a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Google’s growth-stage equity fund, Google Capital, officially launches today

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 12:31 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, Insider

FireShot Screen Capture 065 Google Capital www googlecapital com 730x426 Googles growth stage equity fund, Google Capital, officially launches today

Almost a year after it was first announced, Google has officially unveiled its new equity fund aimed specifically at growth-stage companies.

Indeed, Google Capital will have a slightly different focus to its existing Google Ventures fund, which is aimed more at fledgling startups. The new fund will be backed by Google itself, as you’d expect, and led by partners David Lawee, Scott Tierney and Gene Frantz. They will be looking for companies “that have already built a solid foundation and are really ready to expand their business in big ways,” says Lawee.

Google Ventures has helped fund more than 200 startups since 2009, including Nest which it subsequently went on to acquire for more than $3 billion. And Google Capital has already dished out to startups that include SurveyMonkey, Lending Club and Renaissance Learning, so we can likely expect many more to follow in the coming months and years.

➤ Google Capital: investing in growth-stage companies

└ Tags: ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Shazam-branded label on the way thanks to Warner Music Group deal

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 11:48 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

shazam android 3 520x245 Shazam branded label on the way thanks to Warner Music Group deal

Shazam has announced a partnership with Warner Music Group (WMG) that will herald a new Shazam-branded label, as well as a collaboration on marketing efforts.

This is a big move for Shazam, which is better-known for its cross-platform music-tagging app that automatically recognizes what music is playing in the background. The new Shazam label imprint will primarily be used for unearthing and developing unsigned artists, and will tap WMG’s existing A&R reach with Shazam’s fan activity data.

For WMG, this tie-up gives them a powerful promotional channel with better access to fans who ‘Shazamed’ their music. Warner’s slew of labels, which include Asylum, Atlantic, Big Beat, Elektra, Parlophone, Warner Bros., Warner Classics, among others, will receive “enhanced deep data” around fan behavior pertaining to its current artists, and will use this to launch tailored promotional campaigns. Shazam users, in return, will gain access to exclusive content.

Shazam counts around 420 million users across 200 countries, and it’s obvious why Warner would want to tap its data banks. But for Shazam to launch its own label imprint, using tagging-data to establish popular up-and-coming artists, this is a landmark move. Indeed, we’ve previously questioned whether Spotify, Rdio and others should follow Netflix’ lead by launching their own labels for exclusive music, but there are a range of barriers with that – namely cost and scalability.

By partnering with WMG, Shazam has found a shortcut to doing just that, however, and it will be interesting to see the fruits of this partnership.

➤ Warner Music and Shazam Announce Strategic Alliance | Press Release

└ Tags: ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Glove for Android launches in SF and NY to track your mobile usage and recommend the best carrier

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 11:00 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

If you’re unhappy with your current mobile service, the new Glove app for Android wants to find you something better. Launching today in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, the free app logs your location and phone usage for three days before serving up recommendations for the carrier that best suits you.

glove 220x368 Glove for Android launches in SF and NY to track your mobile usage and recommend the best carrier

Glove uses crowdsourced data to arrive at its recommendations. The approach makes a ton of sense. We need a simple way to compare existing carrier performance data with our own specific needs, and contacting operators directly is both troublesome and conflicted.

CrowdX, Glove’s developer, says an iPhone version of the app is coming later this year.

➤ Glove for Android

Image credit: V.J. Matthew / Shutterstock

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

iPhone launch propels Apple back into China’s top 5 ranking with 7% market share

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 10:51 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia

apple store 520x245 iPhone launch propels Apple back into Chinas top 5 ranking with 7% market share

New data about China’s smartphone market shows Apple gained market share in the country in the final quarter of 2013 thanks to the launch of the newest iPhones. The Wall Street Journal reports figures from IDC that give Apple seven percent of the share of shipments, up one percent on the previous quarter.

That increase puts Apple back inside the top five smartphone companies in China, leapfrogging fast-growing startup Xiaomi into fifth place. The figures account for the first full quarter of iPhone 5s and 5c sales in China, but keep in mind that they don’t include any units sold by China Mobile, which began offering the two iPhone models only last month.

Here are IDCs shipments ranking for China in Q4 2013:

  1. Samsung — 19 percent market share
  2. Lenovo — 13 percent market share
  3. Coolpad — 11 percent market share
  4. Huawei — 10 percent market share
  5. Apple — 7 percent market share
  6. Xiaomi — 6 percent market share

Android continues to dominate the Chinese market, but these figures are based on shipments — handsets bought in advance by retailers and operators — so they give an indication of where the industry sees demand, but are not reflective of sales themselves.

That said, Apple can expect to see its share increase now that China Mobile is selling the iPhone. The carrier began selling the new iPhones on January 17 — its prices are higher than its two rivals, which suggests its strategy is to focus on the appeal of its 4G network, which is the first in the country.

Xiaomi, meanwhile, is busy expanding its sales overseas, starting with Southeast Asia, but IDC analyst Melissa Chau told the Journal that its growth path will almost certainly mean that it will re-enter the domestic top five in the future.

Related: IDC: Smartphone shipments in China decreased 4% in Q4 2013, the first drop in over 2 years

Headline image via Neil Bird / Flickr

└ Tags: , , ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

BBC iPlayer sees its best month ever in January, with more than 315m programme requests

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 10:18 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, UK

Last month we reported that tablets had trumped computers for the first time for BBC iPlayer. And going by the latest figures from the British broadcaster, the on-demand streaming service has enjoyed its best overall month ever.

January saw more than 315 million TV and radio programme requests, equating to an average of 10.2 million per day. It seems the new series of Sherlock proved particularly popular, garnering north of 3.5 million requests alone.

Screenshot 2014 02 19 10.11.19 730x319 BBC iPlayer sees its best month ever in January, with more than 315m programme requestsWith tablets and smartphones becoming increasingly ubiquitous, these represented 40% of all requests last month, translating into 127 million overall. That too was another iPlayer record.

➤ BBC iPlayer Performance Pack – January 2014

└ Tags: ,