VholdR launches wearable HD camcorders for your head

Just in case you need it while you’re rockclimbing, VholdR has a new high-definition camcorder that you can attach to your head.

Really. The Vholdr ContourHD1080p is the world’s first wearable camcorder that you can use to shoot and share 1080p video, meaning it looks gorgeous on a big flat-panel TV. The camcorder is aimed at outdoor enthusiasts, particularly those who might be too busy with their hands — like holding onto rocks for dear … Continue Reading

Make-your-own-book startup FastPencil adds color to the mix

FastPencil, a startup that shepherds authors through the book-publishing process, launched a product today that will make it dead simple to create books in full color.

The company, which had focused on publishing books like family heirlooms or more text-heavy novels, added a new user interface that’s more intuitive for editing visuals in a book. In FastPencil, authors upload and edit their works entirely on the web.

“It’s like PowerPoint for the page,” said CEO … Continue Reading

NeoEdge raises $4M for in-game video ads from game-focused VC firm

In-game ad company NeoEdge has raised $4 million in a new round of funding for its business. The company has both an ad network and a platform for placing video ads in casual downloadable games on the PC. And with this new funding, it plans to offer its own exclusive games for the first time — acquiring rights to games and publish them under the NeoEdge brand.

The first institutional round of funding shows that, … Continue Reading

Mobile phone health apps could improve care in developing countries

Healthcare in developing countries could get a shot in the arm from mobile health apps being developed by startups, according the executive director of the mHealth Alliance.

David Aylward, who is being named head of the alliance today, said in an interview that the personal healthcare monitoring apps being developed for the iPhone and other smart phones could ultimately prove useful in improving healthcare in developing nations.

“It’s going to take time to get the … Continue Reading

BillShrink's new recommendation engine tells you where to stash your savings

BillShrink, a startup that advises its users on how to reduce their monthly bill payments, today launched a new savings tool that recommends the best savings and CD accounts for conserving cash. Calling itself a decision engine, the Menlo Park, Calif. company says it analyzes interest rates offered by more than 60 banks to help users choose the most lucrative combination of accounts.

BillShrink has evolved a lot since its launch last spring. It started … Continue Reading

Judge dismisses suit against TV ad company Spot Runner

A U.S. district court dismissed the lawsuit accusing TV ad company Spot Runner of committing a “pump and dump” scheme.

WPP, one of the world’s largest advertising agencies, filed suit against Spot Runner’s executives in April, saying that the founders committed fraud by selling large quantities of the company’s shares without disclosing the sales to investors. The advertising giant alleged that Spot Runner’s founders aggressively promoted WPP’s $10 million investment in it to gain new … Continue Reading

Sony embraces small publishers and unknown authors on Sony Reader eBook store

The shift toward digital books is helping small-fry authors and publishers to get in front of wider audiences than ever before. That trend is being reinforced today as Smashwords announces that it has a distribution agreement to get its books published on Sony’s new eBook portal.

Smashwords lets authors publish their books in online formats in a matter of days. Now those books can be downloaded to the Sony Reader, the company’s eBook reader gadget. … Continue Reading

Dell adds consumer coolness to its corporate laptops

The newest enterprise-focused laptops and desktops from Dell have been designed with “consumerization” in mind. That means Dell’s enterprise customers no longer want dull, boring computers. The new corporate computers are designed to be sleek, attractive and lightweight.

That’s a consistent theme in the computers Dell is launching today for business users. After all, says Todd Forsythe, vice president of life cycle management at Dell, business users are also consumers and they don’t want boring … Continue Reading

Apple's new hire might be its tablet salesman

Reports that Apple is developing a tablet computer have been swirling for a while now, and any lingering doubts are looking more and more misplaced. Today, for example, Apple made an awfully suggestive re-hire — Michael Tchao, one of the developers of Apple’s first “tablet,” the Newton personal assistant.

