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So What’s Windows Phone 8 a.k.a Apollo All About?

Administrator — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:25:44 +0000

With info about the Windows Phone 8 platform being leaked yesterday , there have been numerous speculation by users and critics alike. It seems like Microsoft wants to bring together the desktop operating system ( Windows 8 ) with the tablet and smartphone operating system. This is a great move which could go a long way in bringing forth deep integration with Windows PCs. Secondly, the ability for higher screen resolutions and the compatibility with dual core processors make it a worthy upgrade. The fact that Microsoft’s Metro UI will be seen across all Windows platforms is a welcome sign. Whoever has used a Windows Phone will know what we are talking about. Speaking of the mobile platform, Windows Phone 8 or more popularly known as Windows Phone Apollo will not break cover until the end of the year at least. And that’s just a rough approximation, meaning that the launch date could be further delayed. We believe that the new platform (as we know it) has the potential to make an impact in the mobile industry. But there’s still one major update left before Microsoft even considers rolling out Apollo, yes we’re talking about Tango . Tango is Microsoft’s way of hitting into the low end and mid range market segment with smartphones that do not require fancy specifications. The update is also said to bring the much awaited Skype support for Windows Phones. Ironically, Skype (recently acquired by Microsoft) is available across most mobile platforms except on Windows Phones. The future looks very bright for Microsoft and even though the current market share of Windows Phones is not as much as the company would have liked to have by now, we believe things could change in the future. Stories you may like: 1.6 Million Windows Phone 7 Handsets Sold During The First Quarter of 2011 Windows Phone 7 Could Soon be the Number Three Mobile Platform Windows Phone Mango To Bring Web Based Marketplace This article, So What’s Windows Phone 8 a.k.a Apollo All About? , was published at TechBuzz . Please don’t violate our copyright

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So What’s Windows Phone 8 a.k.a Apollo All About?

Pokki Gives Quick Access To Madden NFL Superstars, Just In Time For The Big Game

blogger — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:00:32 +0000

It’s the Super Bowl season, when a host of services and apps debut just in time for the biggest television event of the year. And, if you’re a fan of Madden’s NFL Superstars (a web app that’s available through Facebook), then you’ll like this launch: the game is now available as a Pokki right here . Pokki , for those that haven’t used it, is a platform that lets you install lightweight apps that live in your Windows Taskbar (a Mac version is on the way). Each app gets its own icon — click on it, and the app will pop open immediately, click away and it’ll hide itself, and when you click it again, it’ll pick up right where you left off. The point is to give you quick access to apps without having to deal with browser tabs or standalone windows, and it works well.There are other apps and services that do something similar (Mac users may want to check out Fluid ), but Pokki’s platform features apps that are specifically designed for its quick, pop-over design. Pokki has landed two major gaming companies so far: Kabam and, with this launch, EA, and it seems likely that more will follow suit (the platform is well-suited for quick sessions of gaming throughout the day). And there are other apps available as well, including Gmail and eBay. The company says that Pokki is still in beta and hasn’t yet focused on marketing, but that its early numbers are very promising — so far they’ve seen “hundreds of thousands” of app installs, with users who have used the apps “tens of millions of times”. The platform is also seeing strong traction with its built-in app market: 60% of users are browsing and installing two new apps per month. Pokki is one of two main products from SweetLabs — their other major product is OpenCandy , which lets developers include targeted ads within their application’s install flow.

Arianna Wants To Put A Nap Room In TechCrunch HQ. LOL.

