Is AdGrok Twitter's next big acquisition?

Twitter may be in talks to acquire contextual keyword bidding platform AdGrok for less than $10 million, according to a TechCrunch report.

While AdGrok aims to simplify search engine marketing campaigns, the platform could be adapted and used by Twitter to help monetize promoted and trending tweets.

Purchasing AdGrok could alleviate some of the criticism many have had toward Twitter, which lags far behind the competition in developing a clear advertising strategy for the site.… Continue Reading

Airbnb headed for a $1 billion valuation

Social bed and breakfast startup Airbnb is in the process of closing a $100 million round of funding led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz that would raise the company’s valuation to more than $1 billion, according to TechCrunch.

This is a significant investment for Airbnb, which has previously raised $7.8 million, and comes days after actor-turned-investor Ashton Kutcher invested a significant amount of money in the company.

Kutcher, who was an early investor in … Continue Reading

Next up for Twitter: photo sharing? (updated)

Twitter is apparently working on a photo sharing feature that would directly compete with established photo-sharing services like Twitpic, according to a report by TechCrunch.

The service, which would provide a built-in method for Twitter users to post and share photos, is set to launch soon — “like tomorrow” — several sources told TechCrunch. Of course, now that this information has been leaked, that may change.

Given Twitter’s current focus on developing features that steal … Continue Reading

Google still doesn't get games, bans emulators on Android Marketplace

Google has removed a batch of console emulators that let Android users play classic video games from older consoles, like the Super Nintendo (SNES), from the Android Marketplace. The move is another slap in the face of Google’s budding gaming populace.

Applications that are part of the “-oid” family, which include console emulators Snesoid and Gameboid, were removed from the Android Marketplace overnight without direct explanation. Developer Yong Zhang has had his developer account revoked … Continue Reading

ARM hopes to power 50% of mobile PCs by 2015

Not content just to dominate smartphones, chip maker ARM is expecting chips based on its processor designs to power half of the mobile PC market (which includes tablets, netbooks, and the like) by 2015, PCWorld reports.

But the company is surely going to face heavy competition from Intel, which is gearing up to make mobile chips an integral part of its plans, after seemingly ignoring the mobile market for years.

ARM licenses its chip designs … Continue Reading

Asus takes on Macbook Air with UX21 ultrathin laptop, new Eee PC

Asus debuted its new UX21 ultrathin laptop today at the Computex conference in Taipei. The device has an aluminum alloy body, weighs 2.4 lbs and is 17mm thick. It also boasts a SATA III SSD, USB 3.0 connectivity, the ability to hibernate for a week and a CPU that can be specced up to Core i7.

It’s clearly meant to be a competitor to Apple’s Macbook Air and has both the power and aesthetics to … Continue Reading

Samsung hints at Galaxy S III for first half 2012, sells 1M Galaxy S II phones

Samsung’s much anticipated Galaxy S II smartphone still hasn’t launched in the US, but the company is already looking forward to its next flagship device, the Galaxy S III.

Samsung President J.K. Shin told the Wall Street Journal that the company is aiming to release the Galaxy S III in the first half of next year — which isn’t too surprising, since that puts it a year after the Galaxy S II’s launch in April.… Continue Reading

Nvidia shows what quad-core Tegra looks like on mobile devices (video)

Nvidia showed off an eye-popping demo of its next-generation Tegra chip, a quad-core device code-named Project Kal-El.

The demo shows that 3D graphics for smartphones and tablets are getting closer and closer to the same quality you see on laptops and desktops. Nvidia is moving toward closing the gap, showing that mobile innovation continues to move at a very fast clip and that games on mobile devices will look pretty cool in the near future. … Continue Reading

Asus Padfone shoves a smartphone into a tablet

What the heck is a Padfone? It’s the smartphone/tablet combination device that Asus has been hinting at over the past few weeks.

Asus announced the Android-powered Padfone at Computex in Taipei today, and while it only had an early mockup to show off, it definitely seems like the company is onto something with the device. My biggest beef with most tablets at the moment is that they seem superfluous if you already own a smartphone … Continue Reading

Latest hack on PBS news site is the best hack ever

Tupac Shakur is alive!

