I covered TechCrunch 50 this week and gave my favorites (FitBit, Hangout, VideoSurf and Swype) and was slightly shocked by the announcement that Yammer had won the $50,000 grand prize... great product and slick UI - but not revolutionary or game-changing like some other services (some have argued stronger sentiments that that!). Here is the best TC50 write up that I've seen thus far and it's from CNET Webware. Great list and overview:
TechCrunch 50 Winner: FitBit is my Prediction
I spent the last few days at TechCrunch 50 and, while I won't be present at the 'award ceremony', I'd like to predict the winner... both of which are not traditional Web 2.0 companies. In fact, the highlights of the conference for me were around mobile and off-.com where innovation appears to be happening faster and more interestingly. There were great presentations and launches for .com sites (ie Hangout, VideoSurf) - but top to bottom, the mobile space was really impressive... and this will be a continuing trend as the mobile web becomes more efficient, more widespread and more usable thanks to new mediums and devices. FitBit, Swype, MyTopia and others were all standouts.
With that out of the way, my TechCrunch 50 winner was FitBit. Outstanding little device with amazing form factor: it can be worn anywhere and at any point (unlike the Nike Plus gadgets). It's also available at an unbeatable price point: $99. Better yet, it syncs wirelessly and has a full web interface to track your progress, health and friends. Awesome. This will be *the* holiday gift of 2008 (assuming it ships on time). It's also an important product for a serious issue: health.
My only critique: the website offers relatively little information about the product despite offering pre-orders.... I assume this is a consequence of remaining quiet until their TC50 launch. It's tough to ask for $99 without any meaty information. Also, this image is clearly photoshopped... badly:
TechCrunch 50 Language & Platform: Swype Wows Panel
AlfaBetic: Monetizing across languages. Not sure how / if this works... but scaling content across various languages is a big business (if done technically) for big companies like eBay that operate in dozens of countries. Localizing content is immensely difficult and costly. So should this work (and demo isn't clear) it is powerful. Om: whose translation engine do you use? Answer: engine is internally built with emphasis on different locales. What's your accuracy rate? Answer: depends on domain and location - but 80-90 percent.
Om: How many ads can you serve per page there because the bloggers really control that?
Tim: how is this actually done - does blogger need to buy another domain name? (very good question...). Answer: we are interested in a syndication play where we become the portal (bloggers won't sign up for this, in my opinion).
Josh: what are the costs involved in monitoring / cleansing each post? Answer: $1,000 in all langauges per month for all TechCrunch.
Om: I wouldnt use this. If we went international, we would do it dedicated (like TechCrunch) and focus on each location.
Tim: I wouldn't use either - for the same reason.
PostBox: desktop email application. The presentation has a bizarre sound metronome behind it... I can't hear a word they are saying... OK - that was not their noise. He handled it very well - hilarious.
Josh: Question: Do you support POP, Exchange, etc? Answer: Yes: IMAP, POP, SMTP.
Tim: How far have you pushed it scale-wise? Will it support my 10,000s of emails? Answer: we have tested internally and it supports 30,000 messages to date...
Evan: Looks great but is it enough to combat the massive move from desktop email to web-based?
Tim: this is less an email client and more like a personal information management system. I look forward to trying it.
Om: Gmail is convenient and plugins make it easy to mimic what you do but in the browser? How do you get paid? TIm jumps in and says it could very well be Microsoft purchase.
Half the audience raises its hand saying they would download and try it.
Swype: "we will change how people input text on screens." He is drawing a line through a mock qwerty keyboard and swiping series of letters that it renders into words based on clusters of lettering (I think). Appears to be very forgiving. Corrects common mispellings. This is pretty amazing. The ties onto smaller keyboards is clear (video games, laptops, touch screens, gps, etc). Not sure how it works with symbols, caps, etc - all things the iPhone really struggles with. This is killer. Now the demo is wihtout a stylus - he used his finger and it about 50% the speed but still pretty slick. Demo moves to smaller screens (a Windows Mobile cell phone) and its slower than either the Blackberry or iPhone.
