Thursday, November 17, 2011Boingo Wireless Extends In South AfricaLos Angeles-based Boingo Wireless continues to build out its network internationally, saying Thursday afternoon that it has inked a deal to add around 600 hotspots in South Africa, via a deal with Skyrove. Boingo said the deal brings its total hotspots in South Africa to more than 2,000. Boingo said Skyrove's network includes popular hotels, restaurants and coffee shops in the region. Boingo has deals with two other Wi-Fi operators in South Africa.
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DriveCam Raises $85M, Acquires FirmSan Diego-based DriveCam, a provider of video-based products used for monitoring driver safety, announced today that it has raised $85M in a funding from a private equity firm, and also acquired a company, RAIR Technologies. The funding came from Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe XI, L.P. DriveCam said the funding wlil go towards the acquisition of RAIR Technologies, which provides regulatory compliance products for DOT-regulated fleet operators. DriveCam said it was advised by Barclays Capital on (More info...)
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HipGeo Launches APIFullerton-based HipGeo, the developer of location-aware website applications backed by Morado Venture Partners, eHarmony's Galen Buckwalter, and angel Robert Bingham, said today that it has released its new public Application Programming Interface (API). The firm said the new API makes it easier for web developers to incorporate location information and maps into their web sites. HipGeo is headed by Scott Daniel, develops software which helps track where users are traveling, and allows them to m (More info...)
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ThisNext Powers Facebook App For Neiman MarcusLos Angeles-based ThisNext and retailer Neiman Marcus said this week that ThisNext is powering a new Facebook app, ShoeDish. The new app allows women to share shoes with others, and will also feature a catalog of shoes from Neiman Marcus throughout the application. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. ThisNext said it will also be distributing weekly newsletter to app users, providing "shoe shopping inspiration" from the company's editors and Neiman Marcus staff. ShoeDish keeps a ru (More info...)
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Morphlabs Names CTOManhattan Beach-based cloud computing software developer Morphlabs said today that it has appointed Lee Thompson as its new Chief Technology Officer. Thompson has previously served at DTO Solutions, as well as E*Trade Financial, where he served in roles such as Vice President and Chief Technology and Operations Manager. Thompson has also served at Hewlett Packard's Consumer Travel and Transportation business units. Morphlabs is the latest startup of Winston Damarillo, who has had prior success i (More info...)
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Postcard On The Run Gets $750K From Selena Gomez, OthersLos Angeles-based Postcard on the Run, the startup headed by Josh Brooks, announced this morning that it has raised $750,000 in an angel round, which included actress Selena Gomez, Crosscut Ventures, Mike Jones, Yves Sisteron, Chris DeWolfe, Aber Whitcomb, Brian Fitzgerald, Ryan Steelberg, Colin Digiaro, Brian Lee, and Jarl Mohn. The firm--which develops iOS and Android apps which easily allow mobile users to take pictures and turn them into real, physical postcards mailed to their friends and f (More info...)
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RealD Wins Nebraska MuseumLos Angeles-based RealD, the developer of 3D movie projection technology, reported today that it has scored a win with a museum. RealD said that the Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History, in Hastings, Nebraska, has selected the firm's technology for its giant screen theater. Financial details of the win were not disclosed. As part of the deal, RealD said that movie attendees at the museum's theater will have the opportunity to purchase Hastings Museum-branded, RealD 3D glasses, which (More info...)
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Interview with Sara Bordo, NowLiveDespite the proximity to Hollywood and the entertainment world, in the world of Southern California startups, actually combining the two world is quite difficult. NowLive is trying to do just that, leveraging both technology and the entertainment world to build its business. We spoke with Sara Bordo, the firm's founder and CEO, about the company. Bordo has previously served at Paramount and MGM, in addition to a stint at SocialVibe.com.
What is NowLive all about?
Sara Bordo: My co-founder, (More info...)
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Insights and Opinions: When Valuations Don't Actually Mean ValuableToday's Insights and Opinions article, where we feature editorials, insights, advice, and more from our readers, comes today from Tony Greenberg, the CEO of Ramprate.
“You're walking around blind without a cane, pal. A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place.” – Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street”
A week before Groupon’s initial public offering, Henry Blodget was telling readers he wouldn’t touch it with a 50-foot pole for reasons that amounted (More info...)
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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Tops $775M In SalesSanta Monica-based Activision reports this morning that sales of its latest Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare 3, have topped $775M worldwide, in what it says is its record setting five day worldwide sell through. The firm said the sales total exceeds the record set last year by its release of Call of Duty: Black Ops, which netted the firm $650M in its first five days. Activision CEO Robert Kotick said in a statement that the company has now exceeded $6 billion in lifetime retail sales for its e (More info...)
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Warner In Deal With Amazon's LOVEFiLMBurbank-based Warner Bros. said today that it has signed a major, multi-year film distribution agreement with LOVEFiLM, the online DVD and game rental service owned by Amazon.com. According to the two, the deal will provide access to Warner Bros. content across LOVEFiLM's digital subscriptions, download-to-own, and pay-per-view services. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The deal covers LOVEFiLM's customers in the UK, Ireland, and Spain.
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CODA Automotive Taps GE Energy For ChargersLos Angeles-based CODA Automotive, the developer of electric vehicles, and GE Energy Industrial Solutions said this morning that CODA will be using GE's EV chargers. The two said that CODA will sell and distribute GE's WattStation wall mounted electric vehicle charging stations. The two said they will work on retail outlet displays, marketing event co-promotions, and other activities to promote GE Energy's EV charging products.
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MuckerLab Links With DreamhostLos Angeles-based startup accelerator MuckerLab, which is headed by Erik Rannala, has tapped Brea-based Dreamhost, the web hosting company, as the "official" web hosting and application hosting provider for the accelerator, the firm is announcing today. According to Dreamhost, all of the startups accepted into MuckerLab's program throughout 2012 will receive one year of free web hosting services from Dreamhost, including fully managed servers. Dreamhost said that it is supporting MuckerLab's eff (More info...)
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StockTwits Adds TSX FirmsSan Diego-based StockTwits, the real time, financial discussion service patterned after Twitter and headed by Howard Lindzon, announced this morning that it has added support for Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) companies on its service. The addition of TSX firms comes in conjunction with a deal with Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail as a partner. StockTwits had announced the deal with The Globe and Mail earlier this week. StockTwits provides a place for stock trading enthusiasts to trade tips, (More info...)
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