Google's Latest Acquisition: Plink, Mobile Visual Search Startup

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/ucRX-J33RzY/googles_latest_acquisition_plink_mobile_visual_sea.php

Google's newest acquisition is Plink, makers of a visual search application for mobile devices called PlinkArt. The app "recognizes almost any work of art," claims the app's homepage, "just by taking a photo of it." In addition to the visual identification aspect, Plink users can also discuss the art within the app, send images to friends or order prints of the artwork.

On its own, Plink sounds like an entertaining and educational tool, but one whose real-life implementations would probably be limited to a tour of an art museum or a late-night cram session for an Art History exam. But Google didn't just buy Plink for the art it can identify - that's just an added bonus. It's likely that Google bought the company more for the algorithm that powers the smart application and brains of those who invented it.

Sponsor

According to a post on the Plink company blog, developers Mark Cummins and James Philbin, Oxford PhD students whose company was only four months old when acquired, will now join Google to commence work on the search giant's "Google Goggles" project. This ambitious, futuristic mobile search application is already available for Google's own mobile OS, Android, in a limited format. At the moment, you can use Google Goggles to take pictures of real-world objects like landmarks, logos, books, contact info, places, wine and - oh yes - artwork, too. The mobile application then recognizes the images and objects in your pictures and that, in turn, kicks off a Google search for whatever item it finds.

While on the one hand, it does seem amazing that a mobile application can "see" the world like this, the reality is that this sort of mobile search experience is still in its infancy. Unlike with Google's text-based search engine, there's no guarantee that the app will be able to recognize the image in your photo. Was the photo too blurry? Too dark? Or was it a building (book/place/etc.) that the app doesn't know yet?

But just as how the original tablet computers were heavy, clunky, inelegant devices that blazoned a trail that led us to the sleek and shiny iPad, a tablet some now claim will "revolutionize" computing, Google Goggles could one day lead to a world where everything we see - including people! - can be identified through the eyes of camera and an algorithm.

That's a somewhat frightening concept, but one that's also incredibly exciting at the same time, we have to admit.

Plink will now become a part of that effort, enhancing Goggles' artwork search engine while the engineers bring their talent and ideas to forward the project as a whole. "There are beautiful things to be done with computer vision," reads the blog post signed "Mark & James." "It's going to be a lot of fun," it concludes. For us, too.

(Originally reported via the Guardian)

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Project Pink: Microsoft Launches Social Networking Phones Tomorrow

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Mashable/~3/3j_rZs7VLKM/

Microsoft is expected to reveal a line of social networking-centric phones during a live webcast tomorrow. The launch is the culmination of a long-running project within Microsoft called “Project Pink”.

The webcast carries the slogan “We’re For Sharing”, while press invites to the event read “It’s time to share”. Leaked marketing materials, meanwhile, include the message “Make Your Network More Social.”

We also know what two of the phones look like — the “Turtle” (top right) is square with a slideout keyboard, while the “Pure” (below) is rectangular. (Images courtesy Gizmodo.) The phones will run on the Verizon network.

As Barb Dybwad wrote of the launch earlier this week:

The “Pink” line will reflect Microsoft’s taking a more hands-on role in developing the hardware side of the mobile spectrum, as opposed to their more typical strategy of handling the software operating system and letting partners design the phones themselves. They’ve also designed some undetailed “online services” for Pink phones in addition to the software and hardware, while Japan’s Sharp Corp. will handle the actual manufacturing.

The question is: can Microsoft win over the Facebook generation by marketing its own handsets? And can the Redmond giant take the sheen off the iPhone?

Mashable will be live at the launch event in San Francisco tomorrow to find out!

[Hat tip - Andrew Lim]


Reviews: Facebook, Mashable

Tags: microsoft, Project Pink, Pure, turtle, windows phone, windows phone 7

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Paperboy: Bridging the Gap Between Print and Online News

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/3oPB0R6aMVw/paperboy_bridging_the_gap_between_printed_and_onli.php

paperboy_logo_apr10.jpgSwiss startup Kooaba is trying to bring the worlds of printed news and virtual content closer together with its Paperboy iPhone app. This app, which is currently only available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, allows users to take pictures of articles from a range of popular magazines and papers and then see additional content about these articles on their iPhones. Paperboy will also make a digital version of the article available in your Kooaba archive and users can then share this article with their friends by email and on Facebook and Twitter.

Sponsor

Note: Paperboy isn't available in the U.S. version of Apple's App Store. In the U.S., only Kooaba's app for recognizing books, DVD covers and other physical objects is currently available. Kooaba also worked with Wired last year to make some of the magazine's advertisements more interactive.

paperboy_iphone.jpgKooaba, which specializes in image recognition and already offers similar recognition tools for book and CDs, is working directly with a number of magazine publishers in the German-speaking world. The company plans to bring its services to other countries as well. Sadly, the service doesn't work for papers and magazines that don't work directly with Kooaba to get their content featured on the app. Kooaba needs a PDF version of the magazine to train the service's image recognition software.

