Google Fiber may be the holy grail of Internet service for many, but many people still rely on landlines for everyday communication purposes or emergency use. In order to allow its subscribers to sever connections with the old local ISPs and telecoms completely, Google will soon offer home phone service for Fiber subscribers. Read More
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Tim Attia, co-founder and CEO of Slice Labs, said there’s “a ticking time bomb” threatening the on-demand economy — namely, insurance and liability. Attia’s tackling that problem with Slice, which will offer insurance for on-demand workers and providers, starting with rideshare drivers and then homeshare hosts. The startup is announcing today that it has raised… Read More
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Hopper, the makers of a handy travel application that tells you the best time to fly in order to find the best deals, has now raised additional capital to continue to grow its business. It has also scored a partnership with American Airlines which allows it to sell AA’s tickets through its app. In terms of the new investment, the company announced $16 million in a growth funding… Read More
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Screen sizes on smartphones are getting bigger and bigger, but battery tech is lagging behind. As a heavy user of your smartphone, you’ll know that dreaded feeling of your battery marching towards extinction. The most common solution to the problem is to carry a charger or a USB battery pack, but both have downsides — AnkerBox is here to try make life a little bit easier when… Read More
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It didn’t quite add up when Fortune broke the news last week that Snapchat would spend a $100 million to acquire Bitstrips, the maker of personalized avatar stickers called Bitmoji. Snapchat didn’t have anywhere to put them. But today, Snapchat launched “Chat 2.0”, a huge product update that includes the ability to send over 200 stickers to friends. Now it’s… Read More
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Dating app Tinder is acquiring Humin the San Francisco startup which took a high-wire approach to contact management, trying to merge lots of disparate information into one contact app. Terms were undisclosed by TechCrunch understands from multiple sources that this roughly equates to an acqui-hire scenario.
Tinder says it is acquiring Humin’s technology and IP, while the founders and… Read More
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Say what you want, how you want. That’s how Snapchat’s reps say CEO Evan Spiegel describes Chat 2.0, a massive set of new features launching today. It lets private conversations morph between mediums depending on what users want to show or tell, and whether they can speak up or must stay silent. As WhatsApp focuses on simplicity and Facebook Messenger chases commerce, Snapchat… Read More
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Nintendo’s first smartphone application, “Miitomo,” now has a U.S. launch date: March 31st. In addition, the company says it will also be available in several other countries at the same time. While the company didn’t detail which countries will also receive the app, it will likely include several European markets, and others available on the list posted here to the… Read More
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Today, a $2.3 million private-public partnership called the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI) is releasing its first major report, in collaboration with Village Capital, a seed-stage accelerator that operates development programs for early-stage entrepreneurs around the world.
Led by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), the goal of GALI is to determine how… Read More
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The cost of entry to the startup world has decreased dramatically in the last decade. We’re now at the point where the tools that were once only available to enterprise users have made their way into the hands of everyday users. Access to bleeding-edge innovation is no longer limited to an elite few. This transformation has been called the consumerization, or democratization, of tech. Read More
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