Tech Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Serious Startups

Nashville’s Griffin Technology All In On iPhone 5

While Griffin Technology hardly qualifies as a startup since it was launched in 1992, the company founded (and still remaining) in Nashville Tennessee is a driver of innovation. Griffin started out by making computer parts beginning with DB15 connectors and launching USB peripherals in 1998. However, it was the release of the original iPhone and a barrage of well designed accessories created in Nashville Tennessee that drove Griffin to “household name” status.

With the announcement of the iPhone 5 last week and the release of the device next Friday, Griffin, like the rest of us, waited with eyes glued to projectors, screens and monitors throughout their Tennessee campus, reports Nasvhille Business Journal’s Jamie McGee. Over 150 Griffin employees gathered around to watch the release of the iPhone 5, all seeing the same images that we saw thanks to live blogs and other information. They watched with pens and paper and immediately went to work on their designs.

Griffin Technology and other iPhone accessory manufacturers got a welcomed break when the last iPhone update was from the 4 to the 4S. There was no real form factor change.

“To have something happen like a complete form-factor change, like we’ve seen on the screen, means our industrial design people are going to be really, really busy for the next couple of weeks,” said Web Wester, who handles social media for Griffin told local news station WKRN.

By the next morning Griffin had a plan. About mid-morning the sent out a press release confirming that their Survivor and Protector collections along with their Reveal, Chevron, Moxy, Mustachio & Wise Eyes, Kazoo and Animal Parade lines will all be quickly updated for the new iPhone 5. The company also plans on adding some more cases to the mix as time goes on.

The iPone 5 hits Apple stores, Best Buy and carrier partner retailers on Friday. Griffin Technology hasn’t said when you’ll be able to pick up their accessories for the iPhone 5 but it should be soon. A Griffin spokesperson has also said that the power accessories the company is known for will be released for the iPhone 5 shortly. However, Apple changed the 30 pin cord design for the first time since the original iPod so those may take a little longer.

Griffin also has alumni startup founders among their ranks. The group behind Nashville Startup Evermind, a device that helps keep tabs on the elderly, all got their start at Griffin.

Linkage:

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Ice Is Back With Some Brand New Inventions: Vanilla Ice Gives Kids Gadget Advice

Last week DIY network’s Rob “Vanilla Ice” VanWinkle appeared on the Today show to give the crew a rundown on some gadgets geared for the student. We’ve moved into an era where kids in school might not know the 90’s hero of the dance floor, but they are capable of enjoying and using these recommended gadgets earlier on in life.

Let’s face it we’re at an age where some kids, even entering kindergarten, have used mom or dad’s iPad,iPhone, Android tablet, iPad or other electronic gadget before they can even read.

Here are the gadgets that the 44-year-old television and rap sensation highlighted in the segment called “Gadgets For Making The Grade”

Boogie Board e-writer capable of storing up to 200 pages in a digital notebook. This device is about as simple is at gets you can write things down, free hand style, and then sync your entries onto your computer at home.

Echo Smart Pen- allows you to record audio onto a pen while you’re writing on the specialized notebook.

Verbatim Tuff-N-Tiny 8gb flash drive. These extremely small flash drives run just $9.99 and clip to a key chain. VanWinkle described these particular flash drives as “Simple as a pimple” perhaps with lyrics like that he’s working on a new album.

Kensington Folio Tablet- This unique iPad case holds the iPad on the left, it has a three-ring binder in the middle and an actual paper note taking pad on the right side. Ice says that it’s the modern-day Trapper Keeper. $55

HP DeskJet 3050A printer is an all in one inkjet printer with total wireless connectivity. You can print from your laptop, desktop, smartphone or tablet without a usb cable. It retails for $79.99 at the likes of Staples.com

Voltaic Converter Solar BackPack. Sorry but this backpack has nothing on the PowerBag, but it’s solar so I guess that makes it a bit nifty. With the Voltaic BackPack you can charge your smart devices in school while they’re stored away in your backpack. This will set you back $200

Isafe built-in alarm backpack. This backpack has an alarm built into the strap. As Ice says “if somebody tries to gank your backpack” you can hit the alarm. It’s a very loud, irritating alarm sound that should summon help or scare your assailant away. The company says you can hear it 1000 yards away. This backpack is just $59.99

Sol Republic Soundtracks headphones. These headphones cut out background noise and can be mixed and matched to create your own design. They retail for $99.

Keurig Mini Plus Brewing System. These single shot “K-Cup” coffee makers are all the rage. This particular model is designed for the traveler, or student, someone with limited space. This version of the K-Cup brewer costs just $99.

