Google’s standalone video-calling app Duo is no longer just for video calls. The company announced today it’s adding support for audio-only calls – a feature aimed at increasing the app’s adoption in emerging markets, where a strong, high-bandwidth network connection isn’t always available. The option is first rolling out to users in Brazil, with an expansion to… Read More
Casio makes beefy watches for not-always-beefy people. Their latest, the Edifice EQB-501 is an interesting amalgam of form, function, and high tech features and it has enough dials, buttons, and sensors to keep well-connected on your trek through the jungle, urban or otherwise. This monster watch is 44.4mm wide and water resistant up to 100 meters. It connects to your phone and the CASIO… Read More
Vitaly M. Golomb leads global investments at HP Tech Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Silicon Valley’s original startup and is the author of Accelerated Startup, a book about ramping up your business. Below is a fascinating excerpt from the book about Golomb’s favorite thing: pitching. If you’ve ever seen me speak at an event, you have probably noticed that I get… Read More
With traditional television no longer the powerhouse it once was, today’s kids grow up on a diet of Netflix and YouTube and other digital content. A new startup aiming to be the next big kids brand to tackle this space, Pocketwatch, announced today it has raised $6 million in Series A funding led by Machinima co-founder Allen DeBevoise’s Third Wave Digital, a firm that invests… Read More
The world platforms for developing websites and publishing online is a crowded one, with established players like WordPress, Wix, Zoho, Weebly, Duda Mobile and Squarespace competing against newer entrants like Medium and the likes of LinkedIn. Now make way for Universe, another startup that hopes its mobile-first approach for building “light” websites on mobile — the pitch… Read More
Google has spent the past year working with third party manufacturers and phone carriers to improve its update system for Android, which is often criticized for not being fast enough to protect users from known vulnerabilities. And while Google says it has made some progress in this area — Android issued security updates to 735 million devices from over 200 manufacturers in 2016… Read More
Google Maps has today announced a new feature to allow you to share your location with others. While that might seem creepy, it’s not the first to add this type of functionality. Facebook tells you when a friend is nearby – it even lets you “wave” at them and gives you the option to send a message if they holler back. Foursquare’s Swarm lets you check in wherever… Read More
Adobe is testing out a new product called Fleek, offering marketers a new way to recruit and manage video influencers for promotional campaigns. Laura Williams Argilla, Adobe’s director of services and workflow for professional video, described Fleek as an extension of the social publishing tools that the company launched (in beta) back in November. “Trying to solve some of the… Read More
Alibaba is planting another flagpost in Southeast Asia. Unlike its $1 billion acquisition of Lazada last year, the Chinese giant is making political moves after it announced a joint partnership with Malaysia’s government to facilitate international e-commerce in the country. Often overshadowed by India and China, Southeast Asia’s digital economy is tipped for major growth over… Read More
Coffee Meets Bagel, the dating site that focuses on high-quality, limited matches, has today announced the launch of a premium tier of the service.
Thus far, CMB is one of the few reigning dating apps that has generated revenue solely through in-app currency without a premium membership. But no more.
Coffee Meets Bagel works by sending men 21 profiles that may be a good match, each day at noon. Read More
Instagram’s advertiser base has doubled again.
The Facebook-owned photo and video app is announcing that it now has 1 million monthly active advertisers, compared to 500,000 in September and 200,000 just over a year ago.
Some of that growth can be attributed to the simple fact that a lot of people use Instagram — 400 million every day, as of January. But James Quarles, who… Read More
Two years after its last major refresh, Samsung is back with the Galaxy Tab S3. A lot has changed in tablet land in the past two years. Sales have slowed considerably, as consumers have stubbornly opted not to upgrade. Manufacturers, meanwhile, are cannibalizing sales from all sides. Samsung’s got a lot of heavy lifting to do when it comes to reigniting consumer excitement around the space. Read More
LinkedIn — the social network for professionals that’s now a part of Microsoft — has long been working on ways to get its 465 million users to stay on the site longer and use it for more than simply looking for jobs and quick networking exchanges — part of its bigger advertising and audience play — and today comes the latest development on that front. The company… Read More
Two-and-a-half months after Huawei announced that its Mate 9 will be getting Alexa, Amazon’s smart assistant is finally arriving for owners of the handset as an over-the-air update. The announcement seemed to fly in the face of Google’s attempts to bolster the profile of its own helper, Assistant, though when discussing its decision to go with Alexa on its US flagship ahead of… Read More
After acquiring Trello earlier this year, Atlassian is now getting to the point where it is bringing more of its services to Trello’s lightweight project management service. Given that Trello already has a framework for bringing third-party services into its tool, it’s no surprise that Atlassian is also going this route. The company today launched Trello “power-ups”… Read More
Fancy paint jobs for airplanes are nothing novel, but few airlines ever really commit to making their jets look unique like Japan’s ANA. The air carrier’s latest custom craft is one of its Star Wars series of planes, commemorating everyone’s favorite golden protocol droid with a C-3PO yellow fuselage wrap, and interior decorating to match. The C-3PO ANA Jet follows R2-D2… Read More
Boom Supersonic has raised a new $33 million Series A round, which it says is enough to build and fly its first supersonic jet, the XB-1 demonstration and testing craft, which will be a 1/3-scale prototype version of the supersonic airliner it will eventually build and sell to air fleet customers. The final Boom jet aims to be able to make the trip from NYC to London in just three hours and… Read More
Tencent may be more than a decade old but the Chinese internet giant continues to grow at pace after it posted its most significant jump in annual revenue for four years. The firm, best known for China’s dominant messaging app WeChat, announced total revenue of RMB 151.9 billion ($21.9 billion) for its fiscal 2016. That’s up 48 percent year, its biggest leap since 2012, when… Read More
500 Startups’ frontier and emerging markets travel series ― Geeks on a Plane ― kicks off its first Africa tour this week. The 12-day trip will make stops in Nigeria (Lagos), Ghana (Accra), and South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town). “We’ve done about 10 investments in sub-Saharan Africa,” said 500 Startups’ founding partner Dave McClure― such as Nigerian… Read More
