VentureBeat |
- How we rocked DEMO Spring 2011 (photos)
- Uber’s car service comes to Palo Alto with new rates
- CrowdGather raises $7.85M to roll-up the Web’s forums
- On the GreenBeat: Solyndra’s star fades, admits to mistakes; Khosla says new biofuel IPO coming
- Samsung says aspects of Galaxy Tab 10.1 “inadequate” compared to iPad 2
- A sensor-driven life: IT companies wire up cities of the future
- Founder Conference and LetsLunch bring the best lunch partners on-stage
- iPad 2: Apple’s missed business opportunity
| How we rocked DEMO Spring 2011 (photos) Posted: 04 Mar 2011 06:53 PM PST
As exciting as it is to tell the story of innovation unfolding, it’s even more of a rush for the companies presenting at the conference. They have a lot at stake — the months or even years of development, the harrowing selection process overseen by DEMO executive producer and VentureBeat editor-in-chief Matt Marshall, the fee if they’re selected, and the time it takes to get out to the desert. It all came together at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, the site of the conference. You name it, DEMO Spring 2011 had it — and we covered it. Life-saving altitude simulators. Instant market research, just add Internet. A real reason for the mailman to go postal. You’ve read our blow-by-blow coverage of the launches and the winners of the prestigious DEMOgod award and the $1 million grand prize. But as Marshall said as he kicked off DEMO Spring 2011, this promised to be the most social DEMO ever — from the wired-in startups taking advantage of new social technologies to the nonstop networking and parties on site. After the action on stage, it was the lobbies, the bars, the restaurants and the nightclubs where the DEMO community created real value. I couldn’t cross a room, it seemed, without hearing about some new funding coming through. All work and no play? Hardly. As DEMO’s self-appointed instigator-in-chief, I made sure people took to the dance floor at the closing party, and the Marriott’s hot tubs were filled to capacity. After we sweated out the angst of the event to Lady Gaga and the Rolling Stones, we soaked it all up under a starlit sky, with steam roiling off the water, talking about grand plans for the future. Okay, sometimes that future only went as far as the rest of the night, and how we were going to make our early-morning plane flights home. But in a few hours of sleep, we dreamed of the next DEMO — and the next products to rock our world. Here’s how the event unfolded in photos. VentureBeat’s Matt Lynley, Matt Marshall, and Owen Thomas start the fire at DEMO Spring 2011. DEMO survivor Redg Snodgrass explains it all. VentureBeat’s Christopher Peri teaches DEMO’s Neal Silverman abotu the power of the Perivision hat. Brew PR’s Dena Cook, Brooke Hammerling, and Dorothy Jean celebrate their trifecta of DEMO companies. VentureBeat’s Anthony Ha demonstrates his awesomeness. DEMOvians sing at DEMO After Dark. More photos via Flickr: [Photos by Stephen Brashear/New Media Synergy for the DEMO Conference]
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| Uber’s car service comes to Palo Alto with new rates Posted: 04 Mar 2011 06:49 PM PST
The San Francisco startup previously announced that for two weeks, it would launch in Palo Alto with exclusive pickups for Facebook and Google employees, presumably as a way to build buzz before opening to the general public in mid-March. (Rather confusingly, non-Facebook and Google employees could call for pickups in Silicon Valley locations outside of Palo Alto.) Today, the company (formerly known as UberCab) said that it's going to end the exclusivity early, because "many of the Uber Faithful decried not having their Uber Southern Comfort." So anyone can use Uber anywhere on the peninsula. I've become a huge fan of Uber in the last couple of months, after I finally started using the service when I couldn't get a cab on New Year's Eve. Yes, it's more expensive then calling a cab, but it's also more convenient (all the payments are handled in the app), comfortable, and most important for me, reliable (the drivers are tracked by the GPS on their phones, so you have a good estimate of when they'll arrive). For those of you who don’t know how it works, Uber isn’t running a car service itself; instead it connects existing car companies and drivers with passengers through the app. The drivers I've talked to have raved about how it makes their jobs more lucrative by helping them find passengers when they're not serving one of their regular clients. This expansion will be a good test of Uber's viability — specifically, whether the concept works outside of dense, urban areas. The company warns that users may have to wait longer for their pickups. Since trips on the peninsula will probably cover a longer distance, prices will also go up, but Uber is trying to mitigate that by offering some new flat rates, so passengers know exactly how much a trip will cost. For example, a ride from Palo Alto to the San Francisco Airport will cost $85, while a trip from Palo Alto to San Francisco proper will cost $115. Uber recently raised an $11 million round from Benchmark Capital and previous investors First Round Capital, Chris Sacca's Lowercase Capital, and the Founder Collective. Companies: Uber
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| CrowdGather raises $7.85M to roll-up the Web’s forums Posted: 04 Mar 2011 02:58 PM PST