Not.

Check off the main news website for the Public Broadcasting System, PBS NewsHour, as the latest high-profile victim of hackers. Members of a hacker group called “LulzSec” were able to break into the site and post a fake story that said rapper Tupac Shakur was still alive.

This is the third high-profile cyber attack in a little more than a month. A cyber attack on Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) led … Continue Reading

Nvidia will double performance for game laptops

Nvidia is launching its latest mobile graphics chip, the GeForce GTX 560M, with twice the performance of the previous version.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based graphics chip maker is unveiling the mobile graphics chip at the Computex 2011 trade show in Taipei this week. The launch shows that Nvidia continues to focus on the mobile graphics market for laptops even as it expands into other areas such as smartphone processors.

The GTX 560M has twice as … Continue Reading

Nvidia launches $99 3D Vision wired glasses

Trying to jumpstart a new market, Nvidia is introducing a pair of wired stereoscopic 3D glasses today for $99.

The company charges $199 for the wireless version of its 3D Vision glasses, which allow users to view computer games and movies in stereoscopic 3D. At $99, the wired version is aimed at making 3D more affordable for mass market gamers.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based graphics chip maker introduced the new wired model at the Computex … Continue Reading

Greylock Partners launches $160M fund for European, Israeli startups

Greylock Israel Partners, the affiliate fund of Greylock Partners – well-known for investing in companies like Facebook, Groupon, LinkedIn, and Pandora — is reportedly raising a new venture fund valued at $160 million for startups in Europe and Israel.

The fund is managed by five Greylock partners, including Moshe Mor, Erez Ofer, Yoram Snir, Laurel Bowden and Arnon Dinur.

The firm has invested in over 20 startups in Israel, but the newly raised capital will … Continue Reading

Second Starcraft II episode "Heart of the Swarm" trailer leaked

A trailer for Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm — the second episode of Activision-Blizzard’s massively popular real-time strategy (RTS) game franchise — found its way onto the Internet over the weekend and has appeared on video streaming site YouTube.

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm, the latest from Blizzard’s insanely popular Starcraft franchise, will probably be one of the most highly anticipated games of this year or next — although no release date has … Continue Reading

Updated: U.S. defense supplier Lockheed Martin hit by cyber attack

An unknown cyber incident hit Lockheed Martin — the world’s largest aerospace manufacturer and the top supplier to the Pentagon — sometime last week but was successfully neutralized by the company, the defense contractor said.

This is the second high-profile cyber attack in a little more than a month on important computer networks that are increasingly seeming vulnerable to cyber attacks. A cyber attack on Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) led to hackers stealing sensitive information … Continue Reading

Microsoft applies lessons from PlayStation Network downtime: don't hunt hackers

Microsoft has chosen to “nurture” the talents of a 14-year-old boy who attempted to hack into the company’s online gaming network, Xbox Live, rather than slap the kid with lawsuits. The lawsuit approach to hackers is presumed to have led to Sony’s online game network being crippled for nearly a month.

Microsoft has clearly learned from Sony’s lesson, because Xbox Live competes directly with Sony’s PlayStation Network — along with other online networks that sell … Continue Reading

Week in review: how frustrated are PlayStation Network users about downtime?

Here’s our roundup of the week’s tech business news. First, the most popular stories VentureBeat published in the last seven days:

Latest rumor on iPhone 5: it will have a curved glass cover — Apple’s unannounced iPhone 5 smartphone has been the subject of much speculation, including a rumor today that Apple will adopt a curved glass cover for its next generation model.

Just how frustrated are PlayStation Network users over downtime? — Sony brought … Continue Reading

Entrepreneur Corner: Attracting board members and learning from SEALs

Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner.

How to hire a superstar engineer for your startup – Some startups outsource computer engineering in the early days, but later find themselves in a position where the position needs to come in house. Attorney Scott Edward Walker offers advice on how to find one – and legal issues you’ll need to keep in mind as you do so.

9 ways to attract world-class board members – A … Continue Reading