The Good NET Guide

Posts Tagged ‘mobile-gadgets’

Amazon.com this morning announced that it is expanding its self-service Kindle Digital Text Platform worldwide, giving more authors and publishers the chance to upload and sell books in English, German and French to customers around the world in the Kindle Store.

Until today, DTP was only available to authors and publishers based in the United States. Amazon says additional language options with DTP will be added in the coming months.

This is of course a logical expansion for Amazon to make, one that is bound to reinforce the notion that Kindle isn’t simply a ereader device + ebook store but a true global ecosystem of writers and publishers.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

People love Blippy. Well, they love to talk about Blippy. And complain about it. And argue that it’s the end of privacy as we know it. But some people do actually love Blippy, the service which lets you share you credit card transactions with the world. In fact, a number of investors do, as the service has just raised a $1.6 million round of funding.

The large angel round was led by Charles River Ventures. Also participating are Sequoia Capital, Evan Williams, Jason Calacanis, James Hong, Ariel Poler, and Ron Conway. A pretty impressive list.

Blippy co-founder Philip Kaplan is also putting his money where his mouth is and investing. The fact that Charles River Ventures is leading the round should surprise no one since Kaplan left his role there as an Entrepreneur In Residence to help launch Blippy. CRV’s Saar Gur is also taking a seat on Blippy’s board.

Alongside the funding news, Blippy has another big announcement: They’re opening up to everyone today. You’ll no longer need an invite; simply visit the site and sign up.

So why did Blippy feel the need to raise $1.6 million? “There was a lot of interest,” Kaplan says. “We trust this gets us through at least the next 12 to 18 months. Enough time to prove the model,” he continues.

And that model is key. While the site may be controversial right now, the possibilities are interesting. If Blippy is able to prove that people don’t mind sharing their purchase data, a number of potential business plans could spring up. Affiliate fees are an obvious one, but think about featured vendors, and maybe even Blippy credit cards eventually too.

For now, Blippy is happy with the way things are going. Already, the service has some 5,000 members from its closed-beta. Those users have shared over $4.5 million in purchase — and over 100,000 different purchases, Kaplan says. Just a few weeks ago they were only at $1 million in purchases.

The service recently added a bunch of new online stores and services such as Threadless, Netflix, and GroupOn. These services can not only show how much you spent, but also what you specifically bought. For example, on Threadless you can see individual shirts you’ve bought.

Going forward, Blippy has some bigger goals. One of those is working with credit card companies to show all individual purchases. Right now, this is hard to do because a lot of vendors don’t provide that information. But plenty are wiling to for an idea like this, where everyone can see what others are actually buying, Kaplan says.

Kaplan also notes that a number of startups are already using protected accounts on Blippy to share their expenses with others in the company.

And yes, Blippy is working on an iPhone app. And while there is no open API yet, they’re considering that too.

With the opening up to everyone, Blippy will allow you to find your friends on Facebook and Twitter that are also using the service. But for now, none of your Blippy data with flow back to either of those services. That will eventually come, but they’re working on keeping it simple for now, Kaplan says. You can probably imagine the uproar when this purchase data starts flowing into your Facebook stream.

Kaplan also shared a humorous unofficial competition going on throughout the site. Apparently, a number of users are trying to make the smallest purchase possible (above free). Right now, the winner was able to buy one Tootsie Roll with a credit card, for $0.03.

What about the biggest purchase? $15,789 on a industrial freezer. The average purchase price for things on Blippy is $42, apparently. With it now open to everyone, it will be interesting to see how that changes.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

The biggest U.S. music service on the Web in December was Vevo, a new entrant which is a joint venture between Google, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music. Dubbed the “Hulu of music videos,” Vevo attracted 35.4 million unique visitors in December, 2009, putting it above the 33.1 million visitors who went to MySpace Music, according to estimates put out today by comScore. Considering that Vevo only launched on December 8, that is a pretty good showing.

A closer look at the numbers shows, that nearly all of that audience came from YouTube, which hosts a Vevo channel. Of the 35.4 million visitors which comScore counts for Vevo, 32.6 million (or 92 percent) are attributed to YouTube. In one fell blow, YouTube has helped to push MySpace Music from the No. 1 spot.

Not only does this illustrate the distribution might of YouTube, but it also shows how professional content is still hard to beat, even on YouTube. The Vevo channel is already the most viewed channel on YouTube, with nearly 13 billion views across all Vevo and all of Vevo’s sub-sites, which include the individual artist channels for Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon, Timbaland, and many others.

Here are the top ten music services as measured by comScore in unique U.S. visitors for December, 2009. The only real startup is Jango (No.7), with 9.6 million, but the comScore numbers include some lyric sites it also owns. ToneFuse Music, No. 8, is almost entirely a collection of lyric sites. Rhapsody rounds out No. 10 with 6.5 million (Last.fm would be No. 11 with 6 million).

