As most of us were gearing up for a relatively quiet holiday season, Apple and Nokia were getting ready to go to battle, reigniting a war that had seemingly gone cold in 2011 with a reported $720 million settlement for the use of a number of patents. Earlier this week, Apple filed suit in California, alleging that Nokia removed certain patents from the deal for the purpose of… Read More
As per tradition, Google’s Santa Tracker is live today across Android, Google Maps and Google.com, helping parents and children alike track Santa’s journey from the North Pole as he begins to deliver Christmas presents all over the world. iOS users can also keep an eye on Santa using the Google Maps app on their iPhone or iPad, plus Santa’s journey can be streamed to your… Read More
Is 2016 over yet? Watch 12 Days of Doug on TechCrunch for a new giggle-inducing gadget review everyday this year. What is left of it, at least. From handy kitchen helper to doo-dads that help you get clean, Gadget reviewer Doug Aamoth has reviewed hundred of gadgets – including plenty of “real” ones like computers and phones – so he is clearly a trustworthy fellow who… Read More
It’s been a rocky few months for Cyanogen, the ambitious startup that aimed to build a better version of Android than Google. It has laid off staff, let go of its CEO and parted ways with another co-founder — now it is shutting down its services and nightly software builds on December 31. Read More
In a year that’s been largely lackluster for Apple and downright bizarre for battery technologies, Consumer Reports’ refusal to recommend the new MacBook Pro feels like a too perfect microcosm of the past twelve months. In the wake of online complaints surrounding the recently refreshed laptop line’s longevity, the review stalwart handed the 15-inch version of the laptop… Read More
We made it! 2016, the year that might go down in history books as “The one where the simulation glitched out a little” is… just about over. We see a lot of stuff at TechCrunch. Lots and lots of stuff. Gadgets. Apps. Stuff that has inexplicably been made “smart”. Stuff that solves huge problems — and stuff that solves problems literally no one on earth… Read More
Communication is always important, but during a disaster it becomes paramount. The internet is the backbone of contemporary communications, from email and Twitter to Instagram and WhatsApp. If we suffer an internet outage, we’re at a loss for how to communicate with the connected world. Read More
Automile, a fleet logistics and management startup, has closed a $7.5 million Series A round led by SaaStr with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Niklas Zennstrom, Dawn Capital and Point Nine Capital. Automile provides customers with a box to install under the vehicle’s dashboard to track mileage, trips and provide route tracking. Automile ships its tracking device to customers… Read More
Tesla has a habit of including Easter Eggs (aka hidden software features) in its software updates, and the latest update includes two doozies. The first is a holiday light show for Model X owners that takes full advantage of the electric SUV’s folding gullwing doors, along with its turn indicators, fog lights, headlights and more. Plus a rousing soundtrack to get you in the holiday… Read More
Uber took its self-driving vehicle fleet to Arizona after being kicked out of San Francisco, Tim Cook cleared up why he met with Trump, and executive level shakeups occurred at Twitter this week. These are the top tech stories all in one place. Read More
Super Mario Run may have its detractors, but it’s also managed to rack up nearly 10 million downloads per day in its App Store debut, officially topping 50 million downloads as of Friday. Those numbers, combined with its early revenue generating power, have Nintendo still keen on exploring more in mobile, with plans to release around two or three new mobile games per year beyond… Read More
Snapchat wants you to play with your face, not just take pictures of it. New Selfie Lens filter games are starting to appear to users, creating an addicting new Snapchat feature that also inspires competition between friends and could become a powerful ad revenue driver. Snapchat confirms this is the launch of a new, native games feature. Back in March, Snapchat tested a limited run of a… Read More
The developers of popular celeb-themed games including Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and Nicki Minaj: The Empire, Glu Mobile, acquired Plain Vanilla Corp., and its mobile social trivia game QuizUp this week, according to an SEC filing.
The deal was valued at $7.5 million, including forgiven debt, according to sources familiar with the deal.
This is undoubtedly a disappointing fate for the… Read More
Salesforce has always liked to think of itself as an industry irritant, the company that was bucking the status quo and making the established players feel uncomfortable. But this year as the cloud mainstreamed and Salesforce took off on a $10 billion run rate, you couldn’t help but feel that after 17 years in business, that Salesforce’s time had finally come. The company went on… Read More
The off-duty police officer who killed the Russian ambassador in Turkey was shot by Turkish special forces minutes after the crime. He had an iPhone 4S on him, and now, according to MacReports and Habertürk, Turkish authorities asked for Russia’s help to unlock the iPhone. Given that it’s an iPhone 4S and it has a 4-digit passcode, it should be quite easy to unlock the device.… Read More
After back-to-back Pokemon GO Halloween and Thanksgiving events, everyone was preeeetty sure Niantic would do something to bring players in through the Winter Holidays — but noone really knew what. Here’s what they’re doing: Read More
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday our daily guided tour of the biggest tech stories from the past 24 hours will appear here on TechCrunch.com. To get The Daily Crunch in your inbox every day of the week, sign up here and be sure to take a look at the rest of our newsletters while you’re at it. Uber rage quits California, Pokémon Go hits the Apple Watch hype wall and Super Mario… Read More
Amazon’s push into the private-label business continued this month, with the launch of its latest brand, Wickedly Prime. Unlike Amazon’s more recent entries in the private label space, such as Happy Belly, Mama Bear and Presto!, Wickedly Prime is the first brand since the debut of Amazon Elements two years ago to make its affiliation with Amazon known. This represents a… Read More
Researchers at Binghamton University in New York have created a “bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper.” The project is aimed at creating batteries for disposable microelectronics that can run for weeks using a little bacteria-rich liquid. “The manufacturing technique reduces fabrication time and cost, and the design could revolutionize the use of bio-batteries as… Read More