Besides making the article available for online reading and sharing, Paperboy's partners can also include links to their Facebook and Twitter profiles, as well as links to related articles and videos.

Magazines and papers can also choose to charge their users for accessing extra content through Paperboy. In addition, advertisers can embed related links to their web sites whenever somebody scans a relevant article or print ad.

Overall, this looks like an interesting concept. Even though the newspaper and magazine business is in the middle of a deep crisis, print won't go away for a while and applications like Paperboy can help print publishers to bridge the gap between their traditional publications and their online presence. The question, however, is if other technologies like QR codes aren't easier to use for publishers who just want to embed a link into an article for example.

Via: Netzwertig

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"Do Crew" Augmented Reality Cartoons Help Get Kids Off the Couch

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/PgIwl4vlDLI/do_crew_augmented_reality_cartoons_help_get_kids_o.php

docrew_logo_apr10.jpgNew York-based online video management company whistleBox has developed a new browser-based augmented reality (AR) experience geared directly at children by integrating it with the one thing every kid loves: cartoons. The project, dubbed Do Crew, is a series of animated stories for kids that include interactive AR games and challenges that the kids can play with using a webcam attached to a desktop or laptop computer.

Sponsor

In examples shown in videos on the Do Crew site, kids can control cartoon vehicles by jumping or leaning side-to-side, and can play other games by waving their hands in front of the camera. Think Project Natal but in a web browser, and integrated within kids' cartoons. This is an excellent use of augmented reality technology because it is a practical application with genuine value, an attribute we discussed last week as being the strongest way AR can break into the mainstream.

docrew_2up_apr10.jpg

Best of all, with games like these, kids will no longer be passively glued to their sofas as this new AR project encourages the kids of stand and use their body and arms to control the games. The Do Crew developers state that their mission with the game is help combat the growing epidemic of child obesity.

"Children will not stop watching television, and parents will not stop feeling guilt about that fact. So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a rare opportunity to acknowledge this epidemic and treat it at the most basic level," the site says. "The Do Crew team is dedicated to making all passive media active, and we believe that with a little technology and imagination we can reimage the personal computer or console video game system as effective electronic exercise equipment."

docrew_kid_apr10.jpgGoing after the children's entertainment market could also be a boon for the augmented reality industry which has yet to find the public spotlight. Time Magazine named AR as one of the top tech trends to watch in 2010, and by engaging children, AR may be able to make significant strides towards mass public adoption and acception.

Actually, AR experiences aimed at kids are not a new concept; a LEGO Store installation that helped kids see 3D reprensentations of model kits right on their boxes, and a web-based Topps baseball card experience that made the players on the cards come alive in 3D are two of the most well known AR roll-outs to date. New projects like Do Crew are not only great for kids, but also for AR as a whole as it strives to gain credibility and traction with as wide an audience as possible.

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The iPad Is Jailbroken, Blackra1n Simply Too Hotz

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2010/04/10/ipad-jailbroken-blackra1n-simply-hotz/

The iPad Is Jailbroken, Blackra1n Simply Too Hotz

The iPad Is Jailbroken, Blackra1n Simply Too Hotz

The latest blog post from George Hotz (Geohot) contained no words, simply a title and an image.

When you look at the post, you will see why it needs no explanation, especially if you have experience with the Blackra1n jailbreaking software and the Cydia software repository.

If the screenshot is legitimate and the iPad has been jailbroken, those erring on the side of caution when deciding to buy an iPad may start to look at the tablet in a whole new light. Unauthorised applications on other jailbroken Apple devices have added much needed functionality to the closed environment that is the iPhone OS.

Currently there are no official downloads of the Blackra1n jailbreaking software but it surely can’t be long until it’s released.

Original title and link for this post: The iPad Is Jailbroken, Blackra1n Simply Too Hotz

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A Fresh Look At Foursquare: "No way any normal motherf**ker is going do this check-in sh*t"

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/qCe-ELyducs/henry-blodget-a-fresh-look-at-foursquare-and-location-based-services-no-way-any-normal-motherfcker-is-going-do-this-check-in-sht-2010-4

Dave McClureStartup god Dave McClure weighs in with a reality check on Foursquare and the latest tech craze:

for all u nosebleed-valuation VCs jockeying to finance the dorky geniusues at FourSquare, GoWalla, and every other LBS [location-based services] vendor / app developer out there, it's time to face the music. while i admit everyone at SXSW (including me) was tweet-whoring themselves all over Sixth & checking-in like a sex worker at a Fuller Brush convention, let's not delude ourselves -- the current method of check-ins are a classic case of early-adopter lust for shiny objects, & they have not a damn thing to do with long-term sustainable mainstream consumer behavior. no way any normal motherfucker is gonna do this check-in shit.

So Dave thinks location-based services are toast? 

No.

He thinks there's going to have to be a financial incentive for people to play ball:

Without financial incentives or discounts, there is absolutely no reason on god's green earth to "check-in" for your stoner cousin, your luddite penny-pinching aunt, and certainly not your clueless grandmother.  they could give a rat's ass about your stupid little iPhone app with the pretty pictures and clever auto-discovery that barely works while draining the hell out of the battery... that is, until you give them $5 off their next beer or 5-dollar foot long.... at which point guess what? 

