Thursday, December 13, 2012textPlus Adds International CallsMarina Del Rey-based textPlus, the provider of free texting and calling services, said Thursday that it has begun offering up inexpensive, international calling services via its Android application. textPlus said Android users in the US and Canada can make calls to any international mobile or landline number starting at two cents a minute. The firm said its rates are 10 times less expensive per minute than typical international calling rates. textPlus, which is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufiel (More info...)
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Hello Music Upgrades Social Commerce ServiceLos Angeles-based Hello Music, the social commerce marketplace run by Rick Camino, has updated its site, with a brand new design and features. The firm said "Hello Music 3.0" includes new features like a social shopping feed; ability to like, pin, tweet, and comment on any products on the site; new, daily deals on gear and services; along with other enhancements. Hello Music said the new site is a result of over 12 months of work. Hello Music is a portfolio company of Elevator Labs.
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Cynvenio Debuts New Lab ServiceWestlake Village-based Cynvenio< Biosystems, a developer of technology for the molecular characterization of cancer, said this week that it has launched a new service aimed at helping to isolate, sequence, and enumerate circulating tumor cells. The firm said its new LiquidBiopsy Lab Service uses molecular characterization to identify the specific DNA mutations in cancer and circulating tumor cells, which will allow physicians and researchers to better understand the disease and monitor patients. (More info...)
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Elon Musk Gets IPO At SolarCity; SpaceX NextTechnology mogul Elon Musk has made huge waves in Southern California with his success at Hawthorne-based commercial rocket and spaceflight company SpaceX. However, Musk also has his hands in a number of other companies, including Foster City-based SolarCity, which just had a successful IPO this morning. SolarCity is a provider of power purchase agreements (PPAs), used to finance solar power installations, which just debuted on the NASDAQ Global Market as SCTY. SolarCity debuted at $8.00 per sha (More info...)
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SocialVibe Launches New Ad ServerSocialVibe, the online advertising technology provider headed by Todd Tappin, said this morning that it has launched a new, Open RTB-compliant rich media and video ad server. The company said the ad server will provide customers with access to its inventory, as well as ability to use its TrueTargeting audience-targeting solution. SocialVibe's advertising technology is focused on what it calls "engagement advertising", which uses rich media and interaction to pull in consumer attention. The new a (More info...)
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Masimo Debuts Pulse Oximeter For iPhone, iPadIrvine-based Masimo, the developer of pulse oximeters used for measuring oxygen levels in patients, has connected its devices to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The company said its iSpO2 pulse oximeter cable and sensors connect to the devices using a 30-pin connector, and lets users check their own blood oxygen, pulse rate, and perfusion index measurements using the iPhone. According to Masimo, it is targeting the new device not for medical uses, but instead for sports and aviation use. Howev (More info...)
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Peering Into The Mobile Games Future With Josh Hartwell of Mobile DeluxeWhat does the world have in store for the mobile games market, and how do mobile games developers look at the world? We sat down with Josh Hartwell, CEO and Founder of Mobile Deluxe (www.mobiledeluxe.com), the Santa Monica mobile games developer behind such titles as Solitaire Deluxe and Big Win Slots, to talk about the company, how it made the transition from games on handsets to the world of iOS and Android, and what Josh thinks the next thing will be in the sector.
Tell us about Mobile Del (More info...)
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Factual's Real-Time Places Data Expands InternationallyFactual, the provider of a giant, geolocated database of businesses and other points of interest, said Wednesday that it has extended the real-time updates to its Places data stack to another 49 countries. The company--which had added real-time updates to its U.S. data a couple of months ago--said that the move makes lets changes and updates to entries and information on places immediately available to developers. Factual's big "database in the sky" lets developers do things like pull up local (More info...)
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Websense Ties With SIEM Software ProviderSan Diego-based security software developer Websense announced today that it has partnered with SIEM tool provider Quadrant Information Security, where Quadrant will use its ThreatSeeker Network as part of its event analysis and reporting tools. The WebSense ThreatSeeker Network is a collection of data on more than 900 million endpoints, used to analyze potential security threats and network activity. Quadrant's SIEM tool, Sagan, is used to identify potential malicious behavior in corporate netw (More info...)
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Mindspeed Details Multiple Small Cell WinsNewport Beach-based semiconductor maker Mindspeed Technologies reported multiple wins for its chips in small cell base station designs today. Mindspeed said that it has teamed with Aricent and Contela to create an integrate, Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) solution for small cell base stations, integrating Mindspeed's Transcede 3000 system-on-a-chip with Contel's LTE small cell cell product. Separately, Mindspeed said it is also working with Radisys and SK Telesys to create a carrier-class, Voice-over-LT (More info...)
posted on Thursday, December 13, 2012(Full story)