Check out Ice’s video from the Today Show here:

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Source: MSNBC

Cincinnati’s Brandery & 9 More Accelerators From Everywhere Else Make Top 15 List

(graphic techcocktail.com)

The top 15 accelerators in the US has just been published by TechCocktail. They were the official media partner for the startup accelerator ranking project now in it’s second year. The ranking project was spearheaded by Aziz Gilani from DFJ Mercury and executed in partnership with Kristen Kamath a second year MBA candidate at the Kellogg School of Management at NorthWestern University.

After pitching a fit for coming in second place last year, Paul Graham’s Y-Combinator is again placed at the top of the top 15 accelerator list. An additional four accelerators from Silicon Valley rounded placed in the top 10; KickLabs (#3), i/o Ventures (#4), AngelPad (#6) and Mountain View based 500 startups at number 10.

To rank on the top 15 list of accelerators, the accelerator programs had to meet a certain criteria. The criteria factored in follow on capital, qualified financing activity and qualified exits. You’ll notice that four of the TechStars programs made it into the top 15 list, as did the most visible accelerators out there.

The best ranking for a startup accelerator “everywhere else” was Chicago’s Excelerate Labs which came in fifth. TechStars New York and Boston came in seventh and eighth place respectively. LaunchPad in Los Angeles placed ninth. Dreamit Ventures in Philadelphia came in eleventh place, TechStars Seattle, NYC SeedStart, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator New York, and The Brandery in Cincinnati rounded out the top fifteen.

There were a lot of other accelerators across the country that were used in the research. The editorial team at TechCocktail came up with a great 22 page report called “Best Accelerator For Your Tech Startup” that can be downloaded for free at TechCocktail’s site here.

The report outlines some of the other accelerators across the country and pays close attention to some of the specialty accelerators that may be more inline with your accelerator goals. Actually after reviewing the entire 22 pages, the report will be a big help to any startup that is considering an any accelerator around the country.

Linkage:

Check out the complete review and report at here at techcocktail.com

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Next Generation iPhone Strongly Rumored For September 21st Launch

Most everyone who has even a murmur of a pulse about technology knows that we are expecting the announcement of the next generation iPhone to come out of a press event Apple is holding on September 12th. We won’t even go with calling it the “iPhone 5” at this point in time because of the stunt Apple pulled with “the new iPad”. However, whatever you call it, it’s expected to be announced in a few short weeks.

We’re not even going to speculate as to what features this next generation iPhone will have. I am personally switching, provided it has 4G/LTE, without that though, I’m sticking with a 4S. If you want to keep track of the rumors and the track records of the rumor mongerers we highly suggest you check out Cincinnati startup Tracour here.

As for the relevance of the next iPhone here at nibletz, the voice of startups everywhere else, well the design for one is of great concern to any startup in the iPhone accessory space. The brains, speed, and guts of the next iPhone also weigh heavily on the conscious of the thousands of startups who rely on iPhone apps. And of course, because we’re smart enough to know you’ll read this piece just because of the headline.

As for the source, every major tech site is reporting off a tip that originated at TechCrunch and has been confirmed by just about every site with a connection to a middle manager at Verizon Wireless. Apparently Verizon Wireless has a vacation freeze on the 21st of September. The barely under 10 day spread from announcement to release date, fits conspicuously well within Apple’s normal pattern and routine.

It’s also heavily rumored that Apple will release a 7″ iPad at the same event. For many this is great news. The 7″ form factor fits in your pocket very nicely but aside from that I think I’m going to stick with the 10″ version myself. As Cameron will tell you, I’m quite good with the 10″ iPad keyboard.

Well I get a 7″ iPad. Probably.

Are you getting the next gen iPhone? Are you getting a 7″ iPad? Tell us below in the comments section.

Source: TechCrunch via PCWorld

Chicago Techweek: Michigan Startup TechSlinger Harnesses Technology VIDEO INTERVIEW

One of the first great startups we ran into at TechWeek 2012 in Chicago was actually not from Chicago at all but rather, just outside of Grand Rapids Michigan. TechSlinger General Manager Tresha Davis told us they were excited about launching and excited to support the thriving tech community in Chicago.

TechSlinger is actually a hardgoods/accessory startup. They manufacture the TechSlinger which is a way to hold your gadgets, underneath your coat that’s both comfortable and functional.