Achilles — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:48:36 +0000

This funny little piece of email just got forwarded to me … From: “****, ***” Date: February 3, 2012 10:11:04 AM PST To: Greg Barto [@ TechCrunch] Subject: NapQuest Hey Greg It is one of our goals to get a “nap room” set-up in every location. Basically, it’s a closed room where we would put a chaise or couch, darken the windows and allow people to nap as the [sic] like. This is high on the priority list for Arianna and your office is one of the few where we don’t yet have it in place. When I visited your office on Wednesday, I looked around. It strikes me that the room (3rd office from the back corner) might be a good choice? There are currently a couple of desks in there we would need to remove. Then I would purchase the furniture and arrange to have the window glass tinted. What do you think? I just need your agreement to move ahead and I will coordinate making it happen. Let me know. Thanks, **** **** Sr. Facilities Manager, PA/SF Corporate Services, AOL Inc. 395 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, CA 94306 After making a bunch of “nap room” jokes and laughing uncontrollably like a hyperactive child around the office, I’ve finally figured out why this “high Arianna priority” (LOL) strikes me as so funny — other than the fact THAT IT IS ACTUALLY CALLED NapQuest. This is Silicon Valley, where we herald founders like Jack Dorsey for working 16 hour days (at not one, but two! companies). People at startups are never not working. Silicon Valley absolutely, positively doesn’t need a nap room because in theory we don’t sleep, let alone nap (and if we do need to nap — like in an emergency — we take that shiz home, far far away from hungry competitors!). Please Aol Mr. Sr. Facilities Manager, take that money and buy us a bunch of Diet Coke to drink late at night or that great beef jerky we used to have or a copyediting slave intern or passes to Burning Man or anything but a room specifically designed for being less productive. Oh sure, it could be worse. At least they’re not trying to install one of these things. Image: Roger Jegg – Fotodesign-Jegg.de

Microsoft Updates Kinect Hardware For Official Windows Release

blogger — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:10:12 +0000

We’ve known for some time that Microsoft would be bringing official Kinect support to Windows this week, but one thing they kept quiet was the fact that they’d be debuting a new version of the hardware as well. It’s not tiny, as some hoped, or built into the bezel of a laptop, as we know it will be eventually , but it does improve on the original in a few ways. The most visible improvement for most people will be a slight improvement of the minimum distance required for the device to operate. The Xbox 360 Kinect required you to be around 50cm away at least, and the Kinect for Windows will go down to 40cm — about 16 inches. That means it can sit on a monitor on a user’s desk and capture movements without the user having to scoot back at all. Other improvements are of the softer variety. Microsoft has improved the tracking software, providing an improved raw sensor stream, better color/depth synchronization, and more accurate skeletal tracking. On the downside, the new version costs quite a bit more: the new Kinect for Windows is going for $250 , while the 360 version is selling for just $100 at the Microsoft Store right now. The justification for the price seems to be that the new version has been updated to support multiple systems and situations, rather than the standard 360 hardware it’s been running on for the last year. And I’m guessing they’re not subsidizing this price quite as heavily. The official SDK won’t work with the 360 version, it seems, though you can still download the beta SDK, which works fine but officially can’t be used for commercial applications. Microsoft says they’ve been working with hundreds of companies and seeing lots of unique applications and ideas, so hopefully we’ll see some of those hit soon. In the mean time our Kinect tag has lots of projects that demonstrate the versatility of the device.

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Microsoft Updates Kinect Hardware For Official Windows Release

Secret Windows 8 Weapon: Kinect Built Into Your Laptop

blogger — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:39:12 +0000

The Windows release of Kinect is coming up in a couple days , but for most people that won’t be a major event: the Kinect they have is sitting on their TV or in a drawer, waiting to be taken out for an impromptu Dance Central 2 party. Of the 10 million Kinects out there, the only ones connected to computers are the ones being fiddled with by the various hackers and students making science projects out the things. But according to the Daily, Microsoft is hoping to remedy this particular situation by building Kinect sensors right into your laptops . TechCrunch alum Matt Hickey got to handle a pair of prototypes, which were confirmed to be official, not just one of the many experiments that hide within Microsoft’s various lairs. Unfortunately the laptops were not ready for their debut and no pictures seem to have been permitted. But they are described as netbook-like, with a number of smaller sensors instead of a webcam, and what could be an IR LED at the bottom of the screen. The inclusion of depth-sensing cameras on a laptop is an interesting idea, and if they can drive the price of the sensor array down, it might become a standard feature. Microsoft has clearly also been focusing on miniaturizing the Kinect hardware, as the bulky original would seem somewhat out of place on a petite netbook. Whether this smaller sensor set has the same capabilities as the larger isn’t clear and wasn’t discussed. A smaller Kinect would also suggest that Microsoft’s next console, rumored to have Kinect built in, is nearing readiness. While many gaming industry insiders have discounted the idea that the next generation of consoles will be announced this year, the rumor mill says otherwise.

