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Dave McClure Files For $30 Million Venture Fund: 500 Startups

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:24:32 +0000

In January, we broke the news that prolific Silicon Valley angel investor Dave McClure was to set up its own venture capital fund. Yesterday, the man filed for the fund with the SEC, providing us with more details (hat tip to FormDs.com). The name will be 500 Startups - McClure has long called himself the master of 500 hats - and the initial fund will amount to max. $30 million according to the filing.

Why Apple Should Buy Infineon: To Own Mobile And Screw Intel

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:16:52 +0000
Apple’s earnings and revenue growth in mobile have been awe-inspiring to witness. From zero presence three years ago, Apple is now the most profitable cell phone maker in the world. Apple’s success in this compressed period has helped it become an enormous buyer of components. In fact iSuppli projects that next year Apple will become the second-largest semiconductor buyer worldwide and may edge out HP in 2012 to become the world’s largest. Though this scale presents Apple with enormous bargaining power, it also begs the question: Should Apple own its own wireless chip development?

China’s Focus Media Sells Internet Division Allyes To Silver Lake For $124 Million

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:56:03 +0000

Focus Media, one of China's leading digital media groups, this morning announced that it is selling a 62% indirect equity ownership of its Internet division, Allyes, to US-based private investment firm Silver Lake. Under the terms of the agreement, Silver Lake will pay $124 million to Focus Media, in exchange for the equity ownership of Allyes. Focus Media had acquired the internet advertising service company, reportedly the largest in China, back in February 2007.

100,000 Android Applications Submitted To Date, AndroLib Claims

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:07:16 +0000

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, Android Market watcher AndroLib says there aren't 100,000 applications available in the store - yet. There have, however, 100,000 apps been submitted to Android Market since its public debut, the site wagered this morning, up from approximately 5,000 in June 2009. The Androlib directory covers multiple markets, including international ones, so not all apps and games are available in the United States, necessarily. Not all markets are counted, even, so AndroLib claims it may potentially undercount the number of apps, although it's safe to say there's somewhat of an error margin either way as with every data aggregation.

Bloomberg: No Facebook IPO Before 2012, Probably

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:49:35 +0000

Bloomberg reports that Facebook is to - probably - put off an eventual IPO until at least 2012, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Waiting at least another year (and a half, approximately, to be clear) would reportedly give CEO Mark Zuckerberg more time to follow through on his vision without too much public scrutiny and the implications thereof, attract more users and developers, book more sales and work out other issues, such as the user privacy kerfuffle and legal matters.

Apple Quietly Settles Patent Lawsuit, Promptly Gets Hit With Another One

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:05:28 +0000

Ah, the good ol' patent minefield. According to Law360, a paywall-shielded newswire for lawyers, Apple yesterday settled a patent infringement lawsuit with patent troll Minerva Industries, whose website is apparently currently, ahem, 'temporarily closed under repair'. This morning, Apple was hit with another patent infringement suit, brought on by Israeli technology holding Emblaze, which alleges the Cupertino company has refused to license its media streaming technology at issue.

It’s Hard To Tell If Voyurl Or Their Ads Are Creepier

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:06:58 +0000

A few weeks ago, we were alerted to a new site currently in stealth mode called Voyurl. As the name implies, the idea behind it is to make it so you can see what other people are looking at on the web (and to make your clickstream seen). It sounds creepy as hell. It's like Blippy but with more potential porn. I love it. But when I tried to sign up for the service, they sent me a note back that it wasn't quite ready yet and that they were cranking on the beta. Fine, that happens from time to time. I can be patient. But I'm not sure I can quietly wait any longer when the site starts running ads like this.

The New Kindle, And Ebooks Generally: My Questions Answered [Video]

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:57:43 +0000

Amazon-Kindle-3-300x488

All this talk about the new Kindle reminded me that I still have some questions about Amazon's e-reader specifically, and ebooks generally. Why do people persist in comparing the Kindle to the iPad (something I first asked months ago); what is the relationship between hardback book sales and ebook sales (ditto); if e-readers keep getting more accessible, is the end of the paper book nigh? Questions like that. In the hope of finally getting some answers, I hopped on to Skype with CrunchGear's Devin Coldewey and interviewed him until he begged for mercy. Video below.

It’s As If The iPhone 4 Was Created For DailyBooth; Their App Will Prove It

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:25:01 +0000

Even if not everyone will admit it, everyone likes taking pictures of themselves. I suspect it's the not-so-secret reason why users are addicted to DailyBooth -- the service which asks you to take pictures of yourself (or something you care about) to document your life. With that in mind, it's almost as if the iPhone 4, with its front-facing camera, was built for such a service. And now the two can consummate that match made in heaven. DailyBooth's first iPhone app has just been approved by Apple and is now in the App Store. It's pretty basic -- but that's all it needs to be. You load it up and take a picture of yourself. And the app is smart enough to load the front-facing camera by default (assuming you have the iPhone 4 -- but it can work with any iPhone running iOS 4). Yeah, this is going to be huge for DailyBooth.