The TechSlinger consists of two under arm pouches that are kind of reminded me of gun holsters. One of the pouches holds your tablet. The other one can hold your phone, accessories, even your wallet, credit cards and other important items.

The TechSlinger is a great accessory for traveling business people. It’s also a great accessory for those who need access to their gadgets throughout the day where a backpack may appear a bit out of place or even unprofessional. You can wear a nice Brooks Brothers suit on top of the TechSlinger and No one would notice the difference.

In the video below we talk with TechSlinger CEO and creator Nathan in the video below. The idea came up when he realized he was traveling so much and needed to find something better than a traditional backpack or messenger bag that still permitted great functionality.

TechSlinger comes in a variety of colors and sizes as well. It supports all major e-readers including the Kindle and the Nook and even most Android tablets. They are anxious to get their hands on a new Microsoft Surface tablet to design a TechSlinger or it as well. The best part is that TechSlinger is made in the USA.

They are also working on TechSlingers to support up to the 13″ Macbook pro. The 11″ Macbook Air fits snuggly in the iPad TechSlinger without any casing. Even my “New” iPad with a Griffin Survivor case on it fits in the TechSlinger. I can’t wait until they are ready to ship review units I have to try one of these things out.

It’s very lightweight and would totally hide your electronics from plain site under a jacket or sport coat.

Andy Rubin Denies Claims Of Leaving Google For CloudCar Startup

Today Robert Scoble, a very tech-engaged icon who never shies away from a good rumor, posted an update on his Google+ that claimed that Andy Rubin, the founder of Android, would be leaving Google. Yes, Google I/O is just a few days away, and yes, Rubin leaving would mean a huge overhaul of I/O and likely result in an event no one would have predicted, but Scoble posted it nonetheless. Scoble claimed that Andy would be leaving to take charge of a startup called CloudCar that Rubin is closely tied to, but this has been proved to be false. Rubin did give CloudCar space in his startup incubator, but that is as far as the relationship goes at this point. Now, maybe Rubin wouldn’t have left before I/O, and it’s likely that such a parting would take place after Google’s key annual event, but still this news would have sent shock waves through the foundation of the Android/Google community.

However, posting his eleventh tweet since joining Twitter, today Rubin announced that he had “no plans to leave Google” after all. Rubin didn’t stop there though, no, his eleventh tweet had to have more substance–more pizazz. He also dropped the 900,000 number for Android activations per day, a number which is higher than the previous 850,000 that was revealed at MWC. This not only proves that Android’s growth is still climbing, but it also gives us an understanding of something else Rubin may have been trying to imply. Why would he leave Android now, at its peak. Well, maybe because of the famous “what goes up has got to come down” logic, but Apple has definitely proved that wrong thus far. Either way, Rubin is here to stay…for now, that is.

Nvidia Announces Lofty Plans For 30 Tegra 3 Devices

Nvidia just held their annual investor meeting. They unveiled a lot of plans for the remainder of 2012 and for the beginning of 2013.

Nvidia General Manager Mike Rayfield said that we will see 30 devices utilizing the Nvidia Tegra 3 chip set and it’s 4+1 core architecture. That’s compared to the 15 devices with Tegra 2 chip sets that were released in 2011.

One of the biggest issues with the Nvidia chip is it’s ability to play nice with 4G/LTE radios. Their Icera 410 LTE modem was just certified for use on AT&T’s 4G/LTE network. They will eventually replace the Icera 410 with the Icera 500 soon.

What’s even better news for Nvidia is that they will release a bundled chip with the Icera 500 and the Tegra series processor. The bundled chipset will be known as “Grey”. The first Grey devices will be released in 2013, most likely at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January or Mobile World Congress in February.

source: PhoneArena

Preparing For TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2012

The Nibletz Team is ready to bring you round the clock coverage of what is sure to be the bet Techcrunch disrupt event to date.

First off, you may remember that last year was when Michael Arrington the founder of Techcrunch got into a very public dispute with both AOL and their queen of the Blogsphere (at the time) Arianna Huffington. That dispute of course was what fueled Arrington to wear an “Unpaid Blogger” T-shirt as the emcee of last years event.

After missing a few TechCrunch events, including the most recent Crunchies in San Francisco, Arrington was invited back by the current TechChrunch regime for virtually the same duties as previous Disrupt events. We are curious to see what Arrington wears tomorrow morning when the official event kicks off. The hackathon started two days ago and is the lead in to the event.

We are also looking forward to some of the usual suspects like SV Angels, Ron Conway who is a Battlefield judge this year, as well as MC Hammer.

