19 new stories on The Next Web today |  |
- PlayStation Phone gets the tear-down treatment, still doesn’t officially exist
- Google Acknowledges Nexus S Reboot Issues
- Kindle For Mac Now Available On The Mac App Store
- 7 Canadian Start-Ups to watch in 2011
- The Megan Fox Paradox: OKCupid breaks it down.
- Express your Facebook status through song with MoodMusic
- Notificant: Cloud-based notifications for every Mac in your house
- Kodak Playtouch review: 1080p touchscreen in your pocket? Yes please.
- Google’s goo.gl shortener gets a full-featured API. Bit.ly beware?
- Steve Jobs will join Rupert Murdoch to launch his iPad newspaper, “The Daily”
- HP’s Updated Mini 210 — First Impressions [Video]
- Microsoft has released an extension for the Vail Home Server beta
- Background downloads come to Kindle for iOS
- Skype signs on over 27 million users in one day
- More Dell Venue Pro delays hit the phone, pushing back its UK release
- Love Instagram but want a web interface? Try Followgram
- Facebook is now rolling out the new profile to everyone – the complaints begin
- Google’s Ice Cream Android update will arrive just in time for summer
- Amazing. Google Goggles can now solve Sudoku puzzles
- Are Groupon and Foursquare planning to enter China this year?
| PlayStation Phone gets the tear-down treatment, still doesn’t officially exist Posted: 11 Jan 2011 01:35 AM PST
A day or so ago we suggested Sony Ericsson could be doing itself a disservice by refusing to officially acknowledge the existence of the PlayStation Phone, especially with the constant stream of leaked videos and images that have been surfacing over the past few weeks. We have watched overview videos and seen photos of the device that have escaped the Blurrycam treatment. We have even seen the Xperia Play demonstrating its gaming skills, running emulated PlayStation One games by way of a third-party application. Today’s dissection shows the device in a new light, highlighting the complexities of what it takes to put a gaming handset like the PlayStation Phone together. You can quite clearly see the touchscreen controller, the handsets’ RAM components as well as the joypad components that provide the gaming elements of the device.
TGBUS has a gallery full of photos demonstrating the tear-down process which can be viewed here. So there you have it, you’ve quite possibly seen everything that the Xperia Play / Playstation Phone has to offer, maybe except the PlayStation Pocket app which will provide the games for the hotly anticipated device. Whether we will see the app demoed before the device is officially unveiled remains to be seen, soon all of the PlayStation Phone’s card will be laid on the table and there won’t be much left to unveil. That doesn’t mean we aren’t still excited to see this handset officially launch.PocketNow |
| Google Acknowledges Nexus S Reboot Issues Posted: 11 Jan 2011 12:13 AM PST
At first Google suggested it could be a bug caused by the device itself, prompting users to contact the manufacturers of the Nexus S; Samsung. After similar reports were filed on Google’s Mobile Help Forum, the company managed to replicate the error and is currently in contact with Samsung trying to assess whether it is indeed a software or a hardware issue. A Google engineer posted a response to the original issue, updating users of Google’s intentions:
We imagine that if the bug was related to Google’s Gingerbread operating system, the company would issue an over-the-air fix, addressing issues including the SMS sending bug in the process. Do you own a Nexus S? Have you found your device restarts at random intervals?PocketNow, Image Credit |
| Kindle For Mac Now Available On The Mac App Store Posted: 10 Jan 2011 11:47 PM PST
Granted the Mac application isn’t new, it’s been available via Amazon’s website for some time now, but what it does signify is the company’s intent on making sure it supports the new Mac marketplace as well as giving users a quick and easy way to not only download the app, but receive updates promptly in the future. The free application launched on January 7 and currently occupies sixth position in the top free apps on the Mac App Store. The app itself works as it would on your smartphone or tablet device, syncing your library, remembering where you finished reading, ultimately serving as a gateway to over 750,000 electronic books. With Mac OS X 10.6.6 now shipping on every new Mac computer, the Mac App Store will be present on all of them, giving companies like Amazon the chance to capture new users but also provide the very best service for those who already own a Kindle device. Amazon also released an update for it’s Kindle app for iOS devices which allows users to finish (though not start) a download in the background whilst they enjoy other content. The app will now support raw files, so you can send in text from Mail, Safari and even pull in books via iTunes file sharing. The Mac app doesn’t currently support Kindle features like the ability to read the book back to you but that may come as a future update. To download, either click here or head over to the Mac App Store on your Apple computer. |
