

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Blue Jeans Puts Another $25M In Its Pocket To Attack Video Conferencing Giants Top
onmuteBlue Jeans Network, a video conferencing company founded by a serial entrepreneur who has sold two companies to Cisco, is adding another $25 million to its coffers from NEA, Accel and Norwest Venture Partners. Interestingly enough, quite of bit of that capital will be going toward a marketing campaign meant to woo enterprise customers away from other video conferencing providers. The company's already got a billboard in San Francisco (pictured above) and the goal is to get more companies to switch from pure audio conferencing to video conferencing.
 
Infographics That Don't Suck: FindTheBest's Comparison Charts Are Now Embeddable Top
findthebest logoFindTheBest, the startup led by DoubleClick founder Kevin O'Connor, has built charts comparing everything from financial advisors to dog breeds to smartphones. And now that those charts can be embedded in blog posts, you might start seeing them a lot more often. O'Connor's aim, as he's explained to me in the past, is to create the site where you can find the data you need to make a decision, presented in structured, easily understandable format. (FindTheBest is also trying to use that data to improve classified ads.) The company says it has created comparison widgets for more than 800 products and services.
 
Yahoo's Media Vision Comes Into Focus: Three Hires, Social Content Services (And Acquisitions?) Top
CrowdOptic_1Yesterday the WSJ outlined how Yahoo's new, interim CEO Ross Levinsohn is taking the company back to its earlier roots of focusing on advertising around its media properties. The last 24 hours indicates that Yahoo is trying to move fast on that idea. Today the company announced three executive media hires, and TechCrunch has had a look in on a new interactive mobile TV service it's using to enhance its video offerings. The news comes less than a day after Yahoo announced a global deal with Spotify for music content, which will see the company integrate Spotify music across its media properties and create content for the Spotify platform, but also move away from offering a music platform of its own.
 
Google's First Foray Into Hardware Is All About The Ecosystem Top
_MGT4115It's Day One of Google I/O, and the company set out to prove that it's not just about software and algorithms and whatnot, introducing a neat set of hardware devices that are available -- or will be soon -- to take advantage of its Android mobile operating system. But while Google is historically a software provider, it was its hardware that stole the show. Take a close look at the Nexus Q, its first piece of hardware, and you realize that the device pretty useless for doing anything as a standalone device. It is entirely dependent on the user to control it with an Android phone or tablet, and to be connected to Google Play to stream content from the cloud. The Nexus Q, in short, is positioned right in the center of a broader Google ecosystem, bridging the divide between Google's software and cloud services and the hardware that depends on its Android OS.
 
Facebook Now Lets You "Follow" Someone In Any App, Get Their Updates In News Feed Where The Ads Are Top
FACEBOOK OM Nom NomAds, not payments, are the future of Facebook monetizing mobile, but it needs content to show them beside. The new Follow action announced today could deliver that content by letting you follow someone in a mobile app, and then sending the updates you'd normally see in that app back to your ad-laden news feed. More content -> more engagement and return visits -> more ad impressions, more money, and more reason for investors to buy. It will send referral traffic to developers, and it's actually convenient for users too. Why trapse from site to site and app to app when you can see everything your friends are doing everywhere, all from your news feed? You won't. You'll sit right there where Facebook can advertise to you.
 
Targeting Power Moms, VolunteerSpot Secures $1.5M In Series A From ff Venture Capital And More Top
volunteerspotBy simply owning small humans that are ultra-dependent and oftentimes unruly, moms have an incredibly tough job. But after you pile on all the little things — soccer practices, ballet recitals, doctors appointments, etc. — being a parent becomes damn near impossible. But to that end, a company called VolunteerSpot has just raised $1.5 million in Series A funding ff from Venture Capital here in New York, with participation from various angels in the Central TX Angel Network, Nebraska Angel Network, Angel List, and Baylor Angel Network.
 
Welcome To The Google Glass Freak Show Top
imgt4311 (2)In the land of tech, we bloggers rarely if ever have to step in front of the camera. But now that Google has launched Google Glass into the world, the camera has turned on us in a fit of rage. Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the freak show that is Google Glass.
 
Google+ History: The New API That Powers Its More Private Version Of Facebook Timeline Top
GoogleWhile people were skydiving into I/O, Google quietly made a massively important announcement about a new feature called Google+ History, which gives apps an API to auto-share content to a private holding tank on your G+ profile, which you can then choose to share from. Developers who integrate History will score added discovery and referral traffic from the 75 million daily Google+ users the search giant announced today. Testing begins now and Google admits it will be bumpy. But it has the potential to populate Google+ with desperately needed content and make it a destination people actually want to visit.
 
Google's New 3D Imagery Comes to Google Earth For Android, iOS Coming Soon Top
google_maps_3d_logoA few weeks ago, Google hosted a last-minute press conference in San Francisco to announce its new, highly detailed 3D maps. While many of us expected the company to actually launch the maps then, Google never announced actual launch date. Today, the wait is over, as the new version of Google Earth for Android (version 7.0) now offers access to the new 3D imagery. You can download the updated Google Earth for Android app from the Play store now.
 