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Secret Windows 8 Weapon: Kinect Built Into Your Laptop

Nokia Sold “Well Over” 1 Million Lumia Phones To Date, Posts €1 Billion Q4 Loss

admin2 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:54:57 +0000

Nokia earnings are out , and the contrast with Apple’s blow-out quarter results is astonishing. The Finnish phone maker, still the largest in the world by volume, reported a Q4 net loss of 1.07 billion euro, down from a 745 million euro profit in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company’s smartphone sales decline paints an even bleaker picture: Nokia sold 19.6 million units in Q4 2011, down a whopping 31 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago (even though it’s up 17 percent from Q3 2011 thanks to somewhat decent Lumia sales). Nokia says it sold “well over” 1 million Lumia devices to date ( not just in Q4 ) and that it plans to bring the Lumia series to additional markets – including China and Latin America – in the first half of 2012. The billion dollar question: is this good enough for Nokia’s future to start looking bright? Nokia needs it line of Windows Phone-powered smartphones to perform exceptionally well to turn the tide – right now they’re getting crushed by Apple and Android device makers in this particular, crucial game. As a Lumia 800 owner, I know Nokia can still make great devices , and that Windows Phone is in a good position to start competing . But that’s not enough to turn the Nokia ship around. The company will need to kick up sales and marketing efforts a notch or two, enter more markets more quickly, attract more developers (to get more high-quality apps) and continue to improve the quality and appeal of its smartphone products more rapidly. To have a fighting chance , that is. Reminder: Apple sold 37 million iPhones last quarter. Nokia chose not to provide targets for 2012, saying this will be a ‘transition year’, “during which our devices-and-services business will be subject to risks and uncertainties”. Well, quite. Also read: The Not-So-Crazy Rumors About Microsoft Taking Over Nokia’s Smartphone Division Resurface Nokia Exec: iPhone, Android Handsets No Longer Appeal To Youth

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Nokia Sold “Well Over” 1 Million Lumia Phones To Date, Posts €1 Billion Q4 Loss

Android Reaches 39% Tablet OS Market Share (Standing On Amazon’s Shoulders)

Budowniczy425 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:32:27 +0000

Apple’s iPad reigns supreme from whatever angle you choose to look at the tablet market (profits, apps, quality, market share, mindshare, you name it), but research firm Strategy Analytics this morning said Android did manage to capture a record 39 percent tablet OS market share in the fourth quarter of 2011. Apple maintains the lead with 58 percent market share in Q4 2011 (down from 68 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010). Peter King, a research director at Strategy Analytics, says global tablet shipments (the research firm explains that these refer to refer to ‘sell-in’ and not over-the-counter sales) reached an all-time high of 26.8 million units in Q4 2011, surging 150 percent from 10.7 million in Q4 2010. He added: “Apple shipped a robust 15.4 million iPads worldwide and maintained its strong market leadership with 58 percent share during the fourth quarter of 2011. Apple shrugged off the much-hyped threat from entry-level Android models this quarter.” They did indeed, even if these aren’t really ‘threatening’ Apple at all . Android climbing to 39 percent share (up from 29 percent in Q4 2010) is, nevertheless, meaningful, but here’s the thing: Strategy Analytics includes Amazon’s Kindle Fire in the list of Android models it tracks the distribution of. The Kindle Fire runs a heavily customized version of Android , sure, but it’s a different beast from, say, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab or Motorola’s Xoom. I would love to know how much of that 39 percent market share can be attributed to the undeniably strong sales numbers of the Kindle Fire. Put differently, imagine if Amazon didn’t opt for Android or hadn’t yet released the Fire. Which Android tablet makers would be posing a serious threat to Apple then? I wouldn’t go as far as to say Android tablets ‘failed’ miserably in 2011, but it’s a far cry from success if you ask me. A lot of people expected Android to be on par with iOS by now. Worth noting: Strategy Analytics is not including Android-powered ebook readers in its latest report. I have no doubt Android tablets will actually end up commanding a larger tablet OS market share than Apple’s iOS over time, but that will be a logical result of its distribution model and not “Android winning” (basically, Apple chooses not to focus on market share but on profit margins ). That Android model also comes with a real, unquestionable fragmentation problem . Apple shouldn’t worry about the surge of Android in terms of tablet market share, desktop PC makers and the likes of RIM, Nokia and Microsoft should. Especially with an iPad 3 coming in 2012. Something that crossed my mind: Microsoft captured a mere 1.5 percent global tablet OS market share in Q4 2011, which is very ironic if you think about how early this company started thinking about tablet computers and their potential in the enterprise and getting such devices into consumers’ hands. Says Strategy Analytics: “The upcoming release of Windows 8 this year cannot come quickly enough for Microsoft, so its hardware partners can start competing more effectively in the tablet space”. No shit.