Chief executive Sanjay Sabnani said the money should help the startup continue acquiring more forums. He’s open about the fact that his strategy isn't focused on technology but rather is a "roll up" of existing sites. With investments and valuations climbing in the startup world, Sabnani said he felt a little more urgency to raise the money so he can close some deals before they're out of his price range. Forums aren't exactly a sexy topic right now — in a recent interview with the New Tech Post site, Sabnani was asked, "But haven't social media sites subsumed the role of forums?" He discussed the question in-depth, but he also gave me a more succinct answer yesterday. "Everyone’s trying to chip away at this — Yelp with reviews, Facebook with chitchat, Quora with Q&A," Sabnani said. "But if you’re into coins, you want to go to a site called CoinTalk." For another example of forum sites growing and evolving, you can read my coverage of how Topix is refocusing on politics. The Woodland Hills, Calif. company launched in 2008, but it has been publicly-traded since April of that year. Sabnani said that with his connections at the time, it made more sense to raise money through the public markets rather than venture capital — although that decision looked a little less smart after the market crash in the fall of 2008. In addition to funding acquisitions, Sabnani said the new capital will put CrowdGather in a better position as it applies to one of the national listings. (Sabnani won't say which one, but those listings include NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, and an American Stock Exchange.) Companies: CrowdGather People: Sanjay Sabnani
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| On the GreenBeat: Solyndra’s star fades, admits to mistakes; Khosla says new biofuel IPO coming Posted: 04 Mar 2011 12:56 PM PST Here’s the latest action we’re following today on the GreenBeat:
Khosla says new biofuels IPO coming — Billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla’s Khosla Ventures has seen its investments in biofuels startups Amyris and Gevo result in public offerings in the past few months, and Khosla apparently expects one more to happen in the next four weeks or so, according to a transcript of a talk he gave at a recent conference. Earth2Tech bets the IPO will come from either KiOR or Coskata. BMW wants to sell 30,000 electric cars a year — The luxury automaker recently launched an eco-friendly sub-brand of cars, which includes the i3 all-electric city car and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. The company plans to launch the i3 in 2013 and wants to sell 30,000 of the cars a year by 2014, Autoblog Green reports. Germany has been fretting about falling behind in the global automotive space as major players like Nissan and Chevrolet have moved to launch electric cars, according to the WSJ. U.S. solar growth dependent on fundraising -- The U.S. solar industry could double its installations this year thanks to the economic recovery and momentum from the previous year, but a Reuters analysis found that solar’s reliance on subsidies could make investors wary. While panel costs continue to decline, the viability of government support for subsidies remains in question. Still, investors seem to have a healthy appetite for large solar projects. The current tax equity market is not sufficient for demand from solar project developers in need of financing. The industry would likely need to raise about $10 billion to reach forecasted supply of 1.6 gigawatts this year. Samsung to develop electric car batteries for U.S. market – The Korean electronics manufacturer will develop advanced batteries for electric cars through a joint development partnership with the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium, which consists of GM, Ford and Chrysler. The company expects its electric vehicle battery sales to expand through the venture and expects to put in half of the $8.4 million needed for the project. Companies: Bmw, Khosla Ventures, Samsung, Solyndra People: Brian Harrison, Vinod Khosla
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| Samsung says aspects of Galaxy Tab 10.1 “inadequate” compared to iPad 2 Posted: 04 Mar 2011 12:05 PM PST Even Samsung is pointing out how the iPad 2 trumps its own Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet. Samsung’s vice president of mobile Lee Don-joo pointed to the iPad 2’s thin design and competitive pricing (it starts at $499 like the original iPad) as major obstacles. Speaking to the Korean news site Yonhap News Agency, Lee said that Samsung “will have to improve the parts that are inadequate” of its Galaxy Tab 10.1, which runs Google’s new Android 3.0 operating system. The tablet is the 10-inch successor to Samsung’s original 7-inch Galaxy Tab, which currently retails for $250 with a two-year data contract, or between $500 and $600 off-contract. Samsung hasn’t yet announced how much it will charge for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but Lee mentioned that the company had (not surprisingly) intended to charge more than the original Galaxy Tab. “We will have to think that over,” Lee said, a sign that Samsung may end up offering the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the same $499 entry price as the iPad 2. Motorola’s Xoom tablet, the first Android 3.0 tablet to hit the market, and the first one many consider to be a legitimate iPad competitor, starts at $599 with a two-year data contract. That Motorola couldn’t deliver a Xoom at $499 is a common criticism, and it’s something that’s sure to cause consumers to opt for an iPad 2 instead. Samsung likely doesn’t want to end up in the same boat, and it probably realizes it will need to compete directly with the iPad 2 when it comes to pricing. It will likely cost Samsung quite a bit to bring its pricing down, but that’s likely what it will take to make the Galaxy Tab 10.1 a success.