| 7 Canadian Start-Ups to watch in 2011 Posted: 10 Jan 2011 09:11 PM PST Last month we reported that Canadians have embraced the net like no other country. So Canucks are great users, but are they great creators? We've rounded up a handful of tech companies that are all doing something interesting in Canada. Kik Interactive Inc
Interaxon
Interaxon's technology uses a sensor to detect your thoughts and is capable of bringing new meaning to the term "user-friendly". The Interaxon team, that includes neuroscientists, engineers, designers, and project managers will likely make some serious waves this year with applications like Zen Bound. Last week at CES, Interaxon was showing off a demo of its technology working with a new version of the iPad game Zen Bound. Players were challenged to wrap a rope around objects with their minds using the iPad without actually touching the device. Interaxon is the start of exciting new advancements in thought-control. Needium
2XM Interactive
As we continue to see companies add their Twitter account to TV commercials, we'll likely also see them embrace a new generation of customers with this type of interactive advertising. 2XM will "transform any glass surface into a multitouch interactive magic" and can develop the software within to work with smartphones and promotional material as we'd mentioned. Wajam
Aside from Facebook and Twitter, it also supports the ability to import bookmarks from your browser, as well as your Delicious bookmarks. If you were searching Google for "iPhone stuff" as an example, Wajam would take the imported links from the aforementioned services and would embed any related "iPhone stuff" right above the search results. This service is still working out the kinks and is still in private beta, however the service itself looks promising and will likely attract a large user base when it finally launches. The Wajam browser add-on works with Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer. Visibli
It works by attaching a bar (engagement bar) flush to the top of the page where the reader can then easily use it to navigate back to the original content. And, the engagement bar itself can be personalized to contain your brand or site's logo and colours. If you've used StumbleUpon, the design of the bar is very similar. It also does something interesting with links you share while using the Visibli bookmarklet. After dragging a link into the bookmarklet, your friends will see your branded engagement bar on the page of the link you shared. During its closed beta period, Visibli claims that bloggers reported an increase of 12 percent in retention rates after installing the Engagement bar. All in all, this might turn out to be a helpful tool for web publishers and I can see e-commerce sites jumping all over this service. Tynt
Tynt offers a wealth of information that publishers can use to learn more about their readers. Tynt's analytics tell content providers where the content is being pasted, what information is being distributed, and if any of the information is being used to carry out a search on a search engine. At the end of the day, information is power and Tynt has a lot of data about how people are using the web. As of July 2010, Tynt was seeing 10 million copies (copy + pastes) a day to its free service. Speed Search is another cool Tynt feature that allows users to search the web without leaving the publisher’s website. Using speed search, when a user highlights a word, a popup box appears and scours the web for the information, eliminating the action of using a search engine. Tynt additionally assists companies and developers with data feeds (data Tynt has collected from other sites) that are customized to a specific topic, behavioural information that could potentially bring huge value to publishers. We’re always looking for exciting new services and technology happening in Canada, if you know of a great Canadian start-up, please let us know in the comments.CBC, Image: Canadian Flag |
| The Megan Fox Paradox: OKCupid breaks it down. Posted: 10 Jan 2011 07:11 PM PST
Essentially, the more men disagree about a woman’s looks, the more they like her. A super hot woman will get the most messages, followed by the lowest rated or ugliest women. The “cute” girls, the 7s, the girls most men generally agree upon and the B pluses and minuses of the world, well, they get a bit screwed, or well, don’t actually.