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Android Reaches 39% Tablet OS Market Share (Standing On Amazon’s Shoulders)

$99 Nokia Lumia 900 To Hit AT&T On March 18?

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:27:39 +0000

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was all to eager to show off the Lumia 900 at this year’s CES, but he unforunately kept to himself when it came to its price or release date. Now, thanks to a timely leak, it looks as though Nokia’s flagship Windows Phone could hit AT&T’s shelves on March 18. That’s apparently the plan, anyway. The date, given to BGR by their anonymous sources, seemingly confirms earlier rumors about the device’s launch window, though they’re quick to note that the date isn’t set in stone since the 900 hasn’t yet completed the technical acceptance process. While the release date may not come a big surprise to some of you, the Lumia 900′s price tag probably will. The device will reportedly cost a mere $99 with a two-year contract, putting Nokia’s LTE-capable flagship handset right alongside bestselling AT&T handsets like the 8GB iPhone 4. Still, its solid spec sheet — LTE radio, 4.3-inch display 1.4GHz processor, 8-megapixel camera — could provide enough impetus for buyers on the fence to take a leap on Windows Phone. Between the dirt-cheap Lumia 710 (which can be found for free, if you’re diligent enough) and now the more-than-reasonably priced Lumia 900, Nokia is clearly aiming to sweep new and potential smartphone users off of their feet. If the leak is indeed true, it almost looks like Nokia is mirroring their aggressive European plan to push those units into people’s hands first and worry about profits later. Could this be the right phone at the right time with the right price tag for Windows Phone to make its long-awaited splash in a crowded market? It may well be — Windows Phone is generally a joy to use, and it’s about time that people started taking a chance on it. Nokia and AT&T’s forthcoming promotional plans will do their part in making sure people hear about the Lumia 900, so here’s hoping that its time will come soon.

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$99 Nokia Lumia 900 To Hit AT&T On March 18?

Now You Can Control Your Galaxy Nexus By Groping A Wall

A D M I N — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:38:48 +0000

The Galaxy Nexus’s 4.65-inch display may make it a handful for some, but a nifty new project from a developer known as DDRBoxman allows users to interact with their Galaxy Nexus on an even grander scale. With the help of a projector, a Kinect camera, and a specially tweaked Ice Cream Sandwich ROM, he was able to interact with his Nexus by touching a wall. Originally cobbled together for use with meetings and presentations in mind, DDRBoxman’s feat involved quite a bit of setup. A bit of software called Simple Kinect Touch allows a computer running either Windows or Linux to pull in and interpret data from a connected Kinect camera pointed at the Galaxy Nexus projection. It then takes that gesture data and turns them into TUIO data that the Galaxy Nexus can interpret as touch inputs thanks to its custom ROM. That’s really the stumbling block right there — an enthusiast could probably get the projector and Simple Kinect Touch set up on a rainy afternoon, but DDRBoxman had to bake system support for the TUIOforAndroid app into the ROM. Maybe if we all ask nicely, he’ll share the fruits of his labor so we can partake in the wall-touching fun. The end result isn’t the most fluid user experience you’ll ever see, but it’s impressive nonetheless for a proof of concept. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled on the project for a while, because I have a feeling it’ll only be get better with time.