Groupon And The Problem With The Daily Deal Religion [Video]

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:51:42 +0000

With the debut of Groupon personalization, I have little doubt that the daily deal site will double the number of deals (and double its revenue run rate) in just a few months. According to CEO Andrew Mason, the service is churning out 75,000 transactions per day. Through personalization, Groupon will be able to offer 20, 30 or more deals per city per day. Assuming the current growth rate in subscribers --- in the last four months the site has more than doubled to 12 million registered users--- 2x is likely a prudish estimate. It's hard to fault a company that is making money hand over fist; however, as a user, I do have one piece of advice: loosen that death grip on the daily deal mantra.

Kindle iPhone/iPad App Now Smarter With A Dictionary, Wikipedia, And Google

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:40:24 +0000

Despite their clear commitment to the hardware version of the Kindle, Amazon continues to make the Kindle apps that run on the iPad and iPhone better. Today, version 2.2 of the app brings a full dictionary with it. This matches the functionality of Apple's own iBooks app, but the Kindle implementation is even a little better. Now in the Kindle app when you highlight a word, a definition will automatically appears at the bottom of the screen. And that's not all -- there you'll also find links to further investigate the word on Google or Wikipedia. Though this dumps you out of the app and into the iPhone/iPad web browser, it's a pretty nice feature.

Google Confirms: We’re Not Currently Blocked In China

» Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:01:59 +0000

We've just received word from Google confirming that they are not currently blocked in China and that a server issue was most likely the cause of their dashboard misread. One month ago, Google put up their watered-down engine to avoid being shut down completely in China. Because the Chinese government did not like the auto redirect to Google Hong Kong which was previously in place, the new degraded version at the center of all today's confusion simply links to Google Hong Kong.

Google Opens Places API With Initial Focus On Check-In Apps

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:52:12 +0000

At Google I/O in May, the search giant indicated that they were about to take their commitment to location to the next level. Sure, Latitude had been around for a while, but everyone knew that Google could do more in the space. The announcement of some new location APIs seemed to a big part of the solution. And now comes the fun part. Today on their Geo blog, Google is announcing that they're beginning to open the Places API for business. The first developers getting access? Those working on check-in services.

Panasonic Buying Out Solar Tech and Rechargeable Battery Makers

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:49:26 +0000

Panasonic announced today that it will buy out two of its subsidiaries, Sanyo and Panasonic Electric Works, for $9.4 billion. Sanyo is the largest lithium-ion rechargeable battery producer and 11th-largest solar cell producer in the world with a quickly-growing solar panel manufacturing arm according to company statements.

$41,000 For The Chevy Volt? Sounds Right To Me.

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:48:08 +0000

I honestly laid in bed last night thinking about the Chevy Volt's $41k price tag. Seriously. When I got the press release shortly before it crossed the wire yesterday, the price seemed about right for a first-gen Voltec vehicle. The $350 lease program looked even better. I was already totally sold on the Volt after driving an early mule over a year ago and the price tag didn't even bother me one bit. It's not like I planned on buying one, but I could see where GM was coming from. Then my post went up at 12:00 pm yesterday and quickly filled with commentors railing against the $41,000 price tag. That was followed by nearly every national news program claiming the Volt's price invokes a bit of sticker shock. I thought, "Did these people really think the Volt was going to be the same price as a Malibu?" Apparently. But then Rush Limbaugh opened-up on the Volt today and two things became clear. One, many people including Rush (and previously Letterman) do not fundamentally understand the Volt's capabilities. I believe most consumers expected the Volt to be a mass-market vehicle and an instant hit in a sort of iPhone way. Yeah, that's just not how the auto industry works.

Users Say Google Is Not Blocked In China, Google Says Otherwise

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:17:47 +0000

According to the Mainland China service availability page it looks like Google Web Search, Google Images and Google News are down in China, again. In fact if you parse the chart it looks like just about the only thing still up is Gmail. However reports on Twitter say other wise, as many users claim that the service is working fine. We also tested Google.com on Webpulse and received a big thumbs up in terms of availability.

Google CEO Announces Zynga Partnership

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:28:39 +0000

When asked about Google's partnership with Zynga, Mr. Schmidt said "we haven't announced it" but "you can expect a partnership with Zynga" in the future. Google's partnership with Zynga was reported earlier by the blog TechCrunch.

That sure sounds like an announcement to me, buried 13 paragraphs deep in an article summarizing an interview with Google CEO Eric Schmidt with the Wall Street Journal. Or an announcement of an announcement. Or perhaps an announcement of an expectation of an announcement.

Peixe Urbano Founder: “Perhaps Groupon Thought It Was Fine to Arrive in Brazil With Fake Deals” [Video]

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:26:57 +0000

Peixe Urbano means, in Portuguese, "Urban Fish". That's a fun fact. Here are a few more: Peixe Urbano is a Rio-based Groupon clone that's doing very nicely indeed by tailoring its service precisely to a Brazilian audience. The site offers 30 deals a week, across multiple cities. According to the company's own numbers, they're averaging a little over 1000 purchases per deal: 30,000 sales a week. Peixe Urbano takes 50% commission on every sale. The site's popularity is growing fast amongst traders too: 300 companies a day apply to have their deals sold through Peixe Urbano.

