Abhishek Singh graduated from NYU’s ITP program and clearly he learned a lot about the future of computing. During his tenure there he quickly fell in love with hardware startups and, with a little grit and programming work, he created Peeqo, a robot that responds only in GIFs. That’s right: this is a robot that replies only in animated video clips. God help us.… Read More
Kids TV network Nickelodeon already has solid footing in the digital space with its lineup of over 40 preschool apps and games and its own streaming service, Noggin. Now, the entertainment brand is making its move into e-books. The company has just launched its first ever reading app aimed at kids, which brings interactive stories from their favorite Nick characters to the iPhone and… Read More
Highly-funded Airbnb is making an investment of its own, announcing today that it is leading a $13 million round in Resy, an app for restaurant reservations. “Helping people find and book incredible local restaurants is a key part of us moving beyond just accommodation to focus on the whole trip,” said Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky in a statement. Airbnb will be integrating Resy into… Read More
What if you didn’t have to wait every two weeks to receive a paycheck?
What if you could be wired the money you earned almost immediately after a shift?
What if, unlike with payday lenders, you didn’t have to pay interest on those payments? Instead, you were merely encouraged to donate a kind of tip to the company providing you with this service?
That’s the proposition of… Read More
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, a device that practically invented the smartphone genre in itself, but, over in China, a more modern bellwether of the mobile industry rolled out its own innovation which could shape the future. Read More
The Garage — Microsoft’s home to experimental projects like smart news apps, Android launchers, productivity add-ons, smartphone keyboards and yes, even that app that tells you what sort of dog you look like — is expanding to three new locations, including Cambridge, Massachusetts, India and China. In total, there are seven Garage locations now open or under construction.… Read More
The current market for older adult care is massive — and growing at an unprecedented rate. According to an AARP report, the 106 million Americans over 50 represent a transformative force that will generate more than $13.5 trillion in annual economic activity by 2032, accounting for more than half of the U.S. GDP. Read More
Samsung’s SDI battery subsidiary announced a new battery cell designed for use in electric vehicles that offers improved density to manage a max range of up to 372 miles on a full charge, with a quick charge capacity that will help it regain 310 miles or so of charge on just 20 minutes of charging. Unveiled at the North American International Auto Show for the first time, the new… Read More
It’s difficult to narrow down everything that happened at CES this year. We met tons of promising new startups and went hands-on with brand new gadgets on the floor of the expo hall, nightly events and on our Hardware Battlefield stage. These, in no particular order, were the hottest hardware startups and most interesting gadgets from the show, and you can find our full coverage of… Read More
Apple last month released a new TV app in an attempt to centralize all the streaming TV options available across Apple TV, iPhone and iPad. Now, Samsung is rolling out its own take on the matter, with the launch of a trio of new Smart TV services focused on sports, music and video on demand. The services are a part of Samsung’s Smart Hub platform, which offers customers a way to… Read More
Facebook is doing what many publishers had hoped it would one day do, according to Recode: opening up another key revenue stream for video producers. The so-called “mid-roll” ad unit, which inserts an advertiser’s clip in the middle of a video instead of up front or at the end, will enter testing soon according to the report, with revenue resulting from the ad sales split… Read More
Ten years ago the cellphone industry was as teeming with life as a coral reef. Weird, multi-colored Nokias and Samsungs flitted between fronds of seagrass while Sidekicks scuttled in and out of tiny sea caves. Blackberries lumbered through the coral like lions on the hunt, eviscerating all “serious” comers with better software. Apple had released a deeply embarrassing clownfish of… Read More
Voice-focused messaging app Voxer has added an end-to-end encrypted ‘private chats’ feature on its Android and iOS apps — powered by Open Whisper Systems’ Signal Protocol. So all content shared within a private chat, including live voice, text, videos, images, GIFs, and document sharing, is fully e2e encrypted. Read More
After a long stint as a closed ecosystem, Samsung’s wearables are now opening up to make some new friends. The Korean tech giant today announced, on the heels of CES 2017, that Samsung wearables would now come with iOS compatibility, allowing iPhone owners to use the smart watches and fitness bands whether or not they have a Samsung smartphone. The news includes iOS compatibility for… Read More
Ford CEO Mark Fields was at CES this year, and I got some time to talk to him about what Ford’s doing with its Smart Mobility business, why it made sense to acquire Chariot, to partner with Amazon for in-car Alexa integration, and to generally build out its services portfolio. Fields told us how Ford evaluates when it makes more sense to own something itself, and when it makes sense to… Read More
Top streaming services including Netflix, Amazon and HBO didn’t fare as well as in previous years at last night’s Golden Globes. Despite entering the race with 14 nominations, HBO – which streams for cord cutters via HBO NOW and various internet TV services like Sling TV and DirecTV Now – walked away without a single win. Meanwhile, Netflix and Amazon didn’t rack… Read More
Cloud Elements, a company that builds API integration tools aimed at developers, announced $13 million in Series B financing today. The round was led by Harbert Partners with participation from Rally Ventures, Access Ventures and Grotech Ventures. Tom Roberts, who is a general partner at Harbert, will become a member of the Cloud Elements board when the deal closes. Today’s funding brings… Read More
Ford-owned Chariot, the on-demand commute ridesharing service it acquired through Ford Smart Mobility last September, is going to expand to eight new cities in 2017, including one outside the U.S., Ford announced at the North American International Auto Show this year in Detroit. Chariot currently operates in its home city of San Francisco, and in Austin, TX, with a pilot project launched… Read More
Volkswagen’s new I.D. Buzz electric vehicle concept is a futuristic take on the microbus that revives the family camper for an era when we’ll spent just as much of our time on the road relaxing or hanging out with our fellow passengers as we will driving. The new EV design, Volkswagen’s second concept car in the I.D. line, was revealed at this year’s North American… Read More