Top U.S. Music Services On The Web (in unique visitors, December, 2009)

1. Vevo: 35.4 million
2. MySpace Music: 33.1 million
3. AOL Music: 29.7 million
4. Warner Music: 23.4 million
5. MTV Networks Music: 20.4 million
6. Yahoo! Music: 16.4 million
7. Jango Music Network: 9.6 million
8. ToneFuse Music Network: 8.3 million
9. MSN Music: 6.6 million
10. Rhapsody: 6.5 million

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

A little over two months ago, The Business Insider reported that AOL’s Senior Vice President of Global Products and U.S. Operations, Eric Bosco, had left the building.

The information was correct, and now comScore informs us Bosco has joined them as Chief Product Officer. In this newly created position, he will be overseeing comScore’s global product development efforts.

Bosco was with AOL for a stunning 13.5 years, which is like an eternity in this business. At AOL, he held a variety of positions, most recently as SVP of Global Products and U.S. Operations at AOL Advertising. When Bosco made the switch from Oracle to AOL back in 1996, he played an instrumental role in its online efforts as co-creator of AOL Instant Messaging, writing most of the AIM backend software.

He ultimately become responsible for managing all of AOL’s community and communications products including AIM, Email, Chat, Blogs, Wireless and Telephony as VP, Community and Communications Engineering. From October 2005 to March 2008, he was the lead product manager of AOL’s Advertising.com unit.

Bosco directed a number of AOL acquisitions, including Quigo, Tacoda, Buy.at and Third Screen Media and drove development of a single targeting suite for AOL’s Platform-A products.

At comScore, he’ll be heading up global development of its array of syndicated products and services. I wouldn’t be surprised if that includes more acquisitions of smaller audience measurement firms down the line.

(Picture via Facebook)

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Today sees the public launch of GetApp.com, which aims to position itself as the leading vertical portal for software, SaaS and cloud-based business applications.

The premise of GetApp is fairly simple: offer (potential) professional IT services and software buyers a chance to browse and research business tools, give providers a low-cost way to be found in the directory, and guide both parties in getting the most out of the experience.

As a buyer, you can go to GetApp.com to find, compare and select from a wide range of business applications, organized into categories by IT and business need and by industry. The search functionality is pretty powerful and allows visitors to filter results down to a single vendor or enterprise-grade application.

To assist buyers from a neutral point of view, GetApp offers user-generated reviews and a free personalized assessment tool as well as a number of guides on the subject.

Application providers / ISVs can use GetApp.com to have their tools listed and potentially reach qualified buyers online, either for free or with more options at a premium. This freemium approach and the lead generation part of the equation is key to GetApp’s business model, although there’s some PPC advertising baked into the site as well.

At launch, GetApp.com features over 2,200 applications across more than 300 categories.

GetApp.com is part of Eurocloud, the Microsoft BizSpark Partner Network and the Sun Startup Essential community. Based in Barcelona, Spain, the venture was co-founded by Christophe Primault (former VP Global Marketing at NCR Corp, CEO at Fluiditi and Kinamik) and Manuel Jaffrin (former European Business Director at Sun Microsystems).

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Tolingo, the online translation platform, has secured a Series A round of investment. The investment comes from Neuhaus Partners in Hamburg which is using a local start-up fund run by a public programme in conjunction with the local KfW bank (hey, this is in Europe). The investment will be used to expand further internationally. Terms were undisclosed but sources say it is in the €1 million to €2 million range.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Should we be considering virtual goods when evaluating online holiday spending? We’ve seen that e-commerce spending over the holidays was strong, with consumers shelling out nearly $30 billion over a period of a few months. Now, virtual goods platform PlaySpan reports that digital goods have seen a similar, if smaller trend, with Americans spending $30 million on virtual gifts in November and December of 2009.

It’s no surprise that the digital goods world saw strong sales over the past year; the business was projected to make $1 billion in 2009. And as virtual goods are booming, various startups have emerged to capitalize on this growth by facilitating the exchange around these goods.

PlaySpan powers micro-payments across over 1,000 video games and virtual worlds and has virtual goods storefronts on Facebook, MySpace, within games and on its standalone site. PlaySpan’s research found that one in five of its digital goods buyers also gave virtual gifts. And about 15% of all virtual gift giving occurred during the November and December months. PlaySpan also found that nearly 1 in 12 Americans purchased a digital good in 2009, with the average price of a virtual gift estimated around $3 per transaction.

