Earlier this summer, we posed the question of whether or not native mobile applications would eventually be made obsolete by the mobile Web. Many agreed that the power of the mobile Web and cloud over native apps may be an inevitability, but according to a survey released today, four out of five app developers say their customers prefer a native…
Mobile Developers More Optimistic About Android Over iOS
We’ve discussed Appcelerator’s Titanium mobile development recently because it is an excellent way for startups to expand their service across multiple platforms. Over 4,000 apps have been published using the service, and Appcelerator leverages its large community of developers to research trends in the mobile industry. According to a report…
Children’s Fantasy Novel Engages Readers with Augmented Reality
Writer and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi is the author of several young adult fantasy novels, including the popular series The Spiderwick Chronicles. Earlier this week, his latest book, The Search for WondLa hit bookshelves in U.S., and within it featured an interactive augmented reality experience readers could unlock using their Web browsers. The…
Courtesy and Tact Can Go a Long Way for Startups
With the angst from the angels and venture capitalists debate still hanging in the air, and the thickening plot of “Angelgate,” it’s easy to forget that courteous, polite and gracious behavior can save your startup from easy pitfalls. In an industry that functions largely on connections, burning bridges is never a smart move, intentional or not…
NPR Looks to Engage New Audiences On Tumblr
Over the last several months we have mentioned how minimalist micro-blogging service Tumblr has attracted traditional media outlets. The New York-based startup has begun providing publisher-friendly features and even managed to snag former Newsweek editor Mark Coatney, who serves as a liaison for traditional media.
Today, National Public Radio…
Silicon Valley Angels Refute Arrington’s Claims of Collusion
Now and then a polarizing topic will make its way through the venture capital industry and several prominent investor/bloggers will chime in with their collective opinions in quick succession. Tuesday night TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington dropped a bomb on the industry, accusing Silicon Valley’s top angel investors of a collusion and price-fixing…
Indoor Augmented Reality Markers Featured at Intel Developer Forum
One of the most popular ways people interact with augmented reality (AR) is through location-based mobile applications. By holding a phone up in their field of view, users can visualize nearby points-of-interest based on information taken from the phone’s various sensors. Due to the limits of GPS, however, this type of experience is more…
7,000 Words on Failure: NewsTilt Co-Founder’s Essay on What Went Wrong
When startups fail and are forced to shut down, often times one of the co-founders will offer a short blog post about what happened and why the company wasn’t able to succeed. Not everyone does however, as reveling in your own failure isn’t the most fun thing to do. In the case of the failed individual journalism platform NewsTilt, co-founder…
Make Any Voice Recording Searchable and Sharable with VoiceBase
During his presentation at DEMO Fall last week in Santa Clara, California, Walter Bachtiger told the audience to “relax, take a deep breath” and “take your fingers off the keyboard.”
No, he wasn’t conducting mid-conference yoga session to relieve stress, nor was he trying to help the audience avoid carpal tunnel. Bachtiger was simply explaining…
How to Leverage Partnerships to Launch Your Startup Quickly and Efficiently
Startup conferences – like last week’s DEMO Conference in Santa Clara, California – are great opportunities for young companies to not only gain some exposure, but to network with other like-minded entrepreneurs. One company I spoke to at DEMO, Zappli, makes a social shopping app that leverages many existing services through partnerships and APIs…
BMW Dashboards Get More Google-y with Search Suggestions & Images
The automotive industry has always been at the forefront of technology, especially at the luxury level. With navigation systems, infrared cameras and other in-car sensors, our cars are becoming more like high-tech computers on wheels. Google partnered with BMW in 2007 to offer in-car local search and “send to car” functionality for users of the…
Pitching Your Startup to Potential Enterprise Clients
In the Internet startup space, some companies choose to develop enterprise solutions they hope will attract large corporate contracts. While some entrepreneurs have experience giving investors their 30 second pitch, corporate CIOs are a bit of a different beast when it comes to selling a product. During the first day of product pitches and launches…
PBS Rolls Out Extensive GetGlue Sticker Promotion for Fall Lineup
Earlier this summer, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) partnered with social check-in app GetGlue to offer rewards for a few of its shows. GetGlue has seen strong engagement numbers from its sticker promotions, and not long ago announced many extended promotions from networks like HBO and Showtime. PBS, having seen tremendous social media…
Impressive Augmented Reality R&D Demo Shows Off “Sensor Fusion” [VIDEO]
Layar has had a busy week. The augmented reality software makers recently announced the inclusion of Skyhook Wireless’ location SDK, a new local search feature called “Nearby” and a free embeddable AR viewer called “Layar Player” for iPhone apps. All the while, however, the company also showed off an experimental augmented reality technology called…
Now Any iPhone App Can Be an Augmented Reality Browser
Augmented reality (AR) is a fast-growing trend for mobile application developers, but few tools exist that make including the emerging technology in an app quick and easy. Many popular brands have published content on various mobile AR browsers, but it’s not too surprising that they might want to include the technology in their own apps. Layar, the…
Startup Tips from Jack Dorsey: Don’t Pull a Twitter
Twitter is often hailed as an exalted success story whose footsteps should be followed by young startups. While Twitter is certainly a successful break-out company that managed to shoehorn an innovative social communication into our already busy lives, there are plenty of things Twitter has done wrong that startups should do their best to avoid…
Parallels Desktop 6 Lets You Run Windows on Your iPad
Have you ever been using your iPad and thought, “man, I could really use Microsoft Word on this thing, right now!” No? Well, some users – particularly Mac fans whose business systems live in Windows environments – have been itching for this ability, and thanks to Parallels it is now possible. Today at DEMO in Santa Clara, California, the popular…
FOX Brings Mobile TV Service Bitbop to Android, iOS Next?
Earlier this summer we told you about Bitbop, a mobile TV subscription service that launched exclusively on BlackBerry devices. At that time, it seemed intriguing that BlackBerry phones would be the target market for mobile TV viewing, especially when other mobile platforms now offer Netflix and Hulu. The FOX-owned company may have taken a…
Does Speed Trump Quality for Startup Iteration?
This weekend, venture capitalist and avid blogger Fred Wilson pointed out an interesting blog post written by Stack Overflow co-founder Jeff Atwood. In the article, Atwood explains how his company takes advice from Charles de Mar – a character in the 1985 movie Better Off Dead – who rather bluntly tells a first time skier to “go that way, really…
Layar Adds Skyhook Location SDK, Brings “Nearby” Discovery to iPhone
Layar, which develops mobile augmented reality browser software, has had a busy weekend with a pair of announcements for the front- and back-ends of its service. Layar allows users to see various types of geo-tagged points-of-interest (POI) – including tweets, Wikipedia articles and business listings – in a virtual perspective by holding their…