Twilio raises $3.7M to combine phone calls with web apps

Updated

Twilio, a startup that can add cool phone features to web applications, has raised around $3.7 million in new funding, according to a regulatory filing.

The San Francisco startup says it can accept calls from landlines, cell phones, and VoIP phones. Once developers add Twilio features to their apps, the company gives them a phone number they can provide to customers. Then Twilio answers the call and handles the interaction with the application. We’ve … Continue Reading

Mobile GPS app maker GlobalMotion finds $1M

GlobalMotion, developer of a travel-oriented mobile phone application that uses GPS-technology to geotag places with interesting information and photos, has brought in $1 million in angel funding. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company is backed by Band of Angels and a handful of private investors.… Continue Reading

Microsoft rumored to be working on integrating Xbox Live and Windows Mobile

Bill Gates promised years ago that you’d be able to enjoy shared experiences between Xbox Live online games, Windows PC games, and Windows Mobile phones. Xbox Live and Windows games were integrated into games such as Shadowrun in 2007.

But the Windows Mobile part never happened. Now it looks like Microsoft is moving forward with the integration of Xbox Live into Windows Mobile cell phone software. A job posting confirms that the company is seeking … Continue Reading

Our favorite horribly wrong or amusing tech magazine covers

I have this habit that really annoys my wife. I store old stuff in plastic waterproof bins in my garage. I was cleaning out my collection of old papers and happened upon these precious old magazines. The covers and the accompanying stories show how astoundingly bad we, the media, can be at making bold predictions about the future.

I’ve shared some samples below of some of the worst predictions and otherwise amusing covers going back … Continue Reading

Nuance buys voice-to-text company Spinvox for $102.5 million

Nuance has confirmed the story VentureBeat broke earlier this morning, that it has acquired voice-to-text company SpinVox for $102 million. Of that, $66 million will be in cash, the rest in stock. The company said it was buying Spinvox to expand the voice-to-text part of its speech-recognition business.

In its statement, Nuance said it would integrate SpinVox’s technology, which is used by several international telecom carriers, into its speech recognition service offerings. Nuance has a … Continue Reading

The most addictive iPhone games of 2009

There are more than 22,000 games on the iPhone. So it’s a quixotic task to try to figure out the best of the year. But with some recommendations from readers, we’ve taken a look at some of the most compelling. So here are the most addictive games we found. We did this list last year, and I think you’ll agree that many of these new games are leaps and bounds better than last year’s titles.… Continue Reading

Voice-to-text company Spinvox to announce sale to Nuance, source says [confirmed]

[This is confirmed: Spinvox just announced a sale to Nuance in a blog post, and in a press release. The price is $102.5 million, comprising $66 million in cash and $36.5 million in common stock..]

Spinvox, the London company that lets you translate your voice into text messages, could announce its sale today, according to a VentureBeat source close to the company who requested anonymity.

We’ve called Spinvox for official comment. We reached … Continue Reading

Leaked docs reveal pricing and plan details of Google's new Nexus One phone

Google’s Nexus One phone, which could ship as early as next week, will evidently have a couple of interesting features, according to documents newly leaked to the Gizmodo blog.

Google plans to sell the Google-designed, Android-based phone by itself. The unlocked and unsubsidized phone will sell for $530. Meanwhile, T-Mobile plans to sell a subsidized version for $180 with a two-year service contract. The phone service, with 500 minutes of airtime per month, text messaging, … Continue Reading

5 o'clock roundup: Everyone's talking tablet, Verizon moving on Palm Pre and more

Here’s the latest action:

India says no to sex on the net – In response to changes in India’s Information Technology Act of 2000, big internet companies like Yahoo, Microsoft and Flickr have introduced content filters to prevent Indian citizens from accessing sexual material on the web.

Hewlett-Packard inspires tablet rumors too — A trademark filing from HP has surfaced detailing a mobile, handheld computing device called the Zeen. Some say it’s a tablet, others … Continue Reading

LinkedIn gives Bump a run for its money with latest iPhone app

There’s a nice little feature addition to LinkedIn’s just updated iPhone app. Building on iPhone 3.0 OS’s expanded support for Bluetooth, you can connect or exchange contact details with others in person if your phones are close together.

