techcrunch posts

In Silicon Valley, being a "know it all" isn't an insult, it's just a good start. You have to stay on top of every minute of the latest news and, more than that, you need to know the companies and personalities behind the next big thing in tech. You have a feed reader on your iPad? That's cute. Here's a cookie. To quote Back to the Future II, if you want to hoverboard on water, "you gotta have power!" That's why we've built the Pit Bull of tech news apps: TechCrunch 2.0 for iPad and Android tablets.

What we've built with TechCrunch isn't a feed reader, and it isn't just TechCrunch content either. Thanks to TC's full CrunchBase integration you can, at a glance, get every bit of information on the companies, key players, investors, and technologies that are making waves in tech, and it highlights relevant stories from all kinds of news sites across the Web. Long story short, it's an all-in-one tech research tool available anytime, online and offline, on any iOS or Android tablet.

Yeah, we know "all in one" is as overused as "pivot" or (dare we say) "disruptive," but when we say that TechCrunch is an all-in-one tech research tool, here's what we're talking about:

• Trending around the Web – TechCrunch follows what tech influencers are sharing to measure the "velocity" of the hottest stories of the day from all kinds of websites. That means you stay ahead of the game, letting you know not only what's hot in the moment, but also what will be hot 5 minutes from now.
• Full CrunchBase integration – CrunchBase is the essential reference guide for key technology companies, people, and investors in the news. The CrunchBase database is seamlessly layered on top of every news story in the new TechCrunch apps, giving you the ability to do a "deep dive" on any story.
• Real-time tech event tracking – whether it's TechCrunch Disrupt, Google I/O, or WWDC, so much of the hottest news in tech comes out during big events. TechCrunch 2.0 lets you know what events are coming up and gives you all of the latest news, liveblogs, and more in real-time while it's going down on the ground.
• Offline reading – For the jet-set among us, TC lets you save all the latest TC news to your iPad or Android tablet so you're never out of the loop, even if you're out of Wi-Fi. If you just want to save a single story for some Wi-Fi free reading, we also built in support for InstaPaper, Evernote, and Pocket (formerly ReadItLater).

Download the apps today for free in the iOS App Store and will be coming to the Android Marketplace this weekend.

Silicon Valley's powerhouse tech community gathered last Friday at the historic Fox Theatre in Redwood City to dive into the foremost question on everyone's mind post-Facebook IPO: can the iconic brand keep up in the mobile-first era?

TechCrunch staffers, led by co-editors Eric Eldon and Alexia Tsotis and resident Facebook expert Josh Constine, grilled a host of speakers from Facebook and related companies. Discussions focused on how they're catering to the on-the-go user throughout the jam-packed, five-hour Facebook Ecosystem CrunchUp.

Facebook's VP of Engineering Mike Schroepfer told Eldon that a major challenge facing his team is pushing out updates to mobile as often and as seamlessly as they're able to on their own platform. Even so, Schroepfer noted that Facebook has driven people to the App Store and Google Play nearly 150 million times over the past month.

A second challenge facing the Facebook team is building a solid, stable platform for third-party developers, according to Facebook Director of Product Management Doug Purdy. As TechCrunch writer Rip Empson summed up, his team is facing a tricky balancing act of priorities between developers, users and advertisers.

We also heard from a number of businesses with a significant stake in the game (sometimes literally) – like Zynga. Product Development VP Sean Kelly made the point that the value of a mobile brand can sometimes surpass the app itself, as in the case of the gaming company's much-discussed acquisition of "Draw Something." Founder and CEO of BranchOut Rick Marini, Airbnb Product Lead Joe Zadeh and FreshPlanet Co-Founder Mathieu Nouzareth also offered in-the-trenches perspectives.

The day closed out with an open office hours session in which attendees got a chance to ask nearly 20 Facebook executives and staffers from across the company anything they wanted to one-on-one.

All that talking made everyone thirsty. It was the perfect preamble to heading down the road to the 7^th Annual Summer Party at August Capital for more mixing, mingling and of course – live-posting all the action to Facebook.

Check out video highlights from the conference here.

.@techcrunch hosts @facebook Ecosystem #CrunchUp aol.it/ML0zWx

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) August 7, 2012

Get ready for TechCrunch Disrupt SF, our sixth annual conference that brings together early stage startups and notable influencers in the technology community. We're expecting a great turn out and already have confirmed our first set of notable speakers that will share their insights and expertise during the show:

• Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, Salesforce.com
• Ben Horowitz, co-founder and partner, Andreessen Horowitz
• Joel Klein, executive vice president and CEO, News Corp education division

The conference has also extended the deadline for applications to its Startup Battlefield, giving more entrepreneurs the opportunity to compete for the top spot. TechCrunch selects 30 un-launched startups to debut at the show, exposing them to an audience of innovators, angels, venture capitalists, media and industry experts. Former competitors to have launched on the Battlefield include Yammer, Mint.com and Dropbox.

To apply, eligible companies should have a product they will launch on stage for the first time, or have a product that has not been widely exposed and has not been public for more than three months. Applications must be received before July 13 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

Learn more about our speakers here and conference details are available here. Hope to see you there!

Joystiq, the definitive source for video game news and information, relaunched its mobile site at m.joystiq.com, optimized for all mobile phones to browse. Readers can take a swipe at the top bar of highlighted stories or browse news, read reviews, play videos, listen to podcasts, comment through Livefyre and hop through screenshot galleries. Learn more about the relaunch by reading a blog post from Joystiq's Editor-in-Chief, Ludwig Kietzmann.

Learn more about AOL's mobile offerings from your favorite brands like The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Moviefone, SHOUTcast, Engadget and more by clicking here.

.@Joystiq Relaunches Mobile Site aol.it/MeVQuc

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) July 10, 2012

Preparing for post-Disrupt letdown once TechCrunch's conference closes tonight after the awarding of the Disrupt cup? Don't fret, the TechCrunch team has got you covered! Today, on stage, the team unveiled the new TechCrunch iPad app which is now available to download from the iTunes store.

We understand that news is most valuable to readers when they can explore differing perspectives and then put it into broader context. Keeping this idea at front of mind, the team designed the app to be the ultimate research tool – not just a TechCrunch newsfeed.

Integrating TechCrunch articles, Crunchbase profiles and even content from other publishers, the app encapsulate everything going on in the nonstop tech world right in one place. A sidebar built from Crunchbase profiles of the key players mentioned in stories gives readers a better understanding of the relationships at play within a given piece. Meanwhile, content from other authoritative publishers helps provide a holistic view of the story and what it means for the industry as a whole.

Another key feature of the app is our trending news section. Instead of just pulling what's most popular, the feature filters stories by comments, page views and social shares to determine an article's "heat and velocity," giving readers an idea of a topic's potential impact across various social platforms.

Download the app today by clicking here.

.@AOLMobile Launches New @TechCrunch iPad App at Disrupt NYC 2012 aol.it/KUoy44

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) May 23, 2012