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Now You Can Control Your Galaxy Nexus By Groping A Wall

Accel And SV Angel Back Endorse With $4.25 Million To Close The Loop Between Shoppers And Brands

Achilles — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:34:34 +0000

Brands and businesses can track their reputations online and connect with consumers through social media. But what about in the real world? One of the biggest prizes in Startupland will go to whoever can figure out how to connect real-world shopping to brands and businesses. Steve Carpenter is going after that prize with his latest startup, Endorse . A lot of effort is going into trying to close the redemption loop from online offer to physical purchase in real-world stores. The daily deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial are nibbling at this, as is Google Offers, Yelp and others. Most of those efforts focus on local commerce rather than big brand products you buy at national retailers, and that’s the nut Carpenter wants to crack. “If I look around, certainly Groupon created a new kind of incentive for local merchants, but nobody has modernized the coupon for the modern brand.” Carpenter has been incubating the company for a year as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Accel. (He sold his last company, Cake Financial, to Etrade in 2010 ). Endorse just raised $4.25 million in a Series A led by Accel, with SV Angel also investing (it fits into SV’s Online2Offline investment theme). His co-founders and team include early employees from YouTube and Paypal—co-founder and CTO Erik Klein, Mayrose Dunton (YouTube’s original head of product), and Franck Chastagnol (former lead engineer for YouTube ads). “The coupon turns 125 years old this year,” notes Carpenter. “It was designed by the first Coca Cola CEO—it was a free trial. The mechanism of the coupon hasn’t changed.” Endorse is trying to reinvent the coupon by rewarding shoppers (mostly networked Moms) for not only endorsing brands, but proving that they went out and bought the products. Carpenter tested out his concept in classic Lean Startup fashion. During a 3-month private beta trial, shoppers went to Endorse.com to pick the brands and products they liked, and then actually sent in their receipts for 10 percent cash back. Endorse sent them a Netflix-like mailer, and they stuffed it with receipts. Endorse set up a scanning process to scan the receipts and record their purchases. In addition to the cash back, brands could reward loyal customers with discounts for themselves and their friends. The results of this market test were fairly impressive. Endorse seeded the service with five women across the country. With no marketing, it spread to 15 thousand beta customers in three months (86 percent of them women in places like Indianapolis, North Carolina, and Sacramento). Just like Pinterest, Endorse kept this stealth by focussing on middle America. Those 15,000 customers turned in 150,000 receipts and made 1.5 million brand endorsements. By the time Carpenter ended the trial, the service was growing by 10,000 receipts a week. These numbers are small, but that’s the point. He and his team learned enough about their customers to start designing the real product, which will launch later this year. The real product will still include the Netflix for receipts, but there will also be a mobile app which will allow consumers to snap a photo of their receipts instead of mailing them in. Endorse tested this as well using just camera phones and email, and it was seeing a new proof of purchase pop in every 90 seconds over a period of 3 days. Endorse is trying to solve two problems: recognizing shoppers for product loyalty and giving brands product-level data currently unavailable to them. In addition to cash back, brands can use Endorse to craft other types of incentives, such as paying extra to get you to try a product. Or, if you are Oral B, you know that someone who buys a set of replacement heads for a spinning electric toothbrush is 90 percent likely to remain a lifelong customer. It might be worth it to reward that person $25 or even $50 for making that critical purchase. Or a loyal customer might get a nudge to influence her friends by letting her gift them a 30 percent discount. Endorse can also lead to buying circles. Each endorsement can be shared via the equivalent of an affiliate link for the real world, which then associates the new Endorse members to the person who referred them. For brands, it is all about the data. Most real-world retailers are stingy with the data they share with brands about who is buying their products. Web startups like Endorse see an opportunity in bypassing the retailers and simply connecting brands and consumers directly. But that is easier said than done. You might remember that previously social shopping startups such as the defunct Blippy tried to get consumers to broadcast their credit card purchases on Twitter or Facebook with the intention to later pan in that stream for data nuggets. The challenge was that nobody really wanted to broadcast how much money they were spending, and even if they did, the data wasn’t at the product level, it was at the basket level. Endorse collects the actual receipts, with each product listed line-item by line-item. It’s a printout of the retailer’s cash register information, which Endorse then scans and redigitizes to put back into its own database. It is an inefficient process, but barring big retailers like Walmart and Target opening up their data warehouses to brands and startups (ain’t gonna happen), the physical receipt in the customer’s hands is the only way to reassemble that data. It’s somewhat of a hack, but if Endorse makes it easy enough it could have a business. All it is doing, if you think about it, is liberating data. There is a lot of money to made from doing that these days.

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Accel And SV Angel Back Endorse With $4.25 Million To Close The Loop Between Shoppers And Brands