On the outside, it seems quite similar to what Bump Technologies demoed when the startup initially showed off its product nine months ago. In Bump’s version, if you “bumped” two phones (or held them side by side), … Continue Reading

Need good news? TV sales are up

For the first time in a year, global TV shipments are up in the latest quarterly report by industry analysts DisplaySearch.

The year 2009 was a bad one for the TV business. Both the average selling price and total revenue for the industry dropped about ten percent, shrinking the market from $112 billion to $101 billion.

Now, the DisplaySearch report’s authors claim that “developed TV markets” North America, Japan and Western Europe have held steady … Continue Reading

Google tablet? 3 reasons we don't think so

Google is about to launch a Google-branded smartphone that won’t be tied to AT&T, Verizon or any other one wireless carrier. That’s true.

The company has trolled netbook manufacturers to see if they can get one to build a Google-branded netbook. Also true.

But is Google also going to launch a touchscreen tablet-and/or-slate computer anytime soon? My VentureBeat coworkers and I think the speculation is just plain wrong, for the following reasons.

No sources cited, … Continue Reading

California's Central Valley may soon go nuclear

The Fresno Nuclear Energy Group and Areva have signed a letter of intent to build nuclear reactors in California’s Central Valley. Areva is proposing to build its EPR reactor somewhere in Fresno County, possibly beginning construction in 2017. If this nuclear push in the golden state is successful, it will set a strong precedent for nuclear energy in the U.S. in general, carrying the potential to dramatically change the country’s power mix.

Areva is supplying … Continue Reading

Voyij helps you find travel deals on Twitter

More companies are using Twitter to broadcast bargains and promotions. Now a startup called Voyij wants to help travelers tap into those deals with a new feature called Twitter Travel Streams.

The Cupertino, Calif. company says it’s aggregating tweets from more than 1,000 travel companies that post deals on the micro-blogging site. Not only does it gather all these tweets in one place, it also categorizes them and makes them searchable. So you could just … Continue Reading

Coapt Systems takes $3.7M for facial rejuvenation

Coapt Systems, maker of treatments to keep women’s faces looking smooth and youthful, has raised $3.72 million of an anticipated $9 million round of debt, securities, warrants and rights, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company is backed by Canaan Partners, Alta Partners, Global Life Science Ventures, Boston Millennia Partners, Foundation Medical Partners, Easton Capital Investment Group, Asset Management, Spring Ridge Ventures, Saints Capital, Trellis Health Ventures, Sears … Continue Reading

Google City Tours creates custom walking maps

A Google application that builds walkable tours of city (or country) attractions has been significantly upgraded to make it much, much easier to use.

Google City Tours, one of the in-progress projects on the Google Labs site, has been overhauled to l0ok, feel and work a lot more like Google Maps. A Google software engineer who blogged about it from the company’s Zurich office calls the upgrades “a whole bunch of small user interface improvements.” … Continue Reading

PowerReviews gobbles $4.9M to gather intel for online retailers

PowerReviews, a service that aggregates consumer reviews and helpful widgets for e-commerce web sites, has brought in $4.93 million of a targeted $9 million round of venture financing, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in San Francisco, the company, which also runs shopping research service Buzzillions, is backed by Draper Richards, Menlo Ventures and Tenaya Capital. It has now raised about $26 million to date.… Continue Reading

Simbol finds $1.4M to better mine lithium carbonate

Simbol Mining, a company that has devised a greener, more efficient way to extract lithium carbonate from the earth, has brought in $1.375 million of an anticipated $5 million round of convertible promissory notes, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Pleasanton, Calif., Simbol is backed by Firelake Capital Management and Mohr Davidow Ventures. It has now raised more than $8 million to date.

Lithium carbonate has several applications. It’s most common is … Continue Reading

Lexy dials up $458K for on-demand podcasts via phone

Lexy, a service that lets you listen to short news and entertainment podcasts on-demand by dialing 415-692-4933 on your mobile phone, has brought in $458,000 of an expected $800,000 round of debt, rights and securities, according to a filing with the SEC.

Based in San Francisco, the company raised $1.25 million in seed funding from KPG Ventures in March. It’s unclear whether KPG was involved in the new round of debt financing.… Continue Reading