Tag Archives: startups

For an uninterrupted hour every week, Susan Friedman stashes her smartphone in a locker and turns her full attention to a different screen. On her spin-class bike, only the control panel matters, and physical discomfort comes from exhausted, burning quads — not neck or eye strain. For Friedman, a 35-year-old attorney in Los Angeles, spin …

Brave Software has signed a publishing partnership the browser maker hopes ultimately will help rid the web of privacy-invading advertisements. Brave, the startup led by Mozilla co-founder and JavaScript inventor Brendan Eich, announced the deal Tuesday with CoinDesk, a website with news and information about the Bitcoin digital currency. Under the first phase of the deal, Coindesk has begun promoting …

Nokia is back, but not with much a bang. The familiar Finnish phone brand once again graces new handsets, unveiled Tuesday by a company called HMD Global. HMD, a startup also based in Finland, is the manufacturing partner that Nokia has chosen to make phones bearing its name. These are the first Nokia phones in years not to be made …

With a digital mapping service called What3words, residents of even the smallest, most rural village in the African nation of Ivory Coast now have an official address. The country’s postal system just adopted the startup’s technology, which assigns a three-word phrase to each 3-meter square on the map. For example, heaven.mallard.houseguests is a structure on the outskirts of Mberie. The …

The selling point of Australian startup Padlokt is live, two-way conversation. It’s about “bringing fans closer to their idols than ever before,” says Trent Sydney, Padlokt managing director and co-founder. “It’s the little personal moments. Things that don’t come across in a tweet or on Facebook,” says Adam Hollioake, ex-cricketer, MMA fighter and now serving as Padlokt’s director of global …

When you want answers fast, chances are you think of Google: What’s the name of Prince’s third album? How tall is the Empire State Building? How long is a flight from San Francisco to New Orleans? That seemingly infinite breadth of knowledge made Google one of the most powerful companies on the planet. Now, the internet giant is hoping that …

In a flurry of activity, Twitter bought a startup Thursday and immediately appointed its CEO as its new vice president of product. The startup, called Yes Inc., makes apps that let users connect immediately with friends to set plans and share videos. You could think of Yes’ focus on snappy, short-form interactions as a cousin to Twitter’s own 140-character strategy. …

One of wearable tech’s biggest names may be buying one of its most inventive upstarts. And the rumored combination could well be a mutually beneficial move in an increasingly competitive category. Fitbit, the No. 1 fitness tracker brand, is said to be buying Pebble. The news, first reported by The Information, is not confirmed. But Techcrunch is reporting that Fitbit’s …

Good design is hard. But more and more we all have to do it. Whether it’s a nice Facebook banner, a clever profile pic, an eye-catching Instagram post or some well polished ideas for a work presentation, we all want something more than the terrible basic options offered up by Powerpoint. Enter Canva. The 5-year-old Australian startup is all about …

You can’t buy Snapchat’s Spectacles for $130. Even if that’s what it says on each and every receipt. The real price is anywhere between $750 and $2,000 — because that’s how much you’ll pay scalpers on eBay or Craigslist. Or the price is hours and hours of your time: time to wait, and watch, and drive, and hours to stand …