We are also looking forward to an interview with Hollywood Producer and founder of the LA based startup, Lovvit, Max Gottlieb. We are also hoping to sync up with our friend, rapper and tech investor Chamillionaire during this weeks festivities.

TechCrunch Disrupt NYC will be a great showcase of startups from everywhere including the Valley, NYC and “everywhere else”. If your startup is either pitching in the Battlefield, exhibiting in Startup Alley or just attending the event make sure to drop us a line at disrupt@nibletz.com

Atlanta Startup: LaunchTable, Find & Collaborate With The Ultimate Team

One of our favorite startups is Cleveland based Foundersync which links founders with each other without the stuffy, snobbery of sites like Founderdating. Foundersync has an excellent back end that will continue to grow over the next few months with an intelligence layer that will yield great results connecting likeminded co-founder teams.

Atlanta startup Launch Table takes over and helps find the rest of the team. Whether you’re a coder with a great idea and you’re looking for a marketing guru, an entrepreneur, and a mobile expert, LaunchTable is a place to find them all.

LaunchTable is obviously a play on lunch table, can you remember the conversations you had about taking over the world at the school lunch table? The best practical jokes, collaborative assignments and parties were planned around the lunch table. One person had all the friends, the other had the parents going out of town, while one person new where to get the extra-curriculars. Little did you know, those collaboration skills would come in handy down the road.

In fact, LaunchTable founder Ian Jones told us in an interview that LaunchTable is for startups looking for that next great business idea or students working on a project. When we attended the Duke University startup challenge earlier this spring we found that several of the startups in the contest had just one or two co-founders based at Duke, others were at Stanford, Princeton, M.I.T., UT and other schools across the country. Had LaunchTable been around earlier they could have taken advantage of it.

LaunchTable shouldn’t be confused with a social network. You’re not there to pick up as many friends as you can. The purpose is to build, create and innovate together. If you’re familiar with Dustin Moskovitz’ new startup Asana, Launch Table is more similar to Asana then Facebook. Now for a minute imagine that you don’t necessarily know the people you’re collaborating with yet. Say you want to meet them and then dive into a project. That’s the back bone to LaunchTable.

We’re really excited for Ian and what he’s building in Atlanta. Like the Nibletz team he’s out running all over the east coast getting people excited about creating at the LaunchTable.

Check out our interview after the break
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New Power2U AC USB In Wall Outlet Wins Award Because It’s Great

At this day in age you’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t have some kind of device that charged via a USB outlet. iPods, iPads, iPhones, Android Phones, Blackberry’s, dumb phones, digital cameras, portable game systems, tablets, even some video cameras charge off of usb. USB is a convenient way to charge because you can charge devices through your computer, a wall charger, car charger and even a power bag.

Now there’s a new way to charge your USB powered devices, and if you’re the least bit handy you’ll be able to install it yourself. The product is called the Power2U AC/USB wall outlet and as you can tell from the name (and the picture above) it’s a USB outlet that takes the place of your standard wall outlet. When you install the outlet you have access to two regular three prong AC outlets along with two USB outlets that can charge everything from a phone to an iPad and everything in between.

The Power2U AC/USB outlet is easy to install and it installs in under 20 minutes. They even have an easy to follow instructional video here. It will install in any 15 amp circuit with a 16 cubic inch electrical box. In case you were wondering, that is the typical wall outlet in your home.

The Power2U AC/USB outlet has just received the Handyman Club Member Tested and Recommended Seal of Approval.

“A 92 percent member approval rating for the Power2U outlet is an excellent test result, and Newer Technology should be very proud their innovative product scored so well,” said Ross Tanner, Product Test Editor, HANDY magazine.

“We couldn’t be more pleased that the Power2U was overwhelmingly approved and endorsed by Handyman Club of America members,” said Grant Dahlke, Brand Manager, Newer Technology, Inc. “These testers are very hands-on and demand excellence from the products they choose for their home improvement projects. As such, the typical homeowner can buy the Power2U with full assurance they can install it and enjoy it hassle-free.”

For more information on the Power2U visit this link

Dallas Startup: Qwiqq Check Into The Things You Love And Buy; Is Great For Merchants Too

In 2012 using your mobile smartphone you can check into almost everything. You can check into venues, concerts, stores, malls, the music you like and the tv shows you love. Now you can check into the things you buy and love with Dallas’ Qwikk.

The Dallas startup, founded by John Phan and Jack Wrigley, launched in 2010, right as another startup focusing on things people like was starting to bubble. Yes I am referring to Pinterest. But here’s the deal. I’m a 30 something year old man and while I have a Pinterest account, I feel out of place on the network that is admittedly geared towards women.

