Qik raises $5.5 million so I can watch U2 through some Italian guy’s cellphone
Now that early adopters are all waving video-enabled iPhones at us, demand for personal video publishing will grow exponentially (*). That’s probably why Qik, the company that makes it easy to stream live video from a cellphone onto the Internet, has secured another $5.5 million in funding. Quest Venture Partners and CampVentures led the round, along with several unnamed investors.
Marcus Ogawa from Quest has joined Qik’s board of directors. CampVentures’ Justin Camp has become a… Continue Reading
Qik to cut mobile costs for globe-trotters
Qik, a live video streaming service for cell phone users, has a solution for traveling mobile users who get socked by big bills a month after they get home: Qik Roam.
The prepaid SIM card lets users make voice calls, stream video live, send e-mail, and web browse in 134 countries — with a 60 to 80 percent savings on roaming and data charges.
Qik announced a partnership with Irish communications outfit Cubic Telecom today at its… Continue Reading
Share on Ovi: Qik strengthens its ties with Nokia
It’s easy to write off Nokia in the United States, because no one seems to have a mobile device made by the company. But it is still the largest handset maker in the world, and as such, it’s a company that mobile startups want to be close to. The latest is Qik, the mobile video streaming service.
Qik’s alliance with Nokia is two-fold. First, the service will be featured in Nokia’s upcoming Ovi Store, its new… Continue Reading
This Valentine’s Day, live-stream your love with Qik and Boingo
Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but on Valentine’s Day, it can just suck. Luckily, these days we have technology to help bridge those distances. Of the technologies that help, live streaming video may be the best, and thanks to services like Qik, people can do it from just about anywhere on their mobile phones. Now Qik is hoping to make the connection a bit better in time for the romantic holiday.
Qik is teaming… Continue Reading
12seconds prods the iPhone with a non-video video app
Up there on the list of complaints about the iPhone is that its camera doesn’t support video capture. Well, it can (more on that later), but Apple won’t turn it on or allow any applications in the App Store that use the camera for video. That’s a problem for a startup like 12seconds, an online video application. So it came up with a new way to post to 12seconds with its iPhone app.
The app, which… Continue Reading
Roundup: Job report hurts stocks, BlackBerry reviews surface and more
Here’s the latest action:
Increase in joblessness spurs stock decline — After the Labor Department reported that applications for jobless benefits exceeded expectations, the Dow fell more than 80 points.
Reviews surface on BlackBerry Storm — CNET’s verdict: The touchscreen is nice, but corporate users are better served by the BlackBerry Bold.
AT&T funds privacy nonprofit — The Future of Privacy’s backing from the telecom giant is just one reason why GigaOM’s Stacey Higginbotham is skeptical that the nonprofit group actually… Continue Reading
Qik sweetens its mobile streaming video roster with BlackBerry support. iPhone coming soon
The mobile streaming video service Qik is on a roll. Back in June it added support for certain Windows Mobile devices, in July it added more phones and launched its public beta, in August, Netscape and Ning founder Marc Andreessen joined its board of advisors. Now it’s time to add another phone to greatly broaden its support again: BlackBerry.
The BlackBerry, made by Research In Motion (RIM), has long been one of the most popular smartphones… Continue Reading
Andreessen invests in and agrees to advise Qik
Live video streaming from mobile devices is an exciting field in an exciting time. It’s also a pretty crowded field with Qik, Flixwagon and Kyte among others all vying to lead the way. Today, Qik gained two key allies on its side: Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen.
The two have made an investment in the video streaming company and both will join its board of advisors. Financial details of the investment were not released, but are… Continue Reading
Qik is quik to bring live video streaming to (jailbroken) iPhone 3Gs
Everyone seems to want video functionality on the iPhone 3G but Apple, for whatever reason, has not allowed it. Maybe the company is waiting to launch its own app to do it, or maybe it cut a deal with AT&T so as not to completely clog up their 3G lines. Either way, video streaming on the iPhone 3G is here now thanks to Qik — assuming you have a jailbroken device.
Qik, the live video streaming… Continue Reading
How big an opportunity is the external memory?
