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• Introducing The iPnoho 6
• Better Business Bureau Calls Out LG For False Advertising
• Good DRM Makes Bad Neighbors: This Is The Content Protection Tipping Point
• Dining Out? Mogl Grabs $10 Million For Its Gamified, Charitable Loyalty Program
• Ben Horowitz: "It Took About 3 Weeks" To Raise Our $1.5 Billion Fund
• Keen On… Susan Cain: The Power Of Introverts (TCTV)
• Extreme Startups Launches Accelerator With $7 Million In Funding From Top Canadian VCs
• RIM Bolsters Marketing Efforts With Some Silly Cartoon Characters
• Jason Kilar: Hulu's 2011 Revenues Of $420 Million Was Actually Above The "Board Plan"
• CardSpring Raises $10 Million To Connect Payments To The Web
• You Stopped SOPA. Now Let's Startup America
• GreenCharge App Reveals Cost and Carbon Savings To Electric Car Drivers
• Artspace Raises $2.5 Million For Its Contemporary Art Marketplace
• Super-Slim HTC Ville Spotted On Video With Sense 4.0 In Tow
• TrialPay Raises $40 Million From Visa, Greylock, T.Rowe Price
• Andreessen Horowitz Closes $1.5 Billion New Fund
• New Accelerator Launches In Europe Offering Valley Road Trip
• Shopkick: We Helped Drive More Than $110M In 2011 Revenue For Brands And Brick And Mortar Retailers
• E-Commerce Site For Household Goods Alice.com Raises $3.6 Million
• Dealfind Expands Into Luxury Goods With "Dream Deals"

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Introducing The iPnoho 6	Top
Meet the future, everyone: The iPnoho6. Steve Jobs would be proud. This Shanzhai special isn't even an iPhone clone. It doesn't deserve that honored distinction. This is an IPDA as it's labeled on the front under the small screen and next to the large Apple logo. Around back are two large speakers and yet another Apple logo -- because, you know, two Apple logos equates to twice as much fun. The only thing that's missing from this IPDA is an iStylis.
Better Business Bureau Calls Out LG For False Advertising	Top
You can't believe everything you read, nor can you trust everything you hear on TV. Especially if it sounds something like "four out of five people choose LG Cinema 3D over Sony and Samsung for overall 3D experience." Apparently the Better Business Bureau (more specifically the National Advertising Division) "has recommended that LG Electronics USA discontinue advertising claims made for the company's Cinema 3D Television and 3D glasses." Back in June of 2011, LG sent out a press release claiming that four out of five customers prefer LG Cinema 3D television over Sony and Samsung in a number of different categories including brightness, color, picture quality, glasses, and overall 3D experience. The research was done by a company called Morpace Inc., which tested the TVs at their default settings without any branding shown.
Good DRM Makes Bad Neighbors: This Is The Content Protection Tipping Point	Top
For people who have been doing just one thing for a long, long time, it's amazing how many content distributors get things so catastrophically wrong. These last few weeks brought us quite a few unique situations, including the launch of Apple's iBook Author software as well as a number of announcements from the studios to withhold streaming rights for Netflix viewers. Cory Doctorow points to a particularly delightful bit of DRM making the rounds in publishing right now, something that will be familiar iTunes users who found their real names embedded in music files a while back.
Dining Out? Mogl Grabs $10 Million For Its Gamified, Charitable Loyalty Program	Top
Would you like some gamification with your french fries? Well, one San Diego-based startup is willing to bet you just might. Mogl, which describes itself as not only "a party in your wallet" but also a "four letter word you can say in front of your grandma," wants to turn you into a loyal customer at your local restaurants. Said another way, Mogl is using gamification and a bit of charity to increase engagement and the enjoyability of customer loyalty program for restaurants -- all while on the go.
Ben Horowitz: "It Took About 3 Weeks" To Raise Our $1.5 Billion Fund	Top
Andreessen Horowitz is definitely killing it these days. The unconventional VC firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz is less than three years old, but just raised its third fund. The amount raised: $1.5 billion. That puts Andreessen Horowitz in the rarified realm of only a handful of VC firms with funds of that size. And how long did it take to raise all that money? "It took about 3 weeks of actual fundraisng activity," Horowitz tells me. It took longer to do the actual paperwork—another 6 weeks.
