Sarah currently works as a writer for TechCrunch, after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to becoming a professional blogger, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
Facebook is not the only company to invest in development of products that take better advantage of the Android homescreen. South Korean messaging app KakaoTalk also recently announced its intentions to release a rival Android launcher. And now, Highland Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and others have invested $1.8 million into Aviate, an ex-Googler backed intelligent homescreen for Android… → Read More
Serial entrepreneur with too many ideas rattling around in your head? Then you’re going to like this one: a new mobile app called Elevatr will help you keep track of your inspirations, as well as develop a business model, in order to turn your passing thoughts into plans actually worth pursuing some day.
The beautifully designed app was dreamt up by New York-based David Spiro, a recent college… → Read More
Tweetwall, a Twitter display provider for events (you know, for “tweet walls”), which has been used by customers including CNN, PayPal, Yahoo, Intel, eBay, Microsoft, the Obama campaign, Sprint, and more, is today launching a revamped version of its service. The updated version of Tweetwall has been rebuilt from the ground up, and is also accompanied by a new iPad application offering… → Read More
Today is just jam-packed full of acquisition-shutdowns. Just hours ago, word broke that Yahoo! had acquired both MileWise and GoPollGo, with plans to discontinue both. Next up on the happy-now-sad-users-later train: Clipboard, the web clipping service we covered previously here.
According to an email to its users, Clipboard has been acquired by Salesforce and will be shutdown in a bit over a… → Read More
Google announced today an expansion of its online storage efforts with the release of a “Save to Drive” button that can be added to any website, allowing visitors to click and save files hosted on the site to their personal Google Drive accounts. The button is already being used by Bigstock, Delta Dental, Fotolia, O’Reilly, Outbox and Zen Payroll, Google notes. → Read More
Though Foursquare is now busy trying to take on Yelp, one of its more rewarding, but personal, use cases (now that the fervor around badges and mayorships has died down), is its ability to add insight and data around your check-ins. Often after registering your location, the app rewards you with a little encouragement or commentary via a pop-up message. Today, the service is making these little… → Read More
Dish.fm, the recently relaunched restaurant recommendation app which focuses on the best menu items, as opposed to overall venue reviews, is today rolling out an update which expands the service into more of a dish search engine than local utility. The company had previously allowed you to see the best dishes nearby and compare dishes inside a restaurant, but now the app also helps you find the… → Read More
Since the launch of personalized magazines this March, social magazine maker Flipboard has added 6 million new users to its platform, bringing its total number of users to 56 million – and that’s before the feature even arrived on Android, which now comprises roughly half of Flipboard’s user base. Today, that changes as the personalized magazine option arrives on Android phones… → Read More
Ovuline, the big data-driven fertility tracker backed by $1.4 million in funding from Lightbank, Launch Capital and others, is today launching an upgraded version of its Smart Fertility product which now more accurately predicts ovulation, offering real-time feedback plus integration with “quantified self” devices like the FitBit and Withings. Company co-founder and CEO Paris Wallace… → Read More
Quidsi, the Amazon-owned parent company to a collection of single-word, e-commerce domains, including Diapers.com, Soap.com, Wag.com, Yoyo.com, and more, is today launching a new membership program called Familyhood Plus. The program offers consumers free two-day shipping with no minimum purchases and other exclusive deals.
Prior to today, Quidsi sites would only promise free two-day shipping… → Read More
The latest to join the cadre of startups offering tools for more private sharing outside of Facebook’s massive footprint is not, in fact, another startup, but rather another media giant: Disney. Citing its “rich heritage in storytelling,” Disney’s Interactive division, best known for games, sites, and virtual worlds like “Where’s My Water?,” “Temple… → Read More
Elena Fesenko grew up in the fashion industry. Her mother worked as a buyer for Bloomingdale’s, and she herself spent time both as a fashion design student and model. Now Fesenko has translated her experience and passion for fashion into MIKA, a new startup which showcases complete outfits featuring a mix of high-end and contemporary apparel and accessories. Shoppers can buy these looks in… → Read More
Crosswa.lk, a mobile application discovery which just over a year ago arrived on the iPhone as an improved version of Apple’s “Genius,” has been quietly building a new product over the past several months, as tides have turned against apps which serve to recommend or promote other apps. The new Crosswa.lk, instead of being a consumer-facing service, now offers tools to push apps… → Read More
Pi.pe, the file transfer and synchronization service which emerged from San Francisco-based Pixelpipe, has previously served as one of the only serious utilities to move photos and other media files between all the various cloud services. Since its launch a little over a year ago, Pi.pe’s focus has been primarily on backup and sharing. But it was missing an option for ordering prints… → Read More
Angry Birds maker Rovio today finally introduced a way for users to save their gameplay and progress in the cloud, and then resume play on any device. Called simply “Rovio Accounts,” it’s a feature which has been in such huge demand that fan communities like the officially sanctioned Angry Birds Nest had previously drummed up complicated, multi-step workarounds to solve the… → Read More