According to OKCupid’s study, Megan Fox would receive the most “messaging income.” Shocker. “Guys who think you’re amazing (voting you a perfect ’5′) are the strongest contributors to your messaging income,” writes Rudder. But, he concludes that men who think a user is just cute actually subtract from their message count. He writes, “Guys giving you a ’4′, who are actually rating you above average-looking, are taking away from the messages you get.” A woman receives more messages from men as men become less consistent in their opinions of her. The end result, if you want more messages: If someone doesn’t think you’re hot, the next best thing for them to think is that you’re ugly.
Why? OK Cupid employs a little game theory:
What can women do to receive more messages? OKCupid offers some advice based on their study. Take whatever you think some guys don’t like—and play it up. Think tattoos, piercings, big noses and chubby photos.
Ah, Internet dating is awesome. |
| Express your Facebook status through song with MoodMusic Posted: 10 Jan 2011 06:22 PM PST
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| Notificant: Cloud-based notifications for every Mac in your house Posted: 10 Jan 2011 05:07 PM PST
Notificant is an extremely handy little application, downloadable for $5 from the Mac App Store, which will let you do just that. Say you’re sitting at your desk, but you know that you’ll be on your MacBook Air later. Have a TV show that you want to catch? Send yourself a notification to whichever (or every) computer in your house. You can even choose to have the notification sent via email.
Know what’s really handy? Let’s say that you’re away and you need to send a message home. Simply login to the Notificant web app and you can schedule notifications to be sent to any Mac running the Notificant app.
I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical at first. Did I really need more notifications popping up all over the place? But really, the more that I’ve used it the more that I’ve liked it. Being able to set notifications and reminders without having to go into iCal or my Google Calendar is really, incredibly handy. We’d love to see applications for iPhone and Android, but that’s perhaps best left to the email notifications. All said, for five bucks, it’s hard to go wrong with something this slick and easy. |
| Kodak Playtouch review: 1080p touchscreen in your pocket? Yes please. Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:51 PM PST
That’s the question that comes to mind when the Playtouch is in my hands. Kodak’s touchscreen-controlled, pocket-friendly, 1080p-shooting maestro has been my companion for a couple of weeks now and I couldn’t be happier with it. In fact, it’s going to be really hard to send this one back because, simply, it’s just really handy to have around. First off, you need to know the differences between the Playtouch and the previous-favorite, the Zi8. Whereas both models do up to 1080p video and 5 megapixel stills, the Playtouch does it with a bit more flare and better features. To start, you have the touchscreen. Instead of just being able to take video, scroll through what you’ve taken and then play it back, you can now do basic editing right on the screen. It’s an incredibly handy feature, to say the least. Beyond editing, you also have the external microphone/headphone jack which we’ve loved before. A sliding switch on the top changes you from landscape to macro mode, then there’s support for a standard SD card on the side. Our bet? You’d be in love if you plugged that spot with an Eye-Fi, wifi-enabled SD chip. The other side of the device holds a micro-USB charging port, a flip-out USB sync dongle and a mini-HDMI connector. Our only complaint is that the rubberized covers are a bit of a pain, unless you happen to have longer fingernails. It would have been just as easy to have the flip-out USB uncovered, with the ports laying behind it. Video quality on the Playtouch is exactly what you’d expect if you’ve ever used a Zi8. In lower-light it has issues, but anything greater than overhead room lighting will have you pleased. You can see video in my review of the HP Mini 210 that was taken from the Playtouch, and here’s another sample as well: Bear in mind that these were taken indoors, with no extra lighting. Only the light coming thru the windows was used. Given that, the video is very impressive. Outdoors, with bright lighting, the Playtouch rivals just about anything else on the market, especially given the price point. So therein lies the question — should you buy it? Here’s our take: If you already own a Zi8 (or equivalent) then the Playtouch isn’t really a big enough upgrade to part with the money. The camera alone will run you around $160, depending on where you find it. While there is an included share feature to the Playtouch software from Kodak, an Eye-Fi is simply the better option, but it also drives up your cost of ownership somewhat. If you don’t have a flip camera that can do 1080p, then the Playtouch is an amazing option. Small and pocketable, you won’t have the excuse of anything being “too bulky” to carry around with you. It’s a far better option than most everything else in the price point, including the Bloggie from Sony (which we loved, mind you) and it’s simply a lot of fun to use. While we’re sending this one back to Kodak, it’s not too far-fetched to say that we’ll be grabbing one for our own use soon. Well played, Kodak. |
