Devicescape helps MetroPCS offload data traffic to Wi-Fi networks
Wireless phone provider MetroPCS announced a deal with Devicescape that allows the cell phone service provider to move data traffic from its cellular network to Wi-Fi networks.
In doing so, MetroPCS will be able to offload traffic from its expensive and overloaded cellular network to the more affordable and more available Wi-Fi networks. Devicescape’s software, which tracks Wi-Fi hot spots and makes it easy to log into them, will be embedded in all of the … Continue Reading
Amazon's Kindle sales to surpass 8M this year?
We knew that Amazon was making a killing with its $139 third-generation Kindles, but since the retailer doesn’t discuss Kindle sales numbers, it’s always been unclear just how well it’s doing.
Now it looks like the Kindle is set to surpass 8 million units sold this year, 60 percent more than many analyst predictions, two people familiar with Amazon’s sales projections tell Bloomberg. If true, it tells us that consumers are far more interested in … Continue Reading
Foursquare, Gowalla, Instagram: Mobile photos are everywhere
It’s been a big week for numbers about photos. Yesterday, location-based service Foursquare launched the latest version of its app with support for photo-sharing, and chief executive Dennis Crowley said later in the day that the service was already approaching one photo uploaded per second. Competitor Gowalla said today that its users have posted 1 million photos. And mobile photo app Instagram also said it has hit 1 million users.
My first thought upon seeing … Continue Reading
TextPlus approved for new social group texting app
TextPlus, an application that lets groups send text messages to each other for free, just got an early present from Apple in the form of an approved and live version 4.4 application.
The company claims to be bringing a more social atmosphere to group texting, including adding features like “search” – which will help users find other users based on gender, age, email and others. According to a company representative, TextPlus has already seen a … Continue Reading
Microsoft may break Intel's monopoly by launching Windows for ARM chips
In a move with huge implications for chip makers, Microsoft is expected to announce a version of Windows that will run on chips based on ARM designs for the first time.
Bloomberg reported that Microsoft will make the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, with the software tailored to run on battery-powered devices such as tablet computers and other handhelds. Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, will likely reveal the news in his … Continue Reading
How Twitter acquires people
When is an acquisition not an acquisition? When Twitter’s involved, apparently.
The microblogging company announced today that it had “acquired the team at Fluther, Inc.” Fluther makes a question-and-answer site, a popular category of Web startup as of late. (See Hunch or Quora for examples of better-funded competitors.)
When I asked Twitter spokeswoman Carolyn Penner what kind of deal it had actually struck, she characterized the event as a “talent acquisition.” I pointed out that … Continue Reading
Deal upstart Gilt City stocks up with new engineering chief
Updated
Popular private-sale company Gilt Groupe jumped into the market for deals sites earlier this year with a property called Gilt City. As the New York City startup tries to build a brand for itself as the luxury-minded alternative in a crowded industry, it recently hired a veteran of both e-commerce and media to run its engineering team.
Gilt City’s vice president of engineering, Brian Dhatt, previously served as chief technology officer at Sugar, a … Continue Reading
If Google buys into coupons, it will still have to build
The New York Post is reporting the unsurprising news that Google is getting over its unrequited love for Groupon by trying to buy a smaller online-coupon business like LivingSocial or BuyWithMe, the No. 2 and 3 companies int he busienss
If true (this is the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post, not known for its tech reporting, after all, and the story is based on a single “source close to the situation”), it would mean the … Continue Reading
Report: Open-source CRM provider SugarCRM worth around $350M (exclusive)
SugarCRM, a developer and provider of open-source customer relationship management (CRM) software, is worth somewhere in the range of $350 – $360 million, according to a new report by research firm NeXt Up!
The open source CRM provider is expected to bring in around $107.7 million in revenue in 2013 and $95.8 million in 2012, according to the report. That’s peanuts when compared to Oracle’s latest earnings report (which indicated that the company brought in … Continue Reading
A million people have pulled out their virtual wallets in Nexon's MapleStory online game
When Nexon brought its free-to-play MapleStory online game to the U.S. in 2005, everyone shook their heads. Everybody was skeptical that American gamers would pay for virtual goods in online games, a business model that Nexon had pioneered in South Korea.