Jeff Bezos Discusses The Future Of The Kindle With Charlie Rose (Videos)

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:14:00 +0000

Last night, Amazon unveiled the latest edition of the Kindle, which sports a better screen, slimmer profile, and — most important — a relatively affordable $139 pricetag for a Wifi only version (the 3G version still goes for $189). To mark the occasion, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos made an appearance on the Charlie Rose show, where he discussed the future of the E-book, and why there's plenty of room for the Kindle in a world where tablet PCs like the iPad are on the rise. You can watch the full episode right here, and the show has graciously provided us with the clips and transcripts below. The overarching theme of the conversation is that Bezos wants the Kindle to remain a device that's dedicated to reading, especially long-form reading. Bezos explains that with the Kindle, Amazon isn't looking to "create an experience" — they want the author to create the experience. This, he believes, makes the Kindle a differentiated device from the iPad and slew of tablets that will be hitting the market by the end of the year. Because unlike other devices, he says, the Kindle's lack of glare and other design choices help it disappear from the reader's mind as they get wrapped up in a new book:

Vlado Herman Steps Up As New Yelp CFO

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:39:12 +0000

Former Yelp VP of Finance/Administration Vlado Herman takes a step up the ladder and becomes, as of today, Yelp's Chief Financial Officer. The Yelp Blog introduces his promotion with an adorable poem:

Copia Plans Low-Cost 7? And 10? Tablets As Well As E-Ink Devices

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:31:27 +0000

Just a couple hours ago, news broke of the $99 Copia Wave5 e-reader, or tablet, or whatever you want to call a 5" LCD-based device focused on reading. That isn't the extent of the lineup, however: Copia has two more LCD-based tablets coming out soon, as well as two E-ink-based readers with Kindle-esque designs. As they've said since their CES debut, the draw is supposed to be their unique social platform, which allows a community of readers to exchange reviews, recommendations, and so on — and although it will start as an exclusive to Copia-branded devices, they're trying to go OEM and make the Copia service the premier social layer for e-books.

In April, Apple Ditched Google And Skyhook In Favor Of Its Own Location Databases

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:56:22 +0000

As you're undoubtedly aware, location is one of the hottest fields out there right now. Startups, services, devices, and advertisers are all hovering around it. As you're also likely well aware, Apple likes to be in control of their own devices. So it should come as no surprise to hear that Apple is moving to be in complete control of their own location database. Back in June, Apple changed its privacy policy to reflect some of the newer things they were doing with regard to location. This worried some people -- including two U.S. Congressmen who sent a letter to Apple asking about the change. A couple weeks ago, Apple responded to that inquiry with a letter from Apple's general counsel, Bruce Sewell. The overall main points of that letter have already been covered quite a bit (basically, none of the data Apple collects is linked to a specific user or device and no data is shared without consent). But buried on page 5 of the 13-page letter is a bit of information that's rather interesting.

Researchers: Android Wallpaper App Shows “No Evidence Of Malicious Behavior”

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:50:28 +0000

Yesterday, mobile security firm Lookout announced at the Black Hat security conference that it had discovered a seemingly benign wallpaper application for Android that had been downloaded millions of times — and allegedly harvested user data like text messages and browsing history, which was being sent to servers in China. At least, that's what was reported. Turns out, it looks like the press jumped the gun on reporting this as a major security issue, and the company has posted a clarification to its blog. According to the post, while there is something suspicious going on here, the data these applications are accessing is not nearly as sensitive as some of the initial reports would have you believe (it isn't grabbing your text messages and browsing history). The apps are apparently sending some potentially sensitive data like your subscriber identifier, but even then, the Lookout team says that there is no concrete evidence of malicious behavior:

Google’s Latest Search Story Makes Having A Baby Seem Really Depressing

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:07:53 +0000

Google's Search Stories campaign is meticulously engineering to be relatable and tug at your heartstrings. Their latest, "New Baby," portrays the "joys and costs" of parenting perhaps a little too well, heavy on the latter. So you're clueless and your wife is pregnant and crazy and you have to sell your precious vinyl collection to be able to afford twins, which are an "expensive proposition"?

Po Bronson: “That’s why academics are so boring” [VIDEO]

» Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:47:53 +0000

Po Bronson

There are few more creative writers than the San Francisco-based Po Bronson . The author of four best-selling non-fiction books, two novels, a book of short stories and many articles for Newsweek, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Bronson’s work has been translated into 19 different languages and his 2005 bestselling What Should I Do With My Life, social commentary about the meaning of work and identity was on the New York Times bestselling list for 10 months. Bronson’s creativity is manifold. Not only has he written hit books about Silicon Valley both in non-fiction (Nudist on the Night Shift ) and fiction (The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest) , but he has also authored best selling analyses of family (Why Do I Love These People) and, with Ashley Merryman, of education and bringing up children (Nurture Shock).