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Tuesday, January 21, 2014
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Regular readers will know that we love the functionality that comes with smartphone cameras, including inherent portability, powerful processors, and imaginative post-processing app solutions. However, what we supremely dislike -- with a vengeance -- are the little software-driven lenses that phone makers see fit to slap on the devices. Those horrible cheap lenses can in no way replicate the optical je ne sais quoi, overall depth and longevity of larger precision ground-glass optics.


5:17 PM

Regular readers will know that we love the functionality that comes with smartphone cameras, including inherent portability, powerful proc...

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HiddenRadio was one of the first crowdfunding successes. The original model nearly hit $1 million on Kickstarter in 2012 and spawned legions of fans. The creators, John Van Den Nieuwenhuizen and Vitor Santa Maria, built a small Bluetooth speaker that offered excellent frequency response and acceptable bass with a very cool design aesthetic. Now they’re back for more.


HiddenRadio 2 is the pair’s latest creation and it’s already well on its way to funding. The new model offers surprisingly rich sound out of a case that is about as big as soup can. However, unlike a soup can the HiddenRadio looks great and will remind some of the new Mac Pro with its staid styling, touch-sensitive top, and simple setup.


I got a chance to sit down with Van Den Nieuwenhuizen last week and heard the new HiddenRadio in a nearly empty bar. He compared it with a few popular speaker systems including the Jambox and I was duly impressed. While we couldn’t set it too loud, you could definitely hear a nice presence in the HiddenRadio 2 and excellent bass.


The pair have also added some new features to the device including a far better port placement as well as a way to connect two $119 HiddenRadios together to create a stereo pair. None of their competitors have these features. That is has a noise-cancelling microphone and can act as a speakerphone are just gravy.


The design is very impressive. The outer shell is chromed and there is a touch-sensitve top that allows you to spin a finger to control the volume or tap to turn the music on and off. A single tap will also raise the lid off of the speaker grill for listening.


It’s fascinating to watch mass CE products like this make it in Kickstarter. Whereas the really geeky stuff tends to take off – Pebble watches and Udoo boards are surprisingly popular – the interest peters out once you enter into speaker territory. However, with high-design and low cost items like HiddenRadio you can definitely see a move in a more general direction. I’d love it, for example, if Sony or Samsung put a product up for crowdfunding. It would show a definite interest in the audience and could be a very successful move.


A guy, as they say, can dream.








3:09 PM

HiddenRadio was one of the first crowdfunding successes. The original model nearly hit $1 million on Kickstarter in 2012 and spawned legion...

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This week on TechCrunch TV’s Ask A VC show, Comcast Ventures’ Dave Zilberman is joining us in the studio to talk about enterprise IT investing and more. As you may remember, you can submit questions for our guests either in the comments or here and we’ll ask them during the show.


Zilberman, who joined Comcast Ventures in 2006, focuses on enterprise IT and digital media investments and has backed DocuSign, CTI Towers, Divide, and Vox Media. Prior to joining Comcast Ventures, he was a business development manager at Flarion Technologies, which was acquired by Qualcomm.


Zilberman is going to share his enterprise predictions for 2014. And we’re curious what his thoughts are on the future of digital content.


Please send us your questions for Zilberman here or put them in the comments below!







3:09 PM

This week on TechCrunch TV’s Ask A VC show, Comcast Ventures’ Dave Zilberman is joining us in the studio to talk about enterprise IT invest...

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Today is the day for company shutdowns, it seems. Joining Outbox and Canvas/DrawQuest as the latest to dive into the Deadpool is CarWoo.


The company closed its doors with the end of yesterday’s business day, with a “small group” of employees heading on to competitor TrueCar. The team posted the following announcement on their site this morning:



CarWoo! was founded with a mission to deliver the best car buying experience possible. While CarWoo! is shutting its doors, our commitment to that mission remains as strong as ever.

To that end, a small group of us will be joining TrueCar, the negotiation-free car buying platform. CarWoo! helped hundreds of thousands of car buyers get a better experience. In the spirit of transparency, we believe TrueCar came up with a better way and has emerged as the dominant force in helping to reshape automotive retail. I see an incredible opportunity in this moment in time to take our successes and, equally important, our entrepreneurial learnings and apply it to what we believe will be the brand that forever changes how people buy cars.


I am personally proud to join the stellar group of innovators at TrueCar. Thank you to everyone that gave their heart and soul to CarWoo!. Our passion for building the best possible buying experience lives on.


Tommy McClung

President and CEO, CarWoo!



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1:39 PM

Today is the day for company shutdowns, it seems. Joining Outbox and Canvas/DrawQuest as the latest to dive into the Deadpool is CarWoo. T...

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As smartwatches become a category of device most major hardware makers are turning their attention to, there’s a question of how much smartphone utility we’ll be able to translate to the wrist. One big convenience hurdle is making it possible to reply to texts and emails quickly from the wrist, and that’s where Minuum‘s go-anywhere software keyboard comes in.


The Minuum keyboard, from Toronto-based startup Whirlscape, is an alternative input method originally prototyped on smartphones that makes it easier to type naturally without using up much of the screen. It launched previously in beta on Android, and has done well on smartphones according to user reviews.


Whirlscape had always designed their keyboard to be usable on any number of connected devices, including wearables, the founders told me in the past. Today, they’ve got proof: As you can see in the video above, Minuum running on a Galaxy Gear smartwatch manages text input much more conveniently than you might imagine possible from a screen so small. It was filmed in a single take, too, according to the Minuum team, without any fancy camera tricks.







1:39 PM

As smartwatches become a category of device most major hardware makers are turning their attention to, there’s a question of how much smartp...

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LG Electronics has revealed initial plans for the rollout of its curved screen LG G Flex handset in the U.S. and Europe. Until now, the LG G Flex has been available only to consumers in Asia -- namely in LG's home market of Korea, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore. Sprint will sell the device in the U.S. beginning Jan. 31 through its online store and Feb. 7 at retail locations. AT&T will make the LG G Flex available for preorder online and at retail stores starting Jan. 24, but it did not say when consumers actually will get their hands on it.


1:39 PM

LG Electronics has revealed initial plans for the rollout of its curved screen LG G Flex handset in the U.S. and Europe. Until now, the LG...

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