Keen On… Susan Cain: The Power Of Introverts (TCTV)	Top
It was, of course, inevitable. After book after book explaining the importance of being forward, of aggressively networking and noisily self-promoting ourselves, the correction has finally arrived. And it comes in the shape of a stimulating new book by Susan Cain entitled Quiet: The Power of Introverts. So enough with the extroverted ideologues of self-promotion like Gary V, Chris Brogan and Seth Godin. It's Susan Cain time now. Quiet. The hour of the introvert has finally arrived.
Extreme Startups Launches Accelerator With $7 Million In Funding From Top Canadian VCs	Top
Not to be outdone by its southern neighbor, Canada has been hard at work on its own fleet of tech startup accelerators. Back in June, Montreal became the home to FounderFuel, Vancouver has GrowLab, and Toronto had Extreme University. Well, let's clarify that: Back in November, Extreme Venture Partners announced the launch of a new-and-improved version of its accelerator program, ExtremeU. Today, ExtremeU has officially gotten a makeover, as it has been rebranded and expanded under the name Extreme Startups. The accelerator program (re)launches today with $7 million in committed funding, backed by a group of Canada's leading venture capital firms.
RIM Bolsters Marketing Efforts With Some Silly Cartoon Characters	Top
Update: RIM updated their blog to state that the images and characters in question are were meant to be a bit of fun, and not the vanguard of the company's new marketing plan. Way back in December, before a management shakeup saw him and his partner leaving RIM's top posts, co-CEO Jim Balsillie lamented the state of the company's marketing efforts. They hadn't "achieved the desired results" as he put it during RIM's Q4 earnings call, and promised big things to come on the marketing front come 2012. Things seemed to start off well -- you couldn't watch Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve without getting an eye-full of BlackBerry logos imploring you to "be bold" in in the new year.
Jason Kilar: Hulu's 2011 Revenues Of $420 Million Was Actually Above The "Board Plan"	Top
Last year, Hulu brought in $420 million in revenues, with was 60 percent above the year before. The news, however, was seen as a miss because Hulu earlier in the year suggested that it would make $500 million. Today at the D: Dive Into Media conference, CEO Jason Kilar defended his record, revealing that "our board plan was $408 million." So Hulu came in above the internal goal it had set for its board.
CardSpring Raises $10 Million To Connect Payments To The Web	Top
We measure every last click when it comes to the Web, but there remains a gulf between online and the real world. Yet the online world increasingly drives behavior offline, especially when it comes to purchasing habits. How many times have you researched something online or on your mobile phone before buying it? Yet when you go to a store to buy it, everything you did online might as well disappear as far as the merchant is concerned. It doesn't have to be that way. The last mile in local commerce is really only the last few inches between the credit card in your outstretched hand and the card swipe at the register.
You Stopped SOPA. Now Let's Startup America	Top
In recent weeks, Americans from all walks of life came together to stop SOPA from advancing through Congress, demonstrating the power of the Internet to rally people around an important cause. In the weeks ahead, we have reason to rally again. This time, the goal is not stopping something bad, but starting something good. Specifically, ensuring that America builds on its legacy of innovation, and remains the world's most entrepreneurial nation. Earlier today, President Obama unveiled his Startup America legislative agenda and called on Congress to pass it quickly, so he can sign it promptly. It's a very positive first step.
GreenCharge App Reveals Cost and Carbon Savings To Electric Car Drivers	Top
Electric car drivers deserve to see their positive impact on the environment and their wallets, but the official mobile apps for the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Bolt only display remaining battery. GreenCharge is a new iOS app released today that displays your car's remaining charge, but also its current range, the local energy price, a log of its usage, and your cost and carbon reduction versus driving a gasoline vehicle. Finally, an app that shows how you're saving both kinds of green.
Artspace Raises $2.5 Million For Its Contemporary Art Marketplace	Top
Artspace, an e-commerce startup that helps connect contemporary artists and galleries with potential customers, has raised a $2.5 million Series A funding round with participation from Felicis Ventures, Accelerator Ventures, Blue Equity LLC, and Metamorphic Ventures. The round also includes a wide range of accomplished entrepreneurs. The full roster: Michael Yavonditte (Hashable, Quigo), David Rosenblatt (1stdibs.com, Doubleclick), Dave Morgan (Simulmedia), Seth Goldstein (turntable.fm), Thomas Stemberg (Founder/former CEO of Staples); Rob Selati (Madison Dearborn Capital Partners); Todd Simon (CEO of Omaha Steaks) and Peter Ricketts (former COO of Ameritrade). The company previously raised a $1.2 million seed round last spring. Artspace is setting out to make contemporary art accessible to those of us who aren't necessarily deeply immersed in the art world already — and to help connect artists and galleries with potential buyers. The site also allows art fairs to create a virtual representation of their fair, which helps expand the number of potential buyers beyond those who can attend an event in-person.