Before the advent of the written word, the story goes, humans had to either store all their memories in their own heads, or by oral tradition passed down through designated members of their tribes. With trade came notation of facts and figures, and later alphabets, books and libraries. With them came the modern brain, which treats recorded knowledge as an extension of itself.
Throughout these developments, previous generations have grumbled that each new advance leaves us… Continue Reading
Qik launches public beta. New phones, new carriers and new features abound
Live video-streaming site Qik has garnered a lot of buzz for its alpha release. This is no doubt thanks to prominent bloggers and tech elites that use the service including Robert Scoble, Jason Calacanis and Kevin Rose. But now comes the first big test for the service: the masses. Qik launches the public beta version of its site today and with it comes several improvements.
The most prominent new feature is that anyone can now sign… Continue Reading
See you in line or in the FriendFeed room as we wait for the iPhone 3G
The iPhone/iPod Touch App Store is absolutely brilliant. Now it’s time for the next step: the iPhone 3G.
I’ll be leaving soon to go get in line at the San Francisco Apple store on Stockton St. If all goes as planned, I won’t be leaving until sometime tomorrow morning with a brand new iPhone. I hope you’ll join us in the VentureBeat iPhone 3G Live Launch FriendFeed room where I’ll be piping in updates throughout the… Continue Reading
New iPhone software will have video streaming, according to Flixwagon
One problem that current iPhone users have with the device is that it has no video capabilities. However, you can manipulate the camera on the phone to keep its lens open to record video if you are willing to unlock it. Flixwagon is announcing compatibility of its service with these unlocked iPhones today.
It may seem somewhat odd that a company would announce functionality achieved by a hack, but it’s clear that iPhone users wanted a… Continue Reading
Qik comes to Windows Mobile. Not Qik enough for 3G iPhone
As mobile phones become more powerful, and unlimited data transfer plans from carriers become widespread, technologies such as streaming live video from phones are becoming feasible. One of the most hyped players in this market is Qik. Unfortunately, so far Qik has only worked on select Nokia devices such as the popular N95 phone. However, starting tomorrow Qik is rolling out support for select Windows Mobile devices.
Initially this partnership will bring Qik services to the… Continue Reading
Visivo Communication raises $3M round to expand Qik?
If you use short-form Internet messaging service Twitter a lot, you probably follow blogger Robert Scoble. If you follow Robert Scoble, you’ve probably read the following at least a few hundred times: “I’m streaming live right now, come chat! http://qik.com/video/xxxx.”
Qik is a live video streaming service that allows you to use your cellphone to send video to the Internet where anyone can watch it and chat with you about it in near real-time (there is… Continue Reading
Flixwagon provides mobile live video streaming, joins Qik and Comvue
Flixwagon, a mobile live video casting platform, has just launched a “Flixee” widget that lets users stream video from a mobile phone to a blog, website, or social networking site.
Additionally, Flixwagon users can deliver their mobile-to-web broadcasts directly to YouTube through their Flixwagon account, thanks to YouTube’s recently opened API. The widget and YouTube uploading add to the platform’s previous ability to video stream from a mobile phone directly to Flixwagon’s website.
The Tel Aviv-based company… Continue Reading
14 ways to broadcast yourself…live
updated
Thanks to the meteoric rise of YouTube, anyone with a video camera and an internet connection can be a star. More recently, they can live stream themselves to you 24/7, even from a mobile phone. Here we take a look at 14 companies competing in this sector.
Justin.TV, featuring a live cam of a guy named Justin in San Francisco, helped spearhead the new wave of popularity, but a host of other companies are battling for… Continue Reading
Roundup: Kyte gets more, Microsoft’s ad deal, NetSuite’s golden IPO, more
Here’s the latest (updated) action:
1) Kyte.tv raises $15 million
2) Electric Sheep Company lays off 22
3) FCC receives 700MHz auction applications
4) Microsoft signs $500M ad deal
5) GPS devices fly off the shelves
6) Netsuite sets high price for planned IPO
7) Eric Eldon, celebrity at large?
Kyte.tv raises $15M second round — An online startup that offers a video player allowing near-live communications by video, photo and chat, Kyte has picked up some steam online, attracting a decent-sized audience… Continue Reading