Exclusive: Foodspotting Teams With The Melting Pot To Allow People To Take Pictures Of Cheese Top
Screen Shot 2012-06-27 at 5At TechCrunch we like to get the rest of the story. That's why we go in-depth, hard-hitting, and close to the ground. Nowhere is that clearer than in this hardcore, hardball, and soft cheese interview with the folks from the Melting Pot, a popular fondue (from the French "What do we do with this old cheese? Melt it?") restaurant that may or may not be in your general vicinity. The Melting Pot has teamed up with Foodspotting.com, a popular site for spotting food, and, like a tempest-tossed couple engulfed by a sea of hot broth, both companies are clawing their way back into the public consciousness by offering a $100 gift card to lucky foodspotters who deign to spot their fondue. I'm not exactly sure how the contest works (presumably you take pictures of whatever fell into your gruyere) but $100 is nothing to sneeze at nor would you want to because sneezing into fondue can make quite a nasty sort of conglomerate.
 
Hands-On With Sergey Brin's Personal Set Of Google Glass Top
IMGT4295Outside of approved Googlers, a handful of folks have just been given a canned demo of Google Glass, including myself. I'm living in the future and the future is now!
 
Google's Play Store Now Lets Users Remotely Update And Uninstall Android Apps Top
remoteuninstallAll Googled out yet? I can't blame you if you are, but it seems that the company has been even busier than their two hour press conference let on. In addition to pushing the Android version of their Chrome browser out of beta, Google has also added some new app controls to the "My Android Apps" section of the Google Play Store.
 
OrangeScape Launches Kissflow, A Workflow-Builder For Google Apps Top
KiSSFLOW_WhiteBusinesses using Google Apps should have an easier time managing complex tasks starting today with the launch of Kissflow from startup OrangeScape — it's supposedly the first workflow-creator that's "deeply integrated" with Apps. OrangeScape is pitching this as an alternative to using email and spreadsheets to track approvals and other tasks, which can turn into a headache as the company grows and tasks get more complex. With Kissflow, businesses should be able to create workflows for things like expense reporting in five relatively easy steps: Naming the process, designing the form, defining the workflow, configure the permissions, then publish.
 
Hands-On With The Google Nexus 7 Top
nexus libraryIf at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Built specifically for Google Play consumption, the Nexus 7 tablet built by Asus seems to be Google's answer to both the iPad and Kindle Fire. So how does it stack up and just how buttery smooth is Jelly Bean?
 
The Facebook Ecosystem CrunchUp + Our 7th Annual August Capital Party: Aug 3rd In Silicon Valley Top
crunchup2012TechCrunch has been throwing an annual summer party at August Capital since 2006, the point at which Michael Arrington realized it had gotten too big for his Atherton back yard. And this year we're doing it again, on the same big sunny Sand Hill balcony at the venture firm's headquarters. The party starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes til 9:00 p.m. And, we'll also be back with our fourth-ever CrunchUp earlier that day, at Fox Theater in Redwood City -- with a new, more specific theme. TechCrunch has looked at The Mobile Web Wars, The Real-Time Stream, Social Currency and Mobile First in previous years. Now lots of developers and investors in Silicon Valley are focused on a big and newly-public company: Facebook.
 
Google's Chrome For Android Comes Out Of Beta Top
Chrome - Android Apps on Google PlayGoogle just announced that its Chrome for Android browser is now out of beta and available for download on Google Play. This new version, with the memorable version number of 18.0.1025123, marks the first time Google has released a Stable Channel version of Chrome for Android. Just like before, of course, Google's advanced mobile browser will only be available on devices running Ice Cream Sandwich and up.
 
Confirmed: NY Times Is Launching A Site In China Tomorrow, With No Paywall Top
Screen shot 2012-06-27 at 13.13.53Earlier today we posted a story about what appeared to be a new direction for the New York Times: a Chinese-language news site, and a blogging account with Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. The New York Times has now confirmed its move into China and the authenticity of both. The Weibo account now has over 10,000 followers, and the site will be kicking off on Thursday morning, Beijing time. According to the statement from the NY Times we've just received, the site will be launched as a beta version. "The site will grow in scope and functionality over the course of the next several months," the statement says. A spokesperson has confirmed to me that it will sit outside of the paywall.
 
Sprint's Delayed Galaxy S III Will Be Available On July 1: 16GB For $199, 32GB for $249 Top
IMG_5273Sprint's version of the Galaxy S III has been a bit delayed due to some supply shortages, but the carrier has just confirmed that the Galaxy S III will be available in store on July 1. Pre-orders for the 32GB version started shipping yesterday. According to Sprint's official word (below), only the 32GB version will be available on the web, while the 16GB version requires a visit to a good old brick-and-mortar location. Pricing remains the same, with the 16GB version costing $199.99 on-contract, and the 32GB version going for $249.99.
 
These Are The Top Five Features Of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Top
_MGT3919Today Google announced the latest version of its mobile operating system: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It's an incremental upgrade — a number of valuable features have been added, but there's no real revamp to be seen. Still, these features are incredibly competitive, and in many ways threaten Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 6. Google's voice transcription and search now has the look and feel of Siri's UI, the camera app works in a more streamlined fashion with swipe to preview, and Google Now goes a step further than Siri to offer everything you need to know without you ever saying a word. That said, here are the top five features of the new platform for your drooling pleasure. Check it out:
 
Google Glass Explorer Edition Available For Pre-Order At Google I/O, $1,500 And Shipping Next Year Top
googglassGoogle Glass is real and will soon be shipping. Sergey Brin just took the stage at Google I/O, won the Internet with an amazing skydiving demo of the device and then announced that Google Glass is available for pre-ordering. Named Glass Explorer Edition, it's available to those at Google I/O and costs a whopping $1500. Plus, the device will not ship until next year. But Google Glass is real. This is big.
 

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