Tchao has joined Apple as vice president of marketing, according to The New York Times, and will report to Senior Vice President Phil Schiller. Apple isn’t … Continue Reading

5 O'Clock Roundup: Xerox spends $6.4 billion on ACS, Warner makes up with YouTube, Google searches Google

ACS, newly acquired by Xerox for $6.4 billion, still unable to explain what the heck they do — Dean covered the story, but those of us left at the office admit we don’t know what exactly ACS does beyond “collecting tolls and installing computer systems in government agencies.” Wikipedia isn’t much help, either. Will someone at ACS please start over, from the beginning, and explain slowly what ACS provides to who? [UPDATE: Rebecca from ACS … Continue Reading

Green investing bounces back from recession

Venture Capital investment in green technology companies has jumped to tie pre-recessionary levels, according to a new report out of Greentech Media. With $1.9 billion spread over 112 deals, this year’s third quarter trounced figures from earlier this year, signaling a stronger than anticipated comeback for the sector, which took a beating during the economic downturn last fall.

To put the recent numbers in context: the second quarter this year saw $1.2 billion distributed across … Continue Reading

Spreadsheet of branded iPhone apps begs to be crowdsourced

Blogger Johnny Makkar has started this Google doc that lists only the branded iPhone apps in Apple’s store, and lays them out in a pretty, tabular format. It’s intended as a resource for marketers and developers, rather than consumers. There’s potential for a great crowdsourced resource, if brand managers make sure their own entries here are up to date.

Makkar says he “will also be adding Android, Palm, BlackBerry soon.” Johnny, you’re an iPhone guy. … Continue Reading

Yes, you may tweet from the North Pole

Twitter‘s uses get stranger and stranger as people outfit hardware to tweet on the social network.

There’s a device that that will tweet when bread is ready out of a baker’s oven and Kickbee’s a product that tweets whenever a baby kicks inside its pregnant mother. Now there’s a crew of explorers navigating through the quickly-opening Northwest Passage that have outfitted their ship to tweet its coordinates from far beyond where mobile carriers can reach.… Continue Reading

Google on the hunt for utility, device partners for PowerMeter

Earlier today, we spotlit an excellent blog post co-authored by Google CEO Eric Schmidt about how energy efficiency policies and enterprises will infuse the economy. The opportunity is so great that the search engine has staked out its own claim with the launch of its home energy management system, PowerMeter, a tool that allows you to view your energy consumption and what it’s costing you right in your internet browser. As omnipotent as Google sometime … Continue Reading

Silicon Image CEO resigns after lackluster sales report

Connector chip maker Silicon Image said its chief executive resigned and the company’s third quarter revenues are going to be considerably lower than expected.

Steve Tirado, the former chief executive, will be replaced by Hal Covert, who was previously chief financial officer of the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company. Covert will now be president and chief operating officer and the company will conduct a search for a permanent CEO.

Silicon Image helps make high-definition video gadgets possible … Continue Reading

This holiday season could be good for eBook reader sales

An increasing number of people say they have plans to buy an eBook reader during the holiday season, according to a survey by consumer electronics shopping site Retrevo. The interest in the category is actually higher than MP3 music players.

About 21 percent of respondents said that they planned to buy an eBook reader this year. There were more males (1 in 4) interested than females (1 in 6). The Gadgetology study focused on eBook … Continue Reading

Sorry Morgan Stanley, Twitter forgot to mention you

When Twitter announced its latest round of funding on Friday, it oddly left out one investor: Morgan Stanley.

The investment bank put less than $10 million into the financing round that reportedly valued the company at $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. (Twitter later added the investment bank’s name to the roster of investors in its blog post).

Guess this means Morgan Stanley didn’t put too much stock in the “Teens don’t tweet” … Continue Reading

VentureBeat is looking for a Chief Technology Officer

VentureBeat continues to roll. Our next big move: We’re looking to hire a chief technology officer.

The specs are listed below. We’re looking for someone who does more than fulfill the technical requirements of this job. We’re searching for someone who can think really, really big.

That means helping VentureBeat develop the best media platform on the Web. We’ve got several projects in the works, designed to allow our high-profile readership to interact with our … Continue Reading