VentureBeat

Is Google working on its own Android phone?

Google isn’t content making the Android software that runs on cell phones and other devices. Now it is apparently working on its own Google-branded Android phone, according to Techcrunch.

The upcoming Android device would be thinner than a Motorola Droid (another recently launched Android phone on Verizon), this phone is called the Google Phone. We don’t know if the rumor is true. Google declined comment.

It’s always an interesting choice when a platform creator chooses to make… Continue Reading

CIA’s In-Q-Tel funds FireEye anti-botnet security firm

The CIA’s In-Q-Tel investment arm took a stake today in FireEye, which is creating an anti-malware platform for enterprises.

Milpitas, Calif.-based FireEye is working on a platform that can fight off “botnets,” which are fleets of zombie computers that have been taken over by criminal hacker rings. The technology being developed can support the “missions of the U.S. intelligence community.”

Terms were not disclosed. While there are many anti-malware and anti-botnet technologies out there, the bad guys… Continue Reading

Modern Warfare 2 continues to blow away entertainment records

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has set the all-time entertainment industry record, generating $550 million in sales in its first five days on the market.

That number means it has beaten all other video game launches as well as generated more revenue in its first five days than any movie. It has done that in spite of, or because of, a controversial scene in the game where a player can choose to mow down civilians… Continue Reading

Gravity Bear unveils its first social fighting game on Facebook

Game startup Gravity Bear is unveiling its first original game for Facebook today. Battle Punks is a “3-D social game” that will debut this holiday season.

The game is set in a variety of fantasy locations, combining in-depth game design with social networking. As such, it’s one of a new generation of Facebook games that aims to deliver a better experience than the simpler two-dimensional games such as FarmVille that dominate Facebook today. Players create avatars… Continue Reading

Amimon creates wireless networks to connect PCs and TVs

Chip maker Amimon is announcing today that it has created wireless modules that can connect computers and high-definition TVs so that consumers can effortlessly watch PC content on their TVs.

The devices could make it a lot easier to watch PC-based Internet videos, flash media, digital photos and games on a TV. Based on the Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) wireless standard, the new chips can be embedded into notebook computers or netbooks, which are smaller… Continue Reading

IBM moves closer to creating chips based on the brain

IBM said today that it has made significant progress toward developing a computer that simulates and emulates the brain’s abilities to sense, perceive, interact, and recognize.

The computer does this by imitating the brain’s low-power energy consumption and compact size, and it has an intelligence level that approaches the smarts of a cat. Big Blue will announce the development at the SC 09 supercomputer conference in Portland, Ore.

IBM Research’s cognitive computing team has made progress with… Continue Reading

Intel Capital invests $25M in 7 new startups

Intel said today that it has invested $25 million in seven new startups as part of its goal of increasing demand for its own products.

The investments were led by Intel Capital, which is the investment arm of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker. The investments show that Intel hasn’t flinched from its goal of supporting startups during the recession, said Arvind Sodhani (right), president of Intel Capital, at a press conference at Intel’s 10th annual… Continue Reading

Now you can find your Facebook friends on game consoles

Facebook made its much-anticipated debut on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles this week.

Microsoft launched the Xbox 360’s integration with Facebook today, bringing social networking experiences into the living room. With it, you can update your status from the game console, browse updates from your friends, and view photos on your TV. Gamers can link their Facebook profiles to their Xbox 360 gamertags (unique identification on the game console) to find Facebook… Continue Reading

Qualcomm’s FLO TV makes a bid to become the mobile TV king

Bill Stone, president of Qualcomm’s FLO TV division, is making a huge bet that users won’t mind paying for mobile TV subscriptions to view shows on their tiny screens.

Speaking at the Streaming Media West show in San Jose, Calif. today, Stone said Qualcomm has collectively invested more than a billion dollars in lining up the digital spectrum license and other infrastructure to make the company’s live mobile digital broadcast TV service a reality. That investment… Continue Reading

Announcing new DiscoveryBeat speakers: Smule, Playdom and Moderati

We’re pleased to announce a trio of new speakers for our DiscoveryBeat event on how to get your apps noticed. Our newest speakers at the Dec. 8 event include Ge Wang, the co-founder, chief technology officer, and chief creative officer at iPhone app developer Smule. We’re delighted because Smule has popularized apps such as the whimsical Ocarina music app that lets you blow into an iPhone and produce sound as if it were a real… Continue Reading

Zynga raises more venture capital for social gaming expansion

Zynga has become the hottest social gaming company around, with more than 196 million users on Facebook alone. Today, the San Francisco company raised $15.18 million in an extension to its second round of funding, according to a regulatory filing.

