The greatest hope of retro gamers and the greatest fear of Nintendo have been met simultaneously: The immensely popular NES Classic Edition has been hacked and its 30-game library augmented with new and even homebrewed titles. Read More
URB-E is a foldable electric scooter that first launched in prototype-form back at CES in January 2014. Last year we checked out a version that could carry an adult up to 20 miles at a speed of 15 MPH. While we liked the vehicle, we though the $1,499 price point was a bit too prohibitive for it to truly become mainstream. So now the company is back with a much more affordable version, that… Read More
Smartphones are able to shoot astonishingly high quality video these days, but ultimately, the lenses and sensors built into your phone are too small to get a decent shallow depth of field effect. Beastgrip is about to launch a Depth of Field adapter that makes it possible to use high-end SLR lenses with your smartphone — with impressive results. Read More
My favorite thing, hands down, about the Griffin Connected Toaster is the slider on the app. On one side is an icon of a white piece of bread. On the other, is one that’s all black. Sure, a smart toaster is the epitome of connected appliance ridiculousness, but there’s something to be said for being able to micromanage the level of bread toastedness to such a microscopic level. It… Read More
Hugh Behroozy is obsessed with symmetry — so much so that they wanted his company’s name is even symmetric.
And that’s why the Aivia, a combo subwoofer/speaker, is slanted — so it will fit seamlessly against a wall and not jut out because of a charging cable. The speaker also has a screen built into it, which may seem like an odd decision to make for a startup. But… Read More
Checking your blood alcohol content with a breathalyzer while out with some friends might just be a party trick — but if you really wanted to know it to figure out whether or not you should have another drink, it might be awkward to pull one out. So that’s why Evan Strenk started Milo Sensors, a company built around wearable sensors that detects various chemicals in your body based… Read More
Crowdfunded on Kickstarter last year, Lofelt’s wrist-mountable subwoofer is shipping to its backers as we speak. Basslet will be available to order on February 7 for $199. I tried it out at CES and am eager to share some first impressions. Read More
VR is a tricky medium to do well, but Harmonix’s upcoming Rock Band VR might just be the perfect fit. The game has always been about making players feel like they’re real rock stars, living in an alternate reality where they chased their dream and actually did master the guitar and make it big. Virtual reality finally gives Rock Band players the chance to feel real stage presence,… Read More
This year’s new buzzword in computer design circles is without question “bots.” As with anything we build, we give bots names. A name can be a way of expressing trust in an object — or expressing control over it. But giving a bot an identity isn’t always for the best. Calling a bot Siri does not necessarily have the same relationship-building effect as calling… Read More
This year at CES we sat down with the Turner Sports team to hear about what tech-related plans they have for 2017. First we got a chance to speak with Turner Sports’ analysts and NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley, who discussed what cool tech they saw at this year’s CES and also how technology is changing the way fans watch sports. Then we talked to… Read More
Remember that plane that landed in the Hudson? The whole saga started with a bird strike. Birds at airports can be a terrifying ordeal, so you’d be unsurprised to hear that airports pay a pretty penny to keep the area around an airport clear. Clear Flight Solutions’ Robird is a drone that flaps its wings and scares the bejesus out of other birds to keep aviation safe. Read More
We’re cold and we’re tired. But we’re nearing the end, and we saved the best for last. We’ll be making Crepes live on stage. We’re chatting with the CEO of Arduino, and we’re also hanging out with LeEco and will chat about their global plans. Then, at 2:00, we will have the final round of Hardware Battlefield where four hardware companies will pitch four… Read More
Over the past two days, 13 startups have taken the stage at TechCrunch’s Hardware Battlefield. Now our editorial team has finished deliberating with the expert judges (seriously, expert) and chosen four finalists who will be competing for the big prize of $50,000, as well as a trophy that we like to call the Metal Man.
You can watch the presentations live on TechCrunch tomorrow… Read More
CES 2017 day two, Campbell Brown to help Facebook News Publishers, DJI opens its wallet for Hasselblad, and Indiegogo goes equity and goods. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
The Gillmor Gang — Robert Scoble, Keith Teare, Frank Radice, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor. Recorded live Friday, December 16, 2016. This was the last recording of the Gillmor Gang in 2016, and the final minutes included a sharp exchange between Robert Scoble and myself. Subsequently Robert decided to stop appearing on the show. I wish him well and thank him for his participation over… Read More
As a result of Apple’s performance based executive compensation packages, CEO Tim Cook and other leaders within the company will be taking pay cuts. Apple missed internal revenue and operating income targets for 2016 by 3.7 and 0.5 percent respectively, resulting in a 15 percent cut for the CEO. Apple is reporting annual sales of $215.6 billion and operating income of $60 billion for… Read More
Polaroid had a hit on its hands with the Snap. The device marked the perfect marriage between an iconic brand and new technologies, re-developing the once novel phenomenon of instant film for an early 21 century millennial crowd. According to a rep I spoke with, the brand can’t keep the thing on the shelves. Unveiled this week at CES, the Pop is essentially a scaled up version of… Read More
At CES on Friday, Baidu announced a partnership with Chinese passenger vehicle maker BAIC Motor, to work together on a developing smart car tech, and Level 3 autonomous driving in particular. Vehicles resulting from this partnership with Level 3 autonomy will be entering road tests by the end of 2017, Baidu says. Level 3 autonomy still requires human drives to be present, but less intervention… Read More
The adult entertainment industry has long been a silent driver of new technologies, from ISPs to graphics cards. With virtual reality, many see porn as one of the more obvious use cases that could lead to heavy headset adoption early on. Today, Pornhub released data that shows some of the early success the site has had since introducing a VR porn section in April of 2016. Read More
The Think & Learn SmartCycle is already getting a mixed reaction. In the five or so minutes I stood in front of Fisher-Price’s booth at tonight’s CES kickoff event, reactions ranged from excited to confused to downright disappointed in the human race. And indeed, it’s easy to see why someone might complain about the necessity of such a device, but here we are. Read More