By the way... there is an iPhone app that exists already that does this.... not sure how quality stacks up - but it's exactly the same for the iPhone.
The panel tries to swype and Evan says "it's mindless." Josh asks if it will really work without a stylus? Answer: it works best on a screen designed for touch (like iPhone). Jason asks about characters and shifiting (my question): Om: These companies are notoriously difficult to partner / get to market with (speaking of Nokia, etc). Answer: you can approach both the carrier and the OEM... and the iPhone has created a pressure for non-iPhone decks to include better feature sets. Om: sell to Micrsoft now. Josh: isn't this a patent mine field? (great question).Answer: we believe its a strength not a weakness considering our history.
Dropbox: Synchronizing file sharing, updating and portability.
Tim: why isn't this a feature with Google or Microsoft? Evan: Microsoft has a product called FolderShare - how does this compare? Answer: we add a web interface and team dynamic. Josh: I like the user interface. How do you deal with multiple people editing documents at same time (big issue for software like Collab, Trac, Google)? Answer: not really an answer. Has to be manually resolved between versions.
Devunity: the panel is confused as to what it is... good, makes me feel better.
Quick panel recap - favorites:
Josh: Swype. For user experience, its great. Evan: Swype. Looked brilliant and big need. Difficult business though. Tim: Swype. Challenging biz-dev problems but interesting bet. I'd like to try out Postbox though. Om: Swype. By far the most practical.
TechCrunch 50 Mobile Session: FitBit and Tonchidot Steal Show
Best session of TechCrunch 50 so far... tons of innovation in the mobile space and it would have made sense to expand this 'vertical' with more companies.
MyTopia: Helping the mobile web play together. They are running a single game being played natively on all phone systems: Blackberry, iPhone, Symbian, Palm, Android, etc. This is Widgetbox for Mobile. Wow. This is amazing.
Tim OReilly: what is performance of the apps? Benchmarking? Josh Kopelman: Do you see yourself as a tool provider or a content provider? Answers: tool. Tim: Who pays you? I didn't hear the full answer... Tim says they need to figure out which angle to take quickly as it determines the product path. Evan: solves a need but there is a focus problem.
The demo for MyTopia was amazing... the Q/A session is quite confusing and dampened the excitment.
Tonchidot / Sekai Camera: bizarre presentation but freaking awesome product that I would use immediately but would kill the iPhone in about 15 minutes of usage (less their problem / technology than Apple's need to fix). It's a tag / social alerting system based on the iPhone and GPS.
Josh and Tim ask about where the current tagging data is coming from: internal and/or user-generated?
The founder has said loudly that he rejects a Google acquisition and the crowd went wild. He is hilarious.
Tim: wonderful concept but, "can you build it and are you building it the right way?' Also wonders how much of what they built is in aggregating what is done elsewhere so that they don't have to build it entirely themselves.
They are the clear fan favorites... this session is hysterical. Standing ovation.
MobClix: analytics and logging for mobile applications. Big need for mobile developers and the UI looks powerful. Think Google Analytics for your mobile apps (primarily iPhone Apps... exclusively? I cannot tell). They also have an ad system built in to help monetize apps.
Tim: Who pays you? What's the rev-split on the ad system? Where's the growth? The iPhone is great - but its not big enough to sustain a large enough audience. Tim: You need widespread adoption... why do developers choose you? You need developers with winning apps to make money. Josh: an investor in Pinch Media and therefore cannot comment. He says its critical to be cross platform / carrier.
FitBit: think Nike Fit on steroids.... a little device that clips on to your pocket, shorts, etc and monitors your activity. It's wireless and it uploads data to the bay station. Will sell for $99 and hit stores in December. Preorder available starting today. I am in.
Why not a subscription model? Answer: we plan on having premium subscriptions over time.
Tim and Evan: love it and want one. Josh: Form factor is slick. How do you differentiate from Nike? Answer: form factor is the solve. Tim: Do you make money at $99? Answer: yes.
It is not using GPS so it will not give pace. It is not the ideal running solution - but for general health it is ideal.