It’s fair to say that the “ambient location” craze has passed. Several of the mobile apps intent on connecting people with friends and other recommended users nearby are still struggling to find mainstream adoption. Some, like Glancee and Glassmap have sold. Others, like Kismet, have moved into new product categories. And today, the business-focused networking app Intro, is… → Read More
“im ddeleting the internet [sic]“: A telling re-blog from a teenaged girl on the blogging platform turned social networking site Tumblr, in a chain of re-postings that had her pondering Tumblr’s impact on her life twenty years from now, when her passing, immature thoughts become fodder for a discussion among her boss and colleagues at some imagined future workplace. → Read More
Panna, a video cooking magazine iOS application which connects users to celebrity chefs, has raised $1.35 million in a round of funding led by Anthem Ventures. Others participating include Lerer Ventures, Crosslink Ventures, Maveron, Shari Redstone’s Advancit Capital, RSL Venture Partners, Launchpad LA, David Tisch’s BoxGroup, and angels Rick J. Caruso, Ken Siskind, Jay Livingston… → Read More
Poppin, an online office products and furniture shop whose goal is to make design more affordable (and Pinterest-worthy), is announcing today having raised $11.1 million in Series B funding. The round was led by TrilogyGrowth, a Canadian growth stage investment fund run by former Indigo Books & Music President Music president Joel Silver. Existing investors Shasta Ventures, First Round… → Read More
Dave Gilboa, co-founder at Warby Parker, one of the e-commerce startups that has “made it” so to speak, shared some stories from the startup’s early days on an afternoon panel at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013, where he was joined by Everlane’s Michael Preysman, Nasty Gal’s Deborah Benton, Wanelo’s Deena Varshavkaya and moderated by TechCrunch co-editor Alexia Tsotsis. Even… → Read More
Because waiting for the check stinks. Tabbedout, a startup backed by $5.75 million from NEA and others, has been developing a platform that allows bar and restaurant customers to pay for their tab using their smartphone. Today, the company is announcing a partnership with Point-of-Sale (POS) system maker Harbortouch which will allow it to sizably increase its footprint in the space. The two… → Read More
Anthony Noto, the global co-head of Goldman Sachs’ global telecommunications, media and technology group in investment banking, took the stage at this morning’s TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013 event to talk about the IPO market, trends, and other topics related to tech companies going public. In one interesting portion of the conversion, Noto offered his opinions on what startups should look… → Read More
Madrona-backed location analytics startup Placed is today launching Placed Insights, a ratings service for real world locations which has been in development over the past two years. The system is designed to bring a web analytic-like offering to offline locations, or as CEO David Shim puts it: “what Nielsen has done for TV, and comScore has done for offline, Placed has accomplished for… → Read More
It’s been too long since we’ve had a “gate.” Remember Antennagate? Those were good times. We even got Steve Jobs to acknowledge that one. But Pathgate, part 2, the sequel? Sorry, but no one cares. But wait! What’s that, you say? Path has 10 million users now, so these new allegations of address book spamming are a REALLY. BIG. DEAL. 10 million people care! No. No… → Read More
Building new infrastructure for digital payments may not sound sexy, but it’s an area that’s ripe for innovation. The legacy payments networks in existence today are bogged down with outdated technology, slowing progress. Des Moines-based Dwolla decided that the way to innovate in payments was to essentially blow up the outdated infrastructure entirely and start over by building out… → Read More
When should an entrepreneur raise money, who should they raise from….and, well, should they even raise? These were some of the questions discussed on a morning panel at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013, which included participation from Mike Abbott of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Aaref Hilaly of Sequoia Capital, AngelList’s Naval Ravikant, and Box Group’s David Tisch. → Read More
At today’s Hulu Upfront, the company offered an update on its online TV business, sharing that it had set records for revenue in Q1 2013, and had achieved a new milestone of having streamed over 1 billion videos in the quarter. Hulu’s paid, subscription-based business has grown as well, having doubled over the course of 2012. As of Q1 2013, Hulu Plus, as the premium subscription… → Read More
E-commerce is booming, but shopping for clothing online can still be a challenge. Unlike many consumer products, clothing is personal and often needs to be tried on for fit. Plus, there are numerous options available via the web, so sometimes it’s tough to even know where to begin with an online shopping expedition. Two companies from TechCrunch Disrupt NY’s Startup Alley are… → Read More
An online retailer platform called simply “42” is debuting today at TechCrunch Disrupt NY with new ideas about how to bring the intelligence of online e-commerce tools to brick-and-mortar merchants. The B2B platform provides businesses and brands a way to better connect and personalize their interactions with customers, as well as to gain broader insight into consumer buying patterns… → Read More
After launching out of TechStars Boston back in 2011, Cambridge-based real estate marketing platform Placester has raised $2.5 million in seed financing in a round led by new Boston seed fund, Romulus Capital, with participation from other angel investors. Founded in 2009 by a former real estate agent, Matt Barba, the service helps realtors launch their own websites. During TechStars, the… → Read More
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