HELLO, MAINSTREAM CONSUMER MARKET!

while there may be ways to simulate financial incentives & discounts with virtual goods, frequent flier miles, or other point-based systems & jedi mind tricks & psychological motivations, nothing works better to increase conversion than a cool $5 bucks in your digital wallet, or 20% off your next offline purchase.

if you don't believe me, go take a look at the history of PayPal jump-starting initial account signup incentives with $5 discounts for joining, referring friends, and entering profile & bank info.

Now, you're going to want to go read Dave's whole post, because there's a lot more there.  Basically, Dave thinks the eventual winner in this space is going to have to spend a BOATLOAD of money to make it happen--on the order of $500 million.

Dave also makes a lot of cool predictions, like Facebook buys Foursquare, Apple buys Gowalla (or whichever one Facebook doesn't buy), Google buys Twitter and Yelp, Microsoft buys something and flops, and... 

Facebook wins.

Go read it >

Join the conversation about this story »

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Mobile Web more popular than newspaper or magazine reading in Europe

http://blog.mobileweb.be/2010/03/29/mobile-web-more-popular-than-newspaper-or-magazine-reading-in-europe/

A recent study by the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) has found that browsing the mobile web is more popular than reading newspapers or magazines.

The study found that on average 71 million Europeans use the internet on their mobile each week – for an average time of almost one hour every day.

EIAA’s Mediascope Europe study across 15 European markets highlights how consumers are extending the ways in which they enjoy and engage with the internet and its growing influence on everyday lives.

The findings indicate a growing public awareness of the mobile internet – there are now more people who are aware that they can use the Internet on their mobile device than not (48% vs 47%).

71 million Europeans browse the mobile Internet in a typical week, and the time spent browsing is almost an hour per day – an average of 6.4 hours per week browsing. This compares with an average of just 4.8 hours reading a newspaper or 4.1 hours reading magazines.

books-vs-mobile-chart.gif

This increase is largely being driven by the younger generations with 24% of 16-24 year olds and 21% of 25-34 year olds already using the mobile Internet and spending on average 7.2 and 6.6 hours respectively each week.

And the time spent is not the same across all countries, with Poland leading the way with an average of over 10 hours spent on mobile internet per week.

books-vs-mobile-ctry.gif

The EIAA study also included some interesting information about what activities are popular on mobile phones:

  • almost half (48%) of Europeans use their internet enabled phones for more than voice conversation
  • 16% state they communicate using social media via their mobile
  • 16% also using mobile instant messenger

Alison Fennah, Executive Director of the EIAA said: “Better devices and connectivity as well as enhanced consumer motivation all started coming together in 2009 to improve and extend the overall online experience. As a result, the internet is now being consumed across PC, laptop, mobile and gaming devices, providing 24-7 access to digital information and entertainment. This presents a compelling case for brands to explore and incorporate a growing number of complementary interactive platforms into the marketing mix.

“Indeed, new age patterns of media consumption indicate that marketers should be looking to develop multi-platform strategies that reach and connect with consumers more effectively and increase ROI. This is opposed to making media decisions based on an ‘either or’ basis if they want to reach all demographics.”

To read the full Press Release please click HERE.

Source: MobiAdNews


Tagged: browsing, interactive advertising, MobileWeb, newspapers

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Liever tv de deur uit dan internet in VS

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MarketingFacts/~3/Uz4-C2DUr8A/

Als ze moesten kiezen in een fictief wegstreep-experiment (welk-medium-zou-je-het-ergste-missen), zou 49 procent van de Amerikaanse consumenten de tv wegstrepen en 48 procent het internet als medium om te blijven gebruiken. In 2001, het eerste jaar dat Arbitron/Edison dit onderzoek uitvoerde, elimineerde nog 72 procent het internet en 26 procent de televisie. Internet wordt, anno 2010, gezien als het ‘meest essentiële’ medium (via: MC). Het gaat om een nationaal onderzoek met 1753 respondenten ouder dan 12. “The shift over these nine years has been steady and profound,” zegt Edison Research president Larry Rosin. Kijk je naar de leeftijdsgroep onder 45, dan is de groep die tv wegstreept nog veel groter. Interessante bevindingen in een tijd waarin tv en internet steeds verder naar elkaar toe groeien, schrijft MarketingCharts, met het Nielsen Three Screen Report als bron. Lees meer over: Liever tv de deur uit dan internet in VS.

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Utterly cool stuff -> Microsoft Shows Off Finger/Stylus Combo Multitouch Magic [Multitouch]

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/gFz-0V4hRTA/microsoft-shows-off-fingerstylus-combo-multitouch-magic

For many touch screen applications, fingers are your best bet. For others, the precision of a stylus is required. Microsoft shows how using both in conjunction might be the best option of all, delivering users to digital scrapbook nirvana. More »


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