Microsoft updates Yammer with Android Wear support and Handoff on iOS February 3, 2015 9:19 AM | Emil Protalinski Microsoft today updated its Yammer mobile apps for Android and iOS with interactive notifications, better sharing, and specific features for both platforms. You can download the new version now directly from Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
Microsoft launches TileArt app to bring parallax effects to Windows Phone homescreens February 3, 2015 9:03 AM | Paul Sawers Microsoft is introducing a new app for Windows Phone Lumia devices today, one that lets users tailor their homescreen with a neat parallax effect.
From console to mobile: Game designer Peter Molyneux’s journey to reinvention (interview) February 3, 2015 9:00 AM | Dean Takahashi Monetizing mobile hasn’t been easy, but Godus has made enough money to justify more mobile games.
Andy OS raises $3M to stream Android games directly to your Mac or Windows desktop February 3, 2015 9:00 AM | Harrison Weber Founder’s goal is to become a leader in virtualized mobile operating systems — kind of like a mobile counterpart to enterprise giant VMWare.
Fundable acquires Q&A site for entrepreneurs, builds ‘startup launch platform’ called Startups.co February 3, 2015 9:00 AM | Dylan Tweney Clarity, which lets entrepreneurs get expert advice via phone, will be combined with other Fundable properties into Startups.co, which will then become the parent company’s identity.
Curioos launches mobile apps to help you visualize wall art before you buy February 3, 2015 6:58 AM | Paul Sawers Curioos, a curated online marketplace for art prints, is introducing its first native mobile apps today, on both Android and iOS. It comes with a neat augmented reality feature too that lets you visualize how artwork will look on your wall before buying.
Google blocked 524M ‘bad ads’ in 2014, up 50% from 2013 February 3, 2015 6:56 AM | Paul Sawers Google has released its annual “bad advertising” report, revealing a sharp increase in the number of miscreant ads it removed in 2014.
Funding Daily: Today’s tech funding news, in one place February 3, 2015 6:40 AM | Harrison Weber Here’s a list of today’s tech funding stories, updated as the day unfolds. Tip us here if you have a deal to share.
Twitter teams up with Yahoo Japan and Flipboard to take Promoted Tweets beyond Twitter February 3, 2015 6:15 AM | Ruth Reader Twitter is taking Promoted Tweets beyond Twitter in a new partnership with Yahoo Japan and news reader application Flipboard.
With $5M in tow, Eero will make your Wi-Fi better cover your entire house — not just one corner February 3, 2015 6:00 AM | Kia Kokalitcheva Last week, my upstairs neighbor asked me to use my apartment’s Wi-Fi. Her roommate had tinkered with theirs because he felt his room wasn’t receiving a strong enough signal, but ended up taking down the whole network instead.
DataStax acquires Aurelius, the startup behind the Titan graph database February 3, 2015 5:00 AM | Jordan Novet Addition of graph capability by acquisition is an interesting growth strategy for a NoSQL database startup.
Accel Partners invests $15M in KnCMiners to build a 16 nm processor February 3, 2015 4:30 AM | Ruth Reader Cloud Bitcoin mining operation KnCMiners is announcing a new round of funding just five months after its last round.
NeuCoin raises $2.5M to be a headache-free take on Bitcoin February 3, 2015 4:00 AM | Ruth Reader The company wants to launch a cryptocurrency that is easy to use and well marketed — something that Bitcoin is not.
Herein lies the tale of a tongue toothbrush, YouTube, and ‘reverse marketing’ February 3, 2015 4:00 AM | Barry Levine The team that video marketed the hugely successful tongue toothbrush Orabrush and its dog version, Orapup — and the software that they developed for handling the variations and the targeting — is spinning off as Molio.
Guardant Health takes another $50M for ‘liquid biopsy’ cancer test February 3, 2015 3:00 AM | Mark Sullivan The Foster City, Calif.-based company has developed a blood test that can detect changes in the genetic structure of cancer cells.
Amazon may buy some RadioShack stores in latest quest to be more like Apple February 3, 2015 2:43 AM | Chris O'Brien If such a deal comes to pass, it’s likely driven by Amazon’s desire to have a place where consumers can see and touch its growing array of electronics hardware, including the Fire Phone, Fire TV, and Kindle Fire.
5 B2B marketing ‘don’ts’ we learned from Super Bowl 2015 February 2, 2015 8:00 PM | Peter Isaacson, Demandbase GuestWhether you were rooting for the Patriots, the Seahawks, the Budweiser puppy, or Missy Elliot’s revival, this Sunday’s Super Bowl experience was full of moments that made us think, “Um….”
Why over-funded crowdfunding campaigns can really suck February 2, 2015 6:00 PM | Jonas Gyalokay, Airtame GuestYou put your campaign up on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, and it’s just been overfunded like crazy. Great, right? Well, yes, it’s the greatest thing that could happen. But it comes with a lot of problems.
