Admob buys mobile ad aggregrator AdWhirl — takes out major threat
updated with comments from Quattro and Mobclix
Admob, a leading mobile advertising service, is acquiring AdWhirl, a service that aggregates ads from mobile ad networks.
In an interview confirming the deal, Admob chief executive Omar Hamoui told VentureBeat the move was made to create an open and transparent mobile ad exchange. We’re also hearing that this is an asset sale for an amount that is barely more than AdWhirl has cash on hand — apparently … Continue Reading
Linksify raises $500K for better contact management
As networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn evolve, they’re becoming more social, more interactive, and more open to third-party developers. But a new startup called Linksify wants to take users in the other direction — rather than creating new ways for you to interact with people, it’s stripped away most social networking features and instead focuses exclusively on contact management.
The site is launching its public beta test today and also just announced a $500,000 … Continue Reading
Apple's Snow Leopard may stop you from doing your job
Apple’s $29 Snow Leopard operating system is, as the name and price imply, an upgrade to the existing Leopard operating system with no major new applications. Still, Snow Leopard is a significant piece of under-the-hood work, with 90% of the 1,000 or so projects within Mac OS X upgraded in some way.
Many of the changes are low-key, in the manner of BMW’s annual revisions to its 3-series sedan. For example, nearby Wi-Fi networks are … Continue Reading
Seedonk lets you manage video cameras wherever you are
Unless you’re a video hardware geek, there’s a good chance you haven’t heard about network cameras. Those cameras could be more useful than your standard webcam, because they’re tied to a wireless network, not a specific computer. But Herman Yau, chief executive of a startup called Seedonk, says the setup can be such a huge pain that when a regular consumer buys a network camera, they usually end up returning it.
By making those cameras … Continue Reading
Facebook makes worldwide privacy changes to meet Canadian law
Facebook agreed to change its privacy policies to meet Canadian law today, tightening third-party developer access to user data. The government wanted the company to address what it considered the social network’s biggest risk — “the relatively free flow of personal information to more than one million application developers around the world,” according to assistant privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham.
The main changes are:
Developers now need express consent from users for every type of personal
First judges for DEMO's $1M media prize: Satish Dharmaraj, Russ Fradin and Jennifer Zeszut
I’m delighted to announce the first few judges who will be at the DEMO conference next month in San Diego. They’ll help award the $1 million media prize to the best companies launching their products. I’ll be announcing more judges over the coming days.
The media prize (see details here) is a new feature at DEMO. We’ve already announced that a list of all-star alumni will also be on hand for the Sept. 21-23 conference. … Continue Reading
Clarifing direction through strategic process management
Silicon Valley is in trouble — again. There have been fewer venture-backed companies sold in the past 18 months than any similar period in the past 10 years.
The stall in start-up financing is no mystery. For as long as the Valley has been financing new ventures, there has always been a premium on innovation and entrepreneurial energy – along with a high tolerance for business failure. But in an economy that has little patience, … Continue Reading
AdMob finds Android app users more scarce, but just as obsessed as iPhone app users
Updated
The latest monthly report from mobile ad network AdMob, which surveyed 1,117 users, finds that consumers who download apps onto an Android handset or an iPhone behave very much alike.
The big gap between them is that only 19 percent of Android users download at least one paid application per month, compared to 40 and 50 percent for iPod Touch and iPhone owners, respectively.
“However,” AdMob writes, “users who purchase paid apps on either … Continue Reading
Console price war finally arrives as Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 price by $100
In a move that will inject much-needed energy into the console game market, Microsoft matched Sony’s PlayStation 3 price cut by slashing the price of the Xbox 360 by $100.
The company just announced that, beginning tomorrow (Aug. 28), the price of the Xbox 360 Elite console (which has a 120-gigabyte hard drive, formerly at $399, will now be $299 in the U.S. The Xbox 360 Pro console (with a 60-gigabyte hard drive) will be … Continue Reading
Zynga claims FarmVille has become fastest-growing social game ever
Zynga plans to announce Thursday that its FarmVille game has become the largest and fastest-growing social game in history.
The game now has more than 11 million active daily players since its launch on June 19 on Facebook. They all play their roles as virtual farmers, creating and managing their own farms. On average, FarmVille has attracted more than 1 million active users a week. All told, Zynga now has more than 93 million monthly … Continue Reading
Google might help you search for mortgages, too
Online services that help people find mortgages, such as LendingTree and Zillow, could soon get some competition from search giant Google, according to a lawsuit filed by LendingTree and reported in The New York Times.
