Rmbr launches beamME Pro paid business card exchange app for iPhone

Rmbr launches beamME Pro paid business card exchange app for iPhone

Business card exchange apps have become popular on the iPhone. But Rmbr hopes to set itself apart by selling a paid app, beamME Pro.

It’s going to be a challenge to sell it for the one-time fee of $4.95, since free apps are plentiful. But Gabe Zichermann, chief executive of the New York-based company, is confident that beamME Pro is worth it.

The company launched its free version of beamME in October, and it became the top mobile… Continue Reading

GamesBeat 09 preview: Bing Gordon foresees games replacing textbooks at schools

GamesBeat 09 preview: Bing Gordon foresees games replacing textbooks at schools

Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins and former chief creative officer of Electronic Arts, says games have become one of the most effective ways for children to learn about the world and will eventually replace textbooks in schools.

Gordon (pictured right) made the remarks at a dinner for games entrepreneurs and investors hosted last night by VentureBeat (see photo below), which served as a preview for our upcoming GamesBeat 2009 Games Conference.

At heart, he says,… Continue Reading

Swap contact info beyond the iPhone with beamME

Swap contact info beyond the iPhone with beamME

I have a stack of business cards that is utterly ridiculous. It’s so bad that I’ll be honest: I’m probably never going to look through them. If I need someone’s contact information I’ll simply find it on the web. But that method isn’t particularly reliable or convenient. What I want is a way to digitally transfer contact information onto a device I always have with me: My iPhone. With a new iPhone app, the mobile… Continue Reading

rmbr launches mobile app to get rid of business cards

rmbr launches mobile app to get rid of business cards

The old fashioned business-card exchange hasn’t kept up with the times. In an age of social networking, it ought to be easier to connect with someone electronically. That thought inspired Gabe Zichermann, chief executive of New York startup rmbr, to create rmbrME.

The new service automates the exchange of contact information between two people. Palm Treo users once “beamed” each other their contact information through infrared connections; now rmbeME uses text messages.

rmbrME lets you send out… Continue Reading

Funware’s threat to the traditional video game industry

Funware’s threat to the traditional video game industry

Call it Funware. That’s the name for applications with game-like mechanics and game-like behavior that really aren’t traditional video games. And Funware just might steal the thunder from video games, which may no longer have a monopoly on either interactivity or fun.

With new places to play — such as the iPhone, on Facebook, or even with Google mash-ups on personlized web sites — web-based social interaction is changing the way that many people entertain themselves.

While… Continue Reading

GDC: Raptr and Rmbr unveil at the Startup Launchpad

GDC: Raptr and Rmbr unveil at the Startup Launchpad

Two startups visited by the vowel thief, Raptr and Rmbr, showed themselves off for the first time today at the Game Developer’s Conference Startup Launchpad. In all, five companies presented, but we’ve already covered or mentioned three: iminlikewithyou, Live Gamer and TwoFish (coverage here, here and here).

Here’s the executive summary: Raptr is both an application and a website. The app is a utility for gamers that keeps all their games up to date and downloads… Continue Reading