Companies: Samsung Apple People: Lee Don-joo
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| A sensor-driven life: IT companies wire up cities of the future Posted: 04 Mar 2011 11:13 AM PST In a hospital somewhere, a patient falls out of bed. A loud alarm goes off, and nurses rush in. Then three blood pressure monitors and a crash cart go missing from the ER. Operations managers quickly locate them in other parts of the hospital via a GPS-like function loaded into the software on their computers. The key to all this is sensors. The aforementioned hospital isn’t really a hospital, but a demonstration lab at IBM’s campus in Austin, Tex., (pictured below). But the software and technology are real and are being deployed in hospitals today, and not just by IBM. Cisco recently announced a partnership with Control4. Together, the two companies want to make technology that will create connected cities that can allow for remote schooling and doctor consultations, as well as automated home entertainment, lighting and security. Other companies are piling into the smart home/connected city space. Automation and home energy management is an area getting hot this year, with players like Schneider Electric, Vivent, Intel, Tendril and LG jumping into the game. Sensors are playing an increasing role in not only smart grid-enabled rollouts, but smart homes, smart cities and smart hospitals. Players like Cisco, IBM and Microsoft are launching IT frameworks for cities that can help manage water, electricity, waste and traffic — with energy efficiency in mind. They are used across the spectrum in energy efficiency offerings that are poised to gain momentum in 2011. For example, several venture-backed startups offer lighting systems that promise to reduce electricity costs. Redwood Systems and SynapSense use sensors to find energy inefficiencies in energy-hogging data centers. And sensors play a role in the smart grid, too. Smart meter company Elster recently paired its software platform with ABB’s sensor technology to monitor voltage so utilities can more efficiently monitor and operate power distribution. The idea of ever-more intelligent infrastructure, whether for energy efficiency or operational gains, goes beyond sensors, of course. Sensors provide data, but that data must be processed by software and analytics in order to yield useful recommendations. Storing information in a way that makes it easily and quickly accessible is important, too. For example, in the hospital scenario, a doctor assessing a new patient could come in and quickly pull up the patient’s treatment records on a screen (pictured, above) and see his medical allergies and treatment history. Besides creating efficiencies within hospitals, digitized records would be especially useful in the case of, say, a patient with Alzheimer’s or someone who’s unable to recall and explain key diagnostic and treatment information. Clearly major companies and startups alike see connected homes and cities as the next big thing. What do you think? Would you want to live in smart home and connected city, or do you like things just the way they are? [Top image via Flickr/Tom Purves] Companies: ABB, Cisco, Control4, Elster, IBM, Microsoft
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| Founder Conference and LetsLunch bring the best lunch partners on-stage Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:38 AM PST
The partnership is, perhaps, an obvious one, since both Foundrs.com (the founder matching service that organizes the Founder Conference) and LetsLunch were co-founded by Alain Raynaud. Still, it's a cool idea that other events might want to borrow. LetsLunch launched earlier this year with the goal of helping its users grow their professional network by meeting the right person for lunch. After the meal, each participant rates their lunch partner on a number of factors, then the site uses those ratings to provide future recommendations. The Founder Conference, which is scheduled for May 3, is repurposing that technology for a slightly different aim. Here's how Raynaud describes the process:
You can can find more information at the Founder Conference website. Raynaud also shared some data about how LetsLunch is doing. The site has now scheduled 500 lunches and has more than 1,000 users. There are another 1,000 people on the waiting list. The service is limited to Silicon Valley right now, but Raynaud plans to expand to New York in April. And LetsLunch is planning to raise a $500,000 seed round through the AngelList service. Companies: Foundrs.com, LetsLunch People: Alain Raynaud
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| iPad 2: Apple’s missed business opportunity Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:26 AM PST
But despite all of the updates and enhancements, I believe Apple missed a golden opportunity in this announcement by not making the iPad a must have enterprise device — a misstep that will likely come to haunt it. Apple states that 80 percent of Fortune 100 companies are deploying the iPad (although many of the companies I talk to have only piloted the device and not yet deployed it in volume). Despite the reservation I have on the accuracy of this statement, this is an impressive number. Many of these installations are being driven by end users demanding (and getting) access to corporate networks and apps from their own devices. But here is the dilemma that companies face. While the end-user sees a price tag of $500 to $800 per device (depending on options), they are often unaware of the true cost of deploying an iPad into the organization. In most cases, the actual purchase cost of a device (whether it be a notebook PC, smartphone or tablet) represents only about 15 percent – 25 percent of the true cost of operation of the device. This Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a direct result of what companies must do that individual don't have to. They have to pay for infrastructure, deployments, device management and technical support. Using this approximate formula, the TCO of an iPad could easily be $3000 to $5000 per year. And here is where Apple has lost an opportunity, and unwittingly provided a real "Achilles heal" for its competitors to attack by stressing TCO and not just initial purchase cost.