| Google’s goo.gl shortener gets a full-featured API. Bit.ly beware? Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:43 PM PST While a number of you have probably already used the goo.gl shortener — and you’ve almost surely clicked a link from one — now you’ll be able to program with it into any application or site. According to the Google Code Blog, goo.gl now has a full-featured API that can rival just about anything else on the market. Need full documentation? You can find that, as well as an example of goo.gl implementation and much more in the blog post. But why would you switch? According to Pingdom, goo.gl is the fastest URL shortener in mass use today. In fact, it’s more than twice as fast as is.gd, which is even a bit faster itself than the monster of bit.ly:
Of course, we can tell you about it all we want, but it’s best to dive in and try it out yourself. Us? We’re somewhat partial to http://tnw.to for some reason. |
| Steve Jobs will join Rupert Murdoch to launch his iPad newspaper, “The Daily” Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:42 PM PST According to The Cutline, a Yahoo! news blog, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will join Rupert Murdoch on stage to unveil News Corp.’s much-anticipated iPad newspaper called “The Daily,” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, on Jan. 19th.
Murdoch is reportedly spending a total of $30 million on The Daily. While Murdoch has tried to keep the project quiet, I know a few reporters in New York City who’ve already begun work on The Daily, many of them poached from local media outlets like the NY Observer, The Daily Beast, Forbes, AOL, Politico and the New York Post and from far-flung zines like San Francisco’s Wired Magazine. In total, News Corp has already hired over 100 journalists including three managing editors: Mike Nizza, a veteran of The New York Times, AOL News and The Atlantic; Steve Alperin, a producer at ABC News, and Pete Picton, an online editor at UK Newspaper, The Sun. The company will be headquartered in the big apple with staffers in Los Angeles. The Daily is expected to cost .99 per issue and will implement a new "push" subscription feature from iTunes that automatically bills customers on a weekly or monthly basis, with a new edition delivered to your iPad each morning. |
| HP’s Updated Mini 210 — First Impressions [Video] Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:29 PM PST If you’ve ever used a netbook then you already know the frustrations. Small keyboards, slow hard drives and battery life that should be great but isn’t all seem to have come standard. HP, a long-standing name in the computer industry to say the least, has addressed a number of our concerns with the latest refresh of its Mini line. We’re taking a look today at the Mini 210. As it was sent to us, this lovely little machine will run you only $375. With a 7200 RPM, 320 GB hard drive, you should be able to get rid of a number of the speed and storage frustrations. A 6-cell battery, while bigger is usually better, manages to power the netbook for just over 6 hours (according to battery meters). The rest of the impressions? Have a look at the video. We’re certainly going to enjoy spending some time with this one, it seems. |
| Microsoft has released an extension for the Vail Home Server beta Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:26 PM PST
The latest edition of the beta had been scheduled to expire for several weeks in between versions starting on January 10th, but can now be extended until the middle of March. Unfortunately, as “the eval expiry is hard-coded during beta development,” it “cannot be easily changed,” according the Redmond giant. The fleet of Microsoft engineers did however come up with a solution. Why would Microsoft backtrack on its promise and let users keep using the beta? The company is still dealing with headaches from its decision to end ‘Drive Extender,’ a former component of Windows Home Server that some called its “killer feature.” Perhaps to avoid any more negative press and user outrage, the company is looking to assauge users by catering to their desire for the beta to stay functional. Whatever the case, this is how you can keep your Vail beta up and running:
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| Background downloads come to Kindle for iOS Posted: 10 Jan 2011 01:27 PM PST
There’s another pretty hefty change, too. The app will now support raw files, so you can send in text from Mail, Safari and even pull in books via iTunes file sharing. No word as to whether my fellow Android users, or Windows Phone 7 users will get the update. If it’s anything like past release schedules, we’re in for quite a wait. What’s your flavor? Still sticking with Kindle? Perhaps Nook? Or have you adopted the Google Books format yet? |
| Skype signs on over 27 million users in one day Posted: 10 Jan 2011 12:56 PM PST
So why all the activity? Perhaps it’s all the press Skype has been getting over its recent announcements. Skype has already had a huge 2011. First, they purchased mobile savvy video streaming service Qik for a rumored $100-$150 million. Then they announced a partnership with Panasonic and Sony to introduce Skype-enabled Blu-ray Players. They also launched group video calling for consumers and enterprises, allowing people to see each other more, no matter where they are. And lastly, a partnership with Verizon: Skype mobile with video will soon be available on the Verizon 4G LTE Mobile Broadband Network. That means Skype will come ready on all new Verizon LTE smartphones, out of the box in 2011. See our recent interview with Skype, GM and VP Jonathan Christensen at CES last week where he also explains Skype’s huge popularity on the iPhone- over one million app downloads in the first day. We’re looking forward to seeing big things from Skype this year. |
| More Dell Venue Pro delays hit the phone, pushing back its UK release Posted: 10 Jan 2011 12:39 PM PST
Bad news if you live in the UK and were hoping to snag a Venue Pro handset: you are going to have to wait a bit longer. The phones, now with a software issue relating to MMS, will not be out until mid February. We previously reported that they would go on sale January 6th. The Venue Pro has been plagued with problems ever since its launch with faulty hardware and other problems leading to delays not just in the UK, but around the world. This is the announcement that Clove UK put out on the matter:
Cross your fingers that this is the last delay that we will deal with.Via WMPowerUser |
| Love Instagram but want a web interface? Try Followgram Posted: 10 Jan 2011 12:26 PM PST
We are huge fans of Instagram at The Next Web. Just before Christmas, the wildly popular service hit 1 million users. We love everything about the quirky photo-sharing app, but we are impatiently waiting for its web interface to arrive. To hold us over, a segue site has launched called Followgram, which allows users to receive an RSS feed of their Instagram photos and share their profile with others. Followgram, while not the most beautiful site, lets users browse other user’s photos based on interests. Photos are updated every 15 minutes with some of the latest photos from Followgram’s member profiles and displayed in random order. Followgram is an opt-in service. It only displays photos of Followgram members who’ve joined their directory on their website. To remove yourself, send an email with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line to info@followgram.com from the email address you used to join. Don’t love Followgram? Don’t worry. We have good word that an Instagram web interface is coming soon. |
| Facebook is now rolling out the new profile to everyone – the complaints begin Posted: 10 Jan 2011 12:22 PM PST
According to the social giant hundreds of millions of people voluntarily chose to switch over before today. The month of December was the new profile’s beta period. If you missed out on all the fireworks when the new design was revealed, let us take you back. The new profile is a dramatic refresh of what Facebook previously had in place. It has a focus on making information available in a quick fashion, with diverse content highlighted on every user’s page, allowing for quick scanning for updates among other things. As always, Facebook users are up in arms and furious about the change. There has never been a single update in Facebook history that I have seen that did not send its users into a veritable tizzy. Here is just one sample from the Facebook blog post: |
| Google’s Ice Cream Android update will arrive just in time for summer Posted: 10 Jan 2011 12:11 PM PST
Google is making us feel fat. First, we nommed Donut, then Eclair, followed by Froyo, Gingerbread in December and then Honeycomb, its tablet friendly OS this month at CES. Now, as first reported by our friends at Pocket-Lint, Google will release “Ice Cream,” the next version of its mobile phone OS, Android 2.4 this summer.