Samsung will unveil its much-hyped Galaxy S6 smartphone March 1 in Barcelona February 2, 2015 4:41 PM | Mark Sullivan Samsung will finally debut its much-hyped Galaxy S6 smartphone March 1 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
Uber plans its own driverless car research center with Carnegie Mellon February 2, 2015 4:14 PM | Mark Sullivan The new research-and-development facility, the Uber Advanced Technologies Center, will be near Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.
In a major policy shift, FCC will regulate Internet as a public utility (report) February 2, 2015 3:23 PM | Mark Sullivan The Federal Communications Commission will later this week propose a plan to regulate the Internet in the way it might regulate a public utility.
FCC’s Wheeler takes aim at state laws that hinder community broadband February 2, 2015 3:10 PM | Mark Sullivan Community broadband has always been hindered by state laws — often advanced by local Big ISP lobbyists — designed to control or discourage their growth. The Federal Communications Commission may finally be preparing to take action on the problem.
VMware brings its OpenStack distribution to market February 2, 2015 1:06 PM | Jordan Novet VMware today announced that its distribution of the OpenStack open-source cloud software is now available for the taking.
Manic arousal of an entire city during the Super Bowl, as told through heart rate (in 1 chart) February 2, 2015 1:00 PM | Gregory Ferenstein Heart rate: It’s awesome.
Apple will open a $2B data center on the site of failed iPhone screen manufacturer February 2, 2015 12:46 PM | Mark Sullivan Apple had financed the facility to provide a place in which Arizona-based GT Advanced could manufacture sapphire screens for iPhones.
White House open-sources budget data on GitHub February 2, 2015 12:10 PM | Daniel Terdiman The Obama Administration is inviting anyone to create their own products or visualizations using the FY 2016 budget data.
Tinder’s paid undo button and travel feature will hit the U.S. in March February 2, 2015 12:04 PM | Kia Kokalitcheva Back in November, Tinder said it was running tests in seven markets, including Brazil, the U.K., and Germany, and that it would be priced between $1.99 and $19.99.
Mobile developers: Announcing VB’s Great White North(west) roadshow February 2, 2015 11:13 AM | John Koetsier VB InsightWe’re coming to town to share the results of our massive 4-part mobile developer research project, based on the contributions of over 1,500 developers.
Apple releases iOS 8.2 Beta 5, with latest set of WatchKit developer tools February 2, 2015 11:07 AM | Mark Sullivan Apple sent out the fifth beta of its iOS 8 mobile operating system to developers Monday, along with a new set of tools for developers creating apps for the forthcoming Apple Watch.
Funding Daily: Today’s tech funding news, in one place February 2, 2015 11:03 AM | Kia Kokalitcheva Here’s a list of today’s tech funding stories, updated as the day unfolds. Tip us here if you have a deal to share.
Three months in, Android Lollipop finally grabs 1.6% adoption February 2, 2015 10:51 AM | Emil Protalinski Until now, Lollipop wasn’t showing up because its usage was negligible.
The star of the new Steve Jobs flick, Michael Fassbender, looks nothing like Jobs February 2, 2015 10:41 AM | Mark Sullivan Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen were in Apple’s home town of Cupertino, California filming for the new Steve Jobs movie, Jobs, last week, and some production stills have now surfaced.
LinkedIn launches its ‘Connected’ networking app for Android February 2, 2015 10:24 AM | Paul Sawers Seven months after LinkedIn launched a standalone app to help you keep in touch with your network, the hitherto iPhone-only affair has finally landed on Android too.
GradeBack lets students grade their university professors anonymously February 2, 2015 9:42 AM | Paul Sawers Over the past year or so, “Tinder for [insert app name]” has become the core pitch for countless digital services — ones that let you rate things by swiping.
Here’s why a font giant just spent $27M on … stickers February 2, 2015 9:20 AM | Harrison Weber Today typography giant Monotype Imaging announced a strange move: the $27 million acquisition of Swyft Media, a startup that specializes in creating and licensing branded stickers for messaging apps like Kik.
The holy grail of app retention and monetization: VB Webinar wrap-up February 2, 2015 9:15 AM | VB Staff VB Webinar95% of all apps fail but it doesn’t have to be that way. Catch a wrap-up of the VB webinar that shared essential learning about what it takes to get on the winning side of that daunting spread.
Apps move from the smartphone to a world of connected devices February 2, 2015 8:00 AM | Mark Ghermezian, Appboy SponsoredThe Internet of Things presents more and more opportunities for investors, as well as brand marketers ready to access the consumer in a new way.
Intel acquires smart home startup Lantiq as it takes on Internet of Things rivals February 2, 2015 7:44 AM | Dean Takahashi The move counters Qualcomm’s push into smart homes at CES.
IDC: Tablet shipments decline for the first time in Q4 2014, leaders Apple and Samsung both lose market share February 2, 2015 6:31 AM | Ruth Reader Amazon declined the most overall, with Lenovo offering one bright spot.
Netflix will raise $1B in debt, in part to buy and create new content February 2, 2015 6:13 AM | Chris O'Brien The size of the debt is testament to just how competitive the market for video-streaming services is becoming.