No new investors were listed in the filing, according to VentureWire. The company previous raised about $40 million in venture capital from Kleiner Perkins, Foundry Group, Avalon Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners and Union Square Ventures. That’s… Continue Reading

Former Alienware executives launch Origin, a new gamer PC company

New hardware companies aren’t formed every day. But Origin PC, a new maker of computers for gamers, sees an opening in the market for computer gaming enthusiasts that it hopes to exploit.

It’s targeting hardcore PC game fans with machines featuring lots of custom options and airbrush paint jobs. The machines will have “overclocking” guarantees. That means they will have liquid cooling that allows the PC’s microprocessor to be run at higher than recommended speeds.

The Miami-based… Continue Reading

Bigfoot raises $8M for fast networking for gamers

Bigfoot Networks has raised $8 million in an effort to expand its business of making network cards that speed broadband performance for online gamers.

Bigfoot makes network cards that help gamers deal with the problem of lag. Lag is the frustrating delay that happens in the middle of an online game when you’re trying to make something happen at a high speed — like shooting at a moving target — but your network performance is too… Continue Reading

ARM sets up Android gadget development effort

Google’s Android mobile operating system is picking up steam. The latest evidence is a move by ARM, the low-power chip design company, to create an Android Solutions Center that will make it easier for companies to build Android-based gadgets.

The solution center consists of a bunch of tools that companies can use to create their own Android hardware, built around ARM’s chips, said James Bruce, mobile segment manager for ARM, in an interview. More than 35… Continue Reading

Moto creates an interactive BlackJack table for high-tech casinos

Multitouch user interfaces seem to be spreading everywhere since Apple introduced the iPhone a couple of years ago. The latest example is this prototype of a BlackJack table with an interactive display.

The table is the brainchild of the industrial designers at Moto Development Group, a product design firm that has created all sorts of designs from the Zune HD music player to the Pure Digital Flip video camcorders. It is showing off this multitouch BlackJack… Continue Reading

Crowdstar comes on strong in the social gaming scene

The social game companies are fashionable now that Electronic Arts bought Playfish for as much as $400 million. One of the newest challengers enjoying attention is Crowdstar International, which last week launched its second successful Facebook game, Happy Pets.

Burligame, Calif.-based Crowdstar already has 30 million month active users on Facebook, ranking it as the sixth largest developer on Facebook. That is thanks to the success of Happy Aquarium, which has 27 million users, according to… Continue Reading

Inspired by Nintendo Wii, Playfish CEO tries to broaden appeal of social games

Playfish scored big last week as Electronic Arts said it would buy the social gaming company for as much as $400 million. That’s a remarkable achievement for a company that is just a couple of years old. It’s a validation of the fast growth of the social gaming market and a tribute to Facebook’s growth as well. With original games like Pet Society and Restaurant City, Playfish has been able to garner 59 million monthly… Continue Reading

Updated: Modern Warfare 2 banned in Russia due to civilian massacre scene

Russia has banned sales of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, the hottest-selling video game of all time, because it contains a scene in which civilians are massacred at a Russian airport.

[Update: Activision Blizzard released this statement today: Reports that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been banned in Russia are erroneous.  Activision only released a PC version of the game in Russia which went on sale on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Other countries have... Continue Reading

Warner Bros. launches first Harry Potter iPhone app

Independent developers have had great success creating apps for the iPhone in the past couple of years. But big brands are expected to elbow their way into the market as it grows more mainstream.

So it’s worth nothing that Warner Bros. has launched its first Harry Potter app on the AppStore this morning. Harry Potter Spells is a magic game that lets players cast spells at their opponents by using their phones as wands. With more… Continue Reading

Chelsio raises $17M for high-speed networking adapters

The transition to high-speed 10-gigabit per second networking adapters has spawned a lot of broadband communications companies. One of them, Chelsio, has raised $17 million to expand its business of making 10 gigabit Ethernet network adapters, chips and storage solutions.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Chelsio designs a family of custom chips dubbed the Terminator (T3) ASIC. It uses those chips in network adapter cards for enterprise computers and storage devices. The storage devices include high-speed network-attached storage devices,… Continue Reading