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Thursday, May 05, 2011

Mobile Ad Network Jumptap Closes $25 Million Funding Round

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/05/mobile-ad-network-jumptap-closes-25-million-funding-round/

As we reported a month ago, mobile ad network JumpTap has raised a round of new funding. The company confirmed this today, announcing a $25 million financing round from AllianceBernstein, General Catalyst, Redpoint Ventures, Summerhill Ventures, Valhalla Partners and WPP, as well as several new investors, who are not being disclosed. This brings the company’s funding to over $90 million.

JumpTap is one of the largest remaining independent mobile advertising networks, in addition to Millennial Media, 4INFO, InMobi and others (another remaining network Greystripe was just acquired). Jumptap's data-driven technology promises highly targeted advertising and the company partners with digital and media agencies, publishers, wireless carriers and brand advertisers to serve an array of mobile advertising solutions.

Despite the heated competition in the mobile advertising space, JumpTap appears to be growing, both in terms of reach and employees. JumpTap says its network now reaches 83 million consumers, which is a 30 percent increase from last year. And the network has partnered with more than 10,000 sites and apps; received over 10 billion ad requests in April, and has over a dozen patents related to mobile ad technologies.

The company added 35 employees since the beginning of 2011 from companies including Apple, IAC, Time Inc, and Maxus. JumpTap also recently landed a deal with Tokyo-based cyber communications (cci).

George Bell, CEO of Jumptap said this in a statement: "Our focus on leading mobile innovation through technology and services underscores our long-term vision and commitment to delivering the best solutions for advertisers and publishers…We are well positioned to capitalize on the momentum in the mobile marketplace and continue to see impressive growth across all measures."

The company says the new investment will be used towards product and technology development, and to hiring additional staff to support client demand.

JumpTap is one of the largest remaining independent mobile advertising networks, in addition to Millennial Media, Greystripe, InMobi and others. Jumptap's data-driven technology promises highly targeted advertising and the company partners with digital and media agencies, publishers, wireless carriers and brand advertisers to serve an array of mobile advertising solutions.

Ultra-thin handheld microscope could sniff out skin cancer, forged documents

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/05/ultra-thin-handheld-microscope-could-sniff-out-skin-cancer-forg/

It may not look like it, but that sleek black thing pictured above is actually a microscope. Designed by engineers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, this little guy boasts a 5.3mm optical length, rendering it slim enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet powerful enough to deliver images at a scanner-like resolution of five micrometers, over a wide surface area. Fraunhofer's researchers achieved this balance by essentially tossing out the manual on traditional microscope design. Whereas most devices slowly scan areas and construct images on a piecemeal basis, this handheld uses several small imaging channels and a collection of tiny lenses to record equal sized fragments of a given surface. Unlike conventional scanner microscopes, all of these 300 x 300 square micrometer imaging channels are captured at the same time. With a single swipe, then, users can record 36 x 24 square mm shots of matchbox-sized objects, without even worrying about blurring the images with their shaky hands. The prototype is still two years away from going into production, but once it does, engineers say it could help doctors scan patients for skin cancer more easily, while also allowing bureaucrats to quickly confirm the authenticity of official documents. We can only imagine what it could do for Pac-Man. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Ultra-thin handheld microscope could sniff out skin cancer, forged documents

Ultra-thin handheld microscope could sniff out skin cancer, forged documents originally appeared on Eng! adget on Thu, 05 May 2011 09:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel refreshes Wireless Display with support for DRM-protected DVDs, Blu-rays

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/05/intel-refreshes-wireless-display-with-support-for-drm-protected/

We were bowled over from the start by Intel's Wireless Display technology, which lets you stream HD content from select laptops to an HDTV (with the help of a small adapter, of course). But while WiDi's been good for watching The Colbert Report on Hulu and streaming flicks stored on your hard drive, it hasn't played so nice with DVDs and Blu-rays. At last, though, Intel is supporting HDCP-protected discs (along with some online content) through a free driver update. One catch: it only applies to Sandy Bridge laptops, which just started shipping this spring. If your notebook's a few months too old, well, using an HDMI cable isn't the worst consolation prize.

Intel refreshes Wireless Display with support for DRM-protected DVDs, Blu-rays originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acoustic Poetry concept turns ambient noise into verse

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/04/acoustic-poetry-concept-turns-ambient-noise-into-verse/

Modern society invests a lot of time and money attempting to drown out our surroundings, but the inability to hear ambient noise can rob one of a sense of place, which can be a very real concern amongst the deaf community. The Acoustic Poetry concept device from British designer Michail Vanis won't miraculously cure the deaf, but it does promise to keep them a bit more in touch. The wooden box is used to capture sound and transmit it to an interpreter, who listens and translates it into text, coming out like something of a free form haiku. It's a communication relay not entirely unlike ones we've seen from a number of other companies, and one that doesn't really necessitate its own stand-alone device. Still, it's nice to see text messaging that can actually keep people more in-touch with their surroundings, for a change -- we still don't recommend using it while driving, however. Video after the break.

[Thanks, Ro]

Continue reading Acoustic Poetry concept turns ambient noise into verse

Acoustic Poetry concept turns ambient noise into verse originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 16:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TrendNet outs first 450 Mbps dual-band WiFi adapter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/04/trendnet-outs-first-450-mbps-dual-band-wifi-adapter/

If you're reading this, we're going to go ahead and assume you've got a computer endowed with its own wireless radio, but that doesn't mean it's powerful enough to handle your non-stop streaming these days. For folks craving more oomph, TrendNet has just announced the first USB adapter that promises to boost your throughput to speeds as high as 450 Mbps (thanks to MIMO technology) -- a mighty boost over the 54Mbps or 150Mbps rates you might be used to. As a dual-band adapter, it'll connect to either 2.4GHz or 5GHz networks and -- bonus -- its design is relatively discreet, too. Feel the need for speed? It's on sale now for $80.

Continue reading TrendNet outs first 450 Mbps dual-band WiFi adapter

TrendNet outs first 450 Mbps dual-band WiFi adapter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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