PlaySpan itself seems to be doing well in the space. The startup just struck a deal with Nickelodeon to power the media company’s virtual worlds’ currency, called NeoCash, across multiple payment providers including credit cards and prepaid cards. Last year, PlaySpan acquired micro-transaction app developer Spare Change, which powered micropayments across 700 social networking apps on Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo. And PlaySpan also announced a deal to power micropayments on hi5.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Google’s annual I/O conference is still over four months away, but the company is already ramping up for the event. Google has just posted 60% of the sessions that will be featured, and has opened sales for its early bird tickets. Tickets run $400 up until April 23, when they jump to $500. There’s also a $100 academic price that’s first come, first served. The event takes place May 19 – 20 in San Francisco.

The main topics of discussion? Enterprise, Chrome (including Chrome OS), and Android. Eric Tholome, Director of Product Management for Google Developer, says that Enterprise is a key focus because companies are quickly beginning to adopt the web stack and cloud computing. Chrome will be in the spotlight as Google talks about Chrome OS, developer tools, extensions, and HTML5. And Android will be a hot topic because Android growth is rapidly accelerating.

Tholome says that this year’s conference will retain the same highly technical focus as we’ve seen in past years. However, he says that there will be a new addition: the day before the conference begins, Google will offer a special ‘pre-event’ that features more basic, 101 courses. Tholome says that admission will be included with your I/O ticket, but says that Google doesn’t expect a very large turnout (he says most developers are interested in the more technical sessions).

Google I/O has been home to some major announcements for the company, including the debut of Google Wave. Last year also saw Google’s Oprah Moment, when it gave a phone to everyone in attendance.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

If you’ve looked at buying a television the past several years, chances are you’re well aware of the terms: Plasma, DLP, LCD, and more recently, OLED. Well, there’s a new acronym in town: LPD.

Developed by the Silicon Valley-based Prysm, LPD is being formally unveiled today as the latest type of screen technology. LPD stands for Laser Phosphor Display, which likely means nothing to you, but the company is promising that it’s a tech that will allow them to create massive, crisp digital displays that consume some 75% less power than the other display technologies. The company claims these displays are also much cheaper to build, and will last longer.

So can they deliver on such promises? It will likely be a while before we as consumers can see, because at first, Prysm is targeting commercial vendors with the tech. They hope that arenas/stadiums, concerts, and big department stores will take advantage of their displays initially. But after that, assuming all goes well, this tech would ideally be available to consumers looking for large screens that consume little power. And following the hoopla of Avatar and some of the tech at CES, these screens are 3D compatible, we’re told.

Of course, the key to that is also pricing, but again, they’re still a ways away from figuring that out for consumers. In fact, all they’ll say on their site is vaguely worded statements such as, “Finally, LPD technology breaks free of the performance limitations of conventional displays by offering high resolution, superb image quality, high brightness and the widest viewing angle at the lowest cost of ownership while consuming the least resources.” That sounds like the best of all worlds. But seeing is believing, and we haven’t seen yet.

Prysm is a company that has actually been flying under the radar for about four years now in Silicon Valley. The privately held company has over 100 employees.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Big news for DriverSide, the startup that looks to help you maintain your car for as long as you own it. The startup will now be prominently featured on the homepage for eBay’s very popular eBay Motors portal as part of a new partnership between the new companies. eBay says that eBay Motors is the top most visited automotive site on the web, with over 11 million unique monthly visitors.

DriverSide has put together a variety of widgets for the eBay Motors homepage, including a tool that can diagnose your car troubles, a widget that helps locate local mechanics, and a Q&A feature that lets you ask a professional mechanic questions about your car, free of charge. eBay Motors will be displaying one of these widgets at random every time the homepage is loaded, and is measuring how they perform to figure out what the final design will look like.

Anyone who interacts with a DriverSide widget will be directed to a cobranded eBay Motors/DriverSide portal that shares all of the functionality offered by DriverSide’s normal site. Features include the ability to look up repair estimates for any car, a database of parts and accessories for your specific make and model, and a community with reviews and advice. DriverSide has integrated all of eBay Motors’ available data, so you’ll be able to filter auctions for parts that work with your vehicle and are in your area.

DriverSide CEO Trevor Traina says that no money has changed hands in the partnership, but that DriverSide will be get a lead generation fee for all commerce initiated through the site. So what does eBay get out of the deal? Traina says that DriverSide’s repair, upkeep, and advice features can keep people engaged for the lifespan of their vehicles, rather than only when they’re looking to sell their car or buy a new one. In other words, it keeps people coming back to eBay Motors (and its cobranded DriverSide page) more often.

This is obviously a big win for DriverSide, which will likely gain many new users through the partnership. Aside from today’s eBay deal, Traina says that DriverSide is doing well and is now up to over 1 million registered users. DriverSide has raised a total of $8.3 million in funding.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.