The lawsuit isn’t actually against Google, but rather a mortgage pricing company called Mortech. LendingTree uses Mortech technology in its site, and it says Mortech is violating the terms of the deal by also providing its technology to Google, which … Continue Reading
Roundup: Nokia Money, iPhones coming to China
Nokia announces Nokia Money, a payment-by-phone service that will launch next year — The service will let anyone send and receive money with a text message or a voice call. All you need to know to send someone money is their phone number. Nokia Money will be operated by Redwood City-based Obopay, in which Nokia invested $70 million in March. The system is blessedly simple to use: You register one or more bank accounts or … Continue Reading
RightsFlow raises $1.5M to help manage music licensing
RightsFlow, a company that manages licensing and payments for record labels, musicians, and online music services has raised $1.5 million in a first round of funding.
New York City-based RightsFlow says its technology helps companies and artists manage the complex issues around copyright. Launched in 2007, the company claims to have more than 1,500 clients, including Muzak (the company whose name has become synonymous with elevator music) as well as music startup imeem. In addition … Continue Reading
PageOnce helps BlackBerry users track their cell phone minutes
It can be a real challenge for me to keep track of how many cell phone minutes I’ve used. Sure, most of that data is available on mobile carriers’ websites, but you have to be dedicated to check in on a regular basis, and even then interpreting the data can be a challenge. For example it took months before I figured out that I consistently exceeded my allotted number of text messages (yes, I’m pretty … Continue Reading
EA's chief creative officer describes game industry's re-engineering
The world of video games is changing and the companies involved in it have to adapt to a broader and less hardcore market, said Rich Hilleman, the chief creative officer of Electronic Arts.
While Hilleman covered familiar territory, he did so with more candor than most corporate executives and he offered interesting insights into how to deal with the “re-engineering” of the video game business. He thinks, for instance, that Korea offers more lessons for … Continue Reading
Augmented reality browser war heats up with Wikitude's latest version
Prepare for another battle of the browsers — augmented reality-style.
Austrian-based Mobilizy is pumping up user-generated geotagging in the latest version of Wikitude. It’s an augmented reality browser that superimposes information in your phone when you look at places through the viewfinder (kind of like what a fighter pilot or the Terminator might see when looking at a target).
The latest version makes the design more compatible with an upcoming iPhone version and gives users … Continue Reading
Former anti-Microsoft lawyer sets his sights on Google's book deal
Attorney Gary Reback made a name for himself in the 1990s by taking on Microsoft in a series of lawsuits that challenged what he claimed was Microsoft’s monopoly status. Reback challenged Bill Gates’ acquisition of Intuit and attempts to kill browser maker Netscape by giving away Internet Explorer.
Today, Reback is on Microsoft’s side and taking on Google over the supersize search company’s agreement with the Association of American Publishers and the Authors’ Guild. The … Continue Reading
Green energy sector sees record patents
A total of 274 new patents were filed for companies developing green and alternative sources of energy in the second quarter ended June 30 — the highest amount in the space to date, according to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index.
Fuel cell technology performed the best, with 156 patents — a dramatic spike from 42 in the second quarter of last year. Solar also saw a boost with 51 patents, up from 36; and … Continue Reading
Gov't gives out $300M for advanced vehicles, "Clean Cities"
The U.S. Department of Energy just announced that it will provide $300 million in stimulus funds to 25 projects aimed at putting 9,000 more alternative-fuel vehicles on America’s roads, and building the infrastructure needed to power them, including 542 fueling and charging stations across the country. All told, these projects — now under the banner of the DOE’s long-standing “Clean Cities” program — could cut petroleum use by up to 38 million gallons a year … Continue Reading
Wireless carriers cautiously spending again on infrastructure
AT&T customers may finally get the iPhone service quality they expected when they spent $200 or more on a phone. U.S. wireless carriers have let reporters know that they’ll be spending more in the second half of this year to add capacity. They need to: Wireless traffic increased tenfold from 2007 to 2008, and is still growing.
Dallas, Texas-based AT&T plans to boost its capital expenditures, from 7.4 billion in the first half of this … Continue Reading