So for most organizations, this means they will need to buy a third-party "enterprise enabler" platform (e.g., Sybase, Zenprise, McAfee, MobileIron) to add features and functions that allow this to take place. Small companies don't need this, but companies with large IT departments and many users definitely do. And while they're at it, these enterprise enablers also add security capability beyond the limited native capability of iPad (and its reliance on Exchange ActiveSync for limited security management). It's unlikely that Apple can keep its competitive edge in devices forever. Android-based smartphones are already outselling iPhones. And it's likely that with all the next generation Android tablet devices coming to market in the short-term, the same will happen in the next 1-2 years to the iPad. While its true that Android-based devices currently are even weaker than Apple in this manageability and security, its openness does allow for more and easier enhancements and upgrades. This is why Motorola recently purchased a small company (3LM) that it will leverage to "enterprise enable" its line of Android tablets (and some phones) targeted at the enterprise, and why Xoom (or future versions of it) may be specifically targeted at the enterprise (as the Droid Pro is). And say what you might about RIM's PlayBook and its competitiveness, it will certainly be secure and IT ready right out of the box given RIM’s history in that regard. Even HP with its WebOS platform is focusing on providing enterprise-class tools for its tablets. Large company installations will likely focus on good-enough devices with enterprise enabled security and management if they get the opportunity, and thereby save a substantial amount on TCO.
Security, provisioning, and manageability will always be high priority items for big companies. And when I speak with IT people, although they are generally positive about the new experiences and opportunities iPads and tablets bring to the organization, they are also disappointed in how little Apple has done to make their life easier by providing true enterprise class tools. This will be a large market opportunity for the third party's mentioned earlier, but it could have been a real advantage for Apple if they had only moved more assertively in this direction. So, bottom line, Apple missed a big opportunity with the iPad 2 release. Maybe the enterprise tools will come in a future version. But frankly I am not optimistic. Apple focuses on the user experience, much to its credit in bringing out compelling devices. But lack of focus on enterprise needs has created a huge hole its competitors will drive through with their enhanced and more IT friendly devices. This is a market in which Apple could have preempted the competition. Now it seems, it may be too late to plug this hole in the dyke. Companies: Apple, Google, HP, RIM
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Team VentureBeat is still recovering from 
Solyndra star fades, admits to mistakes — Once-bright rooftop solar startup Solyndra (pictured) has had its share of troubles lately. After raising $1 billion, the company was forced to slash costs, close a factory and cancel an IPO. Now its $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy is under investigation by Congress. Its recent $75 million secured debt round forced several equity investors to convert their preferred equity into common stock, devaluing their holdings, according to VentureWire. Those investors were 
Asking attendees to choose who goes on-stage at conferences isn't a new idea — the online panel picker for the South by Southwest Interactive conference is probably the best-known example in the tech world. But the Founder Conference is taking a new approach using a startup called 
Apple 
Specifically, Apple's tools for large-scale deployments are weak at best. Its model for deployments is based on provisioning the device through iTunes or the Apple device manager on a PC. But companies need to do large-scale provisioning on an automated basis, and often remotely via OTA (over the air). Apple simply does not provide a competitive option for iPads (or iPhones either).
So, Apple missed a great opportunity to not only enhance the device itself (which of course it did), but make it more attractive to IT departments in big shops that could have deployed thousands of them in a single buy (a far less costly way to sell iPads than one at a time at the Apple store). It is true that Apple has made some enhancements to its products over time to help IT out (the first version of iPhone was awful at this). But Apple seems to continue to focus on the consumer side of things and only pay lip service to corporate needs (as it continues to do on the PC side of its business as well).
Jack Gold is the founder and principal analyst at J.Gold Associates, based in Northborough, Mass. He covers the many aspects of business and consumer computing and emerging technologies.| You are subscribed to email updates from VentureBeat To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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