Friday, October 26, 2012

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DreamIt Ventures Partners With Microsoft To Offer BizSpark To All Of Its Startups Top
DreamIt Ventures PictureDreamIt Ventures just announced that it is partnering with Microsoft's BizSpark initiative to offer its startups access to the resources available through Microsoft's program. As part of this partnership, DreamIt will also designate one of the companies from each of its programs as a "BizSpark Fellow." This company wil receive a number of extra benefits, including access to Microsoft engineers and evangelists.
 
The Hex3 JaJa Stylus: A Pressure-Sensitive iPad Drawing Tool That Uses Sound To Paint A Picture Top
jaja-1Meet the Hex3 JaJa stylus, a pressure-sensitive drawing tool for the iPad (and other tablets, too) that transmits information to the device via sound waves, eschewing the need for a Bluetooth connection. It's only one of a recent crop of pressure-sensitive styli for the iPad, but its unique, quirky design provides both its big advantages and its most significant flaws.
 
Mobile Shopping App "Best Decision" Introduces A Universal Cart That Works Across Dozens Of Retailers Top
best-decisionLEAP Commerce, a somewhat under-the radar mobile shopping startup, is today releasing a major update to its "Best Decision" shopping iOS app which introduces a true universal cart for consumers. What that means is that shoppers can now buy from many of their favorite stores at the same time, using a single shopping cart. The company is working with 23 e-commerce sites, including top retailers like Walmart and Amazon, as well newer companies like Gilt and Svpply, to integrate their product catalogs.
 
ExecOnline Raises 800K From Washington Post For Executive Education Service That Partners With Top 10 Business Schools Top
execonlinelogoExecOnline has raised $800,000 in seed funding from the Washington Post for executives to get online training from top 10 business schools. The service will target Fortune 500 companies that often send executives to Harvard University and other top business schools for immersive business school training.
 
Brazil's Google News Boycott Reportedly Only Drops Traffic 5%. Oof. Top
google-sad1-300x200"The fact is, Google News is absolutely irrelevant in Brazil," said Carlos Müller, communications advisor for National Association of Newspapers in Brazil (AJN), after a widespread boycott of Google's popular news aggregator. Many empires, from News Corp to the entire country of France, have threatened to pull of Google because the search giant doesn't compensate them for displaying snippets of their content, but none have yet to follow through out of the fear of boycotting the world's most popular website. The AJN reports that Brazilian newspaper have seen a meager 5% drop in traffic, which not only justifies their own protest but could inspire a mass revolt online.
 
Bing Launches Its Election Site, Lets You Filter News By Political Perspective Top
BingBetter late than never. With less than two weeks to go before the U.S. presidential election on November 6, Microsoft's Bing just unveiled Bing Elections. The site features news results from major U.S. publications that can be filtered by political preference (right, left, center), as well as an interactive map with election results and sentiment analysis across key issues based on data from Twitter and Facebook.
 
New Google Maps Basemap Now Shows Terrain, Vegetation By Default Top
tlc blog - vancouver 02The Google Maps basemap is getting a visual overhaul today. Unlike most updates, though, this one is for the actual maps and not just the interface. Starting today, Google Maps will show you information about terrain, as well as color gradations to depict vegetation and additional labels for natural land formations like the Gobi Desert and the Amazon Basin.
 
Here Comes The Nexus 4 Smartphone, 3G Nexus 7 Tablet, And The Nexus 10 iPad Killer Top
next-nexusGoogle is about to throw down. At next week's NYC Android event, the big G is expected to yell "me too!" and reveal a full line of Nexus devices. Watch out, Mr. Consumer. These devices aren't just for the nerds. Google is ready to take the Nexus brand mainstream and provide legitimate alternatives to the iPhones, iPads and Galaxy devices of the world.
 
Pinbooster Launches Its Pay-To-Pin Ad Platform For Pinterest Top
pinbooster_logoThis week, Pinterest cracked the top 50 most trafficked websites in the U.S. with its now 25.3 million stateside visitors, but the social photo-sharing site has yet to determine how it will monetize all those pins. However, that hasn't stopped other companies from using Pinterest's growing popularity to generate revenue for themselves. Case in point: today, a new startup called Pinbooster is officially opening its doors, becoming the first ad platform which pays users to re-pin ad messages from brands.
 
Samsung's Epic Smartphone Quarter: Galaxy SIII, Big Screens Help It To Record 31%+ Share In Q3 (More Than 2X Apple's Portion) Top
samsung-logoA raft of smartphone market analyst numbers are out and they all continue to make very pleasant reading for Samsung -- the maker of the Galaxy range of smartphones -- underlining the success of the Korean company's strategy of steamrollering the competition by offering an extensive portfolio of mobile devices at a variety of screen sizes and price points vs the handful of iPhones Apple offers.
 
Introducing CrunchGov, TechCrunch's Policy Platform Top
bill-icon-techcrunch-crunch-govNearly a year after citizens blindsided the government with an unprecedented protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act, Congress is at a loss for how to proceed. Luddite officials see complex tech issues as a mysterious minefield and the greenhorn technology industry does not have the insider D.C. connections to move beyond unwieldy protests outside the gated halls of DC. As a startup-focused publication, TechCrunch gets to see the results of tech policy every day. And we think we can help the two sides understand each other better. So we're launching a new project today called CrunchGov.
 
Get An iPhone 5 That Looks Like Unicorn Poop For Only $1700 Top
colorware-iphone-5-xlApple only offers its iPhone 5 in sober black or white/gray, and while I respect their minimalist design sensibilities, some people might want more color options for their smartphone companion. Well, if you're willing to pay more than double the asking price of the unlocked 16GB iPhone 5, you can get whatever color iPhone you want, along with the ability to mix and match for freakish results.
 