Qwiqq isn’t like that. It’s about sharing the deal you just got or the great thing you just bought. Perusing Qwiqq is not about just beautiful dresses and recipes for cupcakes. Qwiqq’s intuitive and easy to navigate user interface allows you to post about anything. Categories include health, food, bar, fashion, beauty, arts and entertainment, sport, tech, pet, home and car. So yes dudes and geekettes can post about their favorite phone, computer or that sweet ride.

More after the break
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Uh Oh iPhone App Downloads Dipped 30% In March

Something has happened and the world is undoubtedly all shaken up about it. Fiksu has reported that Apple iOS app downloads dipped 30% in March 2012. Yes, take cover, this is news of monumental proportion.

The number of daily iPhone app downloads decreased from 6.35 million in February 2012, to 4.45 million in March. Now we bravely wanted to suggest that it may have possibly been caused by the mad rush to get to 25 billion apps. Apple was holding a huge contest to commemorate that huge milestone. Unfortunately for the month of March, that happened on March 3rd.

This feeble attempt to look at the possible bright side was foiled by more data from Fiksu. They found that iPhone users downloaded fewer apps in March than any other month since the iPhone 4S launched in October.

Fiksu contributes part of the decline to the cooling off period that came right after the honeymoon period for new iPhone 4S users. Also, we can take into consideration those who upgraded from a previous iPhone. Upgraded iPhone users have probably used their previous iPhone to download and try as many apps as possible to vet the apps that they really like. Now, graduated to a new iPhone they don’t need to download every app they come in contact with.

Business Insider also reports that Apple has cracked down on developers using third party bots to download their apps and over inflate their number of downloads. This may actually be a more clear picture of the health of the iTunes app store. Don’t for a second though, think that 4.5 million downloads is shabby.

source: SAI

Is LockerDome St. Louis’ Groupon?

LockerDome is one hot startup coming out of St.Louis. It’s the first ever dedicated sports social network for youth and amateur sports. LockerDome has been likened to the Facebook or LinkedIn for athletes.

LockerDome allows individual sports organizations to develop their own sports networks, and most of the well known sports programs in the country have already joined and have thriving networks. The Dallas Texans, one of the top ranked soccer teams in the country has a LockerDome network, as does the East Coat Pro Showcase, a well known east coast event that’s made up of more than 100 of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft picks.

LockerDome and CEO Gabe Lozano aren’t just making a big name for themselves in the sports world, they’ve already chalked up a lot of funding. In December of 2011 they raised $750,000 in an angel round. Participants in the round include serial entrepreneurs Brian and Carol Matthews, co-founders of Primary Network and CDM Fantasy Sports; Capital Innovators, a St. Louis-based technology accelerator fund; Moosylvania Marketing, a nationally-recognized marketing agency; and Hal Gentry, co-founder of Capital Innovators and GridLogix, among more than a dozen other angel investors.

LockerDome also caught the eye of Square’s co-founder Jim McKelvey who invested and also took a seat on the company’s board of directors. But McKelvey wasn’t easily sold at first. He’s not the kind of investor that looks to pump money into a “flavor of the week” just to catch a big windfall he has three businesses that he’s started and still runs today, including Square which he founded with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

More after the break

Where’s The Beef? New Kansas Startup AgLocal Will Help You Find It

I’m going to break the code of hipster bloggers by publicly announcing that I am an omnivore there is nothing I enjoy more than a nice big steak complimented by some kind of exotic potato side dish, some asparagus and a beer. Yup that’s me. Sorry vegetarian and vegan bloggers. That’s why I’m really thrilled to hear about a new startup called AgLocal.

I heard some murmur about the startup and it’s founder Naithan Jones who left his job as director of Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundations aspiring entrepreneur FastTrac program to undertake his own startup.

So here’s how this AgLocal works. Farmer’s markets are actually growing. If you’ve been to a farmer’s market in a decent sized community you’ll probably be inundated by fruits, vegetables, locally raised grass fed cattle, a few food trucks and cupcakes. You typically know where the farmer’s markets are or your local Whole Foods, but what if you don’t. AgLocal connects meat sellers to meat buyers.

Now you can order you meat straight from a local farmer and even cut out the grocery store. Jones and his co-founder Jacob McDaniel have been visiting locally owned farms across the midwest and have signed up over 100 farms already. The strategy is to connect local people to local farms.

More after the break
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