We’ve still got much to chew on with Google’s tablet friendly Honeycomb, featured on Motorola’s new XOOM tablet (see our hands on here). But until the summer arrives, mobile phones will still run Gingerbread, which mind you, is only one month old. We will update with more information as it comes. |
| Amazing. Google Goggles can now solve Sudoku puzzles Posted: 10 Jan 2011 10:57 AM PST
Google Goggles, if you didn’t know, is an innovative service that allows smartphone users to search the web by simply taking a picture with their handset. Today’s update brings not only a Sudoku solver but also faster barcode recognition, support for all print advertisements that have been in circulation since August 2010 and a torch mode to illuminate subjects (on supported handsets). There is now an option to load images from the gallery to be analysed as well as the removal of a shutter sound when taking pictures of subjects. The feature is difficult to describe, you need to use it or see it for yourself: We’ve tried it and it works flawlessly. Google also recently announced a new initiative where it partnered with Buick, Disney, Diageo, T-Mobile and Delta Airlines – the companies adapted their print adverts, posters and other media and made them "Goggles-enabled", giving mobile users the opportunity to take photos of the media pieces and have mobile websites delivered by the Goggles app. Currently the update is only available on Android and iPhone devices, get downloading and try it yourself!Google Mobile Blog |
| Are Groupon and Foursquare planning to enter China this year? Posted: 10 Jan 2011 10:47 AM PST
GrouponChristine Lu, the co-founder and CEO of Affinity China, a Chinese luxury, lifestyle and travel network, speculated on Twitter that Groupon may be aiming to make an entrance into China, citing a recruitment letter from Groupon’s VP Mads Faurholt-Jorgensen has circulated around the Internet. It reads:
Foursquare
Jiepang, who recently partnered with Starbucks and released its own API, is China’s most popular LBS, so if Foursquare wanted to enter China, buying Jiepang would certainly make expansion an easier process. Mobinode describes Jiepang as having a very passionate team and is in good financial health. The verdict: It is a rough landscape for U.S. web-based companies to thrive in. China already has a popular Yelp-like service called Dianping, an Ebay-like service called Taobao, an Amazon copycat called Dangdang, and multiple Facebook and Youtube clones. The country enforces strict measures and blocks citizens from signing up to numerous social networks. We reported earlier this month that China's “great firewall” blocked 350 million “pieces of harmful information” last year. We also reported earlier today that MySpace China has laid off about 2/3 of their staff. In fact, Foursquare was reportedly blocked there this past summer because it was drawing attention to the Tiananmen Square massacre, which the government doesn’t like to draw out into the public eye. But the advantages for both services–Groupon and Foursquare– in China are obvious. It’s a country that is notable for a massive consumer population that feasts on almost any new trend. It is, in fact, the home of the “flash mob” group-buying style that gave rise to the great daily deals sites today. So, is there any truth to these rumors? No word back from either company’s PR rep. At the moment, we’ll just have to wait and see.Forbes, ChadCat |
Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play (or the PlayStation Phone) has reared its Android gaming head again, this time posing for a complete device tear-down by way of Chinese site 
Google has acknowledged that there could be an issue with its new flagship phone or Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system after a number of users reported that their Nexus S devices were randomly rebooting, often during phone calls.
Amazon has made its popular 
Interaxon
Montreal's 
Montreal-based start-up 
Calgary's 
Today, the Facebook of dating websites, 
TNW Quick Hit
By now you’ve probably gotten yourself well set up with notifications via Growl for just about anything on your computer. But what if you need to set simple reminders and have them sent to another computer? Until 
Notificant sits up at the top of your screen, waiting for you to schedule something. You can choose to schedule from within the app itself, or even schedule via the Web interface. It’s a simple matter of setting your notification, setting your time and then telling the app where you want to be notified.
Congratulations to 
Google Goggles for Android has received a new update (version 1.3), allowing users to take a photo of an unsolved Sudoku puzzle, the software will then analyse it and solve it upon request.
As local daily deals sites and location based services gain traction throughout China, 
The Asian market is really important for us, and especially China, where we are about to enter, why I contact you. I am looking for very smart, talented, ambitious people with a strong interest in entrepreneurship to join the management of Groupon. Groupon is currently valued at around 6bn USD (according to the press) and in China we expect to grow to 1000 employees within the first 3 months. I am offering a very exciting, flexible, entrepreneurial internship opportunity with a lot of responsibility and freedom to grow a huge, successful, fun, creative company together and help Groupon get to the next level! We will build the next Google.
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