Streaming Radio Service 8tracks Relaunches On iPhone: App Rebuilt From Ground-Up With New Look, Better Music Discovery Top
8tracks_2.0_smallStreaming music startup 8tracks is officially relaunching its iPhone application today, which offers a much-needed (and really well done) user interface revamp. For those who remember the earlier version of the app out last year, it will be as if you're getting a brand-new application altogether. 8tracks 2.0, as the update is being called, introduces a number of new components, including fullscreen album artwork, the ability to find and invite friends, and a unique music discovery feature which lets you find music by both mood and genre. While 8tracks has always offered a great way of finding new music, the mobile interface was somewhat lacking. Today, you finally have best of both worlds: beauty and brains.
 
Video Game Journalist Out Of A Job For Calling Out Dead-Eyed, Dorito-Hoarding Journalists Top
600x-1-1In the great, wide world of journalism, games journalism is a weird animal. Those who "practice" - and practice it well - face a barrage of PR perks, free trips, and angry houses. Access is given and taken away by marketing folks on a whim. There are a few great news sources (Polygon is one as is Rock, Paper, Shotgun), a few silly ones, and a few horrible ones. But on the whole, not many folks think much about the business of writing about games. Yet, if we're culturally current, we consume quite a bit of games writing and, sadly, that writing is often compromised by the broken PR system.
 
Watch Out, Pandora: Apple's Streaming Radio Service Could Launch In Early 2013 Top
itunes logoAccording to a report out of Bloomberg, Apple may be working on a radio product to compete with Pandora. The story cited sources "familiar with the matter," who confirm that Apple is in intensified talks with major music labels to figure out how to split ad revenue. The service is expected to launch next year, in 2013.
 
GameStop Launching 80 Holiday Pop-Up Store Locations For Kids (And Kids At Heart) Top
gamestop-kidsGamestop today announced plans to launch 80 new holiday concept stores called GameStop Kids across the U.S., offering kid-friendly shopping experiences. The storefronts will sell video games, but focus on accessories, licensed good like plush toys, and collectibles. Judging by the product list, however, this looks like a store designed not only for actual children, but for anyone with a love of video-game and sci-fi-related tchotchkes.
 
Japan's NTT Docomo Launches $125M Incubator Fund And Program To Accelerate Homegrown Mobile Innovation Top
docomo logoGood news for Japanese startups: Japan's largest mobile carrier, NTT Docomo, has announced a $125 million investment fund and incubator program for smartphone and tablet related startups -- to be called the Docomo Innovation Fund and the Docomo Innovation Village -- both due to kick off at the end of March 2013.
 
Quietly Troubling: HTC Q3 Sales Down 48% To $2.4B, Expects Even Weaker Q4 Of $2B Top
htc-slippingHTC today officially released its financials for Q3, and the news continues to be bad for the Taiwanese smartphone maker: the company reported revenues of 70.2 billion Taiwan dollars ($2.4 billion), down 23% from last quarter's $3 billion and 48% compared to the same quarter last year. The company also provided a trading update for the all-important holiday period encompassed by Q4 and the numbers are not pretty: it anticipates revenues of NT$60 billion, or $2 billion. Earnings per share are down by nearly 80% to NT$4.70 ($0.16).
 
Following The Letter Of The Law: Apple Publishes Non-Apology To Samsung On Its Website To Comply With U.K. Court Ruling Top
silver-apple-logoAfter losing an appeal in a UK high court last week against a judgement that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablets do not infringe the design of the iPad because their design is just not cool enough, Apple has now published an acknowledgement of the court’s judgement on its U.K. website — in line with the court order. You can’t call it an apology — quite the opposite: Apple makes it clear it does not agree with the court’s decision by pointing out that it has had court wins against Samsung for the same design patent in Germany, and noting its huge win against the Korean gadget maker in the U.S this summer. Apple also focuses on the judge’s reasons for dismissing its patent claim — quoting the judge’s detailed ruling on exactly what makes the iPad’s design so much cooler than the Galaxy Tab, in which he talks almost lovingly of the “extreme simplicity” of the iPad’s design; its “undecorated surfaces”; “crisp edge” and “combination of curves”. Apple then contrasts that with what the judge had to say about the Galaxy Tab: “very thin, almost insubstantial” with “unusual details on the back” — and the conclusion: “not cool”. Here’s Apple’s acknowledgment in full Samsung / Apple UK judgment On 9th July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic(UK) Limited's Galaxy Tablet Computer, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do notinfringe Apple's registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the Highcourt is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html. In the ruling, the judge made several important points comparing the designs of the Apple and Samsung products: “The extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking. Overall it has undecorated flat surfaces with a plate of glass on the front all the way out to a very thin rim and a blank back. There is a crisp edge around the rim and a combination of curves, both at the corners and the sides. The design looks like an object the informed user would want to pick up and hold. It is an understated, smooth and simple product. It is a cool design.” “The informed user’s overall impression of each of the Samsung Galaxy Tablets is the following. From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the
 
HTC Sweetens The Deal For Its Windows And One Phones With Best Deals Service In Europe Top
UK DETAILTo drive more consumers to its handsets in Europe, HTC is turning to exclusive content. Today the company is launching a daily deals service called Best Deals, which is rolling out today in the UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain. Best Deals will aggregate daily deals on food, travel and more from 12 companies: LivingSocial, Trip Advisor, Qype Deals, iVoucher, Offerum, Lookingo, Lets Bonus, Elgrupazo, Daily Deal, Deal Ticket, Getbazza and Prezzo Felicea. Only users of HTC's flagship Windows and Android phones -- Windows Phone 8X and 8S handsets, which launch in November, and HTC One X+, HTC One X and HTC One S -- will be able to get the service, which launches with 1,700 offers in the hopper.
 

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