Super-Slim HTC Ville Spotted On Video With Sense 4.0 In Tow	Top
News of HTC's forthcoming Ice Cream Sandwich-powered Ville has been making the rounds since last November, but now with Mobile World Congress less than a month away, we're finally getting our first real look at it. HTC-Hub has managed to get their hands on a pretty extensive hands-on video, and it looks like the Ville is shaping up to a pretty impressive mid-range device.
TrialPay Raises $40 Million From Visa, Greylock, T.Rowe Price	Top
Offers are a booming form of advertising in which consumers are presented with offers to try or buy products. It is particularly popular in social games where players receive virtual currency in return for looking at the offers. One of the leaders in this form of ecommerce advertising is TrialPay, which just raised $40 million from Greylock Partners, Visa, T. Rowe Price, DAG Ventures, DFJ Growth and QuestMark Partners. The series C round brings TrialPay's total funding to $56 million.
Andreessen Horowitz Closes $1.5 Billion New Fund	Top
Last week, we heard from Evelyn Rusli at the New York Times that Andreessen Horowitz was in the process of raising $1.5 billion for the venture firm. Today, partner Ben Horowitz has confirmed that the fund has closed, bringing Andreessen Horowitz's total funding under management to $2.7 billion. The firm says that the $1.5 billion was raised for its Fund III. "a16z's Fund III is all about extending our capabilities to more disruptors and pioneers," said Horowitz in a release. "We're remaking the modern venture capital firm, and entrepreneurs are responding to our unique approach."
New Accelerator Launches In Europe Offering Valley Road Trip	Top
Accelerators, Accelerator, Accelerators! There's a rash of them appearing everywhere, and the latest is the Rockstart Accelerator, a new startup program aimed at Europe's most promising startups that want to hit a global scale (but then don't they all?). However, this one has some credible partners in the shape of Google, Microsoft BizSpark, Mozilla WebFWD and StartupHouse in San Francisco. Oscar Kneppers, founder of Rockstart says the program is for startups from the whole of Europe. Based in Amsterdam, it's looking for 10 teams of founders and will subject them to 99 mentors for 100 days, and combine that with an additional three-month summer program that culminates with a 25-day Silicon Valley road trip. That last point is probably not a bad idea, for obvious reasons, though Seedcamp has done this for the last few years.
Shopkick: We Helped Drive More Than $110M In 2011 Revenue For Brands And Brick And Mortar Retailers	Top
After recently announcing the milestone of 3 million active users, geo-coupon system a Shopkick is revealing that its mobile app helped drive more than $110 million in-store revenue for partner retailers and brands in 2011 in its first full year operating the app. Shopkick, which is backed by Kleiner Perkins, Greylock, SV Angel and others, provides an in-store, location-based mobile shopping platform, Instead of checking in, as you would with a geo app like Foursquare, Shopkick automatically recognizes when someone with the free Android or iPhone app on their phone walks into a store. Once a Shopkick Signal is detected, the app delivers reward points called "kicks" to the user for walking into a retail store, trying on clothes, scanning a barcode and other actions.
E-Commerce Site For Household Goods Alice.com Raises $3.6 Million	Top
Alice.com, the retail platform for household goods, has raised $3.6 million in funding from an undisclosed group of Spanish investors. This current round brings the total funding amount raised by Alice.com to $18.2 million. Launched in June, Alice.com's retail platform allows consumer packaged goods manufacturers, like Procter & Gamble, to sell directly to consumers instead of going through retail channels like Target or Wal-Mart.
Dealfind Expands Into Luxury Goods With "Dream Deals"	Top
Toronto-based deal provider Dealfind is expanding into luxury goods with the launch of a new service called Dream Deals. Starting now, in addition to Dealfind's everyday and weekly deals, customers will also get "surprise" Dream Deals, which involve deeply discounted retail goods.

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