THE BUSINESS OF TECHNOLOGY
Apple plans to spend over $100 million in the next year to start producing Mac computers in the US. The move shifts a small segment of Apple production away from China, where the company has suffered criticism for harsh and dangerous working conditions at its Foxconn plant. Notably, Mac computers are easier to produce, making domestic production … [Read more...]
Lazada, the Asian Amazon clone, has raised $26 million to expand its ecommerce services across the continent, the Next Web reported. The investment led by Summit Partners is just one of the latest checks the company has landed in recent weeks. Less than a month ago, it received $40 million from Kinnevek, the Swedish retail conglomerate. Owned by … [Read more...]
Google released a test version of its iOS map app to a number of guinea pigs outside the company, the Wall St. Journal reported this week. The search engine is putting the finishing touches on the app ahead of submitting it to approval to Apple's iTunes app store. Yet those on older iPhones postponing their update to iOS 6 amidst widespread … [Read more...]
Spotify has closed on a $100 million round that values the company at $3 billion, All Things D was the first to report. Coca-cola became a minority investor in the company, investing 10 percent of the round, according to the New York Times. Goldman Sachs contributed 50 percent, while another 15 percent came from Fidelity Investments. The remaining … [Read more...]
Chinese singles have just given American Cyber Monday shoppers a run for their money, or actually a double run. The Chinese ecommerce site Taobao reported earning $3 billion in a single day for China's “Double Eleven,” a Chinese holiday for singles similar to Valentine's Day that's celebrated on 11-11, according to Tech in Asia. That's more than … [Read more...]
Netflix adopted a new “stockholder rights plan,” that protects the company's board from outside investors buying out enough shares to overpower the board and run the company outside of its “best interests.” Otherwise known as a “poison pill” plan, the preventative measure would kick in if an investor bought 10 percent, or in the case of a group … [Read more...]
Known for being the first company to bring Flash video to iOS, Skyfire has raised $10 million in Series D funding to take its video data compression technology to a global scale. The round was led by new investor Panorama Capital. Previous investors Verizon Ventures, Matrix Partners, Trinity Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners also … [Read more...]
Interested in a good scare this Halloween? Look no further than your own computer, mobile or tablet device! … [Read more...]
Amazon and Google can breathe a sigh of relief. Apple unveiled its iPad Mini, a 7.9 miniature version of the iPad, for $329, a bit more expensive than the $250 analysts had expected. About 65 percent of the cost of a full size iPad, the new iPad is well above mini tablet competitors such as Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Inc's Nexus 7, priced … [Read more...]
Microsoft is seeing its Skype acquisition pay off in terms of usage increase, though it remains to be seen if that actually adds up to bona fide revenue. In its quarterly earnings report, the company announced that Skype's usage had grown to over 280 million users, adding more than 30 million users since late May. Microsoft did not mention, … [Read more...]