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Snapchat is stuck in the uncanny valley of AR glasses
“Timing,” Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said cryptically when asked what the greatest threat was for Snap Inc. “I think the big risks are always the really big product ideas that we’re investing in that are just hard to get right,” he told the Goldman Sachs conference two weeks ago. The statements got lost amongst flashier…
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Waze Carpool’s new app lets riders get more choosy about their drivers
Waze’s carpooling app for commuters is relaunching with a number of new features designed to make it easier and safer to use. The company says it will now allow people to choose their shared rides, instead of being matched blindly. That means riders will be able to pick drivers based on things like star ratings, mutual…
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Shape is an app to help you learn how to invest the ethical way
Recently launched out of beta, U.K. startup Shape wants to create a more educational trading experience for a new generation of traders, including those who might be concerned with the ethical standards of the sectors or companies they back. The Shape iOS app assumes no or very little prior trading knowledge, and provides easy-to-follow information…
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Amazon confirms that it has acquired GameSparks
Ahead of GDC later this month, Amazon has confirmed an acquisition that speaks to its ambitions to do more in the area of gaming — and specifically through offering platform tools for the games developer community. The company has acquired UK- and Ireland-based cloud gaming platform GameSparks — a “backend as a service” for game developers…
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Facebook swings at Twitter with Breaking News label
Facebook’s algorithm is terrible at surfacing breaking news, often showing urgent posts hours or even days later when more facts have since emerged or the story has changed. This has made Twitter the default home for this content, but that position has weakened since Twitter implemented its own relevancy algorithm that brings up old tweets.…
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Google Search comes to iMessage
Google Search is now available within iMessage. In an effort to more deeply integrate Google’s search engine on iOS devices, the company announced today that its Search app for iOS has added an iMessage extension, allowing iPhone and iPad users to search the web, then quickly add those search results to their iMessage conversations. The extension…
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MoviePass CEO proudly says the app tracks your location before and after movies
Everyone knew the MoviePass deal is too good to be true — and as is so often the case these days, it turns out you’re not the customer, you’re the product. And in this case they’re not even attempting to camouflage that. Mitch Lowe, the company’s CEO, told an audience at a Hollywood event that…
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Bumble is banning guns from profile pictures
Dating app Bumble is joining the dozens of major companies that have decided to take the fight against gun violence into their own hands following a string of mass shootings and renewed discussions around gun reform. Starting immediately all profile pictures with visible guns and other deadly weapons like knives will be banned. Bumble is…
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Bumble is becoming the LA Clippers’ jersey sponsor
The latest company to sponsor an NBA team by putting a patch on a jersey is…Bumble, the female-led dating and networking app. The company’s logo will now be appearing on the jersey of the LA Clippers. The deal brings some serious brand recognition to the four-year old dating app, which is now adding between 75k-100k…
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Grabr gets $8M to connect travelers with luggage space with those longing for products abroad
You might get to actually save money while you’re traveling if you just leave some free space in your bag — or not pay for that travel at all — if Daria Rebenok’s plan plays out. As avid travelers, and ones longing for products from home they can’t get abroad, she and Artem Fedyaev decided to start…