But the skeptics have been proven wrong. Nexon announced today that more than a million players in the U.S. have purchased virtual items via microtransactions in the U.S. version of MapleStory. That’s roughly 14 … Continue Reading
Apple removes WikiLeaks app after just three days in App Store
Apple said Tuesday that it has removed a WikiLeaks app from its App Store because it violated the company’s developer guidelines.
Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Apple, said to the New York Times that apps “must comply with all local laws and may not put an individual or group in harm’s way.” The latter is a reference to complaints that WikiLeaks’ publication of secret diplomatic cables has put the lives to diplomats and their acquaintances … Continue Reading
Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone expected to debut in April (report)
The rumored Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone powered by Android could hit stores as early as April, according to the news site Pocket-lint.
Pictures and videos about the upcoming game-focused phone have been appearing for a few months, suggesting that something is happening. The phone would likely be Sony’s response to the competitive threat from Apple’s iPhone, which has become a major gaming device with tens of thousands of game apps. And since it’s running Android, … Continue Reading
Renewable chemicals get hot, Elevance raises $100 million
Renewable chemicals company Elevance Renewable Sciences announced today it has raised $100 million in third-round financing.
The company makes chemicals from natural oils. Using a Nobel Prize-winning technology called olefin metathesis, it makes specialty chemicals that can go in personal care products, detergents, fuels, lubricants and other specialty chemicals markets. The new funds will go towards expanding the company and creating biorefineries in Asia, North and South America.
Elevance is playing in the renewable chemicals … Continue Reading
HP to show off its PalmPad webOS tablet next month?
HP is gearing up to unveil its long-awaited tablet running Palm’s webOS software. It will show off the device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month, according to Fox News’s Clayton Morris, who also managed to dig up some details on the device.
We reported in September that HP was abandoning its plans for an Android tablet and was instead focusing its energy on getting the PalmPad out in early 2011. A … Continue Reading
Salesforce nabs another Y Combinator startup in email contact manager Etacts
Salesforce, a developer of customer relationship management (CRM) software, announced today that it has acquired email contact manager Etacts for an undisclosed sum.
Etacts works as a plugin for Google’s Gmail and a web application. It scans email messages and determines which contacts are the most important. It then reminds users to keep in touch with those people and to respond to email messages from them. Users can set custom reminders for when Etacts should … Continue Reading
FCC lays down net neutrality rules, wireless providers exempt from some
The Federal Communications Commission voted today to lay down a number of basic rules that ban Internet service providers from blocking specific content and help keep the web open.
The new rules keep ISPs from blocking specific websites and other content. The rules also allow ISPs to throttle web connections if they believe their customers are using too much bandwidth, but require the ISPs to be “reasonable” when doing so. Internet providers also have to … Continue Reading
Why video games are the new movies: Call of Duty Black Ops sales top $1B
Move over, Hollywood.
Call of Duty Black Ops video game sales have topped $1 billion since the combat game went on sale on Nov. 9, Activision Blizzard reported today.
The numbers are a land-speed record for the sale of any video game: It’s the fastest $1 billion ever made in the video-game industry. Black Ops broke the previous record set by its predecessor, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, a year ago.
The resuls show … Continue Reading
Mark Hurd not out of the woods yet as SEC investigates his HP departure
The nightmare for Mark Hurd just won’t end. The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe to determine whether the former Hewlett-Packard CEO shared sensitive information about his old company.
The crux of the investigation revolves around whether Hurd, in one of his infamous lapses in judgment, spilled the beans on HP’s acquisition of Electronic Data Systems to former HP contractor, Jodie Fisher, in 2008. The deal was worth $13.9 billion when it happened.… Continue Reading
Superfish says "virtual window shopping" will tempt consumers more this Christmas
This holiday season shoppers will most likely be more tempted to buy a product online based more on what it looks like on their computer screens, than what a link or word search of the same item might show, according to data by the visual product search company Superfish.
In an interview with VentureBeat, Superfish said that electronics was the number one category where people used visual search, with apparel the next most popular category.… Continue Reading
Chip industry outlook surprisingly bullish after a boom year in 2010
The chip industry is surprisingly bullish in its outlook for 2011, even though it already enjoyed record results in 2010. Typically, a boom year in the semiconductor industry is followed by a bust.
But leading indicators suggest things won’t be that bad next year, according to a survey by the accounting and consulting firm KPMG. Based on a survey of 118 industry executives, overall confidence is flat at 60 points out of a possible 100 … Continue Reading