TechCrunch 50 Live Update: No Wifi
I'm at TechCrunch 50 and there has been no wifi thus far... causing small riots in some cases.
While everyone searches for wifi signals, Yammer.com created their own closed network purely to promote themselves. Not sure if it's genius, shameless or stupid (since no one can get online anyhow). Probably a combination of all:
InGameNow Launches New Version in Time for NFL Opening Day
Late last night, InGameNow launched a new version of the site in time for today's NFL opening day (and Tom Brady's torn ACL....). There are several exciting and prominent features:
New Sports If football isn't your passion (or you've given up since Tom Brady is no longer playing), InGameNow has launched in five new sports: Golf, MMA, Nascar, Soccer and Tennis. From Chuck Liddell to Roger Federer – we have you covered.
Upgraded InGameNow Blog The InGameNow Blog has become one of the most visited sports blogs on the web. We've released a new version that is fully integrated into the InGameNow experience and will feature the latest and best posts – showcasing your content to 100,000s of viewers.
Full API We have released an InGameNow Sports API capable of powering communities, widgets, applications, etc. If you are interested in partnering with us and using the API, please contact me.
Reply Functions You'll notice that we've added reply buttons prominently throughout the site. Pressing reply will enable you to chime in to any conversation – whether it's a rival or a fellow fan.
Team Widgets Have your own blog or website? We have over 1,000 widgets from you to choose from that deliver the latest scores and news directly to your blog. Just pick your favorite team or league, and grab the widget code – everything else happens dynamically! Learn more here
iPhone and Blackberry Integration InGameNow.com has been optimized for the iPhone and Blackberry. You can either visit the site directly to interact and get live scores – or you can set up your account to receive alerts via GTalk and AOL Instant Messanger (AIM). Both are great ways to stay atop of the sporting world while on the go.
MLB Releases At Bat v1.2 for iPhone - It's Awesome
I've said for a while now that MLB understands the web more than the NBA, NFL and NHL combined. The MLB At Bat iPhone App was announced at the iPhone's launch and it's been a hit since. Today, they released version 1.2 and it's a huge upgrade. The app used to reflect the game's score, number of outs and pitch count (with long delays) - and there was a video archive of "top plays" that arrived a few minutes after happening in the respective ballparks.
The new version now has a few more features (most shown below):
- Gameday: it's essentially ESPN's Gamecast on your phone. Full pitch details (as it happens) with location, count, mph, etc. Amazing. - Field: shows the ballpark's layout, defensive assignments and who is on base. - Boxscore: full boxscore optimized for the iPhone. - Summary: all scoring plays and a full inning-by-inning archive of every play. - Videos: now features a count on the main screen that updates when new videos are loaded. The video quality seems to be slightly better now (but I have no evidence of this being factual!).
Apple, iPhone Dev Center Can't Keep Up With Developer Demand
I will say it again: Apple and the iPhone are in trouble unless they figure out the App Directory. The iPhone and its platform are only successful and game-changing if it enables content to be produced, released and used. That's not happening. I've written before about Apple's inability (apparent failure?) to meet the demand of potential developers... I've been waiting in the queue for weeks(!). The result is more than just developer annoyance - it's a lack of content for consumers. Here is the most recent screenshot from the App Directory's "New" module which show 21 apps in the last 30 days (note: I am not sure how / why the "new" module is different than searching for "all free apps" or "all paid apps"):
Attention Apple - I've Been Waiting in iPhone Dev Center for Weeks!
We are fast at work designing an InGameNow iPhone Application that will deliver real-time sports scores and banter to your phone... and we're now finalizing the product - but we've been we can't launch until we hear back from Apple. We've been stuck in Apple's Developer Center blackhole for nearly three weeks.
We are waiting to be accepted as developers - not even to have our application reviewed and approved! I am amazed that this process takes weeks... I understand the need for quality control - particularly for paid applications. And I imagine that that Apple is overwhelmed at the moment.... but:
- We are providing a free application - And haven't even had our *account* accepted
Any hints in how to accelerate this process?! I'm getting quite frustrated!